Beauty is in The Eye of The Beholder. Or Not.

I think it's pretty clear that I am a not a professional crafter/sewer/cook etc. Yes, the things I actually sell are well made, but for everything else, I'm just a chick who likes to make stuff. Sometimes things turn out perfectly. More often then not, they turn out o.k, and on occasion, they just don't work. That's how we learn. It's how I learn. It's usually fun either way.

Here is an example of a project that "technically" kinda worked out.

But it ain't pretty.

I started with this Abomination.

 

Now you can't tell in the photo, but this palstic bag holder is a bit of a mess. It's falling apart at the seams, literally, and bags actually fall out of the bottom. It's time for a new one. A prettier one.

I've always thought a tea towel is the perfect material for these things. I don't know why. It's just an idea that would.not.leave.me.

So, this is how it went down.

I had Mr. Frog choose an old tea towel from those we already own, telling him to "choose a tea towel for the cause!", like it was for the war effort or something. Now my reasoning behind using a tea towel we already own is that, already have = free. I like free. Getting Mr.Frog to do the choosing meant I wouldn't get in trouble later for sacrificing the "wrong" tea towel.

He chose this.

 This "beauty" comes from France, from a place we've never been. I think it was a xmas present from family. Yes, the embroidery is coming undone. Yes, those are holes you can see.

I figured that given where the bag holder lives, it didn't need to be, shall we say, typically beautiful. And remember, it's free.

First, I folded over and pinned the top and bottom of the tea towel. I didn't measure, just guessed how much room I'd need to get elastic and a ribbon through the space. Then I sewed in a fairly straight line. Yes, I was being  nonchalant. The tea towel turns out to be quite wonky, and me quite nonchalant, so it turns out like this:

 

Never mind.

Warning: there are heaps of photos because I got carried away using this:

That's my super cool tripod. I'm in love with it.

O.k, then I folded the tea towel in half long ways, and sewed along the open edge, being sure not to sew over the very ends. I didn't get a shot of this step, so here's one of me in my "craft room", aka, the dining room.
That's either my posing face or I have a pin in my mouth. Or both.

Next I threaded some elastic through the bottom part and tied it off. But first I had to spend 20minutes looking for a bloody safety pin, because who the hell knows where Mr. Frog puts anything! I eventually found one in the depths of my old sewing basket, in an old tin of pins my nanna gave me.

Then, I threaded the elastic. To get the length I needed I measured along the tea towel (now doubled over) and then added half that again.

Then I did the same for the top, but with ribbon. Only, I couldn't get to the ribbon because the baby was asleep (by now anyway, before that there was a lot of crying while I concentrated on sewing moderately straight) where my craft is stored. So I pulled the cord out of the Abomination, and used that. Free!

You need a longer piece of cord/ribbon so you can get into the bag easily, and hang it on something.
And voila:

A new Abomination.

Good Lord!

Well, at least this one doesn't leak bags onto the floor. And it's hidden.

And a bonus?
On my search for a safety pin (so much swearing!) I found some old lace from an outfit I "made" in high school.

If only I had pictures of that. I thought I looked hot!

But what to do with this scrap...?

Stay tuned.

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

Old Mother Hubbard

Unlike the old lady, my cupboard isn't bare. Actually, it wasn't even a cupboard, it was a book case.

When Mr Frog was doing the house hunting, I told him what was important to me... gas stove, cupboard space, dining room, 3rd bedroom etc. And while the poor love certainly did his best, and found us a lovely place to call home, the kitchen, is well.... Shit.

No cupboard space. Oh there are cupboards, but very few and they're super small. And most importantly, there is NO PANTRY. I had a tiny little one in my last place and was so looking forward to having a nice normal sized one where I could enjoy buying in bulk.

It wasn't to be.

Until we headed to IKEA and bought a pantry, made all fancy by having part glass doors.

Behold, the stocking of the pantry.

All of this... plus I'm sure there are a few things hiding on the floor... (that's the old book case in the middle of the kitchen)

... went in here. All the pretty things went up the top, and the rest down below. No, I don't have matching cannisters, or Tupperware. What I do have are matching labels, and I was quite happy to find that they make it all look pretty.

Mr Frog went crook at me for taking a photo with crap all over the bin. However, I'm a real person, I have a baby, a life, and I was way too excited about my pantry to notice!

Small things make me happy. 

An organised pantry. A styled bookcase. (Yes I feel a bit naff saying "styled" but why not put a bit of love into the ordinary?) And room for my bargain buys out in the laundry on the old pantry bookcase.

Are you organised? Or do you throw things in and close the door real quick?

MC

Life Gave Me Lemons

Life gave me lemons... actually, chance gave me a lemon tree in our new house.

I have been waiting ever so impatiently for the copious amounts of green fruit to ripen, finding out along the way that they actually ripen off the tree.

Anyhoo.

I had to use all of these!

And so...

Some squeezing...

... some sorting and squeezing...

 ... a few extra ingredients...

... a mishap with a cheap jar, and a rescue from Dolmio...

... we have Preserved Lemons.

I hope.

And then...

there were still more lemons.

So stay tuned!


MC

Oh No You Didn't!

Oh yes. I did.

I used powdered potato. Out of a packet.

And I liked it.

I'll do it again.

Let me explain...

I made Pea and Mint Soup. No great mystery there, some onion, a little garlic, a heap of mint, (did I add a little lemon myrtle? Can't rememeber) Blitzed, served with a dollop of sour cream (naughty!) and some crispy bacon pieces.

However, I had a little too much stock, and I like my soup to fill me up a bit, so I often add a diced potato to my soups. But I had none.

So I used this...

It worked a treat.

I'd like to thank Nigella for the inspiration and the guiltless, slightly smug feeling I'm enjoying right now.

What's your dirty secret trick?

MC

Introducing The Ladies

Check out my new page, The Ladies. You'll find it to your right, underneath Home and About. I'll be updating the page periodically, and will try to give you a heads up here, when I do.

Go on, go have a look.

I'll wait.

MC