Earring Holder Made From Garbage

This is an easy project that has been made a million times over.  So I made it and now it's been made a million and one times over.  I got tired of having all my earrings all over the place so I decided to make this.

Simple. No? 

All that is needed to make this is an old picture frame.  Mine had no glass front on it, so it was ready for the trash.  

See? I like the size of the frame but with no glass I didn't deem it worthy of holding pictures. 

You will also need some type of screening.  My dear aunt walked through my screen door last year and tore the screen right off the frame.  It was pretty hilarious!  She walked through it like the Kool-aid man.  She didn't think it was funny but we were dying laughing.  No harm done though because I took that broken screen and used it for this.  

I cut the screen to the size I needed.

So basically all you have to do is staple the screen to the back of the frame and hang it up.  That's it.  I chose to paint a white stripe on the inside for contrast but you don't even have to do that.   The cost of this was nil.  Have a good day.

Nydia 8)

Signs of Fall Table Decor

I love having four seasons.  I know I always complain during the dead of winter but that's mostly because I usually can't get away for a break.  The beginning of the fall season is the most exciting to me though.  That's when you start to bring out your fall things and put away your summer things.  You begin to make cold weather plans and holiday plans.  You get filled with the desire to "nest" and make your home cozy.  Well this is what I'm going through right now.  So I decided to make a cute little reminder of the season to put in my foyer as I walk in the door.

It's really simple, but fall is its own fanfare. 

All I needed was on hand.  I had an old picture frame that I used as is and I had some spare burlap.  I also had left over iron-on transfers from some shirts I made for my son's baseball team.  

All free crap I had cluttering my house.

I got on my Silhouette machine and found a font that I liked.  I typed in the word FALL and then I mirrored the image. 

 Last I hit print and printed it onto iron-on transfer paper.  I ironed it onto my little piece of burlap and I framed the whole thing.  This was really easy to do and just think of the possibilities!

I just love it and best of all it was FREE!

Nydia 8)

Ugly Jar Candle Makeover

I have a super easy quicky project for you today.  I Hate with a capital H those ugly jar candles.  Mainly because they have those stupid labels on the front.  (Insert loud scream here!!!!)  I understand this is not a big problem.  I'm aware this doesn't require prayer or a call to 911.  It's just that they don't come off easily and taking the residue off requires me to search the entire house for the only bottle of GooGone that we own.  I'm lazy, remember?  I tried to pull the darn thing off and this is what I was left with.  

I nearly flipped the table.  True story.

As I counted backwards from 10, I realized that I could just cover it up with something.  Paper and fabric came to mind but I had the sudden image of myself with a ruler and cutting and measuring and possibly sweating and gluing and having to peel more of that label crap off and I nearly began to hyperventilate.  So, I decided to wrap the whole thing in twine!  

Twine, you lovely material that makes things quaint and rustic and lovely!  I love you Twine, for you are so pleasant and easy to work with.  Twine and Alleen's tacky glue made this project possible and quick and easy, might I add.

So basically all I did was use my glue gun to hold the first piece of heavenly twine onto the jar.  Then, I covered parts of the jar with Alleen's tacky glue and just wrapped.  I continued this process until it was all wrapped up and then I used my glue gun again to affix the final end of twine.  

At this point it felt naked.  I added a bow.  

I like it better now.  See how easy that was?! 

Nydia 8)

Thanksgiving DIY Wall Decor

I had a bare wall that needed "something".  I just wasn't sure what that something could be.  I did know, however, that I didn't want a wreath and I didn't want to pay retail price.  Oh, and it also had to be Thanksgiving related.  It is Thanksgiving time after all.  I had some donations to take to Goodwill and while I was there, I spotted this framed print. 

It was in excellent condition and it had the original price on it.  Hello... $40 bucks!  Goodwill wanted $15, jeesh!  My local Goodwill runs 50% off sales based on sticker color and egad it had the lucky red colored 50% off sticker! So do the math folks, it was $7.50.  I normally wouldn't have paid more than $5 bucks, but I was inspired! 

This print did NOT go with my overall look.  Sorry little girl in the prairie.

I turned it over and ripped the paper backing only to be thwarted by a gazillion staples.  As I pulled staple after staple I began to lose momentum, but I pressed on because I'm not a quitter and also because I knew after spending $7.50, I'd better have something to show for it.  After dealing with the staples, I took it outside and gave it a once over with a can of oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  As this dried, I took out my Silhouette and made the vinyl cutout.  At first it was going to say, "Thankful, for I am blessed", but my vinyl jammed and I cursed so loud, the dog barked.  Needless to say, "Thankful" was all that survived. 

I think I like it better with just the one word, so no harm, no foul. 

I'm thankful this project only cost $7.50 and took only about 20 minutes of my time. 

Nydia 8)



Turn Old Dishtowels Into Dust Mops

With the holidays approaching, I'm sure many of you are doing as much cleaning as possible.  I know I have.  My one peeve though, is that my hard wood floors never look clean.  Do you get what I mean?  No matter how much I clean those son's of beeches, I just can't seem to get them to shine like they did when they were new.  I did some research though and I found that maybe they have product build up.  The internet suggests using vinegar and water.  This made me think of salad dressing and I thought that it couldn't possibly work, but guess what?  It did!

The key to getting your floors looking perfect is SWEEPING!  You must pick up every speck before you mop.  That's where this project comes in.  I have one of those pad sweepers.  Like a Swiffer but generic.  I got mine at Ross for $10.  I actually got two.  Each came with two re-usable pads. Two pads was not enough!  So I decided to make some out of old dishtowels.

I was going to throw these gross things out but put them to great use instead.  

All you need to do is fold it to fit the bottom of your Swiffer type broom.  Mine has velcro points so I didn't need to stitch pockets but if yours needs pockets, there are plenty of tutorials out there.  

This is how I folded my towels.  Then just sew around the edges.  

See?  Super easy!

This is what your pad will look like.  I just stuck mine right to the bottom of my broom.  If yours needs to slide in, then cut slits into the pad.  When I'm done mopping or sweeping these get thrown right into the washer and they are ready to be used again.  

Back to the vinegar story.  If you are going to use vinegar and water to clean your floors, you will need to mix a 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar to a 1/2 gallon of warm water.  Once your pad gets a little dirty, you will need to go back and rinse it with water before putting it back into the vinegar solution.  It takes time, but it's worth it.  My floors look so much better!  Oh, and if you're worried about the smell, you can rest easy because there is none.  Once the vinegar dries it leaves no odor behind.  I love this because I don't have any pine smell competing with my Scentsy.  

Give this a try.  It's cheap and good for the environment too.  

Nydia 8)