Doda's Creative Wanderings

A recycling challenge...

2012-02-02T14:42:00.001Z

Does the cost of fancy papers put you off cardmaking? Never fear. If you have a few paper punches in your arsenal, it is possible to produce cards relatively cheaply. Here I have issued myself a challenge. Decorate a card using packaging material.

I received this sweet little body wash set for my birthday in January. I have started using it, but instead of putting the card packaging in my recycle bin, I am going to use it to decorate a greetings card.
I'm not going to allow myself anything else for embellishing the card.

A few dabs of Craft Tacky Glue later...

OK, so it won't win any design awards, but I knocked this up pretty quick. I even had enough of the packaging left over for another card.

It was relatively thin card, but it did punch really easily with the Tonic Studios Simplicity Geared punches. Now I have a couple of cheap and cheerful cards to add to the collection !

Do you think I should send the thankyou card to the person who gave me the shower gel to see if they notice what it was made from?

Tonic Studio Tools used...
Simplicity geared punch classics
Petal pairs box set 2 and Petal Pairs petite 1
Craft Tacky Glue
Shape mates

Over at Blog Tonic I have the same post but have also included a little challenge to YOU to make a recycled packaging card. Come on over and join us.

A Thankyou card

2012-01-30T11:57:00.000Z

It's always good to keep a handy stash of thankyou cards so I added this card to my box today.

The flower is made with a pearl topped pin, a couple of tiny flower punchouts and three of the bigger flower. I glued the top part of the flower to the card to hold it in place but the rest is free to be fluffed up.

I'd just like to point out - the pointy part of the pin is well ensconced within the top layer so hopefully my recipient's finger won't be pricked. We wouldn't want them falling asleep for 100 years now would we !

Tonic Studios Punches used.
Simplicity geared pattern punch - Daisy Border
Simplicity geared classics - flower head
Ribbon Punch - 1cm

An anniversary card

2012-01-26T08:30:00.000Z

I was playing around with my Birdy Paper punch and used it to make this card for my parents. I'm ahead of schedule for once! I've been rather behind with everything lately!

I'm really loving the pink and grey scheme at the moment. I got a small reel of lovely cotton dusky pink ribbon. It wasn't wide enough to back the Birdies though. But never fear, I raided my stash of old roller blind samples from way back when my Dad used to sell them as a part-time extra job and I found a sample which was the perfect colour. Just goes to show you should hang onto your craft stash 'cos you never know when it might come in useful.

I'm loving all the texture too. Little details like this can make all the difference.

I stuck the insert to the inside front to keep it all looking neat.

Tonic Studios Punches used...

Simplicity geared punch - Birdy
Simplicity geared classics - Flower Head
Mini Punch - Traditional heart
Ribbon Punch - 1cm

Cupcake tic tac toe

2012-01-25T13:59:00.000Z

I wasn't going to blog about this, but my husband thought I should - he said it was a really cute idea. (Aww I love my husband!)

I made this little game of Tic Tac Toe for my five year old by printing out my cupcake illustrations onto card and then laminating them using sticky backed plastic, and cutting them out. The board was simply made from squares of patterned paper stuck onto white card.

(The board size is 6 inches square.)

...and that's all there is to it!

It's all in the presentation

2012-01-24T10:20:00.000Z

If you've followed my blog for a while, you may know that I absolutely love making boxes. When I go to the trouble of making handmade gift, I like to go the extra mile and make a handmade box to present it in. I had great fun decorating these boxes with a simple ribbon and flower embellishment.

To stick on the ribbon , I used some double sided sticky tape. I stick this to the box once I have cut and scored the template, but before sticking the box together. If you would like to make a similar sized box you could use my Playing Card Box template. I love to use Tonic Studios Super Trimmer to cut and score my box templates. It makes the job so quick and easy. I cut out all the outer edges with the trimmer and then cut the fiddly bits with my favourite scissors. The scoring is so easy to do with the Super trimmer, and it makes such a neat job. I used to do it with a ruler and a scoring tool, (and if that's all you have it will still work fine), but I would recommend the Super Trimmer to you. It goes so much quicker. I use it so much I'll be needing replacement blades very soon!

For the flower I punched out 5 flower shapes out of thin card, and then curled the edges of the petals inwards. I then layered the flowers with a small dot of glue in the centre of each one. I pressed each flower in place until the glue dried using the eraser end of a pencil. I then finished off the flower with a jewel in the centre and glued it in place on the box. The finished flower is pretty sturdy. Because it is made of card and the layers are offset, it holds up well and can't be squashed easily. And doesn't it look pretty !

P.S. If you would like the opportunity to win a paper punch. Don't forget to enter Tonic Studios Giveaway which runs until February the 14th.

yummy cake

2012-01-20T12:49:00.000Z

I just had to show you the lovely birthday cake Naomi, my eldest daughter made for me the other day. I haven't been feeling that great for the last couple of weeks, but I was made to feel like a princess on my birthday and I was totally spoilt. Shame one only has birthdays once a year isn't it?
Time to go hang up the washing and do some ironing now! Bleugh!

Score

2012-01-17T12:02:00.001Z

Hi there. Hope you are having a good day!
I won a box of books for a snip at my local auction last week. Among them was this dictionary from 1867. I bought the books for collage and upcycling, but I can't bring myself to chop into this one. Look at the marbling on the edge...

...gorgeous isn't it?
In the pile was a very tatty Hawes' Bible volume 1 from some time in the 1700s.

So old..amazing. But as I say...rather tatty, so I won't feel too bad chopping it up.

But it is a privilege to handle something of that age and wonder about all the people that have read this before me...in a way it is good that it is so scruffy, because it means it has been well read and appreciated. I just love old books. Do you?

A GREAT GIVEAWAY !

2012-01-12T16:51:00.000Z

Hi there ! I wanted to let you know about the great Simplicity Geared Punch Giveaway over at Blog Tonic

Drop over to their blog now and see how you can enter to win one of these fabulous punches. They are so easy to use and will be a wonderful addition to your crafting range. Trouble is, once you'v got one, you might just have to have them all!

Happy New Year

2012-01-11T13:27:00.000Z

Hello everyone. A very happy 2012 to you all. No, I haven't been hibernating. Only very, very busy. During the school and university holidays the house has been full and it has been a blessing. Now that they have all returned to their various educational establishments I am trying to de-clutter, scrub and make the place presentable. We have a viewer coming to look at the house this Saturday, so I have an incentive to make it look its best.

While I am cleaning I have been looking around at all the changes we have made since we bought the place. I think sometimes it is the little details that can make all the difference.
So I sharing with you a couple of little ways we changed things, maybe it will inspire you to look at the little details that might improve your home.

Are any of you stuck with these ugly plastic air vents in your wall?
Let's be honest, they don't add a whole lot of style to a room do they? Practical, yes. They let the room breathe and help prevent dampness, but I am afraid I loathe the look of them. We had them in two of our bedrooms. So I replaced them with this...

It looks so much prettier don't you think? They come from a company called Jali.
I am not totally sure if they still make this small size of grill but they do custom orders so they probably would be able to do something similar. Now this design has a large open shape and we didn't want bugs to come into the room, so I bought a piece of aluminium mesh from Halfords and it was enough to make two backing pieces for my air vents. Problem solved.

Another little detail was added from Jali in our kitchen. We replaced some wooden doors with some glass ones on our cabinets. Unfortunately the edge of the shelving inside had been done very badly and so didn't look too hot showing through the glass. I bought some edging strip and attached it to the edge of the shelves and now it looks luverly. It's one of these little details that has made a lovely finishing touch to the styling of the room.

Well...I really better get back to the cleaning. There are a whole lot of dust bunnies lurking around here.

Later x

I gave my love a cherry...

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000Z

These are quick and easy to make and taste delicious !

Simply take glacé cherries and wrap them with marzipan, then dip them in melted white chocolate and cover with your choice of sprinkles.

You could present them in a pretty box or tin, or wrap some in a cellophane bag tied with a bow.

...and they really are that easy - and they really are that delicious!!!

Yum yummy yum yum!

Happy Hannuka

2011-12-22T09:30:00.003Z

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, come light the Menorah,

Let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora.
Gather round the table, we'll give you a treat.

S'vivon to play with, and Latkes to eat.

And while we are playing,

The candles are burning low.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light,
To remind us of days long ago;
One for each night, they shed a sweet light,
To remind us of days long ago;

(You can hear the song here)

It's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht!

2011-12-21T13:33:00.004Z

I wanted to share a couple of photos from last week. They were taken at around 11pm. There was snow on the ground, the moon was out and it was so bright it looked almost like the daytime.

It was crisp, serene and beautiful, and if it hadn't been so slippy on the road, I would have loved to have gone for a walk in it. Gorgeous. I wish I could bottle the atmosphere for you and post it to you.

As the Scottish saying goes...

"It's a braw, bricht, moonlicht nicht the nicht."

("It's a beautiful, bright moonlit night tonight")

Salty pin cushion

2011-12-09T10:19:00.000Z

I'm posting over at It's a Creative World today about my salt cellar pin cushion. Why not drop by and have a look.

We had a power outage from 6pm last night until about 10am this morning. I'm glad we have a log fire in our living room! The only damage that we can see so far due to the high winds is a fence panel has blown down. I'm glad the storm is over! It was a bit wild out there.

December is here!

2011-12-07T11:48:00.000Z

Winter has brought us it's first snow. It's been like this for about 3 days although there is a sign of a thaw today. The little birdies have been very thankful for the nuts we've put out for them. (Well, they didn't leave me a note or anything, but they do look thankful!)

My parents have been visiting since Sunday, so there has not been much crafting going on in the last few days, but I am spending today tidying up and getting ready to get back to business.

more pencils

2011-11-29T17:50:00.000Z

I just added this box of pencils to my shop. Wrapped with an engine diagram from a wonderful but tatty vintage encyclopaedia .

I'm still using up my 2 metres of fabric

2011-11-28T20:16:00.000Z

I've had my Toyota sewing machine since I got married some 20 or so years ago. It was bought with wedding present money from my grandfather. It is still working fine and I don't desire another - (except for maybe the old hand cranked Singer machine that was my grandmothers!! - My mum looks after that for now)
I have been enjoying using this ticking fabric and am managing to squeeze quite a few projects out of the 2 metres that I bought.

I thought - what if the sewing machine fancied itself as a Singer - so I embellished with a Citrasolv transfer. I wasn't sure which one I liked best so I have one on either side!

I think it looks rather grand now - well certainly compared to the ripped plastic cover it was wearing last week!

I still have some fabric left...there will be more projects. I am determined to use every last centimetre!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:13:00.000Z

I give thanks !

Just how far will 2 metres go?

2011-11-23T12:51:00.000Z

Hi there! I've just finished making a loose cover for this comfortable chair we use at the computer desk. I had ordered 2 metres of lovely upholstery quality ticking fabric for another project, but when it arrived the colour was darker than I expected so it didn't work for my original intended project. It is a dark indigo stripe, but really looks so dark it is almost black. It is gorgeous weight fabric to work with and I thought it would be perfect for this chair which was starting to look a bit grubby.

The photo does not show all the dirt- just as well! This chair is a Laura Ashley dining chair I bought at auction a few years ago for £1 ! It had a navy blue slipcover on it, but it shrunk badly when I washed it - and I never liked it that much anyway, so we have been using it in it's natural state- perfect for picking up dirty marks!

The ticking fabric frays quite bad so I decided to buy some bias binding and cover all the internal seams. Nothing like making hard work for yourself. I have to say I did a really bad job with the seam covering- not neat at all, but they are covered and they won't fray now, and who is going to see them anyway - oh oh! I just showed you, that was silly!!!

I only had enough in my purse to buy 2 metres of bias binding tape and it was JUST enough. I only had a tiny bit over. Phew!

Doing upholstery is a bit like childbirth! It's a bit of a struggle and sometimes you don't even think you'll get there, but once it is over, you forget all the hassles and pain and are chuffed to bits with your new baby! I'm delighted with mine!

Now I have some fabric left over...I have some plans...

I'm going to cover this seat I bought last week at auction for £2. It had a little woodworm, but I have treated it now. It's a lovely solid made chair.

And if there is enough fabric left after that, I am going to make a cover for my sewing machine. The horrible plastic one that it came with (some 20 years ago) is beginning to fall to bits. It needs something cute to replace it.

Have suitcase...will travel!

2011-11-18T18:12:00.000Z

I just spent a morning wrapping pencils! I think I'm all mod podged out now. I'll get onto a different project next week :-)
I made two cute little suitcase matchboxes for world map pencils. It seemed fitting.

Have a great weekend, and if you are travelling...be careful...it's a jungle out there!

Making foiled flower decorations

2011-11-16T09:43:00.000Z

Do you like the effect of these foil decorations on my greetings card? When you see them in person, they look like they have been foil printed onto the card because they are very smooth. Or perhaps they could even be peel offs. But no, they were much cheaper to make than that.

They started life as a roll of 3m Aluminium tape. The kind you use for DIY. All you need then are some flower punches. I've used my Tonic Studios flower punches here.

All you need to do is punch out a few flowers and carefully peel off the backing paper- this is a bit fiddly- but worth it. Then apply to your card or scrapbook page smoothing it out carefully. Then use the bottom of a glass and rub in circular motion over the flower to burnish it to your page- this removes any catchy bits. For the finishing touch use a sharpish pencil and draw in lines and designs however you want the flower to look. I think the finished result is very satisfying.

For this one I used one of my Petal Pairs punches and a heart punch to make a leaf shape.

Believe me, you can get a whole lot of flowers out of one roll of tape. And you can use so many different punch shapes with this technique. Just try to keep to ones that are not too fiddly.
Have fun, and let me know if you try this.

Free Playing Card Box Template

2011-11-15T09:48:00.000Z

Out of necessity, I made a template for a box to fit a pack of playing cards. These are nice cards, but the box was beginning to fall apart. I thought I would share the template with you. If you bought some quality playing cards you could make a special personalised box and it would make a thoughtful gift.

Of course, you don't have to use it for giving playing cards in. It would work equally well for jewellery or any other small gift .
I used a spare information card to decorate the top of my box. This was at the suggestion of my 5 year old! She does have some smart ideas !

I used a circle punch to take a chunk out of the sides of the base of the box, to help get the cards out. But you can also do this on the lid of the box- that is a more normal thing to do.
The template should be printed out onto the reverse side of your card. it is made to fit A4 card. Then cut on the solid lines and score the dotted lines. Glue the tabs to the inner side first and then fold over all the flaps and glue. Hopefully you'll be able to work it out. Let me know if there are any problems and I'll try and sort them.

Because I have uploaded a PDF file, I have used a file share system. This is the first time I have done this so please let me know if you have any difficulty accessing the file.
So without further ado...the link to the template can be found Here

New Journal...

2011-11-10T19:27:00.000Z

I've just listed this sweet little journal on Etsy. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Making a towel fancy and showing off my shower room

2011-11-09T10:10:00.000Z

I have just finished sticking a bit of wallpaper in our shower room. I wish I had photos from 'before' but I never thought to take any. Believe me, it was not pretty. Mismatching ...well everything was mismatching. And the tile effect wallpaper and flowery tiles that were in the shower...and the shower enclosure...and the lighting...yeuch!

As we have our house on the market now - I thought I would dress up some hand towels to put out for viewings - should anyone ever come see our house! The market is so very slow right now and it is the wrong time of year...but I know it only takes one buyer. Anyhoo...here's how to jazz up a plain white boring towel - mine was from Asdas. Choose a towel that has a plain woven strip along one edge...this makes it easier to sew to.

Find a strip of fabric a little wider than the towel and a little longer than the depth of the woven strip. Using your iron, turn the raw edges over to make the dimensions match the strip on your towel and press neatly. Then all you need to do is pin in place and stitch either using a machine or by hand. I did mine by hand so that the stitching is invisible, and also because at that moment my machine was in for repair!

So I placed the towel in the afore mentioned shower room and decided that the room is still looking a bit bare, so I took another scrap of fabric and rustled up a quick pelmet.

There, I think that looks better. I'll play around with accessories a bit now.

I'm happy with that now I think. I am pleased with the wallpaper. I'm not really a big wallpaper fan, but the wall needed more than a bit of paint. It has the look of dragged paintwork in a pale grey. It finishes the room off nicely.

And seeing as how I am showing you this room I have to mention the loo roll holder. There was hardly any room to place one here so I had a hunt on the internet for one that I liked that was set into the wall. The only ones I could find were in the US and I didn't want to pay large shipping charges, so I got my dad to make me one. He did a fantastic job don't you think? It fits in perfectly and is unobtrusive but still looks stylish. Thanks Dad!

winter beach trip

2011-11-08T16:29:00.000Z

On Saturday it was a crisp and sunny November day so we went to Nairn beach. We always ask ourselves why we don't go more often because as soon as we arrive and smell the salt air and hear the crashing waves, all stress disappears.

Splashing in the sea in your wellies is great fun, and all was going well until she underestimated the depth !!! Brrr! Just as well I brought a change of clothing.

Standing atop the dunes looking out to sea...nothing but beach for miles and miles.

You might just be able to spot me lurking beneath the sand dune here. I hate seeing myself in photos, so that's about all you're going to get for now :-)

Sigh! I hope I can go back there soon.

making a throw...

2011-11-04T12:22:00.003Z

I promised you I would show you how to make a throw from a cheap store bought fleece throw and some toile fabric the same size. The reason for using cheap store bought fleece was I figured that it was not as expensive as fleece fabric per metre - it would probably cost twice as much. The fleece cost me less than £3. The toile I had was a remnant so was not expensive either. I have made this one a birthday gift for a friend. She doesn't read this blog - I hope!

Before you do anything to your fabric, you can embellish the fleece side- this is optional. I did an applique in felt and embroidered my friend's name. I chose a pheasant because I was looking at one in the forest at the back of my house while I was trying to decide what to do.

Once that's done, pin the right sides together of your fleece and fabric. My fleece throw had hems- some don't, if they have hems, just keep your line of sewing in a bit so that you can lose the hem when you trim.

I used my newly serviced machine - why did I wait so long, it's running like a dream now! Sew right the way round leaving a gap of about 8 inches so you can turn the fabric. Trim the excess fabric off once you have sewn round it.

Turn the right way around...

...and press carefully.

Now sew twice round leaving about a 2 inch space between each border. I use a bit of masking tape stuck on the sewing plate of my machine to line up the fabric to. I used brown for my top thread and white for my bottom thread.

Don't forget to oversew the gap.

And that is pretty much it. And if she is in the mood for fleecy and cosy she can use this side.

And if she is in the mood for a spot of toile, she can use the other.
I hope she likes it, and I hope I have inspired you.

How I did the fabric transfer

2011-11-02T09:04:00.000Z

I'm posting over at It's a Creative World today on how I did the fabric transfer for the cover of my most recent journal. If you want to know how I did it, then check it out.

Yet another journal

2011-10-29T12:43:00.000+01:00

I wanted to show you this latest journal I have made. It was a request from Naomi (older daughter) for a little book to write down her photography ideas and inspirations. She wanted me to use vintage photographs on the cover.

I wanted to make it more hard wearing than just a paper cover, so I used a technique to transfer a toner print onto fabric. This was my first attempt and so I could possibly have achieved a clearer output if I had worked at it more, but in fact I really like the aged worn look and think it works well for this project.

I used a good quality sketch paper that will accept most mediums and sewed it together using a hidden long-stitch binding.

Because the paper was thick I made 6 signatures of four sheets each.

The picture in the corner of the above picture was my aunt as a child. She passed away yesterday at age 83. She had dementia and it was sad that she went downhill so quickly.

I liked the way the paper I used for the transfer had an almost vellum quality about it once it was used, so I used it for an inner paper.
I was really pleased with how this little book turned out and so thanks to Naomi for the inspiration, I shall be doing some more with the vintage photos. Watch this space.

On another note, I should be able to get with some sewing projects now as I have just picked up my sewing machine from the repair shop!!!

Yummy!

2011-10-20T17:58:00.000+01:00

Naomi (my elder daughter) baked us this delicious raspberry cake yesterday. It was absolutely scrumptious!

I'd say come on over and try a bit, but I am afraid to say there is not a crumb left!! Sorry ;-)
Thanks, Naomi - we love your cakes! (And your photographs.)

Paper punches - they're not just for cardmakers

2011-10-19T16:45:00.001+01:00

I recently received a few new gorgeous Tonic Studios border and edger punches to try out. I must say, this Daisy border punch is now one of my favourite punches. It's so versatile. I made this card to send to friends who just got married. I made quite a fancy card- different to my usual clean and simple style.

I used several layers of vellum and shiny gold paper to create the layered effect. The rosette was made from vellum and because I object to sending things through the post in special sized boxes ('cos of the price), I flattened the concertina flower down in a spiral fashion so that it would fit into a regular envelope. I also made great use of the teeny little flowers that are punched out of the border- you might be able to spot some of them in some of my tiny journal creations too. They are so delicate and sweet. I also used the flower head punch and the punched out shapes from the multi detail heart (punched out of tomato paste tube - yet again!!!)

Oh, I must also give you a quick tip for sticking down lace onto a card. First I use a scrap of paper and spread PVA glue in a strip the same size as the lace. Then I stick the lace onto the glue and lift it up again and it picks up the glue it needs. Then I stick it onto my card. That way you don't get bits of glue everywhere.

OK, paper punches are wonderful for cardmakers, but there is so much more you can do...
...what about making a delicate tea light holder.

It makes really pretty shadows and is a lovely winter décor idea and could also be used for dressing up a wedding table. You could personalise these with any text you wanted. So soft and delicate.

I used my edger punch on some vellum and using a strip of double sided tape I stuck it around a straight sided glass jar. I wrote peace on a strip of vellum cut to size and put through my Dymo embossing labeller. I also stuck on the punched out Daisies and I think it looks really lacy.

Another idea for using your border punch is to make some decorative shelf edging.

I used some pages from my vintage encyclopaedias. I cut strips from a few pages and got rid of all the white edges. Then I joined the strips side by side with some double sided tape and got busy with my edger punch.These punches must be the easiest border punches I have ever used! Virtually effortless!

I think it looks really effective, don't you? I love the vintage look!

And I have one more idea for using a border punch and this idea comes from my 5 year old little girl. The punch used here is the stars border from Tonic Studios.

They're purrrrrrfect for making tiny crowns for itty bitty kittys!!!

...So like I said...not just for cardmakers!!!

key ring journals

2011-10-19T15:25:00.000+01:00

Four teeny weeny key ring journals to go into my Etsy shop.

They turned out really cute!

itty bitty journals

2011-10-14T15:58:00.000+01:00

Now that my niece has got her birthday present, I can show you some of the things I made for her. This is a little personalised journal. I used some toile and some vintage lace trim and personalised it with my Dymo again. (See last post)

I also made her a teeny little domino journal with a two and a five on it, because she is now 25!

I also made an itty bitty little key ring journal. ( I had such fun with this one, I'm now making a batch similar to this one for my Etsy shop!)

Do you like the foil flower on the cover? I'll be showing you how to make those soon!

another journal

2011-10-13T17:17:00.000+01:00

Another result of my recent bout of journal making. This one will be going in my etsy shop sometime I think.

It comes in it's own little slip cover, just like my leather bible.

It is made from some vintage leather and has multi coloured pages for jotting down or doodling anything that inspires you.

The word INSPIRATION on the cover is made from tomato paste tube, put through my little DYMO labeller. I'm putting all kinds of things through my DYMO at the moment just for fun! I'll show you more of that another post.

little email address book

2011-10-12T14:36:00.000+01:00

This is a little personalised journal I made for a dear friend. She had some problems accessing her email and her contacts list, so once she got back into it I thought this would be a useful gift for her so she could make a paper back up copy of her friends email addresses - just in case.

She was delighted and thought it was a super idea.

I love being able to make things for people...don't you?

coming soon...

2011-10-10T12:23:00.000+01:00

Hi there, there is not got much to update with this week it's mid term school holidays right now, but thought I'd let you know what will be coming shortly.

I will be showing you how to make a nice throw using a ready made cheap fleece throw and some fabric.

...and i'll be showing you how to jazz up a plain guest towel...

I am also working on a cupcake box template for you, so once that is tweaked and perfected, I shall be sharing that...

...and, once I get them photographed, I'll let you see some other little journals I've been working on.

For all those on holiday this coming week, have fun with your family making happy memories :-)

Happy New Year

2011-09-30T16:25:00.000+01:00

To those of you who are celebrating the Jewish New Year and Festivals right now,

May your year be sweet and your days be long!

Wedding Stationery Sample

2011-09-29T17:12:00.000+01:00

I have been doing some sample wedding invitations for a friend who gets married next June. Here is the design I like the best so far. (Of course the choice won't actually be mine.)

I seem to always lean towards clean designs when it comes to Wedding Invitations.

Anyhoo, The front design is very simple. I printed the text with a font from here. For the little motif, I used the crossing hearts paper punch from Tonic Studios.

For the inside I wanted to make slits to slide in the silver insert rather than just sticking it down, so I rummaged through my punches to see what I could think of and came up with this idea. I used this two in one paper punch

I removed the corner punching guides and simply lined up the punch with the edges of the card. To get the right size for the insert, I measured between the top and bottom points, and the outermost points and made the card just a fraction smaller.

Because I used a contrasting colour insert I think it looks pretty from the back too.
(I imagine it might be possible to do this with other corner punches that have a removable guide.)

I am thinking I could also use this idea for making small cards for inserting store gift tokens.

for you birdy lovers out there....

2011-09-27T09:59:00.000+01:00

I came across this and thought it was hilarious!
I love anything birdy, but...well, watch the video and be afraid...very afraid!

blanket box makeover

2011-09-27T09:35:00.000+01:00

I finally got around to painting this blanket box. (What do you call these in the States?)

It had been stripped and sanded ready to paint about ten years ago, but it never was very high on the priority list. But I had some cream paint left over from another project and so I decided to use it up rather than keeping a small amount in the tin to dry up.

This was what it looked like before!

I used this graphic from the Graphics Fairy.

I had some carbon copy paper leftover from when my mum was a typist. I printed out two copies, one reversed, and then I traced the outlines on top of the carbon paper onto my box. I adjusted the design a little bit as I didn't want the stick thing that goes diagonally across the basket. I then painted the design with black acrylic artists paint. There are some differences between the left and right one because there was about a month in between each image, but I think that just adds to the handpainted look.

My intention was not to leave it in this state. My intention was to distress the piece and then antique wax it. But I have chickened out of doing that for now as I have got used to it as it is. However, once the piece starts to naturally distress over time- and it will- I shall help it along a bit.

At least I finally painted it!

What do you call a whole lot of pencils?

2011-09-26T14:05:00.000+01:00

A whole gaggle of pencils wrapped with vintage encyclopaedia pages and old maps, and packaged in my handmade boxes, will be in my Etsy shop very soon...

pencil boxes

2011-09-20T11:08:00.001+01:00

This is my latest thing. Vintage encyclopaedia wrapped mini pencils.

When I get around to it, I'll be adding some to my Etsy shop.

8 to a box - they are so cute!

a handmade box - of course!

I love little things! Don't you?

They even will come with a poem!

Age old book,
Tattered, torn.
Cover loose,
Pages worn.
Ruler, knife,
pencils, glue.
Turn it into
something new.

(Do I need my head examined?)

and another one...

2011-09-19T14:03:00.000+01:00

My poor family...they just don't understand why I keep making little boxes!

It gives me great pleasure to design and make them! I don't know why myself!

This is a little gift set I just finished. I think I will pop it in my Etsy shop soon...

It's a little journal with hand embroidered cover upcycled from denim from my son's jeans.

(It's OK- he had finished with them.)

The journal has a pretty bookmark ribbon, and comes with 4 little pencils, an eraser and a sharpener. Everything you need for a little sketching session.

The box is lined with smaller boxes inside- it took a while to get the template just right!

Actual size of the journal is 3" by 2, 1/4"

another little journal

2011-09-15T10:38:00.000+01:00

This one is 3" by 4, 1/2" approx.

another box...

2011-09-14T17:22:00.000+01:00

Another box !

What's inside?

a little handmade journal...

...to jot down ideas and inspirations

It's only little though...

...so my thoughts better not be too big!

daisy chain

2011-09-13T16:02:00.000+01:00

I was fixing a necklace for a friend the other day, so I thought while the beads are out I'll see if I still have my beading mojo. I decided I don't - for the time being anyway! This was my attempt at a daisy chain with seed beads. Last time I made one of these was about ten years ago and I am sure they turned out much better then. I think the problem was my thread was not fine and flexible enough.

(Bad workmen always blame their tools you know!)

If you'd like to give it a try, you can find instructions here.

Anyway...back to the paper-crafting for now.

Hello!

2011-09-08T09:16:00.000+01:00

I have my parents visiting this week and this morning is the first time the sun has come out. Hope it will stay dry today!

I am itching to get back to my papercrafting at the moment. Also I just got a sample of fabric with my shell drawing on it, from Spoonflower and I can't wait to put it at the centre of a cushion, so the sewing machine might be coming out to play soon too.

Matchbook notebook tutorial

2011-09-07T15:12:00.002+01:00

Here is how to make a little matchbook notebook.

I'll try to keep the instructions as simple as possible-

it's not rocket science after all ;-)

Feel free to change the sizes to suit yourself.

This is the size that works for me. :-)

Cut your card in a 2, 1/8" strip (I'm using A4 card)

I used my Tonic Studios handy Super Trimmer,
Score your card at 1/2", 3/4", 3,1/4" 3, 1/2"
If you don't have one of these you could always use
a ruler and a biro that has run out of ink as your scoring implement.

Now cut to 5, 5/8"

Tada! Now for the inside..

( This is an additional step you can do if you own a perforating tool like this rotary perforator.)
I like to add this step to my matchbook notebooks so that it is easy to tear a page out neatly from the stack. Each notebook only uses two pieces of paper.

It takes more time to make, but I think the finished result is worth the effort.
Using the perforator cut longways down an A4 piece of paper at 1/4" , 2, 5/8", and 5".

Then trim the paper across the way into 2" strips

and then into 2, 3/8" lengths

Stack them neatly, aligning them by tapping the edge on a flat surface, then clip together at the end opposite the perforations with a bulldog clip. I use a little scrap of paper to protect the stack from being indented by the clip.

Using another scrap of paper the same width, make a little hole template with which to mark out the holes. You can see the diagram to get the right idea for hole spacing.

Pierce the holes in the cover using the same template.

Using embroidery floss sew from the front to the back leaving a little tail to tie, then stitch back over so you end up with a complete stitch and two tails to the front.

Tie in a double knot and trim leaving about 1/4" for decorative effect.
I think this effect looks quite Japanese.

Use a decorative punch for the front cover, or you can embellish any other way your choose.
I used my little birdy punch from Tonic Studios.

and there you have it. A lovely little gift item that could be used for wedding favours, or party bags, or any other reason you choose.

(joined linky party at http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/)

from boxes to notebooks!

2011-09-02T12:02:00.000+01:00

I've moved on from the boxes now. I've been making these cute little matchbook notelets.
I'll let you know how I made them soon. They're really fun and would make a nice little gift to pop in an envelope with a card. Or in a goody bag at partys. I'm on the lookout for miniature pencils now. Anyone know where I can find a supplier in the UK?

And the winners are.....

2011-09-01T14:21:00.000+01:00

OK, so it is now 2pm not 12pm, but I was out getting some shopping earlier.

So here goes...

the winners of the Tonic Studios Birdy punch are...

Hearts and Cupcakes

check out her cute blog!

(comment number 17)

and

Rozi

Yey Rozi !!!! (I won a lovely blog giveaway from Rozi a few years back )

You should check out her beautiful handmade books!

(comment number 1)

Congratulations girls...please let me have your addresses!

cart before the horse

2011-08-31T15:40:00.001+01:00

I'm slowly working myself up to doing some serious crafting, but I have a strange back to front way of doing things. I like to get all my little boxes ready before I start making the jewellery to put in them.

Actually I find it quite therapeutic to cut, score and stick. Now I am in the mood to try my hand at a little notebook or some other paper items .

My other job for today is to embroider my little girls name onto a plain black fabric bag I have so that she can use it at school for her gym kit. Exciting stuff!

PS. Last chance to enter my blog giveaway ...drawing is tomorrow.

Etsy Shop update

2011-08-26T09:07:00.001+01:00

Hi, just wanted to let you know I am finally getting around to putting some things into my Etsy shop. Hopefully more will go in next week.

My little girl will be going to school for the whole day as of next week. Think of all that time I'll have to start doing things once again. 9 o'clock until 3 o'clock. I am sure the time will fly by though, so I need to get myself a bit organised.

You wouldn't believe the amount of time I waste just hunting for things for a project. I wish I had a special room only for my craft stuff.

On that note, we have someone coming to view the house tomorrow. I am not holding out a huge amount of hope as they are still in the position of having to sell their property first, but at least we have some interest, so thank you Lord!

PS. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a cute birdy paper punch.

times they are a changing...

2011-08-23T15:25:00.000+01:00

My precious little 5 year old is now a schoolgirl. Here she is concentrating hard on her very first homework ever!
There have been more than a few tears...and all of them have been from me! She is settling in fine.
I have been keeping myself busy. One thing I did was to repair a bad chip in a beautiful very large blue and white china bowl I bought recently at my local auction.

It cost me £10 with a lovely delftware plate that I have hanging in my bathroom. I repaired the chip with an epoxy product called Milliput. It goes really hard.

Then I used my acrylic paints to disguise the white patch. Unless you stare at it really hard, it looks fine. It's probably not the way a proper china restorer would do it, but it worked for me :-)

Time for a Giveaway

2011-08-17T09:37:00.002+01:00

Hi !
Some of you might remember that I designed this little birdy paper punch for Tonic Studios.

Well good news...I now have a couple of these to give away. The punch is one of their Simplicity Geared Punches which makes using it a breeze.
Hardly any effort is required to punch through paper or card.

Would you like to get your paws on one?

I have two to giveaway.
This giveaway is open to everyone.

Here's what you need to do...

1.Leave me a comment telling me how you would use your Birdy Punch for one entry...

2.Become a follower and leave me a comment to let me know for a second entry.

3.For a third entry you could post about it on your facebook or twitter or blog...leave me a comment letting me know where.

Please make sure I have some way of contacting you if you win!

The time of the draw is noon on 1st September 2011

Drawing is closed now...winners have been announced :-)

Angel Delight Cake Frosting

2011-08-12T14:13:00.001+01:00

Apologies to all my international readers, but this little handy tip might only be of use to you if you are in the UK.

It happened out of necessity. I had a cake to ice but had no butter or anything else to make butter icing, all I had was a packet of Angel Delight butterscotch flavour. I mixed it with half the quantity of milk advised and then added icing sugar until it was cake frosting consistency. If you add even more icing sugar to make a stiffer paste you could use a piping bag, so I may do this next time. If you use skimmed milk, then this is a much much lower fat option than regular butter icing, and I have to tell you...it was DELICIOUS !

Really finger lickingly delicious! I had enough to top and fill a regular sponge cake and some left over for a batch of cupcakes. It kept fine in the fridge for a week.
Now I can't wait to try this with the other flavours available!!!

Hello!

2011-08-09T12:57:00.000+01:00

Hi there,well, looks like I'll be waiting a long while for something to happen regarding selling our home. The one couple who were very interested found somewhere else, and we've not had so much as a peep since then. I have placed an advert in the local papers to go out later this week, so I shall see if anything happens from that.

It's a bit disappointing, but in today's current economic climate I guess I can't be too surprised.

The summer holidays are fast drawing to a close and I can't believe the time has flown by so fast. My little girl starts school in just a couple of weeks. Gasp! My baby girl!

(funny self portrait taken in the back of the car)

waiting...

2011-07-14T15:02:00.000+01:00

Feverfew in the garden by Naomi

It's been a week or so since our house has gone on the market, and we've had one very interested viewer so far. We're just waiting to see what happens next. Watch this space.

oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

2011-07-07T14:22:00.000+01:00

On Monday it was the first time it has been warm enough in a LONG time!

So we headed for Chanonry beach.

We all enjoyed a paddle. And my girls had great fun making cool shadows.

I love my little girls hat. It is from the 1940s. It belonged to my mother when she was little and I am sure I must have worn it too. It is still in perfect condition and is completely reversible. I should try to make a pattern from it and make a few more.

Naomi took some cool pictures. You might want to check out her latest blog.

I really like these photos she took...

It's been a while

2011-06-29T14:17:00.000+01:00

I've been rather absent in bloggyland lately. Apologies for that. Life has been very hectic in preparation for selling our home. At last it is very nearly on the market. Final details are being worked out as I write. It is such a relief to arrive at this point in time, and exciting as well as we await the next step in our adventure.

I'll need to get around to showing you some more makeovers that we have made on the house sometime. At present, I'm sitting here waiting to hear from the Estate Agent about when our advert goes live.

The hardest part is going to be keeping the place tidy for viewings. Not easy when my 5 year old treasure loves to trail an assortment of items from one room to another and create impromtu sculptures/ shops/ cafes etc.

Cute and quick cupcake decorating

2011-05-25T09:23:00.000+01:00

Would you like to decorate some cupcakes for a party, yet have no cake decorating skills? Then read on...
Now I wish I had the decorating skills of my talented nieces who make incredible edible things like this out of sugar!

...but lets face it I don't. (Oh, BTW if you are getting married in the UK and need an amazing cake topper let me know and I'll put you in touch with them).

So anyway, for this simple and effective little decoration, perfect for afternoon tea parties or little girls birthday parties...all you need is some wafer paper or rice paper and a decorative paper punch. I used my Tonic Studios butterfly punch. If you are going to dedicate a new punch to this task, then do use it a few times first on some regular clean white paper to get rid of any residual fluid that is used for lubrication of the punch mechanism - you don't want be eating any of that!

Punch out your pretty designs in the wafer paper. I gently folded my butterflies and then stuck the fold into my wet icing.

For the body of the butterfly - which just added a bit of fun (although it looks just as effective without), I cut some strawberry laces into little pieces and then snipped along them to split them into antennae.

If you want to make your creations even fancier you could use some decorative cupcake cases. Now have a fun tea party!

(The cake was out of focus here, but isn't the columbine lovely!!!)

kitchen - the makeover

2011-05-18T15:10:00.002+01:00

Hello there ! I know my posting has been a bit non existent lately. We've had more than a few computer issues, but I think we're getting there now. I thought it was about time I shared another makeover with you.

This was the messy kitchen not long after we had moved into our house a few years ago. Please note the large blue bathroom style tiles on the wall, the brown tile effect wallpaper and the brown woodwork. It wasn't really my dream kitchen !

The floor is tiled and I strongly dislike it, but I am afraid I don't have the money or the energy to do anything about that, so that is staying!

But, it's amazing what you can do with a bit of paint.

This is the same kitchen. It took a LOT of work. The large rayburn cooker was replaced and due to that we had to redo the tiles on the top of the counters. ( I know you probably think I'm mad to have ripped out a rayburn, but it ran on oil and we couldn't even afford to turn it up hot enough to cook anything as it seemed like it just ate fuel. So in the interests of being able to afford to eat, it went.) We couldn't find the right tiles to replace the missing ones, so I ripped off all the tile on top of the units and scrubbed and scraped all the adhesive off, then bought a similar one and laid them in a chequer board pattern with the original ones. It's subtle, but it works. The cooker hood was originally a beaten copper effect thing which we ripped out and I recovered it with beadboard.

The units and all the ugly brown woodwork were painted in Farrow and Ball paint - (House White was the shade). The shelves behind the glass doors which were damaged and ugly were edged with a decorative strip from Jali. New handles for the units made a huge difference. I love cup handles! The nasty big blue tiles were ripped off and replaced with beadboard which I painted in an off white. I tiled behind the hob with white tiles. I redid the ceiling which was artex swirls and had a large rectangle cut-out where a striplight was housed behind some ugly plastic. The kitchen taps were replaced with a much more stylish and user friendly mixer. The walls were painted in a soft green- I forget what the shade was though.

...and the floor...well, I still hate it, but we are going to sell the house soon - hopefully - so I shall be laying down a large rug to minimise the effect of the tiled area.

Would I paint kitchen units again? - Absolutely! It can turn drab into fab!

(Now if I can just keep the counter-tops that tidy, I'll be winning!)

Linking to Met Monday at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

A sneaky peek!

2011-04-27T15:28:00.000+01:00

Here's a little peek at the new birdy punch I have designed for Tonic Studios.
It should be in the craft shops in the not too distant future.

I sneaked a little play with mine today (although I am supposed to be tidying the house).
Here's a quick thankyou card I rustled up.
I used the Tonic Studio's shape cutters for the swish, and the Tim Holtz distresser for the edges of the greeting. For the little birdys I used a tomato paste tube. You can learn more about that here.

Coconut pyramids

2011-04-19T16:33:00.000+01:00

It's time to make a whole load of coconut pyramids again. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic. I've been Spring cleaning the house and getting ready for Passover as well as getting ready to put our house on the market. If you'd like the recipe for coconut pyramids, you can find it here.

We eat coconut pyramids to remind us of the straw and mud bricks that the Israelites made to build Pharoh's treasure cities.

Exodus 1:14 ...and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.

However, it's no hardship to eat them...they're yummy. (Although I'll probably not be saying that by day 7!)

Apple Cake - Yum Yum

2011-04-01T14:57:00.002+01:00

Mmmmmmmm! Can you smell this? It's just out the oven - cinnamon apple cake. It's what's for dessert tonight.

Very easy to make and very yummy served warm with a little (or large) scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients...

Approx 5 Granny Smith's apples - (or you could buy your own - joke) Actually any apples will do.

60gm chopped dates

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 chicken eggs - or one duck egg. Just to be different today, I used a goose egg! Yes, really!

150gm of brown sugar

150gm self raising flour

I mixed the flour, egg and cinnamon and sugar together with my electric mixer. Then I stirred in the apples and dates, and chucked the lot in an oiled tin for about 30-40 minutes at around 180 degrees celcius. Tonight, I'll just cut the size of slice we each want and microwave for about 40 seconds per slice on full power, then add ice cream and eat. Then collapse feeling totally stuffed!

It is best served warm because it is a fat free recipe (apart from the fat in the eggs) and so it is not as moist as some recipes, but it is perfect when warm. All that appley cinnamony goodness! Yummmm!!!!

Here's another cake, as designed by my 4 year old. She says she wants this cake for her birthday in May! Might be a bit more of a challenge!

Spring has Sprung

2011-03-29T14:51:00.000+01:00

I think it's finally safe to say that spring has sprung here in the Highlands- we're always a bit behind everywhere else! It's thrilling to see the signs of new growth in the earth, and the promise of much beauty to come.

I have been busy with the decorating and clearing out and spring cleaning. I have much to do, but seeing the blossoms and having the lighter nights is giving me a little more energy.
I am thankful!

(Naomi, my older daughter took these pretty photos.)

Silhouette

2011-03-15T14:45:00.001Z

Here's an easy peasy craft. Silhouettes are all over blog land just now, so I know I'm doing nothing new, but I thought I'd share my method in case you want to give it a try my way.

I've been meaning to do a silhouette of my little girl for a while now, little did I realise that trying to get a decent side-on photo of her could be so tricky! So, this is your first stage. Get a good profile shot against a light coloured wall.

Once you are happy with your image, adjust the contrast with your photo editing software and print out one the right size for your mount. You might need to experiment a bit to get this just right.

I have to admit, once I had decided on this image and tried to cut it out, I realised it would look better if her mouth was closed so I printed a few more images until I was happy with the result.

I carefully cut around the edges of the picture rounding off the neck area in traditional silhouette fashion.

I then flipped it over and while it was held it in place with a tiny bit of double sided tape I drew around it onto nice quality black paper with a white sharp pencil.

Then I cut out the black paper, adding some wisps of hair with fine cuts made with tiny decoupage scissors from Tonic Studios. They are ideal for this. I also used my knife to cut out a few bits in the pony tail to make it look more authentic.When I was finished, I flipped over the black paper and it was the right way round again.

Now it was time to decide on papers for mounting my silhouette. I chose some scrap booking papers and a page out of a vintage encyclopedia. I used the oval Shape mates to cut the apertures for the mount. I decided to do a double mount.

I wish I'd had the Shape Mate a long time ago. I once overpaid to get an oval mount cut for a vintage photograph. Now I can do it myself. (Do remember to use acid free card if you are going to mount old photographs.)

I laid it all out until I was happy with the result and then stuck the lot together with double sided tape.

I had an old frame that was a bit scruffy. It was once gold but now faded to a dull brown, so I gave it a couple of coats of artists acrylic black paint.

I'm quite pleased with the result. I might try a few more now.

Someone else thought it wasn't too shabby either. I do wish I'd brushed her hair before I took this photo !!!

A Time Waster!

2011-03-11T09:20:00.000Z

I was just checking my website and realised I still had this silly fishy pairs game I made from my fish doodles. Click on the image to take you to the game. Have fun!

The Long Haul/hall - the reveal

2011-03-09T17:32:00.000Z

The hall is finally finished! Yippee!

I've been taking a trip down memory lane. When we started renovating this house, I did not think to take before photos of everywhere, so all I have managed to find are a couple of photos of my kids. I don't think they'll thank me for posting these. Here is my son quite a few years ago standing in the hall. (He's 19 now, 20 this year). We started ripping things out of the hall a long time ago, then I had a baby who will be 5 this May, and things never got done until very recently.

By this time we had ripped off a fancy border, taken down a picture rail and party removed some damaged crown moulding. It was looking really pretty!

We've been living with it looking like this for so long, that we got kind of used to it. People would visit and ask if we were in the middle of decorating and I would answer, "Well, sort of "... this went on for several years!

Here's Naomi who is now 17. Awww wasn't she sweet. Looking a bit bedraggled here after a day at primary school.

So now, very thankfully the hall looks like this.....

Phew!

That's better, I've been waiting a long time for this. Oh, and a big thank you to Leslie who showed me the wonderful beadboard wallpaper which covered up my terrible walls very well!

Face to face

2011-03-04T14:23:00.000Z

I have spent a very pleasant morning with a lovely lady I met through blogging. Monika from Red to White. We have been in contact with each other on and off for some time now but this is the first time we have met face to face, and it was wonderful to meet this amazingly talented lady in person.

I encourage you to check out her myriad of fabulous felt creations, many of which are available at her Etsy shop. I love to read in her blog how she goes from inspiration through the processes to reach the final created garment. This lady is a true artist!

It's the first time I've ever met up with a bloggy friend and I'm pleased to say it was a delightful experience. We had much in common and had no trouble finding things to talk about. I forgot to take any photos of our meeting I'm afraid, but here she is modelling one of her fabulous cowls.

I am now also the delighted owner of one of her beautiful hydrangea brooches. Thankyou Monika! I love it! It was so good to finally meet up with you. I look forward to the next time :-)

Vintage Leather

2011-03-01T14:50:00.001Z

I finished this chair yesterday after I finally found the piece of leather I'd been looking for (while looking for something else of course). The cushion is one I made a long time ago. It is crazy patchwork and incorporates some hand drawn butterflies. It is trimmed with my favourite red pom poms. I love pom pom trim! Sad, but true!

Here it the chair in it's before state.

It was another one of my £1 auction bargains. I think it looks quite "gentleman's study" now. I love the look of the vintage leather, and I only bent a few of the brass upholstery nails in the process!

I had a little scrap of leather left over, so I upcycled an evaporated milk tin and made a nice pen pot to go with the desk mat and the chair.

I cut the leather to size and then ran it through my "ready for a service" sewing machine before glueing it onto the tin. It's an easy make but looks quite classy. If you have any scraps of old leather, this would make a nice gift for the man in your life.

Bathroom - the makeover

2011-02-28T14:42:00.000Z

I thought it was about time I showed you some of the changes we have made in this house before we finish it and hopefully sell up and move to another.

I'm starting off with our bathroom. Now when we started work on the bathroom I didn't keep a blog, and it never occured to me to take good BEFORE shots, so I apologise for the few pictures that I have, but I think you'll get the general idea. It was horrible!

The ceiling was swirly artex, and because we ripped out some units and a big block wall that contained the shower unit, it was patchy and nasty.

Also there was a long striplight inset into the ceiling and it had been framed with dark stained pine and fitted with a patterned plastic. This photo was after we'd ripped off the dark frame and plastic.

The shower was disgusting and dark and dingy and seemed to overpower the room. This was after we'd taken away a panel that went from the top of the door to the ceiling. Yeugh!

We'd just ripped out the large corner avocado coloured bath in this picture. It was on a raised area of flooring all covered with cork tiles and I was forever stubbing my toe on it when I went past to the toilet. The walls had been stripped of the charming brown and beige tile effect vinyl wallpaper. Are you getting the idea? Not really what one would call an attractive bathroom.

Sorry I don't have more before photos to show you just how yucky it was.

OK...so this is what we've done....

Important change no. 1. Put in a white suite. We also put in a new window. There is nothing but forest behind us so no need for typical bathroom window glass. It gives a much more open feel.

I used MDF beadboard and painted it in a lovely blue shade. In retrospect, I might have painted it in pale gray or white had I known we'd be moving so soon, but the paint was in the reduced section for £1 a tin, and I bought about 8 tins, so blue it shall stay!

Now that the block wall is down, the room feels twice as big. There is space for this lovely old chest of drawers which I got from my friends garage. We keep all our toiletries and towels in there. The mirror on the top came from the auction for £15.

The lovely balloon back chair was another auction bargain for only £5. One day I'll recover the seat, but I don't really mind the shabby old velvet. I've grown kind of fond of it.

The table was £1 at auction and the corner cupboard £3. The shabby painted shelf was made by my dad for a previous kitchen but I don't have anywhere to put it in my present kitchen, so it ended up in here. As you can see we had the ceiling plastered and installed downlighters.

If I had a wide angle lens perhaps you'd get a better idea. Hope you can spot the improvement!

I might show you the kitchen next.

Thrifty Thursday- In the Picture

2011-02-24T13:21:00.001Z

We've recently finished decorating our hall. In fact the carpet has just been laid - yippeee! It's a very long hallway and now needs some artwork. But my budget for it is pretty much zero, so I have been busy with the paintbrush recolouring some frames I already had so that they would fit in better. This horse picture was £1 a long time agon in a charity shop. The frame is really nasty cheap pine, and it has acrylic instead of glass, but with the black paint it suddenly looks quite classy.

I usually use artists acrylic black paint on my frames as I like the matt black finish and adhesion is good with this paint. Two coats is usually enough although I sometimes do three. Give the frame a light sand first and then clean it with a cleaning wipe, or some sugar soap and a lint free cloth before painting to make sure there is no grease on the frame.

This frame came from Lidls in a sale bin and was only £3. But it was a silver colour. I thought I'd be smart and use some blackboard paint that I had bought a long while ago, BIG mistake. The paint was oil based and had separated really badly, I did my best to mix it and afer three coats with a days drying time in between, it still looked bad and some bits just weren't going to dry properly, and so I had to wipe off what I could with some White Spirit and then used my usual artists acrylic paint. I'll know next time! The three chairs came from the wonderful graphics fairy. I printed them out the right size onto some lovely pearlised paper and stuck them in the frame. I think the finished effect looks much more expensive than £3 don't you?

I didn't have the heart to paint the frame for this one. It is a beautifully embroidered picture I bought at my local auction for £8. I really love it just as it is so the frame will have to not quite go!

A Quick Lid Tip

2011-02-18T14:09:00.001Z

Yet again it has been too crazy busy a week to do a Thrifty Thursday. I am just dropping by to say hi, it's going to be a busy weekend. I have two house guests as well as my son coming home for the weekend, and my daughter Naomi gets Baptised on Sunday. Should be a good time!

I have finally finished painting the panelling in my little girl's room. It took a while. I'll show you the finished room next week.

And I leave you with another one of the uses for bottle lids. I use them to prop up small items for painting to keep them from sticking to the newspaper underneath. Very handy! I'm on a bit of a picture frame painting frenzy at the moment. I'm trying to reuse what I have already to save me from spending anything.

A New Blog for you...

2011-02-15T10:48:00.000Z

Just a little note to tell you about the other blog I have started. I shall be using it to post my collection of vintage images. It will make it easier for you to find, and easier for me to catalogue. I hope you will enjoy using the images.

It is only a baby blog at the moment, but I hope it will grow and be of use to all you crafters out there. Please enjoy...

Thrifty Thursday

2011-02-10T09:00:00.001Z

This week I wanted to tell you about my thrifty grandparents. It also gives me an excuse to share some lovely old photographs with you. I enjoy looking over old family photos and imagining what life was like for my mother and her two sisters as young girls. I hope you enjoy looking at them too!

I was over at Funky Junks blog today. Her use of crates for storage around the house got me to thinking of a special crate that I own. It must be about 65 years old and belonged to my grandmother. My mother can remember her using Darkoline Woodstain on it.

The box came from the local greengrocers and originally contained Jaffa Oranges. My mother used it as a bedside cabinet as a young girl and can remember a little lace doily and a bedside lamp sitting on it . I have used it for various things over the years but for a while it has been hidden in my wardrobe where it has been serving as a little storage shelf. I thought it was time to bring it out and let it see daylight again.

How clever of my grandmother to see the beauty in this little bit of wood. I'm sure she never imagined it would become a treasured possession of mine.

My grandparents lived in a charming house in Morningside in Edinburgh, Scotland after moving up from Birmingham, England in the 1940s. I was wondering why my grandmother would have used an orange crate as furniture, but I guess she was just into upcycling long before it became trendy. My mum thought perhaps there was a shortage of goods in wartime and so she was just being inventive. The photo above shows my mum to the right and her two sisters middle and left. Behind them are a couple of neighbours and my grandmother.
My grandfather was as an industrial chemist, I love this photo of him in a lab.

My grandfather was very good with his recycling too. He used to methodically go through the mail every day and fold and cut all the envelopes that arrived into neat little bits of paper with his paper knife so that they could be used as scrap paper. A little pad of this paper held together with a bulldog clip used to sit in the kitchen ready for making shopping lists or jotting down notes. I still have some of his recycled envelopes in our Scrabble box where they were used for writing down scores. I couldn't part them. Precious memories. ( He always beat me at Scrabble!)
Here are some more lovely pictures...

Check out those baggy trousers!!! :-)

and check out the swimming cossie!! Trendy huh? The little girl in the picture is my aunt - my mother's older sister .

Here is my grandmother with the same aunt.

and my grandfather as a young man.

On top of the crate are photos of my great grandparents on my maternal grandmothers side. They were named Abraham and Sarah,and they came from Austria and Poland. The little chair belonged to my my mother's older sister who is now in her 80s and the Cheeky Teddy bear belonged to her younger sister who sadly died of a brain tumour a few years ago. The cushions I made a long time ago. I hand painted the butterflies with fabric paint onto some nice thick cotton, and the floral cushion I embroidered before I had any children so about 20 years ago.
I hope you have enjoyed reading a little of my family history.

PS. I'm joining Funky Junks Copy Me Challenge here

Love is...

2011-02-09T09:04:00.021Z

OK, you're gonna think I'm a real party pooper here, but I have to be honest with you, we don't do Valentines Day in our house. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against telling your loved ones how special they are to you. I think every day is good for telling someone how precious they are and how much they mean to you. Life on this earth is short, we shouldn't waste time waiting for that one day a year to tell them! I nearly lost my husband last year to a heart attack, I was so glad that just a few short hours before I had told him I loved him. We should treasure every moment with our loved ones. Every second is a gift.

I was researching the origins of Valentines Day. There seem to be various explanations - some of them a little dubious sounding, but apparently it wasn't until about 1382 in Chaucer's poem Parlement of Foules that Valentines day became associated with romantic love. That's a pretty old tradition! If you want to learn more about Valentines Day, you can check it out on Wikepedia.

OK, despite not partaking in Valentines Day, I do have a sweet little craft for you that you can use as a valentines gift, or you could just enjoy as a quirky little decorative item in your home.

Hearts and Flowers part 2. (For part 1. See this post)

You will need a flower punch and a heart punch. I'm using my Tonic Studio's punches again.
Some florists wire, I don't know what gauge I was using, some was thin for adding the leaves and the other for the stems was thicker. Sorry I am not more helpful there!
And you will need some small buttons or jewels for the centre of the flowers.

I used some vintage encyclopedia pages that contained just text, and my assistant (age 4) used watercolour paint to make a couple of green pages and a few brown tinged pages.
I then used the green paper to punch out some flowers and a few hearts for leaves, and the brown paper for the hearts. You'll need 2 flowers and 12 hearts per flower, and 2 hearts per leaf.

I stuck a heart onto each of the flower petals. I then layered two completed flowers together and hot glued them onto the thicker wire. To make this easier, using needlenose pliers, I formed a flat spiral at the top of the wire so that the glue had something to stick to. To finish the flowers I stuck on some lovely little mother of pearl buttons. You can then curl and adjust the petals on the flowers to give them a more realistic look - realistic? ...out of old printed paper? ...well, you know what I mean!

For the leaves I used two green hearts and one piece of thinner wire folded in half and twisted together for just over the length of the heart. I sandwiched the wire between the two hearts and glued with PVA glue. I used the remaining length of the wire to wind around the stem of the flower. You can add as few or many leaves as you like.

Now arrange your flowers in a little vase - or even better, in a vintage bottle. You could add a little sentiment tag if they are for a gift. I punched a heart out of my tag, but you could always add a sweet message.
My bottle was from some Indian Tonic Water. I liked the simple shape.

To vary this idea, you could change the paper you use. Try using some pretty scrapbooking paper, or vintage maps. For more bling some glittery jewels in the centre would be lovely. If you have a small plant pot, you could fill it with oasis, cover the top with moss and arrange the flowers in a little pot. If you make a looser wire spiral with the thicker wire and add it to the arrangement it could serve as a pretty note holder. I wonder if this will inspire you to come up with your own version?

Now...coming back to Valentines day...
Do you remember that cute Love is...couple?

I like this little snippet from the Bible that talks about what Love is...

Love is patient,
Love is kind, and is not jealous;
Love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly;
it does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness,
but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

1Corinthians 13:4-7

My friend Leo suggests replacing the word love with our own name to see how we measure up.
I know I fall short !

So... I hope you have a wonderful Valentines day, and that yours is filled with love!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. I'm joining Modern Country Style's
Garden Party today

P.P.S. The flower photos were taken by Naomi. Why not drop by here Picture a Day Blog and say hello.

P.P.P.S. also joining a blog hop here...http://www.abeachcottage.com/

P.P.P.P.S. you can also find this post and a bit more where I am guest posting at my wonderful friend Leslies blog at Goodbye House, Hello Home. Thanks Leslie. xxx

P.P.P.P.P.S. Also linking to the fabulous Blue Cricket Design Show and Tell Wednesdays

Just a quick note

2011-02-08T09:19:00.002Z

Just popping by to let you know that fellow UK etsy seller is having a one day free postage offer to buyers from the UK. You can visit her blog at The Crafty Fish.

her Etsy sites are...
http://bigfish.etsy.com
http://paperfish.etsy.com

hello !

2011-02-04T16:07:00.000Z

Hi there, there was no Thrifty Thursday this week and my activities have come to a standstill because my little girl has come down with the tummy bug that is making the rounds. She is feeling rather sorry for herself, poor thing. I do hope she feels better soon - and keeps it to herself!

I am actually in the middle of decorating her room. It has dark wood panelling and I am painting it all white to lighten the room. It is taking quite a few coats of paint though. I'll be really glad when it is done! Hopefully I'll be back with a more interesting post soon.

Thrifty Thursday

2011-01-27T16:03:00.000Z

I promised I would tell you about my encyclopedias.

I have three Arthur Mee Children's Encyclopedias from the 1920s that I have had since I was a child. Whoever had them before me had cut bits out of them, but I loved them just the same.They are full of fascinating snippets of information, and things to make and do. They hark back to a more innocent age of childhood. I always used to wish I had more of them. Then one day at the auction I saw a complete set and managed to secure them for just £1!!! I was smiling from ear to ear that day I can tell you! They now reside in this lovely glass fronted cupboard which also cost me only £1.

Because I now have a full set, and the fact the previous ones I owned were already chopped, it gave me a license to chop some more, and so I have been using these, plus another set of outdated encyclopedias for some collage and decoupage work.

I am also going to scan some of the images to use as clipart in my cardmaking. I also own a couple of 1895 Oracle encyclopedias with some lovely images, so I will share some of them with you from time to time.

I almost had another bargain today while out at a Charity shop with my dear friend Cheryl. I saw the most perfect coffee table. It was large rectangular dark wood with a glass top and a drawer. It would have looked fabulous painted off white. I took a moment to think about whether or not I wanted to spend £15 on it, but by the time I had walked around the shop and decided to go for it, someone else had bought it! Well, I guess it wasn't meant to be mine. Sigh!

Very soon, I'll be showing you how you can make a pretty little bunch of vintage paper flowers just like these ones.

50 things never to do !!!

2011-01-26T12:30:00.004Z

{Click to enlarge.}

I'm a bit obsessed with my old encyclopedias right now. They are from the 1920s. I will tell you more about that on Thrifty Thursday, but for the moment, here's a page that always makes me smile for some reason - even though it all makes jolly good sense! You can use it as a backdrop in a collage if you like.

My particular favourites are...

Never pick your teeth with a pin

Never attempt to frighten a child, especially in the dark.

Never put crochet hooks or knitting needles in the pocket . (Whoops, think I might have done that)

Never stand still in an archway, or in any draughty place, when wet through. It is dangerous. Keep moving about.

....So...don't say I didn't warn you, OK?

Thrifty cardmaking

2011-01-20T16:46:00.009Z

Here is the anniversary card I made for my parents. I like to use what I have around the house, so I used one of my old encyclopedia pages as a background. I stamped it with a rubber stamp and gold ink, (the stamping doesn't show up that well in the photo.)

For the lovely little brass butterfly charms, I used a tomato paste tube and a paper punch. Yes, I did say tomato paste tube! If you want more details how I did this you can find out in this tutorial. The vintage couple dancing is from the graphics fairy.

For the flowers, I used my lovely new petal pairs punches from Tonic Studios. But I decided to be awkward and not just use them in pairs like your supposed to. For two of the flowers I punched two with one punch and one with another and fitted all three layers together. For the third flower, I used three different punches and punched out four flowers and although it was fiddly, I managed to fit four layers together and I really like the effect. You could make a whole lot of pretty flower embellishments with a few scraps of paper and these clever little punches. Quite economical really. I used a heart shape punch for the leaves and drew the veins with a pencil. The butterfly wings were cut from my butterfly punch.

..and because it's nice to share...here is one of my encyclopedia pages I scanned for you to use in collage or cardmaking. Such a fun image! I think I might use this on a card very soon.

Thrifty Thursday

2011-01-20T16:14:00.000Z

Here is my hall table. I bought it at my local auction a few years ago for about £10. It was brown and drab and had an ugly plastic handle. I gave it a good sand down, primed it and gave it a few coats of Dulux Black Satinwood and gave it a lovely new handle - a £1 bargain from B&Q, and now I love it. I wish I'd thought to take a before shot!!!

The lamp was also from auction - a Laura Ashley lamp. Two for £10. I'll give it a paint job one of these days. Haven't decided if I want to go white or black, but I think it might involve a number and possible a map shade.
The clock was on sale for a couple of pounds at Tesco a year or so ago, and I bought the bird from either Poundstretcher or Au Naturale - I can't remember, but it only cost me about £1.

The bowl was another auction purchase. I paid £6 for it, but again it is Laura Ashley, and I really liked it.

So that is my thrifty hall table decor. Now I need some pictures for the hall. Something that doesn't cost much. Hmm...

A Quick Card Idea

2011-01-18T13:09:00.005Z

Here's a quick suggestion if you are making a card for someone, and you want to enclose a little something extra in the envelope. I like to make a coordinating bookmark at the same time as the card, and pop it inside as a little keepsake.

I used my petal pairs punches on old tatty encyclopedia page for the flowers.

Graphics from the Graphics Fairy.

It's card making time...

2011-01-16T20:09:00.016Z

I've recently been trying out some new craft tools courtesy of Tonic Studios. I know I've not had a huge number of posts on my cardmaking, but it is something that does go on in the background here. Sometimes I sell my cards, but most times, I use them myself. Every so often I will fill up my box with cards so I'm prepared for all occasions. You're going to see a lot more cardmaking posts this year as I try out my new tools.

Here are the Tonic Tools I'm using for these cards...

Petal Pairs Punches

Crossing Heart Punch

Simplicity Power Punch - Crossing Rings

Shape mate and Rulers

Mini Heart Sider Punch

Royal Fleur 2 in 1 Punch

Border System

A young friend of mine has just got engaged and so it was time to make some engagement cards - one for my friend, and a couple to keep in my box as stock. I'm not sure which one I will send her yet!

I mostly use my computer printer to print out greetings. Sometimes I print directly onto the card blanks, and sometimes I will print a page full of greetings on nice paper and then just cut them out as I need them.

For some of these cards, I used a simple layout with a wave of colour at the bottom of the card. I used the shape mate tool and wavy ruler for the wavy line.

For the flowers, I have been trying out Tonic Studio's petal pairs punches which I must say are great fun to use - especially for someone who loves playing with paper like me.

For the card below, I punched a small circle punch through the petal pairs finished flowers so that the colour of the paper underneath would show through as a feature. I also used the crossing hearts and crossing ring punches. The ring punch is one of their new simplicity geared punches and it was a dream to use. Hardly any effort required! I can imagine if you were doing several hundred wedding invitations it would make light work of them! I backed the heart and ring punches with holographic card, it doesn't show up well in the scan, but in person it looks very effective.

For this next card, I wanted a softer more vintage feel to it, and so I chose a pretty floral to punch one half of the petal pairs. A small jewel in the centre of each flower adds a delicate touch.

I was able to use some of my thrift shop lace in the next card. This card uses one of my sheet of pre printed greetings. I used the crossing hearts punch to make a matching envelope too. I backed the hearts with the same metallic grey paper used in the card. I think this is my favourite card. I love the duck egg and silver together. It would work nice as a wedding invitation or wedding card too.

This one has a more masculine feel about it, even though it is floral, the choice of colours means it isn't too girly, and I think the royal fleur border looks great on masculine cards.

Because I enjoyed playing with the wavy layout, I rustled up a couple of birthday cards while I was at it.

I used my favourite tiny mother of pearl buttons to make centres for these flowers and on the wave, I used a small heart sider punch (with Tonic Studios border system) and then I backed the striped paper with a different pattern. Simple but effective I think.

In the card below I used a small circle punch to make a hole in the top flower of the petal pairs so that the bottom flower colour showed through. I used up the punched out hearts from the card above. (Don't you love punches where you can use both the punched shape and the cutout? No waste!)

Next cardmaking session I'll be creating some anniversary cards. My parents anniversary is at the beginning of February so I better get a move on hadn't I !

Oh, and here's a page you can use that is ready laid out with greetings for you to print and use in your cardmaking. Just click to enlarge, save to your hard drive and insert into your favourite DTP software and print onto some nice quality paper. It fits an A4 piece of paper. Chop up and use. Have fun!

2011-01-13T09:23:00.000Z

Every week, on Thursday I hope to show you something I have either made or bought for a snip. I love my local Thrift Stores/ Charity shops and Auction House. It makes sense to me to buy second hand where possible. My house is furnished mostly from pre-loved items, and I am always on the lookout for a bargain.

Here are some lovely laces and trims that I bought last week in a tiny little charity shop in the next village. The larger bundles were only 50 pence and I paid less for some of the others. I'll be able to use them for cardmaking, sewing and crafts. They can be so expensive to buy new, so I was really delighted with these.

And here is some marmalade I just made. This was my first attempt at marmalade, and I'm pleased to say it turned out delicious. I bought 2 ruby grapefruit for 25 pence each, three lemons that were going for a snip and a couple of oranges that my husband said weren't particularly juicy for eating. With one bag of sugar, I made 8 jars of chunky marmalade. (The jars are recycled of course - wouldn't have it any other way!) I thought that the flavours would all just kind of meld together, but as you are eating it, you get citrus explosions on your tongue of the three different fruits - I have to say it's tangilicious!

Australia

2011-01-12T08:54:00.004Z

{photo credit Washington Post }

Today, I am thinking of Australia and the terrible situation with the flooding. My prayers go out to you all over there. So many have lost their homes, and some their lives, some are still missing. Puts everything in perspective doesn't it?

Spare a thought for them today.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T17:17:00.005Z

A little Scottish saying for you this Hogmany (New Year's Eve)...

{Lang may yer lum reek!}

A salutation wishing long life and prosperity.

Literally, long may your chimney smoke.

Happy New Year everyone!

A Winner!

2010-12-25T11:04:00.003Z

Congratulations to Trulyana in London . You've won my little giveaway ! Hope this makes your day. There will be a little parcel in the post to you as soon as the Post Office opens..not sure if it will be Monday or Tuesday.

Hearts and Flowers part 1. - decorate a mug - easy peasy tutorial.

2010-12-20T14:51:00.012Z

Here's a very simple little project to make a last minute gift for a teacher or auntie. It's lovely for your child to be able to give something which they have made themselves. Fill it with a cellophane bag of choccies tied up with pretty ribbon, and Bob's your Uncle!

Most crafters will probably have a heart and a flower paper punch in their stash. They are very versatile items to own. I'm using Tonic Studio's paper punches for this project. If you don't have any paper punches, then may I suggest that these ones would be good basic punches for you to start off your collection. (And believe me, once you've started your collection - you'll be buying more!!! )

You will need... a willing little helper. This is my sweet and creative 4 year old daughter .

A heart and a flower paper punch...

...and a bunch of other stuff. I have here some Pebeo Porcelaine paint, a sheet of acetate for making a stencil (although you could just as easily use paper for this), an old sponge cut into little blocks for painting, some milk bottle lids for the paint, some masking tape and most importantly, a plain white mug for decorating. I find Tesco's basics range brilliant for this. A straight sided mug is easiest to work with.

{Slight intermission where my daughter discovers building with the foam blocks is fun...I always save any foam from packaging...I think this foam might have come with a laptop computer. }

To start with, I cut a strip of acetate the right size to go around the mug, then after a little help positioning the shapes, my little girl punched them out. OK this was posed, she did need to press with both hands to activate the punch, but she did manage to punch out the shapes all by herself. We alternated heart/ flower/ heart/ flower etc. Now we all know paper punches are wonderful for using with paper to make cards and other paper items, but did you know that using them to create a stencil can be very effective too.

We fastened the punched strip to the mug with masking tape and then my little girl chose some paint. She mixed the colours herself using a cotton bud in the plastic lids.

Using the little pieces of sponge, she dab, dab, dabbed. Then mixed a couple more colours and did the same. We then moved the stencil to the bottom of the mug and repeated the process. Simple!

If you need to tidy up any areas simply moisten a cotton bud with water and clean up the edges a little.

Look what I did mum!

Now, you need to follow your paint's manufacturers instructions for curing and baking in the oven to fix the paint, then it's ready to give.

Of course you don't have to use hearts and flowers, if you have other punches that you would prefer, then go ahead - have fun! Let me know if you try this - I'd love to see the results.

I have another hearts and flowers tutorial coming up in the new year, so keep a look out for it!

It's giveaway time at Doda's

2010-12-09T15:47:00.006Z

I wanted to share a little giveaway to thank you all for visiting my blog. Your comments always make my day, and I love to make new bloggy friends and visit your blogs too.

If you would like to enter with a chance of winning you can...

Leave a comment on this post for one entry to the giveaway. Let me know what country you are from.
If you would like a second entry, then if you are already a follower or you become one, post again letting me know.
If you post about the giveaway on your blog, then come back and let me know, you can have a third entry.

What you will win is these hand rolled pure Scottish beeswax candles - two pairs of pillars. The aroma of these is so delicious! I made them this afternoon and the scent has pervaded the house! Mmm !
You will also win this charming Alice necklace made from polymer clay. It comes on a silver plated chain in a handmade little gift box.
You will also win this crazy brooch which is perfect for loose weave woolens. Use it to fasten a scarf or a cardi. It is a reminder for you to eat your five fruit and veg a day!
It has a tiny little pea pod, a carrot, an aubergine/eggplant an orange and a tomato. It will certainly be a talking point. This also comes in a handmade little giftbox - one of my matchboxes.

I look forward to reading your posts and checking out where you are all from.

( I will choose a winner on the 24th December, so that gives plenty time for entering.)

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2010-12-01T10:57:00.003Z

Here is our little house in the Highlands. As you can see, it is rather chilly right now.

Current conditions are freezing fog. I am trying to keep my little girl cosy inside as she is cough, cough, coughing away at the moment.

...and now to warm your heart, a couple of pictures of my two silly girls. I don't really know how Naomi took these photos of herself and her sister, but they are cute aren't they?

...and I showed you these a long time ago, but here is another use for the plastic milk bottle lids I save. These are my pin cushion brooches. Very handy to have when you are sitting doing hand sewing and need somewhere to stick the pins and needles. Have you ever stuck a needle into the arm of your sofa only to forget about it until you prick yourself on it later? Hmm? No? OK! Anyway, they are very handy, and the plastic means that you don't stick yourself right through the brooch with a pin. I was going to list some in my Ebay shop eventually, but because I have been busy with the house at the moment, most crafts have taken a back seat. Although I have started to crochet a blanket in the evenings. I might show you later.
...I'll be back soon with a little giveaway... until then...stay warm and cosy :-)

Bottle caps are tops!

2010-11-26T15:36:00.003Z

Hello from the snowy Highlands!

Today I am sharing with you my love for bottle caps. I like to save the lids from our plastic milk bottles because they have so many uses. Today I used one for mixing a little paint to touch up some scratches on our mahogony bath panel. These lids are just the right size for small amounts of paint and I don't need to wash up afterwards. Very handy!

I have many other uses for these little lids. Next post I will share another handy tip for using these lids. So DON'T throw them away, hang on to them and lets see how many uses we can come up with.

(This was last night, just after it had started snowing. My little girl was so excited she went out without putting her coat on - there is much more snow today)

Hello!

2010-11-24T16:12:00.003Z

We don't celebrate thanksgiving in the UK, so I am sharing a very Scottish Highland and totally un-thanksgivingy image and sending greetings to all my American bloggy friends. I pray you have a very lovely time with your families counting all the blessings you have.

Happy Thanksgiving !