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!

Paper Towel Roll Art

It seems as though I've become obsessed with reusing rolls from paper towels & toilet paper. I decided to use my latest collection to make a piece of art for our guest bedroom.

You'll need rolls from paper towels and/or toilet paper cut into 1/2 inch sections, paint, and hot glue.

I constructed the piece on my floor first to help with scale and the look of the whole project.

I kept the whole thing together, just taking out one piece at a time to glue it together. Then I painted the whole thing and hung it up.

After doing several projects like this, I've learned that it's much easier to paint the tubes before cutting them. Paint the inside & outside of the tubes, let dry, then cut into sections.

the stickers are courtesy of my niece ;) she helped me decorate
the room until we got a bed to go in it :)

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!