Refashioning my nautical top

Have you ever refashion a refashioned item of clothing? A while back I discovered that one of my fave refashioned tops was beginning to stain due to the solvents in the glue that I used to embellish it (note to self, use a needle and thread next time!).  Anyway, I tried hard to save it from the bin and settled on a lovely tutorial from Tea Rose Home.   I wore the new top on our outing to the Mid-Autumn Festival picnic with friends :-)  Have a great week ahead....

I won The Naturally Better Company giveaway!!!

The Naturally Better Company had a giveaway a while back and I was one of the winners - happy dance!  I don't usually win anything, no, actually, I did win a giveaway last year, but that was an overseas one :-p  Anyway, I thought it was an opportune time to pay the store a visit, especially since I had written about them almost 2 years back!   

Have you taken the climate change pledge?

I remember when we first started this blog we tried to get people thinking about the environment, and one of the first pledges we came up with was in 2008 with the "less meat" pledge.  It was fun - trying to eat at least one vegetarian meal a day wasn't very difficult.   In comparison to the "I will not take plastic bags from stores", we did have trouble trying to get people to come on board though! 

We haven't done any pledges lately, but they definitely get people to, firstly, think about the issue on hand. Secondly,  pledges get us to commit to changing our everyday behaviours.  Now that we have social media platforms, the pledges that we make are more "visible" to our friends, or even the public. I suppose, this generates a little pressure for us to stand-by our pledges!

Singapore's National Climate Change Secretariat has organised the I Pledge, I Act encouraging Singaporeans to go green!  Click on their Facebook page, take part and make a difference!

My new improved laundry regime!

Since last posting about the soap nuts, I have changed my laundry regime slightly. Now, I pre-soak the soap nuts in boiling hot water and then pound it with a pestle so that all the goodness comes out. I usually let it sit for about 10 minutes before pouring it onto my laundry together with a third of a cup of baking soda. I find that the baking soda helps in the washing process and gives it an extra boost.  What do I do with the soap nuts? I put them into the fridge instead of having them in the machine.  

My soap nut brew!
Remember to tell  your family members
it's not tea!

Check out the 5kg of baking soda I got at Phoon Huat! It was like lugging a sack of rice home but it's worth it because it is slightly cheaper than the Arm & Hammer brand. Less packaging too!

Growing Vegetables with Ms Green Fingers

It's well known that I have a very bad relationship with plants.  We grow well-acquainted with each other and then all of a sudden they turn yellow, wilt and die. It's happened to my tomatoes, spring onions and chilli peppers.  The Funeral March just rings in me when they meet their unexpected (or expected in my case!) death.  I need help!

That's why I have invited fellow Singaporean blogger, Ting Ting aka Ms Green Fingers to share her insights and tips to growing veggies in our hot and humid climate!!  Ting Ting grew up in the countryside surrounded by plants, vegetables and fruit trees. Now that she is living in an apartment, she grows her own vegetables and herbs in the patio.  If you want to grow your own veggies, read on, and don't forget to follow her at Growing Vegetables with Ms Green Fingers!  Thank you, Ting Ting! :-)

Tribal Necklace from Lanyards Tutorial

I've decided to take a break from the Monday Greeny Crafter features, but for those of you who have agreed to be featured and haven't gotten back to me, don't worry! I will feature you :-)    To make it up, here's a tutorial for the tribal necklace that I made from old lanyards and showed you last week! 

Yummy pallets

Yesterday was a really hot day. I think I could have just melted and disappeared if it were not for the fact that we went swimming.  This is what I found on the way back home....

No, not the plastic cup that someone had left behind, but the lovely palettes!  I suddenly thought about all the things I could make with them :-)    Unfortunately, logistics cropped into my mind - how was I going to take them home.... and where would I store them in my tiny flat? Sigh.  My hubby was rather concerned when he found me gawking at them and pulled me away.  Have you recycled/upcycled pallets?  There are so many ideas on the internet!

Lanyard Crazy - Ways to Reuse Your Lanyards!

Last week I asked for suggestions on how to reuse the lanyards you always get when attending conferences or exhibitions.  They come in different colours and material - ribbon, cord and even  shoe-lace type of material.  It's such a waste to throw them away.  Here are a few great suggestions from my readers:

a) KJ of Let's go fly a kite suggested using them as selvedges and not forgetting to save all the hardware that comes with the lanyards for zipper pulls, key fobs/key chains! :-)
b) Mezzy of Recycled, Repurposed, Renewed suggested sewing them together to make a belt
c) Nueyer from Angelhearts Crafts  says she reuses them and DIYs her own name cards
d) Terriea of TerrieKwong uses them as bag straps if they're thick enough!

Other suggestions were camera straps, sewing them together to make place mats, roses and even being straps on old flip flops!  Thank you to everyone for all the suggestions.  

Here are some pics of what I made - actually I made a lot of things, but they are useful to me so I'm happy :-)  I would like to thank my good friends, ML, J and MA for donating their old lanyards from the office - hugs to all of you!

So much packaging!!

Whenever we get the opportunity, we will dig into one of Singapore's old time favourites, roti prata with curry.  It's one of those must have dishes and you can find it at almost every food court and hawker centre.  It's very reasonably priced too - only 60 cents (Singaporean) for one piece of roti with curry sauce! Yum!

Recently, I realised you could get them in the frozen section of the supermarket.  I bought a packet of 6 and made some curry for lunch. I was a disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, it was really good. It was just that it had so much plastic wrapping!!! Each portion had two sheets of heavy duty plastic.  I say heavy duty because it was thicker than cling wrap!!  So, for a packet of 6, I had a total of 12 sheets of plastic!   I really didn't know what to do with it.  Is there anyway to make this product without the plastic wrap? 

 

Mukti Botanicals Winners!!

The winners are Liyuan, Yingying and Kaori!  Congrats, I will contact you via email :-)

It was exciting to see a lot of you joining in the giveaway fun.  Thank you so much for your support - it means a lot to me.  We had two last minute participants in the wee hours this morning, but unfortunately they were after the deadline so I couldn't include them in the draw.  Sorry, ladies :-(

Last day of giveaway!

Have you joined in the fun? When the clock strikes midnight tonight the giveaway will be closed!!  :-)

The fruit say "Let me get out!"

Recently, our local supermarket, NTUC Fairprice decided that instead of selling loose fruit , they would pre-pack all of them into clear plastic bags. This really annoys me - pre-packing means more plastic waste, and secondly, what if I only want to buy one Fuji apple? No, I have to buy five!! I think some people will end up buying more fruit than they would need and the uneaten fruit would go to waste too.  My hubby said that maybe NTUC Fairprice was cutting down on their waste by pre-packing the fruit. Previously you could pick and choose, but now, you might be unlucky to get an apple or a pear that's gone bad!

Does your supermarket pre-pack the fruit ?

Greeny Crafter 30 - Of Dreams & Seams

The week was a little crazy with our son being on school holiday for one week (Singapore school holidays don't follow those in America or Europe) and I tried to keep him occupied.  Sometimes, I'm really tempted to put him in front of the TV or even hand him a gadget but I don't  think he learns anything constructive, apart from maybe how to get a lot of points! So, we went swimming almost everyday and did his favourite Mister Maker projects. 

This week's Greeny Crafter is Katja of Of Dreams & Seams. She has a range of t-shirt refashions, and she really knows how to work those sewing skills of hers!

Homemade Pinata - Sponge Bob Square Pants!

Who doesn't love Sponge Bob and his side-kick, Patrick? They're funny and qwerky, and somehow their slapstick reminds me of Stephen Chow.   My friend, LY, got creative and made this really cute Sponge Bob pinata for her son's birthday party - she recycled boxes and used acrylic paint and tissue paper.  It looks awesome, and she used the money that would have gone into buying a SG$80 pinata to buying the party goodies!! Frugal mummy rocks!

 Here are the photos she's shared with me.  Thank you, LY!

Liveable City - Been to Berlin ?

So far, we've taken our liveable city tour to Melbourne, Toronto and Singapore. Today, we'll be hopping over to Berlin in Germany, and Sheri from Awesome, Sauce & Asshattery will be telling us what makes this city liveable to her.  Berlin is ranked 21 by Economist Intelligence Unit in its Global Liveability Survey.  If you live in any of the cities ranked in the survey and would like to take us on a tour at Green Issues, please drop me an email!!

What do you think makes your city liveable?

Mukti Botanicals giveaway - Closed

Have you ever felt like you were dancing and floating through a garden of flowers?  That's how I felt when I tried out the Mukti Botanicals samples that bud Cosmetics kindly gave to me to try out.   Mukti Botanicals has certified organic ingredients in its products and does not test them on animals.

  

Nominated - I'd be honoured if you vote for me!

Well, that's if you really think that my spectacles case to clutch should go into the next round of voting on To Sew With Love's Finest of September 2012!!  I was very honoured to be nominated :-)  Thank you, Lelanie!

Greeny Crafter 29 - Mandy Made

 

It's the start of a week of school holidays for us in Singapore but there's still homework to do so my son won't be getting much of a holiday - poor him, and yes, he's only in the first year of primary school!!!

This week's Greeny Crafter is Mandy from Mandy Made.  She has a range of upcycles and tutorials, and my favourite is her clever swim suit refashion! Read more below!!

Reusing your lanyards

We have a lot of exhibitions and conferences in Singapore, and they all hand out lanyards - big ones, small ones and even chunky ones that look like seat belts, and it's all in the name of marketing. I used to just chuck them in my drawer as soon as I got back to the office, but I have so many.  Here are a few of mine and hubby's combined.  It's such a waste though and maybe organisers should just use the old pin and cardboard instead - time to put on the thinking hat and see what to churn them into! I'm thinking of key chains, camera straps and may be even a phone strap too!  What are your ideas? :-)