Quote of the month - December

"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all."

 - OSCAR WILDE -

Christmas Cards

Christmas is just around the corner, and it's time to start planning and preparing for Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, and all that Christmas shopping. Fortunately we can find a lot of these things online, which is a total time-saver, with our busy lives. Here are some of my newest creations for original, unique, handmade, personalized Christmas cards for that special someone in your life.

 This cute Santa Claus card is great for children. 

Christmas tree card

A classy approach, with traditional Christmas colours, (which I love by the way) these cards are for your special someone, personalized with your own message.

Red Christmas tree card

Christmas gift card

And for those "Frozen" lovers out there, a personalized Frozen Christmas Card - Handmade, with rhinestones. I'm sure every girl will love this card.

Free Printable: Lists

Our super busy lives can make us go crazy! We all need to have something that helps us remember everything we need to do and put everything in order. Whether it's shopping, house chores or ideas we have. Some people use their diary to jot things down, others use an app, and others use lists and notes. I personally use lists a lot.  

Here are some freebie lists for you to print at home: 

Shopping list

cleaning list 

Notes!  

You will need: a printer, paper, scissors or cutting knife.

How to print: Click on the links above and click print. 

Enjoy!!

Colour of the Month - Purple

Purple - a blend of red and blue.

Thought to resemble royalty, luxury, faith, religion and also magic.

100 purple stars confetti  /  Thank you card 

I personally associate the colour purple, with the smell of lavender and Amethyst gemstones (my favourite.)
I don't really wear purple clothes too much, but I do like using it in design. 




In marketing and branding Purple is considered to represent a creative and imaginative brand and is used a lot in beauty products. 

source: http://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2013/08/how-colors-influence-people-psychology.html

Quote of the Month - October

"It takes a lot of work to make something seem effortless" - Alexander Isley -  

The Frog

What's the first thing that comes in your mind when you hear the word "Frog"? 

Well for me it's Disney's animated movie "The princess and the frog" and Kermit the Frog! 

Frogs are the most beloved cute animals. I guess it's because they are a bit funny looking. As I totally love them, I use them in my creations. 

If you see below are a few samples of my own creations (Birthday Invitation, Birthday Card, Art Print) with a Frog theme and also two finds I stumbled upon in Etsy which are really sweet. A Crochet Pattern Frog, by YukiYarn Designs in The Netherlands and a Newborn Frog Hat by Knit and Crochet Land in Poland.

Quote of the month - August

"Life simply is too short to drink bad wine, wear uncomfortable shoes and live with bad design!"

Pizza made Easy

I am not an expert cook but these recipes I will share with you are tried and tested and they taste wonderful.  Starting here is my easy Pizza that I make often.

Last year I spent hours trying to make a nice pizza dough, from different recipes.. Well it didn't happen. So I decided that I would make my life easier. I went out and bought some tortilla wraps and used them for a base. Sometimes I buy the Lebanese pitta bread, or you can even use slice bread (but that's another recipe).

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

4 Tortilla wraps or Pitta bread

For the sauce:
1 can of chopped tomatoes
Some basil, salt, pepper

Toppings:
About 500gr grated cheese (mozzarella, edam, cheddar)
2-3 slices of ham or turkey ham cut into little squares,
salami slices
red and yellow peppers ( about half each cut into small pieces)
some olives
a small bowl of sweetcorn

Method:
Mix the chopped tomatoes, basil, pepper and salt in the mixer.
With a spoon, spread the sauce on the 4 tortillas.
Add some of the grated cheese on top.

Now the ingredients for the toppings are ideas so here are some combinations:
Pizza 1: turkey ham, peppers, corn and olives
Pizza 2: Salami, sweetcorn
Pizza 3: peppers, sweetcorn
Pizza 4: just cheese

After adding these ingredients on you pizza, add the rest of the cheese on top of each pizza and sprinkle some basil on top.

Place in a preheated oven at 200˚C and bake for about 5-10 minutes (until the cheese melts and is golden.)

Enjoy with family and friends!

Quote of the Month - June

"A day without laughter is a day wasted" - Charlie Chaplin -

Personalized age birthday cards

New cards in my Etsy shop! Make it a special birthday with your very own wish on the card.

Valentines Day

Valentines day is coming soon. Have you thought about your loved one's gift yet? How about a Valentine's Day card to say "I love you"...

"For you see, 

each day I love you more

Today more than yesterday

and less than tomorrow."

Rosemonde Gerard

"Be completely humble and gentle;

be patient, bearing with one another in love."

Ephesians 4:2

"Love doesn't make the world go round. 

Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

Franklin P. Jones

5 Tips for Managing Time

Here I am again, it's a new year and I'm hoping that this year I will have more time to make time for new ideas and creations. So starting out, I have written down some tips for managing time. 

Trying to manage a small business, an online shop, can be very difficult. Especially if you have a full time day job, a little toddler running around the house, and all those chores like laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Yeap that's me!  I'm always having problems with managing my time, as many things come along every day, to fill up my schedule. But I have so many ideas and things I want to do and create that I will find the time.

Hopefully these tips will help you as they will help me too.

1. Lists! Yes that's right. To do lists are my favourite thing in the world. I have different list. For example. Shopping list, Home cleaning list, Things to make, Etsy shop list, Gift list, Food ideas list, Creative ideas list, and I can go on for ages. Lists basically help me clear my mind. I have it all on paper, in my lovely diary (which I bought from Busy B).
Of course a to do list, can get you carried away, and you could write an awful lot of things that would not be possible to finish in 1 day.
So I suggest, when making your list, place the most important things on top, and consider how much time you need for each task. Therefore you can manage your lists and not add things you know you won't have time doing.

2. Clean Up! It's good to have your work-space clean and clear of bits and pieces before you start working on a new project. This way your mind is clear.

3. Take short breaks! For a cup of tea, for some biscuits, or fruit, or a bite to eat. Your brain needs food and drink to work and perform better. And remember the most important (which I usually forget) DRINK WATER. 

4. Switch off your phone and internet! We can get very distracted with all this new technology and social media going on around us. If you really want to work and concentrate I do suggest it's a good idea to turn off your phone, or just "forget" your phone in the other room. 

5. Make time! Sometimes we just really need to make the effort and make time. Especially, if you have a full time job, and manage a small business at home, through Etsy or any other place and space. Now that I have a baby and my free time is limited, I just decide what is most important for me. For example, do I want to bake a cake, watch TV or work on my blog, site, shop.? That's the most difficult thing. But if you want to grow your business then you have to make sacrifices from other small things you like doing.