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

Smile, You're Home

Keys.

Where do you put them? On a hook, in a dish, or perhaps you never know where they are and find them in odd places, like the freezer?

We were using a dinky little key holder from Ireland, a souvenir from Mr Frogs many travels. It did the job. But, it was dated.

So, during a recent trip to Kaisercraft, Mr Frog suggested "we" make one, killing two birds with one stone; a project for me, and a fancy new place to hang the keys.

Sometimes Mr Frog gives me a hard time about my crafts (usually the mess) and sometimes... he's my enabler!

We spent ages deciding on a word, forgoing the more predictable "Paris" for an optimistic "Smile". This is the most simple tutorial you'll ever see.
I traced  around the word on the right side of the paper. Mr Frog loves orange, it goes with the awesome Aboriginal artwork we have hanging in the entrance, and I already had the paper in my stash. Already had = free.

I thought I'd taken more pictures, but obviously not. Never mind.
I painted the edges and front of the word in grey, glued on the paper with some PVA, then when it was dry, sanded the edges using a nail file. (Or if you wanna be blokey about it use sand paper, but trust me, the file works!)
Then I hammered in some hooks, semi evenly spaced on the bottom of the letters. Let me tell you... I love to hammer!

Hammering the doo-hickeys in to actually hang it proved a little trickier. That nail on the right actually pokes out a bit on the side. Woops.

I got better though.

Voila. New key holder.

Smile sunshine, you're home.

MC

All wrapped up

I love birthdays. I love xmas. I love random, made up reasons for gift giving.
I just love giving presents., especially when a) I've managed to find the "perfect" present, and b) I'm able to wrap said gift in something fabulous. A well wrapped gift adds to the sense of occasion about the whole affair. Sometimes, I get too excited and get it wrong, sometimes I try too hard.

Sometimes, I get it right.

 

Clearly, I love a theme.

It all started with the card. Silly me forgot to take pics, due to the screaming tadpole I had in the background. I also made a mistake ("Happy Birthay"), which was rectified somewhat by just cutting the mistake away. (Nobody will ever know)

Take one paper bag from my favourite store. (To see why, head here) If I love anything more than gift wrapping it's making something plain, pretty. Cut two pieces of coordinating (or not) scrap booking paper big enough to cover up the advertising. Glue.

Then add gifts, top with slightly bunched tissue paper, and accessorise with matching ribbons.

Voila, there you have it. A colour themed gift.

For AMAZING gift wrapping ideas, head over to my idol, Rebecca. She rocks.

MC

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

A Family Tree

So I mentioned a little while ago that Mr Frog spotted an MDF tree in Kaisercraft and suddenly felt that we needed one. I wasn't overly excited, or motivated, but a craft project is a craft project and so I went at it.
It started with a tree, and some paint....

I painted the front cream, and the edges dark brown. Easier said than done!

Then I tore up a sheet of scrapbook paper and stuck the pieces over the majority of the limbs and leaves.

Glued, but scrappy...

I then sanded the edges of the over hanging paper, with a nail file; much easier than an actual piece of sand paper.

All sanded and pretty... but the torn edges were white...so...

using a bit of sponge and some cream paint, I dabbed all over the white bits.

Mr Frog wanted Owls, but the ones we bought didn't go with my colour scheme. So I glued some paper onto a cardboard box rescued from the recycling bin...

and cut out little owl shapes.

Some black and white pics of our families (minus a couple that I haven't printed yet)

And voila, Our Family Tree.

Now, Mr Frog will probably have some helpful "suggestions" to make it better... but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

MC

Oops, Here it is!

I know, I know. I'm late with the easy peasy gift idea.Well, you know what they say. Better late than never! Now that the xmas storm, has died down, and I am finally starting to recover... here it is. The simplest gift anyone can make.
I present to you: Bath Salts.

First grab a non porous bowl, and throw in a cup of Epsom salts, and a cup of rock salt. Then add your choice of essential oil, just a few drops, and a few drops of food colouring. (Don't add too much- nobody wants purple bath water). Pull on a rubber glove and massage for about five minutes, mixing the salts colour and oil.

Note the pale colour... not quite pink. Might be best to use decent gel food colouring, not the supermarket stuff that's been in the cupboard since the dawn of time.

Next, line a baking tray with baking paper, and spread the salts out. Leave for about five hours, or over night.



It's not your eyes, I made two different colours.

All you need to do now is package up your creation and give it a pretty label! The easiest way is to grab a jar and fill it up. You can get cheap jars from most $2 shops, or you can even use a jam jar.

I sent some of my salts to my French family... so to make the parcel lighter, I made these:

Grab yourself some plastic bags from the $2 shop, throw in some salts, make a paper label like this:

Fold the top of the bag down a couple of times, and staple the label to the top, ensuring you've closed the bag in the process. Voila! A little more time consuming sure, but postage is expensive these days!

There you have it, easy peasy to make, and a treat to receive. You could make a whole bath pack, just by popping down to the supermarket and grabbing a loofah, shower cap and a make up bag.

Hope you all had a Joyeux Noel, see you in the New Year.

MC