New Life

Left to my own devices, the majority of my recycling bin would be saved "for something", some other use not yet thought of, but just a moments inspiration away.

Were it not for Mr Frog, I would be drowning in "crap" I could "use", "someday".

Yesterday, I got to indulge in the delight known as upcycling, or using -what- you- have- to- hand.

I made a delicious batch of White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Cookies (a Nigella recipe I bastardised) for my hubby to take to work... hey, sometimes I like to pretend to be a domestic goddess!

Now I could've just put them in a sealable bag or on a paper plate that could've been thrown away, or even in a plastic container that hubby would bring home for me to wash and been done with it. But No.

There was an empty, plastic ice cream container (actually frozen yoghurt) calling my name from the recycling bin....

So, after a bit of faffing, I made it pretty....

... well, added a bit of brown paper, the cookies, a journal tag I had, some string, and ...

Voila, a very cute package of biscuits.

This is me keeping it simple. It would've looked awesome with some fancy black ribbon, or even something other than brown paper... but it was just for a work day...

I'll save the glam for something special.



MC

Flashback

I am still a huge fan of arts and crafts in their simplest forms. Play dough, finger painting, chalk on the foot path. So, I was basically embracing my inner child when I made these table runners for the xmas coffee table. (Little apartment, no room for a proper dining table. This does not prevent me from hosting dinner parties though... trust me!)

I made two, so that I could throw out the dirty one from xmas eve and use a fresh one xmas day. And it was too much fun to just do one.

Use a cardboard cutout of a star (or whatever) as a template for your potato stamper, remembering to make sure there's enough spud to actually hang on to.

Dab potato in paint and stamp away!

Of course I don't have any decent shots of the table fully loaded with food etc, but they worked a treat. I was very happy with myself.

Try it next time you have a dinner party, perhaps using some butchers paper for larger tables.

Have fun!

MC

Deck the Halls, Part Two

Here are some more pics of my xmas decorations... I think they turned out pretty well...

Remember these..?



here they are, all ready for Santa. Yes, that's my heater.

Originally I wanted to make a lovely canvas thing as my xmas wreath... With something poetic yet festive on it. Unfortunately, time got away from me, so I had to run this little number up.

Take one coat hanger and shape it into a circle (roughly... those things are unwieldy!) then twirl a long piece of scrunched up brown paper around and around until the hanger is covered. Add a bow, some cardboard letters (that will blow off in the wind because I still don't own a glue gun), and there you have it.

Voila!

MC

Deck the Halls... or heater

Please forgive my absence... I've been a busy girl, what with all the decorating, making of stuff and watching t.v. I return with a fun little project that's so simple the kids can do it for you!
This xmas, we're (o.k, maybe it's just me) going all out simply because this year my family will be here, and we'll actually have time to enjoy ourselves!

I thought it mght be fun to hang some stockings on the heater (in lieu of an actual mantel) and fill them with some silly bits and bobs. I stole this idea from last years xmas edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Theirs is much nicer, but mine is cheaper. :)


First, cut yourself some squares of red (or whatever) cardboard. I made mine 21cm square, half of the original pattern... the bigger they are, the more you need to put in! You'll also need to cut out some more squares in a contrasting colour. My theme this year is Red and Brown paper. I just so happened to have some paper bag scraps that I used instead (which is why they're smaller than my red squares). The original pattern uses fabric, on the outside. 



Brown paper glued to the "top" corner

Next, you'll need to decorate the outside. Intent on using my scraps, I cut stars out of brown paper and glued them on.

Now we're ready to rock'n'roll, especially roll. With one point of your square being the top, roll the cardboard into a cone. This is where I struggled because stupid me used thick cardboard. get the thin stuff!

Add double sided tape to keep the cone in place. If you used thin cardboard, that should be all you need.

Next, we need name tags so there aren't any fights. I used my excess cardboard and the trusty brown paper bag scraps.

Punch a hole in the tag, a hole in the pointy bit of your cone, and another where the cardboard wraps around itself, and attach the tag with ribbon.

Mine just would NOT stay, so I've used a paper clip and hung my tag on it.

All that's left to do is hang them, then wait for ages until you can fill them!

And voila, "stockings" hung and ready for Santa.

Coming soon, an easy peasy gift that requires no skill.

A bientot

MC