Perfect morning

Winter decided to make a last minute appearance the last couple of days. Not pleasant after all the warm & really warm days that we have had in the last couple of weeks. It was a bit of a shock. I had two jumpers on yesterday! Then I woke up this morning. Blue skies, sunshine & it was warm. I couldn’t believe the total turn around that the weather has done over just one night.

I am really glad that things warmed up & the sunshine came out, I had plans to go to the rock pools down at the beach with a couple of friends. Winter (did I mention it was raining yesterday too) weather isn’t really pleasant beach weather (for me anyway). But today I was able to throw on a pair of shorts, a shirt, grab my hat & heading down to the coast.

I am not really a beach person, I am really not that fond of sand & salt water just makes me feel sticky. But when I am at the beach with friends (or family) none of that  matters & I have a good time. Today was not exception, we sat on a big bamboo mat, watched my friends kids play in the water, chatted, paddled in the water & ate some yummy nibbles.

Such a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours in the morning. Can’t wait to do it again!!!

Craft Lift

I love reading blogs from people around the world, there are some seriously talented people out there. I am always saying ‘that is such a good idea’ or ‘I could do that’, but I never do. Whether it is because of procrastination or just lack of motivation I never end up doing any of the ideas that I find. So here is where craft lifting comes in, here is where I actually have a go and making something that I have seen on another blog. Click here & here is see my pervious craft lifts.

Today’s craft lift comes via the blog Who is Tracey? by Tracey Schultz. She has come up with a great idea to keep track of birthday’s & anniversary’s as well as a place to store cards, I really loved this idea because other than a gift you have everything at your finger tips & hopefully will help me not forget anyone’s birthday’s or anniversary’s again (it has happened twice in the last few months already!!!). Click here to head over to her blog & check out how she came up with her idea. Tracey is also offering a free printable of the birthday calendar that she made (love a free printable).

I decided to modify the idea alittle, mostly with making the pages A4 so they will fit into my Household binder.

1. I created in Microsoft publisher 12 calendar pages that were 1/3 page in size. I used cardstock just so when they are made into pockets they will hold up abit better than plain paper.

2. Flipping the calendar part over place double-sided tape on 3 sides (keep the top of the calendar part open, that is how the pocket is formed), I unfortunately use white double-sided tape which didn’t photograph well so I have added the red squiggle lines in photoshop.

3. Now get a another piece of A4 cardstock, pull off the backing to the double-sided tape & adhere the calendar piece to the bottom of the A4 piece of cardstock.

4. Now you have your pocket (this is where you slip birthday/anniversary cards)

1. To added these pages to your folder (I am using a two D ring binder) gentle fold over your A4 page & only crease the very edge.

2. Only creasing the very edge leaves you with a mark to line your hole punch up with.

3. Line your hole punch up with the small crease you made & punch your holes.

4. There you go, one completed page. Repeat all the steps for the other 11 months of the year.

I have also created a title page & placed my title page & all 12 months calendar pages into my household binder. Now I just have to make some cards to put in the pockets (actually have a couple of birthday’s that I have to make cards for so). This was such an easy craft to finish…..now to get off my butt & do some of those other drafts I have been meaning to do (I have tagged alot of pillow tutorials!).

Pillowcases

*This is my 270th post, wow! Can’t believe how quickly the numbers fly by*

Did you know that the humble pillowcases as heaps of uses other than for covering a pillow? I did!!!! Thought I would show a couple of the ways I use pillowcases around our house and few others that I have found that I am defiantly going to be using.

1. Delicate washing bag

We use to lose socks in our washing machine all the time, I have no idea how they would disappear but after doing the washing I would find at least one  lonely sock. Also the hook & eyes on the back of my bras would always snags other clothing, getting bent out of shape and or causing holes & tears. Not good! We use to buy those delicate washing bags from the supermarket (or whenever I was in the laundry department) but they would only last a few weeks before deinergrate, or the zipper would catch on something in the washing opening up & everything would come out (so not the point!). The hook & eyes on my bras would still catch on the netting fabric too. So I started using old pillowcases, at first I sewed a drawstring into the top but found that it didn’t close that well and the odd sock was still making a break for it during the wash. Then I used velcro, that did the trick. Everything stayed where it was suppose to be and nothing escaped.

Pillowcases do still wear out, but they aren’t expensive to replace (unlike washing bags from the store), if you have spares around the house then they are pretty much free. I also recycle the velcro, removing it from the worn out pillowcases & sewing it on to the new one.

2. Ceiling fan cleaner

Every room in our house  has a ceiling fan, we use them almost 12 months of the year. During summer they keeps us cool & in winter they increase the efficiency of our heater by keeping the warm air circulating. But they get dusty. Yuck! Which is even more important because both myself & WH are asthmatics and dust really isn’t our friend. Cleaning ceiling fans can be messes & difficult, but I have found using a damp pillowcases makes the job alot easier.

You place each fan blade (one at a time) inside your damp pillowcase, as you pull the pillowcase off rub the dust off. Best thing is that all the dust stays on the inside of the pillowcases, when your done just throw the pillowcases into the wash & your ready to go again.

Searching the www I found heaps of other really good uses for pillowcases

10 uses for pillowcases on Re-nest

Unique ways to use pillowcases on Squidoo

11 creative cleaning uses for pillowcases

Ever-open laundry bag on Martha Stewart (I am doing this one for our bathroom as soon as I find a really cute pillowcase from the op-shop)

Do you have any interesting uses for the humble pillowcase?

Scrapbookers dream?

I love scrapbooking, I took a bit of an absence from scrapbooking for most of last and this year. I don’t really know why….probably as something to do with the state of my scraping space (did a clean up a while ago, click here & here, but it still needs LOADS of work). A couple of weeks ago I scrapped three pages in a matter of days (click here) & I am in the midst of planning for our holiday to New Zealand album. I was reading through the blogs that I follow & something caught my eye on Happiness is…. by Shannon Eileen, this is one of those blogs I generally only actually read if something catches my attention. Today she had a link to a yet-to-be released Android appt called Evertale. Check out Shannon’s post about Evertale she has a link to a strange but weird video that certainly makes you want to know more about Evertale.

From what I gather Evertale is an appt that acts like a self-writing scrapbook. Recording your memories for you. As I said before this appt hasn’t launched yet, but I sign-up on their website to be informed when it does launch. I am so curious. Aren’t you? Click here to sign up yourself.

Girls Retreat Weekend 2011

I’m going to be honest, I totally forgot that I signed up for my church’s Girls Retreat Weekend. I think that is because the weekend was only a week after we came back from our New Zealand trip. I just wasn’t ready to pack my bags & head off again, particularly with WH (kind mushy sounding I know, but I do love him very much). But WH really urged me to go, saying (rightly so) that I  would regret not going if I didn’t.

It was a great weekend, this is the second Girls Retreat Weekend that our church has run. We stayed in the same place as last year, an apartment resort in Coolum 30mins north of home. We stay in villa style accommodation that can fit 5-6 (depending if a couple of people share the double-king sized bed) people, each villa has their own kitchen, dinning & lounge. This year we had 25 women on the retreat, we ate dinner each night together as a big group & had all other meals (breakfast & lunch) separately in our villa groups. As for what we did this year, loads! Unlike last year we didn’t have a totally filled up schedule, which was nice & relaxing.

On Saturday morning we had the choice of going for a walk up Mt Coolum (did that last year), going for a surf, going to the  Eumundi Markets (my choice!) or sleeping in. I was really drawn to the sleeping in choice at first, but I can sleep in any day of the week so I opted to go to the markets. I haven’t been to the Eumundi markets in years! I couldn’t belive how much it had grown. I went with three other ladies & ran into four more ladies  actually at the markets. I bought myself a necklace & a too cute birdie brooch. Also got to eat macaroons for the first time, had a double chocolate one & a chocolate & cherry one yummy, yummy!

When we arrived at the markets we kinda got our car stuck in the mud! Really stuck too. Thankfully when we were ready to leave a kind gentlemen came along & offered to tow us out. He had a Defender 4wd so had not trouble pulling our vehicle out, it was such a site that I grab my camera & videoed the whole thing. Hehehehehe!

We also did a Amazing Race style beach game & a Price is Right/ Minute to Win it game. Alot of silliness & laughing! Ofcourse there was wine, champagne, cheese & plenty of chocolate!!!!! Such a great weekend, can’t wait till next year!

Trying to clear

Since coming back from our trip to New Zealand at the beginning of last month I have felt like my head has been filled with fog, I’m not thinking as clearly & I’m forgetting things that I normally wouldn’t forget. I forgot WH’s sister-in-laws birthday (and her birthday party, which we had made plans to see my little bro instead opps!) & I forgot last weekend I signed up for my church’s Girls Weekend Retreat (will share more on that later). It is so very unlike me. So I decided that since this week is non-work week (I only work a few days in one week in a fortnight, slightly confusing I know) I would try to relax & clear the  fog out of my head.

First I scrapbooked. I actually had a lot of photos that I got printed months ago (probably when my online prints had a good deal) that I had done anything with & they had somehow been floating around out living room for the last 6months (approx.). I got three pages done in a matter of days.

WH’s cousins wedding (Sep 2010)

Trip to see Wicked the Musical (Mar 2011)

Girls Retreat Weekend (Oct (?) 2010)

Scrapbooking always helps me to feel a sence of accomplishment, but still didn’t completely clear away that fogging ‘not really here’ feeling. I had a hard look at my daily routine as well, and came to the conclusion that I watch too much TV during the day. I generally get up at 8am (though with how I have been feeling I have been having trouble getting up before 9:30am, we don’t have kids so please don’t judge!), make the bed, get dressed, have my daily prayer time & bible reading, get breakfast & sit on the couch turning the TV on. Mostly the TV will then stay on until bedtime, usually 9:30pm – 10:30pm. That can’t be good.

So I have been sitting outside on our back verandah (with September well and truly here we have been blessed with beautiful Spring days, couple of quite warm getting into 28-30 degrees (Celsius) as well), with my breakfast & tablet computer checking emails & enjoying just sitting.

Though doing this helped me find something else to try to clear my head. Everyday I would sit on the verandah looking at our garden this  is what I would see

Don’t know how well it shows, but weeds! Weeds! Weeds! Weeds! I spent the whole of Autumn weeding & mulching our entire garden. Hoping that I would be able to focus on planting over spring, with a tiny bit of weeding. I don’t know what happened but in some places the weeds have grown through the mulch in higher numbers than the ones that I originally pulled out! ARRRRHHH! So after whingeing for a couple of days I started weeding and mulching again. I only go our for an hour or two straight after breakfast (it has been getting hot around here!). Feels good to get your hands dirty & I do love how alive things are in Spring, gives you a lift.

Finally on Friday I decided that the best thing I really needed to do was to switch  off from the technical world for a day, no TV, no computer, no tablet, no technology. I did allow myself my MP3 player, a quite house can drive me alittle nutty (well….more nutty than normal). I baked bread, did alittle op shopping (found a great frame that I wanted for a project I am going to share  soon) & had a lunch date  with WH (sometimes on a Friday I will pack myself a lunch, or in this case I bought myself lunch, and head to WH’s work & we have lunch together in the lunch room). I only turned on the computer in the arvo when I sat down to plan the games I was going to run for Youth Group that night, then Dropboxed them to myself.

To be honest going with the tech felt good, but didn’t totally help with clearing my head so I felt in control & ontop of things again. Forgot to do somethings that I would have got reminders for if I had my computer on. But after a whole week on doing things that I hoped would clear my head I do feel better (yeah!!!). Which is good, since next week in ‘working week’ & I do need to have my head in gear & ready to go.

When something just speaks to me

My little bro came up this week for a belated Fathers day & we went out for dinner at the local RSL (my parents got a membership this year & they love their discount (so do we!)). Dinner was lovely, great to catch up with my brother. For dessert we moved into the cafe that the RSL has, which is where you can get dessert & my parents could have a coffee. One wall had the coolest feature, I loved it so much that I took a picture with my camera.

(excuse WH photo bombing!)

I could see this in an outdoor dinning area or even in a kitchen. I also really like the wall paper. Yep, definatly speaking to me.

Today was Yesterday

Time zones make things interesting, when you travel you are either ahead of where you came from or behind. Sometimes you even lose an entire day. Yesterday was 11th September, but today (or more accurately this morning) it was 11th September in America. Since I was returning from a Girls retreat (more on that later) I didn’t really have time to have the significance of the day sink in. But today things feel different, and I think that is because it is in fact this day 10 years ago when I heard & saw the images of the two planes hitting the twin towers, the pentagon & crashing into the field in Pennsylvania. I was 18 in my first year of University, enjoying my first year of being an adult and all that comes with that. I can remember hearing the news from the radio in the kitchen while I was still half a sleep in my bed, though the memory that really sticks with me (and many others) is sitting having lunch at Uni & watching the TV that had been set up in the brassiere (canteen) the image of people leaping from the burning towers.

Two of my fav bloggers have created some wonderful printable to make the 10 year anniversary of the day that changed the world.

(source – the letter 4)

(source – Less Cake More Frosting)

I had just had it!

I have been doing alot of cleaning and organising in our bedroom, it isn’t a big room in fact in is quite small. We only have a double bed & with two bedside tables it just fits. I don’t mind living in a small bedroom. It is all the space that we need, the only thing I don’t like is how easily it gets cluttered and messy. I am in the process of getting rid of things like clothes that we just don’t have the room for, but for the past couple of years I have been living with this.

Yep it certainly isn’t a particularly organised or inspiring sight. I didn’t think that I really had alot of jewelry, from this picture I am thinking that I could be wrong. Thankfully you can’t see this mess from the door, as the chest of drawers that my jewelry sits on is hidden by the bedroom door. Though maybe if it was more in view I would probably have been more motivated to actually do something about the mess before now.

To get started was pretty simple, take everything off the chest of drawers & clean. Now you end up with a blank slate. I put a couple of the bigger items back, trying to keep a balanced look.

Then I just kept adding till I had all the big pieces in place, am not 100% sure with everything that I have put back, I think that there is still too much stuff. Because of this indecision I have stopped at this point. I am going to live with how thins look for a while & when I figure out what I don’t need then it will have to find a home somewhere else in our house.

You will probably also notice that there is no jewelry. When I was cleaning everything up I thought that I would also sort through everything and get rid of the stuff that I just don’t wear or is broken. I got rid of a few pieces & added them to my ‘to be donated’ bag, but I was still left with alot of jewelry. I also decided that my current storage wasn’t really cutting it & I wasn’t wearing nearly half of what I had because I didn’t know that I had it! So before I try to shove everything into what I have I think that I need to come up with a solution.

I have been thinking about converting the piece of homemade art that I made a few months after we moved in that sits above the chest of drawers into something similar to these

Source

Source

Check out my other inspiration click here

So until pay-day (another week and abit) all of my jewelry is sitting on top of a plastic box and sitting in the corner of our bedroom. Though not finished (far from it) I have found alot of jewelry that I had forgotten that I even owned & it feels good to not look at this.

Everytime I wake up in the morning. Can’t wait to share this completed project.

Spoonflower has arrived

Ok I think that I might be abit behind the 8 ball on this one, but I love Spoonflower! For anyone who (like me not so long ago) has never heard of Spoonflower, it is a site that sells fabric. But not just any fabric, fabric that has patterns that were created by members. You can even have your own pattern printed onto fabric, all you have to do is become a member (which is free!). There are some really beautiful and interesting patterns on Spoonflower, when I was searching around with nothing much in mind I found this fabric

<a title="Madman in a Blue Box by studiofibonacci on Spoonflower – custom fabric” href=”http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/310573″&gt;

WH is a huge Doctor Who fan & wanted me to make him a cover for his new tablet computer, he wants to have a plain dark outside (because he uses his tablet for work), but I thought that I would use this fabric for the inside linning. Abit of fun I thought (WH loved the idea when I suggested it to him). I order the fabric before we went on holiday & today when I went to the post office I found

Yeah! I will say that it took a while to get here 3 weeks, but I only paid for basic postage so I wasn’t surprised.

I am the type of person who really appreciates packaging, I love when stores put extra effort into how they package their product. Spoonflower certainly spoke to me with how they packaged their fabric for postage.

My favourite part was this Spoonflower label printed on fabric that sat on top of my order. It is the little touches that will defiantly assure that I will be shopping with Spoonflower again.

I can’t wait to get the rest of the fabric I need to make WH his cover for his tablet computer.

*I am not being paid by Spoonflower to express the views that I have expressed in this post, I have just had a fanastic experience.*