Tip For Today - Used Dryer Sheets

Stop throwing away those used dryer sheets before getting a second use out of them. I use an empty facial tissue box to save the used sheets when finishing the laundry. It keeps them from endung up all over and makes them easily accessible. Here are a few things I have re-used them for in the past with great success.

Polishing chrome on your motorcycle, car, faucets etc.

Cleaning off that pesky bit of deoderant that gets on your shirt when you dress.

Great for eliminating static cling and keeping your clothes fresh while travelling. Just toss a couple in your suitcase. Also keeps luggage from getting that musty smell if you toss a sheet in before storing.

Keep sleeping bags/camper linens smelling fresh and keep out pesky bugs. The bugs don't like the scent and the dryer sheets are more convenient than moth balls or cedar sachets.

Remove pet hair from fabric and freshen with a quick swipe.

Pop a sheet into your vacuum bag or canister for a fresh scent while you clean.

Remove stubborn bugs from a windshield during a road trip by lightly wetting a sheet and rubbing the windshield. The bugs will come right off and you car will smell fresh when the sheets are stowed away.

Remove soap scum from glass shower doors without scrubbing forever.

Freshen a gym bag or locker.

Remove the musty/cigarette smoke smell from wood or paper items purchased at estate sales. Simply place the item with a few sheets in a plastic ziplock bag for a few days and when you pull it out the bad smell will be gone. I also save the zipper bag to use over and over.

Hope this helps you feel like you're getting a little more use from a discarded item :)

Vintage Travel Plate Jewelry Catch All

In the free box at a yard sale I found a cheezy Oregon souvenir plate. The kind little old ladies hang on the wall or put in their china cabinet (shame on them for wasting a perfectly good project supply).

I have a beautiful vintage vanity...on which I spread all my earrings and they inevitably loose their match in the jumble. I was inspired by a project I saw reusing plates and candle sticks to make tiered cake plates. And I just happen to have an ugly brass candle stick holder that had no partner and matched the decorative edge color if the plate perfectly! As an added bonus this plate had little slots to thread ribbon around the edge so it will double as an earring hanger and a ring dish.

No supplies? No problem! The dollar or thrift store has various shapes of glass dishes and candle sticks to use adapting your holder to fit any size decor or purpose.

You need:
Plate or Shallow Dish
Candle Stick Holder (small sundae dishes work really well if you turn them upside down)
E6000 craft adhesive (craft stores or Walmart)

*Be aware that E6000 glues anything! Its hard to clean off if you get it on anything you don't want to glue including skin. Cover your work surface, wear gloves and work in a well ventilated area.*

Lay your plate or dish face down on a flat surface. Find the center point so you know where to place the candle stick holder. Apply E6000 to the top of the candle stick holder. Invert and place it in the center of the plate back. Hold with light pressure for about 1 minute to get a good adhesion and let dry overnight.

E6000 dries quickly (package says about 15 minutes) but I have found that letting it dry overnight it leaves no room for slippage etc. and the 2 pieces will never come apart :)

Vintage Soda Bottle Crate Table

WHAT A WEEK!  Between work, Tuff Trucks, and life in general this week has been SO SO busy for our family.

A couple gals have asked me to post quick tutes for projects I have made in the past that they love. I am terrible at taking photos of "before" (my piles of junk) and during the assembly process....usually I'm just so excited to get done!

This project was inspired by a problem I always have....knocking my glasses off my beside table while feeling around for them so I can actually see.

For this project you will need an old wood soda bottle crate or milk bottle crate. Any wood box would do really, but i love those old crates and they are a great vintage touch to add to any decor. Sometimes these old crates can get pretty pricey so another idea is to ask a wine shop or liquor store for a wood box and paint it the way you want then add a vintage logo to it. I scored ours at a yard sale. Jeremy bought a bunch of tools and the old guy he was bargaining with "threw it in for the little lady". Thanks Babe! I love that you get me junk to work with!!

And 4 "legs". Get creative here! Suggestions of materials to use are:

• Simple 2x2 pieces of lumber - cheap and easy to paint an accent color to make your graphic really pop
• Sturdy branches about 2" in diameter (try manzanita/madrone!) - great for that rustic lodge look
• Galvanized Pipe or Electric EMT -  get that sleek industrial look that's so popular
• Stairway spindles - cheap find at materials junk stores (mine were $1 for both)
• Table or chair legs - just because the table's broken doesn't mean its junk!

Tools/Hardware:

• 4 wood screws - long enough to go through your crate and into the legs about 1.5" for sturdiness
• 4 fender washers - with holes smaller than your screw heads to keep the screws from pulling through your crate with use
• Drill and bit just smaller than the screws you're using
• Nail on non-scratch feet to protect your flooring from the wood legs (if using the pipe or EMT, I suggest pipe caps with some small circles of heavy felt glued to the bottom)
• Saw if you need to cut the legs down to size
• screwdriver
• level
• measuring tape
• COFFEE!  (hahaha)

I measured our bed to see how high I wanted the table to be and proceeded from there. It worked out perfect that if I cut each on my spindles in half it would be about the right height.

*warning* from experience I have learned that no 2 identical pieces of wood/pipe/fabric have identical measurements. Be sure to measure from both ends before cutting something in half to assure that one isn't just a touch shorter that the other. Nobody loves a wonky table!

I measured out my spindles for the cut length and chopped them into 4 legs.

My placement for the corners took a little finesse as this particular box has a metal band on each side. I measured the distance for each drill point to attach the legs and marked it well, then also measured the distance between the marks to square it all off.

Measure the legs and mark center on them as well.  My box is old, so the edges were a little rounded. I would suggest checking and double checking the leg placement before drilling any holes so that you like the way it looks before it's too late to go back. In this case without checking first I would have had corners sticking out all over had I not checked the leg placement and re-marked everything before drilling. If you decide to use pipe this would be an especially important step to make sure the flanges don't hang over your edges.

Pre-drill all holes in the box and the legs to prevent splitting.  You may also want to use a very small bit and pre-drill the holes for nailing on the feet so they just take soft hammering to put them on.

Attach the feet to the legs and begin assembly.

Put the fender washer and screw down through the box bottom and into the leg. Using a manual screwdriver instead of an electric one will also help prevent any splitting. Attach all the legs then check that its level.

Admire your new table!

Glass Etching Liquid Fabulousness & Tute!!!

and yes.....fabulousness IS a word, or at least it is here


Making unique and useful gifts can be a challenge sometimes. What to get...what to get...they have everything! For this, and every gifting opportunity, I recommend breaking out your glass etching liquid.

This stuff can be pretty pricey for someone like me who tries to use every functional part and piece from every free thing on earth, but you can get it on sale with a Michael's Crafts 40% off coupon score some for $5-10. With it you can etch any (ANY!) glass surface and make something beautiful and personal.

Here are a few ideas on things to etch that you can get free or cheap: plain vases that come with flower deliveries (i find them all the time in yard sale free boxes), any dollar store glassware, old wooden windows, glass photo frames, greenhouse doors, mason jars...use a little imagination.

So for this tutorial I am using the Armour Etch Cream as shown above, a set of stemless wine glasses and a set of glass tankards as gifts for a girlfriend's birthday. As an additional kicker they recently got married so even though it isn't her husband's birthday, he's getting spoiled rotton goodies too.

Supplies:
Rubber Gloves
Eye Protection (NOT YOUR PRESCRIPTION GLASSES!! They will etch and be ruined)
Soft Bristle Paintbrush (size depends on the area you want to cover)
Etching Cream
Rub-On Transfers (recycled from a friend that used up all her family's intitials aaaand FREE!)
Popsicle Stick
Masking Tape
Sink
Glass to Etch

Side Note: You can purchase Rub On glass etching stencils ready made wherever you find the cream. You can also use vinyl stick on graphics, especially if you have a Cricut and can make all your own stickers from contact paper from the Dollar Store!

1. Wash and remove all the labels/stickers from your glassware. Make sure it is very clean but if you run it through the dishwasher be sure not to use a rinse agent like Jet Dry.

2. Chose your designs and letters and lay the pattern out so you can see how it will look on the glass. Tape them to the glass using the masking tape and rub them with the popsicle stick to transfer the design to the glass.  *Remember to look carefully at the actual outline of the rub-on transfer itself not just the printed lines. The loops/interiors of designs and centers of the letters may be filled in and they will not show up correctly when using the etching cream.*



3. Carefully peel away the rub-on backing and the masking tape making sure the full design has transferred.


4. Mask off the other areas you would like to be filled with the etching cream. In the design pictured below I decided to highlight the letter and crown in a big etched box. I know these mugs will be filled with Guinness and the large graphic will be highlighted nicely against the dark brew.

I have also seen full glasses covered with patterns and the whole glass covered with the etching cream. Get creative!


5. Working quickly, but carefully not to go out of the taped areas, cover the area with the etching cream. *I did this next to the sink so i had quick access and less risk of messing up the design in transit...I am not known for being graceful or coordinated*

The instructions on the bottle and on several forums i have read state to brush across one direction, then up and down....however, i found it to give much better coverage and look more like "real" etched glass if I put on a thick coat using little circles. The directions say, for rub-ons leave let sit no longer than 1 minute. I did about 50 seconds and I think they turned out great. When using stickers or vinyl, you can leave the cream on longer for a bolder design because the stickers will not dissolve like the rub-ons.



6. Make sure your sink is empty so you don't accidentally etch anything you don't want etched. Put on stylish rubber gloves. Run a warm tap and peel off the masking tape while washing off the cream. A few rubs of the thumb will also remove the rub-on decal. When the cream is rinsed off, use a little dish soap to get off any residue from the tape or cream.

As for one last suggestion, you may want to buy extra glassware so that when your project turns out toally awesome you won't be sad you didn't make a set for yourself!

Japanese Cucumber Love

I have a love for Japanese food in all forms. When I was young we had an exchange student from Japan. Akiko and I have become lifelong friends staying in touch for the past 21 years and my love for all things Japan has never subsided.

I was fortunate enough to be gifted with a huge bundle of garden veggies this weekend in exchange for some mechanical help and the highlight of that gift were beautiful, crisp cucumbers.

I would like to share a recipe for one of my favorite Japanese dishes that is simple to make and especially refreshing on a hot day such as this!

Japanese sweet pickled cucumbers. Enjoy!!

Peel 5 or 6 medium cucumbers

Halve each one and slice then into thin slices

Place them in a collander and sprinkle them with 2 tsp. salt. This will bring the water out of them and keep your marinade from becoming watery. Mix them well and place on a few doubled up paper towels in your fridge. Chill for 1 hour.

While they chill make the marinade:
Combine in saucepan
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. rice vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned works)
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. red pepper flake

Bring all the ingredients to a boil and reduce until the liquid measures about 1/3 cup. If you reduce it too far, that's ok, just add a little water to bring it up to 1/3 cup.

Let the marinade cool and combine with the cucumbers.

And viola!!! Deliciousness!

For most flavorful results make these the night before you would like to eat them. They keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

The beginning of a new blog....

Several friends enjoy looking at my newest projects in their varying states of completion and have suggested I start a blog to post patterns, tutorials, mishaps, and of course completed project photos. So here goes.

I hope you enjoy my posts and you're welcome to share them with friends and family that have the same addictions I do from junk scavenging to cooking and everything in between!