Just 5 Minutes

Do you have those days where everything goes at full pelt and all you want to do is sit for 5 minutes and do nothing to then have it interrupted by your partner / husband and then a full blown guilt trip takes over?

I love my Fridays off work, and I couldn't believe it over the Christmas period when I was having one of my mad clearing out sessions, that I had in fact had a 4 day working week in my main job for 3 years!

I can't even recall where those 3 years have gone, but boy have I enjoyed those Fridays to myself to be able to get up and do what I want with no interruptions from my partner asking what I'm doing, when will dinner be ready, and can you just ....................

I initially took the Fridays off to help my partner with his bookwork as it was too much in the evenings after both of us working full time, and the last thing we both wanted to do was create invoices and quotes until the early hours. So I decided that Fridays were the answer and then where possible to squeeze in long weekends away (BTW, that hasn't happened).

Over the 3 years I have managed to just do the paperwork on a Friday morning by 9.00am and then the rest of the day is my own, and I have been able to get creative, source vintage finds, do 1 day classes and meet some of my followers on Instagram who live locally to me for a coffee, but best of all I have been able to meet up with friends and family that I could only do when it was the School Holidays.

The quality and balance that this has made to my life far out ways the 5 day week that I was doing and working on a Friday for nothing! Yes, you read right nothing. When I worked out my tax, national insurance and pension, I was actually giving my work place a day a week for nothing. So over the years how many free days have I worked? it really doesn't bare thinking about.

So, if you do want to just sit for 5 minutes maybe take that time to work out what can you do to make your life better and less stressful, maybe working out your finances and seeing if you can afford that magical day off to yourself is the answer - you wont regret it.

So tomorrow you will find me having the sparkles covered over, and then an afternoon of rummaging in my favourite vintage warehouse looking for treasure.

Have a wonderful weekend and week.

Sarah x

Upcycling Yankee Candle Jars

Who doesn't love a Yankee candle? Or in my case more than just the one!

So i got thinking the other day after all the Christmas candle jars were finished with, surely these jars can be reused to store items in especially the tealights and votives that end up lying around or sitting in boxes not looking too attractive.

If you have these candle jars you may have tried to take the label off to then discover that they are stuck fast and no amount of trying will make it budge, but there is now a solution .......

It is time consuming in the length of time that it takes, but the end result are fab jars that you can either leave plain, paint (that will follow in another post when the weather is warmer) or add a ribbon.

Lets get started.....

I had a large and a small jar to work with and I had to remove the remaining wax left in the bottom.

This can be achieved by removing the metal disc at the bottom, and breaking the set wax with the end of a dessert spoon (you can make wax melts with the remaining).

Then i started to remove the labels by finding a corner that was easy to pull gently. The more of the label that you can remove at this point will make it easier to remove along the way.

I then just used a craft knife to score the labels, but not the jar, so don't score too deep, you just want to make the label easier to remove and to allow the water to get underneath the label.

You then have to make a hot soapy solution of washing up liquid and then 2 large scoops of Vanish Oxi Stain Remover either in your kitchen sink or in a bucket or bowl that is deep enough to cover most of the jar / jars.

Give the solution a good swirl to mix and agitate and place the jars in with the labels facing down or completely covered. It will not work if the labels are not in the solution properly.

Then leave them to soak for about 2 hours so that the solution starts to get into the label.

When you think the solution has started to work, take the jars out and start to peel back the labels, this will be slippery. I wore rubber gloves to hold the jar and to grab a corner of the label. When you have taken off as much as possible, either use a window scraper that painters use to remove paint from windows and try to take off some more, or again your craft knife. Please DO NOT use a razor blade, the jars are too slippery and you could end up with a nasty accident. 

When you have removed as much as possible, place the jars back in the solution and leave for another hour. then repeat if you still have quite a bit of the label remaining. The bottom label will come off in the first step.

When you have removed as much as possible, you should be left with a clear glue film where the label was. To remove you will need a green scouring pad and a squeeze of washing liquid on the glue. Just rub over to cover and then with the scourer just rub gently and you will see that the glue comes off really easily. Rinse and dry or place in your dishwasher and you are then left with fab empty jars to use for lots of bits and bobs.

I used mine for storing tealights and votives (not suitable for food storage) but i will also be using more when they are available for craft bits and bobs.    

                                                                                                  

www.yankeecandle.co.uk

New Year, New Blog Posts 

OMG, i have neglected this little blog for over 2 years, where have they gone?

I started the Blog when i was just starting up Beautiful and Homely and somehow other things had got in the way and at certain times i was busy making bunting, drawstring bags and other handmade goodies that somehow the Blog took a retreat to the back burner.

But it's now 2017 and i intend to occasionally blog about either myself, crafts that i have learnt along the way or handy tips that could make your life a whole lot easier.

So heres to a better 2017 on the blog and if you really miss what i am up to you will find me nearly everyday on Instagram and by clicking the link on the right you will be taken straight into my little world of squares or www.instagram.com/beautiful_and_homely

Happy New Year to you all

Sarah x