Adventures in Upcycling

I had a day off this week due to Abigail being sick (poor baby! but she made a fast recovery) so I headed up to the local thrift store with the three youngest siblings.

I've been interested in learning to upcycle clothes for awhile, and the prices at our local thrift store have dropped a bunch since the last time I was there, so I picked up this dress to play with.

While cute, it doesn't fit anyone in my family as a dress (and it's also pretty short, so not gonna work in this house, lol). However, after looking at how it was put together, I was pretty sure I could turn in into an adorable skirt.

The top had a stain on it, so the first thing to do was cut it off. Using a rotary cutter and plastic ruler, I cut it straight across, just below the bottom of the sleeve.

Looking good!

I kept the top part... I later cut off the stained part and attached a pink cotton print and made a top. :) But more on that later.

The original dress had a dropped waist and a belt, so step #2 was to remove the belt loops.

I discovered I don't really like taking out stitches that someone else made any more than I like taking out my own stitches... "destitching" is so boring. But eventually I got them all off!

I turned over the top and hemmed it nicely. Initially I was going to do a casing and elastic waistband, but I decided to try something new and do an exposed-elastic waistband instead.

Using Lizzie as a guide, I measured out a piece of elastic around her waist and zig-zagg stitched it to the hemmed skirt with elastic thread.

I kept stretching it out as I went and it turned out PERFECTLY!

Of course, I had to have Liz model it for me.

Isn't that one classy skirt? I really really wish it were my size, lol. But if you have a little girl size 12/14, it's up in my Etsy shop - check it out!

Btw, if this tickles your fancy and you'd like to see more upcycling, well, here's the blog for you: New Dress A Day. Pret-ty amazing! :)

"City Lights" Glass Bottle Lamp (Part 1)

After my family celebrated Valentine's Day this year with a fancy dinner, there were two beautiful glass bottles left over. I couldn't stand to see them destroyed, so I rescued them, cleaned them out, and set them on my nightstand while I figured out what to do with them. While they brought me lots of happiness just be being there - "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" - I knew there had to be some way to turn them into something useful. But I was kind of stumped.

A few weeks later, my family was in a beautiful home while celebrating the baptism of our cousin, and I noticed a very similar bottle decoupaged with tropical fish and other marine cut-outs. Something triggered my brain, and I immediately thought of a city skyline illuminated by the lights of the city. I love modern art and cityscapes, and suddenly I knew exactly what to do with at least one of my bottles! :)

City Lights" Glass Bottle Lamp

Part 1

Supplies:
A glass bottle (such as the kind that wine, sparkling grape juice, or some vinegars come in)
A printer stocked with ink and paper
This image, resized so that when printed, the image reaches around the bottle
Scissors or an X-acto knife
Mod Podge
A paintbrush or foam sponge, depending on the texture you want to end up with

Thoroughly clean your bottle and remove any labels. The way I did this with my bottles was to rip off as much of the label as I could, then I put both bottles in a sink filled with hot water and a good bit of vinegar. After soaking for about fifteen minutes, the label wiped right off, leaving no sticky residue. :) Dry.

Print the cityscape image of your choosing. I used this one, but there are plenty out there in different styles to suit every taste - I was really tempted to use this one and glue sequines in the windows. :) You can google "new york city skyline clip art" to see hundreds of options. Or, if you're not into the whole city-scape look, you could always choose some other background (mountains, beach, etc).

Print the image of your choosing, making sure that once printed the edges of the image meet when wrapped around the bottle.

Using scissors or an X-acto knife, cut out the image.

Ready to Mod Podge? :) Ok!

Apply Mod-Podge liberally to the back of the image.

Line up the bottom of the image around the base of the bottle and apply like a sticker; make sure the bottom stays aligned, and smooth out the top til the image is fully applied.

Apply Mod-Podge liberally all over the bottle, from the top of the neck down to the base, over your image. Depending on whether you use a sponge or paintbrush, you will end up with either a slightly nubbly, etched-glass kind of look or artistic brushstrokes. Once the entire bottle is covered, let it dry completely, 15-20 minutes.

Once dry (and clear), apply another thick layer of Mod-Podge, set aside, and let dry. You can repeat this step as often as you want, until you get the opaque-icity (is that a word, lol?) and/or texture you want.

If you want your bottle to be more opaque but have less texture, try this: repeat the above step at least five times, and dry completely. Wet a piece of 400# sandpaper, and sand until smooth. Wipe dry, and polish with #0000 steel wool. Wipe with damp cloth.

I applied three thick coats with a sponge, without sanding, and that did it for me.

Okay, your bottle is done! Now we're all ready for Part 2 - turning it into a lamp!

(I will post Part 2 as soon as possible, I promise! I wanted to get the entire craft done this weekend, but the weekend ended up being much fuller than I had anticipated. Check back soon!)

Bringing Beauty

Since Maggie started making her own shampoo, we've been using an old Suave bottle to store it in. I've been itching to jazz it up for awhile, and this weekend I finally got to it.


Two strips of material, a little twine, and a lot of mod-podge later...

Isn't that much nicer? :)

Natural Homemade Shampoo and Conditioner

Last week, while I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom, I did something I thought I'd never do - I threw out almost all the store-bought shampoos I had collected. The only ones I kept are my L'Oreal sulfate free set 9which only has a bit left of both shampoo and conditioner, and I put these away in the cupboard, so in case Maggie is ever sick, out of town, or otherwise indisposed to make shampoo, or we run out of ingredients, etc, I can still have clean hair in a pinch) and my John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Luminous Color Glaze, which has about one application left, and I'm saving it to apply just before a friend's wedding to ensure I have tamed hair come what may. :) The rest of the shampoos - all my humectifying, clarifying, damage-controlling, for-fine-hair products - even my beloved John Frieda! - it all went.

I have become a homemade hair-product junkie!

Maggie has long been interesed in making her own cosmetics, so when her hands started healing and she reached the point a few months ago that she could begin cooking again in small amounts, she started checking out books from the library and testing recipes like crazy!

I have always had this opinion about homemade hair shampoo: I love the idea, I'm glad for you if it works well, I'm sure it's healthier, but I love clean hair, and I have funky hair that often responds terribly to a change in even brand/type of "real" shampoo, plus - I'm not willing to go through the "adjustment period" (up to six months, some folks claim!) that a lot of people say occurs when you make the switch.

But Maggie's hair was noticeably softer, shinier, had more body, and less frizz after only a few weeks on natural shampoos, and her hair was never greasy or glecky, so it wasn't long before I wanted in on the action, too!

Here are two great and easy recipes, plus some tips!

Maggie's Sunshine Shampoo

1/4 cup baby shampoo or castille soap

2 TBS lemon juice

1 TSP lemon zest

1/4 cup Aloe juice (did you know they sell this at the pharmacy of Wal-Mart now?)

1/2 TSP oil (almond, grapeseed, or coconut work well)

1/2 TSP honey

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT honey.

Heat until very warm but NOT boiling.

Cool until barely warm and add honey. Stir well. Finish cooling.

Strain (we used some cheesecloth over a beaker).

Pour into a bottle (we're upcycling an old Suave shampoo container- more on that later).

Shake well before using. This shampoo isn't as foamy or sudsy as traditional shampoos, and the ingredients will separate a bit, so shaking is really important; it helps create lather and reincorporates the mix.

Maggie's Super-Easy Best-Ever Hair Conditioner

You're never going to believe how easy and great this is...
Ten parts water
One part apple cider vinegar

Mix; after shampooing, squeeze excess water out of your hair and pour enough conditioner on it to soak your hair from roots to ends. Let it soak for a moment or two, then squeeze out excess conditioner and DO NOT RINSE.

This conditioner is amazing, even for my super-fine and tending-toward-greasy hair. I find that I need to let my hair dry just a bit before combing it out, but then it leaves my hair nearly completely tangle-free, super-shiny, and not greasy. :)

Some tips for making the switch:

If you're using a mix of natural and commercial hair products, the natural hair products may not work as well. As I understand it, this is because commercial shampoo and conditioner work by first stripping away your hair's natural oils, then replacing the lost oil (conditioner). Natural products work by restoring your scalp's natural Ph balance. If you're using commercial shampoo, natural conditioner might not be able to compensate for the stripped oils. Vice-versa, if you're using natural shampoo, which leaves more oil on your scalp, then use commercial conditioner, you're probably adding too much oil to your scalp.

Natural shampoos don't usually lather as well as commercial products (since they don't contain sulfates). While the recipe above works nicely, I have compensated with other formulas by mixing some shampoo with water and rinsing it through my hair.

Also - note on the above conditioner - some folks have said they could never use it because they didn't want to smell like vinegar. While it does have a slight vinegar-y smell when your hair is wet, once it dries it is completely odorless (unless you get caught in the rain, lol).

Five-Minute Keychain Upgrade

I've been on a quest lately to beautify the everyday objects in my life, inspired in no small part by this post on a blog I enjoy reading.

For some reason this post makes me sad, even re-reading it now. Everybody should have a little beauty in their life. Beauty isn't expensive, so it's not dependent on how much money you can spend or how much money you make.

I have often thought since reading that post that if I knew that blogger in real life, I would make her a "pretty" broom and send it to her. I'd take a regular broom, wrap the handle in pretty ribbon, and top it off with a scrappy fabric flower. Or an interesting button. Or I'd wrap the handle in twine and tie the top with a red bandana, if her decorating style were so inclined. It would hide the duct-tape and make the sweeper's job a little bit special.

And I would tell her to go ahead, pour the honey into the "special" jar and let your heart sing. :)

Since I don't know her in real life, I'm gonna keep working on my own everyday objects. Like my keychain.

I have had the same keychain for seven years. It's an orange carabiner. It's my favorite color - except that I keep forgetting that's why I chose it because most of the color has worn off now. And I have a TON of keys, knickknacks, memento keychains, etc, tacked on to it:

I don't know why, but lately I've just been feeling the urge to switch it up and pare it down, so last night when Maggie, Anna, and I were in JoAnn Fabrics, I bought 12" each of silver canvas strap and some very dignified ribbon.

They keyring was salvaged from my old keychain. :)

I serged the ends of the strap and the ribbon, but you can use a match to finish the ends. You have to do something, though, otherwise they fray dreadfully!

Using my sewing machine and some black thread, I sewed lengthwise as close to the edge as I could get.

Then, just to make it a little sturdier and make the ribbon lay a bit flatter, I sewed two lines up the center, too.

I folded the ribbon right-sides-together (in this case, the ribbon being the right side, but you could reverse it), slipped the keyring on it, and sewed the ends together.

Then I turned it out and wiggled the keyring as close to the seam as it would go.

I sewed across about 1/2" below the ring (which was as close as my machine could go without endangering the needle).

Voila! An elegant keychain!

I did pare down my keys to my housekeys, my truck keys, and the keys to Abby's house, the little keyring with all my "preferred shopper" cards, because they're such an easy way to save money, my garage-door opener gizmo, and my thrift store preferred shopper punchcard. Yes, folks, that's right - my thrift store has a preferred shopper program. Isn't that awesome? :)

This project literally took about five minutes from start to finish, and the result is so worth it. I also estimate that, not counting the thread (which we already had on hand), I paid less $1.32 for this little upgrade. I'm not sure how much less because the cashier swiped a 40% off coupon at the register for me. :)

Anyway, moving on...

Did anyone notice that I passed the 200 posts mark this week? Yay me! :) I have an amazing post I'm working on this weekend, all about homemade/natural shampoos and conditioner (which I've fallen in love with recently!).

"Ready For Spring" Flower Pot Stakes

I don't know about you, but for me it's hard to be psyched about this particular time of year. It's vacillating between warm and freezing, so on warm days, even though you may WANT to do spring-y things like starting flats of seedlings or pots of flowers, it'll be awhile before they poke their heads through the surface. In the meantime, flower pots filled with dirt are just depressing. :(

I went to JoAnn's recently and saw that they had pots and pots of "flower pot stakes" - little stakes with beautiful toppers. I told my sister, "Forget flowers... I'll just decorate with pots of flower stakes!" :) I went a little crazy and filled up my cart... however, by the time I reached the checkout line, I decided I could make my own! I returned the manufactured stakes to their pots, did a quick cruise around the store for some materials, and returned home to get started!

These are easy and fun and the possibilities for color combinations/toppers are endless. While the ones pictured below are in fun springtime colors, I can't wait to do some in black and silver for year-round use.

"Ready For Spring" Flower Pot Stakes

First, gather your supplies:

2 (or more) colors of paint in coordinating or contrasting colors (for this tutorial, I'm using two shades of purple, one in a flat finish and one in a metallic finish)

1 1/8" dowel, cut into 12" lengths

5 wooden beads with at least a 1/8" hole

2 12" lengths of coordinating or contrasting ribbon

1 "topper" - I used a 25-cent painted wooden piece from Michaels, but you could use a pretty button, larger bead, molded clay, whatever! :) I know some of you are way more creative than I am and don't need to resort to buying prepainted wooden pieces!

A paintbrush (not pictured)

A hot glue gun and glue (not pictured)

Okay - step one!

The first thing you need to do is get your beads painted. There are lots of ways to paint beads - on a string, on a drinking straw, etc, but this is what I did: I grabbed some bamboo shish-kebab skewes, bent them slightly like this -

And slipped a bead on it!

This holds it in place while you paint. When I was done with one bead, I set in in a drinking glass and moved on to the next.

If you make your "bends" at different heights, the painted beads won't bump into each other as they dry.

You're going to want to give all the beads 2 coats of paint.

Ooh, look, so pretty - and this isn't even our craft! :)

While your beads are drying, grab your dowel, ribbon, topper, and hot glue gun and get the glue heating.

Take your topper and apply a long line of glue from top to bottom.

Press the stake into the line of glue and hold it (by the other end, or your fingers will suffer!) in place until it cools.

Ta-Da! Look at your happy topped stake. :)

Lay it face-down and lay a tiny drop of hot glue about 1/4" below the bottom of your topper.

Find the center of your ribbon and attach it.

When cooled, flip it over and tie a pretty bow.

Okay, time to go back to those beads (which are dry by now, right?) Thread your beads onto the bottom of the dowel, alternating colors.

Push them uop snugly against the ribbon, place the dowel face-down, and lay a drop of hot glue directly below the last bead.

Find the center of the second ribbon, and attach it to the dowel.

Flip it over, and tie the bottom ribbon into a cute bow. You're done!

Isn't that adorable? You can change up the colors of the beads and ribbons, and the kind of topper, and create a whole potful!

This bee stake is my favorite... it's destined for my beekeeper-sister's flower pots!

Romantic red and gold stake (still working out my Valentine's Day inspiration, I guess, lol).

I hope you have fun making these while waiting for spring! :)