New Earrings! Ethical Presents!

Everyone ready for the weekend? Gooood!

Nice parcels in the Post this morning - a parcel - always cheers a Girl up!

New Earrings! I treated myself - well - because 'I'm Worth It' or so the advertisements tell us!

Anyway these were special earrings made by women in the Philippines from recycled magazines - how cool is that! and they are so pretty!

I was browsing on the www.myzerowaste.com/ website when I came across this blog about an organisation founded by two British women, which aims to help (educate, health, feed etc) the little children in the Philippines that work on/in the rubbish tips looking for recyclable stuff - metals, plastics etc.

The organisation/charity - The Philippine Community Fund www.p-c-f.org - very basically (visit the site and read for yourselves) trains the mothers to sew and create wonderful bags and jewelry and allsorts really, from the recycled stuff. This in turn means they can afford to feed themselves, and their children don't have to work on the tip, and can go to school.

There are lots of lovely things for sale, and I thought it fits right in with my idea of buying this year - for Birthdays, Christmas and whatnot - all handmade/ethical goods or making them myself.
And of course I am helping support their very good work.

Not only do they train the young mothers, they are building a school - from old steel lorry containers - its amazing! And they help out with food parcels, and school meals - a lot of the children are malnourished, and provide health care.

And the prices! so very reasonable - it means I bought a few things, all squirreled away in the present box!

The bags look quite trendy too, I do believe they are made from toothpaste tubes!

Nothing it seems is wasted - on the back of the newsletter they are asking for people to collect toothpaste tubes, and drinks can ring pulls - who would have thought you could do anything with an old toothpaste tube!

Amazing!


On a different note - been a lovely day here - sunshiny and quite mild. Mild enough for me to have all the windows open wide to let some fresh air into the place, chase away those wintry vibes!

Backwards and forwards to the chickens I spotted this lovely bit of green moss growing on the Elder tree so jewel like in its freshness.

And the snowdrops - happily bobbing about in the light breeze!

And of course our resident Celebrity happily bustling about, Hubby P thinks he is getting use to the camera - quite media savvy now!

He wants to watch out - Charlie cat will give him 'savvy' if he catches him!

I've been so very lucky and recieved a couple of Awards - I will save them for another day - I've waffled on long enough for now!

xxx Take care xxx

Geoffrey Update and Pink Treasure!

Just another pic of Geoffrey, I think he is becoming more aware of Hubby P hovering with the camera - he must feel like a Celebrity being 'Papped' !!

Thrifty Snippets!!

Hubby P came home with this yesterday - Pink Treasure!

It came into work - used as packing for something or other, now as you know he is super well trained in spotting potential wrapping paper, fabric, or other crafty stuff. So he snaffled it before it could be put in the paper recycling skip.

Its lovely stuff - he did tell me it was pink tissue paper - and I was mightily excited, but it turns out it is heavier stuff - good wrapping paper weight. I know its so very sad' that these are the things that fill my mind!!???* - but well - you know !!!!

So there was a box full - and a handy box!

Good clean stuff - I simple roughly straighted it, and ran the iron over it - I did have the ironing board up - I have done a basket of ironing - some housework, not totally 'messed about' all day!





I found an old cardboard tube (from the tinfoil) and wound it/rolled it around the tube to keep it good and uncreased.

It was in good long lengths.

I fished out some basic stamps from my craft boxes, and the one stamp pad that I had left, and had a bit of a play.

Quite effective I thought in a rough and ready, hippy dippy way. Be nice used as wrapping paper with a nice rustic ribbon.

I wanted to see how the paper took the ink - just fine. I want to try it with some of my more intricate wooden printing block, I think they are usually used for batik work, but I've just printed with them using water based poster paint - its all I had, and it looked great. I like things to look simple, rustic - honest handmade-y stuff!

And I am sure its better living on as pretty wrapping than being thrown in the recycling!

xx Take Care xx

This Evenings Excitement!

Just thought I would share this evenings excitement with you.

For days, or should I say evenings now, Hubby P has been stalking Geoffrey the Mouse.

We have always has a Geoffrey - probably several over the years. They live under one of the stone sinks that I have as mini gardens. This one in particular is near the apple tree, and often on quiet evenings, if we sit quietly, we can watch Geoffrey come out and eat the seed spilled by the birds from the bird feeders hanging in the apple tree. He may have a little jaunt to the pond for a drink, and lately he has been scaling the apple tree to sit inside the fat ball holder, on top of the fat balls - feasting away.

Now we have the tree house (bird house) - but it reminds me a bit of Tarzan and Jane - so I call it a tree house - I know!!*?

Anyway he has been visiting the tree house, and helping himself to the goodies on offer there - Soooooo much more convenient, less drafty, and sheltered from the rain. A most desirous eating house!

So Hubby P has been obsessed with getting photo evidence of this - and as you can see - after endless shots of the garden - we have a couple of Geoffrey!

Not brilliant I know - but it has spurred Hubby P on - hes in and out that door, camera in hand - well - like - I don't know what!

And there is even talk of a Geoffrey cam!!

Live on this Blog!

We would never get anything done - sat watching a mouse eat his supper all evening!!

Is it Me!!????

xxx

Harris Tweed on a Sunday!

Hope you are all fit and well, and had a good weekend.

Just thought I would show you a little something I found at the carboot sale on Sunday.

One stall that is always there is just row upon row of cardboard boxes containing all manner of things - Household Clearance stuff. You have to have a good rummage - there are usually new boxes every week, and on a Sunday its 'fill a bag for £1' - so you pay your £1, are given a plastic carrier bag, and you can fill it right up with things that take your fancy.

I always have a good look first - make sure there is something I could use - heaven forbid! that I should waste my £1!

There is usually some bits and bobs, even if its just knitting wool or needles, the other week I got a lot of Christmas ribbon for wrapping next years presents, or maybe I will find a couple of china mugs - allsorts of everything!

Well this week I found a whole heap of squares of Harris tweed! I think they are samples - they were a book of samples. They have a little sticker printed with the Harris Tweed logo and are numbered - identification of logo courtesy of Hubby P who seems to have endless knowledge of this sort of thing - doesn't yet remember where we keep the corkscrew, but knows random things about Harris Tweed!

I thought they were lovely - all those muted Heathery colours, ideal for small crafty projects - or bigger ones if I sewed them together!

I had a go today- made a couple into little purses. It was more an experiment to try out my sewing machine really - Hubby P had to mend it over the weekend - I was Horror struck! never before has my darling machine broken down. Luckily there is not a lot to go wrong with a treadle sewing machine - the belt has snapped - Hubby P mended it! Its as good as new - just a bit stiffer on the old legs!

Can you see the wonderful bright yellow cotton fabric underneath the purses. Hubby P found it in a Charity Shop - its Vintage I would say but new/never been used. And there is loads of it, enough I should think for a dress - someone was intending a largish garment - to make a 'Largish Statement' I should think with that bright pattern!





I used a bit to line one of the purses - I thought it was quite the jolly thing!




Yes, one of the purses is for Rosie!

Hope you are all having a jolly crafting time!

A bit of creativity does you a world of good!


xx Take care xx

Carbooty Treasure and Freebies!

Woke up to a bitterly cold day with a crisp coating of the most enormous hailstones!

Little patches of white throughout the garden, but nothing much. Certainly not enough to put us off our Treasure Hunting at the local Car Boot Sale!

It did seem a bit quiet at the carboot sale, not too many people about, but we had a good morning - we found one or two things.

How about this - inner cleanliness as advocated by the Daily Mail Newspaper 1937!

There were lots of these old papers 40p each (3 for £1) but I contented myself with just a couple - I mean - just how many does a girl need! Unless i do as Twiggypeasticks suggests and decoupage the chicken shed with it! Do you think the chickens will be interested in the events of 1937?

It would certainly keep me busy and out of mischief!

I found a little part box of Manila tags - so cute! You know me and anything vaguely paper-ish!
And they are the very thing to help with the 'Suitcase Project'!

Enough said!

More suitcases too - just waiting for a good clean up and polish. The little ones are so sweet - they have children's names in them, I think they were perhaps used by children being evacuated during the war.

We came home via Asda and a hot cooked chicken, to warm up with chicken sandwiches and nice hot tea.

Hubby P was in a 'go go' mood - wanting to get lots done, remember its freezing outside and trying to hailstone on us. Still he set to cutting wood for the fire with me as trusty assistant (mainly making cups of fortifying tea). Next appears a ladder! and up on the roof he goes - it must be said, that for weeks he has wanted to do this little job. He just wanted to take down the now redundant TV Ariel and sky dish (we no longer have a TV - choosing to do other activities in our spare time) - surprisingly it didn't take that long, and Hubby P said he felt that much better, he never did like the sky dish - too modern looking for our humble little cottage - it offended him!

So we loaded the trusty van with the wires and sky dish and whatnot (I kept the big long pole the ariel was on, I want to use it for/to hold my washing line) - and headed for the recycling centre - my weekend excursion, my weekend fix!

Look what I found in the metal skip!

A complete patio set - cast aluminium (needing a rub down and a paint), a table and 4 chairs, all in perfect order. And I must say pretty heavy weight - I felt it as I tried to hoyk them out of the skip!

I did ask permission to take them first of course - but who's going to refuse a batty old woman, they are quite use to me now.

So I have stacked them in the yard for now, I will have to wait until the weathers a bit better before I can rub them down and give them a coat of shiny new paint.

What a good find - what a good afternoon.

Hubby P did murmur something about us taking more away - weight for weight, than we ever take to the tip. But he won't be moaning when we have nice new seats for summer - and it means he won't have to build another garden bench!

Take care xx Keep warm !

Magical Monents on a Grey Dreary day!

Just had to share this little bit of magic with you!

When i got up this morning the day was cold and grey, drizzly rain and leaden sky. The house was cold too - the log burner having gone out over night, there was condensation on the windows - pretty miserable, so I set about lighting the fire.

As you can see on one of the two windows we have in the sitting room, I have a few hanging crystals, picked up here and there, given by and exchanged with friends. They to hang limply, no shining in the sunshine today!

But the strangest thing happened - as I turned from lighting the fire, I saw a bright fire like glow on top of my mule chest - amongst my geodes and crystals. It was so bright I thought something was on fire. Maybe someone had left a candle burning (although who I dont know - but these things flash into your mind!).

There was a faint ray of sunlight that had reflected off/through a crystal in the window - on to the Amethyst geode and on to the quartz cluster - the quartz looked as if it were on fire, these photos do not capture in any way, the brightness, or intensity of the glow.

Again the photos are rubbish really - there was a mini rainbow effect across the front of the amethyst geode, and the quartz radiated all this light which in turn lit up the crystals around it and bounced all around the room!

Quite magical! It lasted for a little while, and cheered the morning!

Storage Solutions and an odd Thrifty Snippet!

Hope you are having a good week!

All very busy here - still busy with the 'Suitcase Project'! - hopefully be finished over the weekend. Its this nuisance thing of Hubby P having to go to work - when I heed him here to 'make things happen' with my Project!! Still I suppose we do need his wages for little things like food and stuff!!

Been having a bit of a sort out - you know - dragging all those boxes from under the bed and whatnot. Its amazing what you find! all that crafty stuff you had almost forgotten you had.

So rather than put it all back - under the bed, where it will stay (too much trouble to get out to use) I looked about for some 'Storage Solutions' - as they say in the ads.

Now the other week I bought 3 hat boxes from the carboot, you know the sort - they fit inside one another, or stack. They were not very pretty, but they were cheap - pennies I think, and I thought they may come in handy (as you do - I have a shed full of 'handy' things!).

So in 'cover/decoupage everything in sight mode - I set to! Hubby P says he dares'nt stand still too long for fear of being covered 'stuck and glued '- and covered in something jazzy!!

I like to use rather old, rough papers, I like the faded colours and textures.

I particularly liked this little chap!

I wanted to use these boxes to hold crafty stuff, the idea being that if it was easy to reach down off a shelf I may be more inclined to use it.
I have things like these wonderful wooden printing blocks - just begging to be used again!





I used to make all my own wrapping paper using the printing blocks. Just used children's poster paint on heavy tissue (Hubby P brings the most wonderful tissue paper home from work - its waste, they just throw it in the bin! Needless to say it finds a home with me!).
The wrapping paper looked really very pretty - I even cut some potatoes into stamps and used those one year - very effective.
Sorry I haven't any to show you - I must make time to do some more - now I have unearthed my printing blocks!



Boxes make a nice little stack!


Just a little 'Thrifty Snippet!'

Whilst doing all this sticking and gluing I used the last of a big bottle of PVA glue.




What a good, big, strong bottle thinks I - shame to just bin it, so I remembered something the 'Handyman' (who worked at the Laboratories when I was a Lab Tec) had shown me. He lived through the War and was full of thrifty ideas.




Cut a couple of inches down behind the handle.

And then across to meet your first cut. You can see its not hard - I'm using my bread knife, don't know that that's a good idea. Mind you it was my Grandmothers - she had it for many, many years, and I imagine she used it for all sorts of things. I distinctly remember her cutting down small shrubs with it - she sent me indoors 'nip and fetch the bread knife, that'l sort it!' - she say!

Anyway, back to the bottle - you should end up with it looking something like this. You can trim it up a bit with the scissors, I did.

You then have a handy -'Storage Solution' (can you see a theme here!) - and you can use it either way up - as it is here or lay it on its side with the handle towards you. Whichever way it sits best on your shelf/in your cupboard.

As you can see I am using mine to store my birdseed in, I am tired of loose bags spilling over in the cupboard. It sits nicely on the bottom shelf.

Bert - the Handyman had a shelf of these sort of boxes all labelled up, holding all his nails, screws, tools etc.

xxx That's all for now xx Take care xxx