Rebekah on the beach.

Yesterday morning we went for a leisurely walk on the beach.  I took my new camera along to get to know it a bit more...  Here I just played around and snapped a few photographs of little Rebekah.   I thought she looked too adorable:)

52 Crafts in 52 Weeks – Week Five

Sorry for posting this a day late - yesterday was very, very busy and I didn't get to finish writing!!

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a fantastic weekend with your family and friends!  Today is Monday and time for another 2013 craft project to be featured! 

This week the four older girls in our family (Mom, Nancy, Beth and I) had a craft evening on our own.  My dad had to stay at work for a late meeting and the little ones went to bed early so we had peace and quiet (lol!) for our lovely crafting session...

 

 

We tried our hand at making clothes-peg magnets.  The instructions for this craft can be found at Ideas Magazine’s website HERE. 

Covering the clothes-pegs with paper or pictures is very easy – you really are just doing a mini decoupage project!

We have decided we will make a whole lot of clothes-peg magnets and then package a few coordinating ones to give as gifts to special ladies...  Not only are the magnets practical for displaying artwork on your fridge or to hold a note with a telephone number, recipe to try, etc, but they also look so beautiful and add a unique and lovely touch to your kitchen...

Lots of crafty love,

Kelly

P.S.  I had a very busy week last week and I was out almost every day, so I didn’t have sufficient time to put together the fabric covered journal and diary tutorial, but I will set aside a few hours in the days ahead to finish it before the day comes for sharing the next craft...

And before I go, here is my verse for last week...

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:14

And my verse for this week is...

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

52 Crafts in 52 Weeks – Week Four

Good evening everyone!  Welcome back to another craft project for 2013!  This week we have been very busy designing and making fabric covered diaries and journals.  Unfortunately we are still working out and experimenting with the different measurements for a tutorial so I will only be able to share this fabulous craft with you next time...

Today however I am showing you a very simple project that is easy to make and perfect as gifts.  Clue:  It smells lovely, looks pretty and can be used to wash your hands...the answer is beautiful fabric and lace wrapped soaps!

The only things you will need to make a small stash of these cute soaps is...

Assorted scented soaps of your choice (We used a delicious pomegranate, rooibos and Shea butter  soaps.)

Patterned fabric of your choice, cut to a size that will adequately cover the soap you're using once wrapped.

Assorted ribbon and lace of your choice.

Double sided tape, material scissors, a ruler and a marker.

1.  Using a ruler and marker, measure and cut the fabric to fit the soap.  Remember you will be wrapping the soap like a present.

2.  Place the soap in the middle of the fabric and carefully fold two of the oppsite sides together.  You will need to make a little fold on one side of the fabric to form a neat edge.  Secure with double sided tape.

3.  Next you will need to fold over the other two sides and secure with double sided tape.  Fold as if you are wrapping your friend's birthday present in normal wrapping paper.  Hide the ugly frayed edges by folding and then securing with double sided tape.  It does take some practice to get your soap beautifully wrapped with a nice, neat finish.

4.  Now you can choose the lace/ribbon you want to use and finish off your soap by wrapping some around your soap and securing with a knot or bow.  Experiment with different ways...

You could also try wrapping a two or three soaps in coordinating fabrics and then tying one larger piece of ribbon or lace around all of them.  This makes a stunning gift for a hostess or a sewing enthusiast as they not only get the lovely soap as a gift, but also a beautiful piece of fabric and lace to use in a future sewing project!  If you have people staying with you for a while, lay folded towels on their beds with beautifully wrapped soaps.  Choose flavours to match a person's personality.  Otherwise just pop one or two into a gift bag along with the main present...

...And as the soap rests in the fabric, it will start giving off a lovely smell again.  I left some wrapped soap on a shelf in my bedroom and now I catch a delicious whiff of pomegranate whenever I walk into my room!

This idea was adapted from 'Sarah Moore's Homemade Gifts Vintage Style'.  Buy now from Loot.co.za

Till next time!

Kelly
x

P.S.  As I wasn't able to post last week's verse on my blog (week number four), I have decided to share it today...

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”  Acts 16:31

52 Crafts in 52 Weeks – Week Three and a Summer Giveaway!

Hello everyone!  I can't believe another week has already come and gone!  Today is Monday and that means it is time for another craft project to be featured here, the third of fifty two!

This week we tried potato printing.  We made a strawberry design with a cookie cutter in a potato and then had fun printing on card stock which we cut to different shapes and sizes...

The idea is from 'Ideas Magazine' April – 2012.

After we had printed to our hearts' content, we either folded, neatened or punched holes in the cards to make postcards, tags, wrapping paper, mini cards and larger cards.  Then we used double-sided tape to secure some pretty ribbons to each one...

Such a simple and fun craft, but so effective!

...And before I end off this post, I would like to share a little surprise with you all...

As it is almost a year since the last time I hosted a giveaway on Beautiful Girlhood, I decided to have another one to celebrate the lovely hot weather we are experiencing here in South Africa and to thank my lovely followers for sticking by me even when I neglect my blog for a few weeks at a time!

I am offering this lovely set of colourful printed strawberry stationery to one lucky follower...

The gift includes 1x wrapping paper (30cm x 15cm); 2x large card (15cm x 15cm); 2x postcards (9.5cm x 14cm); 2x mini cards (8cm x 9xm) and 2x gift tags (8cm x 10cm).

Each card and tag was lovingly handmade by me for you...

The giveaway will work as follows:

The giveaway is open to any reader anywhere in world.  The prize will be posted to the winner.

It will start today and end on the 5th of February.  The winner will be randomly picked and announced on the 7th of February.

How to enter:

All you need to do to enter is become a follower.   If you don't already follow me via Google Friend Connect, then you can do so by clicking on the 'join this site' button on my sidebar.  This is mandatory.  By following my blog you gain one entry.  Please let me know if you've begun following or if you are already a follower by leaving me a comment below.  Only those readers that tell me they've joined will be entered into this giveaway.

I understand that many of you struggle with leaving comments.  If this is your case, please don't let that hinder you!  You are more than welcome to send an email entry to me at kelly.beautifulgirlhood@gmail.com once you've joined.

If you would like a few more chances of winning, then you can share about my giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc.  Please leave another comment telling me where you've shared my giveaway.  One entry per place it is shared...

...And now let the fun begin!  I will not reply to any of your comments as I normally try to do, but please know that I read each and every one of your notes and that they never cease to bring a smile to my face!!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

P.S. My verse for last week (week three of fifty two) was Mark 16:15 “Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”

52 Weeks 52 Crafts Challenge - Week Two

 Hello everyone!  I'm so sorry I did not get to post the next craft project here on time!  Yesterday morning the younger girls woke up with a cold and my mom had to go out for the whole morning to buy school supplies and visit the library (no easy task for our large family - 51 books all in all!).  Nancy and I were also a little under the weather, so it just wasn't a good day for blogging! 

*****

My sister was a given a beautiful book by Sarah Moore for Christmas on making vintage-style gifts.  The one idea featured  was a cake stand made out of pretty side plates, saucers and serving plates.  When we began planning my 16th birthday  'Vintage Tea', we all agreed that we would definitely make such a cake stand to display all our eats!  

 

My mom has a beautiful little collection of vintage crockery that she started collecting a long time ago.   A lot of it is from her granny, so it is very old and definitely vintage.   Instead of storing the crockery in the cupboard, we decided to upcycle it into a practical and useful cake stand...

This is the second craft of our '52 Weeks 52 Crafts Challenge'. 

....And this is what the cake stand looked like at my tea party...

 

Have a lovely week further!

Kelly

 

Next craft due on January the 21st...