#MakeItMonday -Upcycle a Tin Into a Planner Supply Travel Case

Check it Out!  It's been a super busy year so far and January isn't even over yet!  One of my goals for 2017 is to become more organized.  I'm doing pretty good so far. 

#MakeIt Monday - Paper Bag & Pasta Box Albums

Check it Out!  Today I want to share how I create these super cheap and super easy albums from brown paper lunch bags and recycled boxes.

#MakeIt Monday- Upcycled Pringles Can into a Gift Container

Check it Out!  Last week I shared my adorable and easy to make floral petal butterflies.  You can check out that post HERE. This week I wanna share another easy craft that I used some of those butterflies on.  

#MakeIt Monday - Loose Change Bucket Wall Hanging

Check it Out!  I have neglected decorating my laundry room.  

Fix It Friday - Ceramic Angel

Check it Out!  As you can see the angel above is missing her wings!  

Make It Monday - How to Create a Tea Light Lamp from a Wine Glass

Check it Out!  I found some more wine glasses while straightening up my storage building last week.  Since it wasn't a complete matching set, I knew I wanted to repurpose them. And since I have some battery powered tea lights I thought why not turn them into mini lamps! Although I realize that what I found are actually martini glasses, I am positive these lamps can be made with all sorts of wine and drink glasses.  It's all about creating the lamp shade that turns the glass itself into a tealight lamp.  

Make It Monday - Upcycle Glass into Beautiful Decor Pieces

Check it Out!  After our house fire in 2012, there were only a few items that we were able to save.  I had a full 8 piece china set that didn't make it, but some of the wine glasses did.  Not a full set, but odd and end pieces. There were some plates and candle stick holders and other pieces as well.

Make it Monday - DIY Apothecary Jar

Check it Out!  Last week I posted about using jars for storage.  You can check that post out HERE and see how I used recycled jars to make usable desk accessories.  

Thrifty Thursday - Upcycle Jars into Desk Accessories

Check it Out! I have quite a collection of jars.  There are so many really cool varieties out there that can be recycled into something useful.  I love these little jars that had fruit in them and knew they would also be keepers.  I decided to use them on my desk to hold things like paper clips, scissors and pens and pencils.

Make It Monday - Make a Mini Album from Toilet Tissue Tubes

Check it Out!  If you know me, you know I absolutely love making something from nothing.  To be able to turn an object that would otherwise end up in the trash into something usable and attractive is a fun challenge to me!  

Thrifty Thursday - How to Make a Window Valance from a Bed Skirt

Check it Out!  I am on a very strict budget, so buying curtains is not a top priority for me.  I only have 2 windows in my front room, which we call the living room.  It is a large open room that includes the dining room. I have this AMAZING sky blue color on my walls that I absolutely love.  The valances that I have had on these windows since we moved in 3 years ago actually came from the Dollar Tree.  Yes $1!  About as cheap as you can get for a valance, but I have to admit, they also look cheap.  

Make It Monday - Create a Desk Organizer from Recycled Materials

Check it out!  I have hit a phase in life where I just want to organize stuff.  I really like having things in their designated places. I have notebooks and pens on my bedside table for making notes and jotting down ideas. But my table is so small, I was thinking I needed an organizer to contain it all.  Of course I checked my "recycle" box and found everything I needed to whip one up.  

Make it Monday - DIY Rope Framed $1 Mirrors

Check it Out!  When crafting, I always love to use recycled materials and I love finding cheap items and making them look well... uncheap!   

Make It Monday - Create Your Own Wall Art with Driftwood

Check it Out! If you know me at all, you know that the beach is pretty much my all time favorite place to be.  It is my life long dream to end up somewhere near the ocean!  The sand, the water, the sun... I just love it all!

#TBCCrafters Craft Hop - Upcycled Shutter

Check it Out!  I love creating things that I can use on a daily basis, things that solve a problem and have a designated purpose.  Since Delmar's passing, one of the things I have been doing to keep myself and my mind ocuppied is organizing.  It is really mind boggling how much paperwork we have amassed in this house!  I don't want to say I am a pack rat but I tend to hold onto things that I like.  One of those things is greeting cards I have received.   I just can not bring myself to throw them away, especially the hand made ones my dear friend Rose sent me.  Not only are they beautiful, but they are inspirational!  I keep these cards on the shelves in my craft room, tucked in amongst the jars and supplies I have.  I have been thinking of a way to display them.  While rummaging through my storage closet, I found these old shutters and an idea hit me!

I realized that the slats could provide an excellent place to store cards and other treasured items.  Turning them over so the center bar doesn't show allows full usage of each slat.  

My supplies for this really quick and easy craft included:

• Shutter
• Eye hooks
• Cup hooks
• Ribbon
• Sand paper

The first thing I did was remove all the hardware from my shutter.  This included the hinges and knob.  Then I took it outside and gave it a good sanding.  

I decided to leave the shutter unpainted. I really love the weathered wood look. 

Next I attached cup hooks to each of the bottom corners.  These will be useful for hanging keys, chains or other things. Then I added two eye hooks to the top edge corners so that I could attach a ribbon for hanging.

Using a long piece of this gorgeous ribbon, I ran it through both eye hooks and then tied the two ends together into a bow as shown above.

I really love how it turned out!  I'm thinking of making another one that is designated for the mail.  It's a great place to keep bills and important papers that come into the house.

#TBCCrafters Craft Hop - Upcycled Popcorn Tin into a Memory Can

Check it Out!  Since my husband passed away I have found and been given different things that I know I want to keep in one place.  From poems to letters to objects, these are all things that I want to keep not only so that I can reflect on them but for our children.  There will come a day that they will be leaving our home and I want to be able to share these things with them.  As they have been piling up over the last few months, I realized I needed to come up with a way to store them.  But I needed a way that would allow the children and I to access them but also protect them.   

I have a few of these popcorn tins that were given to the kids at the holidays and since they have a lid and plenty of space inside, I realized one would be the perfect solution.  I just needed to upcycle it. 

My supplies for this project included:

• Popcorn Tin
• Black Spray Paint
• Knob or drawer pull for the lid
• Gemstones
• Word Stickers by Jolee's Boutique
• Wide ribbon
• Lace
• Ruler
• Hot Glue

To get started I spray painted my tin with the black spray paint.  It took a few coats to get it to cover completely.  Remember to do this step outside so there is plenty of ventilation. 

I then wrapped my ribbon around the center and glued it in place.  

I chose the words "treasured" and "memories" from my sheet of word stickers and added them on top of the ribbon strip.  I spent a little time pressing and rubbing them so that they would stick well and added a few gemstones to the end swirls for accent. 

My can was looking a little plain so I decided to add some more of the gemstones to the base.  In order to keep them evenly spaced I used my ruler as a guide for the spacing.

My lid was already black so I didn't need to do anything to it except add a knob to the top.  I didn't have a knob or drawer pull so I created one with a few wooden pieces glued together and painted white.  After finding the center of the lid, I glued the knob on and added a gemstone to the center top of it.  Then I glued some lace to the rim of the lid to finish it off.

This memory can now sits next to our memorial table and the kids and I can add to it and look through it whenever we want.  

#TBCCrafters Craft Hop - How to Create a Mini BeachScape

Check it Out! I am a beach bum at heart and given my inner-most desires, would live at the beach!  I just love it but unfortunately I don't get to go often enough.  I have to settle for decorating with beach themed items.  My guest/kids bathroom is done in that theme so my newest craft fit in perfectly!  

I got this idea from my neighbor Jessie.  She has a piece of art hanging in her home that immediately grabbed my attention.  It was a large wooden sun soaked frame that surrounded a sand and shell center.  She told me some background on the piece that an art friend had made for her and I knew that I could do the same thing only on a smaller scale.  

Jessie had given me a stack of silver plate chargers that she no longer wanted not too long ago. Using one of them along with my very small supply of shells and beach items, I put together a wonderful mini beach scape! 

At first I thought I could do the whole craft with Mod Podge.  I cleaned my charger plate and then laid down a thick coat of the Mod Podge to the center of the plate.  This created a well for my beach.  As soon as I had the area coated, I sprinkled my sand all over the Mod Podge.  Once I had all white spots covered and layered up nicely, I used the pads of my fingers to push the sand down into the Mod Podge.  Then I had to wait for it to dry!

I am not great at waiting when I am in the middle of creating so I moved the drying process along by covering the plate with a newspaper and then used the blow dryer on a low setting to dry up the Mod Podge. 

I wrestled with how I was going to affix the shells and other items to the sand without messing it up.  The sand was still falling off and I just knew that it wasn't going to last long.  I looked through my stash to see what kind of sealers I had that would be thicker than Mod Podge yet dry completely clear. I didn't want the sand turning yellow. I wanted to keep it as natural looking as I could.  I found this bottle of Save a Puzzle and knew it was the answer.  Little did I know how perfect it was!!  

I poured a very generous amount of the Save a Puzzle over my sand creating a puddle over it.  I let it fill the well of the plate and completely covered the sand.  I started with about half a bottle and used it all. I added my shells and other items to the puddle, spacing them out like you might see on the beach.

Then I had to wait again!

As I said I hate waiting!  I left the plate over night and then set it in the sun this morning to finish up and I can not get over how awesome it turned out!

I found that as it dried, the Save a Puzzle soaked up the sand and hardened to create a tidepool effect!  I love how the edges look like there is still water there but the center looks and feels just like dried areas of the beach.  

#TBCCrafters Craft Hop - Eco Chic Bags

Check it Out! I am so excited to have my craft featured on The Brand Connection website this week! Head on over and check out my Eco Chic Bags that are made from upcycled containers! See how I took kitty liter containers, clorox bottles and shampoo bottles and turned them into Chic Bags. Using recycled materials and hot glue I was able to create some really great bags that are great for holidays, gift giving or just carrying around!  Head over HERE to check them out.

#TBCCrafters Craft Hop - Turn those Treasured Greeting Cards into a Book

Check it Out! Since Delmar has been sick, he has gotten a ton of Get Well cards which really has brightened his days.  Displaying all these cards however has been a challenge for me.  I want them where he can see them and to be able to read the words of encouragement and love that are inside so I have been trying to come up with a way to display them that doesn't involve taping or tacking them to the wall.  He doesn't have any table space to stand them up so I thought a book would be a great way to have them all together and make them easy to keep up with.  

I decided that the easiest and quickest way to make a book from greeting cards was to sew them together.

Here are the supplies I used:

• DMC Floss
• Scissors
• clips
• ruler
• needle - I used a plastic canvas needle 
• hole maker - I used a mini hand drill- but you could use an ice pick or anywhere hole punch

The first thing I had to do was sort all the cards.  I put them into size groups and then used all the same sized cards to create a few different books.  

I needed three holes in each card to sew them all together so I used my ruler to evenly space my three holes out and used a pencil to mark them.  I then piled about 3 - 4 cards at a time together to make putting the holes in quicker.

I used the clips to hold the cards together so that the holes would all be even and then drilled my holes through all the cards with my mini drill.

Now I had to sew them all together.  I threaded my needle with my desired color DMC floss and choose my "cover" card.   Starting in the middle hole of my cover card I threaded the floss through it and the second card as shown in 1.  I ran the thread up the inside of the card to the top hole and threaded it back through the second card and into the cover cards top hole as shown in 2.  Then I ran the thread down the inside of the card to the bottom hole and threaded it through both cards again as shown in 3.  To pick up my next card I went back through the center hole and through the center hole of the next card as shown in 4.  Then I just repeated steps 1-4 until I had all my cards added.
Once I had all my cards added, I threaded the floss back through the holes a few times to make them stronger.  

Now Delmar can pick up a book and see each card and read the messages without having to keep them in a pile or spilling them all over the place!  He loves it!

#TBCCrafters Craft Hop - Upcycled Cork Board

Check it Out!  If you have visited my blog before and checked out my crafts, you know that I love to upcycle stuff!  I get such joy from taking old and worn out items and turning them into items that are useful and look good.  I have been thinking about creating myself an area that I can put my blog related papers, cards, info and so forth so that it is visible and all in one place.  I had this cork board that I purchased at a yard sale about a year ago.  I got it for like $2 because it was broken on one end so I haven't used it yet.  I stuck it in the closet and pretty much forgot about it.  I got this old crate lid from my neighbor Jessie along with some other pieces of wood that I wanted for some other projects.  She was like, "Dawn what can you do with this, is it worth anything?"  Well of course it is I say!! lol  

So when I got it home and dusted off, I thought about that old cork board.  So I brought it up and wouldn't you know, it was the perfect width to fit right inside that crate lid!! Oh yes, that crate lid was definitely worth something to me, it was going to be my new blog board!

I first needed to paint that crate lid to make it look a little more attractive and so it would stand out against the dark blue wall that I planned to hang it on.  So my first step was to sand the rough edges and give it a couple of coats of white paint.  Step 2 was to prepare my cork board.  Since it had a metal edge still on 3 sides, I had to remove it.  Using a drill I was able to back out the screws and remove the remaining metal frame.  Then I simply used my big ruler and a box cutter to trim it to the needed length.  Step 3 was to pop it into the crate frame.  It was such a tight perfect fit, I didn't even need glue or screws!  

Once I got my cork installed I realized that there were holes in the sides where those screws were so I used some blue ribbon, that matched my wall color to line the inside where the cork met the frame.  I hot glued it down and then used a blinged up tack in each corner to finish it off.  My base was finished but of course it was just too plain for me so I decided to embellish it a bit.

 

Since I wanted to use this for storing information for my blog, I knew I would need some pockets for cards and things and some tacks and clips for papers and photos and such.  Using denim, clothespins, scrapbook paper, tacks, gemstones and buttons along with glue I created a variety of embellishments for my board that would also make it more functional.

I used pockets cut from old blue jeans as my storage pockets.  I simply hot glued them down at the bottom of my board.  You could of course not glue them down, so they could be moved around, but I wanted mine to be permanent and secured.  I added a pretty denim flower to the center pocket.  To make this flower I cut leaf pieces from a lighter denim and using a needle and thread created a pinwheel from a strip of darker denim and a pinwheel from lace.  Then I layered all these pieces and added a button and small gemstone to the center to finish it off. 

I also created some functional clothespin tacks by cutting scrapbook paper to cover the top of one side of a clothespin and gluing it down and then glued a tack onto the back.  I used a bandanna patterned paper to create a country look with the denim.  Glue Dots work great for this.

Using some shorter denim strips I created some fan like pieces and added a star button to decorate the corners of the frame.  Since it was a crate lid, the corners had some pretty large gaps that paint wouldn't fill in so I wanted to hide them.  I dyed some of the lighter denim pieces so I could add that red color in. Then I just hot glued the pieces on the corners.  

To create my blinged up tacks I simply glued gemstones to the tops of flat tacks with Glue Dots.  They are strong and permanent and much prettier than those plain old tacks!  

The top part of my board was super plain so I wanted to create a banner that would fill it in.  I used string but only had white so I dyed it red with my Scarlet Rit Dye.  Using the same scrapbook paper that I used on the clothespins I created some bandanna pieces for the banner.  I cut strips, folded them in half and then cut them to a point.  To get them to look more like fabric, I crumpled each piece up and unfolded them before I glued them to my string piece.  I also used some of the coin pockets that I had cut from my old jeans.  I glued them to the string banner as well.  These little pockets can be used too!  

I really loved how it turned out and it looks perfect on my wall!  What do you think?