This Is a Cleat Towel Treat, Easy Towel Holder and Inexpensive, Too!

 Are you familiar with cleats?  I've seen them, but didn't know their name until I started looking for them online.  

If you sail, you may have seen these simple looking items holding ropes.  They look a bit like skateboards or skiis with a stand.

This is the simple design I made to make towel holders.  

Here is what you need to buy to make this version or a similar style to suit your style:

•   Cleats  They come with the mounting screws. 

I bought mine from Walmart.  They are rubberized. I liked the rubber/plastic version instead of the metal versions which need serious scrubbing to remove the protective oils they are shipped and sold with to the stores.  The oil has a strong odor, too, which is a particular turn off for me.  Also, I thought the rubber type would hold up better (not rust).

• Photo frames.  Mine were from Dollar Tree.  I removed the glass and saved that for another use.  These frames are 5x7.

• Placemats.  I found these at Walmart to match the silver/chrome finish of the frames and the bathroom fixtures.  As a bonus surprise, the placemats are that pretty opalescent  finish (like a mermaid's tail.)

• Power or Hand Tools to attach the frames to the wall.  

• Ruler or Tape Measure.  Pen or Pencil.  Craft Knife or Sharp Razor Type Knife.

How I made the towel holders:

• Remove  the cardboard backing  and the "mat" from the frames. 

• Safely remove the glass from the frames and set aside. Use the glass in a different project.

•  Place the cardboard backing over the placemat and cut to fit the frame.

• Put the cardboard over the placemat and make "starter holes" through both for the mounting screws to drill through into the wall. It's probably easier to make the holes with a manual tool such as an awl or knife.

• Make sure you place the cleats in the direction you want to hang your towel- vertically or horizontally.  Also, center the cleat on the frame if that is the look you want to see.

• Reassemble the parts:  Mat, Placemat, Cardboard Backing into the frame. 
• Mark on the wall where you want to hang your Towel Holder. 
• Drill carefully and that's it.  

After using these towel holders with the original paper mat (as in the photo) for a few years, I am surprised that the water has not damaged the paper mat as that it can be noticed.   

For a change, I have added a new edging "mat" which is a woodgrain look fabric placemat, a bit more protective than the paper mat.  Also, the new placemat looks better with the vanity and contrasts nicely with the opalescent placemat.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

So Easy Just Get Weaving Your Own Table Cover

With so much "decluttering" happening these tables have served their purpose well.  With time on my hands, I decided to ditch tablecloths and make something new. 

 

Originally, the idea was to make this into a wall clock.  But, with some vinyl unused in a box, I thought I would see if I could weave a covering, and so that's what I did.

It's easy.  Gather a marker, ruler or tape measure, scissors or rotary cutter (and something to protect the cutting surface ie countertop) heavy duty stapler, masking tape, and clear off an area to work on.

Measure the length needed for each strip giving yourself extra length for stapling the strip to the underside of the table.   If you are covering a round table, square table, rectangular table, etc.  the length of the strips will vary according to which design shape you are covering.

My strips were 3/4 inch wide.  Calculate how many strips you need for the weave by deciding which color(s) you will be weaving in the under - over pattern.   How many long, how many wide?

I placed my strips on the countertop and taped at one end.   If your strips have a good side, be sure and place the good side facing away from you. 

Weaving the pieces together on a flat surface, then placing the tabletop on the woven strips gave me more control over the tightness of the weave and less chance of the pattern coming apart. It seemed logical at the time!
 

Once the strips are all woven, I put the tabletop on them, carefully lifted the tape from one end and started stapling the strips to the table.  I pulled each strip tightly, but gently so there are no gaps or spaces.  

By this step, you are almost finished, so go slowly.  You can check the strips  for being inline and wrinkle free as you staple.  If the strips are too long once you staple, just scissor off the extra.

I did glue some felt to theottom of the tabletop to hide the staples, but it's not really necessary. 

I made these coverings and used the tables for some time and next I think I will make these over into wall clocks.   I've got plenty of paint to declutter on these, just have to decide which to start with.  

Thanks for reading.  

DIY Personalized Layered Felt Bookmark with Scraps and Assorted Pretties

Back in the olden days (before the Great De-Cluttering of 2013) I bought some brown wool felt to make a Rosary Case as described in this blog post.  The de-cluttering is ongoing and the sewing machine was donated, so any sewing projects will now have to be limited to hand sewing or using glue.

Here is a very easy DIY using some of the remaining wool felt, silk necklace cord, eyelet, wood beads, glue, and a crystal letter "C" purchased for 25 cents.  The silk cord was also a clearance item for 25 cents, just thought I'd throw that info out there, and I have another in the pack.  Bargain shopper.

Cut the felt with pinking shears or whichever scissors you desire. I cut three small rectangles for layering. Eyeball or measure precisely the rectangles or make them circles or triangles if you wish. Iron the crystal letter on the smallest rectangle according to the package directions, let cool before handling.

While the crystal is cooling, decide where you want to place the eyelet on the largest rectangle.
Punch a hole for the eyelet- I used a paper punch- and attach the eyelet.  If you don't have eyelets, no biggie, but they give a smoother, cleaner finish.  A small grommet is another option.



Glue the middle size rectangle on top of the largest rectangle and glue the personalized rectangle on top of the middle one.


Thread the silk cord through the eyelet, make a knot, thread a bead, make a knot. I made this bookmark to slide over the cover and inside a hardback book of about 9.5 inches tall. If you need a bookmark for paperbacks, size the silk cord to that. The cord is doubled. One length goes over the front of the book and one length inside the book.

Near the bottom of the cord, thread beads.  Between the middle and last bead, tie a couple of knots. Tie knots after the last bead and finish off the cord with a bow or however you want it to look.  The other beads can move freely, being sized up to fit snugly on a smaller book.



I considered whip-stitching, beading, and embroidering the bookmark, maybe that'll be another project.  I  hope the printed book never disappears.  Kindles and e-readers are great, but there's comfort in actually turning the pages of a book you hold in your lap.

When You Get a Bouquet, Say Yes

Take a look at the left sidebar.  Not the top, keep going?    (ETA:  Skip this part, the image was removed, but you can still see it down in the post.)   Do you see it?  Say, "Yes, I see it."  Got it?  I know you do.  Flowers,  gorgeous inventions.  We wouldn't have so many perfumes without flowers.

Every so often I buy myself a bouquet of flowers.  Sometimes they are big and bright, other times they are soft and muted.  When I'm in the store, even if I don't buy, I always take a glance at the assortment.  Sometimes I walk right up to the flower display and smile.  I just can't help it.  Bouquets of flowers are awesome, especially in the long midwest winter.

The last bouquet was all miniature carnations.  I'd never seen those before, they just made me take them home.  They were so perky and petite and practically jumped into the cart.  These minis conjured up images of tea parties and teddy bears with dolls and my grass, leaf, and twig salads.  Even as a young girl I knew one day I'd be eating the green stuff!

They are darn hardy flowers, too.  I had them for almost three weeks, I really enjoyed them.  They brightened each day for me.  As the life for the bunch was ending I wanted to do something other than drying them out to remind me of their gift to me.  Not a gift as in, I bought them, but a gift of their scent, colors, liveliness, and company.  Divinity and Nature from the Original Creator.

There you have it.   Take the petals off the flower head and save all the best parts of the stem and buds.  Once you start pulling or cutting off the petals you'll see other parts of the flower that weren't visible before.  Such as little green softnesses, yes I made that word up, and thin stringy moist shapes- all those things that go into making a flower so special and amazing and it didn't even need any help from us to be so beautiful.

I put the petals in a large bowl and the stems in a separate container as it made it easier to sort and select.  Put some background down, I used colored cardstock.  Arrange your letters using the petals and the other flower parts as you like.  Keep wagging tails out of the area or your petals will go flying off the paper!  (Lucy likes to be in on the action.)

March 10 is the three year anniversary for the blog.  I said yes to this endeavor, and hope to continue as long as I am able and the technology exists.  It (technology) changes so fast, doesn't it?

I want to say that you are my Vitamin G: girlfriends, blogfriends, readers, commenters, a bouquet of varied and colorful souls; and I appreciate each and every one!
Thank you for your energy, jokes, gifts, and sharing this space with me.
You make this blog smell better!

When you have the choice, if at all possible,

  

Gloria 

♥

Question:  What's your favorite once in a while treat you give yourself?

Adventures in Sewing Rosary Case for a Boy

Why can't you find just the thing you are looking for, when you need it?  Oh, maybe you do, but I looked all over Etsy, Storenvy, some other online sites, my local shops including the religious goods store and could not find a Rosary case/pouch/box/bag/...   I thought to use a coin purse, but they were too feminine, cutesey, girly and this is needed for a boy.  Finally I said to myself, just make it.

Now, I don't sew.  It's not that I don't want to sew, it's just that I have a hate-hate relationship with sewing machines.  It goes way back to Home Ec in 8th grade and the monster, I mean teacher that period.  "If ever a witch is one because, because, because...!  Because of the hateful things she does..."  I suppose I should say that I forgive her, even though she hasn't apologized.

Anyway, I bought some wool blend felt and steeled myself for the adventure/nightmare that lay before me.
I wanted to use red felt, it had a nice black undertone, but was persuaded to buy brown.  The brown is nice, but the red would have been easier to see.

This was pre-eye surgery, had to use the Mag Eyes, every lamp and light in the room, raise the blinds and roll up my sleeves.  I would not be defeated by a machine.  The cd player was cranking out  jazz to keep my spirit up.  Bobbin full-Check!  Pedal working-Check!  and so on... Breathe, one, two, three...I can do this!  Can I?

First I practiced on some scrap fabric. Practiced and tried making every adjustment known to womankind.  Tension, threading, direction of thread, etc...  All I got was the dreaded loopies on the back of the fabric.

Cut to the chase (don't you hate that expression?)  Five hours later, told you I wouldn't give up- I had the Mag Eyes on, holding the flashlight, leaning a mirror, using a hand held magnifying glass, wearing my reading glasses, too, and for the umpteenth time I had rethreaded the machine and IT FINALLY STOPPED GIVING ME THE LOOPIES!  It turned out that the thread was not between a tension wire/spring as it should have been.   If I had to rethread the needle one more time....  

So, after getting the machine working properly and hoping the bobbin would make it through to the finish I made a nice little rosary case with a lining.  The problem was that I should have not tried to make it and then turn it right side out, I discovered that the felt was too thick to maneuver. I should have just sewn the fabric on with the right side showing and then folded the front closed and sewed the side seams.  Live, Fail, Learn.  I'm considering turning it into a Pin Cushion.  Not a Voodoo Pin Cushion, remember, I forgave her.



The rosary case you see is the third try.  The second one was a bit smaller than I wanted. So, by the third time, I said, it's good enough.  I hand sewed on the four corner buttons, they are just decorative and put four of a different color on the back, too.  I used regular thread to sew them on, though using embroidery thread or yarn would have made them stand out a bit more.


Instead of a semi-fancy closure, I just cut a slit in the felt large enough to go over the center button.  I pinned a holy medal on to the case, but decided against it in the end. This one is sans lining.

I bought the rosary chaplet from Susan Lloyd on Etsy.  It's a beautiful piece in gemstones.  The praying hand statue was in perfect condition, I found it in a thrift store.  Statues are a little unsettling/creepy to me, but for some reason, these hands were peaceful.  I can't explain it.

What household tool or machine do you have a hate/hate relationship with?  I never wanted to use an electric carving knife, but once I tried it, I wield it like nobody's business.  En garde!  ♥

Never Giving Up, Craft Tries and Failures

A little glitter is okay by me, I don't go overboard.  Since it was for Christmas, I said to myself, "just try and make them."  So, I tried.  And failed.  But, hey, I don't give up and made them over and over.

In the thrift store there was a package of 3 bulbs, the kind you put on your string of lights.  It was missing the fourth bulb, but that was fine by me, cost:  a big 25 cents.

As you can see from this image, I masking taped out my designs and selected the glitter colors.  I've had this glitter for what seems like eons, so it was about time I used it.

The blue was going to look like stained glass. The red had tiny little masking tape stars, I used the little punch for those.  The other red was taped off in stripes.  I taped over the brass bottoms.

Craft Try #1 on DAY ONE: I used Elmer's Clear Glue and sprinkled, patted, and pressed the glitter onto the bulbs, and waited for them to dry.

Fail #1:  I must have pressed the masking tape on too tightly, as it peeled off along with all of the glitter designs I had created.  It was a sorry looking mess.  Plus, the glue would not thoroughly dry.

Craft Try #2 on DAY TWO:  Having cleaned off the glue and glitter, washed and dried the bulbs on DAY ONE I decided to paint the bulbs to see if they needed a rougher surface for the glue to adhere and dry. Then I had a break for tea and Y&R, giving up on having the designs.

Fail #2:  The paint wouldn't dry on the bulbs. So I didn't get to put the glue and glitter on them.  I again cleaned, washed, and dried the bulbs and left them to cook dinner.

Craft Try #3 on DAY THREE:  The next morning I used Mod Podge on the bulbs and glittered them in a solid, except for the tip of the red one which the silver glitter had stuck to.

DAY FOUR:  I used Ultimate Crafter Glue to hold the jute string that I wound around the bases of the bulbs.  After that was dry I hung the bulbs with ribbon to dangle in my window above the kitchen sink.  They catch the light and a tiny bit of sun.   The little teapot was also a  25 cent score at the thrift store!

Ta da.  ♥ 

Do you know what is remarkable about this?  I didn't break any bulbs.  The little pink jar is from this post on coloring jars , another mish mash of craft tries and failures- is this a pattern?

There is a little yellow Sand Castle from Red Rose Tea and tiny winkles from an Irish beach in the jar.  I took a leaf off some fake flower stems and put a matching green rubber band to hold it to the jar.  The seashell on the sill is from Cape May, NJ.

Are you a giver-upper when/if you have Craft Fails?  Or, do you just work it until something is satisfactory?

Yarn Wreath with Burlap, No Glue Needed RHONYC Made Me Do It

Take one Styrofoam wreath form, start wrapping yarn around it until you are dizzy, or your hands give out, whichever comes first.  Then you keep unwinding and rewinding it to get it all nice and lined up perfectly, but realize you look like a hunched down Rumpelstiltskin working endlessly at the spinning wheel and decide to take a break.

You turn on the tv and start watching the spectacle called, "The Real Housewives of New York City Reunion"  and that's where the yarn winding starts to go really astray. There's something about yelling and threats of bodily harm that is so uncomfortable to watch.  No, wait, that's RHONJ,  Theresa and company. Anyway, you put your wreath down and walk away, but you don't change the channel because you hope they will make nice with each other and have some sense, hope springs eternal, doesn't it?

So you just tie the various colors of yarn together and make big lengths and wind, wind, wind around the wreath form.  That little part where it went haywire is where Ramonja and Aviva were going at it.  Can you feel sorry for any of them? Back to winding the yarn and since this is a NYC production, the colorful and the avant garde creep in to the color choices.

In the end, I used these colors because that's what I had on hand.  Down in the basement, in a big box of craft supplies where I have embroidery hoops, projects started and some waiting to commence or be framed, there is a stash of balls of yarn and crochet hooks.  I found a neck warmer/scarf in two shades of blue that I'd crocheted  long ago.  I was mildly impressed, it was nice, neat, and pretty.  If I made that scarf back then, I can learn to do it again, or as I said, "hope springs eternal."

To finish off the wreath, I cut some petal shapes from burlap, painted the edges with gold metallic paint and a little glow in the dark to see if it would actually glow at night, stacked them and placed a button in the center with a florist pin through the button holes to secure them.  The other accent is several fabric leaves, a little burlap, then a button in the center which is held in place by opening up a paper clip, cutting it in half, and pushing it through the button holes.

There was no glue used on the wreath or loop, nor would I; watching RHONYC and a hot glue gun- bad combination.  Then I made a burlap loop and tied a ribbon to hang it on the door.

Do you ever watch any tv train wrecks to distract you from the normal day to day? When I need a distraction I've usually got a cd on, and sing which makes Lucy a little on edge.  I wouldn't call my voice a train wreck, but...


    

Coloring Jars Experiment

Here are my results of experimenting with coloring glass jars, or the horrible, the nasty, and the passable.

Most of the tutorials circulating are to use food dye, usually the gel type with a small amount of warm water and add these to Mod Podge.  I don't have any  Mod Podge, what I do have are other glues collected and unused, so I decided to go ahead and use some of them to see what would happen.  I used my liquid dyes, at one time I had the gel food dyes, which I liked, but didn't have right now.

In the jars in the image on the left I used clear Elmer's Glue, water, and dye in the smallest jar to get a red translucent/stained glass type of result- which is what I was aiming for.  For the two green jars and the dark jar where I was aiming for a look of a big jar of Yoo Hoo chocolate milk I used white Elmer's Glue, water,  and mixed the dyes. In this image the jars are upside down and draining off the excess mixture before putting them in the oven at 180 F for 25 minutes.

To view bigger, click on the image.

The only jar to retain the coating and color after baking them in the oven was the red jar.  In the second image from the left, you can see how the colors just disappeared after baking in the oven.  My chocolate milk look disappeared completely except for the ring at the bottom of the jar.  The dark green jar was a little streaky.  The other green jar came out a bit brown and with a big ring in the bottom, too.

After the jars were completely cooled, I washed out the interiors and thoroughly dried them in order to try another experiment.  In the next image I used Aleene's Collage Glue, water, and paint, not food dye.  This image shows the jars after they were drained, baked, and cooled.  I didn't put the red jar back in as I was satisfied with the result from the first baking.

Even though the chocolate milk jar, the bright orange jar, and the turquoise jar were well coated and drained before baking- they still came out of the oven not looking like they were done properly.  The orange jar was somewhat streaky and the turquoise jar was less streaky, but not as nice as I wanted it to be.  The chocolate jar was just not working.  I think there must have been something about that jar that did not adhere the liquid to the surface.  It also had angles which were harder to cover, but the jar just repelled the mixtures both times.

In the last image you can see the red jar with silk flowers in it.  The majority of the tutorials are to make the jars have a shabby chic look, but I was aiming for a translucent style.  I may try this experiment again, but I would rather just paint the outside of the jar, maybe use a stencil or design on it, too.  In this way, the inside could be used to store things or used in some other way and the paint would not be scratched off in the jar by the items put inside it.



Now, if I could just stop thinking about cold chocolate milk, I haven't had a  Yoo Hoo for years, have you ever had one?   Even though the jars experiment was kind of a flop, I'm glad I tried it to see what would develop.

Do you like to branch out and experiment or are you not a gambler in that way?

Gardening with Men and Framed Embroidery

This is one of the pieces I finished years ago.  When I look at it now, I don't know how I had the patience, but I'm glad I did.  The phrasing is special to me, as I do love to garden.  I'm pretty shocked the colors haven't faded, but the fabric looks like it has moved a titch, there is almost a rhythm in the stitches to match the words and the sweet breeze from the birds' wings.  I used the bottom part of this embroidery piece to make the label button in the sidebar. 

When I was young, my backyard neighbors were an elderly couple. The man loved to garden and had a combination English Cottage style garden and then rows of precise and upright flowers.  He enjoyed everything about his garden.  The pear tree he had along the dividing fenceline gave us an abundance of delicious pears each year.  Our lilac bush grew up huge and he asked for cuttings to give to his wife.  Sometimes I think the request for lilacs was his way of thinking he was getting paid for his pears.  We used what fell in our yard and never crossed over the fence to take more.

He introduced me to foxgloves, lilies of the valley, bluebells, and other small delicate looking plants and foliage.  Between he, my grandfather who grew veggies, my uncle who was a powerhouse planter who grew, canned, and shared his harvests, and my father who planted our yard with roses, hedges, mimosa, forsythia, apple, lilac, poplar, pine, and more- I feel blessed to appreciate the work and the value in gardening and farming.  My  disappointment is that I can't do as much as I would like and every single houseplant that I have brought home to this house in the past seven years, has expired, nearly on contact.  I've never had that happen anywhere else, I think there must be something in the environment inside the house.  Bouquets of cut flowers don't last here, either.  My outside plants are growing well.

When we moved the last time, I had to give away my plants, that hurt, this was the only trip where things had to go into storage and obviously, plants can't live in storage.  Do you have a green thumb?

Lampshade Makeover and Shakespeare January 27, 2012

It's winter, the option of doing outside activities is limited for me, so I'm turning inward as a lot of us do.  Decluttering, rearranging, and making things over.  It feels like the winter of my discontent, well, maybe not.  Sorry Shakespeare:

   "Now is the winter of our discontent
    Made glorious summer by this sun of York:
    And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
    In the deep bosom of the ocean buried."
                       From "Richard III"

This small lamp was too bright at bedside, so I darkened it a bit with the paper napkin and a lower watt bulb.
  
I decoupaged the napkin on to the outside of the lampshade.  The napkin was 3 layers thick, and I used the outermost layer with the most color.  So easy to change the look of a lamp with a napkin of your choice.   But, it's missing a little something... any ideas to add trim?


I wanted to add that it's time for you to go to the aceo challenge blog have a look at the January entries and vote.  My aceo is one of the aceos you'll see there.  Thanks for checking it out.