do it yourself

i am a big fan of make do and mend. & i love the idea of making something myself instead of buying it from a shop. presents for friends and family are often handmade... as are the cards of course. and i am starting to make products around the house too... this is all part of my back to basics plan. with the addition of some shop bought staples for good measure.

my seed bombs and bath bombs always go down well. and i recently made my own rose toner which is amazing as a morning, mid day slump spritz. but it is also great to set makeup, to soothe tired or sunburnt skin. to tighten and reduce wrinkles and it calms and acts as a mild astringent for blemishes... and all you need are two ingredients and a spray bottle {i got mine from superdrug}

fill with water {preferably distilled} and add a capful of rose water ~ or more depending on personal preference and size of bottle
and that's it.
simple yet effective.

for under the kitchen sink i have another spray bottle with vinegar and water in... great for cleaning and deodorising any surface {including carpets} add a bit of bicarb and you have a better spray than you can buy in the shops! plus, if you add an essential oil to the mix you will not only be adding a lovely scent to the room but you will also be upping the antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal qualities to your all-purpose cleaner.

this is my latest make do and mend project... three pairs of leggings fit for the bin = two good as new pairs of leggings!

pinterest parties

i had some friends round for drinks and a pamper party this weekend. i had a good look through pinterest for ideas and as always it didn't disappoint. i got a great idea for gin cocktails using herbs and edible flowers. they looked and tasted amazing... i froze the edible flowers {i used pansies, viola and flox} in ice cubes, for best results i found cooled boiled water worked best and i froze the cubes in two parts so the flowers floated. the cocktail itself was a shot of hendricks gin, a shot of elderflower gin, a tea spoon of rose essence and a sprig of thyme. oh, and some tonic! if you dont have elderflower gin then there is a lovely elderflower tonic that would work just as well...

and then there was the birthday party for the five year old! can leave out the preparations for that one!

the safari passes were printables i found online and the binoculars were toilet rolls with animal print duct tape wrapped around. pretty basic stuff!

the pinata was bought ~ i thought about making one but really time ran away from me and a trip to tescos ticked that off the list!

 

the cake i made with two batches of batter, one white and one chocolate... then i layered the batter in dollops one on top of the other to make the stripes in side the cake.

the party favours were just old jars that i collected from friends, i glued an animal to the lid and painted it then i filled them with the crayons ~ i had thought about sweeties or marshmallows... but thought there was enough sweet treats going around!

my favourite part was making the crayons... i have done this before here but this time i got to use lego moulds! and i love lego! who doesn't? so i collected all the crayon ends i could find... i even begged some from friends and family {i had a lot of jars to fill!} and melted them down... it was like i was making a miniature army! and they turned out better than i had hoped

 

i had plenty of games planned including the usual musical statues and musical bumps... but had to find a use for the binoculars... so we went on an elephant hunt to find dung! this was just flour, water and some old coffee grounds formed to make a dough, i then hid an insect inside {toy insect!} and baked them in the oven for ten minutes...the kids then went on a hunt to find them in the garden {luckily the weather was nice!} and cracked them open to see what was inside! fun.

reduce, reuse, recycle

this year i have decided that we need to be more organised, more waste aware and fitter.

lately i feel like we have slipped back into a world where i didn't think about consequences of my actions.  we are so caught up with daily life that i find myself doing whatever option is easiest ~ putting the extra few cartons of milk in the bin to save me going downstairs to the recycling boxes. buying a bag of apples instead of buying them loose... i have even stopped using my cloth nappies and wipes.

you see, my sons skin is very sensitive. we really only use eco eggs and occasionally a bit of lavender oil for fragrance but lately his nappies have been causing very sore nappy rash so we stopped for a while... but that while has become a month... almost two.

i missed the freshly washed smell of washing. i missed the clean smell of bleach ~ these have all snuck back into my cleaning cupboard.

i just want to get back to my frugal self... i want to be that person again! so the challenge is on... will keep this blog updated with my progress...

so far i have got out the cloth wipes, cotton hankies and nappies.  i have made a huge batch of bath bombs for the kids baths ~ method

feeling better already!

we moved house

we were busy bees this summer, we managed to pack up home and move near the sea... just like we always wanted.

it's a bigger house with a bigger garden. and we are five minutes walk from the sea, poppy's school, all the main shops and cafes and an amazing play park.  it has been the best decision we have made so far {except the decision to have children of course... and to get married... ok, the third best decision}

so we have been busy moving and filling our home with stuff and most of all we have spent a lot more time doing things... so many projects... so many crafts!

during the move we decided to de-clutter. everything. and we also decided to make the things we already had, nicer! so plenty of up cycling going on here too!

first of the projects was the kids craft cart. we decided to collect all the broken crayons together and make nice new shiny ones...

step one ~

fill a silicone baking tray with all the ends of crayons (wrappers off) you can make them all the same colour/shade or you can go multicoloured.  melt them in the oven for about five ~ ten minutes on 180. and leave out to cool {i found that giving them a stir at this point stopped the wax and colour separating}

step two ~

tip them out!