a colour book

I love colour! My favourite colour combination at the moment is pink, yellow, grey and turquoise but I really love all colours and so many different colour combinations. I am trying to stick to just those four colours for my house spruce up but I find it really hard as I like so many different looks!

Anyway,  I thought today I'd share the Snapfish book I made for a christmas present for Amelie.  I made this one for Stella after seeing the idea on Angela's Striking Keys blog and then I had an idea for Amelie's one- I decided to go with a colour theme and made it "A Colour Book for Amelie".
I had heaps of fun gathering up bits and bobs around the house for each colour- crafty things, toys, and other bits and bobs and taking a photo of each colour collection.

 

Then I went through my iphoto folders (I have over 6,000 photos in my iphoto going back to when Amelie was born -another thing to add to my decluttering/organising list!) and found photo's of crafty things I had made for her over the year and also photo's of other things that would match up to some of the colours.  Here's some of the pages I made.

I really like having the craft photo's in there as it is so neat to see all of the things I made for her in a little book. Both books were a hit with the girls although Stella goes for Amelie's more than her own which is funny! 

Well, time for some more 'organising' now yay! My craft space is looking very different and I've just got a few more things to do.  Can't wait to share on Friday and hopefully see some of your 'before and after' pics too! Sarah, the creator of KiwiMummyBlogs and the cool blog Bobby Robin kindly made me a button for the challenge to put on the Kiwi Mummy Blogs site - thanks Sarah! She also wrote a great post about decluttering here. And Meg has some awesome before and after linen cupboard pics and tips here.

Thanks for visiting :)

Megan

By the way, I got given a tip from the Clip Cafe  the other day to use 'picnik'  to edit photo's to make blog buttons and add watermarks to photo's and the like.  I just used it today to add text to my colour photo's above- it was really easy to use so thanks heaps for the tip!

Organised Home Project 1: The Linen Cupboard

Hello all, I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments about joining in on my 'Organised Home' challenge.  There's obviously quite a few of you out there like me that are ready for a more organised home for 2011! So every week (hopefully!) I'm going to post a project plus a few crafty and eco ideas to go with each project.
To join in all you have to do is

• leave a comment on any of my challenge posts with a link to the project on your blog- so if you want to get started on your linen cupboard too you could link up showing us your pics. I might start a Linky thingee depending on how many people join in but for now you'll just have to copy and past your URL in your comment.
• OR you could just leave a comment telling us about another organising project you've done this week if you don't feel like tackling your linen cupboard just yet or yours is already organised! (you could link to your blog if you've posted about it or just tell us about it if you don't have a blog) 

Of course you can just join in by reading along too and be with us in spirit!

You can link up to any project at any time but just for fun I'm going to have a little giveaway to go with some projects and I'll randomly draw a winner about a week or two after I post a project from someone who comments. 

So, this week's challenge - the linen cupboard...a place where random sheets, far too many pillowcases, old towels and cushion inners have been crammed for too long!
Time taken: about 2 hours
Here's my 'before' pic...

And now for the 'after' pic...

Ah, much better! 

This was a great project to start with as it was something that's been bugging me for ages. Here's what I did...

1. Took everything out of the cupboard and sorted it into 'keep', 'move' and 'giveaway' piles. Soaked any towels looking a bit grey and washed all the sheets and towels.

Some of the the sleeping bags, backpacks and the portacot found new homes in other cupboards. Into the charity shop bag went some pillowcases, a couple of old cushion inners, a set of queen sheets and an old valance for a bed size we don't even have anymore.

(and I actually took this bag to the charity shop rather than my usual habit of cramming it in another cupboard waiting to be taken!)

2. Did the rather painful task with the sheets of figuring out what size they were, writing it on the label of each sheet and bundling them together in fitted/flat sets.

Tip: For my three year old's sheets I bought them in a different colour so it would be easy to identify them, and I keep them in her wardrobe.

3. I put everything back and labelled it all- I've got to admit when we moved in I did this too but as life got busier and busier I started ignoring the labels and just shoved things anywhere so I'm going to try harder to keep to the labels!

I've moved the linen spray up higher now as it contains alcohol - don't want the kids getting drunk on lavender water!!

Now I think it's really important to have a little treat to look forward to when you are doing some organising don't you? So for this project I thought of a few crafty and eco things to make with a 'linen cupboard' theme. I really enjoyed going to the health store and buying some essential oils and other 'ingredients' and had a fun morning making up some sprays and sachets.  And now the cupboard smells divine when I open it up!

Here's some ideas for 'Linen Cupboard' Crafty/ Eco things to make

* I made some lavender linen water using this recipe from Apartment Therapy. 

* I used a couple of recipes from my  'Home Companion' book by Wendyl Nissen to make some natural moth repellent sachets for my blankets and also to make some 'romance' pillow spray as Wendyl calls it.

The recipe for the moth repellant sachets is on this page (just scroll down). I halved her recipe amounts and just made smaller sachets for mine.

The recipe for the romance pillow spray is on this page. It's pretty expensive buying each of the oils though so I bought an essential oils blend called "Sheer Bliss' that I just mixed with the rose water, vodka and water.

* I made some lavender bag sachets to put on my sheets and pillowcase piles.

Wouldn't this make a great gift for someone for a housewarming or birthday? This would also be really fun to do with a group of friends as you could all bring one ingredient each.

Note:  I know there are warnings about the use of essential oils in pregnancy especially in the first trimester but I'm not too clued up on them so you might want to do a bit of research before making these if you have any concerns.

So this week being 'the linen cupboard challenge' the giveaway is a 200 ml size spray bottle to make your own linen spray, a moth repellant sachet for your winter blankets and a handmade Cath Kidston fabric lavender sachet to make your sheets smell lovely. And all organised in a little plastic tray for you. Just link up or comment to be in to win.

So there you go, project number 1 done and I am feeling good! Looking forward to reading about your projects, sorry this is the longest post ever! and sorry for the overuse use of exclamation marks in this post too....

Next week's project...'My Craft Space'. If you're keen to get crafty this year this could be a good time to think about a space you could possibly make or make a start gathering some supplies to get crafty for 2011.

Happy organising!

From Megan

PS: I tried to reply to everyone that said they're keen to join in but if you didn't get a reply from me it's because when I clicked reply it just came up with the email address noreplycomment@blogger.com.

To enable your email so you can get replies to comments I think you need to go to your blogger profile page and do something there...if you want to of course!

PPS: There's a little button on my blog for the challenge if you want to add it to your blog :)

Organised Home Challenge 2011

I had such a great year last year becoming a crafter and a blogger but by the end of the year my house was really starting to feel a bit crazy-  toys and other stuff bulging out of cupboards and wardrobes, most surfaces covered in stuff, my craft space really out of control and a to-do list a mile long of things to get done, which I just didn't because all my crafty projects (and the kids) were keeping me busy instead!  With baby number 3 on the way my nesting instincts have gone a bit nuts and I am really wanting to get my home under control a bit more before life gets really busy.

Yep, thats my craft space about mid December last year!

I've always been into organising and de-cluttering - my favourite TV program when we lived in the UK was one called "Life Laundry,  I bought and pored over this Martha Stewart book "Good things for Organizing"

and my favourite quote was this one from the British designer William Morris.
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

Things have changed since having children though! One thing that made me realise I really needed to get my home sorted was when both girls sat on a pile of photo frames I had sitting on our bedroom floor for over 6 months and broke the glass in two of them (luckily there was a pile of cushion inners above them at the time that had also been there for about 4 months). I'd bought these frames over a year ago and just kept moving them from cupboard to wardrobe to finally the bedroom floor where they ended up.

So armed with my trusty label maker (my sister refers to me as Monica from Friends quite often...) I'm going to have a go at tackling an organising project every week and I'm going to use my blog to keep myself accountable! Some projects will be biggish ones like sorting out the linen cupboard, the kids clothes and the photo albums I've been meaning to do for over a year now and others will just be little ones like sorting out my handbag and wallet, the pile of magazines or my email inbox. All things I've had on one of my many 'to do' lists for quite a while now - see, even my lists on my desktop are out of control!

So would you like to join me? I'm going to try and post one organising project a week on a Friday to keep me going.  You might want to join in on your blog, or just read along and get some ideas.

And finally....a little giveaway....if you leave a comment here telling me something in your home you'd like to get organised this year (like the kids toys, your wardrobe, the spare drawer, the pantry...) I'll put you in the draw for this cute notepad and pen so you can start writing your 'to- do' lists!

Giveaway drawn Friday 28th Jan '11

Open to all, just leave your email address if you don't have a blog

Thanks for visiting!
Megan

fairy themed gifts

Amelie had a 4th birthday party to go to in the weekend so I decided to go with a bit of a fairy theme for the birthday girl. I really liked the post on Prudent Baby in December last year when they put together 'a little handmade and a little store bought' list of gift ideas.  

So I made one of my waterproof toilet bags/pencil cases using some fairy fabric that I found on TradeMe.  Then I added a fairy colouring book, and a wand and some fairy stickers too.

For the card, I made a little fairy wishing stone by painting a stone gold and sprinkling gold glitter on it. Then using my big circle craft punch, I cut out a circle from some scrapbooking card I had, popped the stone inside a little bag and sellotaped the bag onto the back. I wrote a little note about  'putting the stone under your pillow and making a wish'... kids love that sort of thing don't they!

It was great going with a theme as it made it super easy when heading to the shops instead of waiting for inspiration to hit!

Megan x

chorizo and potato salad recipe

We have a lovely store here in Tauranga called Bel Mondo which is stocked full of italian and mediterranean foods and products.  Every now and then I buy a couple of chorizo sausages from there and make this yummy dinner....well, to be honest my hubby makes it mostly but I think I have managed it once! It's a really tasty summer meal.

Ingredients

Spanish chorizo sausages- 1 for each person (supermarket chorizo just doesn't compare to the real thing!)

1 large pototo or a few little ones per person 

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Capsicum

Red onion

Parmesan cheese (The real stuff 'Parmigiano Reggiano' is absolutely delicious- it comes in a wedge for about NZ$20 but it lasts months and months and makes any meal so good!)

Instructions

1. Turn oven on fan bake 180 degrees celsius, chop up potatoes (no need to peel) into quarters and place in baking dish with a bit of olive oil for approx 40 mins.

2. Make up a salad with the lettuce, tomatoes, capsicum and finely sliced red onion.

3. Slice up chorizo and fry in frypan- this only takes a few minutes so do it towards the end of the potatoes cooking.

4. Let the chorizo and potatoes cool for a bit, then add to the salad and then using a peeler, peel shavings of parmesan on the top. For a dressing a bit of olive oil and lemon juice is nice but it doesn't need a lot.

5. Enjoy!

Megan

PS: I put a link on my facebook page yesterday to a list Pip from Meet Me at Mikes made on her blog with links to ways to help with the Queensland flood appeal

http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/2011/01/queensland-floods-ways-to-help.html

I visited Sophie Isobel's store and bought some brooches- she is donating all proceeds to the appeal- what a star :)

photo gifts

I saw this fab idea on Angela's 'Striking Keys' blog where she took photo's of her little girl's favourite things and printed them out into an album....

http://strikingkeys.blogspot.com/2010/10/eskys-word-book.html

I've had the idea bookmarked for ages now as I thought it would make a great Christmas present for Stella (21 months old). It can be a bit tricky buying for this age but one thing they really seem to love is seeing and naming their things and their family so I knew this would be a goodie for her. I just went around the house finding and photographing her favourite things and then used scrabble letters to spell out the words. I also put in some family photo's and things she really loves like the playhouse and the rocking horse.

I've never used an online printing service before but after seeing my sister's wedding thank- you cards I decided to go with Snapfish. It was great- the photo's were quick and easy to upload and I received my book within 4 days of ordering it! 

The other reason I went with Snapfish is that they had a great special on their photo gifts- 40% off photo books, calendars and greeting cards! So my book including shipping cost just over $18 for a 20 page soft cover book which I thought was pretty good. I just took a look and it looks like they have a 20% special now which is still something!  I also ordered a calendar for my mum and some Christmas cards as well.  

I'm going to make one up for Amelie now.  I'm doing her one a bit differently so can't wait to share that too!

I've been really slack with printing photo's this year- I haven't actually printed any all year so I have a big project on my hands going through my iphoto albums and choosing pics. I've been doing it by month to break it down a bit but I'm still only up to March of this year!!! I just keep thinking about all the stories I hear about people losing all their photo's because their computer broke down or was stolen so I really need to get some printed!

Hope you are all surviving the christmas rush and enjoying this hot weather ( if you've got it!)- it's 26 degrees here in Tauranga today!

Thanks for visiting, and thanks Angela for the great idea.

Megan x

felt gingerbread houses

Last Christmas I came across this gorgeous gingerbread house decoration on the cool blog How about orange.  The house was designed by the very clever crafter and author Betz White.
So this year when I signed up for the kiwi christmas ornament swap I knew what I wanted to make straight away! I bought the e-book with the pattern and instructions for the house and five other cute ornaments from here- http://shop.craftypod.com/trimmings.
The instructions were really easy to follow and although they took a little bit of time to make up they were definitely worth it (and I got quicker the more I made as you do). I made the houses slightly bigger than the pattern. One little tip - if instructions say to use craft glue don't think that PVA will do- I had a disaster with my first one trying to use PVA!!

I made up these little bags for my fellow ornament swappers.

And for my little ones I made a house each with their initial on the door and added a bit of snow and sweets to the roof.

I've received some gorgeous ornaments in the swap too so far so will share them soon :)

Megan

DIY kids art for christmas

 

Here's a crafty idea I got from a teacher years ago using your child's hands and footprints to make a christmas reindeer picture. This is a great way to keep a record of their little hands and feet and something to bring out each christmas to see how much they have grown!

You'll need
*some craft paper or card or even plain red and brown paper/card.
(If you are doing this with older children like I did yesterday at school you could just use plain white paper and they colour in the foot and the hands themselves- keeps them busy yay!)
*scissors, glue stick, pencil, black marker

1. Trace around your child's hands and one foot ( just go around all their toes, not each toe- see pic below)

2. Cut out the two hands and the foot and then draw and cut out a nose and an eye like this.

3. Stick on a plain piece of card like this.

You could reduce this on a colour photocopier and make christmas cards or gift tags too!

Happy crafting!
Megan

some christmas goodies

We had a fun day up in Auckland yesterday, first going to Butterfly Creek for a 4th birthday treat for a special friend of Amelie's, then heading into the city to see Santa at Smith and Caughy's.

They always have the most amazing christmas window displays- this year's was a sort of christmas themed story of Cinderella.

I like buying a few christmas goodies for our home each year in Auckland but we just ran out of time for shopping this year!  I found these in a little gift shop in Tauranga the other day though. I bought these lovely t-lite candle holders and this super cute christmas nesting toy. 

And here's a pic of my last christmas stockings (for this christmas anyway!). I made these for a friend's two little girls.

I hope you are all enjoying the lead up to Christmas. I've got my last day at work tomorrow and then I'm going to have a whole lot more time for crafting and other things, well until April anyway!

Megan