Pinterest-Inspired Christmas Wrap

Wrapping paper is one of my weaknesses.  I can’t get enough of it.  So when I recently got a roommate and had to downsize my craft room into a craft corner, I took an oath not to buy any wrapping paper this holiday season.  This was also a financially-friendly way to reduce some holiday stress.

I fell in love with this image I found on Pinterest (where else?).

Pinspiration here.

It was a perfect fit for my wrapping-paper embargo since I already had neutral-colored wrap and lots of burlap left over from a certain handsome guy’s first birthday party.

So away I went. I used a lot of chipboard letters I was given in a craft kit one year for Christmas.

I incorporated some scrapbook letters I bought at the thrift store in the summer, which included four full sets for $1 or so.

The pinwheels from the pinspiration above really got me excited me.  Hot glue gun in hand, I had many sticky failures.  This was one of the two survivors and was still a little too tight and split at the end.  Too bad for E.

I purchased an old dictionary from the thrift store this summer for some craft project that never was completed.  So when I saw this image, I knew I could put that dictionary to at least some use.

Pinspiration found here.

I didn’t stamp mine because I used the Christmas page of the dictionary.  (How clever I think I am!)

Just another reminder that I’m so glad I learned to sew!

I only needed to make one Christmas card.  Being limited to what I had on hand, I set out to recreate this Pin.

Pinspiration found here.

For the ten minutes I spent on it, I don’t think it turned out half bad.

I stuffed some boxes with some tinsel I had laying around from an Alvin and the Chipmunks party I threw two years ago! I know there is just no need to hang on to tinsel for two years but I did just that.

Who else loves wrapping? Any one ever tried a pinwheel? Oy vey!

No Turning Back Now

Tip Jar: Clean Your Sink Hose Sprayer

When I first moved in to my new place, I was particularly disturbed by the state of the sink sprayer.  I hesitated to post the photo, but the picture is necessary to show how easily this worked. Brace yourselves.

Ewwww.  See all that gross build up?

I remembered a post I had read a while ago from Apartment Therapy.  Yes, I may not remember the Rules of Evidence, which are necessary to my livelihood, but I can remember online cleaning suggestions.

The post suggested soaking your shower head in white vinegar over night to remove the build up that prevents full water spray.  My shower head looks great but the technique seemed just as likely to work on the sink sprayer.

After I painted the kitchen, I filled a glass with white vinegar and shoved the sprayer in the glass over night.  The next morning I rinsed the sprayer and scrubbed it just briefly.  It came perfectly clean!

What do you clean with vinegar?

Easy DIY Dog Bed

My parents’ dog, Jo, is a good (albeit strange) girl.

I couldn’t stand that she slept every night on a single blanket folded in quarters. (Just the thought still breaks my heart!) So for Christmas I made her a dog bed using the tutorial found here.

First I bought wool sweaters from the thrift store.  I found that you can get more bang for your buck if you buy from the men’s department.  Although the sweaters aren’t as colorful, there is much more fabric for the same price as a woman’s sweater.

Cut them down the seams and wash them in hot water.  This is what people mean when they say “felting wool.”  Who knew?

I used a coupon at Joann’s to buy a 24 x 24 pillow.  At first this seemed a little small for a dog Jo’s size (she’s a border collie mix) but it is actually quite perfect.

Then I pieced squares of felt together in patterns I liked.  The tutorial suggests making a template out of scrap paper.  I didn’t.  That just seemed like a waste of time since I wasn’t doing some random pattern.

The cream sweater is one of my own that I accidentally “felted”.

My pieces weren’t perfectly sized so I just squared them up at the end.

I think it turned out really cute.

The best part is that the tutorial instructs you to use the bottom hem of the sweaters as  the pieces for the envelope backing, so you can change the cushion or wash the cover as needed.

Jo loves it (turns out she’s a shy model, however).  Total cost? About $20!

Cleaning Kitchen Hardware

More than a month ago I debuted my kitchen cabinet makeover.

Please, please.  Hold the applause.

In that post I droned on and on about those sad and nasty cabinets, but believe me when I say that the hardware was pretty gross, too. Years of grime coated each handle and hid any hint of color beneath it.  I couldn’t bring myself to put the old handles on the pretty new face of those cabinets.  That’d be like using a dirty towel after showering. Why bother?

My inner domestic goddess wanted to buy new hardware that glistened.  But the public defender in me reminded the goddess that we’re renters on a budget and metaphorically slapped some sense into her.

After some research, I created my own cleaning recipe based on what I had on hand.  I filled the sink with hot water, some ammonia and a bit of ordinary dish soap.  (Open the windows or risk building evacuation!)  I soaked a few handles in the solution and  scrubbed them one by one with a toothbrush from the dollar store.  Look at how you can actually see chunks of the grime peel away.

Click on the picture to get a full screen shot of the kind of progress I made here.  It reminded me of streams of seaweed falling off the handles.

Look at the difference! Not bad, eh?  They are now worthy of my beautiful cabinets.  And both my inner public defender and domestic goddess are satisfied that we found a thrifty way to make them feel like new!

A Pinterest-Inspired Christmas Gift

Oh, Pinterest.  How you build me up and break me down.  So many ideas that will never be accomplished.

I suspect this is the first thing I’ve actually made from Pinterest.  I loved it.

My inspiration came from here.

A Little Paint Goes A Long Way

This blog has been neglected lately while my life has changed a bit.  Although I’m now single and an apartment dweller, my DIY tasks will not go to the wayside.  In fact, I think DIYing in an apartment is more challenging since I have to work within the restrictions set by the owner.  (No painted walls, no demolition, etc.)

One improvement I negotiated with my lease was to paint the kitchen cabinets.  My new apartment is a.w.e.s.o.m.e overall, but the kitchen just made me sad.  It was a dark, dreary place to be.  Here it is before:

The mahogany floors are gorgeous but combined with the outdated, dark cabinets it was just too depressing.

A coat of primer and two or three coats of semi-gloss white paint later, and the kitchen is officially bright and cheery.

Such a drastic improvement, no? A lighter color was also beneficial because the kitchen is the smallest place in the house.  It feels much larger now.

Stay tuned to see how I took the cabinet hardware from grimy to glowing!

DIY Car Seat Canopy

My BFF needed one of these handy car seat canopies and recruited me for the job.

Isn’t the fabric fantastic? She happens to have an excellent sense of style.

I’m not really sure how I made it.  Divine intervention, perhaps? At any rate, I relied on these blog posts so give them some love: Make It Do, Do It Yourself Divas, Mo Momma, and Sawdust and Paper Scraps.

DIY Yoda costume

One of the reasons I learned to sew was to create simple items that seemed so expensive to buy.  This weekend was a perfect time to put my skills to use.  My niece needed some ears for her Yoda costume.  A few stitches later and this is what we had.

Happy Halloween!

Easy Onesie with Freezer Paper Stencil

All of the hip bloggers have been using freezer paper as stencils these days to spruce up kids’ clothing. (Well guess what? I’m hip!)  I followed this tutorial a la MADE and – let’s be honest – you should too.  As you’re collecting your materials, note that this tutorial uses freezer paper – not wax paper.  (Apparently there’s a difference, the details of which I’m not all that interested in.)

The first – and most difficult – task is cutting your desired image out of the freezer paper.  I used an xacto knife and a kitchen cutting board to cut out the shape of Utah and a little heart.  Place the image under the freezer paper with the shiny side down.  Read: You’ll be drawing on the dull side.

Second, iron your freezer paper stencil to the cotton with the shiny side down.  Pay extra attention to the edges of your image because you don’t want your fabric paint to leak outside the stencil. (I put cardboard inside the onesie to separate the layers just for peace of mind.)

Third, use your permanent fabric paint to fill the inside of the stencil.  Follow the instructions on the bottle for drying times.

Finally, when the paint is dry remove the freezer paper and reveal your design!

I like it enough from afar but I thought up close it looked kind of clumpy.  It looks like, well, paint.  And I wonder if after it washes if there will be cracks in the image.

When it comes right down to it I must not have been too worried about it because I still gave it away to my BFF’s new baby.  (The kids grow out of those things so darn fast anyway, right?)