2013...A new year.

Hello!
No, I haven't shaved off  all my hair, grown my arm-pit hair and gone to live in the jungle.
I am still around! I know it's been long since I updated my blog...
November and December 2012 were very busy months, being exam time at school, then school broke up for 6 weeks vacation from the 7 December and went back on the 16th Jan. I don't normally get much "me" time during this time, which is fine. The kids are only little once and I try and devote my energy and time to them and making their vacation memories special.

I had a very busy two weeks prior to our annual camping holiday. Baking rusks and biscuits, shopping and packing and pre-packaging meals for camping. As well as doing our caravan renovations and decorating!
{caravan revamp coming up in another post}
We went away to the Cederberg for 10 days. (this was our second year there) I will share pics from that holiday in another post too!

Some of the frozen meals I made to take with.

Of course no summer holiday is complete without ice-cream. I make my own with and experiment with different combinations. Below was cherry and rum.

November saw a lot of crochet projects on the go.
A stool cover

 

The start of a new blanket (lap blanket for the caravan)

The completion of a another lap blanket.

A few posts (to remind myself too) I still want to share with you are:
* Cederberg Holiday
* Caravan revamp
* Pixie the Baby mouse
* Making your own salt scrub
* Homemade Ice-Cream recipe
* Project life 2011 and 2012
* Babylonstoren Wine Farm
* Moyo
* Project life 2013 freebies

It is my hope for 2013 to continue my blog, at my own pace, in my own way. It is my goal to make it colorful, interesting, fun, beautiful and creative.

I must say that the thought to close my blog did pop into my head from time to time during my "break". I hadn't been getting many commentating visitors and it can be very discouraging to blog and not get any feedback. However, the main purpose of my blog is to record the little things I enjoy and to have a sort of record of everything I like in one place. But if you do pop by please leave a comment to say hi and that you were here! Never underestimate the value of your comment, no matter how small or short! It means a lot to me! :)

So lot's in store and lot's to share in the upcoming weeks.

I wanted to start Project Life this year but I felt bad that I had not scrap booked 2011 and 2012, a few 12x12 pages here and there and a few mini albums, but not the entire year. So...I completed both years in 4 days! I know! Crazy but so easy! It literally took me a few hours. I went and had 150 photos developed. I made my own 10x15cm photos on the computer -fitting 2 or 4 on a photo size and so cut down what would of been double, if not triple the amount of photo's!
I also didn't do the full size PL. I must admit I don't fancy the big sizes of those albums. So I used simples stories and OhSnap album page protectors for my PL albums.

LOVE the outcome and so compact and fun to make! (will share soon)

With that in mind I am continuing PL 2013 with that size.
I will be designing and sharing FREE PL Journal cards, so be sure to check back from time to time!

Well that is it for now!
Would love to hear from you and what you have been up to!

Our Story: A Journal

I adore making Journals. There is something therapeutic in the process for me. I imagine the kind of journal I would use, what photographs, memento's , journaling I would put into a journal and then I begin with a theme and a color palette and it's all go from there.

I love to imagine the joy and good usage a customer would get from such a unique hand-crafted with thought and joy book! I really take pride in my work and I always try and make something that comes from "me"-something original and from what I am feeling at the moment. I hope that my work reflects who I am and the things I love.

I have a new little ring-bound journal in my Etsy shop. It is entitled "Our Story" and has a Paris travel theme throughout. I imagine it's for a couple who have spent a romantic mini break in the City of Love and she wants to capture every second of walking down those cobbled streets, gazing out over the River Siene, through the transulent light of dusk...standing under the Eifell tower and looking up through the huge curved structure and being transfixed in awe at it's sheer size and architectual beauty.

Sigh...now I want to go back to Paris...

.

End of year Teacher Gifts

So it's that time of year...
The time of year when school is almost over (just over 2 school weeks left for the year!)
When exams are on (studying with my son every afternoon, such a joy!)
And when it's time to start buying making Teacher's gifts.

I had a cool idea this year that allowed me to use my current love of washi tape and love of crochet and vintage doilies all in one!

I made each teacher a notebook. I bought a plain black notebook, covered it with white paper and then used strips of washi tape to decorate the cover. I then glued on a vintage doily and crocheted a double flower which was also glued on. Done.

Next I bought a pack of white envelopes and added a strip of washi tape to each one. A pack of envelopes.
Idea two: Done.

Simple but I think highly effective and of course, personalized and not commercialized! To me that is a winner!

Re-purpose old window frames into photo fames {Part 2}

Remember this post?
I did it 5 months ago! 5 months? Where on earth does the time go? I had every intention of doing part 2 sooner than this...but nonetheless, here is part 2.
I hope this answers any questions I got in part 1.

I left off with the wood work of the frame completely finished.
Now let's carry on from there...

1. Putting The glass back in.

So I didn't get any photos of this part,(sorry) but it is really quite straight forward.
Before I begin, a few notes:
If you are going to use the original glass, you just need to fit each panel back into the right place. Sometimes
the sizes are slightly out by a few mm, so you might need to check each piece of glass until you have the right one for each place.
Or, you can do what I did. I like the "old" looking frame work, but wanted clean,new glass as I was putting photos into the frame. So I carefully measured each individual little frame within the frame and made a note of each measurement. Be sure to measure to within the last 2-3mm all around. This Leaves a very small gap to get the glass in. (I measured from side to side all around and then subtracted 2mm all the way around )
Take your measurements to your local glass cutter and they will cut each piece for you. This is very cheap to have done, for the new glass and labor.

So getting back to putting the glass in...
-make sure your framework is clean and completely free of any residue or dust. A good vacuum or sweep will do the trick!
-Double check the back of the frame where you took the grout out,that it is completely free of lumps and bumps and if need be, sand down any forgotten or missed areas.
-I used no more nails. Simply squeeze a line around the border of the panel (working one panel at a time)
Then insert your glass and press down gently but firmly (only on the sides , don't press the glass in the middle-you could break it). Press it down enough so that the excess solvent squeezes out.
You should wipe this off with kitchen paper and have a damp cloth nearby to clean the glass  as the stuff is a pain to get off once it dries.
Carry on with the rest of the panels in this fashion.
WARNING: wear old clothes and rubber gloves when you are doing this and make sure your surface is covered in newspaper, this stuff is MESSY!

After each panel of glass is in, clean and neat, leave it as is to dry overnight.

{note: For photos you can use a 3mm glass. the thicker you go, the heavier your frame will be and the more expensive your glass will be. 3mm is quite adequate if you are using it as a photo frame. }

2. Backing Board

Again, I measured each frame and then subtracted about 2mm all the way around. I got the wood cut (just used ordinary chipboard)

We drilled a small hole into each adjacent corner of each panel (so 8 holes for each panel in the inside of the frame work -at the back). He made these little metal hooks for me and inserted one into each place. They act as a kind of spring, holding the board down. But you could use normal black blips you find on the back of any photo frame that are inserted into the woodwork of the frame. We just couldn't find them anywhere and so had to make our own plan.
Ask your local framer or hardware store.

And that is it! Here is my frame finished and hanging in my dining room!

Crochet: Bird House

Hello...

A little crochet making, a little imagination, a little bird house...

A little birdie to go in the little bird house

(The bird house actually resides inside!)

Enjoying the flowers of summer from my garden...

Hope your day is filled with joys that make you smile, no matter how small...

NEW! Bakers Twine now in stock.

Hello!
I know it's been a while since I last posted. .
It's been a whirlwind of activities but also I have been busily creating and upgrading my South African store.
Why don't you go and take a peek? I feel a lot more comfortable with it and finally have an order page and form set up. 

For my South African customers this makes life a lot easier! All you have to do is browse through the store and see what you would like. Then you go to the order form (found only on the front store page)fill out your details and tick the appropriate items you wish to order. Then click submit! Voila! I receive the email and check my stock and then get back to you with an invoice and payment details. Your order is dispatched via postal service within 2 working days once payment has been reflected.

I am now happy to announce that I am supplying beautiful Bakers Twine in my store! This is made right here in South Africa and is a lovely strong twine. There are quite a lot of colors to choose from and these are the colors I have in stock. They come in 5m little bundles but a larger quantity can be ordered if you so wish.

Pink and White

Yellow and white

Orange and white

maroon and white

blue and white

I also have a aqua and white,

 green and white

little 1m samples on wooden spools(so cute as a gift!)

Other colors I can get are: black, brown, grey and teal.

I also have been making some gift tags that are currently in the shop. Gift tags are wonderful. So quick to attach to a parcel to add that extra pretty touch. My gift tags are handmade and layered. I use buttons, vintage fabric and washi tape and sometimes bakers twine.

I also have a gift tag set which would make a really cute gift on it's own or for you to make your own personalized gift tags. 

So that is what is new in my store. If you have any queries you can always email me and I will get back to you.

I'll be back this week with some crocheted items! See you then and thanks for stopping by!