Cover School Books For free !

These are Jack's Lovely covered school books for year 3 !
On his book list they ask for all their books to be covered with contact . Well I'm trying to be as green as possible and trying to avoid using more plastics (I wish our school was green in their thinking but they are not at all). So I will decide what I cover them with . As Jack loves drawing I asked him if he would like to draw some lovely pictures and we would stick them on the front of his books . The cost is free, way better for the environment  and they are original designs that he had great joy in drawing and colouring and he feels really proud of his covers for his books. I think they are great way better then any thing I could purchase from the shops.

Make Your Own Clock - From Recycling Junk !

Here is my completed recycled clock !
I made this clock from recycling an old rusty flat pan that I found in my street on the kerb ready for the kerb side rubbish pick up .That was early last year and when I saw it and I thought that would make a great out side clock. I would love to know what it was, if any one can shed any light as to what it is I would be really  grateful, I think it's made from cast iron and as you can see from the photo it has a handle only on one side, there is a hole near the number 6 that was also in it . Kev thinks it's a lid of some type. Kev drilled a hole in the middle for the hands and the clock movement is at the back which you just push through and attach the hands very easy. The numbers and hands we brought from cost plus clock movement cost $11.95 and numbers and hands cost $6.50 as I could only get black numbers in 20mm and with the dark back ground of the clock you couldn't hardly see them so after a little thinking ,I decided to cut white circles from an old ice cream lid and stick the self adhesive numbers on to the circles then I used double sided self adhesive and stuck them on to the clock face. The clock is on my outside wall and really easy to see from most of the back yard . I'm really happy with how it turned out, I used to have a terracotta clock there, but DP dropped it when changing the battery and broke it just before Christmas. The one before that also got broken about 8 years ago with my boys playing football . This one looks pretty indestructible which is great and another recycling project made from another man's rubbish ! I love that saying "One man's rubbish is another man's treasure ! How true that is !

This is the plastic ice cream container lid that I traced circles with pencil and cut them out with scissors.








 

This is a photo of the pan from the inside so if any ones knows what it is, I would love them to post and tell me. It's 16 inch or 40.5 cm diameter.

An Old Shabby Book !

Turn an old book in to some thing special !            This is an old dictionary that was my darling partner's in 3rd year at high school so it's over 42 years old . I was cutting a few pictures out of an old magazine the other day of roses and I just put this one on top of the book until I decided where to put them, it looked so nice I said to Kev doesn't this look lovely he agreed so I got out my glue stick and stuck it on the front . It looks really shabby chic ! We use this dictionary often as it sits on our computer table ! I think it turns some thing from really old and plain to some thing quite lovely !Roses always look gorgeous where ever they are !



Reuse A Mini Day Calendar For A Note Book !

Make a note book from a used daily calendar !
My friend Margaret gave me a little daily calender in Christmas 2009 which I used for 2010 it's filled with daily kindness. Today I thought now the year has ended what can I do with it ,you'll all know from reading most of my posts I love to reuse,reduce and recycle so I have turned it upside down and now it will be used for a little note pad to be used either near the phone or the computer to jot down websites or phone numbers etc. I thought it was a great idea so the gift keeps on giving ! Another recycled project and how simple is that turn upside down and reuse ! My blog friend Maria from "Everything has another use" will love this one I'm sure. Checkout her blog it's great here is the link http://everythinghasanotheruse.blogspot.com/

Home Made Dark Chocolate Rocky Road !

This is my Rocky Road recipe !
Jack and I made this for Kev's birthday which was yesterday 20th January. We love making home made gifts from the heart. He loves dark chocolate so we decided we would make him dark chocolate rocky road.
Here is my recipe
250 grams dark chocolate (we used 70% cocoa one)
250 grams rose turkish delight.
220 grams white marshmallows.
1 cup macadamia nuts.
a sprinkle of coconut.
Method.
Firstly I lined a square cake tin with glad bake,Then we put the chocolate into a bowl to melt over another bowl of hot water. Then We shelled the macadamia nuts and lightly roasted them for a few minutes in the fry pan.Then Jack chopped all the marshmallow's in half, I cut up the turkish delight into small pieces.As we chopped them we put them into the lined tin then sprinkled with a little bit of coconut then poured over the melted chocolate I put it into the fridge when it had gone hard I chopped it into small pieces and put it into a large jar.Then I printed out a tag on the computer and tied it with some gold curling ribbon. Kev loved it.
It should last him a while . If you wanted to you could use this recipe to make a few gifts from it, as it makes a good amount. It would also make lovely valentine gifts. (It didn't it was all gone in only 5 days he said it was so delicious) I said I might make him some more for valentines day ! If he's good ! lol

My Shabby Chic Linen Bag !

My shabby chic linen bag I made the other day !
I did a tutorial to help others make one !
I made another one some years back and used hessian ! I will also add a link to it as the pattern is very similar to make ! The finished size is 45cm x45cm or 17&3/4 inch x 17&3/4 inch & handles finished length 56 cm or 22 inches. This one is made using 100% linen for outer bag and handles 100% cotton fabric for lining and ruffle.
Here is the link to the hessian bag that is almost the same.
http://simpleliving-sherrie.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-hessian-rose-bag.html

If any one needs any help making one of these lovely bags please post and I will help you with more details .









Step 1&2 .
Cut a rectangle of fabric 91cm x 46 cm or 36 inches x 18&1/8 of an inch. That is the main body part of the bag. The lining will be the same measurements. Now fold fabric in half, right sides together and sew up the sides. you can either over lock the seams of zig zag them . I then sewed another row of stitching on the outside to make it look neater, sit flat and make it stronger. Then I cut a piece of lace for the top of the bag 11cm x 91cm or 4&3/4 inch x 35&7/8 of an inch, I used lace left over from making curtains. Now sew that on and around the top of the bag .

Step 3&4

Cut out the fabric for the ruffle around the top, I leave the edges raw as it gives a more shabby chic look .

7.5 cm x 189 cm or 3 inches x 741/2 inches it will really depend on how much you gather it up it's really up to you as long as the finished gathered ruffle is 91 cm or 35 &7/8 of an inch long so it will fit around the bag . You need to sew it along the edge of the lace that you have sewn already around the top. Then sew some braid along the middle of the ruffle to cover the stitching .

This one isn't pink with spots like the bag because I did two and couldn't decide which one to use, I will use this ruffle in the next bag I make.

Step 5.

Turn bag inside out and sew across corner gives bag a better shape without pointy corners . I get a square piece of paper and cut off the corner then I use it as a template . Also do the same with the lining .

Step 6.  

Cut a little bit of lace and make a little pocket that is open both ends and sewn in the middle on the front of the bag so the rose can be slipped in and bent up on the bottom to stop it coming out. That way the rose can be removed to wash the bag or change the rose maybe to a different colour for a different look . 

Step7.  

Now to make the handles these on this bag are 3cm or 1&1/4 inch finished width,and length 56 cm or 22inches, so cut them out 58.5 cm or 23 inches. I added a length of vilene to give it a little stiffening . I sewed it in then folded them the right way and sewed around the edges to flatten and neaten them.

Step 8.

Now we need to join the handles to the bag I measured 12.5 cm or 5 inches from the side edge pin and sew .

Step 9.

Now to put the lining in, refer to step 1 & 2 as you need to cut the same size as the bag to begin with. 

I made a large pocket with zip another pocket with a mobile phone pocket sewn on it . It's up to you if you want pockets and what size you would like.   

                                                             

   

Step 10. 

Sewn up lining like the bag right sides together then sew across the corners like in step  5. then put inside the bag with wrong sides together line up the side seams together and fold in top of each and sewn around to join them together . bag is completed .

Step 11.

It's optional ,in this bag I made the lining a little shorter and sewed a strip of linen 4cm or 1&1/2 inches to each end of the lining so when the bag is completed you don't see the lining at the top its your choice. The hessian bag the lining goes right to the top.

                                     

Bottle Your Own Water !

I bottle our own water !
Kev brought him self two packs of four bottles of lemon lime & bitters for Christmas & the new year. So I washed them as he drank them, then removed the labels and filled them with our rainwater from our drinking water tank. I keep them in the fridge and when we go out I put them in our esky cooler bag, so never have to buy expensive drinks while we are out, especially this hot weather. Saves us lots of money and better for our health .I've been doing this for years and any larger glass bottles I also fill up and keep them in the fridge for either drinking at home or if going out for picnics or other outings. I prefer using glass as apposed to plastic and the smaller bottles aren't as heavy if I have one in my handbag in case I get thirsty while out shopping ! I'm always prepared with my own water. About 6 years ago I left the house without water and it was a scorching hot day I needed a drink I purchased a bottle of water and it tasted terrible, like soapy water then I ended up buying another one a little better but not much, so now I never leave home with out water. So another win win better for my health rainwater saves my money and I recycle a lot of my glass bottles.

Our Solar Panel Update !

On December 24th we finally got our Solar system fully operational.
If you read my earlier post about us getting our second lot of solar panels in October you will know we had difficulties getting the system working to full capacity. But after Kev doing heaps of research as to why it wasn't working he worked out that our cable wasn't bigger enough .So the full story is written by my darling partner Kev below !
Our last bill period from 3rd November to 4th January was $124.45 credit, which is great news !

How did we solve it? We laid another cable single phrase 35mm2 directly from the solar inverter to our meter box bypassing our undersized cable 3 phrase 10mm2 home connection. This way we eliminated the large voltage gain being caused by the inverter output. The 35mm2 cable only had a voltage gain of 7 to 8 volts.

Helpful advice for others who want to install solar systems !

1. Check where you are located. Urban areas generally have short connection lengths from street to house. Also they usually have a large number of customers over short local distribution lines. Semi-rural and rural areas can have long connection lengths from street to house. Also they can have small numbers of customers over long local distribution line. The Power Supplier will generally have higher starting voltages to compensate for the losses in the distribution and connections lines. Unfortunately this works against the solar system generator.

2. Check with your Power Supplier what the maximum voltage they are providing at your meter and what the grid impedance is at your meter. This can affect the size of the solar system you can install.

3. Check if you can the size of your connection cable from street to your house. Even with urban areas, if your house connection cable is undersized, it may not be able take your solar system to higher output system. With older houses your cable sizes may be as low as 6mm2. 16mm2 connection cable will be the minimum size required. In semi-rural and rural areas the distance from our house to the distribution line take off point is critical. With high starting voltages and long distances may require cable size upgrading to be able to stay below the upper voltage limit (264 volts is the Australia standard).

4. Select a Solar System installers who understands what the potential problems can be and who is willing to assist in dealing with the Power Supplier.

5. Don't proceed with the installation of larger systems (>1.5Kw) unless your system installer and power supplier can give you assurance the system will work to it's design capacity.

Solar Systems Observations.

1. Solar panels are designed to operate at their maximum at 25 degrees. Their performance becomes less and less the hotter it gets over 25 degrees. e.g. 25 degrees 5000 watts 30 degrees 4500 watts 35 degrees 4000 watts. Sunny Spring and Autumn days are the best production times.

2. Solar panels don't have to face true north. Ours are 36 degrees off north and still have a 96% efficiency rating.

3. All states except NSW and ACT use gross tariff  method. The less power you use while the sun shines, the more power you can export to the grid.

4. When you export to "the grid" you are only exporting to your local distribution line. The Power Supplier's transformers are designed to download to it's distribution lines not upload it back further into the grid. That is if all your neighbour's installed large solar systems then you could have the situation where no one would be able to export to "the grid".

5. The South West of WA the average daily production for a 6 panel system is about 4 KWh(Units).

Inverter Production Readout

Graph of Production, Consumption and Grid Export
10 to 30 Solar Panels

The company we used was Solvation - A small company based in Fremantle, Western Australia.  Alex Ackerman the owner/manager was very professional, very helpful and gave excellent service. He assisted us through the whole process of our initial 1.05Kw system to the upgraded 4.6Kw system.
So any one considering getting solar panels installed we would highly recommend Alex and his team .


Mend Instead Of Replacing If You Can !

I mended my leaf rakers !
I'm not sure what they are called, I use them a lot when I rake up a big heap of leaves and kangaroo poo. I use them to scoop it all up off the lawn and put in to our compost hole. One of the handles broke some time back ,so I decided to mend them so they last at least another 10 years. I used some plastic coated wire that we have kept from when our son Jack has gotten Thomas the tank engine and friends.If any one has ever tried to take the engines from the box they will know how hard it can be with all the wire to hold them in place its a major exercise, I can tell you. Any way I got a piece of it, doubled it to save cutting it, threaded it through the holes then I used a used plastic straw so it wouldn't cut in to my hand when I used them,I then twisted the wire on the inside.I'm happy with the end result. I've just saved another item from going to landfill and my money,not needing to purchase another set. So a win win for me and the environment. What other things do people mend around the garden and back yard , any tips please post and share them with us all.

Make A Note Pad ! (From recycled envelopes)

Reuse all your old used envelopes ! And make a note pad ! So when all your bills come in the post ,reuse the envelopes by clipping them together. I use mine to write shopping lists ,recipes from magazines (from the library) to do lists, to jot down phone numbers etc. That way you can reuse them all before putting into compost or for the worms. Another way to reduce,reuse and recycle ! What do others do with all their used envelopes? Please post and share with us . We try to get as many of our accounts sent through our email , but some still don't do that yet .

The Winner Of The Black Envirobag Is !

Thank you all for entering my envirobag giveaway !

They were all good comments and again thank you ..so I put the names in a cup and drew one out .....drum roll.......... and the winner is Shangri La. Congratulations on being the winner ...So could you please send me an email to simplelivingsherrie@gmail.com with your name and mailing address and I will post you the envirobag asap ..thanks again for entering :)

Sherrie :)

Make Your Own Birthday Cards !

Save money and make your own cards & they are more personal !

So easy to make, I made these cards using some card in different colours, these roses I cut out from a holiday travel brochure (free from travel agent) the pink roses I coloured with pink texta .The gold paper was the lining in some envelopes I had, the coloured  paper was from two books of scrap booking paper I brought from the $2 shop which will last me years.I printed out happy birthday on our printer and just layered the papers as you can see in photo above. I used the double sided glue tape which also was $2 has 25 metres which will also last me years. You could make the cards for any occasion ,mothers day ,anniversary, engagement etc... You can quite often make them using papers from packaging eg gold paper from blocks of chocolate and use card board from packaging .It's amazing what you can find to use. So stop buying cards and make your own and better for the environment by recycling.
Happy card making every one !

Make Hair Accessories ! From recylcling old buttons !

Make Your Own Hair Accessories !
I needed a birthday gift for a seven year old little girl .
So yesterday I made a set of pony tail holders. I used Two black retro buttons from my huge button collection and two plain buttons I covered with fabric and sewed them together. Then I add some pink lace and sewed them to some elastic .Then I found a piece of grey cardboard to hold them on, then printed a label and glued it on. I sent them to our little friend Geni in Sydney today . I have included a tutorial of how I made them if any one would like to make designer ponytail holders. That's what I like most about making gifts for family and friends, no one in the world will have the same thing. Its an original ! I hope she likes them . I love making girl stuff I have so many pink fabrics and lots of other bits and pieces and I have 3 sons ..I might get some grand daughters one day, then I'll be in my element making dresses and little bags and dolls clothes and lots of hair accessories. I hope I haven't passed it by then. So if you have daughters and grand daughters or nieces or other girls in your circle of family or friends this is a great way to use up any old buttons you have. Another great recycling project .


Step 1.
Cut a circle bigger then the button you want to cover

          













Step 2.
Start with a knot in the cotton and sew around the edge.

Step 3.
Now place the smaller button in the centre and pull up cotton tight and sew to secure it well.

Step 4.
It should look like the picture below.

Step 5.

I joined the buttons together through the holes a few times. This was my first attempt to make these it would be best to sew them straight to the elastic now while you have the needle and cotton in it already .I will do the same with the next ones I make .



Step 6.

For the lace trim sew around it try to pull it between the two buttons and sew to secure it in place .

It was a bit fiddly, so next time I will sew it to the underside of the small covered button first that will be a lot easier.

Step 7.

You could either buy hair elastics to sew buttons on or make your own by cutting the length of elastic you want and tying it into a knot to join the ends .

Step 8.

To give then as gifts you can cut a piece of cardboard and push them on ,you could also print out a label with persons name, makes it more personable. you can make lots of changes to suit yourself ,with or without lace. if they are fancy buttons don't cover them .

My New Vision Board !

This is my new vision board !
As its the beginning of a brand new year I thought I would make a new vision board of what I'm wanting to create in my life. So the last few days I've been working on it , its not as easy as you first think .When I first made one a few years ago I looked through magazines and as I didn't really need any more material possessions, I had to really think what did I want . This year I found it really easy as I want to create good health and vitality, so I plan to look at it every day and read and really take it into my being .I have left a few gaps as I couldn't find any thing else I wanted I would like a nice outdoor setting but will need to find I picture of the one I really want and with my health improving I would like to buy myself a really good mountain bike and go bike riding a few times every week. When I watched the secret a few years ago they talked about vision boards also saw an episode of Oprah and thy talked about vision boards. One of her guests said be careful what you put on your vision board as she had put a picture of  a lounge she liked and it had a dog on it she said she now has a dog .I'd love to hear about any one else making vision boards and their experiences of what they have manifested in their own life ..So please post and tell us !

Wind Up Torch Saves Money On Batteries !

Our Wind Up Torch Has Been A Real Investment ! It's called a Mini Magic Torch ! Wind up system No batteries or light bulbs ever required !How many of you out there have had a torch in the cupboard and you go to use it and the batteries are flat ...how frustating is that ...it has happened to us lots of times ..."but no any more"you spent money on batteries and maybe used it once or twice ...what a waste ! Well with the wind up torch you won't have that problem ever again which is great... We have two of them and they are used often and the best part is you never need to buy any batteries for them...how great is that it's a real money saver I can tell you ...We brought one from bunnings in 2008 and so impressed with it we brought another one from bunnings about 6 months or so later ...You just wind them when you need light how easy is that ..(very easy )They have a strap on them and we have one in our bedroom incase the power goes out and one in our sons room hanging on his door so we always know where they are when we need them in a hurry. For the small cost of under $20 no home should be with out one ! They are also great to use for camping ...they would make great gifts for family and friends !