Category Archives: DIY and Upcycling

Bathroom Make-over

A couple of years ago, I decided to make the upstairs bathroom a little more fun and kid friendly. We only have two bedrooms upstairs and so that bathroom is primarily used by Eden and Shay. When we moved in, the upstairs bathroom had recently been tiled and modernized, but not at all what we would have chosen. We were not going to invest in a renovation, but thought that we could change the look with paint and a few minor changes. The biggest issue was that everyone was so thrilled with the main floor bathroom renovation, that the upstairs bathroom was rarely getting used and it was driving me crazy. Eden and I went shopping together as I thought that including her in the design would help entice her into using the upstairs bathroom. I did not want to sink much money into this, so it was to be done on a limited budget.  The tiles had to stay, but were a neutral beige colour that we were able to work with.  We started by picking out a new shower curtain and then built the palette from there.

Upstairs Bathroom Before:

Unfortunately, I don’t have any great BEFORE pictures. These were taken with the project already underway, but in all honesty it didn’t look much better than this.  There was a vent/fan in the middle of the wall, a towel bar below and a plain white waffle type fabric shower curtain.  The bathroom is very small and the vanity that was in there was poorly installed, so water ran down behind it and between the tub and sink all the time.  It was pretty yucky!! Here are the only pictures I have. You can see that the bathroom was very dark and certainly not very fun!

This photo demonstrates a more accurate account of the colour prior to the make-over.
BEFORE: Old Vanity without Tile
This shows more of the tile, but the colour is better in the other photo.

Upstairs Bathroom Make-Over:

It truly is quite amazing to see what a coat of paint and little creativity can do!!  My daughter picked out a colourful curtain (that I loved as well) and this became the inspiration for the room.  My husband installed a pedestal sink which worked much better in the space.  The vent/fan is still there, but doesn’t seem so bad against the blue walls.  I had the shelf above the toilet in the basement, so just had to give it some fresh paint.  I found some cute little square-shaped glass jars at the dollar store that fit nicely on the shelf. I bought a cheap canvas at Jysk and made a simple piece of art for the room. I found some great ideas on Pinterest and modified them to suit the space. You can check-out my previous posts for further instructions on how to do the subway art chore sign, toothpaste holders and the faux tiled backsplash. In a nut shell, the backsplash was done by taping off squares, adding a plaster layer, painting the “tiles”, removing the tape and then urethaning them. The tiles turned out great and have been very durable. I also made a little “wash your hands” sign for the window sill.

We kept the original mirror, but the look is totally different with the faux tiles.
AFTER: Faux Tiled Backsplash
DIY Subway Art
I also made a little chalkboard sign for the bathroom.
You can see the subway art chore sign near the window.
DIY acrylic painting. Who can’t make a circle?

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Mason Jar Toothbrush Holder

In December 2011, I re-did the kid’s upstairs bathroom and one of the projects I did was based on an idea I had found on Pinterest. Tim mounted cheap pipe clamps onto the wall that were sized to hold some dollar store glasses that I had purchased. I personalized each cup with my kids’ names using a white paint pen from Michael’s. The glasses can be slid out for cleaning and have held up well. I have had to touch up their names once or twice in the last two years, but otherwise it has worked wonderfully!

AFTER: Faux Tiled Backsplash

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Better Late Than Never

sock monkey costumeI was really hoping to surprise my 9 year old son, Shay, with a sock monkey for Christmas. I had made Eden a sock monkey the Halloween before last to go with her sock monkey costume and he had wanted one ever since. I was so swamped prior to Christmas, I just didn’t get it done. Of course, he wasn’t really expecting it, so he wasn’t disappointed. He ended up spending the day with a friend yesterday, so I surprised him with a sock monkey when he got home.

Making a Sock Monkey

The great thing about making your own is that you can make it any colour or design you wish. Shay certainly likes the Winnipeg Jets, but he was already a die-hard Boston Bruins fan before the Jets returned. His room is a Winnipeg Jets room, but I think deep down, his heart still belongs to the Bruins. When I was considering making his sock monkey, I thought I would surprise him with a monkey in the Bruins’ colours. I searched high and low for a badge or pair of socks that had their logo, but came up empty. Instead, I just opted for their colours. To be honest, finding yellow and black socks wasn’t all that easy either. I think that is why I never got it done before Christmas. It took several shopping trips to find socks of the right colour. In the end, this is what I came up with.

Pair of work socks.
Pair of yellow and black socks (this sock is actually inside-out in this photo).

I bought a package of socks at the dollar store for $3. It contained two pairs of mens “work” type socks. They were black and charcoal grey with a burgundy stripe. The socks were a bit more stretchy than a traditional wool work socks, but they worked fine. I used this pair to create the monkey’s body/head, legs, face and arms.  I had to make the arms and legs a bit shorter due to the burgundy stripe. I cut them off above the stripe as I didn’t want burgundy in the final product. I used the yellow and black sock to make the tail and ears, as well as a sweater and a hat for the monkey. I didn’t use the striped yellow and black socks for the entire money because the socks were smaller, more like a kid’s size.

I then followed this awesome tutorial on Craftbits (by Shellie Wilson). I used the same tutorial when making Eden’s monkey last year. I follow Shellie’s directions pretty closely, but tend to skip the pinning in most projects. It is not so much that it isn’t necessary as it is that I am too lazy to do it. Like Shellie, I use button eyes and stitch on the mouth.

The Final Touches:

In order to make him a Boston Bruins sock monkey, I had to add a bit of colour to him. So, I used the yellow and black socks to make a little sweater, hat and the tail. The hat was simply made by using the toe end of the sock with a few inches of the black to turn over into a bit of a cuff (not sure if that is the right word on a hat or not??). I didn’t even hem the bottom edge of the hat. We’ll see how it holds up, I may end up having to finish the edge if it begins to unravel. The sweater was made from the top part of the sock, above the heel. I did finish the bottom of the tube by hemming it slightly. I basically just pulled the little tube over the monkey’s body and called it a sweater! I did find that the tail was a bit of a problem, so I did a button-hole stitch and then cut a slit for the tail to slide through. This seemed to work fine. His arms are actually sitting over the top of the tube sweater as opposed to making arm holes.sock monkey

Shay was thrilled, but had trouble figuring out a name for him. He ended up googling the name of the Boston Bruins mascot and named him “Blade” in his honour. Meet the monkeys! (Remember to click the images to enlarge the photos.)

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Repurposing Christmas Crackers

Christmas crackersChristmas crackers

I am not sure if your family purchases Christmas Crackers for the holiday season or not, but my sister in-law always has a cracker for everyone at our family Christmas dinner. It is a tradition. I am not sure where she purchases them, but I think she might get them at Costco. They are always quite elegant looking and the prizes are pretty good. This year we got a key chain, an egg timer, a set of mini dominos and a heart pendant necklace. Aside from the fun and the prizes, I also have a tradition of my own. For me the prize is much more about the packaging than the actual contents of the cracker. I always collect all of the little embellishments and take them home for use in other projects. I thought I would share a couple of repurposing ideas for those cute little cracker decorations.

Repurposing Christmas Crackers:

Here are a few shots of some of my salvaged loot from the past three years. You can see that some of the piles are already quite depleted.

Each end of the cracker is usually tied with one or two pieces of ribbon. A wire with little balls on it is twisted around to make a pretty little decoration. The ribbon pieces are quite small and their uses are definitely limited, but I absolutely love those fancy little wires.

  1. I have used the small ribbons and wires to add a bit of extra charm to small gifts in much the same way as they are used on the original crackers.
  2. The wires and bows can also be used to add some pizzaz to a scrapbooking layout.Christmas cracker upcycle

It may be too late, but if you have some crackers hanging around that still haven’t been used or maybe you are saving them for New Year’s, don’t forget to gather all those odds and ends and add them to your stash for future use.

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Simple Christmas Centre Piece

Christmas centre piece

Christmas centre pieceYou can’t get much simpler (or cheaper) than this arrangement. I thought I might like a nice arrangement for my table during the holidays, but now that it’s done, it may sit on the little table outside on my front porch….haven’t decided.

Materials:

  • glass vase (bought for a couple bucks at the thrift store)
  • silver ribbon with the wire edges for creating a nice shape
  • white curly ribbon
  • 5 to 7 cheap tacky plastic candy canes from the dollar store ( I think they came two or three in a pack) ~ as a rule of thumb, you should always use an odd number when making an arrangement (I am pretty sure about this “rule” because I learned it in 4H when I was 10, so it must be true. However, you can see I broke the rule. I had 6 and they are so tacky that I don’t want to leave the odd ball hanging around, so I stuck it in to make an even six – yikes!!)
  • 3 springs of berries (wire stem that is pliable for easy manipulation ~ got these on clearance for 99 cents each)
  • wire garland (As you know….I love wire garland and use it on all of my gifts. You can see the twisted swirls of silver holly garland in the arrangement)
  • hot glue/gun
  • glass beads (dollar store) to help with the stability of the candy canes (optional)

Building the Arrangement:

I basically started with the candy canes and added from there. I started by putting a little dab of hot glue on the glass jar and tilted the first candy cane to rest against the edge on the gob of glue. The glue is inside the rim and can’t be seen. I decided to glue three candy canes around the rim, each spaced about 1/3 of the circle apart. I am not sure if I will keep the arrangement or dismantle it at the end of the holidays, but hot glue peels off quite easily, so I wasn’t concerned about the vase.  I then took the second set of three candy canes and secured them together with the silver bow (and a few dabs of hot glue). These were more upright and straddled the first set of candy canes nicely to sit more in the middle of the arrangement. I then added the glass beads to help hold the candy cane based in place.

I then began to “fill” the arrangement. I curled several lengths of plain white ribbon and used it as filler, spilling over the top of the glass jar. I didn’t secure any of the ribbon, just poked it in here and there and hooked it around some of the candy canes. I then carefully pulled the tiny sprigs of the wire berries to give them more dimension and a bit of a whimsical look. Finally, I added a few lengths of the wire garland, randomly twisted throughout the arrangement.

*I was thinking that if this were made for outside, you could probably add a bit of water to the jar and the ice would act as the base to hold everything in place, instead of using glass beads.

All in all, this was mostly made up of odds and ends I already had on hand. The candy canes were 2 or 3 dollars and the berries another 3. Not bad for under $10!

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DIY Pom-Poms

I found this tutorial for a DIY jersey pom-pom posted on Pinterest a few months back. I just love the shabby chic feel and the colour is incredible….one of my favourites. Unfortunately, I don’t have anywhere to use a ball of this shade. I decided to make a few out of an old white t-shirt that was in the “to donate” tub. I figured that if I stuck with white, I could add them to my Christmas tree and it would flow nicely with the “theme” of the tree. The original post on Skip to My Lou is very thorough.

pom poms

Follow the link to visit Skip to My Lou and check-out the full tutorial.

DIY Pom-Poms:

Materials Needed

  •  old white t-shirt cut into 1/2 inch strips (I just tore mine)
  • needle
  • thread
  • wax linen thread (I just used embroidery thread because I had it on hand and it worked fine)
  • 3 X 5 cardboard
  • ribbon or fabric strips

Directions:

  1. Run each strip of fabric through your fist to stretch the material. This will actually cause the strip to curl around itself and form a hollow string/tube.
  2. Wrap each string around the cardboard lengthwise. Keep layering one string on top of the other until you have used what you deem to be enough. I am not sure how to gauge this for you as it will depend on the size of your t-shirt and length of your strips. I used an XL t-shirt and ended up with 5 pom-poms. (Make sure to cut the strips horizontally across the body of the t-shirt – you need to cut off any seams as it will break the natural curl of the strip.)
  3. Slide the thread under the pile of strips and tie off one side, securing it as tightly as possible.
  4. Carefully remove the cardboard and then gather the side that is not tied and tie it together with the side you have already secured. You want the entire bunch to be tied as tightly as possible. The wax thread would make this easier as it wouldn’t slip, but I managed without it.
  5. You then begin to cut the loops in half at both ends.
  6. After each end is cut, fluff the material out to make a ball. Trim down any ends that seem too long, fluffing as you go and creating a nice spherical shape.
  7. Add a string to hang it from your tree and a ribbon to spruce it up a bit.  (You could add a safety-pin instead of a string and make pin to dress-up a scarf or add a hair-clip, so that it could be pinned on a pony tail. It would also look cute on a hat!)
I used some Christmas scripted fabric and tore it in strips for my ribbon.
Here are my ribbon strips.
My pom pom is plain white and i just added a bow tied from the scripted ribbon.
Here is a shot of the pom pom on our tree.

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Gift Wrapping Tips: Post 4 Pull Tab Cans

This is one of my favourite gift wrapping ideas. I am not sure where the original idea came from, but I found it on the internet a long time ago. This idea involves the constant collection of pull-tab cans. Whenever we purchase canned food that comes with a pull tab (such as Eagle Brand Milk or individual Ravioli tins), we don’t use the tab to open it. Simply turn the can upside down and use a can opener to open the can and save the tab for a special gift! (Don’t forget to save both the base and the tin….simply wash and store for the perfect occasion.)

Turn can upside down and open with a can opener.
Here’s a shot of the tab top and the cut off bottom.
Fill the tin with the gift (from the open bottom). Hot glue the bottom back on the base.
Hot glue the felt on the base of the tin to cover the glue used to put the tin bottom back on.
Choose some items to embellish your gift. I have red paper covered wire, red ribbon, red raffia, bells, buttons and some white curly ribbon.

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Balloon Ice Lanterns

ice lanternA few years ago, I received a mold for making an ice lantern. It is really nice because you can add cranberries or pine branches and create a really beautiful piece. I make a few for our yard each year and often make a couple to give away. It is the gift that keeps on giving ~ thanks Joan!! I really wanted to create a series of ice lanterns for our front entrance, but with only one mold and several hours for freezing each one, I knew that it would be difficult to make a large number. I have seen a few “pins” on creating your own ice sculptures using balloons. I picked up a bag of balloons at the dollar store and proceeded to try my hand at making my own. Thanks to Willow Day for the great tutorial.

Balloon Ice Lanterns:

  1. Purchase balloons
  2. Slip the neck over a faucet or hose end and carefully fill to desired size.
  3. Knot the end.
  4. Set outside (or in the freezer) to freeze.
  5. The tutorial said to allow 4 to 6 hours for freezing time. I checked mine after 4 hours, 6 hours, 9 hours, 18 hours and then finally felt they were frozen to the desired stage after about 27 hours. (Another tutorial did suggest about 24 hours, so I was expecting it would take longer.)  You are wanting to freeze the outer layer only, but want it to be thick enough that it will not break too easily. The key is to “catch it” before the entire sphere freezes, as you will want to pour the water out of the center cavity because this will become the area in which you set your tea light candle.

Completed Balloon Ice Lanterns:

The outdoor temperature has been hovering around -17 degrees. Brrrr.  I think that the 27 hours was great, but another hour or two would have still been fine as there was still plenty of water in the center. I have lined them on my front porch and set out by the door. I will probably make a few more and of course, add one or two from the mold. I love how the balloon lanterns all freeze differently and thus each one is unique.  I had a really hard time capturing them in a photo. It is really cold and a bit snowy, and the wind keeps blowing my candles out. None of these shots do them any justice, but at least you get the idea. I think they’ll work beautifully on a calm clear evening. We’ll wish for that on Christmas Eve!

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Quick and Simple Christmas Decor

I saw this idea at church on the weekend and the jars looked so pretty. I loved the simplicity and thought it would be easy to replicate. No word of a lie, once I had the supplies home this project took me less than 5 minutes to put together.  At church they had many of these lining the tables in the lounges. It looks beautiful. I just made one for now, but may end up making more. They would make a cute little gift as well.

Christmas Mason Jar Materials:

  • old mason jar
  • wire (Dollar Store)
  • “snowflakes” (Dollar Store)
  • battery operated mini lights
  • optional embellishments (The ones at the church were plain, but I bought a pack of bells, some Snowflake ornaments and some Christmas ornament hooks to add some embellishments.)
  • Fur mat (optional) ~ the jars at church were sitting on a white fur mat and I loved the look.  I picked up some faux fur with my trusty Fabricland membership discount card (I love that card.)
Here is a shot of the dollar store embellishments I picked up.
Jar, wire, string of lights and snow

*I love the dollar store. It’s true, you do get what you pay for and must be mindful that the quality will generally be poor, but it is much like thrift store shopping. You are looking for items with “good bones” or structure. I buy most of my Christmas wrapping paper at the dollar store and often incorporate tacky ornaments and decorations into projects and my gift wrapping. Such was the case with the items I purchased to dress up this jar. It is amazing how you can take something that you might otherwise consider very cheap and unappealing and then configure it into something spectacular!

Christmas Mason Jar Project:

  • Wrap the wire around the neck of the jar and then loop it over the top to form a handle. Twist the ends of the wire on both sides of the jar. (1 minute)
  • Put batteries in the lights and shove in the jar. (30 seconds)
  • Dump “snow” on top. (30 seconds)
  • Slip an ornament hook through the twisted wire on one side of the jar and thread on one of the snowflake ornaments. (1 minute)
  • Hook a bell on each end and give the wire a bit of a twist to secure it. (1 minute)
  • Set the jar on the fur mat and turn on the lights. (This actually takes about a minute because you have to squeeze your hand in the jar to get to the switch).
Mason Jar Project

Here is the finished project.

Finished mason jar project

This angle shows you how I used the “s” shaped ornament hook as a feature in the finished project. I love the design of the hook.

snowflake lights

Here are the snowflake lights with two of the snowflakes pulled off.

*I found a set of the battery operated mini lights at the dollar store. They were a buck and I knew they were $4 at Canadian Tire, so I felt it was worth the gamble. I didn’t really like the “snowflake” bulbs and wasn’t impressed when they gave off a blue light instead of the soft white I was expecting. However, I easily slid the snowflake portion off the end and the blue didn’t look quite so bad. I may still pick-up a set of white lights. So simple and pretty.

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Winter is Here!

We had our first snow fall a few weeks ago and it looks like it is here to stay. I actually hate the cold and am generally not a big fan of winter. I would miss having snow at Christmas, but other than one snowman making session and a few toboggan rides, I would be fine to skip winter all together. However, in some ways, it is almost a relief when the cold weather finally settles in and the snow is here to stay. I find that transition time in the spring and fall is a killer when you have limited storage space. When the weather is bouncing up and down like a yo-yo, it seems as though you have every coat you own in use and there is no room to house all of the clothes. You know, the light jacket for nice days, the winter gear for the bitter cold and the rain jackets for the very damp and rainy days. Every day seems like a new adventure and in Manitoba that means being prepared for what ever weather happens to come our way. So, with winter here, I was finally able to store all of our fall gear and clear some closet space.

I decided to put some of my thrift store purchases to the test and incorporate them into my plans to store our winter accessories more effectively.

Thrift Store Purchases…Repurposed:

curtain ringsYou may remember my post from last week which highlighted a few of my recent thrift shop finds. I picked up two wrought iron plant hangers. We mounted the larger one inside our front closet door and have it stuffed full of mittens and hats. There are little iron scrolls on the bottom that I slipped some old curtain rings on for our scarves. These are the same rings that I used on the scarf rod in my closet make-over and for the wet mitten rack below. I am so glad I hung onto those rings….they’ve come in very handy!

I also purchased a little “welcome” sign for 99¢. I had been planning to make a little place to hang our wet mittens and thought I could use the sign for my project. Typically, the radiator at our front door gets stacked with wet gear and is a bit of an eye sore. I thought that a little hanger sitting over top of the radiator would be a bit more visually appealing, but still take advantage of the radiator to dry the wet mittens.

mitten storage

This was are previous storage system!

Mitten Storage Solutions:

I basically took a wooden hanger from the basement (they were left by the previous owners) and sanded it down. It was in good condition, but I wanted it to have a bit of a darker stain.  I used some stain I had on hand to create a bit more of an aged look. I then gently removed the bottom bar of the hanger and slid on my curtain rings. I hammered the nail back in to secure the bar.

I took the little “welcome” sign and sanded it down to reveal some of the wood beneath the paint. I added some stain to the exposed wood and then topped it with a coat of paint. Once dry, I gently sanded the painted layer and applied a bit more stain to distress it slightly. I hand painted the word “MITTENS” and added a few dots to embellish the ends of the sign. Finally, I used some scrap fabric to make a tiny pair of little red mittens to dress up the sign. I used a blanket stitch to finish off the cuffs of the tiny mittens and tied them together with a string, so that they could hang over the buttons I glued onto the sign.  Here is a great tutorial for doing a blanket stitch. I love the look of a blanket stitch as it is a simple way to give a project a more “finished” look.

Mitten Storage Reveal:

You can see that the plant hanger does not provide a neat and tidy solution. It is inside our closet door, so I am okay with the messy look. What I love is that there is an actual “place” for the kids to put their mittens. They can now be held responsible for putting them away when they get home and in turn find them more easily when they are set to go out again. We have not had a chance to try-out the mitten hanger yet, but hopefully this will free up the top of the radiator!

Here is a shot of the plant hanger filled with mittens and the scarves hanging below.
You can see the hanger is sitting just above the radiator in our front entrance, so the kids can still dry their wet mittens.
Mitten embellishement.
Wet mitten hanger.

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