Sunday, August 6, 2017
How to Make a Folding Cloth Fan
Until you have to go outside – yuck.
Fortunately, there is an easy, eco friendly, and cute solution – use a hand fan to keep cool!
Monday, March 27, 2017
How to Make an Easy DIY Floor To Ceiling Shoe Rack Organizer
And after years of wear and tear, there came a time when even Gorilla Tape wouldn’t put our dilapidated shelves back together again. Which, frankly, I only put them back together every time they fell apart because Husband and I have grand plans to make this closet a cedar closet and pimped out with a custom closet organizer system.
Someday.
That keeps getting pushed down the punch list because blah, blah, yadda, yadda.
Does this happen to you or am I the only one?
After two months of shoe clutter barfing out of the closet and not being able to shut the door I had enough. This project doesn’t have to be my perfect dream of custom wall to wall floor to ceiling shoe storage, it just needs to be done. Now.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Pumpkin Spice Pumpkin Juice Recipe
Husband and I have a tradition with our next door neighbors to sit on our front porches and chat, candy bowls and food allergy treats at the ready for the neighborhood trick or treaters.
It's nice to have a festive drink with us to fill the lull in between Beggar's Night groups and there is no better option than a big glass of Harry Potter inspired Pumpkin Juice!
As all Harry Potter fans know, pumpkin juice is a non alcoholic treat served hot or cold in the wizarding world.
It was one of many things Husband and I couldn't wait to try in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of both Universal Studios Florida parks. Universal set up a test kitchen in England so JK Rowling could select what she imagined when she created pumpkin juice and all of the other fantastic wizard food and drinks that appear in the series.
When I read the Harry Potter books I imagined pumpkin juice to taste like pumpkin spice. Unfortuantely, JK Rowling's recipe is full of apricot juice adn waaaaaay too sweet.
So I decided to create a pumpkin spice pumpkin juice recipe myself! Pop on over to my food blog Lazy Budget Chef to read the recipe:
Spicy Harry Potter Inspired Pumpkin Juice Recipe
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
New Orleans French Quarter Fall Porch Decor
What can I say? I like symmetry in my outdoor holiday décor.
That’s why I stopped in my tracks when Husband and I passed this sweet yellow duplex in New Orleans last November and took it all in.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
DIY Victorian Skeleton Halloween Decoration
Or in this case, the perfect Halloween decoration.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 342
I'm too impatient to paint and flip the dowel rod for the multiple paint sessions spray painting a round object will take. I don't have a tree branch I can hang the rod from so I rigged up a 360 degree spray paint booth from two tomato cages and tying an old spindle to them with twine.
I showed my quick paint project hack, now show me yours!
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
12 Amazing Ghost Decorating Ideas for Halloween
I like to make our Halloween decorations spooky cute instead of scary gory because we have a bunch of little kids in our neighborhood. The last thing we want is to scare the Trick or Treaters so much that they are afraid to come to our door on Begger’s Night. Giving out candy and going gaga over the kid’s costumes (house rule) is one of Husband’s favorite things about Halloween.
The other thing Husband likes is decorating with Halloween decorations that move. I’m all about Halloween lights and décor that lights up.
We like to poke our heads in home décor and pop up Halloween stores this time of year to do some hard core Halloween trend and décor idea shopping.
It looks like ghost decorations are popular this year because everywhere we look we’re surrounded by ghosts. Boooooooooo!
13 Halloween Ghosts
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 341
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
How to Sew Cartridge Pleats the Easy Way!
Back in merry old Elizabethan England - way before they had central heating - nobility used heavy fabrics similar to our modern upholstery weight fabrics to make clothing. Dresses had voluminous skirts, small waistbands, and the illusion of large child bearing hips were all the rage.
Cartridge pleats solved the problem because they allow you to attach large amounts of heavy fabric to a small waist band than typical gathering. Gauge pleats also allow the skirt to stand out from the body a bit to create large hips and a booty (with the help of padded bum or hip roll of course.)
Sunday, October 2, 2016
How to Make a Reusable Light Up Teal Pumpkin for Halloween
That and testing our Halloween candy for Quality Assurance while waiting for the Trick or Treaters to come to our porch. That was one of my favorite parts of Halloween until I because a card carrying member of the Food Allergy Club. Sad face.
It is a bummer to find almost everything in the candy aisle at the store is something I shouldn’t eat but has to worse for a kid on Halloween. The minute I found out about the Halloween Teal Pumpkin Project I added allergy free treats for the food allergy kids to what we give out on Halloween.
The only thing missing is a teal pumpkin to let food allergy kids and their parents that we have their back this Halloween.
A Quick and Easy LED Teal Jack o Lantern Tutorial
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Renaissance Noble Dress Part 1: The Design
Unfortunately I am my own worst client because the only thing I know that I want in my new princess type dress is this list of vague demands:
- Make it different than what other women will most likely we wearing.
- Use massive amounts of embroidery to help with Number 1 and give me a Sofa Time With Lacey project.
- Use as much of my beading, trim, and costuming stash as possible. It should also help with number 1 but really I just want to put some of the weird amounts of stuff in my studio to good use.
- Bling that sucker out to be a pretty, pretty princess of more is more epic proportions – as one does as an Elizabethan noblewoman. I realize this is not in line with being a simplistic budget minded green DIY blogger. But it is totally in line with being a person who spends most of her workdays covered in paint and sawdust while wearing yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt.
I let the fabric I found decide my costume’s color scheme since many of the accessories I have will work with almost any color. The color specific items I have need to be replaced anyway. I was hoped I could find a green brocade or damask because I look smashing in green.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
How to Get Rid of the Rubber Smell from Latex Halloween Masks
It was decided long before the movie came out that Husband and I would be Rocket Raccoon and Groot for Halloween. We only waited until this year because we hoped Marvel would release costume pieces because I didn’t know how to fabricate the character heads.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
How to Make a Mini Top Hat
The steps in this tutorial are very forgiving. You don’t necessarily need to do the steps in the order I have them listed in this tutorial with the exception of assembling the hat pieces.
How to Make a Top Hat Out of a Paper Cup
Sunday, October 16, 2011
10 Handmade Halloween Costumes for Adults
I am ALL about the costume on Halloween. I don't decorate the house much because I'm usually working on costumes. I start thinking about my costume a least a month or two in advance. I want my costume to be something clever or different or just plain crazy - hopefully all three. Last Halloween's Little Edie from Gray Gardens costume fits the bill. It was super easy to make too. Yay for easy!
"Easy for you Lisa," you say, "You know how to sew. I can't sew. I can't make a Halloween costume. I'm just gonna to buy one at the pop up Halloween shop."
Stop right there! You do not need to know how to sew to make a great Halloween costume! Last Halloween I went to a party. I saw tons of clever homemade costumes. Some were home sewn but most, like the Little Edie costume I made were not.