Save Water with Upcycled Milk Jug Watering Cans

If you're like me, you follow the mantra, "Waste not, want not." I absolutely hate watching all the cold water go down the drain as I'm waiting for the shower water to warm up. The other day it occurred to me that instead of taking all those milk jugs we go through to the recycling center, we could fill them with the cold shower water, save them for spring, and then water our trees and plants with them! (We killed two new maple trees this past year because we didn't water them enough. Next year, we'll do better, I promise!)

My husband was like, "And what are we going to do with 100 milk jugs while we're waiting for spring?" Good point. We have a little overhang where the house meets the patio, and we're storing them under there for now. I think we'll run out of room though, and then I guess we'll just have to keep them on the patio. We haven't filled them to brim so here's to hoping that they won't explode after freezing and thawing!

Update: It's now midwinter, and we have probably fifty gallons of water sitting all over our patio. I bet the neighbors love that. I'll probably get a letter from the HOA telling me that having milk jugs sitting all over my yard is a violation :)

I just ran across this idea today, which goes right along with my milk jug watering can idea :) She takes a lighter, heats up a needle, and pricks holes in the lid of the milk jug. Excellent. I am so doing that this spring!

Nightstand turned Kiddy Play Sink

At a garage sale years ago, I bought two nightstands for $5. Each nightstand had 4 drawers, but between the two of them, there was only six good drawers. I put four operational drawers in the one nightstand, modpodged it with sheet music, and took it to work for my office (I'm a music teacher).

And then junior high kid wrote the F-word on it. *Sigh*

The other nightstand just sat around in my basement for awhile until I got the ingenious idea to turn it into a play sink for my son.

At a garage sale, I scored a metal bread pan and a chrome soap dispenser. The bread pan is the sink. I envisioned the soap dispenser becoming a fully functional spigot. The water goes in the bottom part that would normally hold soap. There used to be a chrome outer sleeve to cover up the ugly white part, but I tossed that since I didn't need it. After I got rid of it, I had the idea that I could have used it as a pencil holder or something. Oh well!

I got out my trusty little jig saw and cut out the openings for the bread pan and the soap dispenser. And then it sat. For two years.

At the moment, we're getting our basement refinished (yay!), and when we were cleaning out the basement, I found the half-finished kiddy sink from way back when.

My. Son. Loved. It. It's a car wash! It's a rock wash! And so much more!

He had so much fun playing with it that now I have to finish it. I decided to just make shelves instead of trying to fix the two broken drawers, so I used luan plywood that I had lying around in the garage (free from a construction site a few years ago-- just make sure to ask first!) Don't look too close at the luan shelves- I'm not the best jig-sawer.

I envisioned a sink apron to cover up the ugly make-shift shelving. I used a cup hook on each side connected with a dowel rod (all of which I already had on hand) to create a curtain rod, and a piece of $1 kitchen-y printed fabric (that I thrifted eons ago) to make the sink apron.

Nightstand + Bread Pan + Soap Dispenser + Luan + Cup Hooks + Dowel Rod + Fabric + Paint = One Happy Boy :)

Bridesmaid Dress Tree Skirt

When my first son was 3 months old, one of my close friends got married. I was still carrying around a little extra baby weight. (Okay, it was probably more like an extra 50 lbs).

What a perfect time for me to have to buy a bridesmaid dress right? The bigger the dress, the more fabric to work with when I cut it up after the wedding :) There's a silver lining to everything!

I knew I would never wear the dress again, mainly because I was never planning on needing a size 16 again. (Wrong! I had my second child a month ago, and I am in a size 18. Mostly I'm still sticking with maternity clothes!)

Since the dresses were a beautiful shade of red, I figured I could make something Christmassy with it. And since my tree skirt was one of those small, el cheapo dollar store felt things, making a new tree skirt seemed like the obvious choice. I got the idea from Chica and Jo.

Basically, my friend and I cut out triangles, and then sewed them together into a circle. When we were done, it was not as big as I had pictured it, so we made it larger by adding a large ruffle to the circumference of the circle. We also cut out a small circle in the center so that it would fit around the tree trunk.


Voila! Happy Holidays!

Dress and T-shirt Hacked into a Maternity Skirt

{24 weeks and still going strong, baby!}

I'm on a red and teal kick right now. Maybe it's the fourth of July coming up. Maybe it's my son's bedroom redo. But when I saw this forgotten cut-up dress in my stash (that I thrifted eons ago for its fabric), I knew right away it would make a nice Independence Day maternity skirt.

I currently have a large pile of t-shirt scraps scattered about lying on my dining room floor, leftover from making baby gowns and t-shirt/shorts sets for my boys. I picked up all the reds that still had the bottom hem, pieced them together, and voila! A belly band!

This is the inside of the belly band. Not the prettiest. You would probably want to use thread that matches your fabric. Personally, I'm lucky if the thread in my bobbin matches the thread up top.


See the top portion of the belly band? That was originally the bottom hem on the t-shirt. That's why it looks so straight and pretty and professional. I'm all about reusing existing t-shirt hems to cut down on the amount of work I have to do. The bottom portion? Yeah, I did that part. That's why it's jagged and ugly. I really can cut straighter than a first grader. I'm going to blame it on the scissors. I think they need sharpened or something.


I cut the skirt portion off of the dress, machine basted around the top, and gathered it to match the length of the belly band. Pin right sides together, sew, and you're done! Talk about a quick project!




If you need more detailed instructions, you can find lots of tutes online on how to turn existing clothes into maternity clothes. Probably the most recent one is by Trudy. She goes into way more detail and gives you lots and lots of photos along the way. Instead of using t-shirt scraps, she cuts a tube of fabric from a cami. Either way, easy peasy!

A Handcrafted Father's Day Family Tree Mural

Check. this. out. Is this not the coolest wall art that you've ever seen? It's a Bed, Bath, and Beyond hack. As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself, "I can make that too!" What a great father's day present!

Jig saw and sander? Check.
Lots of random frames? Check.
Scrap wood? Check. (I used luan plywood ... it's a really thin plywood used in flooring. We had some leftover from our laundry room remodel)
Black spray paint? Check! (I ran out of spray paint mid-project, another can set me back one dollar)

The only other things I had to purchase were double sided tape (the thick, heavy duty kind, sold near the Command Strips but way cheaper) so that I could attach the leaves and trunk to the wall, and the letters to spell the word "family." I found a nice silver font at Michaels, and with my 40% off coupon, it came to just over three bucks :)

I'm not sure I like how the upper right hand corner turned out. I might add another frame. We'll see. The more I look at it, the more I'm okay with it the way it is.

Unfortunately, we ran out of ink, and so my final photos didn't get printed out yet. I wanted to get this blog post up for Father's Day, so oh well!

Update: I opted to add the seventh frame after all.

Upcycled Baby Gowns

Baby sewing! That's all I've done since about 9 or 10 last night. (I do believe I'm in the nesting phase right now). Following thismamamakestuff's extremely awesome tutorial, I was able to create three baby gowns for baby Jonas for free, just using old t-shirts from around the house. Even the elastic used at the bottom of each of the gowns was thrifted :)

This first one was actually a 50c thrifted tee that I bought awhile ago. I had intended to make Joel a long sleeve shirt to wear in December, but since I never got around to it, I figured I'd turn it into a baby gown.

For two out of the three gowns, I was able to utilize the bottom hem of the shirt for the cuffs of the sleeves. For the Chris Kringle: Designer Chimneywear shirt, however, I had to hem the sleeves. I made it easier on myself by hemming the sleeve before I sewed under the arm. (Once the sleeve is sewn, the cuff is so small that it's difficult to sew. Just a little pointer from me to you!)

The second one was a shirt that's been in my closet since 1996 when my family took a trip out west. It's seen better days, but it did make a pretty cute baby gown.
I got this last t-shirt in junior high. It's by far the rattiest most well loved of the three. And guess what? Ratty t-shirts make ratty baby gowns. Who would have guessed it?!

In about four months, I'll have an actual baby that I can model these gowns on, but in the meantime, these photos will have to do :)

Boys and Dryer Sheets! A Beautiful Combination

I must have jinxed myself. I was joking around yesterday about rushing out to get my serger off of craigslist rather than going to work, and then this morning I woke up with a K.I.L.L.E.R. sore throat. Since my job as a teacher entails me talking non-stop for about seven hours, I decided to not go in today. Hmpf. Maybe hubby will make the 45 minute drive to get my serger. I always feel bad about going places when I take a sick day because "if you're too sick to go to school, then you're too sick to go outside and play!" (Thanks, mom).

But in other news, how about boy's month, eh?! I'm so excited I can't quit talking about it to anyone who will listen! (Except right now I am saving my voice so I can't really talk but you know what I mean). Since I'm just laying around, sick in bed, eating bon-bons a salad, I figured I'd catch up on reading some blogs. And then I found this. It was love at first sight. It's a tute for making a boy's shirt out of a men's button up shirt!

Too bad it calls for interfacing for the collar, however I won't be buying that. I'm too much of a tight wad. I think I'll try it using used dryer sheets instead. That should work, don't you think? Has anyone ever tried it?

I was googling it when I found this handy dandy way to make applique. I have to try it asap! Basically, you sew whatever you're appliquing right sides together with a dryer sheet. Not that a dryer sheet has a right side. Then you trim the dryer sheet and make a slit in it, turn right side out, press, and voila!

Now excuse me while I go dig through my laundry room trash looking for old dryer sheets make myself another salad.

P.S. Dryer sheets as swiffer replacements?! Rock on!

More Toy Storage

We have too many toys. It's a sickness really. I'm pretty sure that they're breeding when we're not looking. And you know what's really scary: he turns one in a few weeks, and you know what that means. More toys!



Please don't tell my mom that you saw my house look like this. I think she might throw up a little.

I've been trying to come up with solutions for all my son's stuff. You already saw the barn toy box WIP last week. Did I finish it? Um, no. Not yet. But I am making some headway. Too bad it's coming out kind of pink though!



I bought some 75% off red plastic storage containers at Target during their after Christmas clearance sales. They were only $2.50 each! Woot, woot!



I also dismantled a large wooden three-panel screen that I used to have blocking the sump pump from view. I figured that was probably a death trap now that our son is mobile, so I took it down. Now two out of the three panels are hung on the wall for more toy storage.



This last one's not toy storage, but since I like it, I'm including it anyway. I'd had these old Coke bottle boxes sitting around the house for eons. When Joel was born, we had to attempt to clear out part of the closet in his room so that he could have a little space. We weren't very successful in removing all our junk from his closet, however we did remove the computer related stuff and moved it to the basement. (The computer itself moved to the basement when creating the nursery, so it made sense that the paper, ink, etc. would also come down to the basement).



I can't remember for sure, but I think the Coke boxes were flea market finds. The hardware to attach them to the wall was around twenty bucks at Lowes. Do you have any other creative solution ideas for me?

And don't forget, those messy living room shots are our dirty little secret! Mum's the word!

Upcycling Baby Food Jars into Christmas Decor

*Hums Klondike Bar commercial jingle*
What can I do-oo-oo, with a baby food jar?

Over at Prudent Baby, Jaime came up with and posted several ingenious projects to use up those Glass Jars. My personal fav is to turn it into a pin cushion. Ca-UTE! (Ok, my real personal fav is the jello shot idea! Can you believe I'm almost 31, and I've never tried a jello shot? That should be my new year's resolution this year. Forget about losing weight, actually menu planning for more than two weeks, and blogging regularly... let's make my resolution one that I can actually keep!)

At first I was thinking that the baby food jars could be turned into a cute little tea set. I quickly scratched that idea when I realized that I wouldn't even trust some of my junior high students with glass, let alone toddlers.

My brain raced to think of something else. What about those clear glass ornaments that I've seen all over bloggyland, where the crafty mama swirls paint on the inside and makes a cool ornament for the tree? This would be cute made with baby food jars instead of round ornaments. I could put a little piece of fabric on the top and secure with a piece of wire wrapped around the edge. The wire could double as a hanger. Nice idea, but I'm too lazy to do it.

And then I remembered this. Yes, my friends, this is the most bomb-diggetiest idea. Place a photo in the glass jar! You can do what designsponge does and sit a grouping of glass jars of various sizes on your mantel, or you could make them into ornaments by adding fabric and wire.

You could cut out pictures from Christmas cards (like I did here) and put them inside the jars for a nice holiday display, or you could make a whole nativity scene with the jars! You could line up a bunch of baby food jars and put a letter in each one to spell out the word "Believe." The possibilities are endless! (Sorry my photo is so generic. I didn't have many glass jars lying around because we emptied the recycling bin the other day).

Mommy, Promise me...

... that you will never show my future girlfriends the photos of me in those silly orange pants you made. What?! You posted them on the internet?!


Ah, the things we do to torture our children.


These warm pajama-like pants came from sleeves of a sweater of mine that I outgrew long, long ago. I couldn't even fit into that sweater before I got pregnant, so I'm pretty sure I'll never fit into that sweater again!

Thrifted Ornament Wreath

Here's something I made several years ago. I used all thrifted materials. Wreath forms which I wrapped in a green and white gingham garage sale ribbon served as the base to which I hot-glued thrifted ornaments. Did I ever mention that my hot glue gun is my BFF? Well, my trusty BFF probably wasn't the best choice for this project. At first, the glue held well but every year when I retrieve these wreaths from storage, ornaments are falling off. Perhaps a different adhesive would work better!

Felted Wool Baby Mittens

It's gotten C.O.L.D. these past few days! So cold, in fact, that I am having second thoughts about going to tomorrow's half-off sale at the Volunteers of America. (You know it's cold if I'm thinking of passing on a 50% off thrifting trip!) With these frigid temperatures, I figured I better get my act in gear and sew Joel a pair of mittens.

This project is easy peasy. First, I chose a felted sweater that still had sleeves. I cut several inches off from the base of each sleeve. I figured I'd utilize the finished wrist section to make less work for myself.



Then I sewed a generic "U" shape onto each cuff and trimmed away the excess. You're done! It's a five minute project- woohoo!





Here's the little squirt passed out on daddy's lap while he played video games.

Your initial on a Wreath!

I saw this wreath by Living with Lindsay and I just had to make one. I had a large cardboard "R" that we used as a decoration at our wedding, and I had some evergreen garland that I used to hang outside.



Put the two together, and voila!


I think it looks a little small for the front door so I might have to hang it somewhere else.

Dress Reconstructed

What do you get when you cross a dress with a bulletin board? Give up?
Why, window treatments, of course! And it couldn't be simpler!

I cut the bottom 14 inches off for one panel, and next 14 inches off for the other panel (see the red lines). That was all I needed for the curtains. The top portion of the dress did not get touched, so I now have a wonderful tank top! (Which I'm probably too fat for, but that's neither here nor there).

Several years ago I purchased solid fabrics for three bulletin boards in my classroom. Paper fades, however fabric on bulletin boards work wonders! I will no longer be teaching in that building, and so I brought all that fabric home with me. I married the brown bulletin board fabric with my pretty-but-can't-squeeze-my-ginormous-hips-into-it-anymore dress, and here's what you get: *drumroll*



Please pay no mind to the painters tape and hodge podge shelf. This room is in a transitional state right now. I also am thinking about upgrading the curtain rod to one with finials, however I am not sure how that would look since the right side of the curtain rod really wouldn't have room for a finial. Plus I'm trying not to buy anything for the room and instead remix what I already have, so maybe I'll just stick with the plain white one. A coat of brown spray paint might spruce it up though.

A breakdown of the materials:
Brown and Blue Paint- from the basement. Free!
Paintbrushes/roller/paint tray- already had them from a previous project. Free!
Painters Tape- $6 something at Lowes
Window treatments- from my closet and fabric stash. Free!
Clips to hang the window treatments- previously used for the shower curtain. Free!

Sewing Chick: 4, Opponent: 1. Woohoo!

This is how I know Hubby Loves Me

These little black plastic thingies originally held my husband's ammo (he's a gun enthusiast). He gave them to me the other day and said that he didn't want to throw them away because he thought I might be able to do something with them. He knows me so well. Most women swoon over a man who brings them flowers; I swoon for recycled craftables. Love ya babe!

So what should I make with these? They remind me of those things you'd see in a forensic lab where they put the little vials for DNA testing. Yes, I've been watching too much "Crime 360" and "The First 48."

Recycled Patio and Garage Sale Finds

Check this out, my peeps! This is the ultimate in reusing and repurposing. Katie has created a patio out of stones from an old barn foundation. She had to carry them barefoot, uphill both ways, and through the snow! Great job Katie ;)

She also make a planter out of an old treestump (how creative!) and furnished her beautiful patio with lots of garage sale finds.

Speaking of garage sales... boy did I ever hit the mother lode. I went out garage saling on Friday morning. I had mapped out all the garage sales I wanted to hit and when you add in the others I just happened upon, I hit about twelve to fifteen. Most of my luck was at the first few though. Then on Saturday, we went to my mother-in-law's fiftieth birthday party, but stopped at a couple garage sales near their house.

When we were a few blocks from the party, that's when I saw it. It was surrounded by a golden glow and angels were sounding their trumpets, beckoning me to come in closer for a look. It was a church flea market. I dropped off hubby and baby and headed straight back to the flea market. (And then I saw another garage sale so I had to stop there afterwards). Pfew. I made quite the haul this weekend.

At the flea market, they had clothes for ten cents apiece. Yes, for a mere fifty cents, I got five things for Joel. None of them will fit him now, however, how could I pass up ten-cent clothes? And they weren't nasty either; they were completely hole and stain free!

Other things I got include

• a kiddie construction hat for a dime
  
• four children's books for a dollar
  
• a baby carrier, new in the box for five dollars (the Sears $35 price tag still attached)
  
• two wool sweaters for felting for 50c each
  
• some red and black fabric like T-3 has been coveting lately (yes, girl, I found some too!)
  
• a chrome over-the-door rack in it's original box for five dollars (I actually just bought one of these online for Joel's room, and was excited to see this one for our bedroom door)
  
• a small enamelware pan just like I got last week, but this one only cost 50c. I am so addicted to enamelware. I wonder if Enamelware Anonymous exists for people like me who hoard the stuff.
  
• one of those red and blue toys with the yellow shapes that push down through the matching hole. I had one when I was little, so I had to get it for Joel. Who can pass up such an educational toy for 50c?
  
• a short sleeved polo for 25c
  
• a baby girl's binky set and receiving blanket, still brand new and unopened for 50c each
  
• several toys, all still brand new in the package which I'm hoarding for gifts over the next few years, including a jumprope, sidewalk chalk, action figures, rattle/teether set, wateringcan and sand scoop, and bathtub boats, for a total of $3.60. I hope Joel never stumbles upon my stash of gifts in the laundry room. Meh. He probably won't. Why would he ever go in the laundry room? That's a room kids avoid like the plague... the perfect place to store gifts!
  
• unopened birthday napkins, 25c
  
• an OSU longsleeved onesie, 12 months, for a dollar

One dollar. Geesh. I'm feeling guilty about that. I had previously set my limit at fifty cents for any article of clothing for Joel (except coats). I'm thinking of lowering my limit to a quarter. If I do that, though, thrift store shopping is pretty much out of the question. It's hard enough to find stuff at thrift stores for fifty cents. It's nearly impossible to find stuff for a quarter, at least around here. Prices at thrift stores are getting outrageous. Even at some garage sales, prices are getting outrageous.

For example, yesterday someone wanted twenty dollars for a beat-up plastic riding firetruck. If it was metal and an antique, twenty dollars, sure. But plastic? Um, no thanks. Five dollars, maybe. Three dollars, sure. But twenty? She must have been on crack.

What is your limit? Where do you draw the line? Talk to me, people!

Egg Carton Scriptures

I opened my carton of Aldi eggs and found this:

Do you find this odd, or is it just me? I've been getting Aldi eggs for awhile now (68c per dozen, woot, woot!) but never noticed that they put a bible verse on the carton. I had another carton sitting around (craft project... more on that in a little bit), so I checked it, and sure enough, the same passage was on that one too, however it was smaller and located in a different spot. I feel like I'd opened a fortune cookie or something. How did my egg carton know that I had a crappy day at work? That I had my last day at work. That I cried and cried as I hugged everyone good-bye?

My egg carton reminded me to rejoice and to be glad. I know that when God closes a door, he opens a window. I just needed my egg carton to remind me, that's all. Thank you, egg carton, for putting things into perspective.

So how exactly does one properly thank an egg carton? By stuffing it full of dryer lint and hot wax and setting it on fire, of course!

Yes, that's right folks. After I came home from sob-fest, I got busy making some firestarters. No work = no income = how are we going to pay the expensive gas bills this winter? Really we won't be scraping it that close since hubby is still working, however I figured we could utilize the fireplace a little more this coming winter. We didn't use it a single time last winter.

Yes, I realize it's technically not even summer yet, however don't you remember the story about the bugs? You know the one. Bug #1 works all summer long gathering food and storing it away while Bug #2 screws around the whole time and then finds himself up a creek without a paddle when winter comes. You better believe that I am Bug #1, baby.

Here's some photos of my not-very-glamorous-yet-oh-so-practical frugal friday project.

Everything you need for this project. Paper towel tubes, TP tubes, and/or paper egg cartons, candle wax, and dryer lint.

"I'm Melting! I'm M. E. L. T. I. N. G. !"

How pretty do these toilet paper tubes look, all cozy in a basket?

The finished product. Three dozen firestarters. That's enough to last me over one month!

Repurposing Stuff from School

My personal items from my classroom are now completely boxed up and sitting here at home. I had accumulated a lot of stuff in the eight years I taught there. I brought home over ten boxes of stuff. I realized there are several things I can reuse or repurpose, such as

• index cards: use for my brother's birthday next month. I bought him different brands of bbq sauce (when it was on clearance), and to each bottle I am going to attach a recipe which uses bbq sauce. I think this will be a nice frugal gift because my brother and his girlfriend will be moving in together soon. Hopefully she'll cook and be able to use the bbq sauce.
  
• four different fabrics (three of them very large pieces that covered eight feet tall bulletin boards, and one was window treatments). Perhaps I'll make this tension rod puppet theatre
  
• dowel rod previously used to hang the window treatments- surely can be used for something
  
• small stickers- can be used on a chart to reward Joel for doing chores, etc. when he gets older. Originally I used these small stickers to mark flute keys so the students could remember where their fingers are supposed to go. I thrifted these years ago; I think these originally were a dime per package of 440 stickers. I bought twenty packs. You do the math. I have enough stickers to reward an entire daycare center.
  
• a small garage-sale four-drawer cabinet that I previously decoupaged with pieces of sheet music. I can sand the cabinet down to eliminate the sheet music, and then it will match the other cabinet that I kept at home and painted white. I can repaint the two matching cabinets and have my dad turn one into a kid stove and the other into a kid sink.
  
• wallpaper that I used to line a bulletin board- can be used for some craft project down the road
  
• Happy Birthday wrapping paper, laminated, used to line a birthday bulletin board. Since it's laminated, it can be taped together with clear tape and placed on the floor under Joel to keep the floor safe from pieces of falling smashed birthday cake. After his first birthday, it can be cut to fit the table and turned into a festive birthday tablecloth.
  
• Lots and lots of children's books that will now be Joel's.
  
• Wallpaper samples for crafting: first craft I'd like to do is cover large formula cans and turn them into pretty storage
  
• Various holiday wall-hangings. When I was little, I loved hanging up Halloween and Easter decorations in the windows and doors of our house. I have lots of stuff that I used in my classroom on bulletin boards that we can now use at home instead.
  
• an el cheapo $3 garage sale office chair. I found a tute that shows us how to recover a boring black office chair to add some pizzaz. Joel can use this chair when he's older.
  
• A thrifted Little Tikes basketball hoop used to play "band basketball" with my students. Now it will bring endless hours of entertainment to my own offspring.
  
• Broken up Crayons. I've been dying to make this project for the past week or two. There's now lots of people out there who have made these darling Crayon initial shadowboxes. I even thrifted a shadow box on Wed. for 90c just so I could make this project. It just needs a coat of paint and a back for the frame.
  
• Probably lots more that I can't think of right now!
  

The gray and blue fabrics would make nice skirts. The brown fabric has already been cut up and is being used in the growth chart.