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Showing posts from September, 2014

Making aprons from pillowcases...!

I am making Aprons for various people for Christmas presents and I don't want to buy a big lot of material make them all the same nor spend a fortune on different materials. While I was op shopping the other day I saw some pretty pillow cases and thought to my self - that's the kind of material I need for my apron project, but is there enough to make an apron out of? So I bought a few - they were only a $1 each, And here's what I did... The pillow case that I loved with the blue and green flowers was really thin. So I bought a matching pillowcase and lined the apron with it. It just added a bit of weight that I thought would make it wear better.   After undoing all the seams of the pillow cases (the rip open very easily and then I just iron them flat into one great long piece of material) I cut off a strip on the long side to become the apron ties. Then I ironed it in half longways and then ironed the seams as well.    I cut the remaining pillow case i

Fixing holes in plastic buckets!

We have had a few fires recently in the brazier in the back yard. Its lovely to gather with a coffee and sit and chat into the evening with friends and family. Some one collected up some twigs in our new (to us) plastic bucket to get the fire going with. The next morning we found the bucket must have been a little too close to the fire as it had two melt holes in the bottom of it... I wasn't so keen to throw out such a handy bucket and so we had a bit of a think and here's what we did... The bucket with two decent holes in it!    You can see the burn holes. Too big to patch with a blob of silicone this time...     We cut the corner out of an old ice cream container that happens to fit into the corner and covered up both of the holes.   Perfect!    Not the most glamorous look - but its a bucket not a bridal dress!   Generous amounts of silicon go around the outside of the ice cream container ...     Like so...    

Click and Collect online shopping saves me money!

I don't mind grocery shopping - when its on my terms and my time. I'm not so keen to go shopping with the husband as he is a great consumer and loves to spot all these fabulous bargains (fabulous according to the supermarket, not usually to me) and fills up the trolley... usually with things I wasn't intending to get and then it all has to go back on the shelves! We all know the pitfalls of shopping with children, when we are under pressure, when we don't know what's for dinner, when we are hungry, tired or just not in the mood. I have been menu planning for a while and find its a great way to take the daily dinner stress away. I have been doing a fortnightly plan for a while and it works well for us. I'm a bit of a fan of the Cheapskates and Simple Savings sites and recently decided to go for a month menu plan as they both recommend it. It took a little more time to do than a two week plan but the savings in time and money have been quite substantial. Th

Sock darning!

During winter, it got a bit chilly here in Brisbane (it went under 10 degrees at night a couple of times!! Freeeeeezing!)  and I decided to darn a whole heap of my socks instead of buying new ones. It was quite therapeutic and I enjoyed playing around with different wools and techniques. Socks are so cheap these days but I like the idea of repairing something more than buying something so even my $2 socks "got the treatment"! Here's what I did... Darning mushroom and real wool. In the past I have used what ever wool was floating about the house. Usually acrylic and usually brightly coloured. Im not a knitter, so wool is usually used as a trim or embellishment, hence the bright colours, but for this project I decided that if I used pure real wool and not fake plastic stuff, it might matt or felt together as it gone worn and washed - at least that was my starting theory!   First find your hole to darn. If you can get to it before its a hole - when its
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