Easy peasy lemon squeezy

I'm not a big fan of housework, but I do have to live in a clean house.  I can't relax in the evening knowing there's housework to be done, yes I know 'it'll still be there tomorrow' and 'no one ever died wishing that their home was cleaner'.  Once upon a time I was obsessed with having a clean & tidy home - looking back on those days though I had no other focus, unlike now where playing with the kids, spending quality time with my partner and having me time (my crafting) is top of the list.  So in my effort to cut as many corners as possible and end up with the same results, this is one of my favourite cleaning tips. 

My microwave is used mainly to heat up left overs and the obligatory baked beans, somehow I always manage to buy exploding beans which just love to plaster themselves all over the insides.  So the easiest way I've found to clean the grime is to use lemon juice, and very, very little elbow grease.

I put about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a little microwave bowl, place it inside on the turntable and switch it on for 2 minutes.  Take a damp cloth and wipe down, if the splatters don't come off easily, then put the bowl with the lemon back in and reheat for another 30secs to minute, repeat as necessary.  All being well it should take no time to clean. 

BEFORE: a very embarrassing picture of the inside ceiling of my microwave.

AFTER: all I did was one quick wipe to demonstrate how easy removing the splatters is,

of course you can take more time to get it uber clean.

Please take care as the lemon can become very hot, the measurements and times used are suitable to me and I cannot accept responsibility for any mishaps,my tips are given in good faith.

Tuesday's Tip

After the sucess of my ECO weed killer last week, which is still weed free YIPEE!! (jumping and punching the air with delight) I thought I'd try out another one this week.  I have a head full of what I deem usefull ...others may say useless... facts, tips and tricks I've collected over the years...at least it's not a head full of nits!  With 2 kids in primary school we've had one visit and I never want to see the little b***ers again!  3 weeks of itching hell and endless laundry washing...oh I could rant on and on...mother's not checking heads...ARGH!

Anyway, back to the here and now...a tip I've always meant to try is the bathroom air freshner one.  You add a few drops of essential oil to the inside of your toilet roll tube.  Then each time the loo roll is used, as it turns it should release a beautiful fragrance into the air.  Sounds too good to be true eh, I'll try it out and let you know how it goes.

Not the most glamorous photo for my blog !

folksy friday

Ah yes...it's here thank friday it's crunchie...okay I'm showing my age but I loved that advert when I was wee and the sweetie!!  This weeks folksy friday picks are BLACK and WHITE ... unlike life as it's full of the grey bits inbetween ...

Have a browse around these shops and as always there's plenty more folksy fridays here.

Have lots of laughs this weekend...life's too short not too x

Big Blog Card Swap

Spread your crafty love with
Sarah from Wrapped Up With String and Naomi from Leaves In The Spring.

Our very own bloggers' CARD SWAP, and we'd love you to be a part of it!

All you have to do to join in is to email your name and the address you'd like the card to be sent to to bigblogcardswap@gmail.com (don't worry, your information won't be shared with anyone outside the Big Blog Card Swap!), by midday (GMT) on Thursday 22nd of April!  Sarah and Naomi will draw the names and email you the details of another Swapper, you'll make them a card and send it by Thursday 6th of May!

What Sarah & Naomi would like is to share inspiration and ideas, so they would love it if you keep them updated and photograph your cards, and they'll share them on their blogs for everyone to see!

So - if you want to get involved, please email Sarah & Naomi at bigblogcardswap@gmail.com! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask them.  You don't have to be a blogger to join in, you don't even have to make cards very often - just this one! So go on, get your creative juices flowing and join in!

Check out Sarah & Naomi's blogs' for all the details.

Killing weeds the KIND way

Getting into the garden again feels fantastic! Now there are loads of things I love about winter, hats, scarves, slipper socks, candles, homemade soup, soft fleecy blankets, hotwater bottles, mulled wine...ooh I could go on and on but back to the here and now...

This bit of paving gives me endless hours of back breaking weeding, so this year is going to WILL be different.  In the blink of an eye (a few days anyway) it looks overgrown and neglected, and then I spend too much time weeding and none of the nurturing my garden craves.

Ta Da...now I want it to stay this way, at least for a while longer, so I am road testing a new weed killer.

ECO FRIENDLY WEED KILLER

...for the weeds which love your patio (or wonky paving slabs!)...

All you need is SALT and BOILING WATER

Carefully spread salt between the cracks and then pour boiling water over.

It's now been 2 days since I salted and no re-growth to be seen so far, early days though, I'll keep you posted on progress.  Taking of re-growth, wonder if it works on hairy legs ? ;0)

folksy friday

Yee-harr! Yes it's Friday and it can only mean one thing....it's folksy friday , as you can see I'm using a new format this week, curtosy of the lovely Hilary who's behind Craftblog UK and Haptree and me - thank you!!  (For any of you who would like the same format, this link will take you to the tutorial.)




 

That's it for another week folks...more folksy friday picks here.

Eagle, Butterfly, Caterpillar

We're in week two of the holidays, I'm suffering from 'crafting' withdrawls, I haven't had any spare time as I'm filling it all with playtime, whoopee I do love being a big kid, well they won't be little for long.... before I know it my kids probably won't even want to speak to me let alone play!   This is when I'll pray all the ground work for open discussions and communication will pay off and they will always be able to talk to me.  So back to the title, I thought I'd share a game that my kids (aged 7&5) and I play in moments of boredom / or for distraction ....

It's basically a hide and seek game.  You hide something small and shiney - we use an old key - and then one person hides it.

If it's hidden up high, the 'hider' says it's eagle, where an eagle would soar and spot it.  If it's hidden in middle height of room, it's butterfly, where they can flutter and see it.  and as you've probably guessed...caterpillar is hidden down low, on the floor, where a caterpillar can find it.

You can also use the usual 'hot' and 'cold' directions too...have fun with it and make up your own rules.  It's far easier than playing indoor hide and seek, especially when I don't quite fit into all the small hidey holes these days.  If you've any games / boredom buster ideas...I'd love to hear them x

If you want to get ahead, get a ...

I love hats, hats of any kind, or hairbands.  My Nana always wore a hat, I was lucky enough to inherit some of her fabulous hats, and I'm very rarely seen without a hat on.  So my folksy friday offering is...you've already guessed haven't you ... Hats and Hair bands.

Urban Twist Headband in Cream from Chelsuba

Very funky original design.

Green Tweed Cloche Hat from Moaning Minnie Designs

I fell in love with this hat when I first saw it.

Angelina Jolie 'Changeling' inspired Cloche Hat from Clarabows

Equally sassy whether you wear her with a nice dress or jeans and a jacket.

Flower Headband from iEllie

Beautiful headband, knitted from soft acrylic yarn.

Purple Leather Bow Hairband from Hatastic

Cute upcycled hairband, your choice of gold, silver or bronze band.

Butterfly Flower Hairband from Lupin

What bad hair day couldn't be solved with a butterfly and a flower?

More Folksy Fridays here

Happy Easter

...and I couldn't leave you without a cute Easter Chick from The Hunny Bunny Company xx

Will my fingers ever turn green?

Having lived in my house for 10 years...I can't believe it's been that long... that bit of waste land surrounding my house, I think it's known as a garden!, has really been neglected.  I would love to have a prize winning garden, you know the kind, fabulously green lawn not forgetting the strips, with a floral borders, all my own herbs ready available and not prepacked rubbish from supermarkets, the pick of the crop of vegetables, ready whenever I want.  To date, I have not quite managed my dream, okay I've not really made an attempt, loads of excuses - of course - not enough time, not knowing what I'm doing, my fingers being forever blue (always cold but warm heart), lack of money and by the time I do get round to doing a spot of gardening, I've missed the planting season.

Last year I'd sown carrots and spring onions, which I was delighted with, especially as I had not put any effort into it at all, although I've come to realise that thinning carrots once they've grown a bit would have be an advantage to say the least!.  The previous year I grew lettuce, another lesson learnt though, as I hadn't staggered the planting and never quite thought ahead of what I would do with 20 lettuce all ready to use at the same time, after a few passed on the rest wilted and died a horrible neglected death.  Spring Onions harvested two years ago gave a grand crop of only 8?  Hmm, I'd like to say the seeds were of poor quality but in actual fact it's more likely that I hadn't prepared the soil or tended them very well, if at all.

This year I am going to try much harder, well any effort on my part will make a huge improvement.  I have found a fantastic book, The Veggie Growers' Bible by Lorraine Burn, it's exactly what I've always wanted.  Easy enough for me to understand, no 'big' words LOL, tells me what pests to watch out for, where to plant...all the basics on one page...care, sowing, planting, harvesting, pests, diseases, even crop rotation plans, I know, I know - I'm getting ahead of myself here but I might as well think big even though I only do small.  Full of easy to follow symbols - even the kids are able to use and understand it!  Thats left me with no excuses for not having the garden of my dreams.  The only problem I have at the moment is the weather, snow, but it doesn't stop me from planning, and making lists (which I love doing) of where and what I'm going to plant, so watch this space.....to be continued :0)

ps. If you know me, please stop laughing, NO this isn't an April fools - I really am going to have a wonderful garden this year!!!