CREATE: Vintage Jewelry and Burlap Letters

I have a big, fat, crazy love for vintage jewelry. I always surf the jewelry section when I’m in a consignment or thrift store just to drool over what I call Grandma Jewelry- the glitz rhinestone stuff.


When Husband and I played nobles at our local renaissance fictional I finally had a reason to buy some. Renaissance rich people love to wear their jewels but as two real life people acting in a 10 acre field, I didn’t want to spend much on it. Why? The pile of orphan earrings in our costume jewelry box from losing them while performing is the answer to that question.

I hung onto them to either make over into a prop or for crafting. From time to time, I cleaned out my everyday costume jewelry box and added pieces to the Some Day My Project Will Come Pile.

How to Replace a Rain Barrel Spigot

My rain barrel has been harvesting water for the last three years. I couldn’t be happier with it. Even better my rain barrel keeps a soggy side of my house dry.

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The only downside to my 40 gallon bundle of joy is after three years of faithful service the shut off valve on the attached hose broke. I can’t unscrew it and use a regular garden hose with my rain barrel rock because it has a hose instead of a spigot. 

25 of the Best Ways to Reuse Old Pill Bottles

Husband and I are relatively healthy people but every once and awhile we get sick enough to require prescription medicine. More often than not the medicine comes comes in a plastic bottle that aren’t always recyclable.

I really hate tossing something like that into the trash and sending it to a landfill to sit on a mountain of garbage for a thousand years.

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18 Easy Summer DIY Projects That Will Motivate You

Summer is my favorite season. I think I am part plant because I love being out in the sun after suffering though the cold and harsh winter. I’m  too Type A to sit in a lawn chair and tan (which is actually skin damage. Who knew?) I’m not into sports much either. I spend time outdoors getting my DIY on!

I lovingly refer to summer as Project Season. 

There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment that comes from finishing a DIY project. It might be a little project that ends up taking all day because you are new but that’s OK because everyone has to start someplace and every super smart DIYer I know had to start at the beginning.

 

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I just want you to pick up the tool of your choice and try. I get a thrill when someone like Diane of The Big Green Purse lets me know you were inspired to make try making a repair yourself. You go Diane! Woot! Woot! 

DIY doesn’t have to be all big scary power tools unless you want it to be. One of my favorite gardeners Anna from Green Talk insists she isn’t a DIYer, yet she has an amazing garden and spends hours tending it with love. So yes Anna, you are a DIYer your tool of choice is a trowel instead of a hammer and that’s OK.
 

18 of My Favorite Summer DIY Projects

 

How to Cut a Glass Bottle with Hot Water

The most difficult part of when reusing a wine bottle for a DIY recycling project is cutting the bottle. I tried several methods and had varying levels of success with each one.

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Cutting a bottle by lighting string dipped in acetone on fire method doesn't work for me. I can’t get a clean break and I  am afraid I’m going to burn down my house because acetone burns scary hot.

How to Make Extra Money Flipping Furniture

I bypass a lot of cast off furniture that would look stunning with a little DIY love. If I don't, my small condo would quickly look like an episode of Hoarders.

If I had the room to store the pieces AND work on them (for me its an either/or not both situation) I could make some cash on the side fixing up old furniture and flipping it - selling it for a profit.

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11 Creative Ways to use Industrial Pipe Shelves

Pipe shelving is one of those projects where I wish I had more room in my house to install a big, crazy wall of industrial shelves. While I was drooling over them on line I noticed that there are more styles of industrial wood and pipe shelves that  could fit into my small home. Come dream with me, won’t you?

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10 Die Cutting Projects

I am so stoked to join in with 12 of my creative blogging friends to host an AMAZING giveaway for the die cutting machine of my dreams - the new Circut Explore Air! Woohoo!

How to Make an Easy Cargo Net Car Organizer

I have a bunch of junk in my trunk.

The trunk of my car, people. Not my badonka donk! Although truthfully….oh never mind.

The biggest mess maker is the stash of reusable shopping bags we keep in the car. They slosh out of the big shopping bag that is supposed to contain them and into everything else in the trunk.

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The last straw was when the mess hid a container of orange juice that popped out of a grocery bag and it sat in a hot car for several days. I still have nightmares about the stench that followed. So. Evil. Horrible. BAD.

Most car organizers I found are not made for sedans, only SUVs. Besides we don’t want a shopping bag and stuff organizer that doesn’t allow us to fold the back seat down. This is mostly an issue during the summer when I’m hauling color guard equipment back and forth to practice.  The flags don’t fit in the trunk unless I fold the seat down.

Would you believe this is what my trunk looks like when it is neat? Sad. I know.

 Dollar Store Cargo Net Car Organizer Tutorial

I gave Lisa my idea to hang her shopping bag organizer on the side of the car trunk instead of the back. She came up with using laundry bags because the mesh is small enough to contain the most important thing in our car (besides snacks) my Frisbee and tennis ball for the dog park!

You will need:

Mesh laundry bag - This mesh laundry bag is similar to the one I used  

Fabric - I used a fat quarter of fabric

Interfacing

Scissors

Large grommet kit (I used this grommet kit from Dritz)

Iron and Ironing board

Thread

Straight pins

Sewing machine

Magnet hooks (I buy my magnetic hooks here)

Hook and loop tape 

A canine project manger – Try to find one who doesn’t sleep on the job.


 

I am not sleeping on the job! My eyes are open!

Make it:

1. Remove the drawstring from the laundry bag. I cut the end off with a pair of scissors.

2. Use the scissors to cut a horizontal side open from the closed end of the bag to the open end of the bag.

3. Measure the circumference of the horizontal opening in the laundry bag and add 2 inches to that measurement for a seam allowance.

4. Use this measurement to measure and cut a piece of fabric and interfacing that is that long and 4 inches wide.

5. Fold the rough lengthwise edges of the fabric right side (the pretty part) to wrong side (the back of the fabric) in and iron them into place to make smooth edges to your banding.

6. Fold the banding wrong sides together and iron it into place. This will be the banding for the top of your cargo net trunk organizer.

7. Use the straight pins to pin the banding around the top of the open mesh bag.  Use the sewing machine to sew the top and the bottom of the band into place.

I used a zig zag stitch because I forgot to reset my sewing machine back to a straight stitch after a previous project and I figured why not? You can use a straight stitch too.

8. Pin the raw open end of the laundry bag closed. Use the sewing machine to sew the bag closed.

You should use a straight stitch to make this seam.

9. Set two grommets (also called eyelets) into the band of the bag using the grommet tool that comes with the grommets. Read my tutorial How to install grommets if your kit doe not come with clear instructions.



10. Sew a piece of the hook side of hook and loop tape to the back side of the fabric band. This will help keep your trunk organizer in place and against the carpeted wall of your car trunk.

Warning: This will not be strong enough to keep the organizer full of stuff attached to the side of your car trunk. Guess how I know? That’s why we need Step 11.

11. Attach the magnet hooks to the metal sides of your trunk, hang the cargo net up, and get that organize that junk in your trunk!

This is such an easy way to organize the stuff in our car and make sure it stays put! I made two net car organizers for each side of our trunk. One cargo net keeps our reusable shopping bags organized. The other cargo net keeps our picnic blanket, Frisbee and toys, and car seat covers from sliding all and hiding fetid orange juice containers for days on end.

 

Easy organization. Love that!

The net organizers are easy to remove if we need extra room in the trunk for a trip or when I buy something big at the home improvement store.

How do you keep your car organized?


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18 of the Best Father's Day Gifts for Dad!

I asked Husband for cool and usual Father's Day gift ideas we can either buy or DIY and give to our Dads for Father's Day.

I never should have asked. I had to stop Husband after he added a box of live ferrets to his long, humorous, and wildly inappropriate list of gifts for the men in our life.

Besides everyone knows a box of ferrets is more of a Christmas gift idea, not a Father's Day gift idea,  obviously.

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After some quality Pinterest and Internet time, I found some unique Father's Day gift ideas that are a step beyond the World's Greatest Dad coffee mug type of gift.

Not that Dad doesn't deserve a World's Greatest anything gift, mind you. It's just that you can give him a Father's Day mug only once. After that, you need to come up with another awesome gift for the following year.

I created a Father's Day gift guide with my gift suggestions and posted it on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef. Click the link for great ideas and save the box of ferrets for Christmas.

18 Unusual Father's Day Gift Ideas Dad Will Love!

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How to Install Grommets (Eyelets) in Fabric the Easy Way!

 Knowing how to install grommets (they are also called eyelets) is a useful DIY skill to have. You can fix a tarp or make it more hangupable (a word I just DIY’ed on the fly because I’m creative like that.)

Crafty folks use grommets to make no sew shower curtains, yard flags, or any and all things hanging. I use grommets to make historical clothing, which are why my sewing button hole skills are nonexistent.  You don’t need to know how to sew to install an eyelet.

Do you want to learn? Of course you do! Keep reading my tutorial to learn how.

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How to Set Grommets/Eyelets

Everything You Need to Know About Indoor Allergies and Air Pollution but Didn’t Know You Should Ask

  This post is brought to you by a partnership between Condo Blues and Air Filter Buy.

I thought I had reducing household air pollution and allergens all figured it. As soon as I change the filter on our HVAC system and clean regularly with green cleaners I should be good when it comes to my air born allergies, right?

Nope. Not so much.

My new allergist not only gave me a more comprehensive list of my allergens, he also gave me marching orders to reduce the amount of indoor pollutants in our house. 

I’ve been doing a ton of research on indoor air pollution. I found this info graphic called Everything You Need to Know About Indoor Air Pollution helpful and want to share it with you.  I personally found it helpful because it shines some light on the health issues related to indoor air pollution as well as telling you what simple steps families can do to protect themselves.

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Not to scare you or anything, but do you know indoor air pollution caused nearly 8% of worldwide fatalities in 2012?

Help a girl out, what do you do to reduce dust and allergens in your home?

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How to Make Clever Bottle Cap Placemats

I have a large bottle cap collection and it’s all my Husband’s fault. Shortly after we bought our condo and were enjoying our traditional TGIF bottle of craft beer he put the empty bottle into the recycling, looked at the cap and said, “It’s a shame we have to toss the cap. Can you make something cool out of bottle caps?”

10 years of saving bottle tops later, I have hundreds of metal bottle caps to recycle into arts and crafts.

I need new placemats and I like polka dots and penny tile. Do you know what looks like cheery polka dots and penny tile? Bottle caps!



Pin this post to find my bottle cap tutorial after you collect all of the bottle tops you will need for this project!

Let’s Make Painted Bottle Cap Tile Placemats!

Sporty Safe Sun Sunscreen with Goddess Garden Organics (Review)

This post is sponsored by Green Sisterhood but the opinion is of my own.

I seriously need to up my safe sunscreen game. My allergist gave me a new medication that makes me extremely photosensitive and I will be for most of the summer while the meds do their work.

No big deal. Sunscreen is a way of life because I’m pale.  I’m very familiar with the affects of UVB sun rays because you can see how they damage the top layer of your skin with the naked eye. For me UVB rays always cause a sunburn but for some of you hardier types the skin damage shows up as a sun tan.

My doctor told me that is a good start but I have to be just as concerned about UVA rays too.

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How to Clean Sandpaper on a Belt Sander

Sandpaper lasts me quite awhile because I rarely have a project where I bust open a new sanding belt and sand all the grit off the belt before it is time to switch to a different grit during the project.

Needing to change a still gritty sanding belt because it is clogged and gunked up with sawdust is a different matter.

Why does it always happen when you’ve got just a little bit left to sand and you’re out of new sanding belts? Is it some DIY conspiracy I don’t know about? Possibly.





Did you know you can clean sandpaper and prolong its life? Yep, you can! Cleaning a sanding belt is a cheap and easy thing to do. You might already have just what you need to do it too.

3 Cheap and Easy Ways to Clean Sanding Belts and Prolong Their Life

14 Epic Star Wars DIY Projects

Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you!

When Star Wars came out, it was the first movie to have have major toy tie ins. Some of the toys were pretty good like the action figures. Some of the toys were not so great like the flashlight light sabers. And most of the time, the toy or character thing you wanted as a kid didn’t exist so you had to make it.

Now all of those Star War maker kids are grown up. They share the Star Wars movies with their children and play with the cool new Star Wars toys they didn’t have when we were kids. But the coolest thing of all is those maker kid grew up and are still making epic Star Wars DIY projects. Some for their kids but mostly for themselves.

May the Fourth Be With You: 14 Star Wars DIY Décor Projects

How to Make Aluminum Can Coasters

I have another aluminum can craft for you today! Today’s tutorial is for round soda pop can coasters.

 Aluminum can coasters a fun handmade gift!

Husband and I often work at our computer desks with a coffee mugs or water glasses in front of us. Anything on the desk is fair game to be used as a coaster because we don’t want to ruin our wood desktops. As you can imagine, that doesn't always work well because spilling things is my superpower. Paper envelopes pulled from the recycling bin make lackluster and sometimes soggy coasters.

Let’s fix that.

18 Awesome Playhouses You Have to See to Believe!

I think one of the best thing about being a parent is being able to build your child a playhouse or tree fort. Sure, you can buy your kid  one of those  little plastic huts at the toy store and call it a playhouse. But why when there are so many crazy fun and unusual playhouses out there to build instead?

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How fun is this little crooked house on  A Place Imagined? A former Disney artist built this whimsical fairy playhouse from found materials.

Adorable!

Mother’s Day Tool Giveaway with WORX Tools: 3 Winners!

One of the benefits of living in a condo is having a homeowner’s association that mows our yard. Unfortunately sometimes the lawn guys are more about doing the job quickly than accurately.   Husband and I figure it time to invest in lawn tools so we can trim and tidy up the edging the lawn service hits and misses.




Husband and I checked out the WORX 20V MaxLithium GT Trimmer/Edger/Mini-mower and it’s pretty neat. It take the place of three power lawn tools in your garage, a grass trimmer, an edger, and a mini-mower, very nice for those of us with limited tool storage space. The other feature Husband and I appreciate is the how easily the telescoping shaft adjusts to the user’s height. When it comes to yard work Husband and I trade off jobs as our schedules permit (and who gets tired of wonky edging first.)

Recycled Kitchen Cabinet and Wood Pallet Workbench

I needed a workbench in the garage. I also wanted one place to store all of my tools in my workshop. I’m low to the ground at 4’11”. It makes more sense to store my tools in my workbench than above the workbench on shelves or peg board.  

Originally my plan was to buy matching bathroom cabinets at the Habitat Restore since bathroom base cabinets aren’t as tall as kitchen cabinets.  I would finally have a work surface that is at the correct height for my size!

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Father in law said there were  two mismatched kitchen base cabinets that have been forgotten in his garage for years and offered them to me.

Change of plans. Free is good.

Our Wedding Story

Once upon a time, because that’s how stories start, a dashing man and lovely lady were married 18 years ago on this very day.

This is my favorite picture of our Elizabethan bridal party because is was impromptu. We were walking to the cars after the photo session and the photographer yelled “STOP!” and took this photo. A copy hung in his shop. I should also mention that the gazebo in on the grounds of a mental hospital. Somehow that seems fitting!

 

The man is still dashing. I call him Husband. He says the lady is still lovely. He calls her Lisa.
Husband and I met as new performers at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I can still show you the spot on the grounds when the thought flashed through my head that I was going to marry him. I quickly pushed it out of my head thinking it was a result of being a single Maid of Honor in a recent family wedding.

I was wrong.

Recycled Pendant Charm Bracelet

I am in Spring Cleaning mode and nothing is safe. I cleaned and organized the garage, reorganized my closet, and tidied the drawers in my nightstand.

During my decluttering binge, I rediscovered some pendent necklaces I haven’t been wearing and my old charm bracelet.

 Pin this for later. Memory charm bracelets make thoughtful gifts!

Many of my old necklaces were gifts and have special meaning. I know I don’t need a necklace made from one of my grandfather’s tuxedo buttons to remember him but I don’t want to get rid of it either.

Refinished Retro 50’s Diner Table and Chairs

It may not be fashionable to admit this, but I kinda have a thing for theme restaurants that hang all sorts of crazy things on the walls. My dream job would be the designer who gets to hunt for and decorate with all of those forgotten treasures.
What can I say? I never met an old advertising sign I didn’t like.
You know what is even better than old advertising signs? Pairing them in your house with a dining set straight out of the 1950’s Daddy-o!

You will never believe what Morena used to replace the peeling laminate table top – fabric!
I think the bold 50’s print and takes it to the next level. Learn how she made a durable replacement table top with fabric on:

Crafts Unleashed from Consumer Crafts: How To Refinish a Table With Fabric and Resin

ycle
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