Craft - Handbag upcycle

Happy New Year!!! Woohoo!! There is always something special about the start of a new year.

This year I am determined to do a lot of thing,  such as finishing last year's "To Do" List. I am also determined to sort out my wardrobe. Anything bland is going to get a makeover or will be donated to charity.

Today I have sorted out my handbags. Many of my bags are older than my boys and are very worn out. There are far too stains from baby bottle spills and those sticky leftovers that kids always seem to stuff into my handbag when we are out.

I have a few bags that are still in good condition, mainly because they were so boring that I never used them.

 Time to get to work to make this bag a little bit more me. I have used beads and ribbon from an old piece that was too worn out to fix.

My After Photos.

 

I have restrained myself from going too extravagant. I think it is fun but still a little classy at the same time.  I have a brown handbag to do next but I first I need a trip to my local Spotlight store to get inspiration and materials. 

I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Day and that this year is kind to you and your family. 

Recycling - New uses for old suitcases.

I am still trying to clean up the shed. Very slowly things get pull out and given a new lease on life. I had a few old suitcases that weren't suitable for traveling but still too good to be thrown out.

The first suitcase belongs to the boys but they have outgrown it. Now they want to pack more clothes than I do. They are ready for larger suitcase so poor Buzz is getting a make over.

 After a few hours of school holiday crafting fun, the suitcase has been transformed into a work of art.

This will be eventually wall mounted to match the rest of the bedroom.

The other suitcase I had was turned into a small sandpit. The youngest child loves playing in the sandpit but as it is summer the sand gets very hot. The wet season is meant to be here now/ soon/ whenever it wants to show up, so I have made an undercover sandpit. The beauty of this is that I can close the lid to keep out animals.

Christmas - May the force be with you

Ok. I know I am very late with sharing my tree... or I am really early for next year.

I wanted to do something different this year with my Christmas tree.  Every year I do a traditional tree but I wanted to do something for my boys this year.

I bought a black tree and Mum helped sew the cape. I bought some Hallmark Star Wars ornaments, but I couldn't afford many. Most of the decorations were out of Kinder Surprise chocolates. They had Star Wars themed toys and despite our best efforts in eating heaps, we never managed to find Jar Jar Binks or R2-D2. The boys volunteered to keep eating chocolates but our local supermarket sold out of the Star Wars range.

Here are the older boys with their special tree.

The boys loved their tree. We put up the tree at the end of November and my little foster son kept plucking the decorations off so that he could play with them. By Christmas Day the tree was looking a little bare but luckily everyone was too distracted by the presents.  It is surprising how many people came in and didn't even notice a giant Darth Vader in the middle of the lounge room.

May the force be with you this Christmas... or next Christmas. :)