Friday, January 13, 2012

Bird Nesting Material Update...

Remember the tutorial for this bird nesting material cage? (Click HERE to go to that post.)





Well, look what I found in the tree not far away from the cage...



I'm not saying all the fluffy stuff in that bird's nest is from my nesting cage, but...





my crafting heart hopes it is!!



Save some of your crafting, sewing, knitting scraps and make a nesting cage for your feathered friends.

Happy Friday,
~Karen~

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Thoughts on Thursday...

Why doesn't peanut butter wash off the silverware in the dishwasher?

I think the peanut butter has some super power cape against the soap...I know it's oil, but come on, soap and scalding hot water? Why is it still there, caked on like it never went through that one hour cycle of power washing.

Forget about trying to get people (meaning my family) to wipe off the spoon before they plunk it in the washer.

I think I'm going to ban peanut butter in my house...LOL or put the crusty spoon at their place setting when I set the table for dinner!!

I know I'm lucky to have a dishwasher, but I do need it to work a little harder on the peanut butter.

How about you and your dishwasher? Does peanut butter bug you or am I the only "nut" case. 

Maybe it's the soap door doesn't open, or spots on the glasses, or when the silverware slips in the big holes in the basket and they stop the rack from rolling, or when you break a glass "in" the dishwasher...maybe I should just hand wash my dishes LOL!!

Happy Thursday,
~Karen~

How To Decorate A Christmas Tree...

What??? I know, it's January. However, I've had a ton of emails from the Christmas home tour asking how I decorate my Christmas trees. I didn't take any pictures of the process when I was putting UP all the trees, but I did take some last week when I was taking them DOWN...so I just reversed the process.

Here is the Santa Claus tree...click here for the original post on that



To start, I placed the hole tree in the storage container I keep all the supplies in.





The tree stem was too tall and bare looking for me, so hiding it in the container helps.



The tree stand fits perfectly.



Then I just wrapped the base with a piece of quilt batting to look like snow. You could use a white blanket or throw too.



Now here's the process of decorating...lights first. This is a pre-lit tree, but 6 of my other trees are un-lit.

Here are a few light tips...
  • start at the top
  • wrap the lights from the inside out to give the tree a little depth
  • I use five to six 100 light sets on a 6 foot tree


After lights comes the garlands or beads. I use three different garlands...red wooden beads, red berry garland and the peppermint candy garland I made. Click here for the peppermint candy tutorial.

I go by the 3 to 1 rule...I made this up, but it helps me when I'm buying clearance items and need to know how many I should buy.
  • 3 feet of garland for every foot of tree
this is a 6 foot tree, so there are 18 feet of wooden beads and 16 feet of the berries (4 sections of 4 feet lengths). The candy garland was just tucked in there with 4 or 5 lengths and didn't go all the way around in some areas.




The berries I found in the floral section on clearance during the year. Adds dimension to the tree when they stick out from the branches.



Just layer the garlands between each other with a little draping.




See how the berries stick out.



Next comes all the ornaments.



Add different sizes and textures...about 40 balls Click here for Santa ornament tutorial



10 candy canes



20 longer plastic candy canes to add length...bought these a long time ago at Walmart. Love plastic!!



These word ornaments are great too. I use them for fillers after the balls go on for color in the bare spots. A box of them was about $2.00 regular price.



Here's where I start...at the top!
  • Balls on first. For some reason I always start at the top right and then zig zag my way down, right to left...right to left.
  • think triangles as you placing them...see the 3 red balls, they form a triangle


then use your other ornaments to fill in between.



Then I wanted even more fillers, but free ones!! I covered Styrofoam balls with cotton batting to make "snowballs"



Use them to fill in bare spots



Zig zag your way around with these too



Now for more dimension. I found these in the Christmas section of Walmart (where else) but floral sections at the craft store is a great place for things like this too. Don't always think Christmas.



Start at the top and do your "zig zag" thing. Put a few on and stand back...look to see where the next zig is going to be.



These are wires, so they just wrap on the branch very easily.



Now the topper...this can be anything related to your tree. I used a Santa hat and those large over sized candy canes that are yard ornaments.



You might have to wire bigger items on at the top.



Add a few fake wrapped presents for decoration at the bottom and you're done.



Here are some quick tips when packing it all away...remember this is the box from the bottom decoration.



I place all the balls on the bottom...they are shatter proof plastic



cover with a layer of recycled bubble wrap.



Bag up small items



Paper towel tube for garland





Liquor box divider for ornaments



All safe and sound...



You can get these liquor box dividers for free.



layer with soft things for protection



The berries are a pain in the hooty...they keep getting tangled. Layer each section with garbage bags.





When you pack your tree away, it NEVER fits in that rinky dink box again. I use a bungee cord to keep it together.

All set for another year...Now where is that cover?!?



Hope this helps a little. Maybe you can use a few of the tips when Christmas rolls around this year. This post will be in the archives, so when you need it in December, it will be here.

Take care,
~Karen~

Monday, January 9, 2012

Tool Time Tuesday...Milk Crate Cover

Milk Crate Cover for a title? I know boring. I wanted to write something clever changing "great" to crate..."Crate" Ideas or "Crate" Expectations, but just couldn't type them in the title box...who's searching for Crate Expectations in their search box?

Any who, here is a tutorial to turn those old ugly milk crates in your garage or basement into something you can actually use in your home.

This cutie...


is covering this dirty little crate that I stole from my husband. Shhh don't tell him, but his golf supplies are in a pile on the shelf in the garage.


This tutorial is a method type pattern, because all crates are different sizes. I used 1/4 inch seam allowance throughout.

First measure the bottom of the crate. Mine is 11 1/2 inches square. Add 1/2 inch for seam allowance...my final square is 12" x 12".


Measure the side from the inside of the crate, over the rim and...


Down the other side. Mine is a total of 21 inches...here I added 3/4 inch. 1/4 for one seam and 1/2 inch for hemming the bottom edge. Total for this measurement is 21 3/4 inch.


Now measure all the way around. Mine was 51 1/2 inches. Add 3/4 - 1 inch so you have a little room to fold fabric over the crate.


Any fabric works great, but Tool Time Tuesday has a touch of hardware store, so I used my drop cloth fabric I bought for $5.00. Remember this fabric from the purse I made with it? It looks like linen, but so much cheaper. Click here for the purse tutorial.


Here are your supplies...
  • rectangle of fabric...the long length is the distance around the crate and the height of the fabric is the measurement from the inside and over the side.
  • the square is your bottom measurement


Hem ONE long edge of the rectangle. I folded over 1/4 inch and fold over another 1/4 inch.


Sew down seam...


Fold over the rectangle, right sides together and sew the sides together on the right.




You now have a tube. Try in the crate to see if it fits before sewing the bottom in.

Put it in the crate, wrong side facing out and the hemmed edge on the top.


I match that seam to one of the corners of the crate...just for looks really.


Now fold over so hemmed edge is now at the outside bottom.


Your raw edge is on the inside.


Now to sew the bottom...First you need to find the FOUR corners.

Place tube with wrong side out, side seam on the right. Place a pin on the fold to the left where my finger is.




Now take that pin and the side seam and bring them to the middle.


close up of the first pin and the seam in the middle...


Place a pin in the left fold and...


the right fold...


Take your square from your bottom measurement...


To help you sew the corners easier, place a dot 1/4 inch down from the top and over from side. This will be your pivoting point when sewing the corners.


With RIGHT sides together, match your four pinned corners with the four corners of the square. Pin the corners first, then you will pin to ease in the extra tube fabric to the bottom square.


Here it is all pinned.


See how much fabric you have to ease in. This is where I don't care if it's perfect. It's on the inside on the bottom which will be covered with all the things you put in this crate.


Sew all the way around, pivoting at the corners. Just make sure you keep all the excess fabric away from your sewing foot as your making your way around.


Place inside the crate wrong side of fabric facing out.


Place it in and fold it over.


Done. See how I place the seam matched up with the corner. Kind of hides it there.


Add a pretty bow...


or maybe sew a band of contrasting fabric to the bottom to match your decor.


Perfect for this open cubby in the hutch. You can hide lots of junk in there.


a nice black ribbon looks good too.


This may seem like a complicated project, but I made this Monday morning before I went to work in less the 1 hour and that included making up the pattern as I was went along. Only had to rip one seam out...ggrrr.

These crates would be great for so many things...keeps things together, nice and neat and it's pretty too
  • magazines
  • toys
  • sewing projects
  • scrap booking supplies for one particular project you're working on
  • reading materials by the side of your chair or bed
  • kids shoes by the back door
  • cute emergency kit for the trunk of your car
  • sports equipment
  • food pantry
  • linen closet supplies
The list is endless for crates...now they're even better if the have a pretty little cover on.

Have fun with this one. If we all get together, we'll make all those ugly crates...Crate (great) to look at!!

~Karen~

Wisata Danau Toba - Sumatera Utara

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