Tag: diy

Crazy for Christmas

Marie HaighLeave a comment

Last year, I bought my first Christmas gift in January. Not only have I done the same this year, but I have also started making stuff for Christmas.

Any guesses?

It’s an advent calendar that Elly can use. Made out of a metal Santa tray, bottle caps, magnets, stickers and a whole lot of E6000 glue, it’s virtually indestructible. Though I won’t hold my breath. Elly has been known to prove me wrong. In her defense though, we have ruined more toys than she has. Who knew that Barbie dolls broke if you stepped on them?

Our old felt Santa advent calendar had his candy cane removed, sucked on, and thrown on the ground. Any attempt to replace the candy cane with another object so that it could be moved from pocket to pocket was thwarted by Elly.

It is my hope that this year we can count down the days to Christmas together.

The Versatile Cardboard Box

Marie Haigh2 Comments

We order a lot online from Elly’s diapers to spices to coffee and tea. Thus, we have a never ending supply of boxes. Some are broken down right away and tossed into the recycling bin. Some are saved for future use, such as mailing presents to distant relatives.
But, this past year, I have started to find more uses for the boxes.

They were used to help kill the grass around my garden beds and make nice even pathways.

Once the top flaps are cut off, they have made excellent drawer organizers.

The best use by far as been in organizing my fabric.

Long have I wanted my fabric storage to resemble that of a sewing store with the fabric lined up next to each other and the colors and prints easy to see. This was as close as I’ve accomplished.

This was taken several months ago. Every open spot is taken now and it’s a bit of a mess. So, when I read a blog by The Cottage Home about how she accomplished her store-look-alike-fabric-storage, I was determined to try again. She recommended the sturdy plastic sheets from theFabricOrganizer.com. Only trouble is that they are expensive. The Cottage Home recommended comic board books as an alternative and that’s when I was reminded of my treasure trove of cardboard boxes.

It takes a little more cutting to whittle the box down to the right size, but I like the price: free. Free is good.

What do you use your empty boxes for?

Trashing the Old Curtains

Marie HaighLeave a comment

Goodbye formal pinch pleated curtains in a much too dark and too floral fabric.

Though the rods were trashed quite quickly because they were falling apart, the frugal side of me couldn’t bear to part with the Waverly fabric. It has been washed and added to my fabric stash.

Hello sheer curtains.

They are simple rod pocket curtains with a 1 inch header. This style can be purchased from Target for a few bucks. So, why did I purchase 15 yards of organza from Fabric.com? It wasn’t to save money. The price of my fabric was comparable to the ready-made drapes. No, I opted to sew curtains so I could get exactly what I wanted.

Case in point, I didn’t want curtains to open in the middle of these windows. Rather, I wanted the curtains to be one continuous panel that could easily be pulled to one side and out of the way of the AC or the incoming breeze.

It does feel a bit formal which concerns me because Dan and I are so not formal people. It takes a momentous effort every Sunday to get us out of our pajamas. You do that too, right?

The fact that I love everything else about the curtains keeps me from getting the feeling that I am living in a stuffy magazine. The shine of the fabric, the ability to see right through the fabric and the oodles of sunshine pouring through the fabric makes me smile and twirl in delight!

This isn’t the complete window treatment for the living room. Come winter we will need another layer of heavy home decorator fabric to block out the cold, but I have yet to fall in love with a fabric. I was trying out the square of yellow fabric that you can see taped to the mantle, but I don’t think it’s quite right.

Of course, I still have the large picture window in the living room to make sheer curtains for, but I couldn’t resist showing off what I’ve already accomplished. Plus, I have to boast that I hung the hardware for the curtains to the right of the mantle. It’s the first time I have done so. Dan has always done it. But after waiting 2 evenings for Dan to hang the hardware for the right curtain, I just couldn’t wait any longer. I wanted it up now. Tell me, my side looks better, right? grin.