Category Archives: DIY and Upcycling

Snowflake Prints

My daughter’s birthday is on Friday and I still have lots to do, so this weekend I will mostly be consumed with party planning and preparations. I always make the kids a birthday banner for their party and it is usually somewhat theme related. Although we hadn’t really planned a theme for this year, she did want to take the girls sledding, so I opted for a “snow” theme ~ not exclusively, but just to give me some directions in pulling things together. I got my inspiration for the little bit of decorating I will do, from this awesome purchase I made on Thursday evening. I found some Christmas clearance items at Sears for 90% off. This snowflake garland was just too adorable to pass up. The original price was $59.99, but I picked up two strands for $6 each. I absolutely love a great deal and this was one of my best! Don’t you just love the look of the snowflakes made from twigs!snowflake garland

So, I decided to go with a bit of a rustic look. I picked up a roll of the brown parcel wrap paper used for packaging up mail and this will be used for her birthday banner. I plan to stick with a primarily brown and white look. Although I am just beginning to pull this together, I am planning to incorporate several snowflakes of different kinds. I was trying to think of a way to create a large snowflake stamp, so that I wouldn’t have to hand paint them all. I have a small stash of paper towel/toilet paper rolls and I figured I might be able to rig something up for my snowflake theme. Here is what I initially came up with.

Paper towel tube
Cut in about 1″ strips
Slit the ring on one side
Fold the cardboard in the opposite direction to its natural curl and then staple it along the centre fold, to a cork.
Staple the cardboard on a cork.
Fold the ring with the outsides together and staple it about a quarter 1/2″ from the open end, so that the ends curl out. (Obviously there is no cork in the picture here, as I took this picture before I came up with the cork idea and then had to undo the staple and re-staple after attaching it to the cork. Just imagine that this has already been attached to the cork.)
I repeated this process 6 times, and this is what I came up with.
Dip in paint to evenly cover the surface. Make prints.

The concept was great and it worked okay, but I knew that it would be way too finicky for making lots of snowflakes. The problem was that despite my efforts to create an even base for printing, you had to play around a bit and ensure that each little arm of the snowflake made contact with the paper. This would be totally fine if you were making a few, but I planned to make quite a few and don’t have the patience for that. So, I decided to take it back a few steps and this is what I ended up with.

snowflake prints

I made two different sized “arms” exactly as I had in the original snowflake, but didn’t attach them to anything.

I simply used a cork to make a circle for the centre of the snowflake and then was able to quickly add 6 “arms” around the circle to create my snowflake. I did the exact same thing with the smaller one and used the eraser end of the pencil to make the circle print in the middle. Although it means actually doing 6 prints plus the circle for every snowflake, it seems to be much easier to get a nice even print and faster to do. I have only played around a bit and haven’t yet done the banner, but I am thinking I could easily take a brush or even the eraser tip of the pencil to add other little lines and dots to add some variety to the basic snowflake print.

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Piano Pillage

Here is our piano before the dismantling.
Here is our piano before the dismantling.

I was so excited when I got home today and found that my husband had started dismantling our piano. We received the above piano for free about 4 years ago and it served us well, but unfortunately the 100+ year old piano could no longer be tuned. We had been hunting for a perfect replacement for about a year and a half and finally settled on one over the holidays. The new “old” piano was recommended to us by our piano tuner. The sound board and “body” are  in great shape, but we decided to replace all of the keys, as many were chipped. Our “new” piano also fits in well with our character 1921 home (even better than the first one) and it’s now in tip-top shape. 

As a result, we have had two pianos in our dining room for the past few weeks.  While I was at work today, my husband began the daunting process of taking it apart piece by piece. Why you might ask? Well, obviously it is of no use musically to anyone, as it can no longer be tuned and it is several hundred dollars to have a piano moved. Besides that……one of my greatest passions is repurposing the old! I was so excited when I came home to find my dining room scattered with piano parts. I have a few ideas, but no definite plans. However, you can bet that I will be sharing some piano projects over the next few months. The only down side to missing out on the dismantling is that I think the process would have got my brain going and perhaps even sparked some creativity. Instead, I will have to spend some time looking over the parts carefully and giving my brain some time to reflect on each and every part. I can’t wait to see what the pieces of this old piano might become. I’ll keep you posted ~ literally.

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Upcycled Wine Bottle

BEFORE: WIne Bottle
After

Ever since I made my Christmas rag wreath with the burlap flowers, I have been really anxious to do more burlap and/or jute projects. I love the shabby chic look, especially when there is a hint of white in the project as well. I “pinned” some cool upcycled wine bottles a few months ago, but have never gotten around to making my own. Although the project is far from done, I had a medical appointment yesterday and had a bit of time to myself after, so I took the opportunity to get started. This is a not a complex task, but I have to admit it was a bit more difficult than I anticipated.

Upcycled Wine Bottle Project~ Materials Needed:

  • jute, twine or string (I bought a 3 pack at the dollar store. Unfortunately, one of the spools is green. I wasn’t sure how much I would need, so I bought one pack. I have only done one bottle so far and used one whole spool plus a bit of the second one. One spool had 12 meters of twine, so I am guessing I used approximately 13 to 15 meters for one bottle.)
  • empty wine bottles ~ rinsed and dried (Some sites suggest removing the labels, but I didn’t. Duh! The bottle is completely covered with string and you can’t see what is underneath, not worth the extra effort in my eyes. Perhaps I missing something and there is a specific reason for removing the labels, but I haven’t been able to figure that out yet.)
  • glue gun/glue sticks or white glue
  • scissors

Upcycled Wine Bottle Project ~ Wrapping the Bottles:

Getting Started: I read several tutorials and some recommended starting at the top of the bottles while others recommended the bottom as a starting point. I started at the bottom by glueing the first row of string all along the bottom edge. I left about 1/2 inch of twine at the end and curved it up towards the top of the bottle. I then untwisted the strands slightly so it wasn’t quite so bulky and then hot glued it flat against the bottle. This allowed the me to place the next few rows over the end and helped to secure it beneath the tightly wound rows of twine.

This system seemed to work well and the twine seems secure and the end is well hidden. The job of wrapping the twine around the bottle is a bit tedious and took me about an hour for one bottle. You must make sure every single row is pressed tightly against the previous row in order to eliminate the possibility of gaps between the rows. I only glued the twine sporadically about every  inch or two up the most of the height of the bottle.

Some of the tutorials did indicate that the incline from the main part of the bottle to the neck can be tricky and require more glue. I tried this several times, but even with regular application of glue, the string kept slipping up towards the neck. It was almost as though you were working against gravity. In the end, I decided to stop near the bottom of the neck and begin from the top working down. I started much the same way as I did at the bottom, but this time working my way down. This worked well and although the incline was still a little tricky, it did work. Of course, I was then saddled with the extra task of joining the top and bottom in what appeared to be a seamless join. I basically made the join in much the same way as I handled the ends, when starting at both the top and bottom. Clearly, this is not what I would advise.

Conclusion: For my finished project, I want to have 4 bottles. I will definitely be starting at the TOP of the bottle from now on. I am not sure if there is any advantage to working upwards, but having tried both, working down seems much easier to me and so that is the strategy I will use next time. My bottle looks completely fine and it would be difficult to see the join, but it was obviously more work than was necessary.

I still want to embellish the bottle, but may wait until all 4 are done to see what might look the best before committing to something more permanent. For now, I just added some raffia and a button to dress it up and set it on my mantel!

AFTER: Fireplace Accessory

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Dramatic Play Center: Boston Pizza Restaurant

I am still working on a few items for the Boston Pizza Restaurant in my kindergarten classroom, but it is already up and running. I will add the extra items as I find and finish them. I really tried to make this fun and a great learning opportunity as well. Play is such an important part of learning and should never be considered meaningless or a waste of time. Here are just a few of the concepts I tried to incorporate to make the play area not only fun, but educational as well:

  • size comparison (small, medium and large ~ pizzas and drinks)
  • play money (opportunities to use play money for the exchange of goods and begin to learn the monetary value of the coins and bills as well as their names)
  • writing (orders can be taken or for those not yet ready, I created a “write and wipe” order sheet that is laminated)
  • reading (the signs in and around the restaurant as well as the menus)
  • math (number recognition, simple addition for those that pursue it, money concepts and even fractions)
  • how to set the table properly (use the placemats to properly set the table for customers)
  • learn about the different roles of the people who work in the restaurant (Chef, server, dish washer, host, etc)
  • fractions ~ we talked about how if one person likes a topping and the other doesn’t, you could order your pizza with a topping on only 1/2 of the pizza
  • manners and customer service
  • phone etiquette
  • taking turns (only 5 children allowed in the center at one time and deciding who will work in the restaurant and who the customers will be)
  • vocabulary development
  • the opportunities for learning really are endless and something that is so engaging also makes a great springboard for other learning activities in the classroom

*Be sure to click on the first image. It will take you to the enlarged slide show and reveal the captions.

Welcome to Boston Pizza!
This bucket is on the floor beside the “Daily Special” sign. It contains two purses and two wallets with play money and credit cards for our customers.
Another shot of our “hostess” area complete with a white board for the kids to write down the “daily specials”.
Behind the hostess desk and welcome sign are our cash register, phone, cups, salt and pepper and cheese shaker.
You can see that I kept most of my house center appliances for the restaurant. There is a pocket chart on the back wall with applicable vocabulary.
Here is a shot of the restaurant from another angle. The long prep counter is actually a closet from my house center that I flipped on its side. The red tubs below contain the serving trays, placemats, aprons, pizza boxes, menus and order clip boards.
I made these menus specifically for our restaurant. They are laminated, so that they’ll be more durable.
Here is an inside shot of the menu. You can see that it is quite simple for the kids to read. The dessert menu is on the back.
Here are shots of both types of our order forms.
The placemats are out and the table is ready to be set.
The pizza crusts and sauce sit on the end of the prep counter.
The toppings sit along the back of the prep counter.
Here is a shot of our three pizza boxes.
A small pizza ready to be served.
The parmesan cheese was made with shredded yellow paper and the inside of the lid was taped off so nothing will actually shake out.

Some of these concepts are definitely more applicable to a classroom or day care setting, but setting up a similar play area for your little ones can foster the same great learning opportunities at home. Let me know if this sparks some creative play ideas in your home, classroom or day care!

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Pretend Pizza for Dramatic Play

I have been working on transforming my play kitchen at school into a pizza restaurant. I will share the entire center, but wanted to start by sharing the pretend pizza. My goal was to create pretend pizza that I could use over and over again, year after year. I wanted to put big effort into the creation of the center, so that I could simply store the items away when it is not in use and pull them out the following year. I didn’t want to have to re-collect and re-make items for the restaurant. I came up with this idea for the pizza and they turned out great. I am still on the look-out for a 12″ wooden base, but otherwise the pizzas are done. This would be great for any classroom, day care or child that loves to engage in dramatic play. What a great DIY gift for that special little one who loves pretend play.

Thrift Shop finds were used to create a nice solid wood base for the pizzas.
The pizza crusts and sauce sit on the end of the prep counter.
The felt “sauce” clings to the felt crust of the pizza.
Felt toppings were cut out and labeled: olives, green pepper and ham.
There’s also pepperoni, pineapple, mushrooms and cheese.
A small pizza ready to be served.

Any child that likes to play house would love this as a gift or play center at school or day care. The bases were not easy to find, but the felt pieces were super easy to make. You might be able to opt for plastic or metal plates/trays if you are finding the wood bases too hard to find. I really had/have my heart set on wood, so I will continue to look for a piece that will work for our “large” pizza.

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Thrift Shoppin’…. Again!

Lately, I have been spending more time than usual checking out the local thrift shops because I have been on the look out for something very specific. I recently converted my “house center” into a “Boston Pizza” restaurant in my Kindergarten classroom. I have been working on this project for several weeks and it has all come together quite nicely, but there are a few things I have not yet completed. I will share an entire post on the center because I do think this could be really great for early years teachers, child care workers or mom’s of little ones. It has only been up and running a few days, but it is a big hit! However, one of the projects I have yet to complete is the “large” size pizza. I really wanted to create a center that would be durable and so I wanted to create the pretend pizzas out of wood. I found both “small” and “medium” circular pieces of wood, but am still in need of a finished piece of wood that is 12″ in diameter. Here is a picture of the wood pieces that I purchased on a previous thrift shop trip. You can see that the larger was some kind of a “lazy-Susan” or something and the second is the base of the little stand in the background. I am looking for any kind of circular wooden piece that is light in colour and has no splinters or rough edges. Both of the ones I previously found work great.Thrift Shoppin'

I have looked at cutting boards, lamp bases, stands, serving platters, stool tops, etc, but still can’t seem to find exactly what I am looking for. At this point, I would even consider buying something new if it met my specifications. Anyways, my search continues to bring me into thrift shops on a pretty regular basis.

I was so excited about my last two trips to the thrift store, that I just had to share. This shopping trip took place near the end of our Christmas vacation. I generally don’t buy clothes, but found a few goodies that I just couldn’t resist. Check out how far $17 can go!

Forever 21 sweater dress.
A sweater and a blouse. I love the stitching on this top!
Pretty summer tank style blouse for myself.
A very solid wood frame, 2 old embroidery rings, sunflower embellishments, piping, rick-rack, a fastner and a few zippers.
A cool chain for Shay.
A hooded sweater for Eden.

Now, I have to admit that I thought this trip was fabulous…what great deals! That was of course until my most recent shopping trip. Do you want to know what you can buy at a thrift store for $12.20? You won’t believe it…..

A large glass bottle with a cork stopper….will you look at the little star etched on the side?
2 unopened wooden coffee mug stands and a pair of leather garbage mitts.
and 6 beautiful scarves!

Remember, I entered the store for one purpose….one 12″ round wooden tray/circle. I don’t go to this particular store very often, so I was pretty much doing a quick once over to check it out. The scarves were neatly hanging at the end of an aisle and one of them caught my eye, so I decided to look through the large assortment and came up with 6 great scarves. My daughter is into scarves too, so we often share and I knew she would love the colours as much as I did. Just one wash away from some great new looks!  I honestly don’t know why I bought the mug stands, but I thought I might be able to use them for storage at school or my scrapbooking room. They are brand new and were only 30 cents each. I figure they’re cheaper than the logs in my firewood pile, so technically I could burn them and still feel like I came out ahead. I could not believe my luck when I found the black leather garbage mitts that were not only in great condition, but also only one dollar. I managed to squeeze my non-injured hand in the left mitten and figured they would fit Shay perfectly. He loved them at first as well, but was a bit troubled when he couldn’t get his thumb in the hole of the right mitten. 

Thrift Shoppin'

Leather garbage mitts…what a buy! Not really.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. I don’t suppose I should re-donate them, I don’t think there are too many people out there with two left hands! Even with my one little oversight, can you believe all the stuff I nabbed up for under $30 in total? In fact, when I gave Shay the chain, he told me that the chain and the sock monkey I made him were his two favourite gifts even though he didn’t get them for Christmas. He kept saying how spoiled he was and that I shouldn’t spoil him so much. Funny, he was much more excited and appreciative of the two gifts with a combined dollar value of less than 3 bucks. I wish I would have known that before we blew a wad of cash on him for Christmas. I’ll keep that in mind for next year. Sentiment goes along way with that boy!

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De-clutter Your Counter with Antique Cast Iron Grate

Our home was built in 1921 and it truly has a lot of character and unique features. I love old homes and have always been attracted to antiques and items from the past. This idea was not mine, but borrowed. I picked up this antique cast iron heat register grate at the old house revival company for around $45. It wasn’t cheap, but I had been looking for quite some time and knew that the price was very comparable to what I had been seeing on kijiji and on the internet. I chose this one because it had a great design and the size was perfect.

It was in pretty rough shape, so I had to scrub it with a heavy-duty wire brush to get all of the loose paint off. I then spray painted it with a flat black spray paint. I flipped it upside down and had Tim mount it on the wall above the counter in our kitchen. (This was before I learned how to do wall plugs on my own.) It now serves as a “mail” holder for all of the kid’s notes from school or pieces of paper we need at our finger tips. It may be hard to tell, but we also have a few pencils and pens stuck in the end of the grate. They are very accessible, but up and off the counter. Love this project!

An antique heat grate was painted and converted into a mail slot in the kitchen.

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Scrapbooking Organization

I am fortunate to have a designated scrapbook/project room in our house. I love that this room is all MINE! Although it is small (about 6′ and 9′) and there are still some things I would like to incorporate to organize it even better, it is one of my favourite rooms in the house. The west wall is banked with windows, so there is beautiful natural light and a very cozy feel to the room.  I have not done anything to really “decorate” this room, but it is functional. Someday, I hope to have a perfect spot for everything and a more appealing decor, but for now there are a few things that have worked well for me at very little cost, and so, I thought I would share some of the ideas. (It is always difficult to keep this work space tidy as I nearly always have a project on the go.  This is pretty much as tidy as it gets and it never stays like this for long!)

Organizing Your Scrapbooking Supplies:

  1. PAPER: One of the things that used to drive me crazy was all of the scraps of paper. The bits and pieces that were left over from a project. You know the pieces that are too small for most things and yet too big to recycle. I tried several organizing systems, but this is by far the best. I basically created a bag  for each of the main colours. The bags are ziplock type bags, but were not bought in a store. They were passed onto me and were originally the packaging for computer parts (I think). The bags are about 8 3/4″ wide by about 12″ tall and the plastic is actually a little heavier and thus more sturdy than the store bought bags. The size is perfect, but I am sure store bought bags would be fine as well. (I also wonder if clear page protectors might work as you can purchase some that are a bit thicker.) I punched a small hole in the corner of each bag and then set an eyelet in so that the plastic wouldn’t tear. I then tied a ribbon to each bag, indicating the colour of paper it would contain and lined my wall with those little screw in hooks. Each bag hangs on its own hook and all of my scrap paper is organized by colour. I still have to sort through the bag to find the exact shade I am looking for, but it is so much more manageable and the system is really easy to stick to. If you don’t have a room, you could always keep the bags/page protectors in a binder.
    Here is a close-up shot of the eyelet and ribbon tie on a bag.
    I now use my “Big Bite” tool from Crop-A-Dial for setting eyelets and hole punching. This tool is super handy.
    I used to use this “eyelet set” before I had my Big Bite. It works fine and could be used in lieu of the Big Bite tool.
    Scrap paper storage system.
  2. EMBELLISHMENTS: What do you do with all of the little knick-knacky items like brads, buttons, tape, eyelets, rhinestones, etc.? Well, what works for me is this screw/nail chest that I picked up at Canadian Tire for under $20. I think I got it for 60 or 70% off and it seems to do the trick. I don’t love the navy colour and could easily spray paint the cabinet, but thought I would wait until I actually have a colour pallet to work with and then paint it to coordinate with the other elements in the room. The little drawers work perfectly to hold all of the little odds and ends that I use to dress-up a page.

    embellishment storage

    Screw/nail cabinet used to store my knick-knacks. (You can also see a few jars of ribbon on the white shelf.)

  3. RIBBON: I have quite a bit of ribbon and have not yet got the perfect system for organizing it. I have some of it in jars which works well, but I would need way to many jars to store all that I have. I have some in ziplock bags, similar to the paper, but I don’t find this works very well and the balance is in a drawer. I think that if I had the space (or set-up) the jars would be ideal. You can easily see what you have at a glance and organize the jars according to colour. Maybe some day!

    scrapbooking room

    You can see a few of the ribbon jars and the bags hanging on the bottom hook of the little white shelf.

  4. SECRETARY STYLE DESK: The white secretary style desk in this room was a cheap Kijiji find. You can check-out the before and after shots by following the link. I love that this desk provides additional storage inside and an extra work surface when open. It works great for a small space because it can be closed-up when not in use.Secretary Style cabinet
  5. CRICUT DRAWER: I repurposed a drawer from an old desk and incorporated into my existing scrapbooking room because I loved this feature in my old desk. (Actually my new desk is older than my old desk which might be a bit confusing). This drawer allows me to tuck my Cricut away, without the hassle of having to haul it in and out every time I go to use it. The drawer feature allows me to keep it plugged in and ready to go at all times, but also allows me to put it away so that it is not in my way. Love this!

    scrapbooking room

    The drawer is the big beadboard unit below the desk.

Overall, this little space works really well and I know I am very fortunate to have it. I will continue to make this space all that it can be in both function and visual appeal. It is a work in progress, but it is all MINE and I love that!

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Upcycled Play Kitchen: Part 3 ~ The Final Chapter

Yay! It is finally done. I have to say, that this play kitchen project seemed to drag on for way to long and I found it very hard to get the job done. Obviously, I didn’t really have a reason to make it in the first place and have no plans for what I am going to do with the now finished project. The play kitchen was really all about stepping-up to the challenge because it was something I had wanted to do for a very long time, regardless of the fact that my little girl will be 12 in less than a month. I have seen so many cute little play kitchen upcycles and I just had to try one out. In the end, I am not sure how much the project cost me out-of-pocket, but I do know that I spent many hours on it. I can’t say that I will be doing another one of these “just for fun” projects again, any time soon. I am pleased with the final project, but did have a few bumps along the way. I am not going to provide much of a tutorial here, but will add a few captions here and there where necessary.  If you are interested in checking-out some of the steps and tutorials that led up to this reveal, you can check-out some of the previous posts. (Remember to click on the images if you wish to enlarge them.)

Upcycled Play Kitchen: Part 1

Upcycled Play Kitchen: Part 2

Ruffled Apron Tutorial

Upcycled Chalkboard/Frame

Before Pictures:

The play kitchen was made from two old furniture pieces: our old T.V. stand and an old stereo cabinet. Both were old and dated, but in otherwise good condition.

This is a shot of our old TV cabinet, before the upcycle.
BEFORE: Stereo Cabinet

Upcycled Play Kitchen Reveal:

Stove/sink
Faux tiled backsplash
Top view of sink/stove unit.
There is one shelf behind the curtain, below the sink/stove top.
I added a little ruffle to the top of the shelf above the fridge just to add a bit of colour and pull the two pieces together. (Clearly, I should have dusted the fridge a bit!)
I used a recycled metal bowl for the sink, garage sale taps/faucet ($5), painted wooden circles for the elements and antique stove knobs. The “elements” were thin wooden circles that I bought from Michael’s. I primed and painted them and then speckled them with white paint using a toothbrush.
Here is the coordinating ruffle apron.
This sign could be used to announce the menu or say who’s kitchen it is: “Cindy’s Kitchen”.
The menu stand is from the dollar store and was just spray painted black.
Upcycled Play Kitchen: The interior of the fridge. These hinges were a bit pricey, but I wanted them to be good quality.
AFTER: Upcycled Play Kitchen

I must say that I feel a little sad that this will never be used in our home. Eden is far too old to play with this and yet I still have so many ideas for what you could do to make this absolutely amazing. I even considered taking it to school, but I don’t think it would withstand the 45 five-year olds that grace my classroom each day. I think I’ll stick with the commercial set that is already there. So, the future of this little project is still up in the air, but at least it is now off my “things to do” list. I am sure it will find a good home with a little girl to enjoy it!

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Upcycled Picture Frame/Chalkboard

You know how I love a good deal. Well, I have used the same technique to upcycle both picture frames and dollar store slates. Basically, you are taking a somewhat inferior product and kicking it up a notch.

Upcycled Frame:

For this particular project, I used a dollar store slate, paint, homemade chalkboard paint, Modge Podge and some scrapbooking paper.

  1. First, tape off the slate portion. Give it a very gentle sanding and then add a fresh coat of homemade chalkboard paint. (I often find that the dollar store ones are not very user-friendly and the surface does work well with chalk, so I give it a coat of my own paint.)
  2. Once the chalkboard paint is dry, remove the tape and paint out the back and edges of the slate with a colour of your choice. (If this is being mounted on a wall, you can omit this step and leave the plain wood.)
  3. Cut a piece of coordinating scrapbook paper, that is slightly bigger than the size of the frame.
  4. Add a very thin coat of Modge Podge to the frame. You want the coat to be thin, but be sure to cover all of the frame so that the paper sticks well.
  5. Lay the scrapbooking paper over the frame and firmly press the paper to get out all of the air bubbles.
  6. Once completely dry, carefully cut away the excess paper from both the inside and outside of the frame by running a utility knife along the edge of the frame.
  7. I like to sand the edges where the paper and wood frame meet. This tends to expose the “white” surface of the paper below the print on it. I like the distressed look of the exposed white.
  8. You can add a coat of Modge Podge over top for protection, if desired.
  9. You must prepare the chalkboard surface by completely covering it with chalk and then erasing it. (I usually hold my chalk on the side to prime the surface.)
Back of frame prior to painting.
Painted back.
BEFORE: Cheap Wooden Slate
AFTER: Modge Podged Edge
Dollar store stand that was originally silver, but I spray painted black.

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