Organise your loyalty cards with Stocard

Last winter while purchasing some yummy pieces from Country Road, I got my purse out to show my Country Road loyalty card to the shop assistant and she noticed my bulging, unable-to-be-closed purse and said "Oh dear, I think you need to get yourself the Stocard app".   

The what-the?  She explained it to me and I was sold immediately - "Oh, that sounds awesome - I'm going home right now to scan all my cards".  And did I?  You betcha I didn't.  I did think about it though - like a billion times but just kept forgetting to do it. Anyway, yesterday, after telling Bianca at A Little Delightful that she really must get this really cool app to store all her cards (she was complaining about her purse too), I thought I really need to practise what I preach and finally get that little app myself ... so I did.

 

So, the Stocard app.  What is it?  It's an app that stores all your plastic loyalty cards on your i-phone/i-pod/Android, which means you get them out of your purse and onto your phone - so it's goodbye bulging, heavy, silly-looking purse and hello slim-line, light and sexy purse.  You just present your phone and the cashier scans the barcode directly from there.  To get started, all you have to do is download the app - it's free - and then choose a card from the extensive list i.e. Country Road (or add one if your particular card is not on the list), point your phone at the barcode on the back of your card and it automatically scans it. Very cool, very quick and very easy.  I did all my cards in less than 15 minutes.  Here's a tutorial which will explain it much better than I can.

 

  

I used a hand model, aka my husband, for this shot.  I try to keep this blog cute & pretty so my hands will not feature here ... ever!

 

I only did my cards yesterday so I haven't had a chance to put it all into practice but the reviews I've read have been good.  I did read, though, that if your phone is dirty or scratched, the scanner may not be able to read it .. so keep your phone clean, ladies.  And for the time being I am keeping my cards close by in a little pouch so that if I do run into trouble, I'll still be able to whip out my card and earn those precious points.  Please, please let it work and be deserving of its title "Featured as one of the best apps of the year by Apple" - my shoulder could really do with a break!!

 

I will let you know how I go and if you decide to download it, let me know how you go too. x

Quick-Fix Washi Tape Noticeboard

Sometimes projects just don't go the way you planned or they end up being too fiddly, too hard and well, just not very much fun. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat, realise it's not working and do something else, change angles or give up altogether walk away and leave it for another day.  This was definitely one of those projects.

 

I bought this pinboard from Target quite a few months ago specifically for the purpose of taking the load off our fridge and to house the million and one notices, invitations, reminders and school info that comes into our home and ends up on the fridge.  Once I got it home I realised uber-quickly that I was plain crazy - what was I thinking?  It was in no way, shape or form big enough.  I then thought it could go in the kids' playroom for some of their artwork ... ummm, nup.  It was nowhere near big enough for the mountains of art that we keep on display.  I also envisaged it all pretty and white so set about priming and painting it.  There was my mistake right there.  The paint didn't cover as I would have liked, even though the guy at the paint shop promised me it would.  Grrrr.  It would have needed to be sanded between coats and it probably would've taken 3 coats to make it look decent.  I wasn't liking it, it wasn't working, it was a silly idea and I didn't want to do it anymore.  Sulky, sulk, sulk.  I gave up, put it in the shed and thought I'd get back to it at some point.  Basically, what happened is I never got back to it and every time I looked at it sitting there all half finished and ugly I got annoyed with myself.  So, today, I just had to do something.  Today was the day of the "quick fix". 

I grabbed some washi tape (remember those adorable little spools I ordered from Etsy an age ago?) and put a different colour strip down each side of the frame - covering up my ugly paintwork and finishing it off in a flash.  I know it won't last a particularly long time but it's not something that really gets touched or played with so I'm happy with that.  We decided to hang it in our son's room for his own special things - achievement awards, favourite artwork etc - and because our photos are at the bottom he can look up and see us at any time, especially just before going off to sleep. Ahhhhh, cutesy-matootsey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

So, not altogether what I had planned for this little Target pinboard but a happy enough solution none-the-less.  A quick fix is not always perfect but it's often perfectly good enough.

Home-made Cleaning Products for Earth Day

Did you know it's Earth Day next Monday 22nd April?  Yes, it is.  It's a day when zillions of people from around the world sit up and pay attention to what's happening on this planet and do their best to protect it.  It's a big day.  It's an important day. It's a day created for us and our home, and I think each of us should do one thing, no matter how itty-bitty, to honour, appreciate and respect this day - now in its 43rd year (like someone else I know) - and help continue the fight for a clean environment.

 

I have decided to make up a batch of home-made cleaning products.  I've always been pretty careful about what I use around our home, particularly since having kids, and I've never been a fan of highly toxic cleaning products (although bleach has become a bit of a family tradition and although I loathe the stuff, I'm yet to find anything else that removes mould like it does ... I know, shoot me now) but this month rather than buying products, I decided to make them myself using supplies I had on hand.  I made up a General Household cleaner - for all surfaces and areas, a potion to clean the Fridge and one for cleaning Stainless Steel.  I repurposed two empty "Method" bottles (another personal fave but my local Woollies doesn't stock it so it's hard for me to get) and an empty Linen Spray bottle from "Adairs".  I couldn't resist adding some fun vinyl labels using my Silhouette machine.

Here's what I did:

General Household

(I got this recipe from a Home Beautiful magazine years ago and have been using it ever since.  It is one of my favourite all-purpose cleaners).

 

1 litre water

200ml vinegar

40ml detergent

40ml eucalyptus oil

2 dessertspoons of washing soda

 

Instructions:  mix it all together and pop it in a spray bottle
 

 

Fridge

Mix 1 tablespoon vinegar in 500ml of water and pop in a spray bottle.  Add in some vanilla essence/extract/essential oil for a lovely fresh, sweet smell.  Use it on the inside and outside of your fridge.

Stainless Steel

Same as for "Fridge", minus the vanilla.

 

There are so many recipes for home-made cleaning products online and in blog-land so whatever it is you want to clean you will be able to find an eco-friendly, non-toxic alternative.  I actually cleaned my oven (oh lord, what a horrible job that is) last weekend with a paste of bi-carbonate soda and water and it not only worked, it wasn't toxic, I didn't have to wear a mask, I wasn't worried about the kids inhaling the fumes and I had bi-carb in my pantry so it cost me nothing.  And just so that you are under no illusions, my oven was beyond dirty, it was filthy and embarrassing and totally worthy of a full toxic job but to my absolute amazement (and my husbands), the bi-carb worked.  Happy, happy, happy dance.

 

So, that's one of my itty-bitty Earth Day contributions.  If you get a moment, check out the Earth Day page - it's full of great information and resources and don't forget, if you get up to anything special I'd love to hear about it! 

 

*** Happy Earth Day ***

 

PS: If you don't follow along with me on Facebook, here's a couple of pics of my kids getting in on some Earth Day activities - choosing some herbs & plants and then planting them.  Love these pics.! x

 

 

Fluffy-tailed Bunny Singlets (sew or no sew)

This year for the first time ever we are breaking with tradition (eeek) and are going away for Easter with a group of friends.  Traditionally, we spend the weekend with family and on Easter Sunday we all gather at either our house or my parents house and have an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids.  Although we won't be home, we will still most definitely be having an egg hunt on Easter Sunday and because there are four little girls going, I thought it might be nice to make them a little "Egg Hunting" singlet, similar to one I saw recently in an Etsy shop - and despite searching for it again so I could include the link here, I came up with absolutely nothing.  Sorry.

Now, if you cannot sew or do not have a machine, then this little fluffy bunny is just for you.  It can be a competely no-sew project if you want it to be and it's perfect for using up your scrap material, which is exactly what I did.

Here's the scoop ... 

• Find a bunny template on Google (I am lucky enough to have a Silhouette Cameo machine so I chose a bunny template and cut it out on my machine - I know, cool huh?)
• Trace the bunny onto your fabric.
• Iron on some vliesofix (available from Spotlight) to the wrong side of your fabric.
• Cut out your bunny.
• Peel the vliesofix backing off your bunny.
• Iron him/her onto your singlet using a hot iron.
• Cut out a circle for his fluffy tail from fluffy fabric.  I actually don't know the name of the fabric I used.  You could also use a crocheted flower or a button etc for the tail. 
• Use Fabric Craft glue to adhere the tail to your bunny.
• If you're happy to sew, then a top stitch around the edge of the bunny finishes it off nicely.

And that's it.  Ta da!  Fluffy Bunny Singlet. C-U-T-E-N-E-S-S.  So cute in fact that when my son saw what I was sewing he requested one in "boy" colours, and because I'm all for equality I guess it's back to the sewing table!

Have a happy Easter everyone and enjoy time with your family ... and friends!

Sweeeeet Chocolate Spoons

 

I wasn't going to bother with Easter treats for my son's class this year (too much going on, not enough time, they get enough already yadda yadda yadda) but when I came across these Chocolate Spoons on the Sweetapolita blog, I immediately changed my mind.  They were so sweet, simple and I only needed three things - chocolate, sprinkles and spoons - and I could enlist my son's help (mention chocolate and he's there in a millisecond).  The perfect, tiny treat.

 

Here's what you need:

300g good quality chocolate (I ended up with 34 spoons)
Sprinkles (or anything sweet, cute & sparkley)
Plastic spoons

Instructions

Place your plastic spoons on a baking tray lined with baking paper, resting the spoon handles

on a spatula, book or tea-towel, to level them out while filling.
Temper your chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave (or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), by warming for 20 second intervals and stirring in between.

When the chocolate is almost (80%) completely melted, remove from the microwave and keep stirring until the last few pieces are completely melted and the chocolate is smooth.
Spoon melted chocolate into your plastic spoons, about 80% full (the sprinkles will fill the rest).
Add your sprinkles. Place in the freezer or refrigerator for about 20 minutes to set.

 

 

I found it easier to use a small glass jug to pour the chocolate onto the spoon rather than spooning it on, and because I needed to send these to school with my son, I popped each spoon into its own plastic bag and added a Happy Easter label, which I downloaded free from I Heart Naptime (gotta love free labels!).

 

 

 

 

 

Sweetapolita was spot on when they said this is a very quick and rewarding little Easter treat for the kids and because there is just a mouthful of chocolate, they won't be climbing the walls afterwards.  Now, there's a win-win.  Try them for yourself ... go on, it's only a mouthful!!

 

 

Writing Cards {Printable}

My son started Pre-Primary this year and the two main things the teachers are concentrating on at the moment are reading and writing.  He has reading and flash-card homework so the reading bit is covered but to help his writing along (and this is really mainly for when we are out and about not as an add-on to his nightly homework), I made him up some really simple writing cards. 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the third hand creeping into the pic?  Little sis always has to get in on the action!

I used Victorian Modern Cursive, which is the font of choice by WA schools - not sure if it's Australia wide - because I wanted him to be practising exactly what he uses at his school.  I kept the phrases simple and asked him for some input on what he wanted to practise writing.  His first response was "Ben 10 rocks" (of course it was) and I expected his second response to be "My Mum is great" (of course it wasn't!).  I added it anyway.  I then printed and laminated the cards and have them held together with a curtain ring which I had in my sewing box.  The laminate lets him write and erase as often as he wants.

 

 

 

 

If you have little ones in Pre-Primary, or Kindy, and you would like them to have a little extra writing practise, feel free to download the writing cards.

Fun with Fimo

Today was one of those quiet home days - the husband was out fishing, the three of us couldn't really be bothered going out anywhere and so we just pottered, did some chores and hung out at home.  Eventually the 5 year old got bored, the 2 year old got grumpy and I knew my time was up.  Out came the Fimo.  Have you ever used it before?  I think I have but it was so long ago I really can't remember.  It's fantastic stuff - a bit like play dough, although harder and it takes a bit more work to soften it up, and it comes in beautiful, bright colours.  I'm sure there is so much you can do with it but today we just kept it very simple and made beads, a snake and a man.  Once you've finished creating it gets baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 110C and then you've got yourself some resin-like beads to play with.  What's not to love? 

It was the perfect anecdote for boredom today.  Although, in saying that, 3 minutes in little Miss-grumpy-pants 2 year old had had enough so took herself off to play with her Ladybug Game, and then 2 minutes after that it was onto something else ... and then 2 minutes after that ...

What have your experiences been with Fimo? I'd love to hear about them, or even better post a pic to my Facebook page.  We could probably tackle something a little more creative and challenging than beads next time so feel free to share the Fimo goodness!