One green bottle...

Every other Monday we put out our recycle box full of glass, metal and paper for collection. Occasionally (ahem!) there's a wine bottle in the box. Now, what with my twine obsession and my need to save the 'occasional' wine bottle from the crusher, I came up with this...

Twine can be messy as it sheds as you manipulate it; glue is best used in a well ventilated area - so I sat outside in the sunshine and began my task.

I started at the top of the bottle, securing the twine with 'all purpose' glue. I then gradually worked my way down the bottle, applying glue as I went along. 

It's here that a glue gun would have been very handy - I need to get one!

Covering the bottle was a slow process, but worth taking the time to get it reasonably neat. An extra pair of hands (a la my husband) was very useful, allowing me to keep the twine tension.

Now for the finishing touch, a simple fabric flower, made from a tea towel I picked up at a bargain shop.

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British Bunting

A couple of weeks ago I came across some cardboard Union Jack bunting in a local gift shop. Sadly, it was not for sale - display only.

So, I thought, I can make that! And make it I did!

I took a basic image of the flag and set to work giving it a more rustic look using Pixlr

First I aged it. Then I had a nose around the other effects and came across one called 'Karen'. I had to use that!

After printing out a load, I used a craft knife and pinking shears to cut them into shape. Plus a hole punched in each of the top corners to thread through the twine.

The past few days have been glorious and yesterday I hung out my bunting to cheer on Englebert in Eurovision (less said about the results, the better!)

Cheap and cheerful!

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One fine day...

The weather here in England has been far from what you'd expect from May. We have had so much rain the past two months, that the drought which was declared back in March has been cancelled!

However, today was a fine day and a chance to go out and explore what we have literally in our back yard... The Leasowes.

Our view ...

I forget sometimes how lucky we are, especially as we are only a few miles away from the City.

The Leasowes was owned and designed by William Shenstone, an English poet, back in the 18th Century. 

It houses many pools, cascades, a golf course and club house (Shenstone's former home) and this month, these 3 beautiful Exmoor Ponies ...

These are just a small amount of the photos I took - I got a little 'camera happy'!

We took a walk around the canal basin which neighbours the land ...

And we fed the life down at the pools

At the entrance to The Leasowes is a picnic and children's play area.

How great to see this little girl feeding a very friendly robin ...

As I type, I can see the park at dusk and I'm hopeful that England will see some more Summer soon!

British Enlightenment

This year is a biggie for Britain.

The 2012 Olympics in London and our Queen's Diamond Jubilee. 

I have decided to do a few (eek! few is more than 2, best get some ideas... fast!!!) patriotic craft creations over the next month. 

Now being a lover of pickled onions and gherkins, I always have glass jars destined for the bi-weekly recycle collection. Surely they have a life post pickle??!

After the success of my crochet tealight cosies, I thought the jars could be used to light up our Jubilee celebrations.

Union Jack merchandise is everywhere and the cheapest is the paper napkin.

And so this tale begins...

Pickle jar, Union Jack napkins and some garden twine

I cut the napkin to size (enough to wrap around the jar) and split the printed area of the napkin from the plain piece.

Then the fun began! PVA! Lashings of it!!!

I gradually rolled the jar across the napkin, dabbing gently as I went along, to make sure all parts of the napkin stuck. (I didn't worry about the creases... they add to the textured effect)

I then let it dry - the napkin wet with PVA was delicate, so best to let it set before moving on to the next step.

The finishing touch; Garden twine, wrapped around the top of the jar to hide the lid thread.

Indoors

Outdoors...

I'm sure our Queen Liz and Prince Phil are busy making some already ;)

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