Tag Archive for 'recycle'

Feeding Time at the Zoo

With their giraffe-like stance & deep chests, greyhounds really benefit from having their food dishes raised off the floor. But try fitting 4 separate raised feeders (1 for each dog plus 1 for water) in a small kitchen & you can’t move without tripping over one! Sick of stumbling across what seemed like a sea of dog feeding apparatus, Martin & I decided to create a solution of our own.

before..

When we moved into our house at the end of last year there were several pieces of furniture, presumably unwanted by the previous owners, left in the garden shed. Amongst them was a small laminated chipboard bookcase. Now, we didn’t need another bookcase, but we did need a 4 bowl raised feeder for the dogs & it just so happened that when turned on its side this bookcase was perfectly proportioned to accommodate 4 decent size dog bowls and fit nicely along the one free wall in our kitchen!

after

So, we borrowed a jig saw from a friend, picked up 4 stainless steel standard feeding bowls from the pet shop & a tin of melamine paint from the local hardware store & set to work on our conversion.

the feeder holds 4 large (1.5 litre)bowls

24 hours later our project was complete & I think you’ll agree looks pretty stylish as well!

functional & stylish?

We unveiled the ‘feeding station’ to the hungry hounds at dinner time, who, after a little confusion over whose bowl was whose (doesn’t really matter anyway as they are all fed the same) seemed to give it their royal seal of approval!

Dennis, Molly & Sandy christening their new feeder

Folksy Friday: String ‘Em Up!

I’ve been in love with bunting for a while now. To me, nothing says summer celebration quite like a string of colourful bunting,  & if it’s handmade then so much the better ;-) Perhaps it’s ‘Royal Wedding fever’, but us Brits can’t see to get enough of the stuff at the moment! Don’t feel you have to be restricted to stringing it up in your garden though – here are just a handful of the creative ways in which Folksy sellers are incorporating this trend into their work:

Blue glass bunting by Red Brick Glass, Bunting 8×8″ print by Cassia Beck Photography,  Pink heart mosaic bunting by Good Afternoon Agatha, Birdie bunting by Hannah Madden, Cotton bunting tote bag by Bubs Bears, Oh happy day necklace by Stripey Monkey

In preparation for our own wedding, I’ve been trying my hand at making some bunting too. A while back, while rummaging through the clothes rails in some local charity shops, I unearthed some old shirts made from patterned fabrics that appealed  to me.

Using a cardboard template & a fabric marker, I sectioned each piece of fabric into triangles, which I then cut out with pinking shears.

Next I ironed a crease in a length of white bias binding, & inserted the fabric triangles in at intervals along this, pinning to secure.

I’m afraid my sewing skills do not amount to much, but even I managed to figure out how to use the mini sewing machine which a friend had kindly given me to stitch the whole thing together with relative ease – which just goes to show how easy it is to make your own bunting!

As it turns out, I didn’t need to use all the fabric I had acquired to make the amount of bunting needed (& I made lots!), but by this time I’d gotten quite attached to the strangely mismatched yet complimentary assortment of patterns I was working with. So, I have had parts of the same material incorporated into my wedding dress, as well as working it into several other handmade accessories we plan to use at our wedding! But you’ll have to wait until after the Big Day to see photographs of these ;-)

Happy 60th Birthday Mum!

Today my Mum turned 60, so at the weekend, my sisters & I treated her to a day of birthday surprises! We got her & my Dad 1st class train tickets to come through to Edinburgh for the day, but kept the rest of our plans a secret until she arrived…

Mum on the train from Dundee to Edinburgh

We hired out the old fashioned Skittle Alley at the Sheep Heid Inn in Duddingston Village, which we decorated with a colourful banner I made from all Martin & Is’ engagement cards as well as balloons, cards & a cake. I found a super-yummy carrot cake recipe which I used & then decorated with purple & gold stars & flower candles.

decorations including the banner I made

the birthday cake I made

Whilst tucking into the cake, my sister Hellen & I presented Mum with some more little surprises: some vouchers for the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative, so that she could choose a brand new bike for herself & tickets for her & Dad to the opera (Pucinni’s La Boheme) that evening. & then we all had a game of old fashioned skittles – lots of fun!

skittles at the sheep heid

Next stop was the Edinburgh Bicycle Coop, where Mum was able to take several bikes for a ‘test ride’ before choosing the model she preferred, along with a helmet & basket.The sun was shining in Bruntsfield as we all watched Mum taking her new bike for a spin along the cycle path!

Mum taking her new bike for a spin in Bruntsfield

Mum’s new bike

After Mum had chosen her bike, Martin snuck off to the airport to pick up my other sister, Anne, who had been stranded over in Canada for a week on account of the volcanic ash cloud in Europe’s airspace & only just managed to get herself on a flight to Edinburgh! As far as my Mum was concerned, Anne would unfortunately be unable to make it back in time to join the celebrations.

Martin & Anne soon joined the rest of us at Hanedan Restaurant in Newington, where we had booked a meal. I have no doubt that this was the best surprise of the day for my Mum – having all 3 of her children there with her on her special day!

Mum couldn’t believe that Anne was back from Canada

Hanedan’s is a small Turkish restaurant which does amazing mezes& is one of my favourite places to eat in Edinburgh. After the meal, Mum & Dad left us to go to the opera before enjoying a first class train ride back to Dundee later that evening – only the best for my Mum!

See more pictures from our day here.