Handmade by Liesl

Greeting Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 13:33:00 +0000

I've been keeping myself busy by making cards - lots and lots of cards... I recently ordered some fun goodies from overseas and couldn't wait for my happy mail to arrive... These are my first stampsets from My Favorite Things - they have the cutest stamps... I got some dies from Lawn Fawn and another snowman stampset from Paper Smooches... Even though we don't get snow in South Africa, i am obsessed with snowman stamps - and everything else that has anything to do with snow!!

Once i get my stamps, i just can't help myself and i start stamping loads of images - i become like a little child again... Then comes the colouring process - i use my Copic markers to colour...

Once the colouring is done, i have to fussy cut all the images, and then starts the real fun part - making the actual cards...

I have listed all these cards in my Etsy Shop, if you're interested in any of these, head on over to my shop...

On a more personal note - besides spending a lot of time making cards and being creative, i've also been spending a lot of time at the BMX track... We bought Aiden his first BMX bike and he's loving it... We go the the track every weekend and it's amazing to see how little fear these kids have... I cringe every time he comes down the steep hill or goes over a jump - i guess only a mother can feel this way...

Sheez, this was long post - but there was lots of news i had to get out...

Enjoy and i'll be back soon with some more craftiness...
Liesl
xxx

Weekend Party Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 12:28:00 +0000

This weekend was a busy one again - i had party goodies to finish for two different parties...

I made some party bags for the Lego party - remember i did the invitations for this party as well...

I love how these turned out, and it looked so cute - all the beautiful bright colours together...

The second party i was working on, was a Skylanders party - i was asked to do the invitations only... We have such little resources in this country, that i had to ask my sister (who lives about a 14 hour drive from me) to go buy the PVC pouches at a shop close to her house, and send it to me in Cape Town... I only needed 13 pouches, and if i had to buy it locally, i would have had to buy 100 minimum... So needless to say, a lot of "effort" went into getting these pouches and making these invites...

These VIP passes also turned out super cute - such a different idea from your usual "card" invitations...

I'll be back again with some pictures of my latest cards i've been working on - will be posting these on my Etsy shop soon...

Enjoy the last little bit of the weekend - tomorrow it's back to work again...

Liesl
xxx

Lego Party Invitations

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 13:03:00 +0000

I've been busy this weekend - i was asked by a friend of mine to make Lego party invitations for her children's birthday party...

The idea was to make an invitation to look like an actual Lego block - so we used Google to get a couple of ideas...

In the end, this is how it turned out:

I made the invite the same size as a regular greeting card - so that we could still use a standard envelope with it... I punched some 1 1/4" circles in the coordinating colors and adhered it to the front using foam tape...

For the inside i used a stitched die to diecut all the printed invites, mounted that onto a yellow card base and adhered it to the inside... All the personal information has been blocked out - for obvious reasons...

For the matching envelopes i printed the same lego block image onto sticker paper and added that to the front of the envelopes... I stamped the names using a Lawn Fawn alphabet stamp set...

I think these turned out super cute - can't wait for the actual party!!

I'll be back again soon with some more crafty goodies!!
Liesl
xxx

Party Banners

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 13:22:00 +0000

So after months of being "missing in action" again, i've decided to post something on my blog again... I almost didn't know how to sign in - it's been such a long time since i've been on here...

I've been keeping myself very busy with loads of crafty stuff - something new that i've tried is making party banners - and i'm absolutely loving it... I must say, i love making cards, but what i love even more is making party decorations...

The following pictures show the work in progress - i made a "Mom to be" banner...

I added some bling details, just to make it extra special...

And here are some pics of the finished product - i've added it to my Etsy shop, so if you're interested you can find it there...

I also make custom banners, so anything you're interested in - let me know and i'll create it...

I am loving these new banner dies i bought - my favourite product to use at the moment...

I'll be back with more news soon...
Liesl
xxx

Sequin Shaker card

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 14:57:00 +0000

I haven't been posting on my blog for such a long time, and there is no excuse!! Maybe just every day life that's been keeping me busy...

I've been following the Pretty Pink Posh blog for a while, and i've had so much inspiration from Paulina - and of course she makes the cutest sequin shaker cards... She's having a blog hop and competition, and i thought what better reason to get back into blogging again... If you want to have a look at her blog, i've given the link below...

http://prettypinkposh.com/category/blog-hop

Since i started following her blog, i've made a couple of shaker cards - she has tutorials on how to make it - and she sells the most divine sequins and embellishment kits!!

For this competition i decided to make a 4x4 inch sequin shaker card... I used one of my new stamp sets by Lawn Fawn called Here's the scoop - i paper pieced the ice cream using paper from the Lawn Fawn paper pack called Hello Sunshine...

I'm busy with a couple more shaker cards, so watch this space - i have loads more to come!!

Good luck to everybody who's entering the competition - i'm sure we're going to be blown away by all the talent...

And thanks to Pretty Pink Posh for all the inspiration - i love watching all your videos...

I'll be back again soon...

xxx

A Teddy Bear's Picnic

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:12:00 +0000

Hello everyone!! Wow, it's been way too long since i've posted something on my blog again - i was thinking about what my excuse could be, but i couldn't come up with anything good - maybe i've just been a bit lazy lately...

We've been freezing our bums off in Cape Town - it's suppose to be Spring, but i guess we're going to have to wait patiently for Summer to roll around...

I've been busy with a couple of things again, so i thought i would share my latest project - i literally finished this a couple of hours ago - and the parcel is en route to Johannesburg - for a special little girls first birthday party...

The theme of the party: A Teddy Bear's Picnic... The hardest part (for me) of every invite is to come up with the idea, but once i've got that figured out, i get my little production line on the go, and then there's no stopping... This is what the invite and envelope looks like:

So this is what my "glueing department" looks like - there were literally hundreds of little parts to glue - everything gets glued by hand - my husband says i'm mad to sit and glue little parts like that - but for some strange reason i LOVE doing it...

The Teddy Bear itself had a lot of little parts to glue together, but it turned out super cute!!

And the envelope was personalized for each guest - the little balloons were hand stamped, and the balloons were cut out to match with the rest of the invite - I used my fringe scissors to create the "grass"...

I also made some cupcake toppers - bear faces and the number "1"

Last but not least, i made the thank you tags - same bear faces, but on the back you have the thank you note - this will be tied onto the brown paper goodie bag...

Everything is packed and ready for the trip up to Johannesburg...

I'll post some more pics from the actual party next month...

Happy 1st Birthday Caitlin!!!

Liesl

xxx

My Etsy Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 15:08:00 +0000

Hello everyone... Today is another milestone for me / us - finally our Etsy Shop is up and running and we're beyond excited about this... I remember a while ago a friend of mine from America told me to open an Etsy shop, and i had no idea what she was talking about... Well, eventually i "got with the program", and found out what Etsy is all about and that Etsy is the way to go...

My mom, my sister and I decided that together we'll open our own Etsy shop - Craft Sew Knit...

The crafting department is mine, the Sew department is for my sister, and the Knit department is for my mom... We've added some items, so go have a look - and give some feedback - it's always interesting to hear what people think and to get some advice and feedback...

I've linked the Etsy shop - you'll find it on the right hand side of my blog... This will be our little creative outlet!! May this be the start of wonderful things for us!!!

Liesl xxx

P.S. Don't you just love our logo - my friend Linka designed it - thanks my friend, it looks awesome!!

Hot Air Balloon Invitation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:41:00 +0000

Two weeks ago i made some invitations for a baby shower - the theme was Hot Air Balloons, and the colour scheme blue, red and grey... We used trusty old "google" to get some inspiration, and this is what we came up with... I wanted to make the background of the invitation to look like clouds - and where can you buy cloud paper when you need it - nowhere!!! So i had to come up with a solution quickly - i made a little cloud template, and used ink and some cottonwool to create the cloud effect - i think it turned out rather cute...

Here's a picture of the hot air balloons in the "production line"...

And the finished product:

And a picture of it all put together (she's expecting a baby boy, Ben)...

This is what the inside of the card looked like, went with the same cloud effect - i had to cut these all by hand, but so worth it in the end...

I'm busy with another Hot Air Balloon project - a cot mobile... I've never made one of these before, so i'm figuring it out as i'm going along - i think it's going to look awesome - will post some pics soon...

Liesl
xxx

Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:50:00 +0000

Hello Everyone (especially to Sharon & Pier),

It's been way too long since i've been on my blog - i was worried that i wouldn't remember how to log in anymore!! It's been over a month since i've last posted something, and i have no excuse as to why it's taken me so long to post again... I guess i can say i've been busy, blah blah blah, but that sounds like such a bad excuse...

Anyway, let's get down to the good stuff... A while ago i mentioned that i was going to make a quilt for Aiden's room - well, believe it or not, it's finally finished... It feels like it's taken forever to get it done - but i'm going to be very honest now, i had to call in some help to finish it... Once i had all the blocks sewn together (all 300 of them), and had the whole quilt sandwich (meaning the top and bottom layer with the batting in the middle) going, i couldn't get it thru my sewing machine - the sewing part wasn't the problem, it was when i had to roll it up to get to the middle section that i realized that i was going to have a big problem...

It was a looooooooong process, first cutting strips, then cutting the strips into blocks, then sewing all the blocks together, etc... My biggest task was to make sure that i do not get the same colour or patterned block next to one another - this step probably took the longest... And of course i documented every step of the way - so here's a look (sorry for the bad quality pictures, was taken with my cellphone):

Here are some pictures of me while sewing - please note all the jets and army tanks watching me - Aiden was sitting next to me playing - he wanted to "help" me, but in the end just kept me company while i worked - the toys just kept on getting closer and closer...

Here's a picture of all the blocks once it was all together, and i was trying to figure out how i was going to sew on top of the quilt once i got the batting and back piece together...

Anyhoo, long story short, i got some help finishing the quilt and this is what the final result looks like - i'm super happy with the way it turned out, and my little man LOVES his new "blanket"...

The final product:

As you can see - we still need some matching pillows - i'm looking for plain red and blue pillow cases... At least the last two pictures are better quality, now you can see the colours better...

Don't you just love it...

I'll be back with more crafty projects soon...

Liesl
xxx

Baby Gift Box

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago i found out that the lady that works for our sister company is pregnant... She told me last week that they're expecting a baby boy... I want to get them a little baby gift, and i thought it would be super cute to make my own gift box...

A while ago i bought two stamp sets from Inkadinkado, a baby boy and baby girl stamp set - i've been dying to use it for something, and it thought this would be the perfect time to use it... I love the little laundry line idea, so i decided to stamp that on all 4 sides of the box... I made the grass using my Martha Stewart Fringe scissors, and i added the "wooden poles", to make the laundry line complete...

This was the first attempt:

I used my white ink, seeing that it always looks so nice to use white ink on Kraft, but for some reason this looked wayyyyyyyy to plain for me, so i decided to "jazz" it up a bit... I stamped the clothes in different colours on white cardstock, cut them out, and used some foam tape on some of them to make it stand out more... Oh, and i added a little snail on the grass part - i just thought it would look cute...

So this is what the final product looks like - i think it looks super cute... Now all i have to do is put the gift inside, maybe add a little tag that says "it's a boy", maybe some ribbon - and it'll be ready to go...

I'm busy working on a double page scrapbook layout, so watch this space...

Liesl
xxx

Valentine's Day Treat Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:08:00 +0000

In my previous post i mentioned the two competitions that i entered, and i totally forgot to post some pictures of the other item i made... The theme was "Love & Lace", so i decided to make a little Valentine's goodie bag - i stamped and embossed the white dots onto the little red bag, added a doily, a medallion / rosette and a little stamped banner - and voila!!! Easy peasy...

I love the way this one turned out - i'm sure anybody would be more than happy to get such a cute little goodie bag...

Quilt update: just in case you thought that i have abandoned my project - NO, i have not, it's just taking wayyyyyyyy longer that i thought... All the blocks (all 300 of them) are sewn together, and i've layered the back piece, the batting and the front block piece together - i'm still busy pinning this all together to hold it in place so i can start sewing, and then i just need to add the bias binding around the edge... I will be working on this again tonight - i will be honest, i was very tempted to phone the quilting store today to ask if there would be anybody who would be willing to finish this for me, but i stopped myself from doing that - I started this project, and I will finish this project - even if it takes longer than i anticipated... So watch this space - one of these days i will feature my own handmade quilt...

Liesl

xxx

Cards and Competitions

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:26:00 +0000

Since a very young age, i've always LOVED competitions - doesn't matter what it is, i will always enter... I remember my very first prize that i ever won, it was a doll - don't know what happened to the doll, but that was many moons ago... I've won a couple of other items as well, but the doll i will never forget...

Anyhoo, two of my favourite stamp companies have competitions every month... I've been trying so hard to enter, but i always start the project and never finish it... So today is the day that i'm finally entering both competitions - can you believe, i actually finished my projects... I feel like i have a gazillion projects that i'm busy with, but i don't finish anything - i was busy working on the two competition projects (which i actually finished - miracle), then i'm still busy with the quilt i'm making for Aiden's room, i'm working on a double page scrapbook lay out, i'm busy with some greeting cards that i want to send up to my sister, i'm trying my hand at applique (so much fun, but a lot harder than what i originally thought), oh, and some valentines projects for Aiden's school has just been added to the list - i'm sure i've left something out, but as you can see - i have MORE than enough to keep my busy for a while...

To my absolute shock and horror, i was just getting ready to submit my Papertrey Ink project, when i realised that the competition closed a couple of hours ago - honestly, i was very close to crying!! I worked so hard on these cards, trying to come up with the idea, then putting your idea onto paper, etc... But (luckily for me there is a but), they do have another option - a Colour Inspiration section, and one of my cards should qualify for that, so i'm still entering (even if it is only 1 of the 3 cards), so my heart is not feeling so heavy anymore...

This is the card that i'm entering for the Colour Inspiration:

The stamps i used for this card is from the "sweet baby" stamp set, and i also used the genuine Papertrey Ink twine...

I might as well share the other two cards that i made - it was a sketch challenge, so they give you 5 different sketches, and you can pick whichever one to use as your inspiration, so you'll see i've used 3 different sketches for the cards i created...

This last card is so cute - i used the "have a ball" mini stamp set from Papertrey Ink - it was so nice to make a boy card for a change - i normally stick to pink and girly cards, so this was a nice change for me...

Well, i'm going to submit my entry now - so let's keep our fingers crossed...

Liesl
xxx

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:40:00 +0000

Helloooooooooooooo... While i was blog hopping today, i came across the cutest video - even though they don't say a word, they get the point across in such a clever way... This is sooooooo my tipe of video - i just had to share it here on my blog - check it out, it's worth it... Oh, and i love the gift idea you'll see in this video...

There was also a link to another blog, where they have a tutorial for creating a stunning Blog Banner - so watch this space, there might be some changes soon (if i can figure out how to do it myself)...

Liesl
xxx

Baby Shower - Scrapbook Page

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 20:42:00 +0000

I was going thru all my crafting pictures and i came across this lay out, so i thought i would share this post quickly... This year i'm definitely going to do more scrapbooking - that's how i got into the paper crafting hobby to begin with... I've got a huge stack of scrapbooking papers that i need to use (maybe one day), but one can never have enough...

A while back my friend Olivia asked me to make a double page lay out that she can use as a gift for a baby shower that she was hosting... Her idea was to have something that's got enough space for everybody to write a little something on the page, i.e. advise, suggestions, etc...

This is what we came up with:

I've been a busy little bee again - i'm busy making a quilt for Aidens room... My mom & dad gave me a sewing machine for Xmas - sooooooo excited about that (thanks mom & dad xxx), and i've decided that my first project is going to the quilt... Yikes - no pressure!!! I'll be honest, i didn't realise how much work actually goes into making a quilt, but i've started it, so now i WILL finish it...

I've been taking pictures of all the steps, so i can document the whole process right here on my blog - watch this space, hopefully the quilt will be done soon...

Liesl
xxx

Monster Alien Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:27:00 +0000

Ok, so first things first - Happy New Year everybody!!! It's been way too long since i've posted (i feel like i always say that), but here's an update...

We've had the most wonderful holiday - only one thing was missing - my family!!! This year we're definitely going to make sure that we're all together on Christmas again - it just isn't the same without them...

I can't believe how quickly the holiday has flown by - three more days for me, and then it's back to reality... We've been enjoying the sunshine, lazing by the pool... We've been to the beach - Aiden is such a little surfer dude, with his awesome tan - he just loves the beach!!! Here's a picture of him and Erin playing at the beach... It was very windy yesterday, so not too many people at the beach...

I've been promising for a while to post Aiden's birthday pictures - and the time has come to do it!!! We had such a lovely time, Aiden loved every minute of it... I still can't believe that my baby boy is 5 already...

The party decor is obviously the part that i love - thanks to the very talented Lauren Mckinsey (click on this link - it will take you to her "think cute" website) who helped me with all the cute printables that i used for this party... We're talking Talent with a capital T... All her printables are just too cute - i even used them for our Xmas tags - look, isn't this just to die for!!!

Anyhoo, back to the Monster Alien Party - here are some pics of all the party goodies - it just screams awesomeness!!!

And the birthday cake and cupcakes were made by my friend Olivia - Cream Little Events... If you want the party of all parties, please contact Olivia - she'll go above and beyond to make every party the best party ever...

The kids (and the adults) loved the cake - Red Velvet, or in this case "blue" velvet cake... Yummy!!!

So that's about it for the party pictures, i've still got a gazillion more party pictures, but let's not overload the system - i think i've shared enough for now... Phew, this was a big one...

I'm off to bed, sleep tight everybody!!

Liesl
xxx

Baby Shower - Scrapbook Page

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 18:25:00 +0000

The past couple of weeks have flown by way too quickly - i can't believe that in two days time it's Christmas... This year Christmas is going to be bitter sweet - i will not be spending Christmas with my family - it's just going to be the 3 of us this Christmas... But i'm going to be thankful, and try not to complain too much!!

I wanted to share a scrapbook page that i've made recently... My sister asked me to make a scrapbook double page lay out for her sister in law... It was her sister in law's baby shower - and this is what i came up with:

The paper i used is from the Country Drive collection by Echo Park... I love all the colours - it just makes you want to smile...

I love the little banners everywhere - it adds the "party / celebration" feeling...

I added some dimensional stickers to make the banner stand out more - to create the 3D effect...

The baby rattle and the tiny baby bottles on the two pictures below, were some of the decorations from the actual baby shower... I asked my husband to cut off the back part of the baby rattle, so i could stick it onto the page - it think it looks super cute...

I really enjoyed doing this lay out - i must really try and do more scrapbooking again - i have a gazillion pictures that i can use, and a huge stash of scrapbook paper - so i have no excuse!!!

My aim for the new year is to try and use up some of my "stock"... Problem is that i just cannot stop myself from buying more and more scrapbooking stuff - i know, i know - i need to learn to control myself, but it's just so damn hard...

Next i'll be sharing some pictures from Aiden's birthday party - it was a huge success, so watch this space - i'll be back with some super cute Monster Alien pictures shortly...

Liesl
xxx

Christmas Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:27:00 +0000

It is the MOST wonderful time of the year!!! Finally, it's almost Christmas time and i cannot wait... This is my favourite holiday of all - i love love love Christmas time... Decorating the tree, listening to Christmas CD's, wrapping presents, etc...

So this past weekend we put up the Christmas tree...

Every year i buy some more decorations, not because we need them, but because i want them... It just seems that every year they come out with cuter ones than the previous year - and i just can't help myself...

Honestly, i am worse than a child when it comes to Christmas... I've made my list, i've checked it twice, i've only been nice, so fingers crossed!!!

I've been very busy getting all the party goodies ready for Aiden's birthday - to my shock and horror i realised that the party is next weekend - so much to do, so little time... I've tried my hand at baking, and i've failed miserably... I must rather stick to what i know best, and that is paper crafts... Baking is definitely not for me... Tomorrow i will go into crisis mode, to try and find somebody to bake the cake and cupcakes, and make the monster cookies that i want...

Watch this space - it's going to be the most awesome monster party this town has ever seen!!!

Liesl
xxx

Spiderman Party

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:12:00 +0000

It's been WAY too long since i've posted something on my blog - i've just been so busy, with party goodies, my mom and dad were here visiting, working - and the list goes on and on!!!

I wanted to share my latest creations - i was asked to make some centre pieces for a Spiderman party, as well as milkshake bottle labels...

I wanted to try something different than my normal "scallop circle" background, so i thought what would be better than a spiderweb - goes with the theme - i think it turned out awesome...

And here's another view of the whole table:

The milkshake bottles were a little more tricky, as i had no template to work from - i downloaded the spiderman web off the internet, and added the little circle in the middle, and voila - easy peasy!!! Again, i think this turned out great:

I also made party goodies for a Smurf themed party - but those i will share another day... I'm busy working on Aiden's party goodies - he wants an "Alien Monster" theme, but i've decided that we're going with cute monsters, instead of scary ones...

I've teamed up with the very talented Lauren McKinsey, she's busy working on the cutest printables for the party - it's going to be the most amazing alien monster party this town has ever seen!!!

I'll be back again soon...

Liesl
xxx

Happy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:07:00 +0000

Trick or Treat!!! What an awesome time we had... Halloween is not as big in South Africa as it is in America, but we're getting there... I will be honest, i was blown away at how much effort some people put into decorating their homes, and the special sweetie treats they put together for the children...

Next year i will definitely be a little more creative when it comes to decorating the house - we only had some halloween garland on the front porch, but wait until next year, then it will be spectacular!!!

Aiden was dressed up like a pirate:

And his friend, Phillip, was a vampire!!!

When i lived in the US (i lived there for 4 years) - halloween was one of my most favourite holidays... We always use to dress up and take the kids trick or treating, and then go out afterwards - there was always some or other party going on somewhere - ai, the good old days...

Here are some pictures of the awesome treats we got - check out the little pumpkin - isn't it awesome!!

Yummy!!! Lots of sweeties - of course Aiden will have to share with mom!!!

This year i decided that i wanted to do something special for Aiden to take with to school, to share with all the friends in his class - i made little goodie bags, each bag had 2 coookies and a couple of sweeties - i'm sure i made a couple of hearts happy today...

Don't you just love the stamps - it's a Halloween stamp set from Hero Arts - i love their stamps... I stamped all over the little brown bags (it just looked way to plain without anything on it), and then made the little tags to go with it...

For the teacher, i made the same little bag, but with a different tag - oh, and i made Andrew take one with to work for their lady in the office - and she loved it as well...

I'm off to bed now, i can barely keep my eyes open...

I'll be back soon with some more awesome goodies to share...

Liesl
xxx

Welcome to the Circus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:14:00 +0000

I love love love the Circus - i wish the circus would come to our town again... Aiden would love to go - he's been to the circus once, but i think he was too young, so i don't think he remembers...

So when i was asked to make a couple of circus themed items, i was in my element...

I made this "Welcome to the Circus" sign for the door:

I made some food tags for the table:

And sweetie tags, oh and i almost forgot about the cones - here are some pics of the final set up:

And the rosettes on the back wall - i made those too... I love making rosettes, even though it's a lot of work, i just love the way it looks - it just adds that something special to any party...

Another super cute party - done and dusted!!! Roll on the next party...

We're in the process of putting in a swimming pool - today was only the second day of digging and i was told that they will finish the hole tomorrow, but they still have a lot to do, so let's wait and see first... The kids are soooo excited, they can't wait for the pool to be finished (not like they can swim yet, the weather is not exactly playing along)... We're hoping to have it all done by the middle to end of November - so i will post a pic once it's all done....

I'll share some quick pics of Aiden playing in the hole - he's having an absolute ball messing around in the dirt - i think he might be disappointed once the actual pool comes, because then he'll loose his playground...

Even our cat, Brandy, enjoys playing around in the "sandpit"... She blends in so well with the ground - you almost can't see her...

So once the pool is in, then only can we start looking at doing the garden - i cannot stand seeing the wall, it drives me mad... I want to have a beautiful green garden - when i look outside i want to see green - plants, trees - anything but a grey wall...

Anyway, i need to learn to have patience - i know this in not something that happens overnight...

I will keep everybody updated on the progress...

Liesl
xxx

Tangled Party

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:30:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago i was asked to make some party goodies - the theme of the party was "Tangled"... The colour scheme: pastel pink, blue, yellow and purple... The mom had some awesome invitations made by one of the sellers on Etsy (not sure who), as well as some cute cupcake topper circles... Instead of using the normal scallop circle punch for the toppers, we decided to use the shape of the sun from the actual Tangled movie (i just googled it, sized and printed it, and then the cutting started)... Of course you don't get a punch like that, so i cut them all out by hand... I think they turned out super cute!!!

She also wanted some bigger sun shapes, 3D, to hang up at the venue (party was at Eaglesvlei - one of many beautiful farms out in Stellenbosch)... Here's a picture of what it looked like - this just doesn't do it any justice...

And here's a picture of it hanging at the actual party - look at the backdrop - isn't it just stunning!!!

I also made some fairy wands to all the little girls (i think they bought some bubble swords for the boys - but i'm not sure)...

And here's a picture from the party:

Then, my most favourite item from the whole party - the party favour bags... You'll remember these - we did similar ones for the Pinkalicious party, we just added a little something extra...

The pink and purple ombre bags were for the girls - we added the little window and the long hair:

And the blue and yellow bags were for the boys - we still used the little window, but added two swords:

The last three pictures were taken at the party - i love to get the pictures afterwards, to see what it looks like when it all comes together...

I must say, if there is one item i love love love to make, it's the party favour bags - the possibilities are just endless, and i personally think that is the main item of the party, besides the birthday cake - oh, and of course the birthday girl or boy :)

I'll be back with some more party and crafty things soon...

Liesl
xxx

Crock Pot LOVE

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Tonight i'm sharing something a little out of the ordinary for me - a recipe!!! Originally i thought this blog would only be about all things paper and craft related, but i just had to share this one... I follow a lot of overseas blogs, and i always read about the "crock pot"... I found the most yummy looking recipe on Pinterest today, but it said that it's made using a crock pot - so i googled it, and to my shock i found out that a crock pot is actually a slow cooker (blond moment for me)...

I've had a slow cooker for such a long time, but i think i've used it once, because i don't have any recipes for it, so it's kind of been hiding in the back of one of the cupboards...

So while i was "playing" on Pinterest today, i came across this recipe:

http://crockingirls.com/recipes/crockin-ham-sweet-potato-casserole-crockin-brownies/

The picture caught my attention, and it just looked so YUMMY... I used Gammon - and let me tell you - it was DIVINE... I served it with rice, pumpkin and potatoes - mmmmmmmm....

It is the easiest recipe i've ever tried and it turned out delicious - definitely a keeper...

If you decide to try it - let me know, but trust me, you won't be sorry you did...

Liesl
xxx

Washi Tape

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:03:00 +0000

I have a new product that has triggered my interest - Washi Tape... I had no clue what this was, but every blog that i read and every crafty website i've been on, i've read about Washi tape - so of course i had to search high and low to find washi tape locally... A while ago i was looking for Bakers twine as well, and i found a lady named Cathy, who lives in Stellenbosch - she has her own stationery design studio at home where she makes the most beautiful stationery - go check it out: www.paperpeony.co.za

I was so excited to find out that not only does she sell bakers twine, but she also has washi tape... So on Friday Michelle and I visited her studio to "shop", and i got the most divine washi tape - here's a little preview of what i bought:

For those who don't know (yet): washi tape is like masking tape, but just much "prettier"... Cathy showed us some projects that she's made using washi tape - oh my word, the possibilities are endless... You can stick pictures to the wall, and when you're bored with those pictures, just pull it off, and the washi tape comes right off - no damage to the wall - it's amazing.... You can use it on presents, instead of ribbon - it looks so pretty...

Of course i'll be using it on some scrapbooking layouts, and another thing i want to try to make is bunting - i saw the most beautiful little bunting line - i can just picture this in my crafting space... I also saw a picture where somebody used the washi tape to cover wooden pegs - this is so awesome!!! You can stick a little piece of magnet on the back, and you'll have the most beautiful fridge magnets.. So many ideas - so little time...

Anyway, as soon as i've made my first "washi project", i will be sure to post it here and share the awesomeness with everybody....

Liesl
xxxx

Hello - I'm back again

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 09:07:00 +0000

First of all i have to apologise for being MIA again (tomorrow it will be a month ago that i last posted something on my blog - shocking!!!)... So many things have happened since my last post... My cousins son, Graham, passed away after a 2 year battle with Leukemia - very sad because he was only 29 years old... I wish i could have been there to say goodbye, but at least my mom, dad and sister were there to see him... I feel inspired by him - we are all so quick to complain about small things, and thru out his battle he never once complained, or felt sorry for himself - he smiled and lived life to the fullest... This puts things into perspective for me again - be thankful and grateful every day for what you have!!!

And then, drumroll please........... We've moved into our new house - and it's awesome!!! That is of course except for all the boxes and stuff that's still laying around... But i'm taking it one day at a time - i like having all my things in it's place, so this is driving me insane - all my crafty / scrapbooking stuff are still in boxes, because the "office / Liesl's crafting room" is not done yet!! Living out of boxes are not fun, but once everything is unpacked this house is going to be great...

At the moment i feel like this house has taken over my life!!! I'm feeling very frustrated, because i'm used to having my stuff organised and at the moment i don't know where anything is, but i'm sure that will all change soon...

We've had construction people in and out of our house, fixing a couple things, and then we've had blinds installed, burglar bars installed, kitchen is being re-done, etc... So we're living in "organised chaos"...

I will share 1 photo of the chaos, but that is it - i just can't get myself to add any more pictures, because it's not "pretty"... Once everything is done, and everything has found a special little place, then i'll be more than happy to share more pictures...

Today they're busy finishing my kitchen - this will be my proud and joy - ohhhhhhhh i can't wait for them to finish so i can sit back and enjoy it...

We had a meeting with a landscaper last night, so hopefully he'll be able to make the outside (front & back) look pretty... I am not a garden person - i want my garden to look beautiful, but i want somebody else to make it happen... I do not like sand under my nails - i'm a crafty person, give me paper and scissors and other beautiful things and i will make magic happen - but a garden, not so much!!!

So, watch this space for more "home" updates, and of course, i still have loads of other crafty projects to share...

Liesl
xxx

Go Stormers!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:14:00 +0000

It's been WAY too long since i've posted something on my blog... Life has just been so hectic on my side - we're moving in less than 2 weeks, so we're living in chaos... Hopefully in the new house i will have my own little crafting area, so no more crafting and scrapping at the dining room table (or wherever i can find an open spot)...

I've been busy again, making all sorts of invites and party decorations - the most beautiful things (even if i have to say so myself)...

My friend Lyndi asked me the other day to make birthday invitations for her son Louis birthday party - he's a big rugby fan, so they're going with the Stormers theme... She sent me a picture of the Stormers rugby jersey, and this is what i came up with...

I even copied the sponsor logo's, just to make it look exactly like the real thing:

The invitation is a normal fold open card, with all the party information on the inside:

And on the back, for the position number, we added the number 6 on all of the cards, seeing that Louis is turning 6, and i've added each childs name on the back of their "rugby jersey"...

The party is next weekend and i can't wait to see what Lyndi has in store for everybody - they always have the best birthday parties for their boys... And the birthday cake - i'm sure she'll come up with something spectacular - as usual...

I'll be back soon with some more pics from the other party goodies i've made...

Liesl
xxx