Dining room makeover

Last one I promise!  This literally took ten minutes.  I bought some cheap lanterns from the mall, $2 and $3 each.  I thought I better get the blue just to break up the pink, there are males living here after all.  The gerbera I picked up from the supermarket for $3 and the tablecloth was my Spotlight find at $15m.

Yes it's sparse - it has to be.  To the right of the photo is out entranceway - a ranchslider!

Next stop is the bedrooms but I'm thinking I will wait for the rain to stop first.

Quick kitchen makeover...

Following on from yesterdays post I thought I'd quickly show you how I brightened up my drab kitchen on a budget of $60.

I've decided to stick to the red/pink theme from the lounge because my lounge/dining/kitchen is almost open plan

Red storage tins (a gift from Mum) from Kmart as is the 'chill' glass and giant cupcake

I found this little teapot at the Salvo's (oh I know you're surprised) without it's lid for $1.50 - perfect for storing utensils

I had been living with a mismatched dinner set for a year so I thought I couldn't go wrong with a plain white set.  

White dinner set $22 from Kmart for a 16 piece set

Red & White striped coffee mugs also from Kmart $3 each

Giant ceramic cupcake - my gift from Elijah

This was also from Kmart and less than $10 - filled with sweets

I walked past these glasses a few times before I decided I had to have them.  I didn't need them - I have plenty of glasses already but you know how it is.

These are also from Kmart - set of 4 for $14

Now I just need to find a red clock and some red and pink plates for the wall above the oven

Make mine bright...

Those of you who know me will know that I'm not absolutely in love with my house.  I rent so whatever decorating I do has to be superficial.  We have dark blue carpet which teamed with a dark brown lounge suite and dark brown coffee table, well, it's just dark!   So I thought I'd write a quick post about how I've made it a little brighter for $50.

Click on photo to enlarge

I've always gravitated towards pinks and oranges - it's not intentional but those colours just call to me

Got a framed picture you don't like anymore?  Make yourself some temporary art with your favourite fabric - you can always change it later or use a whiteboard marker and use it as a Menu or chore board

This is one of two 'play' areas I've designated for Elijah.  This bookcase is filled with vintage book finds and his own baby photo albums.  I like him to have access to these because he often asks about what happened when he was a baby in hospital.

So that's my lounge - well half of it.  Next I will show you the kitchen, which has also had a bit of a change.

At My House... friendly cleaning products

At my house it's all about natural cleaning today.

I know a lot of bloggers cover this topic at some stage but I thought I would share a few inexpensive cleaning products that I use to replace the more toxic commercial cleaners.  In my cupboard (and maybe yours too) you will always be able to find:

Loosely woven cotton cleaning cloths - you can pick these up from Bed, Bath & Beyond (really cheap!)

Lemons - if you are like me and don't have a lemon tree just grab one or two each time you go to the supermarket

Eucalyptus Oil - I love this stuff!  You can read about it's properties and uses here

Spray bottle - you can pick these up almost anywhere nowadays

White vinegar - excellent for killing mould spores

Washing Soda Crystals - I only discovered these this year and find them great especially in the kitchen.  You will find them in the laundry are of the supermarket.

Baking Soda

So how do I use these simple things to clean my home?

In the kitchen

Fill the sink with hot water and add a couple of tablespoons of washing soda crystals.  Add any baking dishes that have that horrible baked on grease.  Leave to soak for an hour then wash and rinse well.  The grease will come off easily.

Cut a lemon in half and dip it in baking soda.  Use this to clean your kitchen benches.  It works similar to Jif and will leave the sink sparkling.

Tip a few tablespoons of baking soda into the kitchen sink drain.  Pour in half a cup of vinegar and leave for an hour.  Follow with boiling water from the jug after you've made your self a cuppa.

Add 10 drops of eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle filled with water.  Use this to wipe down your kitchen cupboards, fridge, outside of oven, etc.  Remember to shake before you use it to disperse the oil.

Make a paste of baking soda and water.  Wipe down the inside of the oven and leave to dry.  Rub off with a clean cloth then rinse.  Obviously this will only work if your oven is used for light cooking and baking.  If you have a lot of roast dinners you might have to go heavy duty.

In the bathroom

Grab a bucket and half fill it with very hot water, add two tablespoons of washing soda crystals, a few drops of eucalyptus and a cut lemon.  Use your cloths to spread the mixture around the shower, bath and hand basin.  I find this works as good as Jif, maybe even better.  Rinse well.

Use your eucalyptus spray mix for other surfaces including the toilet.  I use toilet paper for the seat and rim instead of a cloth.

Apparently you can use the washing soda crystals in the toilet bowl.  I must admit I've never tried and have opted to use commercial toilet cleaner there.

Other rooms

I use the eucalyptus spray mix everywhere!  Window sills, dining room table and chairs, coffee tables, etc.  I do suggest though if you have expensive furniture to check first.  As you may already know eucalyptus is great at removing sticky stuff.  I would hate for it to remove the polish on your tables!

Use neat eucalyptus oil to remove glue or sticker residue from glass.  Previous tenants had put a lovely (not) Wash your hands sticker on the bathroom mirror.  I dabbed on eucalyptus oil at night then it wiped off cleanly the next morning.

You can use white vinegar mixed with water to clean your windows but that's another downfall of mine - I'm addicted to commercial window cleaner!

I've also had a go at making my own laundry liquid and quite often make my own liquid hand soap.  Not only are natural cleaners kinder to the environment but they are also kind on your wallet.  One pack of washing crystals have lasted me six months.

I also just wanted to say thanks to everyone who joined in the blog hop.  With almost 40 entries (excluding a few double ups) I hope that everyone had a bit more traffic to their blog.  I will be hosting one next weekend also and I will leave the linky open all week so if you're late to arrive you will still be able to link up.  I know some of you weren't really sure what to do with the html code for the hop - if that's the case for you I'm happy for you to just link up without placing the code on your blog.  That way you'll still get more visitors to your blog.

Today I'm linking up to At my house hosted by Buttons by Lou Lou

Blog hopping...

Yesterday Simoney wrote a great post about how to improve your blog and bring in more readers.  I liked her statement

Think of your blog like your home. 

Your home reflects you, your style, your personality. You want to invite others to come over and visit. You want them to feel relaxed and enjoy visiting you.

 This is how I want my blog but sometimes I'm not sure it really reflects me, but then again my home is not really reflecting me at the moment.  Bring on the warmer weather, I say!

So this weekend I thought I would open my blog-home to you for a blog hop.  A blog hop is somewhere you can basically promote your blog to encourage more readers.  The rules are pretty simple.

1.  Follow me - if you want me to follow you back leave a comment and I'll be happy to do so
2.  Follow the first five blog links and any others on the list that may interest you
3.  Copy and paste the linky tool code into your latest/last blog post (use the Edit HTML tab while composing a post, copy and paste the code right down the bottom)

The linky tool will display the exact same list of blogs as my page so you can hop from one blog to another without having to always return to this page.

Now let's hop to it!

Swap peeps...

You may have noticed in my sidebar that I'm participating in a couple of swaps.  The second ever swap I participated in and the first I actually received was wonderful, thanks to Rhiannon.  It was so nice to receive something in return and Elijah continues to play with the items that Rhiannon sent.

So swap #3 is organised by Punky & Me and it's aptly called Here comes the Sun which requires us to make/buy something along this theme and post on the 1st September - officially the first day of Spring.  Although the sender is meant to remain a mystery I was naughty and emailed mine to see if there was anything she would absolutely hate to receive.  So she knows who I am therefore I can't show you what I've made but I can show you this

and just hope that she loves it as much as I do!

Things are chugging along nicely for my FRIENDS Swap - I'm hoping to get it all together by the end of this month (yes I know there are only a few days left) so I can send it on the slow boat to China the States.

I don't want to give too much away so there is your 'peep'

I must say that I do love putting together a swap parcel - it's even more exciting when a parcel arrives at your door!  

Have you participated in any swaps?  Have they been better than expected or disappointing?  Or did they just not turn up?  Would you ever consider hosting a swap?

Early Birthday Gifts...

We had a family dinner last night to celebrate my birthday.  It's not until Sunday but because Mum works weekends we (well she) decided we'd have dinner Thursday night instead.  Roast chook and veges followed by desert.  I wasn't expecting much this year because I said I didn't need anything.  I did mention that I saw some tins at Kmart that I quite liked and thought would brighten up my kitchen but Mum said she couldn't find them.

Elijah helped me open my presents and I got a huge surprise when he unwrapped a new camera!  Yay!  I have been wanting a new camera for ages and Mum knew that I liked hers so now I have one identical.

My fam bam - two younger sisters and my Mum (I do have a younger brother also) They all have crooked smiles but I can't laugh because...

I have one too!

Using the timer to capture some random poses in our pjs...

and loving the macro feature...

if only Elijah would keep still long enough for me to get a clear picture

and surprise - Mum managed to get the tins I was after :D

I can't believe I'm almost 33 - it only seems like yesterday I was in high school!  Although some days I feel like I'm trapped in an 80 year old body, there is nothing like a birthday to get you motivated again.

Tea party for two, maybe?

I actually forgot I had bought these yesterday - I was more excited about the dolls (which have now toodled off with my Mum away from 3 year old boy hands).  I think it's the perfect set, as in it's a well used and obviously well loved set.  No chips or cracks but lots of faded patches which I think adds to their charm with their gold plated handles and rims, and their pearl like insides - just so pretty.

I also managed to find an old Norwegian cheese slice - something I've been looking for since my supermarket slicer died.

The op shop fairies were out today...

and left me these dolls to find!

Too cute miniature dolls

When I saw them in the bag I thought there may have been a Maori doll in there but they are mostly African and Scottish.  A couple need repairs but the rest are in pretty good condition.  I wonder if Mum will babysit this lot until I have somewhere nice to display them?

I really needed one of these and had been contemplating making one but I found this one that someone had made in school woodwork class - it even has 'Mum' burnt into it.  At some stage I might get around to painting it.

And I've been working away on my FRIENDS swap parcel.  At the rate I'm filling it, it'll be a huge box I'll be sending overseas.

First blooms...

A sure sign that Spring is upon us.  The crocus bulbs we planted in Autumn have sprouted and started to flower.  This was a great little pack we bought from the local garden centre.  It included 5 mixed colour bulbs,   pot & saucer and even the soil.  We kept the pot inside over Winter but recently put it out on the front porch. It was a great little project for Elijah and nice for him to watch the bulbs sprout.

I'm still here!

My entry for KidsClick - I missed the last one

Taken by Elijah, Aged 3

I snapped this photo of Mum eating a hot cinnamon scroll - yum!  I think I managed to get all her freckles in the photo too - can you believe she'll be 33 in a week?

I've been having fun at kindy.  Mum stayed for parent help last week.  She saw that I don't sit down to learn anything there and spend all my time on the slide and running around.  So when we got home she taught me some basic math concepts.  I now understand vertical, horizontal and oblique - and know what parallel lines are.  I can read numbers up to 100 and can almost read them up to 1000!

Tutorial - fabric tape

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has tape envy when Megan of Mousehouse talks about her kozo tape.  They sound like a great alternative to boring old sellotape and make brown paper packages look that little bit more fancy.  I decided last night that I'd have a go at making my own.  That way I would have control over which fabric I wanted to use.

For this project you will need:

Your favourite fabric scraps

Ruler, rotary cutter and mat (or you could use scissors)

Double-sided tape

Tutorial - updating a child's table and chair set

I bought Elijah a table and stool set from Mocka last Christmas.  They are great if you're looking for a cheap table and chair set without resorting to plastic.  Unfortunately some water was spilled on one of the stools and due to the type of manufactured wood, it expanded  in areas causing small splits.  It came with four stools so that wasn't a problem but for a while now I've been wanting to cover the top just in case there is another spill.  Originally I thought blackboard paint was the way to go BUT then I thought of all the dust that chalk makes.  I decided on a World map instead and so far it's a hit.  Elijah has spent the afternoon driving his cars from New Zealand to Australia to South Africa and back.  So not only is it fun, it's educational!

A very quick tutorial - this would be a great project to involve the kids.  You could even swap the map for some of their artwork.  You will need:

- map or other artwork

- table and chairs you want to update

- scissors & pen/pencil

- craft glue

- Mod Podge

Psst - click to enlarge :)

Whip Up Mini Quilts...

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway over at Retro Mummy a little while ago.  I arrived home yesterday to find it had arrived (why do exciting things arrive when you're not home???)

I already have my eye on a few projects.  I love the idea of the keepsake quilt.  Unfortunately I didn't keep any maternity wear and I'm not really sure I want to cut into Elijah's outfit.  I like the fact that this book has a large section full of information - great for beginner quilters like me!  Up until now I've just been winging it so it was nice to have a read over a cuppa yesterday.

Thank you Corrie!  If you haven't visited Retro Mummy you really should.  Not only does she keep a blog, she sells delicious Japanese fabrics, quilting kits, knitting needles (cute ones!) and custom-made girl's dresses and crochet hats.  And if you're in Australia the prices include postage!

Underwater World...

Last week we were invited to go to Kelly Tarlton's with friends.  Elijah had never been and it had been a very long time since I went.  Unfortunately some of the exhibition was closed for maintenance but there was still plenty for the kids to see and do.  Clearly it was a very tiring morning because Elijah slept all the way home and then some.

Trip down memory lane...

Look what I found!  Admittedly it was a while ago now and I've had it sitting in the hall cupboard awaiting Christmas.  I'm estimating this at around 25 years old because I remember having an identical one as a kid.  We (my brother & I) also had The Dukes of Hazzard set!  So as you can imagine I was pretty chuffed to find this set in decent condition for only $1 at the local Salvation Army.  I've been avoiding op shops lately.  Unfortunately one bad habit is usually replace by another.  That other bad habit is Spotlight, as if I didn't have enough fabric already.

A bit of sad news, well not really sad but annoying.  I went to stitch up the cushions I made yesterday when I noticed a big splodge of something.  My first thought was yuk it's boogers BUT Elijah never really gets a boogie nose and on closer inspection I found the culprit - a small (and also dead) slug.  *blerk*  How it managed to get inside overnight I'll never know.  I'm just hoping I will be able to get the stains out otherwise I'll be left with only two new cushions.

Car Play Mat and Carry Bag...

I took the easy way out and decided a separate carry bag would be sufficient to hold the mat and a bunch of cars.  We'll be taking it on a test run tonight while we spend the night at Granny's house.

Big fluffy cushions...

A pile of squishy cushions ready to be hand stitched closed (yes, too lazy to use zips) plus I have a screaming child who is clearly ready for bed.  Short and sweet is this post - oh my goodness, I can't stand the noise!!!

Fake it...

I couldn't resist grabbing a metre of this fabric.  It's very Marimekko but only $15 a metre at Spotlight!  I had planned to make cushion covers but the colours just won't match my lounge suite which is chocolate brown, so I'm going to stitch the sides and use it as a tablecloth instead.  What do you think?