I Love Salvaging & Recycling

I try and recycle as much as possible as part of every day living - food waste, glass, plastic and paper etc are just the basics! But I am always keeping tiny bits of ribbon from packaging for using at a later date and reusing jam jars for yes you guessed it jam/chutney making! There are lots of crafters and artists out there who make a living from it and there are some great books too with wild and wacky ideas - like putting castor wheels on a suitcase and using it as a coffee table that has built in storage! Genius!

I am only just starting to explore the more creative side of this and I think you are only held back by your imagination. This week for example saw me blowing eggs at 5pm before making my daughter's tea so that I could paint them for Easter decorations later on. She was getting very frustrated sitting in her high chair wondering when tea was coming.

I have been back to John Lewis's salvage bin again this week and found some beautiful wine and cream coloured satin remnants so more flower corsages on the way. Following on from my creations last week I made another one - this time a simple brooch - with the turquoise blue material and decorated it with a vintage rhinestone brooch finding that was missing its clasp.  

This week I have changed tact and using some Cath Kidston oilcloth also found in above mentioned salvage bin I have made a lovely lined cosmetic/toiletry bag. My first real creation, apart from all my bunting that I have made, using a sewing machine and following instructions (courtesy of http://www.twelve22.org/2006/07/zipper_tutorial.html/) so I felt very proud of myself. Take a look below and let me know what creations you're most proud of.

Let the crafts begin!

As the Jamie at home party planning has been very slow I am looking at moving on to Plan B! This is to pursue my Lost Delights business venture selling handmade gifts and jewellery that have been made using recycled items. I made a good start this week delving into my scrap fabric library to create some beautiful fabric flowers. I found a great technique on line on how to create fabric flowers using satin material and a candle.

I then created 3 stunning pieces as shown below all of which I am selling on both Ebay and Etsy:

Turquoise Satin Flower Barrette Clip - a lovely easy to wear hair clip set with a beautiful soft turquoise bloom with a pearl bead to the centre. The barette clip, which would be hidden most of the time, has been wrapped with a pale blue organza ribbon to complete the finish. A lovely piece that can be worn at special occasions or every day.

Turquoise Satin Flower on Beaded Comb - a beautiful piece made with a hand-made soft turquoise satin flower with a pale blue pearlescent bead at the centre attached to a hair comb that has been wire wrapped with shimmering iridescent seed beads. The flower is accented with white maribou feathers to complete the vintage look. A stunning piece that is perfect for weddings, christenings, Ascot or with a cocktail dress for that special night out.

Sexy Black Velvet and Lace Choker with Pearl Beads and Turquoise Satin Flower - the black velvet ribbon has been sewn on to some lovely scalloped lace trimming and then set with a row of small faux pearl beads. A beautiful hand crafted turquoise bloom has been securely stitched on to the choker and sits to the side. There is a silver fastening at the back that enables you to adjust to fit.

So now I just have to let my imagination run wild so watch this space for more creations using pre-loved material and trimmings. Feedback would be really welcome as I start out on this little venture!

Working, Working Working!

What a week its been. I received a phone call from my previous employer, Rhinegold Publishing, asking if I could do some freelance work for a couple of weeks from home. Needless to say we need the money so I jumped at the chance but Oh Boy what a juggling act it has been with looking after my little 1 year old daughter especially as she wants to play on the laptop and punch all the keys like Mummy! She can be happily playing away with her toys or some little oddity that she has found lying around, out comes the laptop and Pow! she pounces straight away causing all sorts of chaos to happen on screen. I am on the look out for kiddies laptop and Amazon seem to have a lot of choice so will have a browse and choose something for her age group. I have also been selling lots of vintage jewellery through Ebay this week and now have to restock my shop...when I get a spare moment. I am sitting on bags of other vintage jewellery awaiting repair so need to get cracking and learn how to use a soldering torch to fix 'em up as it could help to pay some bills.
Autumn is here and I have been enjoying the best of what it has to offer - hot chocolate, pumpkins and beautiful Autumnal colour - I made some lovely pumpkin and cinnamon cupcakes topped with cream cheese icing which went down a storm. YUM! Very easy to make by simply grating pumpkin flesh and adding it to the mixture. I have about 4 more pumpkins to get creative with - a shame their season is so short as I think they are very undervalued as an edible vegetable. Of course I'll be carving one for halloween and putting it in my window to draw in the trick or treaters. I don't think I'll dress my baby girl up this year but maybe next! I also finished the Christmas cake that I mentioned last time and it all looks great. A bit of an origami lesson though with double lining the tin but it is worth all the effort to stop the outside from burning etc. Now I just need to decide how to decorate it this year and of course feed it regularly with more Rum! The first picture is of the 3 sets of ingredients ready to combine into one - the dry, the wet and then the soaked fruit and the second picture shows off my origami skills!

Today we went to Sheffield Park Gardens to take in the beautiful Autumn leaves and we weren't disappointed especially as it reached a balmy 18c and blue skies all around. People were sitting basking in the sun having ice creams! I took a few photos with my little digital but felt inferior with all the big flashy cameras around so hopefully I've managed to capture some of the splendour! Little H seemed to enjoy it too waving at all the passers by and sharing our picnic.

Before I sign off I just wanted to send some birthday wishes to my Mum. Here's thinking of you! xxx

Until next time
Fiona

Celebration Time!

What a busy 2 weeks preparing for my daughter's first birthday and making the house ready for guests as it has been a while....and now it is all over until the next event....Christmas...yes do I dare mention the word? Personally, I love it - the cooking, family gatherings, surprises, giving presents, carol singing and tradition. Feeling in a festive mood today too after soaking the fruit ready to make a Christmas cake tomorrow with lots of rum courtesy of Nigella Lawson's fab cookery book! As we are strapped for cash this year I will be looking for ideas for hand-made gifts to give friends and family that will be appreciated. last year I made lots of chutneys, chocolates and cakes as well as giving beautifully packaged jars of mints and jellies etc with hand-written labels. So this year I will have to think of something different and will probably need to make a start soon especially as things take twice a long with a toddler in tow.

So my little angel is 1 year old now!  We had a low-key affair with her grandparents and a lovely dinner. We had a birthday cake of course, candles and singing which she enjoyed. I came across a great book called Spectacular Cakes in a local charity shop a while ago which has proved to be very resourceful for recipes for various size cakes but I need to start being more ambitious with the decorating. My next project is for fireworks night so will start planning now to do something other than buttercream icing!

Even though the weather changed for the worse last week we still had our weekly adventure as I had the car for the week. This time we ventured to Sissinghurst Castle in Kent which was absolutely beautiful even in October so I will definitely be returning throughout the year to view the gardens in each season. There is an Elizabethan tower set in beautiful formal gardens with lots of separate spaces, views and corridors of hedges with statues at the end etc to draw the eye. So a photo op at every turn.

Now as for this week, apart from making a Christmas cake I am going to venture into the local police station, bus station, ambulance station and the local council offices to see if they would like to host a VIP Christmas Shopping Evening courtesy of Jamie at home. I thought that if they work long unsocial hours then this will be right up their street! So fingers crossed!

Is Summer Back?

Okay, so one moment I hear that we are due snow in October and then I've just been checking the forecast for next week and it is saying 24c! What's that song? Four Seasons in One Day? Well in this case it will be Four Seasons in One Month. Now as a true Brit I often go out with sunshades and an umbrella to cater for all eventualities so will it now be suncream and a snowsuit? I think scientists are still divided on whether this is due to climate change/ pollution etc or whether it is a cyclical pattern that happens over centuries. Even if it is the latter I believe that we should still be finding sources of clean renewable energy as the earth's natural supplies of oil are running low and we are now shipping in from the Middle East therefore hiking up our fuel bills and anyway the burning of oil produces so much pollution too. But what is the answer? Personally, I don't mind the wind turbines but they have had a bad press in terms of how effective they are and their short lifespan. There is a lot of work going into tidal energy so that may be a the answer. I try and do my bit to limit my carbon footprint for example, using rainwater in the garden, recycling paper, plastic, glass, foil and waste food regularly, I buy second hand when I can, turning off lights when I leave the room etc etc etc. But I think that we need to look to larger companies and businesses to do their part too rather than all the burden put on individuals. Anyway down from the soap box now!

Have had more success with feeding my little girl this week - she has enjoyed beef casserole and cannelloni! So at least she has been getting the iron! I went to the local pound shop and bought lots of feeding items for her including a new messy mat, a bib with sleeves and lots of small tupperware pots for freezing separate portions and these have been put to good use already so we now have frozen cannelloni and green vegetable Thai curry filling up the freezer! All for £9 so will be venturing back there soon for more bargains.

I used up some apples and blackberries I picked at our nearby heathland and made a fabulous crumble courtesy of The Hairy Bikers also using frozen cranberries which went down well. Have been enjoying The Great British Bake Off on TV and would like to master pastry making next so will be having a delve through the cookery books this week to see what I can start off with.

On the theme of food, my daughter and I went to a messy play session at the local Children's Centre and had fun painting with ketchup, getting hands gooey with wet and slimy spaghetti and painting with toothpaste! Even though she was wearing an apron she still needed a wardrobe change when we got home. But some good ideas for wet and cold winter days.

A productive weekend for once! Yesterday was spent at a Ladies Pamper Day......working .......on my Jamie at home stall but as the sun was out it was very quiet but I should have a party booking in the pipeline from it so all worthwhile. Have a lot more events coming up over October and November so be sure to sign up to my facebook page for more details of forthcoming fetes and Shopping Evenings etc.

Today my husband and I took shifts with the housework and playing with our daughter and it worked a treat! I cleaned the ensuite including the shower curtain and the floor so it is looking spotless now! I then cut the grass and redesigned part of our flower bed in the garden. We have a narrow strip of flower bed that has started to look a bit tired and plants were not in the best positions. So I moved our Cordyline from a shady spot out to the back part of our garden which is suntrap with white washed walls etc (Photos later) and planted instead a small Fern, a Box plant and more into the shady spot where they will hopefully thrive. As you can see there is already a Fern that has erupted as has the Bergenia (which I should probably split but do not have any space for it to go until we get the front garden re-landscaped.

I then split my Golden Rod into several sections as they were getting quite dense and crowded. So I split them and lined them up in a row so they would cover the brick wall in the summer as they can grow to 6ft. Now I just need to tackle the Hollyhock and Lavender bush as they too are a bit jaded. I have so many things in pots that I thought it was time to plant them out in the bed so that I had some evergreens there in the winter rather than bare soil.  So very productive and we'll be doing this shift format next weekend!
Enjoy the sun one and all! x

Success at last!

What a week it has been! A week of many FIRSTS!

As mentioned last week I had the car all this week at my disposal. Now you may think so what? Well, I am quite new to driving and have only been driving over the past 2 or 3 months and they have only been short little journeys. Well this week I could have gone to the moon and back! In reality though I drove to Scotney Castle which is owned by the National Trust in Sevenoaks and back (Including a stint on the dreaded M25) then the next day I went to Whitstable as it was such a gorgeous day plus I put petrol in the car for the first time! So no stopping me now! Only that come the weekend my husband will be having the car back so I'll be back on the buses but at least I can say I have made the most of the remaining days of summer. The motorways were not as daunting as I thought they might be although with a crying baby it can be a little fraught but thankfully she fell asleep for most of the journeys.
Scotney Castle was lovely and a great place for budding or professional photographers as there is a ruined castle sitting on a lake which provided some lovely reflections. Unfortunately I only have a simple digital camera so could not do the setting justice.

Lunch was a bit pricey but the staff were helpful as otherwise I would have had to juggle a tray of food and push the buggy to a table.
Whitstable was bustling and we enjoyed sitting on the pebbly beach for a while listening to the waves and then having lunch up on the hill above all the beach huts.

Gasping for a tea I went into the town but the shops and cafes were so small and quite busy that I did not feel I could take a buggy in there so I had to wait until I got home for that cuppa!

Had one Jamie at home party this week and a large telephone order out of the blue which made my day. Next week should prove fun as I am doing a Ladies and Little Miss Pamper Event in Bexley Village on the 24th so if you are in the area then be sure to visit us from 10.30am at Freemantle Hall and come and spoil yourself.

Tonight I have had success with feeding my daughter as it has been up and down with what she will eat. But we have discovered that she loves macaroni cheese. I put the much loved peas in to so that at least she had some vegetables today. She loved it and kept coming back for more. The blueberries on the other hand were not a success but hey ho tomorrow could prove different. Talking of berries I cannot believe I missed blackberry picking season! I will have to be quicker next year and go in August instead. So it will just have to be apple pie or crumble without the blackberries. Oh well, an opportunity to use my new pie funnels!

So this coming week I have Tuesday to myself, now will it be time spent at the allotment, doing the housework in preparation of my parents coming to stay, tidying the garden for the autumn/winter or......?!?!?!

Where's my week gone?

So Sunday already! Thankfully I had a couple of days off this past week with my husband "playing Dad" on Wednesday and my in-laws babysitting one afternoon so got a few essential things done but this week coming I am on my lonesome as hubby is off to Ireland for 2 days and my in-laws are on a cruise for 2 weeks! Alright for some! Talking of cruising though I would recommend it for ANY age group, not just for retired couples as is the misconceived idea. We did one a few years back and had a great time climbing up waterfalls in Jamaica and snorkeling in the Cayman Islands plus some kayaking too! Oh those were the days before being a Mum.... but wouldn't change it for the world. She has been such a little comedienne this week hopefully not a sign of trouble later on!
Had a successful Jamie at Home party on Friday night with lots of quizzes, raffles and giveaways. Another one on Tuesday so getting into the swing of it all now.

I saw an advert on the railings around Danson Park for Macmillan's World's Largest Coffee Morning at the bowls club so will maybe ask them if I can have a stall and give the profits to the charity. If not then if anyone knows of other venues in and around Bexley that are looking to add something a wee bit special to their event please let me know. For anyone interested, keep an eye out for events all over the UK on the 30th September or check out their website to organise your own. I hosted a coffee morning a few years back and raised a huge £200 which bought a tear to my eye. So hopefully I can contribute again especially as I know of so many people who have been affected by cancer of some sort.
I decided to venture up to London on Saturday to the Thames Festival to see what it was all about, and very glad I did too. We arrived at Waterloo and just took a slow stroll along the South Bank back towards London Bridge to see what we could see. There was a lot going on in terms of music, shopping, arts and crafts, eateries and so much more! Then there was a parade of boats along the river - everything from large barges to small sailboats. Some even had bands and orchestras on them performing. Nice to see the river being put to good use.

Living in Erith, I often take my baby daughter out
for a stroll to the pier just to get some fresh air and a change of scene from the house. It is lovely to go there and take advantage of what the town has to offer. The other part I enjoy is the Erith Riverside Gardens which are a delight as you can see in the picture but I believe that these are under threat from the council and developers - probably more flats and housing but don't get me started. For news and social commentary on Erith visit Hugh's fab blog to keep up to date on local news.

I have full use of the car this week so am on the search for places to take my daughter - in both rain and sun! Might take a meander to the Red House especially as I get free entry being a National Trust member. Will be sure to check the forecast though!