Shoebox Art

You all know how I feel about non-decorated walls. I think I've made my point.

However, I love an easy craft & I have a great one for you!

You'll need:
shoebox tops
scrapbook paper, fabric, or wrapping paper
spray adhesive
tape

Spray the tops of the shoebox tops (doesn't that sound weird) with the spray adhesive. Lay it flat & press down to make sure it adheres.

Use tape to secure the paper to the sides of the tops.

Hang on your wall!

It'll take all of 15 minutes & look really cute. It's practically free. You can just go to your local shoe store & ask for tops to boxes & they'll give them to you. I found scrapbook paper for $.59 at a local craft store, but you might have some on hand. Fabric and wrapping paper are options as well. Also, you're helping the environment by using your "trash". :)

DIY Febreez

I have a weird phobia: that my house stinks. I've always been worried about people coming over and it smelling weird/strange/dirty/stuffy/gross/what-have-you.

Until a few weeks ago, this fear was mostly unfounded. Then this happened:

We got a puppy! And you know what that means...puppy piddles. We're working on house training her, but she still has accidents. We've tried several different carpet cleaning tips (the best we found: baking soda & vinegar), but fabrics have a tendency to hold onto smells. I've tried many different tips on making my own Febreez (just to make it cheaper) and this is what I've found works best:

3oz water
3oz white vinegar
2oz conditioner (yep, the stuff to make your hair silky & shiny)

Stir it, don't shake. If you shake, massive amounts of bubbles form & it takes forever for them to go away. It will take a minute, but you want all the conditioner to dissolve. Pour into a spray bottle & go to town!

Candle Holders

I found this idea for candle holders, but I couldn't find colored tape. I mean, I have a hard enough time finding regular transparent tape and now Mar-tha wants me find colored tape. Geez!

Instead, I grabbed some double-sided tape, 2 clear candle holders, some glitter, and (of course) 2 candles.

I wrapped the tape around the edge of the candle holders & rolled it around in glitter.

Boom! Done!
Super easy, and really cheap. The whole deal only cost me $5. Take that Martha & your colored tape!

Penny Pinching: DIY laundry detergent

I decided to try my hand at making my own laundry detergent. First though, I needed to make sure it was going to be worth the effort. I mean, why go through the hassle if I'm only saving a few dollars. So I did the math:

Made detergent:
I would get 271 loads
The cost would be $17
I would end up spending $0.06/load

vs

Bought detergent:
The detergent I buy cleans 30 loads
It costs $5/bottle
That means I spend $.16/load

I'd have to buy 9 bottles of regular detergent to get 271 loads. That means I'd have to spend $45 for the same amount of detergent.

MONEY SAVED: $28

I decided that it was worth it. An extra $28 can give me 1/2 tank of gas! I wish I could make that on my own for cheaper!

You'll need:
4lbs box 20-mule Borax (laundry aisle)
3lb, 7oz box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (laundry aisle)
4lbs baking soda (I found it in the laundry aisle as well, but you may have to venture to the baking area)
2 16oz oxygen cleaner (I got mine from Dollar Tree)
2 7oz bars Zote (laundry aisle, I used pink, but there are others, find the one that suits your needs)
Optional: 28oz bottle fabric softener crystals (I used Purex, but Downey also makes one)

Grate the Zote bars into a 5 gallon bucket. I got mine from Lowe's in the paint aisle.
Add all the other ingredients and mix.
I bought a 2 1/2qt bucket from Lowe's as well so I didn't have to worry about storing it all in my little laundry area and to make it easier to handle.

You'll only need 2Tbsp per load. I kept the scoop out of my oxygen cleaner since it was 2Tbsp (I measured) so I can just tell the hubster 1 scoop per load. Makes it easier.

Oatmeal Hairband Holder

Ya know when you see something, think it's a neat idea, but also know that there's got to be a way to improve on it? That's the way I felt when I first saw someone turn an old container of oatmeal into a holder for their hair accessories.

Now, the way I saw it done was the lady (I'm assuming it was a lady) covered the container in scrapbooking paper. That's cool and all, but I didn't want this busy looking thing sitting in my corner of the room where I couldn't really see the designs of my super cool headbands.

For that reason, I'm changing this post's name to Super Cool Headband Holder. Deal with it!

You'll need:
paint
an empty oatmeal container
a candlestick...just go with it, k?
strong-ish glue (I used good ol' super glue)

Paint that bad boy. Glue the candlestick to the bottom & put your headbands on the outside of the container.

Put all of your other hair accessories (elastics, bows, bobby pins, etc) on the inside.

It was so easy & it's not an eyesore.

CHRISTMAS ON THE CHEAP: Wreath

I know Christmas is over for this year, but keep this in the back of your mind for next year! You can also use other colors for Valentines, Easter, Independence Day, etc.

You'll need:
12 toilet paper roll tubes
hot glue
red & green paints

For half of the tubes paint the inside red & the outside green. Reverse for the other half.

Cut the tubes into strips about 1/2 inch wide & glue 5 together to make a star, keeping the ones that are red on the outside together & the ones that are green on the outside together.

Use one of the colors to be the "big ring" and one to be the "small ring". The small ring uses 5 stars & the big ring uses 7 stars. 

Glue the small ring on top of the big ring. Also, clear nylon thread can be used for reinforcement.

Take a piece of ribbon or sting & hand on your door.

DIY Carpet Shake

I have this neurotic need to make sure my apartment smells clean. I'm sure it stems from some traumatic experience as a child that I subconsciously block from recalling, but the fact remains that I have a need to make sure my place doesn't stink. Also, I hate smelling food that I cooked 2 days before. Gross.

In the spirit of over-sharing, I go through carpet shake like crazy! I recently found out that most of the contents of a regular can of that stuff is basically baking soda. So I'm paying for something I already have in my house just to put it on the floor? Yeah, didn't make sense to me either.

You'll need:
2c baking soda
20-ish drops of essential oil

Mix it. Seriously, that's it. You do want to make sure that it's thoroughly mixed so you don't have clumps & the oil is evenly dispersed. Put it in a shaker or some other container you can use to sprinkle it about.

This is what was left after 1 application to my
carpet. You'll have much more than this.

Put it on your carpet & let sit for 15 minutes then vacuum up. You can vary the smell by changing the oil. I use peppermint for 2 reasons: 1) it helps get rid of food smells easier and 2) ants & spiders & a myriad of other insects hate peppermint. I intend to make my home bug-free.

Happy shaking!

Homemade Hand soap

I love doing homemade Christmas presents! I know I appreciate those more because I think of the time and effort the giver put into making them. I decided this year to make hand soap for my co-workers and friends.

I should warn you that this makes a ton of soap! However, it's cheaper than buying it from the store & will last you a long while. Also, if you're making this for yourself, you should make sure you're in love with the scent.

Needed:
8oz bar soap
gallon of water
2Tbsp liquid glycerin
cheese grater

Once you decide on the scent, grate the entire bar of soap. You can also get 2 bars & only grate half of each so you can create your own scent. Also, no need to use the finest grate possible. Pour water into pot. Add soap & glycerin.Turn heat to med-high and stir until soap dissolves. It should look like soapy water at this point.

Remove from heat and let sit 10-12 hours. Use a beater to mix it all well. Add more water if necessary.

You can pour it into dispensers to give as gifts, keep it for yourself, whatever, If you decide to keep all of it, fill your soap dispenser first, then pour the rest back into the jug the water came in. This same technique can be used to make body wash!

This is what was left after I filled 6 soap dispensers!

Also--if you're wondering where in the world to find liquid glycerin, let me help you out. I searched high and low for this stuff (about a dozen stores), but I will save you that trouble. Go to the pharmacist! I found it at Walgreens, behind the pharmacy counter. Just ask the pharmacist for it & tell him why you need it. The bottle I got was $5. There's bigger bottles for about $25, but why would you need a bigger bottle?!

Mod Podge

I am a strong believer in not buying what you can make. Mod Podge is a necessity for crafters, but costs around $10 per bottle! I hate to tell people who spend that $10, but you can make it for around $1.

All you'll need is white school glue, water, and a jar to mix it in.

Unscrew the cap to the glue & squeeze the glue into the jar.

Fill the glue bottle back up with hot water & pour it into the jar with the glue.

Put the lid on the jar & shake that bad boy! You're all set to decoupage!

You might want to label it to avoid any nasty confusion!