The New Craft Cupboard has Arrived

Well, actually it's not new at all. We had this old sideboard out by the pool. The doors had gotten pretty weathered and would not close properly. So, I took the doors off, moved the cupboard undercover and proceeded to make a craft cupboard for Rhianna and I to play in.

Most of the boxes we already had. The baskets were a cheap purchase from Go-Lo and all the supplies were moved from the laundry to their new home.

We made some pretty new labels using stickers, cardstock and ribbons.

We have a place for everything. And yes, I realise I have spelt stationery wrong.

Fun things to do every day.

You win some, you lose some....

Week 2 into my crochet class, the teacher thought it might be better if I tried my hand at knitting. Yes, I was a complete failure.

After getting me some knitting needles, she thought I should start on the sort of projects she teaches the dementia patients at the local nursing home. Am I really that tragic????

Luckily, I have a wonderful friend named Michelle who thinks I've just had the wrong teacher and has offered to teach me to crochet herself. Once I get over the embarrassment of failure I will take her up on the offer.

In the meantime I am knitting a blanket - patchwork style for Rhianna's bed. The photo has altered the colours a lot. It is actually a lovely pink square and the next lot on the needles is white. I figure I will have to knit at least 30 squares to make a blanket big enough for her bed so that should keep me busy (and warm) during the winter months.




I am having some success with the vegetarian thing though. My son has not cottoned on to the fact that he hasn't eaten red meat this week and some of the new recipes are turning out very nicely. Last night, I made this - which is a cheeesy mustard turnover. Everyone, even Miss R though this was a keeper.

And finally some recycled craft from Rhianna. Here she has made a texta container from half a cereal box, paddlepop sticks, some old bits of leftover scrapbook ribbon and some apple pictures cut from a magazine. She's so proud of it.

Have a great green weekend everybody.

One Man's Trash........

I am lucky to have a wonderful and very generous girlfriend living nearby. As well as helping each other out with our children and drinking lots and lots of coffee together, we also swap our trash. Now, I know that sounds weird, so let me explain...


Julie and I are both on a decluttering mission this year. But as we pack bags ready for the charity shops we swap them first so we can dig through each others clutter. We do this just in case there is something that may be useful to the other person. Very often there is.


Last month Julie was getting rid of these shoes. She just doesn't wear them. I've been looking for a pair of clog type shoes for ages and all they need is s polish. The black leather shoes will be great for winter and just need a resole at the cobblers (are they even called that anymore?)

Gotta love a girlfriend who is the same shoe size.

Julie is finally having her kitchen remodelled and she had this fabric up in front of her lower cupboards to hide the clutter. I had commented often how much I loved the fabric. (I must of known it was coming my way someday!) When it came down Julie asked if I could do something with it......

How about two new "vintage" looking pillowcases. I still love this fabric and now I get to rest my head on it every night. Thanks Julie.

My second Simple Savings tip of the month is to have an alcohol free month once a year. I have a friend who has been doing this for years. Hi Natalie. Natalie and her husband make February their "dry" month. It not only saves them money but detoxes them after the Xmas and New Year festivities.

I am making March my No Alcohol month as I know how much I like a red wine through those cool Autumn and freezing winter nights. So I thought I better get this tip out of the way as soon as possible.



Hope everyone is enjoying the change in the seasons.

Under the Kitchen Sink

I had a couple of things I had put aside to repurpose. Firstly, I had some old towels that were too threadbare to use so I decided to cut them into squares, hem them and pop them under the sink to use in place of paper towel where it is appropriate. I even had a little Ikea container hanging around to put them into.

Some polar fleece pajamas that used to belong to Rhianna. Apparently they are fabulous for dusting. So I cut the pajamas into as many small rectangles as I could get from the fabric. Now I can throw out all those old, odd socks I have been using for years.




This is the cupborad under the sink. It's such a boring little cupboard which is why it's so neglected. Look at the mess and look at the plastic bags. So very naughty. I pulled these out and took them all to my local IGA which recycles them and then I bought some biodegradable bin linens. Apart from the bin liners there are to be no more plastic bags coming into this house.

This is the after shot. New dusters and "paper towels" in place.

I then stuck some environmental reminders on the pipes under the sink to remind me and everybody else in the family that we are no longer a plastic bag family.

Weekend Fun

Rhianna and I are both a bit tired today so we decided just to hang out around the house and get into a couple of projects we had been talking about for a while.

I had this very large nightie from when I was pregnant with Rhianna. I loved the pattern of the fabric but it's synthetic and not very comfy for bed.

I'd splurged last year and bought a French Country nightie made from cotton so sheer, you felt like you were going to put your finger through it. I decided to make the nightie its own little pj bag for protection.

Old nightie

French Country nightie and bag

Of course, then Rhianna wanted a bag for her little nightie.

Rhianna had seen a project for apple printing she wanted to try. We had great fun printing with the apple halves and with some Gardenia leaves from beside the front door. We then decided to make some placemats for her friends at school. After gluing them onto A4 paper we laminated them. We are calling them "Back to school placemats"

Hope you are having a nice weekend with your loved ones too.

Repurposing

Before I throw or give anything away I ask myself to think outside the square for some other way in which to use the item. A couple of things I have repurposed lately are pictured below.

Magnetic L-Plates

My son recently got his license and his L-plates were no longer needed.

Now, he may be able to drive a car but he still can't tell if the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher are clean or dirty. Many times I have opened what I thought were clean plates and dishes to find Broc has thrown a cup and plate in there and contaminated the whole load.

So, I took 2 of the L-plates and glued them back to back (magnetic side out) and then decorated them with scrapbook paper. One side says "Dishes Dirty" and the other side says "Dishes Clean".
I then laminated it.

It sticks on the front of the dishwasher and when I turn the dishwasher on I turn the "Dishes are Clean" to the front. When I unstack the dishes, I turn "Dishes are Dirty" to the front.

Now there are no excuses.

Dollhouse

I purchased this lovely doll house for my daughter 2 years ago.. I think she's played with it about 5 times. And for around $200, I did not want to give it away or even Ebay it.

Then I realised it was just a bookcase with a roof on top. I've put all the dollhouse furniture into storage for when I do want to sell it, and in the meantime it's a handy toy storage unit.

Pink Fluffy Cuteness.

I found an old pink fluffy jumper in the local op shop the other day. The sort of jumper one would have worn with pride in about 1989. For $2 I snapped it up. Rhianna had been complaining that her desk chair was uncomfy - especially in Winter. Problem solved.

One cute pink pillow made and on the seat in half an hour. I had some iron on strawberries hanging around that I added at the last moment as a bit of interest.

One old jumper repurposed.