Vodka + Lemon + Cloves = ???

Well ... here I am at almost 2:30pm on my Friday day-off, having started the day with fantastic intentions and quite a long "To Do" list ... and not a whole-heck-of-a-lot to show for the morning!! I'll give you a clue as to why this is so ...

No, no ... there hasn't been a wild drinking binge ... that's scheduled for later in the afternoon! Tee! Hee! Hee! Just kidding! One drink then I go looking for a cup of tea ... I'm such a party animal! :0) Perhaps this would give you a better clue ...

A few of you might have guessed now, but let me explain how I came to be rummaging in the alcohol cupboard so early in the day. :0) You see ... my Bestest-Buddy-Since-We-Were-Nine Lynette is coming up the 'hill' tomorrow for a sleep over play date to go to Craft Alive with me ... YAY!!! So that makes today 'housework' day ... SIGH!! I started off well ... popped a couple of loads of washing in the machine, hung them out, did a bit of a tidy-up, then decided to change the sheets and air out the guest room ... it's a lovely sunny day with a sweet, fresh breeze, so EVERYTHING is open to let the fresh air in. :0) 

And it was at THIS point that my momentum threw the map out the window and stumbled off track. You see, I remembered my GORGEOUS blogging buddy Kerryanne from Shabby Art Boutique sharing a post a while ago about making up a special blend room freshener spray over HERE ... and I decided that this was just what I needed to do. :0) So I gathered my supplies ... Vodka, distilled water (though I used filtered rainwater) and my choice of essential oils. I chose lemon and clove bud oils. A bit of a compromise cos while I love both, my Beloved Geek Boy isn't overly fond of straight clove oil scent. Gotta keep my tech support happy. :0)

On a side note ... I LOOOOOOOVE essential oils!! I use them for all sorts of things. If I'm home for the day sewing or designing, I have my oil burner going ... most often with lemon, orange or clove oil wafting through the house, though sometimes it will be a combination of two or more. My absolute FAVOURITE oil blend is sandalwood, orange and lavender ... unfortunately, sandalwood is one of the most expensive oils and it's only if I receive some as a gift or I manage to see it on a good special that I treat myself. I pop a few drops of clove oil in my hot water with some white vinegar when I mop our timber floors. I splash peppermint oil into warm water in my foot spa if I have tired tootsies (peppermint oil is also great for nausea, though pregnant ladies need to read up before using it) and nothing is as soothing as a few drops of lavender oil in a warm bath to relax. (a little tip I learned for using essential oils in baths ... add the oil drops to a splash of milk and it helps it to mix better rather than sitting on the surface of the water). Rubbing a little lavender oil on your temples can also help with headaches ... unless you don't like lavender, then it might make it worse, so don't do that! :0)

But I digress ... I know! What a surprise! Tee! Hee! Hee! Stop giggling Chookyblue!! After mixing up my ingredients in a spray bottle, I also remembered that Kerryanne has generously shared some pretty labels and tags on her blog HERE. So the end result of me taking a sidetack was ...

Ta Da! Fresh smelling room spray prettily labelled. I DID discover one little problem though ... I dug the spray bottle out of a cupboard, wondering at the time why I wasn't making use of it for something ... after the first couple of sprays of my lovely new room spray, I remembered WHY I hadn't been using the bottle ... it LEAKS when you spray! YIKES! With no other bottle options, I decided that I would use up this batch of spray through the house, then discard the dodgy bottle, buy myself a new spray bottle next shopping day and make a new batch of room spray that can just sit on a bedside table waiting to be used. So now the house smells lovely and fresh (I discovered that spraying screen doors and windows with the spray worked well to diffuse it through the room as the breeze blew) ... and so do I. The dripping bottle meant my t-shirt ended up soaked in the front and I smell beautifully of lemon and cloves! Tee! Hee! Hee! Oh dear! I don't think I'll be the next Martha Stewart! Tee! Hee! Hee!

HOWEVER ... the lovely Kerryanne has MANY wonderful tutorials for homemaker ideas on her blog besides the two I've shared links with, so make sure you pop across to visit her  HERE.

So now that I've completely sidetracked myself and used up much of my sewing time, I think I'd best choof off, grab some lunch, then hit the sewing machine. I'll try to remember to take some photos of Lynette's and my play date tomorrow ... but we might just be too busy having fun to remember! Maybe we'll revisit the vodka and lemons!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time ...

TIPSY BEAR HUGS!!

CHEERS!
KRIS