Sears sells Craftsman Brand and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 354

Super big news in the tool world last week. According to Business Insider, Sears sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker who also owns the Dewalt tool brand. According to The Motley Fool:

"Rather than buying Craftsman outright, Stanley Black & Decker is buying the rights to use the Craftsman brand outside of Sears-affiliated sales channels. Meanwhile, Sears Holdings will be able to continue producing and selling its own line of Craftsman-branded products in Sears and Kmart stores. Sears will start paying royalties to Stanley Black & Decker for use of the Craftsman brand after 15 years.

Since non-Sears retail outlets account for just 10% of Craftsman sales right now, Stanley Black & Decker is essentially paying for the growth potential associated with making Craftsman products more widely available. The deal was deliberately structured this way to protect Stanley Black & Decker from Sears' ongoing decline."

I can't say I'm surprised because the writing has been on the wall for Sears Holdings for quite awhile. For example, last Christmas Kmart made it impossible to buy a few items I was interested in both in local store and on line. They were little extras so it wasn't a loss that I didn't buy them. Although I know Husband had to jump through a quite few hoops to buy the Craftsman orbital sander I wanted for Christmas. Originally he wanted to give it to me for my birthday but couldn't find it.

I hugged my Craftsman sander like an eight year old girl getting an American Girl doll for Christmas.

DIY Flannel Handkerchiefs and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 353

My poor wee little nose just can't take it any more. I blew through a 100 +count box of tissues (literally) in three days and my Plague is now just barely showing signs of stopping. If it weren't for my neti pot (affiliate link for your convenience) I  wouldn't be able to breathe since I'm all stuffed up with a cold AND a sinus infection. Never do anything half way I always say! 

Fortunately, as I felt this ick coming on early, I made a stack of quick and easy flannel handkerchiefs to use in addition to disposable tissues to keep my nose from getting chapped and feeling raw. By bouncing back and forth between the two types of tissues I don't have a chapped nose for the first time in forever! Not to mention, the flannel hankies don't disintegrate after using a neti pot like the paper tissues do. (Ew.)

Flannel tissues are super simple to make!

 Pin this tutorial for cold and flu season!

1. Cut a piece of flannel cloth in the size of your choosing.

8 DIY Gift Bow Tutorials

I obsolete love topping a hand wrapped present with a big fluffy bow.

Which I never seem to have on hand because all too often I end up wrapping gifts at Zero Hour.

Fortunately, the person receiving my pretty present is none the wiser because I now tie my own big, fluffy, and I dare say fabulous gift bows from real ribbon or paper - yes paper! – I have on hand in my gift wrapping box.

 Pin this post for easy ideas on how to recycle scraps into decedent gift wrap!

 

How To Tie 8 Easy Gift Wrap Bows

DIY Giant Peppermint Candy Gift Wrap Tutorial

My husband is a dedicated runner. He runs in even the worst weather conditions, cross trains to prevent injuries, checks in with his doctor about his nutritional needs, and as a result often drinks a protein shake after a workout.

I have so many empty protein powder containers it isn’t even funny. However considering how it contributed to Husband coming in first in his age group and 19th overall out of 800+ runners during his last race, I’m OK with it for the most part.

I repurpose the containers as often as I can for storage before settling on the recycling bin solution. Originally, I was going to upcycle the protein powder containers into GIANT peppermint stick candy decorations and use them to decorate  our front porch for Christmas.

Pin this idea for later!

After Lacey and I finished the project,  I decided to use them as peppermint candy Christmas gift boxes instead.  I ran out of cardboard gift boxes and in all honesty, I don’t want to deal with the folks who make fun of my DIY fabric gift bags this year.

15 Lunch Bags and Boxes Men, Tweens, Teens, and Boys Won't Be Embarrassed to Use

It is Back to School shopping time and many of you need to upgrade your child's little boy lunchbox to something that looks more grown up.

I'm finding it is easier to enjoy being out and about with my family if I bring food allergy safe food or snacks with me so I don't ruin our day by getting sick. The best way to do that is put my lunch or snacks in a lunch bag or lunch box. A zero waste option and high fives all around, right?

Well only if you can find a lunch box to buy during Back to School season that isn't covered in cartoon characters. Those are fine for little kids but where are the cute and cool looking lunch bags for adults, teens, and those oh so fickle tweens?

Anyone?

How to Make an Office Chair Duct Tape Foot Rest in Ten Minutes Flat!

My feet don’t reach the floor when I sit in my desk chair to work on the computer.

If I lower my chair so my feet reach the floor, then my computer monitor and the keyboard tray on my desk are too high and give me a slight shrug while I work. You will not believe how much head, neck, and back pain that barely noticeable tic of non alignment can cause.

If I don't get a migraine, the pain makes me feel beaten up all over my body, pain shoots down my extremities, and I feel like I want to vomit.

It took me years to  find the right person to tell me that a poor ergonomic work station not tailored to someone of my petite stature is the cause of my mystery symptoms.

Luckily, since I already use a desk with a lowered keyboard tray,  most of the adjustments I need to do to make sure my arms are wrists are parallel to my keyboard are on my desk chair.   I use a couple of thick books as a monitor stand (,) some painter tape on the bottom of my desk chair to remind me where to reset my chair height, and awareness that if for example, I'm starting to feel a shooting pain in my arm I might be hunching over or set the mouse just a little too far right from its original position which makes me overreach slightly.

That's the shirt story long on why my feet often dangle three and half inches above the floor everyday while I work.

The is part of the fun of being fun sized!

This is not ergonomic for the lower half of my body. Sometimes I get a slight knee ache.

How to Make a Champagne Cork Cage Chair

Husband opened a bottle of champagne and promptly popped the cork in a little basket we keep on the kitchen counter for wine cork upcycling emergencies.

He looked the wire cork cage over and issued me a challenge, "Can you come up with something to do with this? The recycling won't take it and it seems a shame to throw it away."

I sat down to thinkidy think on it.

Sit down?

There's my idea!

I made the champagne cork cage into a little bistro chair.

How to Make a Chair Out of a Champagne Cork

Four Ways to Repair a Beeping Smoke Alarm

It is night. All of The Condo residents are nestled all snug in their beds, except for Blitzkrieg, the one-eyed wonder dog who is snoring like a buzz saw in my ear because he is sleeping under my side of the bed. Out of the darkness it comes.

“Eeeep!”

“Eeeep!”

"Bow-rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr!”

Eeeep!

Groggily Husband and I investigate the noise. There is no smoke. There is no fire. However, one of the hardwired smoke detectors is beeping and it will.not. stop.

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The first time this happened, I called 911 just as I learned to do in case of an emergency in Safety Town. The firefighters came. Fortunately, they confirmed that The Condo was not on fire. Nor did we have an electrical fire in the walls. The firefighters said that I’d know if an internal electrical fire was the culprit in the The Case of the Beeping Smoke Detector because the walls of The Condo would be hot to the touch (good to know.) That was a relief! They said that my smoke detector is chirping intermittently because either it needs a new battery or it needs repair.

Four Ways to Fix a Falsely Beeping Hard Wired Smoke Detector or Fire Alarm