Crafts
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…
Junky 4th of July Wreath
I went dumpster diving and found treasure! Let me clarify something though. Dumpsters in Ireland are called skips. They range in size from 2.5 cubic yards to 35 cubic yards. You can also order a gigantic bag for your yard waste/other debris and that is called a baby skip. Aw, so cute! Aren’t you glad for all the random information you learn on this blog? Here’s what a skip looks like when it’s being hauled away on the lorry. This is not the one that held my treasure though. It held some old windows that were replaced in our house. I walk by skips in front of houses and businesses…
Tourist Maps Make Great Wrapping Paper
Monday’s post was a little heavy, emotionally speaking, so let’s reel it back in, shall we? Besides, this blog, similar to the inner workings of my brain, thrives on randomness and abrupt topic changes. Keep up! Keep up! The whiplash is worth it. How many of you have traveled someplace new and picked up a tourist map (or 3 because each of your kids needs their own map even if they ask you to hold it 7.3 seconds later, thank you very much)? *raises hand* Then how many of you have chucked that map(s) in the recycle bin or garbage when you were finished? *raises hand* If one of your tourist maps survives…
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Braided Denim Pumpkin
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Emoji Golf Balls
We live about a 6 or 7-minute walk from the Irish Sea. What a drag, right? A few Sundays ago I took a glorious walk BY MYSELF down to the beach. Moms need that every once in awhile. It was heavenly. When I reached the beach I realized the tide was out. Really out. In fact, I hadn’t seen the tide out that far in eons. (Take “eons” with a grain of salt – I’ve only lived here 11 months.) I called Handy Husband and told him he and the kids had to come to the beach quickly! The weather was amazing and the low tide had exposed little shallow pools of water…
Vintage Key Project Inspiration
I about tripped over myself with excitement when I realized the keys to our Irish house were old-fashioned. It’s probably my favorite part of the house, even if it did take me two weeks to figure out how to unlock the back door. True story. Vintage locks are tricky! We recently got a new back door with a boring modern key. Sure, the door is more energy efficient and secure, but couldn’t they make the keys just a little more interesting to look at? Now I have two vintage keys that are of no use to anyone, but me!! That’s also why I feel okay sharing pictures of these keys on the…
DIY Embroidered T-Shirt: Nevertheless She Persisted
I don’t usually do step-by-step tutorials because I’m not that detail-oriented, but I’m going to try my best today. My main reason for this is because embroidery thread is right up there with felt on my list of favorite craft supplies! Also, to encourage you to try embellishing a t-shirt with embroidery stitching because it’s not as hard as you might think. I taught myself! If you can do it, the possibilities are endless. Here’s the step-by-step of how I started with a plain white t-shirt and ended up with this result. Step 1: Gather Your Supplies You’ll need a t-shirt you want to embellish, embroidery thread, a sewing needle, backing…
Irish Flag Centerpiece
Our celebration of St. Patrick’s Day would not be complete without showcasing the Irish flag on our dining room table! Isn’t this Irish Flag Centerpiece festive? My flag holders are milk bottles filled with green mung beans, white basmati rice and orange split lentils. My son and I poured the dry ingredients in the milk bottles in color order as it relates to the stripes on the Irish flag. The simple design of the Irish flag was very helpful in this regard. The Irish flag, also known as the Irish tricolour, has been in existence since 1848. However, it didn’t become Ireland’s national flag until the rebels hoisted it over Dublin’s General Post Office during…
Quick and Simple St. Patricks Day Wreath
My kids are counting down the days until they get the day off from school to celebrate Ireland’s biggest holiday – St. Patrick’s Day. Waiting is oh, so hard! Until then, they did help me make a super simple felt wreath to decorate one corner of our home. We traced shamrocks onto green felt, then cut them out and hot glued them on a wreath form. Super simple and not overly obnoxious! Those are my two main criteria when it comes to holiday crafting. I used a wire wreath form like this one so I could easily remove the felt shamrocks if I want to reuse the wreath form in the future.…
St Patrick’s Day Craft: Burlap Pot of Gold
Happy first day of March! Who’s excited? March is a big month on the little island I currently call home. Ireland. I don’t say that every time to rub it in. I only mention it, again, on the off chance someone is joining the blog today for the first time. It could happen! Anyway, there’s this little holiday on the 17th with leprechauns and drinking. Lots of drinking. You might have heard of it. Well, have you heard of island time? Ireland operates on its own sort of island time. I just started to see advertisements go up for St. Patrick’s Day events. The local newspaper is still asking for entries…
