Beachy Cone Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas Everyone,

I whipped up this easy  tree last Christmas and in my rush , left out a few important photos, so read the text this time, not look at the few tutorial pics..

Right, so you will need; A polystyrene cone, glue and twine. Quite simply, wrap the twine around the cone, securing with glue, here and there,  as you go. Hot glue would work much better, but I was in a hurry at this point.

Then I painted these cute plastic beachy charms white and when dry, I threaded onto clear nylon thread and wound over the twine, securing with a dot of glue at the ends.

A small wooden craft star was painted white and once dry, I outlined with glue and sprinkled Epsom Salts on to it to give it a sparkle. Glue to the top of the tree.

And there you have a Beachy Christmas Tree.... I love it!

This is how I displayed it last year, a shelf full of beachy goodness!

  And here it is this year! Cute right?

I wish you all a wonderful and happy Christmas. 

Please be safe and take care.

xxx

 

 

Frosty the Popsicle Stick Snowman

 Hey Everyone,

I'm shared this post last year at Mammy Made. It's a super easy, super cute popsicle stick craft.

I totally copied this pin on pinterest - it's so so easy and I literally winged my way through it. So yes there are missing photos in my excitement to quickly complete this adorable snowman!

What you will need:

Popsicle / craft sticks ,  white and black craft paint , googly eyes , ribbon,  craft paper and a black sharpie.

Line up 8 or 9 sticks and paint them white (I glued another stick diagonally at the back to hold them all together).

Glue another stick across the front at an angle - this will be the rim of the hat. Paint the hat black.

Once the paint is all dry, glue on the eyes, cut out a triangle for the nose and glue it on (I used corregated craft paper). Draw the mouth on, glue a strip of ribbon along the hat.

To hang my snowman, I used black string tied to the hat ends.

  
 Payton has claimed him as her personal snowman ornament!

 I'm all about snowmen at Christmas time.... The kids think its so funny to have snowmen decorations during Summer. I guess it is...

 Is Frosty not the cutest popsicle stick snowman ever? 

He has pride of place on our tree, and I have to admit I love how easy he was to make and how well he turned out.

Take care

xxx

 

 

 

Summer Chicken and Salad Wraps

I originally posted this over at Inspiration Cafe for the Soups and Sandwiches series.

It's nearly Summer here in New Zealand and time for refreshing salads and light meals. Yum! My dear friend was visiting this week and I thought I would treat her to a delicious wrap for lunch...

So easy and you can use any ingredients you like for the filling, I chose fancy lettuce, cheese, carrot, tomato and smoked chicken slice

 Warm the wrap slightly in the microwave and spread a layer of mayonaise over it, layer with the ingredients, season and wrap!

 And serve!

So easy and so delicious! Perfect for a warm day!

Now the Soup.

My favourite go too light meal is Tomato "Cup a Soup" with cheese.

 If the kids and Sean are having something I don't like (cough, cough, mac n cheese, cough) then I'll whip up a cup of soup with boiling water, grate a handful of cheese, add to hot soup and serve with a slice of bread or two.

 I know there's no cooking involved here, but I wanted to pay homage to my favourite student meal that I still love to this day. Great for a quick meal.

Take care

xxx

 

 

Tin Can Chimes

 Hey Everyone,

Its been ages since I posted a tin can craft. And you know how I love me some up-cycled tins right! Especially with a beachy twist.

Well these couldn't be easier, all you need are a few cans of varying sizes (preferably if they fit into each other), scrapbook paper, double sided tape and twine.

1. Clean the tins and remove any outer glue or residue.

2. Punch a hole into the centre of the bottom of each tin - not too big, just enough to thread the twine through.

3. Measure the paper to size.

4. Attach onto the tin using double sided tape.

5. Arrange the tins according to size

6. Make a knot in the twine, thread it through the bottom can and knot, measure how far you want the next tin to sit and tie another knot etc.

7. Hang your new chimes.

 

They don't make a lot of noise, just a slight clink, but I do love the look of them.

 They are so simple, fun and cost next to nothing to make. I'm going to make a pink girly one for the girls room, as soon as I have some tins saved again. Definitely my kind of project!

Take care

xxx

 

 

Frost - A Cuff Bracelet

 Hi Everyone,

I've been busy creating for the Blogger/Non-Blogger Challenge again.

One of the two themes this round is Holiday Sparkle and it was the one I decided inspired me the most. Of course - my colours totally, right?

Here is the inspiration image.

And my cuff bracelet...

I love the sparkle of it, like frost on a cold Winter's day...

Take care,

 

xxx

 

 

The New Zealand Tui Bird

Hey everyone,

Since we've moved I've missed the abundance of birds that would frequent our old garden. We had an enormous tree out back and we would hear the beautiful songs of all the birds including the Tui bird.

Our new place is a lot closer to the road and maybe it's the busyness of the week but I hadn't really spotted too many birds until the Taiwanese Flowering Cherry Tree started to bloom.

This particular tree attracts Tui Birds and I've never had such a great view of them before. This week we've had up to 5 in the tree at once.

Native to New Zealand, tui are a very beautiful bird. At first glance they appear black, but they are actually a shining metallic green with blue & purple reflections. The reflected colour of the feathers changes with the angle of the light. The best known visual feature of the tui is the very distinctive white tuft on the throat.
Tui are also well known for their unusual calls. They have the beautiful notes of the bellbird, combined with cackles, clicks, groans, creaks and even wheezing sounds!
I am sure most of you have seen many tui in the last month or so. Especially those who are close to an area of native bush. I have seen very large numbers of tui in Cambridge, Te Awamutu, and Pirongia, where there seem to be more and more tui every year.
- See more at: http://www.groundzone.co.nz/blog/want-to-attract-tui-into-your-garden/#sthash.t2UBtBRW.dpuf

Native to New Zealand, tui are a very beautiful bird. At first glance they appear black, but they are actually a shining metallic green with blue & purple reflections. The reflected colour of the feathers changes with the angle of the light. The best known visual feature of the tui is the very distinctive white tuft on the throat.
Tui are also well known for their unusual calls. They have the beautiful notes of the bellbird, combined with cackles, clicks, groans, creaks and even wheezing sounds!
I am sure most of you have seen many tui in the last month or so. Especially those who are close to an area of native bush. I have seen very large numbers of tui in Cambridge, Te Awamutu, and Pirongia, where there seem to be more and more tui every year.
- See more at: http://www.groundzone.co.nz/blog/want-to-attract-tui-into-your-garden/#sthash.t2UBtBRW.dpuf

Native to New Zealand, tui are a very beautiful bird. At first glance they appear black, but they are actually a shining metallic green with blue & purple reflections. The reflected colour of the feathers changes with the angle of the light. The best known visual feature of the tui is the very distinctive white tuft on the throat.
Tui are also well known for their unusual calls. They have the beautiful notes of the bellbird, combined with cackles, clicks, groans, creaks and even wheezing sounds!
I am sure most of you have seen many tui in the last month or so. Especially those who are close to an area of native bush. I have seen very large numbers of tui in Cambridge, Te Awamutu, and Pirongia, where there seem to be more and more tui every year.
- See more at: http://www.groundzone.co.nz/blog/want-to-attract-tui-into-your-garden/#sthash.t2UBtBRW.dpuf

The Tui is native to New Zealand and you can find out more information about these beautiful birds here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tui 

 

I always thought the Tui were black with white tufts at its throat but they are actually very colourful with a gorgeous turquoise  sheen to their tail feathers.

Besides the neck feathers, these birds are very unique in their bird song. It's just beautiful.

I feel so incredibly lucky to have caught these images this week. And so very happy to take in all the bird life around me again.

It's nearly Spring!

Take care,

xxx

 

 

Girl's Drawer Makeover

 Hey Everyone,

I made over this wee cabinet in a few hours, it was so quick!

When we bought Gabe's bed off Trade Me last year, it came with this extra little drawer set that he didn't want, so it ended up being used as extra storage for the girls clothes. The drawers have a type of laminate on them and were in good nick but the wooden top and sides were scratched and boring!

I painted 2 coats of Dulux Taradale (Pink) on the wooden shell and sanded a bit to neaten up. It was a perfect day for painting, not too hot or cold!

I found these adorable removable wall stickers from the dollar shop and knew they would be perfect on the laminate drawers.

 What's really great about the wall stickers is that when the girls outgrow fairies, they can be easily removed with no damage to the drawers.

Seriously, how cute right?

This project is an epic hit with the girls and I'm really happy with the transformation.

I had the pink paint on hand already so I just spent $3 for the stickers.
 
Not bad for $3 huh? My kind of makeover!

 

I hope I've inspired you to tackle an easy little project today.

Take care,

xxx