Sale at Hotbubba - Baby and toddler clothes

Online store Hotbubba is a having a 50% off all stock sale. There's not a whole lot of stock there but there are some cute basic items, with spots, stripes or stars. Sizes seem to go from 000 - 2. Well priced and standard postage is $1 per item, and they will post internationally. Sale ends 5th August.

Now, who can I get some bits for?

Make your own lemonade syrup

I saw this recipe at Red Bird Crafts a few days ago and it looked so good I had to give it a go. It was very quick and easy and it tastes divine.

Usually I keep a bottle of lemon and barley cordial syrup in the cupboard, for 'emergencies' haha, but that will now be phased out and replaced with the recipe below.


Lemonade Syrup

2 cups of sugar
1 cup water
Thinly sliced rinds of 2 lemons ( I just used the zest, not the whole rind)
1/8 teaspoon of salt (I left this out)
Juice of 7 lemons

• Place all ingredients, except juice, into a pot.

• Simmer for 7 minutes.

• Cool and add the juice of 7 lemons.

• Strain and then add half of the rinds to the syrup for flavor and colour.

• Store in a jar and place in the refrigerator.

Pour a bit into a glass and add water, and ice if you prefer.
If you wanted it bubbly you could substitute soda water instead.

And of course it has no preservatives or any of the other wacky bits and bobs that seem to go into commercially prepared food these days.

Yes I did strain it, but yes, that is a lemon pip you see floating happily at the top there. My straining technique obviously needs work. And my syrup is a lot darker than Red Bird Crafts example, ahem, because I thought I'd set the timer and hadn't. So it appears that overcooking will not cause irreparable damage.

This really is delish, and Red Bird Crafts has some very workable craft ideas over there too, worth having a look-see.

How to recycle your bloke's old briefs

Ok, here's one for ya...

Need a new tank top but don't have any cash? No problem ladies, just go through your man's underwear drawer, grab any old pair, cut the crotch out and......

Hey presto, a new addition to your summer wardrobe.

Not quite my style, or my level or thriftyness, but it's obviously working for someone....

Another Spotlight sale - end of season clearance

Spotlight is having yet another sale, you can check out their online catalogue here.

And have you heard of Spotlight's VIP club? It gives you extra discounts on a range of things within the store, over and above the sale price. You'll notice there are VIP catalogues showing at the above link, it's worth it to join up and membership doesn't cost anything. Just ask at the desk.

Gee, I wonder how much fabric I can accumulate before my husband starts asking me what on EARTH I plan to do with it all and reminds me shouldn't I be de-cluttering for our eventual planned move.

I'll have to get sewing...

Ok, maybe my stash is not actually all that big, after all, it still fits in two plastic tubs which sit under my desk.

Check out this stash from Heidi on Quilting Gallery, I love it!

A free movie ticket on your birthday

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What could be easier than that?!

Lincraft fabric and yarn sale

If you have a Lincraft near you, it might be worth popping in to see what you can find, fabric is on sale for 50% off, and most yarns for 33% off.

I picked up some fabric sew on patches for the knees of my 4 year old's jeans. I have sewn a few of these on lately and those lil suckers are expensive, so I grabbed a few that were at a discount.

I also bought a few balls of discounted wool for making pompoms.....gee, I'd forgotten how much time goes into making a pompom! Most of it my time, I've discovered, the mechanics of it....and the length of time it takes....are just a tad beyond H's 4 year old abilities.

Oh, and more sidewalk chalk, that is a must have.
It was paraded out this afternoon to decorate the driveway in the form of an army base...

Chalk is so cheap and versatile,

you can draw with it...

You can get really grubby with it...

Or you can dump it out and use the chalk bucket as a hat.

Only you can decide what's right for you...

Cheeky Little Soles, leather baby shoes on sale

Cheeky Little Soles have a range of soft leather baby shoes, just like these...



This pair I picked up at a Baby and Kids market, pre-worn obviously, but very loved looking.

Well, Cheeky Little Soles are having a sale and if you enter 'MGV' as the coupon or discount number, you will receive a further discount of 30% off their discontinued designs and the entire range of Polar Boots.

Very cute and good for bubs feet, but just a little pricey brand new. Take advantage of the sale and coupon code to pick some up at a good price.

$2 Tim Tams.....hold me back!

I snuck in to Coles this afternoon and saw Tim Tams for $2. I resisted, but I think I shouldn't have, look at this clip on making Tim Tam truffles....

I wonder, if I bought some and froze them, just for making these for the odd special occasion, could I continue to resist......considering they are frozen and I would need to dig in the freezer to actually locate them and then wait for them to thaw a bit.....

I suspect not.

Maybe I will just buy one packet to try making Tim Tam Truffles. Although I don't think I'll put them on sticks. And maybe one packet to not share with anyone seeing as tomorrow is my child-free day. And one packet to share. And one packet to......................................................right, I see where this is going.

So, Tim Tams are on special at Coles for $2. The point of this post was to impart that nugget of information to you, but I did get a little side-tracked.

Now wiping drool off my keyboard...

What to do with all those old crayons

If you have kids, chances are you have a box of stubby, broken crayon ends somewhere in the house.

Well, drag them out and get busy melting them into something new.
A fun activity for the kids, and if you can dig up some silicone type molds, the end result will be some funky looking new crayons in a whatever shape you....I mean the kids.....desire.

A nice how-to on that can be found at Crafting A Green World.

Or you could make layered ones like these....

Find out how these were made on ChicAndJo, a little bit more fiddly than the first ones, but a great looking result.

Either of these would make a great thrifty Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for a young child.
I need to start collecting our crayon ends, instead of letting my 15 month old eat them.

Yes, bad mummy, apparently crayons have petroleum in them so no more blue teeth for him....

My sis just tried these and informed me that her colours separated. Or rather, the colour separated from the wax, leaving the top of the crayon (or was it the bottom?) white and the the other half very intensely coloured.

Mmmm, I wonder why?

Make your own Babylegs and Huggalugs

Babylegs and Huggalugs, cute names, huh?

Well, what are they?
Only the cutest thing to put on your bub, especially your cute cloth nappied bub.

Baby leg-warmers.

Yeah, bring back the 80's I hear you cry! Um, right, no thanks.

Ok, they are definitely a non-essential, especially at their retail price, but they are the easiest thing to make yourself. And very cute!


I made my own with this tutorial from Everything your mama made and more, took me about 10 minutes.
I put them on the bub when it's bare butt time, as it's winter so I don't really want him running round half nekkid. Or just when I want to show off a particularly funky modern cloth nappy. You can team them with a onesie or bodysuit, or put them with a dress to protect and warm little knees.

And my older one is inclined to put on shorts and a t-shirt when it's icy outside, so to my cries of "come on kid, it's freezing, put some real clothes on!" he will run to his younger brother's clothes drawer and come back adorned with zebra stripe legs below his shorts and and polka dotted arms.

In lieu of real clothes, obviously. Smart boy.

This is my bub when he was a bit younger, sporting the polka dot pair. I'll see if I can do better tomorrow and snap my four year old dressed up to the nines.

Maybe I'll make a pair for me next, have a look at the instructions and pictures on Little Birdie Secrets, those hot pink ones look very cosy....!

Ok, here's my veeerrrry reluctant 4 year old model,

And his baby brother, moving too fast for me to get his head in focus, so I cut it off, haha

Reusing cardboard toilet paper rolls

I thought this was a good tip, reusing the cardboard inner of toilet paper rolls to start seeds. When we EVER find a house that we like, I think I'll try this when I put the veggie garden in. I love the no mess at the planting stage bit.

Toilet paper roll seed starter.