Christmas Bunting.

I follow the Totally Tutorials blog and the other day there was a great entry on Recylcled Halloween Bunting using magazine pages.  Now our family isn't a follower of the Halloween tradition - it's getting stronger in NZ but hasn't caught on in our household yet.  However I'm in the process of making fabric bunting to decorate the kids rooms and playrooms - finished one lot and the rest is in the WIP basket, on hold until I'm up to date with swaps and some Christmas presents - so this really caught my eye.  I linked over to have a look and I realised why I'd purchased those Christmas cards and serviettes at the Op shop the other day.   A pack of 10 cards for 40 cents and $1 for 10 serviettes.  I don't send Christmas cards - terribly selfish I know but I've just never done it so I really had no reason to purchase them - now I have something I can do with them.  I grabbed another pack just in case and they're going to be put to good use.
I cut the base from the blank side of the card and then patchworked pieces of different cards (and an advertising brochure FOR kiwiana Christmas cards) over the front.  I used the serviettes (they're the red ones with the green Christmas trees) for the back and I've also added photo medallions for each Christmas of the kids.  I'll add to them each year.  I glitter stamped some patterns over the patchwork and then laminated the lot.  My machine sews well through lamination but I didn't think it could handle any more thickness so I sewed the ribbon straight onto the laminate, trimmed it, fold the ribbon over to the other side and top stitched it.  The lamination caught the edge of the serviettes on a couple of them and my stitching leaves a lot to be desired (this was a rush job so I couldn't be bothered changing the thread colour - lazy but I just wanted to complete something!!)  They'll do.  Tomorrow Zoe and I are going to make some mini bunting for the Christmas tree in the same way but fitting two flags to a card - she'll love that.

Another "completed today" project is in direct relation to making sure I do something constructive with the kids each day.  Zoe and I will be making butter tonight but today I thought I'd try something with Logan while Zoe was at Kindy. 

Zoe has always loved puzzles and done very well with them.  Logan couldn't care less.  He's more interested in throwing the pieces around the room or carting them in his digger bucket.  I thought if I made a puzzle that was completely pertinent to him - ie a photo of himself - he might pay some attention.  He did - for a split second.  Commented lots that it was a picture of Zoe and himself and then proceeded to throw them around the room LOL - Can't win!  Oh well it was worth a try.

I printed this out on our copier, cut and laminated then trimmed the lamination. I ended up cutting up a sticky backed magnet so that each piece would stick to the magnet board - made it easier to keep them where we wanted them.

And finally some cute purchases - I really should be making Zoe knickers but these were at the supermarket and I KNEW she'd love them...

More clutter for my kitchen shelves - but at least they're doing a job - the packet wouldn't quite fit in them so I emptied the spice straight into the tins.  For 50 cents each I'm not complaining about having something cute.

And ANOTHER phone for mobile obsessed Logan.  This one works - very quietly (thank goodness), once we'd replaced the batteries which cost more than the phone (which was $1).  At the same time I made the mistake of replacing Gracies batteries (Zoe's baby doll and the fifth member of our family).  She too was purchased second hand so I had no idea what she would do.  It turns out just one thing - a really cute baby giggle to screamy giggle - it was very cute - at first.  Luckily I have convinced Zoe to save battery power LOL