Make a Stenciled Bottlecap Bracelet

Husband gave me The Look. The bottlecap basket in the kitchen is overflowing again. “Are you ever going to make jewelry out of those caps you make me save?” he sighed.

I guess that time is now.

I’ve been putting off any number of painted bottle cap projects because I don’t like my decorative painting skill - or lack thereof. Every so often I stop by Michaels and drool over the new Martha Stewart Crafts paint and stencils by Plaid. Maybe stencils can help me with my craft paintaphobia? 

One of the things I like about Martha’s craft paints is that it works on wood, metal, ceramic/glass, and fabric unlike traditional craft paint. This cuts down on the number and type of paints I have to buy and store in my tiny house. I need a variety of paint types since I work with a variety of recycled materials.   

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday.

I shed my little girl sawdust and paint splattered armor.

I put on a confident and frilly woman’s dress. 

My Garage Door Opener Might Be the Death of Me

My garage door opener is a fickle minx. When I press the wall button or the remote, I’m not sure what I’m going to get. Most of the time the garage door opener opens and closes the door, as it should. But take that for granted (as I did the night of our burglary) and the door will go down and pop back up. My favorite trick is after checking the batteries in the remote, a press of the button makes the light blink and the door stays open. The taunting blinking light always happens during a rainstorm or when I am in a hurry.

I spend a good chunk of time checking the garage door sensors for obstructions (rare), readjusting the garage door opener controls with the change of the seasons, and keeping the remotes fed with fresh batteries.

A slight turn with a screwdriver is all it takes to make the adjustment

Our burglary was the last straw. I didn’t watch the door to make sure it closed completely. The door popped back up and stayed open all night. That’s how the robbers got into the house while we slept.

Husband and I discussed our options:

Garage Workshop Transformation: Insulate the Garage Door

After I put Insulate the Garage on the Garage Workshop punch list, I realized we’d lose heat through the garage door if we didn’t replace it with a new insulated garage door.

Then I fell over at the price of insulated garage doors.

I wondered if I could save myself a truck full of money and the hassle of installing a new garage door and disposing of the old one ethically by insulated my current garage door.

Turns out you can. Whew!

I looked at garage door insulation options.

DIY Edison Lights

Husband and I spent an evening at Brothers Drake Meadery.  I looked up as we tasted the wonderful locally brewed mead and saw these.

oooo industrial!

Make Solar Milk Jug Ghosts for Halloween

The rechargeable batteries in the solar garden lights I repainted last summer heaved their last breath. 

While I am searching for outdoor rechargeable batteries,  I need something to light the way for the Trick or Treaters.

Luminaries are simple and festive. However, I don’t want to with traditional candles in case the kids accidentally walk into them. Husband says lighting your neighbor’s children on fire is rude. What-ever.