Baby Shower bonanza, Part 2: Handmade tea bags

And so it continues. Do join me for a little craziness in the form of Handmade Tea Bags.

Yes. Teabags. Made by me.

There are numerous versions on Pinterest, but this is the one that inspired me and gave me very simple directions. There are even free, printable tags.

Lia Griffith

 What I loved about this version is that the teabags look like someone actually made them, and with love. I know, sounds corny. But I am!

What I also love about these little bags, is that they're cheap to make. The muslin cost $2.50p/m, the tea, Melbourne Breakfast from T2 (Sadie's favourite) was $30 for 250g(which ended up giving me about 85 teabags) and the tags were made from scraps of the invitation paper.

One teaspoon (one you use to stir your tea, not a measuring spoon)

Gather and tie

Trim, and you're almost done.

These weren't hard to make. If you're good with your hands, they'll be easy. They're just fiddly, and time consuming.

I made 120 tea bags. I know.

120? Yes. There were 27 people on Sadie's guest list, so I made 30 invites, just in case she'd forgotten someone or decided that some Facebook friend was nice enough to come along. I'd decided to use plastic boxes to package them in, and so, to make it look generous and not stingy, four tea bags each was the plan. If you're using smaller packaging, you could certainly package 1,2 or 3 and they'd look gorgeous. (Keep an eye on the Madame Clochette Facebook page for a few different options soon).

Like in Lia's original post, these teabags would make a great Mothers Day gift, or you could even package up some "xmas" scented tea and give them as Xmas gifts.

Hmmm... That's a good idea.

Must remember that.

Next up in the Bonanza....

Handmade Sugar cubes.

A bientot!

MC

The First Birthday

It finally arrived.

After months of planning, weeks of having the dining table covered in my craft crap, and what seemed like hundreds of tiny, but seemingly terribly important decisions, a First Birthday Party was had.

I already had paper and string, so this bunting was FREE!

 You know how when you have something in your head it never turns out that way?

I sent out two versions of the invites, only because I couldn't get enough of this paper.

It didn't matter. They looked good, and came with a Fleur de Lys magnet made from Fimo, which I already had... = FREE!

Well, that didn't happen this time. The party looked and felt just like I planned. Just like I worked for. Just how I hoped.

You know I love a theme!

We celebrated surviving the first year of keeping a Tadpole alive in style.

Everything labelled in French

Finally an excuse to buy one of these babies!

Cheers!

Mr Frog doesn't celebrate birthdays. He's a weirdo. He knows it's a big deal for me so he said I could do what ever I wanted, and he'd just be there on the day.

Sweet!

And so I did. All the little lovely touches I found on Pinterest ( The Devil!) I could tweak to suit our little family.

This was meant to be on a blackboard looking fancy but that would've meant buying one and that was not an option. Make do people!

 And some ideas, I just kinda made up.

Leave a note for the birthday girl to read on her 21st birthday.

Tadpole was, understandably, quite overwhelmed by the people and noise. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family.

I drank bubbles. I forgot to eat.

A good time was had.

This little handmade act of love was wonderful.

Eiffel Tower shaped biscuits with edible glitter instead of lolly bags.

To our friends and family who made it a special day, and who for more than a year have helped us in ways big and small...

I say Merci Beaucoup.

And to you I say "Wanna know how I did something from the party? Just ask!"

MC

Lamp Re-vamp

My original plan for my plain jane lamp was to cover it in cream linen with a teal coloured damask print on it. Of course, when you have such a specific idea in mind, and you're still on a budget, you'll never find it.

So, after another fabric choice was vetoed by Mr Frog for being too girly (he was right, but I already had it which means it's free!), I settled on a cream and white fat quarter I already had in my stash. Still free.

After trimming the fabric, I folded over the edges and ironed them flat.

Most instructions for covering a lamp, suggest using spray adhesive over the entire lamp. Being an indecisive lass I used my glue gun along the seam...

...and then around the top and bottom edge, figuring it'll be easier to rip off if I hate it, now or down the track.

I used a silicone mat to help press the fabric down, without burning my hands. Learnt that the hard way.

Looks pretty, but needs a little something. After much faffing, after weeks of thinking about it, and after a few trial runs... I decided to add a little ribbon.

Once again, I've covered my bases by not gluing the ribbon to the actual lamp, but gluing the ribbon to the ribbon... this way, I can slip it off.

I then needed some colour. After ditching the hand making of a damask print idea, I tried making a Fleur De Lys out of Fimo. Fail. So, I followed my heart...

Conveniently, I was able to mix a couple of colours I had already mixed (trying to match a colour I can't remember) to come up with the perfect colour.

A little more hot glue, and there you have it... a Re-vamped Lamp.

Five weeks till my due date... and counting.

MC





Bless You

I finally made a decision on the Tissue Box cover I bought purely because it was on sale for $3.

After painting the sides cream and the top dark brown, I was stuck on where to go next. So many options. I could keep it simple, get all folksy, or not.

A couple of coats of my rapidly running out cream paint...

After going through the papers I originally bought for the baby's room, I realised I had an entire page I hadn't used yet. I also realised, that sometimes, simple really is better.





Glue on some paper and you're done. Mind the dodgy paint job.

Who really needs a more fancy tissue box cover than this?

Next up, is a lamp revamp and also a chest of drawers spruce up. It's looking as though I'll need to compromise on both of these projects, given time, but mostly budget restrictions. This makes me a little sad, but then again, I do love a challenge.

I also need to change the amount of pink bows on this:

Mr Frog feels it really is too girly, and seeing as there's a 50/50 chance we're having a boy... I have to change it. A fiddly job, but I feel it needs something extra anyway.

Six weeks till my due date... place your bets if you think I'll go early or late! (Pray for early... I'm HUGE!)

MC



Pretty Flowers

My fabric flowers turned out beautifully!

Although cutting out the fabric was a tad time consuming, it wasn't very hard, and the results are totally worth it.
You can find the how-to details here where I did. Just keep in mind that for really "full" flowers you'll need more fabric than you think. Also, instead of paper lanterns, I used Styrofoam balls, which is the cheaper option. ($2.99 for a pack of 12 or so, all different sizes)

Lots of hot glue and a little patience...

The finished product

These should look fabulous in bubs' room. They were really easy to make.... I was on such a roll I could've made more, but easy does it!

Now onto canvas # 2.

Back soon :)

MC

Not dead, Just Distracted!

Yes, it's been ages. Yes, I forgive you for thinking I'd just given the whole thing up. Yes, I've been a bit slack.

But I'm back!

And up the duff.

Well, I was the last time I posted too, just not so open about it. Now I'm huge there's just no denying it. And while it means that my cocktail bag making days are on hold for now, it doesn't mean I've been idle.

There's been some card making...

 A little something for hubbys' first day at work



There's been DVD cabinet painting... which I won't show you because it's just boring white, but let me just say it nearly killed me!

There's been a little present for me...

And now I'm all about the baby's room...

I'm in the middle of making hanging fabric flowers... pics coming soon.... yes, I mean soon, not in a few months!

Meanwhile, it's off to Spotlight for a few supplies :)

MC x