Made it Myself: Tablet Cover

 

My tablet rarely leaves the house, but I wanted protection for the odd time it does.  I didn't want a sleeve or pouch.  And I wanted to be able to prop my device up.   I knew that much. But I didn't know just what I wanted.

 

Then I found a perfect solution!  It was in a tutorial I found here, at Chica and Jo, while doing a Google search for  DIY tablet cover.  The instruction are super easy to follow.  I had to adjust the measurements a bit to suit my tablet.   The instructions call for chipboard, but I don't even know what that is. They suggested the inside of an old binder, but ours were all made out of corrugated cardboard.  That is no good!  I ended up using a piece of picture matting that I managed to acquire for fifty cents.  I used hair bands for the elastic.  I cut up a wide one for the corner pieces and used a thin one to hold everything shut.  I got both of those in a bunch for  a dollar, and I still have four or five thin ones left.  Everything else I already had on hand!  So not only was this easy to make, it only cost me $1.50 + tax!  it doesn't get much better than that!

 

 

I will let the pictures show you the awesomeness of this cover:

Here we are all closed up.  This is the front.

Still all closed up. This is the back.  Yes, I ironed first, but then I let it sit for a week....  don't do that.  Trust me.

Here it is all opened up.

And opened up with everything neatly tucked up in the elastic.

As you saw in the first photo, you can also prop your tablet up to watch videos.  I don't know what took me so long to make this!  I am glad that I made it though.

Thanks for looking!
:) Pin It

Salvaging a shrunken sweater

 

My mom accidentally shrunk her wool sweater.  Not a whole lot, but enough that it didn't fit her anymore, so she brought it to my daughters to see if one of them would like it.  It isn't their style and they both find wool to be too itchy.  Mom suggested that if the girls didn't want it, to pass it along to someone who would, or donate it to a thrift store.  I decided that instead of donating it to a store, I would make it into something that Mom could use.  After all, she bought the sweater in the first place because she liked it, so I thought that she should keep it and continue to enjoy it.

 

But, what could I do?  I turned to the internet and found a tutorial here to change a sweater into a bag.

 

Perfect!

 

So here is what I started with.  Well, not quite.  This was taken after I washed it a couple more times to felt it.  It REALLY shrunk then! 

 

 

I meticulously followed the directions I found.  The only thing I did differently was the pocket.  I didn't think that a small outside pocket would get used, so I decided to make it a decorative heart.

And here is what I ended up with!

I like bags with flat bottoms.

See?  It is a pretty little pocket.  More for decoration than anything.  I thought about sewing it all the way around, but went with a pocket just in case she does have a use for it.

Wool sweaters sure do shed a lot!

Then I took some of the scraps and made my cat a new catnip mouse.

Thanks for looking!
:) Pin It

Solid Sugar Scrub

In a convienient single use size!  And only three ingredients.

I used the directions I found here, at Homework.  Carolyn used canola oil, I used coconut oil instead, along with sugar and grated soap.

 

 

 I just made a small test batch.  The amounts listed in the instructions made six in my little mold.

 

 

 How cute are these???

 

They hardened up over night and I stored then in an old plastic container.  I don't like glass in the bathroom.  That is a disaster waiting to happen in my hands.

 

The only thing I would change about these is the soap I used.  I found the Pears to smell kind of medicinal and I don't like that.  Other than that I just love these.  I don't even require a moisturizer after my shower because of the coconut oil already in there.  My daughter loves them too, so I need to make a big batch next time! 

 

Thanks for looking!

:) 

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Solid Lotion Bars

Who knew lotion could be a solid?
I saw the instructions here at Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity.  I didn't have almond oil, which is what she used, so I substituted grapeseed oil.  I also have no idea where to find beeswax but I mentioned it to my dad and he just happened to have some lying around so he gave it to me. 
Thanks Dad!
I had no idea that beeswax smells so good.


My first step was to gather my ingredients.
It calls for equal parts (by weight) of everything so I took some of my beeswax and weighed that first.  Then weighed out my other ingredients to match what the beeswax weighed.

 

 

I put my iPod on so I would have some fun music to listen to... 

I still LOVE this song!!!

 

 

 

Then I melted the beeswax in a makeshift double boiler over medium heat, then added my coconut oil, and my grapeseed oil.  When they were all mixed, I dried the bottom of the bowl and carefully poured the mixture into silicone baking cups that I had on hand.

55 grams of each ingredient made 6 nice sized bars.

I'm not a fan of the 'sharp' corners, but they wear down really fast.

These bars feel very nice.  Not greasy or sticky at all.  And my hands smell faintly of honey!  Mmmmmmm....
Thank you Sarah, for teaching me how to make these!

Thanks for reading!
:) Pin It

How I Cleaned My Silver Jewelry

This isn't a craft, but I think it is pretty crafty. See what I did there?  And totally worth sharing.
I know this is nothing new, but it is new to me. 
My silver chain and adorable Lily of the Valley earrings looked like this.

Before

I know, horrible, right?

After looking online for instructions and reading many similar sets of instructions (No two alike, either.  That is why I am not linking to any one in particular)  I took a deep breath and jumped in.  Trying it my way.

I started with a glass dish. I placed it in the sink just in case I spilled the water. 

I lined it with tinfoil.

Then I poured about an inch of boiling water in.  Without spilling anything!  You only need enough to cover the objects you are cleaning.

Then I sprinkled a bunch of baking soda in the dish.

I clean my sink with baking soda, so yes, that actually is  my container.  It lives under the sink.  There is another one by the bathroom too. I have a different container in the cupboard for my baking needs.


Then I added some salt.  Roughly the same amount as the baking soda.  But, having said that, I didn't measure any of it, I just eyeballed everything.

Then I placed my icky silver on the foil and set a timer for five minutes.  I forget where I read that, but I read somewhere that you should leave the silver in for "up to" five minutes.

Would you look at that!!!!  It looks so much better!  But still not great.  I got a fresh piece of foil and repeated the process on my chain.  The earrings came clean the first try.

After I took them out of the solution, I rinsed them off and buffed them up with a soft cloth.
Lily of the Valley is my favourite flower.  When I saw these earrings at a craft shop I had  to have them, luckily for me, Hubby agreed!  I am so happy that they came clean.

Awe. Some.

And my chain after the second go looks fantastic as well.  I made the "A" for Angela (me!!), but it could stand for Awesome, or Amazing after the way that the silver cleaned up.

After

As for the foil.  There was a bit of a funky smell when I dumped the water out.  And just look at the ring of yuck  that was left behind!!  This was after the chain was done a second time.  

There you have it.  If you have ever wondered if you really can  clean silver this way, now you know!

Thanks for looking!

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Graduation earrings and "un-paper towels"

I haven't been working on my Monster Book of Monsters.  I just haven't felt like it.  But that does not mean I haven't been doing anything at all.

My daughter asked me if I could make her some earrings to go with her necklace for graduation.  This is what I came up with.  I used up almost all of the green/blue beads leftover from the necklace.  I used seven in each earring.  (For anyone who is a Harry Potter fan, the number seven was totally intentional because 7 is the most powerful magical number.  My daughter is a huge  Harry Potter fan.)  I also included one pink bead since there is pink in her necklace and to break up all that green/blue.   She loves them.  I will get to see everything all put together tomorrow night when she graduates.

I have also made myself some "unpaper towels" after being inspired by Jill from One Good Thing by Jillee .  Mine aren't as pretty as hers are, but I have no intention of leaving them on the counter and I think white would be horribly stained in no time.  I found some absolutely beautiful  all cotton dishcloths at the grocery store.  I'm pretty sure I paid $3 for the pack of 10.  So they will have paid for themselves in about three rolls of the paper towel I buy.  I am still using paper towels for gross messes (like animal messes and raw meat juice messes) but my plan is to use these for pretty much everything else. 

So far I have used one. 

My youngest knows all about my plan and we are going to do this ourselves and gently recruit my oldest daughter and husband.

So, I started out with 10 ugly, square dishcloths (hey, they were cheap and stains won't be as noticable!).

I cut them in half and sewed up the edge I just cut.  Jill had problems with hers fraying because she left her edges raw, so I learned from her and took the time to sew mine up.  After they were all sewn, I tossed them in the laundry.  Wow!  Did they ever shrink!  They are still a great size though.

Then, I folded all twenty of them in half and put them under the kitchen sink.   Maybe we won't go through as many paper towels now. 

Thanks for the idea Jill! Pin It