Crafts
5 Easy, (mostly) Recyclable Halloween Decorating Ideas
My interest in holiday decorating comes and goes. I’m not sure why. Different seasons of life, perhaps? My interest or lack thereof in storing A TON of holiday decor is more steady. I like to keep some Christmas and autumn decor, but I don’t have space or the desire to store items for all the other holidays. If I can make it and recycle the decor when I’m finished, I consider that a holiday decorating win. Here are 5 easy Halloween decorating projects that are low-on-cost, high-on-impact and (mostly) recyclable. I should note that after I wrote this post, I was doing a little fact checking. Yes, I do aim…
MultiTasking Fail and a Rope Planter
Moms of the world, I hope I’m not the only one think you can relate to this scenario. One simple thing you have to do. That’s it. One. simple. thing. And you pick a time to sneak away to do the one simple thing when both kids are entertaining themselves. They are old enough to do that now – thank goodness. My one simple thing was to do something with this planter. It was pink and I started to paint it, which I realized was not going to help. This needed to be a complete cover up job if I wanted to keep the planter. But the project goes sideways…
Pom Pom Initial Gift Bag
I confess. I’m a gift bag re-user. I’m sure you are all SO shocked to hear this news. Reusing gift bags has its limits though. Especially when your kid notices Santa uses the same gift bags that mom uses for birthdays. EEK! That’s just one of the reasons why I keep a stash of plain gift bags on hand. White or brown paper bags work for every occasion. Girl birthday, boy birthday, teacher gift, special gift from the jolly man in a red suit, etc. The other and perhaps larger part of why I like having plain gift bags on hand is that I have fun decorating them. No surprise there.…
Striped and Flower Petal Denim Pumpkins
Bet you were hoping I was done with the denim projects, huh? Nope! Hahahaha! I’m 97.328% sure this is the last post about denim pumpkins though, you lucky ducks! You already know all about the braided denim pumpkin. I don’t like to play favorites, but there is a reason I shared its textured gorgeousness first. It wasn’t my first trip to the denim pumpkin patch though! On my first trip I created a striped denim pumpkin made out of strips of cut-up jeans. I didn’t measure. I didn’t worry about straight lines. In other words, a project right up my alley! The only thing you’ll need to make this pumpkin…
Horseshoe Pumpkins Go Mainstream
Questions have come up recently about my DIY horseshoe pumpkin. This is, in part, because my braided denim pumpkin and the horseshoe pumpkin by extension were honored with a Salvaged Junk feature on Funky Junk Interiors last week. You know how much I love salvaged junk, so this really made my day! When I told my 7-year-old son about this good news, I thought he’d say, “cool.” Instead, he reached over, patted my shoulder and with all sincerity said, “I’m happy for you.” This might not seem like a big deal to you, but I’m living through a very long season of fart jokes. In that moment, hope sprang eternal…
DIY Geometric Mirror Using Children’s Blocks
A friend and I were discussing DIY fails the other day. Always a cheery topic. The reality of my life is that some projects turn out and others…not so much. She mentioned that IF I have flops, I don’t share them on the ol’ blog. Well, duh! I don’t share pictures of the gravity-defying things my hair does when I wake up in the morning either. But maybe I should. It would certainly shock and awe. I do try to share the foibles that inevitably come with most of my projects though. Today I’m sharing a project FILLED with foibles. It’s cup runneth over with what NOT to do. But…
Braided Denim Pumpkin
I have these illusions that I’m an unique, one-of-a-kind, broke-the-mold sort of person. But I’m really just like most people. In fact, I’m just like the MILLIONS of other crafty people in the world who have fallen down the rabbit hole known as The Dollar Store and emerged with a styrofoam pumpkin. Okay, okay. I have six Dollar Store pumpkins. Six. But that’s all, I swear. And you can’t just buy a Dollar Store pumpkin and be done with it. Nooo. No way. That’s against the code. Something crafty must be done with those Dollar Store pumpkins or you develop an eye twitch and bad luck for 7 years. Or so…
Golf Ball Pumpkins
How does a non-golfing family end up with a bucket of golf balls? I imagine it’s the usual way. We scavenged for them. In our version of “I Spy” we search the beach at low tide for golf balls hidden under rocks. At the top of the cliffs above the beach there is a park and it seems some golfers like hitting balls into the ocean. Naughty, naughty. Collecting the golf balls is great fun, but I needed something to do with the growing collection other than take up an expensive hobby play golf. My daughter and her friends transformed the first bunch into emojis. That project was super cute, but…
Repurposing Denim Belt Loops to Hang Towels
I recently read a New York Times article entitled 5 Cheap(ish) Things That Could Disproportionately Improve Your Life. I’m ALL about improving my life on the cheap(ish). The author, Tim Herrera, wrote this: “I never would’ve thought a thin, black, six-foot iPhone charging cable would change my life. Yet here we are, and that magic cable is the Amazon Basics lightning-to-USB iPhone charging cable (also available in micro-USB). This little wonder of PVC and copper wiring solves an irritatingly modern non-problem problem: the three-foot leash that is the stock charging cable usually bundled with most smartphones. Cue the tiny violin. But once you’re able to roam just a little farther,…
Trash to Treasure Mirror
Pop quiz! Do you remember the trash I pulled out of our neighbor’s dumpster? Then I fast walked raced home with it like “there’s nothing to see here, nothing to see.” It still makes me feel weird. But I loved it! Still do! I turned that junky object into a 4th of July wreath, which I thought turned out pretty cool. I also laugh at my own jokes, so take all of that self assessment with a grain of salt! I mentioned this junky treasure might not stay a wreath. As the decorating fates would have it, I came up with a more practical use for it and I’m nothing if not…
