Serendipity Child

Saturday, 8 May 2010

Re-fashioned sweater tutorial

Time for another unscheduled tutorial. We stayed in all day today because it was cold outside, I had a headache and we felt lazy, however I did manage to make a cushion, decorated with some doilies that my wonderful husband bought me from Oxford's Gloucester Green Market, (I am so lucky to have a husband who doesn't mind indulging my bizarre fetishes!).
Here is a rather dodgy photo of the cushion:

I also made this bag out of some old fabric I had:

(another dodgy photo)

So here is my tutorial for the re-fashioned sweater. Here is a picture of the sweater to begin with:

As you can see it is not the most flattering of jumpers, it is too short for me for one thing. Also it has this rather hideous stain on the cuff that I sustained from a malicious banana:

So first I cut the sweater straight down the middle (just at the front):

Then I cut a section out of the sleeves which included the stained section:

Remove the sleeve section then pin a little hem down the front.

Pin the little pieces off cuff that were left onto the sleeves:

Sew the cuffs and the seams down the front. With the cuffs it was a little tricky because the cuff piece was narrower than the sleeve bit so I had to stretch the cuff bit so that it fitted into the sleeve properly:

Much better!

Then I sewed a little flower for the lapel just to add a bit of fun:

I am really pleased and proud of myself, I have never done anythng like this before and I think it was pretty successful. It was a simple design bit but I think it worked.

Mooncup

WARNING..........GIRLY POST ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I took the plunge and bought a mooncup for more enviromentally friendly monthly visits from Flo. Those who don't know what on earth I am taking about, take a look here on their website. I have read quite a lot about them, they sound wonderful and thought I might as well give one a go, I mean you just don't know if it's for you if you don't buy one. Its's not like you can borrow one from a friend is it?
I will let you know how it goes, and I would love to hear from anyone who has already been brave, plase do leave a comment.

Friday, 7 May 2010

Stuff I want

When you see things like these from notonthehighstreet and dotcomgiftshop it's really hard to remember that we must store up treasures in heaven:

I could continue cos these chops have so much stuff I wish I could afford to buy, but I had better stop there! Have a great weekend everyone.

Monday, 3 May 2010

Happy Monday

I am feeling a bit sad today, thinking too much about all the bad in the world, I find it frustrating and know that there is so little I can do about it. I am constantly asking myself 'why' people behave as they do. So I really need cheering up today, and a reminder of the beauty that we have been given to enjoy, here are some little bits of heaven:

Hope you all have a wonderful week.

Sunday, 2 May 2010

Tutorial - nettle tea.

Finally I am getting round to doing a tutorial. I do loads of stuff but forget to photograph it so then can't do a tutorial, however I remembered to take photos whilst I was making a batch of nettle tea so thought I would share it with you.

According to teabenefits there are loads of health benefits to drinking nettle tea.

Nettle tea fights coughs, tuberculosis and asthma;
Nettle tea counters arthritis, rheumatism, tendonitis and other disorders of the muscles and joints;
Nettle tea combats a variety of intestinal disorders;
Nettle tea fights skin problems;
Nettle tea fights allergies like eczema, and hay fever;
Nettle tea is used to treat urinary tract infections,

The main reason I drink it is to help with my hay fever, i helps because it contains something which is a natural anti-histamine. It also helps with my allergic rhinitis.

To begin with I pick some nettles. It's important that you only pick nettles that are away from the roadside, or fields with crops that may have been sprayed . I pick them from my allotment where they are plentiful! (Don't forget to wear gloves!)
Next I wash them really well to get rid of any insects or other nastys wearing washing up gloves to protect myself from the stings.
I then put them onto a fine ish mesh over tray and put them in a low oven,

at about 50 degrees for as long as it takes for them to go crispy, keep checking them regularly, you might even want to keep the oven door open a little to make sure the oven doesn't get too hot.

Take them out of the oven and let them cool, then scrunch all the leaves up into little pieces so it looks like tea. Although the nettles have now lost their sting I do this part wearing washing up gloves because they can be spikey.

I store them in a jar, they keep for ages,

Now all you need to do is make the tea itself. I use a deep tea strainer and make it in the cup but there are allsorts of re-usable and disposable tea bags you can buy and fill yourself.