Lemon Cordial is for Vodka, Lime and Soda

It's been forever since I posted, but it's not my fault.

I've been drowning in Lemons!

So, I made Lemon Cordial, which turned out not just sweet but wonderfully zingy. Then, I made Lemon curd, which is now my favourite thing to have on crumpets.

They didn't have time to get a fancy make over, I've only got one jar left!
I've also been making cards...

 ...finding things to add to the compost...

...Mr Frog has harvested our first veg, Lettuce and Spinach...

...and, we've been generally enjoying the garden Mr Frog has become so obsessed with...

Mind my bra hanging on the line.

Meanwhile, I've been going mad on Pinterest for Tadpoles 1st Birthday, and hunting for supplies. The invites are in the middle of being made, and I am slowly talking myself down from the extravaganza in my head to something more achievable without giving myself a stroke.

What have you been up to?

Got any lemons?

Paper Craft

In between the constant feeding of the Tadpole, I've been making a few cards. It's been quite a process, due to the fact that all my craft supplies have been stored away in boxes up in a cupboard, which means lot's of ladder climbing and unpacking and packing.

Mr Frog convinced me to sell them (just head to the Madame Clochette Facebook page) because he thinks they're great.

 

What do you think? 

MC

What a Card!

I love a good card, be it birthday, anniversary or just for no reason. The problem is, the nicest ones are at least $5 a pop. Add up all the lovely occasions that call for a card over the year and that's a lot of money spent.

Card making is one of the easiest ways to get your craft on. You can sit in front of the t.v at night and have one made by the end of an episode of NCIS. You can go crazy with all sorts of embellishments, or get into stamping, or even cheat and use a cleverly cut piece of scrapbook paper.

Here are a couple of cards I've been rustling up over the last week...

I cut out the butterflies on the scrapbook page, stuck a couple down flat, and left a few free to fly.





I still don't have a fancy stamp, so I very carefully hand write Happy Birthday and add a few more butterflies.




A sticker and some cut up paper...





A new stamp and creative use of the ink pads plus one more sticker.

Some paper, foam sticky dots, and some bling...

Some cut out hearts and my dodgy handwriting.

Now, a pack of 10, plain cards is $2, or I can get the pearlised pack of 6 for $2.50... when I use the supplies I already have, I call that free, but lets say I use $2 worth of embellishments etc. That's $2.20 a card. Plus, I get all the joy from making something for someone I care about with my own hands.... and that my friends, is Priceless!!

Here's to saving money, and having a good time doing it!

MC



Keeping My Hand In

January has been all over the place when it comes to craft. With no major events coming up there hasn't been a pressing need to make anything... other than my itchy fingers and busy brain. I have a million ideas of things to make, some fabulous bag designs in my head, and a bunch of things that need doing around the house.... that is, as soon as Mr Frog goes back to work!

Don't get me wrong, being together these last few months has been great (mostly), especially given the horrendous year we just survived, and the wonderful yet crazy year we have ahead of us.
I just find it impossible to get anything done when he's here!

Anyhoo, here's what I've busied myself with the last few weeks.

A little sparkle to add to a special little girls bedroom door.



I made this door hanger, thingy as a christening gift because A) I'm spiritual, not religious and I think it's healthy to believe in Fairies, B) I usually buy books for kids, but I'm poor, and C) I like making stuff!

Please ignore the slightly dodgy handwriting, not the message!



I've totally gotten into making cards, so this was a great excuse to use more sparkle!

Meanwhile, as I've collected various utensils over the years, yet am running out of space to store them (despite Mr Frogs' attempts to organise the kitchen drawers), I took inspiration from my mums' purpose built utensil holder and "made" this:

A can of Milo gets a second chance at life



I didn't have a big enough piece of paper, so I used some of my favourite fabric.

Next week I have birthday cards and gifts to make... and Mr Frog goes back to work... can't wait to get may craft on!

A bientot!

MC

Xmas Spirit

I spent today being very excited about xmas. Usually, I'm bah humbugging all over the place, but as I am ,as yet, not working in retail this xmas, I'm really beginning to feel the xmas spirit. For the  first time in years.

The main reason for my enthusiasm this year is the fact that my family; mum,dad, sister and her new hubby, are all coming from interstate to spend three days with us! Originally, mum arranged this so we could all have xmas together for the first time in forever. The idea was for everyone to come to us so we could continue working mental shifts in a shop, but at the very least have xmas day together. Now it's just too late to change plans and I'm GLAD!!! They're travelling a long way, and spending a lot of money on accommodation ( they figured it would be a bit squishy in this little apartment, and rightly so!) so this year I'm going all out! On a budget. (Budget ideas coming your way soon!)
I'm planning the menus, the drinks, the events, the decorations... this will be a xmas worth the trip.

So apart from faffing about on Pinterest looking for xmas ideas, I actually made some xmas cards today. I'm a little embarrassed at how easy they were, and how cheap, but they've turned out pretty well so far.
I bought a pack of red cards and envelopes for $2. I bought a little book of Xmas for $1.

I then proceeded to cut/rip/pull out all the cool pictures in the book and stuck them on the cards. Voila!

I am yet to add glitter (I'm deciding if I like the less is more approach), and I haven't put anything inside yet... but so far so good! I'll post before and after pics if/when I change them.

Tomorrow I start cutting out some fabrics for some very important Cocktail bags. I really must leave xmas alone for a little while... I may send myself round the bend!

Have you started your xmas shopping/crafting yet?

MC

Bits and Bobs

Today started in the most uninspiring fashion; with a  visit to a recruitment company. No great epiphanies, no miracle cures. In and out in 15minutes. I decided to make myself feel better with a bit of supply hunting but came up empty. It may have something to do with the fact that a trip to a recruitment company highlights the lack of money coming in!
The rest of the day I spent a little all over the place. I fiddled with dads present, thankfully finishing the sanding part of it. Read a bit. Fiddled a bit more with dads present. Made a card, then took a bad photo of it:

Actually, kinda looks o.k.
Had a good chat with my sister, Sadie, which got me all excited about xmas... more on that later, but I did pull out my old December Good Taste magazines and get to pondering.

My day spent all over the place. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything but... there'll be days like this.

A demain

MC

And Woman Created Stuff

I came home from my shopping expedition yesterday buzzed. I always get a rush when I find great supplies for specific projects ( managed to talk myself out of all the cool things I don't have a purpose for!), and they're really cheap. Now don't get me wrong... there are lots of things I'd like to buy that are not cheap. Beautiful scrapbooking papers, gorgeous fabrics, and all the fabulous costume jewellery around these days. The problem is; I can't afford it. I've been unemployed for almost three weeks now, and although I've enjoyed my creative projects and working on the business end of my hobby, there is always that little nagging voice asking me when I'm going to get a job. Sad. Meanwhile, I do have a feeling that even if I was made of money you'd still find me rifling through the discount bins. I just ADORE a bargain.

Today I put those cheap supplies to good use and have just about finished my sisters xmas present, have gotten started on mums- but am missing a tool, and am all pumped to get started on making xmas cards.( Just remind me to send some... I have a tendency to write them out, stamp them, and then leave them on the coffee table... until February.)

Next on my To-Do list is to find some stores that might like to stock my Cocktail bags... Any thoughts?

Anyone...?

MC