DIY SHELL NOTEBOOK

The kids made these for Christmas gifts this year and they were just gorgeous!  

The shells were quite dull and covered in periostracum so we prepared them first by cleaning them (see post).  Once they were cleaned and dried the kids drilled two holes (without too much pressure so they didn't break) at the bottom of the shells.  Then they cut different coloured paper to fit and punched holes in the paper.  Tie together with string and now you shell never be without a notebook again ;)  Oh and another point to mention was I made the kids wear dust masks while they were drilling as i don't thing shell dust is all that good for you :)

QUICK AND EASY WAY TO CLEAN SEASHELLS

We not only have buckets of shells I'm pretty sure I have some boxes of shells hiding somewhere too!  The kids love finding shells at the beach and have made some pretty cool stuff with them.  If you have collected some shells they may quite possibly be covered in algae and periostracum so will need a clean to really show their prettiness - not to mention rid them of any nasty smells.  The stench of rotten shellfish isn't all that appealing i'm sure.  So here's how we did it..

Put shells in a bucket with 50:50 water/bleach.  Leave them to soak for at least a couple of hours.  Rinse them off and use a bristled nail brush or similar to get rid of anything left on the shell.  Once they are dry put a tiny bit of baby oil on a rag and rub over the shell - this will really bring out their colours.  Easy as that!

Christmas Bokeh - It's easier than you think!

What you will need to create beautiful bokeh christmas photos:

Christmas lights

A lens with a low aperture (I used Canon 50mm 1.8 for these shots)

Tripod (not necessary)

The last two images were shot at night in much lower lighting conditions. When shooting in low light your shutter speed will be significantly slower risking blur (in which case you should use a tripod to minimize camera shake).  In saying that I didn't get out the tripod for any of these.

The size of the bokeh will depend on a number of factors including how far the subject is from the lights and how close you are to the subject so experiment with different distances and get ready to take some beautiful images!

Below each image you will see the settings I used including Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.

 f/1.8

1/500 sec

ISO 400

 f/1.8

1/125 sec

ISO 400

f/1.8

1/125 sec

ISO 400

For the following shots of just the lights set your lens to Manual Focus (instead of Auto Focus) and adjust the Focus Manually (usually by turning a Focus Ring on your lens) so the lights are out of focus and take the shot

f/1.8

1/250 sec

ISO 400

f/1.8

1/250 sec

ISO 400

 f/1.8

1/3 sec

2000 ISO

f/1.8

1/4 sec

ISO 1250

T-SHIRT QUILT

If you are like me and can't bear to part with those mountains of clothes your little Mr or Miss wore - now you don't need to.. go ahead and make a quilt!  At least you have an excuse to keep them all now :)

I saw one similar on pinterest just after Christmas last year and fell in love with it so thought I would make one each for my boys for the next Christmas.  I started off with good intentions in January and cut out one row of  T-shirts and sewed them together.  I thought I will be super organised and not have to rush to finish it however I didn't touch it again until a week before Christmas when I thought I would never get them finished.  But guess what.... I did!

I just love how they turned out (and so did the recipients!)  They loved them so much they insisted on taking them to every function we had to attend on Christmas Day - and snuggle up in the sweltering mid summer heat! They thought it was pretty cool I used their old t-shirts!   And the told me that night how much they love their blankets!  Actually I didn't only use t-shirts - I used onesies they wore when they were a baby, jeans, taggy blankets and pyjamas!

Now just to clarify I am by no means a great sewer (or even a good sewer) so if I can do it... so can you!

I actually didn't even measure anything so just winged it and cut them slightly larger than the size I wanted them, sewed together row by row.  The one I saw previously on pinterest actually had no border but I liked the idea of including the tshirts in a plain border (with a pattern here and there).

I then sewed the border and sewed that to the completed panel.  For the backing - after a mad dash to Spotlight and not finding the fleece fabric I was after I ended up picking up a really nice super fluffy and super soft throw and cut that to size.  I used a lightweight batting on the inside and once it was all sewn together I sewed around the panel and the edges are almost like a pillow - love it!

Taggy Rag!

Super soft backing

Even some patched up jeans <3

I used different coloured throws for each quilt

Just had to include a onesie

You Only LIVE once, LICK the bowl

It wouldn't be a birthday without cake and cupcakes now would it?  Here are some ideas which aren't that difficult or time consuming to do.

For the rose lover.  Perfect for mothers day.

                                   

 

Simple Scrapbooking Pages

Questions of a 4 year old <3

Wild about you

Enjoy the little things

While you were 4

Summertime

Can't reach that moon!

He is like a sunny day <3

Snuggle bugs

Brothers

To the world you're just one person, but to one person you are the world

How lightbulbs are made

A perfect memory

He makes the world a better place

Questions of a 3 year old!

Wild Thing <3

Easy Christmas Ideas

1:  STRAWBERRY SANTAS

Ok so I stole this idea from an awesome lady friend of mine.  Mine were the somewhat lazy version... I made them to take for my little big boys last day at daycare and couldn't find my piping bag so whacked that cream on with a knife instead.  Could have been a bit tidier but according to my little food connoisseur and his bestie they were yum!

Pretty sure the pic is self explanatory... strawberries... cream.... choc chippies.... done.

2:  XMAS GOODIE BAGS

A quick an easy gift for the kids to make.  I found these cute bags at Whitcoulls.  Fill with your fav treats and give them to someone you love :)  We put xmas shortbread (recipe below) and reindeer bark.


3:  XMAS FAIRY SPRINKLE SHORTBREAD

175g softened butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornflour

pinch salt

sprinkles

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.  In a bowl beat together butter and icing sugar until fluffy.  Add sprinkles and sift in flour, cornflour and salt.  Knead together and roll out on floured surface.  Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes and bake for approx 25 - 30 mins.  YUM.

4:  MAGIC REINDEER TREATS

Every little Santa believer will love these reindeer treats to sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas eve!  I used this awesome design I found over at Kate Hadfield Designs.  Add a spoonful of oats and sprinkle in some glitter and the reindeer won't go hungry when they stop by!

5:  REINDEER BARK

Perfect fun treat for kids (and Mums) and super easy to make.  (Apparantly Santa likes it too).  We made these and wrapped in little cellophane bags to add to the treat giftbags.  All you need is a block of white and a block of dark chocolate of your choice, a few candy canes (I put in a bag and gave it a slight beating with the hammer).   Break up chocolate in a bowl and pop in the microwave for around 30 secs to start with then give a stir and repeat until melted.  Line baking tray with baking paper and pour mixture on top.  Spread to desired thickness (I didn't make them too thick) and sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top.  Put in fridge until set and once done break up into pieces and enjoy :)  You could make your own variations for the topping like adding crushed Oreos etc!

6:  SNOWMAN SOUP

When it's so cold that you holler and whoop,

It's time to bring out the Snowman Soup!

Pour the packet in a mug, add marshmallows too,

And throw in these kisses that are special just for you,

Now add some hot water and use the cane to stir it,

Sip slowly and soon you'll feel the warm winter spirit!

Another awesome design from Kate Hadfield Designs.  In a cellophane bag add hot chocolate, a few marshmallows and hersheys kisses.

7:  FOR YOUR MISTLETOES

Fun and easy Christmas Gift to make for a special someone.  For these I used a coffee jar and put in a manicure set, fluffy socks and nailpolish.