Magpie Monday - Foraging Finds

If you've been paying close attention you will know that I love a bit of foraging - not just in charity shops, but actual foraging of food, in the great outdoors.

I've just started another blog which I'd love for you to follow too. It's early days, but spring is a-coming so expect lots of lovely recipes over the coming months.

This week's finds were all forage related.  I found this beautiful autumnal hinged biscuit tin, with a display of hedgerow fruits and berries.

I may use it to keep my recipes, magazine cuttings and note in.

Just a word of warning about cleaning old tins.  I've been caught out before with over zealous cleaning of these in the past and ended up rubbing the design off.  For these, Cilit Bang is not your friend.  It required gentle rubbing with a soft sponge and washing up liquid.  Keep the scourers away, and make sure you dry it immediately to prevent rusting.

I spotted this metal jam funnel for £1.  No more burnt fingers from hot as hell jams and chutneys!!

And I got 5 metal baking trays for a snip which will be just right for open freezing berries and for making flapjacks with foraged nuts and traybakes.

I can't wait to get cracking!

What have you thrifted lately?  I'd love you to link up your finds.

<a href="http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy135/missielizzie/MagpieMondayBadge.png" border="0" alt="Me and My Shadow" /></a>

Honk Honk! Comic Relief celebrates 25 years of Good Work

It's hard to believe, but this year's Red Nose Day on 15th March will mark the 25th anniversary of the 'fun'd-raising initiative.

It's become such an integral part of our lives, from TV shows to merchandise in the supermarkets, to chart-topping charity singles.

Each time we tune in to watch celebs and politicians make eejits of themselves, and to see the heart-breaking VTs of the amazing work they do and the lives that are touched.

I'm pretty ashamed to admit this, but the older I get, the harder I find it to watch.  Perhaps it's since having a child of my own, but I find it almost unbearable that in this day and age there is still so much suffering, both here in the UK, and across the world.

That's why I'm SO PROUD of fellow bloggers Tanya; Annie and Penny who are facing it head on and travelling out to Ghana to report back on some of the projects that our 25 years of donations have helped.

It's going to be a hugely emotional time for them all I'm sure, and I can't even begin to imagine some of the scenes they'll see.

So please, join me in supporting them and following their journey.  Chances are one of the pounds you have given will be helping an initiative they are visiting.  Let's see what a difference Comic Relief has made over the years.

Please check out Team Honk's website.  You can sign up for a digital postcard, and follow their visit on 4th and 5th February via Twitter.

Team Honk - you rock!

xxx

Pipe cleaner crafts - Dolly Dress Up

The other day I took part in my first Google + Hangout - crikey mikey!

Not to worry, the lovely Maggy from Red Ted Art was there to hold our hands, and along with Kelly; Chris; Anna; Cerys and Anthea, we talked about kid's crafting with pipe cleaners.

You can watch the whole thing here.  It was lovely to have so many different ideas and suggestions covering such a wide age range.

Being the ever disorganised me, I was unable to do any more than 'talk' about my craft since Ruby insisted on taking it to school, leaving me looking a bit of a numpty.

I'm going to try and rectify that now.  What I had wanted to demonstrate was making simple dolls clothes with fabric scraps and pipe cleaners.

It's really simple, no cutting or sewing required so littlies can do it themselves, and best of all the fabric is undamaged so you can use it again.

With the exorbitant cost of Barbie outfits in the shops, this is a really thrifty way to get lots of different looks and let your child play at being Coco Chanel/Ralph Lauren to their heart's content.

We had a pile of fabric offcuts; remnants and left overs and a stack of pipe cleaners.  There's no rules really, just mould the fabric to the doll using the pipe cleaners to hold in place.  You can twist to create waists, necklines and cuffs.

Have a play and experiment!

Erm didn't I say no cutting? And I'm pretty sure I've told you 100 times not to sit on the table?!!

If you want a more finished look, roll the edge of your fabric around the pipe cleaner to hide it, rather than having it on show.  but as we had some sparkly ones, Ruby wanted to show them off.  She made hairbands and accessories, belts and bangles too.

She played at this for ages, mixing and matching, stripping off and starting again.

Then she lined then up, did catwalks and papped them!

We had such fun, right up until we had meltdown because her dolls didn't have matching shoes for their new outfits.  *big sigh*.  I can't THINK where she gets that from.

What creative ideas do you have for pipe cleaners?  Do you fancy following me over on Google +?  Maybe you could watch our next hangout. x

Come rain, come shine

It might be cold outside at the moment, but spring isn’t too far away. The days are getting lighter, and it seems to be getting a little bit warmer outside, so you might want to think about making plans for when the snow finally melts (if it hasn’t already) and the evenings are light.

Being indoors for what seems like forever can be boring, but the winter weather has made it impossible for everyone to go outside and truly enjoy themselves. We all know that the weather can be a bit on the grim side in our beloved Britain, but when it does finally brighten up, why shouldn’t we be able to make the most of it? I mean we only get a few weeks of real summer per year, and I am surely not missing out on these days, when they finally decide to appear.

When the weather’s better, why not spruce up your garden and make it a great place to have a gathering with your family or friends? Having the perfect garden might seem like a distant dream, especially when parts of the country is just coming out of a cold snap (which might return at any time), but you could make a start over the weekend. Nothing beats conviction, right – not even bad weather J

Think about what would make the perfect garden dinner party or barbecue for example. I found this page on OprahWinfrey’s site very useful, especially some of the recipe ideas. Try and ask your family what they want to do in a few months’ time, and see whether they have any good ideas, kind of like a brainstorm of sorts.

You might want to “doll up” your home and garden a little with all that garden furniture you’ve been hiding in the garage or storage room. Some nice garden décor or even the addition of patio awnings as depicted here could definitely spruce things up a bit; and best of all – you can sit outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun for hours without worrying about your kids being overexposed to harmful UV rays.

Disclosure: Guest post brought to you by Nationwide Ltd.  For full details please see my disclosure policy.

How to make Silver Birch Bark Candle Holders

I'm sure you've all seen these in the shops and on swanky interiors websites.  They were everywhere at Christmas, and still featured heavily in magazines and homeware articles.

They add a rustic, Nordic atmosphere to a room, and I just love them.  The trouble is, I didn't want to pay anything up to £20 for one.

The solution was simple: make my own!  It's easy, and best of all, it's totally free.

You can add cut-out designs of hearts or initials - perfect for a thrifty handmade Valentine's gift.  Or make several, with a cut out letter on each to spell out a name or word.

I apologise in advance for the photos.  I keep forgetting to buy batteries for my camera, so these were taken on my phone.  Plus it's impossible to take pictures of candles in the daytime!

First up you'll need to source your bark.  Personally I think this is the most fun part.  A great excuse to wrap up and go for a family walk in the woods.

Remember, NEVER take bark from a live tree as you will damage it.  Only ever use bark from fallen trees.  Don't take too much - it may look like perfect crafting material to you, but to a little bug it's a bijou home.  Finally, never remove from private property without the owner's permission.

Once you've found a suitable specimen, carefully peel off the bark, trying to keep it in one large strip.  This is easier done when wet.

When you get your bark home, give it a good clean in warm soapy water.  Rub the surface gently to restore the white colour and knock off any loose bits of bark from the reverse so you have a nice smooth surface.

Leave to drain, then measure an empty glass jam jar and using a sharp craft knife, cut to the required height and length - enough to wrap all the way round and overlap slightly at the ends.

You can either cut straight at the top and bottom for those neat cut log effect candles, or as I have, leave the top edge as it is for a more natural look.

Decide what and where you want for your cut outs and do these now.  On one I cut a heart, on the others I opted to use the holes already present on the bark.

Once cut, wet again under the hot tap and wrap tightly round your jar securing with string or rubber bands.  Leave overnight to dry.

When you remove the string, your bark will have moulded to the shape of the vase and be easier to glue as it's already bent (it's quite brittle when dry).

Line up your bottom edge and glue gun some glue along the short end.  Carefully roll the bark around the jar, keeping it nice and tight to the glass.  Finally, glue the other end and you're done.

Pop a candle or tealight inside and admire your handiwork.

Do you like collecting things when you're out walking in the woods?  What's your favourite craft using bits from nature?

Linking up with #GetYourCraftOn

Exploring different fantasy figures

It can be really easy to fall into a pattern of doing the same things every day, especially during the colder months.

During the summer there seems to be so much more to do with your time and if you’re not careful during the winter fun activities can fall by the wayside and you could end up watching yet another cartoon on Cbeebies!

A great way to get out of the winter rut can be to do something new. After Christmas you don’t want to be going out and spending a huge amount of money on craft supplies. Polarn O. Pyret – a fun kids clothes brand, recently shared this PDF, containing a few spring activities for kids, which made me look at my recycling bin in a new way.

The idea is that you gather together your spare boxes, fabric and anything that is destined for the bin and make a character out of it.

You could make a robot with foil and bottle top buttons, a princess out of a kitchen roll and some fabric scraps, or even an animal with an egg box. The idea is that you make something new. You can even get your child to design their own character and try to recreate it.

What I loved about this idea is that it doesn’t cost any money, and was a great way of learning while having fun.

You can talk about shapes, colours, bigger/smaller; all types of vocabulary can be expanded and can give your child a chance to let their imagination run wild!

What would your child make?

Disclosure: Guest post brought to you by Polarn O Pyret.  For full details please see my disclosure policy.

Poundland Challenge - Brand Names for Less

It's well known that I'm a tight-wad like to be frugal and thrifty, and I love nothing more than a mooch around Poundland to see what they have on offer - see, I'm a really cheap date.

Their ranges are ever changing, but it has to be said I tend to favour their craft and stationery aisles, as well as habitually buying packs and packs of paper doilies.  Apart from the one time (for which the Old Man still refers to me as a Poundland Princess) where I came out with armfuls of Duchy Organic Earl Grey tea bags, and boxes and boxes of Dorset Cereal, I don't tend to pay the grocery aisles too much attention.

But my interest was piqued when Poundland got in touch and challenged me to see how much I could save on branded grocery items.  I was given a £15 voucher, and off I went on my stealth mission.

With so many of us tightening our belts in the economic climate, one of the most suggested ways to cut back on your food bill is to 'down-grade' from branded items to own label, and then to value ranges.  Well, Poundland is here to tell you that you don't have to.  You can still stick with the labels you know and trust AND save money.

Now, if you're really serious about saving money, then you actually need to have your wits about you in discount stores.  It can be very easy to pop in for a packet of envelopes or some rolls of sellotape, and come out £20 lighter because you keep going "oooh it's only a pound" and popping things in your basket.

It's also worth noting that you are not always comparing like for like.  Often pack sizes and weights will be less than those you buy in the supermarket, and it is perfectly possible to actually spend MORE in Poundland on some items than you would in the supermarket.

Those pesky supermarket chains are forever changing their prices and putting on special offers, so you really need to keep on top of prices in your normal store.  I guess that's one very good thing about Poundland - you know where you are with them!

I had a cunning plan though.  I downloaded a free grocery shopping app onto my phone, which meant I could instantly compare prices with what they'd cost me in my regular supermarket.

So, here's what my £15 got me.

I stocked up on lots of bits for Ruby's school lunchbox.  Shock horror, not exactly healthy I know, but she does always have at least one of these items in her lunch every day, so they are things that I would normally buy.

Course, if you're really serious about saving money, you won't go for these conveniently sized portions where you're effectively paying for the packaging, but would, for example buy a pack of jelly and make your own, or a large bag of raisins from the baking aisle and put in tupperware containers.  But hey, it's what all her little mates have in their lunchboxes, and I'm all for saving energy (mine that is).

I got some health and beauty items.  The children's Haliborange multi-vitamins actually turned out to be the best value purchase of the lot, normally retailing at Tesco at £4.  I cautiously bought one pot to see if she liked them -  which she does - and have since gone back and stocked up on loads more.  With her dairy allergy and pathological hatred of citrus fruit, her vitamin intake is something I do worry about, so these are a godsend, and she loves popping a 'healthy sweet' into her mouth each morning!

The Hello Kitty toothbrush went down a storm too.  It's got a little cap on the end so it's perfect for sleepovers and holidays.  This was actually the one item I couldn't find in Tescos to get a comparison price, but they are for sale on eBay and Amazon for anywhere from £1.95 - £4.  So smart kids, if you wanna turn a quick profit.....

I also got some general groceries, and the one I want to talk about is the Esscents laundry liquid.  This is now actually the only washing liquid I ever buy.  The range by Katie Elizabeth, comes in different fragrances, has a plastic in-drum cap, and does 28 washes.  For a pound!!  Up until about 6 months ago I used to buy the big named brands of laundry liquid, which cost anything up to £7+.  I can't believe I used to waste so much money.  The Poundland range works just as well, smells just as nice, hasn't affected our skin or clothing in any way, and it's a fraction of the cost.  One bottle lasts our family a month, saving us around £6 a month, or £72 per year.  Just for that one simple switch.  I recommend this to everyone now, and have converted several friends and family members.

So, just for the purposes of this challenge, I've listed below the equivalent cost as best I can from Tesco, which is our usual supermarket.  You can see at the bottom line, just how much I saved.

McVities Lyles Golden Syrup cake, twin pack   £2.60
1 litre Del Monte Orange Juice  £1.59
Typhoo 100 teabags  £2.29
Dorset cereal simply delicious muesli 410g  £1.40
Katie Elizabeth Laundry Gel  £3.58 (based on supermarket own label)
Skips multipack crisps 8 + 2 free £2.99 (based on equiv 25p per packet)
Hartleys strawberry jellies x 3 £1.44
Hartleys orange jellies x 3 £1.44
Raspberry School Bars pack of 5 £1.59
Sun Maid Raisins 9 mini boxes £1.60 (based on equiv weight)
Pizza Express Pomodoro tomato & basil £1.99 (not currently stocked but based on RRP)
Arm and Hammer Advance White sensitive toothpaste £2.79
Haliborange multivitimins 30 £4.00
Pantene smooth & sleek shampoo 250ml £2.87
Hello Kitty toothbrush £1.95 (Amazon price)

Grand total: £34.12

...plays £15 in Poundland.  So effectively, that shop cost me less than half what it would have done in my supermarket.

Thanks Poundland!  What's your best Poundland bargain?  What do you always stock up on when you're there?

Disclaimer: We were sent the vouchers for the purposes of this challenge.  All opinions are my own and prices were correct at time of shop/comparison.