That Caps it!

I love making new things from old stuff

Right now, Tom and I are in Helena, Montana. We attended a great wedding and the following week was an awesome family reunion.
Of course there was lots of food, and fun, and beverages being consumed. And where's there's bottles, there's bottle caps! And when I see a bunch of cool designs, I get ideas.

Today's project is:
Bottle Cap Magnets

you need:
~ bottle caps
~ pliers
~ strong glue (E6000, or Amazing Goop or Gorilla Glue)
~ magnets (round ones preferably)
~ hammer
~ cardboard (2 small pieces)

As you see in the above picture, you start with prying the edges open a bit with your pliers. (that's the second row of caps) Work your way around the cap a little bit at a time. You don't have to stretch it out fully, just enough so when you hit it, it will flatten outward.

Then you take your hammer, the cardboard and the bottle cap. Sandwich the cap, "good side" up,  between the two cardboard pieces and on a hard surface (sidewalk or driveway) and hit it gently all around to flatten it out. Then turn the cap over, and repeat hitting it, so that it flattens out evenly. (see picture above, last row)
The cardboard protects the cap, otherwise the hammer will give it a worn out, scratched up look.

Then squeeze a blob of glue on the magnet and press onto the 'wrong' side of the bottle cap. Wait overnight to let it cure fully. The next day, you'll have a nice assortment of magnets. Great gift for friends with favorite drinks.  Bring a six pack along with the magnets, and you'll be the Best Guest!

tip of the day:
Since we're talking about magnets... do you ever get advertisements that have a magnet on the back? Sometimes different events advertise this way, realtors give you a magnetic mini- calendars, companies have their business cards on a magnetic backing.
Well, don't throw it away, you can recycle the magnet.
Take one of your own photographs, place the magnetic card on it, trace around it, cut it out and glue onto the 'non-magnetic' side. And voila ~ you now have a cool personalized magnet instead of a pesty advertisement.

That's it for now

Dee

Easy as Pie!

I love making new things outta old stuff!

July is over, and August is here. Where is the time going? We have weddings, reunions, graduations, housewarmings, and it's always nice to bring a handmade gift. This one is super fast and super easy, and not only useful, but recycled!

PROJECT OF THE DAY:

Pie Plate

you need:

~ a plate

~ an old style champagne glass

~ glue: E6000 or Amazing Goop

You can find fun and funky plates at the local thrift shop, garage sales, dollar store or hidden in the back of your cabinet.

The reason you want to use an old fashioned champagne glass for the base, is because it's squat, with a wide bowl. This makes it more stable. You can usually find these at the same place as the plates.

If you can't find a glass, you can use a ramekin, or custard dish.

Turn the plate upside down, find the center. Put a lot of glue on the bottom of the champagne glass and press it onto the plate. Hold for a few seconds, then turn it over and put some books or heavy object on the plate to weigh it down overnight.

In the morning you'll find a cute and functional gift that you can say "I made it myself"! Bring a cake or pie to serve on it, and you'll be the 'sweet' hit of the event.

tip of the day:

I love summer, but it brings bugs. I found that the main ingredient in most 'sting sticks' is ammonia. I am allergic to deer fly bites. But when I rub ammonia on immediately after a bite... no pain, no swelling.

This works for mosquito bites also. If you get to the bite right away, it really relieves the itching. I carry a cotton ball soaked in ammonia in an empty film canister wherever I go during the summer. This has come in handy for many friends and neighbors (and me) to help relieve bites and stings. *make sure to keep it away from eyes!

That's all for now

Dee

It's in the bag!

I love to make new things out of old stuff!

Hello there again!

  I was visiting my friend, Mary Jane, who owns a upscale/resale shop. It's always fun to see what goodies she has there. If you're in the Indianapolis area, look her up "Divine Consign", in Mooresville, Indiana.
  Anyway...I found these great pants, but not crazy about drawstring bottoms. Plus I really needed shorts. So I decided to cut them off, hem them, and voila~ I had a great pair of cargo shorts.
  But then I had the 'bottoms' left over, which had a ready made drawstring in them.
So I sewed the top of the pants closed, and had two great little duffel bags. The drawstring was already there. EASY!      PANTS LEG~ DRAWSTRING DUFFLES

You can find camoflage pants, with drawstring bottoms, at the thrift shops, or garage sales and make your own. "Camo" is very popular right now.  Or if a pair of pants you want to shorten doesn't have drawstrings, you can easily make your own. Just hem the top, large enough for a long shoestring, leaving a little opening to feed the string through. Then knot the shoestring to secure.

My daughter Dana might like this project. Although she is a wonderful seamstress/artist already. Check out her website: http://www.dana.danabetsy.com/ Her twin sister Betsy is an artist too, and also makes incredible clothing by sewing and knitting. They just started their own knitted projects blog: http://www.apairofneedles.blogspot.com/ 

I'm using my mini duffel for a toiletry bag, and the other duffel for a traveling laundry bag. Think I'll go on a trip, just so I can use them!

Tip of the Day:

Next time you buy aluminum foil, or Saran wrap, or wax paper...look at the ends of the box. If you see a perforated U shape, punch that inward.
That keeps the roll from flying out when you open the box to yank out the foil, wrap or paper!  If the ends do not have this feature, make your own.
Take an exacto-knife, or box cutter and carefully cut a large V shape leaving the top uncut so you can fold this inward to 'catch' the roll.

that's all for now

Dee

Carry on!

I love to make new things out of old stuff!

Remember when I told you how to loosen labels from bottles? Well, now is the time to use all those cool beer bottle labels, or wine labels.
Having friends over for a BBQ, you'll need to be bringing food and drinks in and out and this project is perfect for that!

PROJECT OF THE DAY:

label tray

You'll need:
~wooden tray. I got mine from TJMaxx, but you can get one at a thrift shops, or garage sale. It doesn't matter whether they look new, you'll be covering it up with labels.
~labels (beer, soda, wine)
~ModPodge
  (or you can make your own, 1/2 Elmer's glue, 1/2 water - mix well)

If your tray is in really bad shape, you may want to paint it. But just do the edges (inside and out). The bottom will be covered. Sand it if needed.

Lay out your labels and see how they fit together. You can overlap, or not. You can go up onto the sides, or not.

Using the ModPodge, brush some onto the tray, then lay one label down, and go over the top of the label with more ModPodge.

Continue in this manner until you have covered the tray to your liking.  Let dry, and then... have a party!

Tip of the Day:
Reuse all those envelopes you get in the mail.
When companies send you a solicitation, they usually send an addressed envelope for you to return. I find these come in handy for loads (not through the mail), or I donated them to my neighbor's daughter's preschool for the kids to bring their little projects home in.
I also cut off the corners to create bookmarks. Cut the bottom corners off at an angle (so you end up with a triangle). These slip over a single page I wish to save.  I use these not only for the books I'm reading,but for recipe holders in cookbooks, or on magazine pages I want to locate later. (You can write on them too, to let you know what you are saving.)

that's all for now

Dee

Hot Stuff!

I love making new things from old stuff!

It's sizzling summer right now. Lots of BBQ-ing and getting together with friends.
Today's project is good anytime you have a hot dish and need a trivet.
Wood is a good insulator, and can withstand your hottest plate or bowl.

Today's project:

TWIG TRIVET

You need:
~glue gun
~string, twine or something similar to tie twigs together
~twigs (at least 1/2" thick) I used 9, but you can use more.
~ felt or leather or non-fraying fabric

First you need to gather some twigs. Try to find ones that are the same thickness.
Mine are 8" long and 1/2" thick.
I used pruners to cut them to approx. the same lengths (but no need to be exact).
Wash them and let dry.

You are going to tie one twig to the next one, to the next one, etc.

Cut two lengths of string, about 1 yard long (36")
Lay out the string so you can find the middle, and making a double knot, tie onto the first twig toward one side. Do the same with the other string toward the opposite side of the twig. (see pictures)
Now take the next twig and knot it to the first twig, on both ends.
Continue in this way until you have achieved the size of the trivet you want.

After you tie the last twig, trim the ends of the string to about 2" long.
Now measure the trivet and cut a piece of felt about 1/2" smaller.
Using your glue gun, adhere the felt to the bottom of the twigs, and make sure the loose ends of the string are tucked under.

TIP OF THE DAY:
Summer is full of picnics and I got a great tip from my sister-in-law Lauri on how to keep your sandwiches from getting soggy on your next picnic, or outing.
If you make peanut butter and jelly, spread the P.B. on one side of both pieces of bread, and then put the jelly in the middle. The P.B. will make a barrier so your jelly doesn't soak into the bread.
If you're making sandwiches with cheese, put these slices next to the bread (both slices). The cheese will protect the bread from soaking in the butter or mayo or mustard. Put these in between, with your lunchmeat, lettuce, etc. in the middle.

That's all for today!
Dee

Wrap it up!

 I love making new things out of old stuff!

Back home from the Midwest now. I think I need a vacation from my vacation!
Always nice to see everyone, but traveling can be so tiring. I think I'll get busy on some cool recycling projects and get crafting. Always the cure for anything that ails you!

Project of the day:

Handmade wrapping paper

This paper will resemble the handcrafted look of handmade paper, but is so easy.

you need:
~plain white paper, the larger sized the better (this can be butcher paper you can buy in rolls, or paper that was used to wrap something in. That's where I found mine. Nice large sheets I just couldn't throw away)
~spray bottle (can be recycled hair spray bottle, Windex bottle, etc.)
~food coloring
~iron

This is a great project to do with kids. First take a sheet of the paper and crunch it up into a ball. Obviously if you are going to use it for wrapping paper, the larger it is, the better. But you could certainly use smaller pieces (for small packages, or gift cards)
Try not to rip the edges. Crumple gently with this first step.

Then open it up, and smooth it out with your hands. Then crumple it up again, this time it should be a little easier to crunch. Again, smooth it out as flat as you can.

One more time, crumple the paper into the tightest little ball as you can make it. Squeeze hard. Unfold gently, but you don't have to worry about smoothing it flat. You want some mountains and valleys.

Take your spray bottle, fill with about 1 cup of water, and several drops of food coloring. Put your wrapping paper out in the lawn, or on a plastic garbage bag, you do NOT want to let the food coloring get on anything. *It will stain!

Now spray the paper, it will puddle in spots, but that's okay. The more you spray, the more your paper will absorb the color. At this point, the paper fibers have been broken down a bit (by all that crumpling) and it will be softer and more absorbant than new paper.  If there are any wet puddles left, tip paper up and let run off.
Now let it dry. Out in the sunshine is best. Again, this is a good, outdoor summer project. (You can weigh down the corners with rocks or something, so the wind doesn't blow your cool project away.)

When the paper is dry, get out the iron and ironing board. You will iron the paper the best you can. Not all the wrinkles will come out, and that's where you get that 'handmade' look.  Now you're ready for gift wrapping (hopefully it's a project you made yourself from recycled stuff, ha ha). I like to use raffia instead of  ribbon, just because it looks more natural. But any embellishments will work. I stamped designs on my paper also, and then hot-glued acorns on for that woodsy look.

Tip of the day:
I know I've been giving you projects for summer days, but spray bottles and food coloring made me think of a fun thing we did this winter.
My neighbor's 5 year old daughter, Gianna came over with her mom to make a snowman in my front yard. Well, it kind of looked like a snow lady in a dress, so I put some purple food coloring in an empty hair spray bottle, and they sprayed the snow lady's dress and hat. She had so much fun with that. I had to scrounge up a couple of more bottles, with more colors, so she could go out and spray 'rainbows' on my snow.
This idea originated many years ago, when my daughters and I made a snowman, but it actually looked more like a fat cat. We sprayed orange food coloring it and turned it into Garfield, the cat. So if you live somewhere it snows, start saving up those spray bottles for some colorful fun.

That's all for today!

Dee

Smashing idea!

I love to make new stuff out of old things...

Hi there,
I'm in Wisconsin right now, enjoying my Midwest vacation.
The weather is hot, the food is great, the company is outstanding.
So all is good.

Today's project is:

mosaic flower pot

Ever break your favorite plate or mug, and wish you could do something with the beautiful glass pieces? Well, probably not...but IF you did - here's an idea for you.

You'll need:
~bits of glass (the flatter the better)
~strong glue (tile glue, e6000, or Amazing Goop)
~grout mix (get at hardware stores, Home Depot, etc.)
~flower pot (clay) this can be an old one, just clean it with soap and water, and dry.

If you don't have glass already broken, you can certainly get a couple of plates and break them yourself. The re-sale shops and garage sales usually have odd pieces for very cheap. I like to break up a few plates, so I have a nice assortment of sizes and colors.

Put the plate into a ziploc bag (or similar plastic bag), then put it into one more bag, then wrap it in an old towel, or several layers of newspapers. Take your hammer and smash down onto the plate. You should do this outside if possible, and on a hard surface (sidewalk? driveway?) The pieces should end up approximately the size of a quarter.

Carefully unwrap the outer towel or newspaper and check the sizes of the pieces. Your plastic bags will start to rip, so be very careful you don't let the glass shards fall out as you're checking.

When you've broken up the bigger pieces, and have enough to cover your pot, carefully open the bags, and either use pliers, or put work gloves on take the pieces out. I like to tap them inside the bag, to loosen any glass dust. You can rinse them off in a bucket of water too. Just remember to dump out the water in a place where no one will be walking and not down the drain. Discard the plastic bags, and towel/newspapers carefully, as not to let any glass shards fall.

Put the pot on a folded old rag or paper towels to create a padded surface. This way it won't roll around, plus it will have a cushion for the glued pieces to rest on.

Take your broken pieces, one by one, and glue them onto the pot. If they are too curved, either break them into a couple of smaller pieces, or discard them. If you can't get the glue to touch the surface of the pot fully, the piece will fall off later.

You'll have to keep the pot on it's side for several minutes to allow the glue to set a bit. Then turn it and continue to place the glass pieces on it until the pot is covered.

Leave a bit of room between pieces. This usually is not hard, since the pieces are in odd shapes. When the glue has completely dried (I'd wait overnight) then you're ready to grout.

Follow directions on package for mixing the grout. It should end up being the consistency of sour cream. You'll smear this into the areas between the glass pieces. Don't worry if you get some grout on the glass, we'll clean it later.) Use a popsicle stick, or your hands (in heavy rubber gloves) to get the grout into all the areas around the glass, being careful you don't cut yourself on the glass edges.

After you have grouted, take an old damp rag and wipe off the glass surfaces. Also run the rag over the grout GENTLY to get a smoother look. But this does not have to be perfectly smooth, just not lumpy.  When the grout dries (follow package directions) you can clean the glass further for any residue left behind.

This project can be messy, so it's perfect for working outside now in the summer!
Once you get the hang of this, you'll be covering all sorts of things. I've done serving trays, table tops, wooden picture frames, mirrors, and wooden boxes.

Tip of the day:
I bought some old trunks for my daughter, but found they had a really musty smell inside that I could not get rid of. I tried lemon juice, bleach, household cleaners. But nothing helped. My neighbor told her hairdresser, who does a lot of furniture refurbishing. She had a great idea, that she used herself on her antique trunks.
Take vodka (the cheapest you can buy) and put it into a spray bottle (UNdiluted) and spray the inside until saturated. The alchohol seems to turn the musty smell into more of a 'woodsy' scent. It worked great! I had the trunks outside in the sunshine to dry between several spraying and I am so happy with the results.
Thank you Mary Ann, we 'toast' you.

That's all for today
Dee