What's cookin' ?

I love to make new stuff from old stuff!

Hey,

Nice of you to visit again!

Two blogs ago I left you hanging with what to do with that pesky Karen Carpenter tape you were saving (not sure why? ha ha), since you used the plastic cassette cover for a nifty business card holder. But glad you did...

I received a great idea submitted from my daughter, Betsy, on what to do with that old tape material! (check out her blog: http://www.melittaberze.blogspot.com/  or her website: betsy@danabetsy.com   She's an awesome artist, seamstress, knitter, and artisan!)

She suggested:

Break open the plastic case, pull out the black, magnetic tape and put aside for future packing material or put it into a cool gift basket. What a great idea! Nestle your wonderful goodies in a recycled basket (lots at garage sales and resale shops). Put in tissue paper or newspaper in the bottom to build up the basket, then fill in the top with the reused tape material then put in your musical gift goodies (CDs, musical instruments, notes, radios, anything musical…etc). Wrap in cellophane (you can get from the Dollar Store), and you've got a unique- upcycled present! And black is the classic color, you will look so cool!

PROJECT OF THE DAY:

TWIG EASELS

These are the perfect addition to any gathering.

If it’s a formal dinner, you need place cards.

If it’s a casual get together, you may want to list the ingredients of your dishes. Many people are allergic, or have taste dislikes.

you need:

~twigs (gathered from trees. I’ve cut them from trees, or found them on the ground. I think dead ones are better.) If you live in the city, go to a nearby park and look around. You’ll be surprised what things you’ll find. Pass up the cigarette butts, and fast food bags. But look to ‘organic’.  J

The twigs can be small. Perhaps a branch that fell, you can break off (or use wire cutters or pruning shears) to the lengths you need when you get home.

~glue gun

~silk leaves or tiny fake pine cones

~wire (telephone wire, or colored wire (green or brown wire, 24 gauge or so)

*note: the higher gauge number of wire, the thinner it is. Kinda goes against logical thinking. But there you have it.

You will need to gather four twigs. Three will make the tripod, and one is for the ledge to place the card on. While you are out trekking through the brush, pick up LOTS of twigs, because when you get home, you’ll have to sort them out and see which ones are the best. (Things look a lot different sitting on your kitchen table than they do out in the wild.)

The 3 bases are around 3” long. The card holder ledge has to reach from one end of the easel to the other.

Plug in your glue gun and put newspapers down and sort through your twigs.

1. You will make an inverted “V”. Take two twigs and glue them at the tops (using a glue gun works best for me) into an inverted V. (upside down)/\

2. Then take the cross piece and squeeze glue down onto the inverted two twigs and put this piece on to form an “A”.

3. Now take the last easel piece and squeeze glue onto the top of the V, and place the third twig there. You will be bracing into a tripod shape. Hold until firm. Glue guns works fast, but for the first 20 seconds, you should help it out.

4. When the glue is dried (should be within 20 seconds, be careful not to get your hands near the glue gun. It will hurt and burn as it cools. IF this happens, get your hand under cold water immediately. This has happened to me while making candles…future blog project- candles, not burned fingers) J

5. I like to add a silk leaf, or flower, or tiny fake pinecone to the top of the easel.

It will still look cool if you don’t have an accent. But it’s sure cute if you have one. If you have some telephone wire, or similar colored/covered wire, (24 gauge or less) wrap this around something to make a coil. (straw, dowel, chopstick).

6. Wrap the end of this wire around the ‘joints’ to strengthen them. They add that ‘natural look’ to the piece. Pull them outwards to resemble new vines, plus they help support the card. (You can pull them in front of the card to secure)

7. For the place cards…I do them on my computer. But you can certainly do them ‘free hand’. The size depends on your easel.

8. Cut cardstock (can be used greeting cards, file folders, etc. something stiffer than paper. If you buy them from a store, look for ‘card stock’) to fit the front of the easel.

I swipe some ink, from a pad (look at the scrapbooking section for ink pads) to add that ‘natural look’ to the edges. But this is not a necessity. Write the names (for place cards) or the name of the food and basic ingredients (for special dishes) onto the cards.

I have received RAVE reviews on these easels. And the supplies are out there in the woods, waiting for you. Suppliers for wire, silk leaves, and glue include: Dollar Store, Michaels, JoAnns, Big Lots, Hobby Lobby, Office Max, Staples, your big back yard or local park for those natural ingredients.

I gave my daughter a bridal shower, and made soup and salad assortments for the meal. I put the name and ingredients on these easels next to the dishes. You cannot believe the gratitude I got for this. Knowing what they were dishing onto their plates was important, plus the presentation was so classy!

tip of the day:

If you use plastic juice or milk containers, you can cut off the bottoms. Wash thoroughly to make great funnels. They have a handle, and when you unscrew the lid, you have a nice wide mouth funnel. My husband, Tom, uses it for draining oil from the cars.

If you keep the lid on…you have a super scooper! I use this for scooping bird seed out of those big bags, or scooping potting soil for my plants. Anything that needs a BIG scoop.

See ya next time!

That’s all for today!

:D