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Sunday, July 17, 2011

DIY Chalkboard Paint (in Custom Colours ;))

Dry Non-Sanded Grout (any place that sells tiles should be able to provide this pretty cheaply!)
Acrylic paints in your choice of colours
Measuring spoons and cups
Mixing cup or bowl
Paintbrush or stick to stir

1. Measure 1.5 teaspoons of the non-sanded grout and put in your mixing cup. Warning: its dusty so wear a mask or do it outside or near an open window.

2. Pour in approx 1/4 cup of paint and stir well. If you're attempting to colour match to another colour I suggest doing that first then adding the paint to the grout.

3. Stir thoroughly and don't worry if its grainy, it'll paint on smoothly!

4. Apply as many coats as required.

5. Prep chalkboard by rubbing chalk all over it then cleaning off and ta dah - you're ready to go :)

Organisation: Labels

I have a thing for being organised. I like it, though for the last little while it hasn’t liked me so much :o)


I love looking around my home and seeing everything in its place, knowing exactly where something is when I need it, seeing harmony and order instead of chaos and clutter. Apparently the state of your home is the state of your mind and I would much rather have a peaceful house and therefore a peaceful headspace (or vice versa) than have a chaotic thought-process to match my equally untidy living space!

Anyway something I used extensively pre-baby and have begun implementing again is labelling, a very cool way to make sure everyone else in the household knows where everything goes after you put in the hard work to get it all sorted and neat-looking as well as a way to add abit of ‘décor’.




Label your kids toys, label your glass jars, label your baskets, label your bookshelves, label your nappies… It’s addictive, really!! Think funky fonts, stylish backgrounds, colour co-ordination, custom tags :deep sigh: love it <3 Label your laundry baskets, your food containers, label the kids art stuff, label the kids drawers, oh my lol so many options...





Seriously labelling should carry a warning : causes obsessive behaviour! Though the fact that it gets the males in my home to put things back where they belong, gets them helping with the (copious amounts of) laundry and means I don't have to do a mad nut when someone arrives unexpectedly - well it definitely increases the chances of the house being in an acceptable state of order lol I still have to do the mad nut chucking things in cupboards and under the beds before opening the door to said unexpected arrival attempting to look cool, calm and collected even though they probably saw me running round like a loon through the window ;)



Ok we’ve established labels are awesome, now how to get them??!! That kinda depends on the look you’re going for of course but here are a couple of ideas to get you going…



                                          Photo Credit
 
Custom coloured blackboard tags : uber-cool, reusable (just clean them off and write a new label), and with the DIY blackboard paint that I’ll be posting up shortly you can customise the paint colour to your room – that’s right, colour is the new black!!
 
Either:
1. Choose the container you want to label,
2. Mark out the shape you want to paint with tape,
3. Fill it in with blackboard paint,
4. Allow to dry,
5. Peel off tape, 
6. WRITE YOUR LABEL
 
or
 
1. Sand scrap bits of plywood,
2. Drill a hole in one end,
4. Paint with blackboard paint,
3. Add ribbon,
4. Tie to object you wish to label,
5. WRITE YOUR LABEL
 

                                          Photo Credit

Laminate Labels

1. Measure the container you have to make sure you get the size right,
2. Find the image you want on google images,
3. Copy to which ever program you use (I generally use Microsoft Word coz its easy and I'm lazy ;)) and add fonts and colours,
4. Print, laminate and trim
5. Attach to container using glue, velcro (one part attached to container, opposite part attached to label), or punch a hole in label and attach using raffia, embroidery thread, string, or whatever you have at your fingertips.


                                            Photo Credit

Toy Labels are absolutely brilliant and there are sooooo many ideas out there so I thought I'd include a few linkies to free printables to get you started if you just want a quick print, laminate and attach option :) Enjoy...

 
Toy Label Printable Linkies:
 
 
 


I have more ideas rolling around in my head but its difficult to get them to come together on paper :) If it happens I'll update this!



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Mock Cream Recipes

I prefer good old fat-filled cream of cow but in a pinch these do the trick…

Option #1
Mix together well 2 tablespoons full fat milk powder, 1 cup if milk and 1 tablespoon of icing sugar. Leave to stand from 12-24 hours, as long as possible.

Option #2
2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons full fat milk powder (mixed to a paste with a little of the milk)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 dessertspoon of boiling water
2 teaspoons gelatine
Dash of vanilla essence

Warm milk to blood temp and add to milk powder paste. Dissolve 2 good teaspoons of gelatine in the boiling water, then mix milk, gelatine mixture and vanilla essence together well. Chill thoroughly then beat again. Tastes abit like whipped cream.

Option #3
Beat together 2 tablespoons of each of the following – butter, sugar and boiling water. Mixture will curdle first then become a thick cream. Add a little vanilla. Good for sponges.
Possibly use a dairy-free butter substitute to make this dairy-free! If anyone tries it please let me know how it turns out J

Option #4
1 cup of milk
¾ ounce of cornflour
1 ounce butter
1 ounce of sugar
Mix cornflour with a little cold milk. Heat the rest of the milk, add the cornflour and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 minutes, continuing to stir. Leave til cold. Cream butter and sugar. Once cornflour mixture is cold whip it then beat into butter and sugar. Beat til smooth.
Again possibly make this dairy-free by using milk substitute such as rice, soy or oat and a butter substitute. Would love to hear if anyone tries it J