20 Warm Winter DIY Clothes We Love

Trying to buy warm winter clothing and accessories after Christmas is difficult because all of the stores are selling bathing suits!

Which is great if you live somewhere warm enough to wear a bathing suit during the winter.
For the rest of us, if we want warm winter clothes it’s recycling and DIY or die freezing time!

 Save these ideas to your Pinterest boards for later! Share them with your friends!

20 DIY Must Haves to Keep You Warm This Winter

Dog Coats and Boots for Dogs Who Hate Wearing Clothes

Lacey, our snow warrior princess loves to romp and play in the snow. Her dachshund side goes into overdrive. She investigates every little foot print, crack, or hole in the snow when she goes outside and take care of business.

Being part Cavalier King Charles Spaniel means her natural fur dog coat is longer than a barley there dachshund’s but Lacey doesn't last very long in low winter temperatures, nor should she when the temperatures are so dangerously low.

Girlfriend needs a winter dog coat.




Too bad my dog hates to wear a dog coat.

Small Space Industrial Open Pantry Yay or Nay?

A worn valve on our water heater flooded the utility, laundry, and kitchen after Husband started the dishwasher on Christmas Eve Eve morning.

Husband shut the water heater off while I called plumbers. Apparently plumbers are crazy busy with smart people who have plumbers do pre-emptive work on their pipes before overloading their plumbing with guests, cooking, and cold weather. It was a Festivus miracle I found a plumber during regular business hours that day!

That didn’t make my cranky feeling go way as I mopped the rest of the water, hoped we didn’t need to buy a replacement water heater (fortunately we just needed to replace a valve – whew!), and pulled a mountain of chaos out of the utility room so the plumber could find the water heater had room to work.

42 Homemade Christmas Gift Tags

I like wrapping a pretty gifts for Christmas. I keep a box of gift boxes and bags I reuse every year and another box of wrapping paper and things like silk flowers, fabric ribbon, and bows I recycle into clever gift toppers for the Christmas gifts I need to ship.

 


For the gifts I deliver in person, I made gift wrapping easier on myself by using the reusable cloth gift bags I sewed from my historical costuming scrap stash. I still get the pretty and fancy look I like but with a time and sanity saving green twist because I reuse my homemade gift bags year after year.

I sewed my cloth gift bags as a post- Christmas cabin fever project and used them the following year. Read my homemade cloth gift bag tutorial here.

With all of the attention I pay to buying meaningful gifts and their fancy wrappings, I’m ashamed to say I have long history of phoning it in when it comes to Christmas gift tags.

Outdoor Christmas Décor: Modern Lighted Tomato Cage Christmas Trees

For as much I enjoy looking at Christmas light displays you’d think I’d do something fancy outside of my own home.


Nope. I keep it simple.

Why?

Because it is always too cold outside to put up and take down elaborate Christmas decorations!

Peace, love, joy, and warmth. That’s what my outdoor Christmas décor is all about.

And by warmth I mean not freezing my legs off while I’m outside or in the garage building new Christmas decorations.

This year I made a few changes in our outdoor Christmas décor and especially in what I used to display them. I wore the right work pants for the job, my Duluth Trading Company Women's Fleece-Lined DuluthFlex Fire Hose Pants.

Did I mention these multi-pocketed wonder pants are lined with warm and soft fleece, one of my favorite cold weather fabrics? Oh yes, my friends. My new fancy pants kept me warm while installing Christmas decorations. They proved their worth later that evening on a walk with Lacey to look at Christmas lights a local park. We left early because Husband wore jeans and got cold. Me? Not cold at all.

The best thing about Duluth Trading Company clothes is they realize women need just as many pockets in their clothing as men.  DuluthFlex Fire Hose Pants have six packets: 2 front pockets, a zippered thigh cargo pocket, 2 back pockets, and a Pokey Things Pocket (their name, not mine) on the right back thigh.

Black and Bronze Bottle Cap Christmas Wreath

You need to start DIYing early, If you want to make this year a crafty Christmas and I have just the project for you!

I poked around my bottle cap collection, got some Christmas decoration inspiration from this year’s popular bronze and copper color scheme, and made a glitzy bottle cap Christmas wreath!





How in the world did I recycle metal bottle caps into something green AND glitzy, two words that normally don’t’ go together?

How to Make Bottle Cap Pattern Weights

I use some of the same sewing patterns more than once and if I use straight pins to pin the pattern to the fabric before cutting it out - holy pattern pin holes Batman! My patterns get pin holed to shreds.




Pattern weights keep sewing patterns from slipping and shifting on the fabric when you cut it out. They don't leave holes or marks in your fabric either. I have a lot of Christmas sewing coming up. I figure it was about time I used pattern weights instead of straight pins.

I tried using metal bottle caps as pattern weights. I wanted my weights to be be heavier.  I could have filled the bottle caps with plaster of Paris to add weight but I didn’t want to deal with the mess. 

Green #Brita BacktoCollege Shopping

This post brought to you by Brita. All opinions are 100% mine.

Mr. 2 of 10 is going to be a college freshman this fall.

A freshman!

In college!

*faints*

Duct Tape Flash Drive

When any of The Ten has a USB flash drive on their back to school shopping lists, they know they can count on Aunt Lisa, The World’s Most Fabulous Aunt ™ for a freebie. I always have spare thumb drives.

I’m extremely lucky that some of the brands I ask for information for you guys The Best Readers in the World (trademark pending) give it to me on a flash drive. After I move the files onto my computer, I have a storage drive to pass on to any kid who needs one for school.

While I won’t accept information from a brand I wouldn’t be proud to be associated with for my readers, some of the printed drives may unintentionally break a school rule. For example, while this USB drive from Zippo had information about a Zippo refillable candle lighter (that I keep forgetting to buy) a teacher may think it is promoting smoking because Zippo also makes cigarette lighters.

How to Make and Decorate a Decoden USB Flash Drive

Do you decoden?

Decoden is a Japanese craft that uses a thick silicon clay/glue that looks like cake frosting to bling out objects. It is addicting!

Not to mention decoden is a great way to use up the little bits of crafty this and that I found when I built my wrap around fence board shelves, reorganized my craft supply storage, and cleaned out my desk and closet in the computer room.

Decoden started with decorating phone cases. Now it is moving toward using decoden to decorate any object that doesn’t move. I have a USB Flash drive that is sitting still and wears a logo that I want to cover and a few beads left from my grandmother’s craft stash. Let’s do this.

Seashell and Pearl Decoden Decorated USB Flash Drive 

Recycled Tire Rim Ottoman

In the little fantasy land of my imagination, I would spend endless summer days, lounging in the summer sun with my feet up on fantastic outdoor furniture.

This will probably never happen because whenever I get down time in the summer I use it to build something that is - you guessed it - not fantastic outdoor furniture.  

Instead I'm going to live vicariously through The Charming Farmer and her comfy, ready for a glass of iced tea put your feet up upcycled outdoor ottoman. You will never believe what she used to make it - a tractor tire rim!

Upcycled tractor tire ottoman photo courtesy of The Charming Farmer

A little rustic, a little modern and a whole lot of genius! Learn how The Charming Farmer made her tractor tire rim ottomans here.

What do you think?


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How to Purge and Recycle Old Electronics

I swear our house is shrinking. Once upon a time, had storage space to burn. (Don’t. It wastes a perfectly good space and might catch the rest of your house on fire.)

It didn’t take any great detective work to determine why our house is shrinking. The answer is easy.

We have stuff we don’t think/aren’t sure if there is a place to recycle or responsibly dispose of it. The last time I checked this wasn't the case, or if there was such an animal, it was only accepted those things on that one day during a full moon when cows do backward sneezes kind of thing. Hello hazardous household waste collection, I’m talking to you.

How to Fix a Hole in Shorts without Sewing!

All of my summer shorts are too big after I met my weight loss goal. It is a nice problem to have.

Fortunately, I had a couple of pairs of pants lurking in the back of my closet that make better shorts than pants. It didn’t take much time or effort to cut and hem the pants into shorts (learn how I make pants into shorts here.) It is a trick my mom used when I blew out a knee on a pair of pants or jeans as a kid. Boom. I got a new pair of shorts.

Green. Cheap. And most importantly, I had the perfect pair of shorts that weren’t too short or too long. 

How to Decorate a Cooler with Mod Podge

I wrote our name on the lid in marker on the lid of our cooler when I first bought it. After many adventures, the name faded and needs a redo. 

I want to decorate and personalize our cooler with some personality. Decorative painting is out. The texture on the big cooler will make stenciling and painting it a nightmare.

20 Super Fun Super Sized Outdoor Games

I played a lot of board games as a kid. Between my friends and I, we had and played all of the major games from Candyland to Ants in the Pants to Stratego. (Disclosure: I am included big bold affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

That’s why I love this trend of super sizing childhood games and playing them outside.  If you want ideas on what outdoor games to play at your next cookout or BBQ, think back to the board games you loved to play as a kid and make it giant size!

 Pin these backyard game ideas to your Pinterest boards for later! Share them with your friends!

20 Big Backyard Games

Aluminum Can Barn Star Wreath

For some reason, I have barn stars on the brain. I notice them everywhere!

Except on wreaths.

Until now.

 I painted my stars red, white, and blue but you can paint your stars whatever color you like!

Husband and I don’t drink a lot of soda, usually as a treat or for some special occasion. Luckily, I came  into a bunch of empty pop cans that I didn’t have to drink by throwing my mom a surprise birthday party. You don’t have to acquire your aluminum cans that way. Call a buddy, ask a friend, or heck, treat yourself to a beverage all in the name of making a Fourth of July wreath.

Who knew patriotism could be so tasty?

How to Make Soda Pop Can Stars

How to Paint a Wavy Side Table

This post brought to you by FrogTape. All opinions are 100% mine.

I needed  to repaint the side tables on my porch. I didn't want to paint them a solid color (again) and call it a day. I wanted to jazz them up with some decorative painting.

How to Make a Tiny Uncle Sam Top Hat

I usually wear red white and blue to  get into the Independence Day spirit on the Fourth of July. My Fourth of July wear isn’t all that creative. I wear a white shirt with a red skirt and my blue star tie dyed drop cloth shoes.

I figure it is time to make my head as festive as my feet. I love millinery (hat making) and have a thing for fascinators. I took those two ideas, rummaged through the recycling bin, grabbed a cup of coffee, and made a tiny Uncle Sam fascinator hat for the Fourth of July!

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How to Make an Uncle Sam Fascinator for the Fourth of July

DIY Personalized Insulated Wine Glass Tumblers

Husband’s family likes to get together in the summer for a family reunion. Grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles gather for good times and good food. Every night the adults open a bottle of wine start a round of Euchre. Playing cards is our excuse to stay up way too late telling stories and busting a gut laughing at each other’s jokes. I’m so glad I married into this family.

I bought a reusable BPA free insulated wine glass tumbler to use instead of a disposable cup for the reunion. I want to personalize my insulated tumbler so I know which one is mine at the party.


Decorated insulated wine glass tumblers: Mommy’s Special Lemonade, Oh No! My glass is empty! It’s an Emergency! Quick, call WINE-ONE-ONE!, Mommy’s Sippy Cup, and If you met my family you’d understand.

Vintage Train Toy Box Nightstand

My grandfather made me this train toy box when I was a little girl. As you can see, he made it with a lot of love.

And skill. My grandfather had mad carpentry skills he learned from his father the carpenter.

My train toy box has tremendous sentimental value. It was also the most difficult item to keep and make work in the new guest room/craft room. This is the only place we have room for my toy box. Husband suggested I repaint it to go with the color scheme I first wanted for the room.

I quickly vetoed that idea.

Every ding bump and scratch on my toy box came from two little girls having a good time pushing each other around their playroom in this train.

This vintage toy box on wheels probably horrifies some kid safety expert because the wheels and vehicle aren’t incased in bubble wrap and the children riding in it didn’t wear safety suits and helmets made from organic feather pillows. Thank goodness we survived!