Making oven mitts from recycling a fabric rice bag !

I love recycling ..finding a use for things so many others just toss in the bin..

After finishing all the rice in this fabric bag I decided to use it and make oven mitts..

Boy oven mitts are so handy in the kitchen... I use mine just about daily ..to remove my bread from bread maker to getting things out of the oven..The print is on both sides of the bag so will make two sets..Thinking there would be plenty of tutorials on the net ..but I guess one more wont hurt.. These would also make great Christmas gifts ..Still working on the tutorial ..hope to have it up in the next few days..

Make Your Own "Protection Guard" Card ...It could save you Hundreds if not thousands of dollars !

Make your own protection guard card for a few cents..I've been planing to do this blog for many months. finally its here...I keep seeing them selling protection guard cards on the shopping show and they are selling them 2 for $50 plus $10 postage. I say save your money and make your own..So many people these days are getting skimmed a friend of mine got skimmed just recently its a pretty scary thought, that people can just walk past you with a skimmer and you wouldn't even know it ...until you check your bank account and find money has disappeared from your account and it could be months before your bank refunds you the money or you could be on holiday, what  a disaster that would be ...Any way back to making your own.This is how I made mine, I just used an old plastic card the same size as my credit card and covered it with aluminum foil and you place it in your wallet or purse next to your credit cards and it stops any one skimming your card ..too easy ...I tested it out when we went shopping just to make sure it worked, I held my card on either side of the foil card and it blocked all my information...So I just wanted to share this with you all....

Quilts ! I love quilting ..My brick quilt top

A brick quilt top !

I just need to cut my bamboo batting and backing so I can quilt this one ..I will take a photo and post when its completed..For the template I actually measured a standard house brick ..I cut 105 full brick pieces and 14 half bricks..Jack keeps asking me when am I going to finish it ..As I've made 2 more other quilts since..I made a rag quilt last month, which I'll post soon when I get some better photos and one for Jack's bed in blue and white ..

Making Boxer Shorts + Reusing an old sheet to make boxer shorts pattern !

These are the cotton boxer shorts I made for myself on Sunday night !

After getting into my very very disorganized sewing room on Sunday I gave it a good declutter and clean up ..its looking pretty good today, I'm very impressed ..Just wish I could keep it looking like this..I never put things away after I either sew or craft ..tip to myself clean up after each project ..not always possible but I will try to do better...Any way after wards I decided to sew my self some boxer shorts which I wear for pj bottoms, even in winter to bed...and a reward for all my hard work..they are so quick and simple to make and probably only need about half a metre of fabric, must check next time I make another pair...depending on your size of course..Boxers also make great gifts for all the males and females in your life...I've also made them in the past for my 3 sons.....and a friend hubby for his birthday..Also I have and old torn and worn out cotton sheet that I used to make a pattern for the boxers..and it will be used to make other patterns too...If any one is interested in making boxer shorts please let me know and I'll do a tutorial .. Another great way to recycle ..you can see some of my sewing room ..looks nice and clean and my table free of stuff..so I can actually use it again...
Tip:Here is the link to my blog post on inserting elastic the quick and easy way Here

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Wrapping a bottle of wine for a gift for free !

Wrapping a bottle of wine for a gift!

I saw this idea recently and they used newspaper but yesterday as I was tidying the kitchen table and sorting the catalogues, there was one from a liquor store and I thought that would make great gift wrap for a bottle of wine ..so easy to do and its free ..As I've become more and more green I cannot understand spending good money on wrapping paper that just gets thrown away ..I'd rather spend that little extra on the gift instead...So this is a great idea and looks really festive..You could also use magazine pages joined together ..The catalogue had 4 pages with a staple in the middle so I opened it out flat and laid my bottle down and left enough paper to tuck under the bottom and then I cut strips into the paper just until the top of the bottle. Then I used my scissors to curl all the strips ..just like you do when using curling ribbon...But as its paper you need to be a bit more careful as they can rip quite easily ..I lost a few ... Of course this can be used for any bottle not just wine but maybe a bottle of your homemade lemon cordial ..A bottle of homemade chocolate sauce..Good for your pocket and the environment...

This is what it looked like before I curled all the strips!

You can use a piece of sticky tape or string around the neck of the bottle to keep it all in place ..

How to wrap gifts for free !

I love reusing magazine pages for so many things !

Some are just so lovely.. This photo above is a block of chocolate wrapped up in a page from a magazine ..

that I gave to a friend for his birthday ..I have used them to make lolly bags for my son Jack's birthday, ..used them to make cards..bows for gifts and you can wrap so many small gifts..free wrapping paper ..I rarely ever buy magazines these days ..so expensive ..I have heaps in my sewing /craft room..I used to buy some from our library 6 for 50cents...when I get to the library I can read all the latest magazines for free.. I'd love to hear what else, others use magazines pages for ..I'm also currently working on 2 projects that I'm using the magazine pages for..I'll share with you when completed...

Do you really need to spend money on cards !

Make your own cards from recycling old magazine pages !

I have to admit I love making my own cards to send to family and friends. So much more satisfying for me personally to make my own..I was looking for something this morning in my craft /sewing room and in one of my many ..way too many ..boxes... I found a picture of these roses above that I had cut from a magazine page quite some time back and I had also made this envelope out of a magazine page of beautiful roses ..So today I cut a piece of white card from a sketch pad I bought some years ago to use to make cards cost was $2 and I've made heaps from it already so very cost effective...but if you don't want to purchase any thing you can find card stock that comes in different type of packaging eg  from sheets, boxes etc have a look around and I'm sure you will be amazed at what you can find once you start looking ..So all you need to do is find a lovely picture from an old magazine, cut it out and either glue it to the card stock or use double sided tape ...So I suggest before throwing any magazines out cut some pictures out that you know your family and friends will like and either store them until ready or make up some cards so they will be ready to send when a birthday or special days arrives..That way you will always be prepared and you wont need to rush out and spend money you don't have or if you are short on time ...To me they are gifts from the heart ....

Sorry photo is a little blurry ..But you can see it well enough to get the idea..

Making Lavender Hearts ! They make lovely Valentine's gifts for all your girl friends.

 

Lavender Hearts I made one and sent to a friend wishing her a happy Valentine's Day !

I hope it brightens her day a little..

These are so easy to make and they can be made from any scraps of fabric left over from other projects I was thinking you could also use pretty old hankies ..I made a template of a heart from recycling a piece of plastic (photo below) not sure what I used as I made it some years back and I also made a paper one a bit smaller so that could be used to trace the stitching outline around the heart...I used a piece of pink ribbon so the heart can be hung up..And then I filled them with lavender from my garden...They make lovely gifts for any occasion...I'm going to make some more for Jack's schools Mother's Day stall...They can be hung on coat hangers to make your wardrobe smell nice, put in your lingerie draw..hang them on door knobs/ over bed heads to make your rooms smell nice and they look so pretty ..Just thinking you could make them in white lace for Brides to hang on coat hanger with their wedding dress...So many other ideas I'm sure...

I used floral for the front and pink with spots for the back..

I stitched them by hand using a thick cotton thread so the stitching becomes a feature but you could also stitch them on your machine, especially if making lots of them and short on time.. Just stitch the ribbon in place and leave a gap to fill with lavender then stitch the gap up and its completed..

These are two completed hearts with tags !

You can see one I stitched around the heart using chain stitch just to see which one I liked best, personally I prefer the plain straight stitching .. and it was a lot quicker to do too ..its a personal choice..

These two I made tags for saying "Happy Mother's Day" and "Happy Valentine's Day" but you could put "Happy Birthday " I also added the recipients name to make it a bit more special...

Here are the plastic and paper templates I made!

You can make the hearts any size you like but mine are made using fabric 5 &1/2 inch square. If using scraps of fabric then I position the plastic heart template to maximize wastage.Then I cut them out using pinking shears to give the hearts a crinkle edge ...makes them look prettier...Once you cut the large hearts out you pin them together and put the paper template in the middle and trace around the edge to use that for your sewing guide..then stitch away ...
Happy Valentine's Day Every one x !

Happy 60th Birthday To My Gorgeous Kev ! A gift for his sweet tooth..

A gift for my sweet tooth partner !

It was Kev's 60th birthday yesterday 20th of January. So I got a 2 litre glass jar, one I used to brew kombucha in ..As I use a 10 litre glass container for that now..I made a label and stuck it on with double sided tape ..I love double sides tape ..but I've probably mentioned that a few times on blog posts already ...its fabulous stuff...one more time yay for double sided tape..I was lucky enough to get a $20 voucher from a store that sells these ouzo lollies made in Greece..So I spent a little extra and bought 2 kilo of them..I bought some for Kev for Christmas and he loved them .. ..So to fill the jar I used 1 kilo of them ..I was thinking I could keep refilling the jar as he eats them so it appears like a never ending jar of lollies or I could put the other kilo a way for either next birthday or Christmas..or if I need a gift during the year I could fill a few more jars and give them as gifts ..either way they are put away until needed at some later stage..I gave it to him yesterday but it was empty and I said its filed with love...The lollies arrived today in the mail so when he gets home he can have them..like 2 gifts in one ...lots of sugar and lots of love ..Happy 60th my love ...

Just another great, simple, easy gift for some one you love..

Christmas Recycled Gift Tags !

                                                 Christmas Recycled Gift Tags !
I made these gift tags a few weeks ago from recycling an old school dictionary and brown paper that Kev's National Geographic magazine comes in..
I just folded the dictionary pages in half then I sewed around them on my sewing machine in red cotton. I then printed out Merry Christmas using FlemishScript BT with font size 44.Then I sewed around that on the folded dictionary page..I think they look rather rustic and cute... And on the back I stuck a piece of brown paper to write to the recipient wishing them a Merry Christmas. Below you will see I used them on 3 gifts ..One for Jack's school teacher , one for Jack's bus driver and one for our wonderful postman. I bought tins of quality street chocolates and wrapped them in calico ham bags, that I bought on sale some years back ...That way there isn't any thing to throw away ..hopefully they will keep the gift tags and use for book marks..Or reuse by giving it to some one else attached to a Christmas gift, by either removing the paper from the back or covering it over with another piece ...Could even be used for a Christmas tree ornament .

Birthday Cards + Make Envelopes To Match The Gift Wrap !

Birthday Cards !
I love making my own birthday cards to send to family and friends...makes them so much for personable, they are gifts from my heart... They also don't cost much to make either, but it's more about the love and thought, then how much things cost...Well that's how I feel any way..I'd rather receive something that cost a few dollars that I really needed or that really touched my heart then something expensive that I have no need for ..Any way I made this birthday card for a very special friends birthday that will be this Friday ..I also copied for her a favourite CD I have been listening too..Any way while wrapping the CD I had an idea. I 'd make a matching envelope from the gift wrapping paper. To me that makes receiving the mail even more special and it looks so much prettier then a plain white one, that would have been much easier, but I love making things a little more special..it's all about those special extra touches ..well again that's how I feel ...I hope others see it the same way..So I will post it off first thing tomorrow so it arrives on her special day ...

Making gift tags from recycling brown paper !

Recycling brown paper packaging !
Kev always gets his subscription to National Geographic magazine in the mail, which comes in  brown paper packaging...As I love to recycle most things I'm always coming up with ways to reuse most things others just throw away... Yes it could be good for the worms and the compost ...But I like to be a little more creative then that ...so I have made little gift tags which I think look rather lovely and as I'm always making gifts for family and friends they should come in handy ...They look really rustic and cute ..so all you will need is some string, scissors a hole punch and some eyelet rings that stick over the punched out hole ...and a printer ...so all I did was cut the paper to size to fit in printer and on Microsoft  word type out "Made with Love" but you could create your own words...this one can be used on craft items I have made or any cooked goodies like cookies or chocolate truffles etc..

This is how it looks after printing one row..just cut that of and print another row...then another. after cutting them to size snip of the 2 corners and punch a hole in the middle on that end..stick on the eyelet ring, then thread with string or jute or ribbon ...now they are ready to be tied to your gifts..I made quiet a few and have them in a container in my craft room ..

This is how the packaging looked before the transformation.. ...I love recycling ...for very low cost or some times no cost at all ..you can create some thing new and have so much fun in the process  ...and also save heaps of money ...and our planet...I always have such a lot of fun ...
I also reuse the paper to wrap up small gifts, I also fold inside out to reuse for sending gifts in the mail...
use it to make little gift bags, bonbons, small paper patterns or templates for quilting etc...so many great ideas..if you have any others please post and share....wrap around pot plants that you are giving for gifts..

Re-Using Plastic Postal Satchels !

I have been saving the plastic postal satchels, knowing one day I would find a use for them, rather then just throwing them away. It's that time of the year again when Children are heading back to school and on Jack's school book list they ask you to cover their school books in contact. As I try to not purchase more plastics then really necessary, I won't be buying contact, haven't for quite a few years now. Then I had a thought why not reuse the plastic postal satchels I have saved, what a great idea if I do say so myself. You can cover them with all the writing on the outside or you can turn then inside out and use them with the black side, I've decided to do both as you can see below.I will need to get a wriggle on and cover the rest as Jack goes back to school on Monday, boy the school holidays have flown by so quickly ....Kev also goes back to work this week, I'll miss them both ...have really loved them both being home and another down side I'll have to start getting up early again to get Jack of to school....I have another use for postal satchels that I'll share with you another time when I've made it up to show you all....

Gratitude Advent Calendar Tree !

A few weeks ago I had an idea to make a gratitude advent calendar tree! I will still put Jack's advent calendar up that we fill with little treats for every day leading up to Christmas !
This gratitude advent calendar tree, is made using an old dead branch from a peppermint tree in our yard. I put it into an empty old 1 litre olive oil bottle, then I punched out little tags in red, green and white paper and punched a hole and threaded through some heavy cotton tied each into a knot to secure the end. I made 24 tags for each person, being the 3 of us I made 72. So the idea is to get a tag each day and write what you are grateful for that day then hang it on the tree. Thought it would make Jack more aware of things that are important to him, things in his life that he is really grateful  for ...So many people these days keep Gratitude journals...These little tags could be great to keep and bring out the next year and read them to see what you were grateful for last year ...
The cost to make this is only a few cents and hoping it will add such meaning to your days leading up to Christmas.




These are the tags I made using a scallop punch..
but you could just cut squares or other shapes if you don't have a fancy punch ...

 This is a big batch of them that I made.







  ...

To cut the threads quicker especially if you are making lots of them, I cut mine 16cm or 6 &1/2 inches long. I cut a piece of card board the same length and wrapped the thread around lots of times then I cut the ends.You need to make 24 tags for each person, from the 1st of December until the 24th December. I made a lot more as I was making more for gifts for friends...

Make A Money Purse /Pouch ! From Recycling Jeans !

I made a money pouch for my son Jack today!
You could also call it a purse but for a young boy who's 10 it sounds better saying a money pouch. If I said it was a purse he may not be happy to use it, thinking that's what girls use. Any one who has children will know you need the right words some times. This is really a continuation from my last post, about recycling jeans. I made this today out of old jean legs that were cut off. Jack can take it in his  school bag when he takes money to school for what ever reason. It took me about 10 minutes to make so quick and simple and cost was nothing. The zip was from an old pair of jeans that were cut down for shorts, which need to go into the rag bag. I did a quick tutorial as I went a long. This can be made any size but of course you will need a bigger zip.

 

Step 1.
I ripped the fabric 7 inches X 5& 1/2 inches.

Step 2.
Fold over fabric a little and line up your zip then sew using zipper foot. Then sew other side it will be a little fiddly trying to get it under the machine being so small, it will be easier if you have a join at the bottom.

Step 3.
With the zip sewn in sew each side the right side of fabric like shown as we will do a french seam, no raw edges will be visible. then turn inside out and sew sides again .

Step 4.
As you can see fold inside out and sew sides then fold in the right way ...then it is completed. How easy is that.

Completed purse/pouch
I wrote Jack's name on the front in permanent maker. Should last years as the metal zips are pretty tough, been used 100's or probably 1000's of times already... These would be lovely for little girls/ladies with some lace across the front.

Make Your Own Paper DVD &CD Cases ! Now you don't need to buy plastic ones !

Make Your Own Paper DVD &CD Cases !

These can be made from any scrap paper, I made these using just plain white A4 copy paper they cost less then one cent each. These are great if you copy some music or movie or photos for yourself or to give to a friend, better then buying more plastic cases. They are very quick and easy to make I will show you a step by step process to follow. All you need is a piece of A4 paper no glue or tape needed

Step 1.
Fold as shown in photo.

Step 2.
Fold as shown in photo.

Step 3.
Fold again as shown in photo .

Step 4.
The paper case should look like this so far.

The paper case should look like this while lying  out flat.









Step 5.
You fold over the top two corners as shown in photo











Step 6.
Then the two top corners you fold back inside them selves.The finished case should look like this, then you can write on the front the title of the DVD or CD.
Now that's pretty quick and easy isn't it...The more you make the quicker they are to make. 
Optional you could use a tiny piece of tape to secure it, it's up to you, I was thinking the other day when I make these to give away I might put a tiny piece of sticky velcro to secure them, but if you fold them really well probably not necessary, maybe just a nice touch if they are used for gifts. If children are giving them to family and friends they may like to decorate them with their own drawings.Could be a lovely gift for their grand parents, gives them that personal touch that I'm sure grand parents would treasure.

August Junk Challenge! Upcycle a small cupboard !

Another great recycled project. Make a little kitchen for the little chef in the family how sweet is this ! A great way to recycle a little TVcabinet !

August Junk Challenge ! Upcycling old tape measures!

Here is another great recycled project using old tape measures to make bags ..How nifty is that especially if you are like me and love sewing !

August Junk Challenge ! Recycling old wooden rulers !

Another recycled project, recycling old wooden rulers I really love these they are gorgeous rustic and charming !

Worry Dolls Giveaway !

Worry Dolls !I have 3 to Giveaway !
A few weeks ago I bought these worry dolls after reading a comment posted on a forum I'm a member of. The mother has a young girl who worries about lots of things to the point it affects her health, worry isn't good for any ones health. So after reading the comment I decided to check out the website and buy some worry dolls. My son Jack can be a bit of a worrier at times, he finds it hard to put it aside and get on with his life. When he was playing cricket at the beginning of the year him and his father had an altercation of sorts and as his dad was the coach he didn't let Jack play, which perhaps wasn't the best decision. Any way to cut a long story shorter, most nights for many months when he went to bed he would think about it and get all upset and relive the event again and again which distressed him and myself as it kept me awake as well.. After buying  the worry dolls,I gave Jack two of them, for him to give his worries to, I will say it really has helped him, every time he starts to worry about something else he or both of us usually say put it into the worry dolls which he does and seems to sleep a lot better and so do I, thank goodness.He keeps his worry dolls on a table next to his bed. You can also put them under your pillow. They are made by ladies in Guatemala that have fair trade certification. Here is the website to have a look  http://www.worrydolls.com.au

So after all that I'm giving 3 worry dolls away to help some other children to sleep better!

You need to be a follower of my blog and tell me in 25 words or less how you think a worry doll might help your child. Please leave a comment and I'll choose the best three.
Giveaway closes Wednesday August 22nd .
Australian residents only ...