Sunday, July 17, 2011

50 ways To Repurpose and Recycle a Wedding Dress

It Now that the wedding is over ,it seems a shame to store an expensive dress when there are so many ways to repurpose wedding gowns . Here is a small lit of ideas for any wedding dress or ugly bridesmaid outfit.

1. How about making a christening outfit
Many patterns can be found in stores and online
2. Make underwear
Use that silk and lace to create something special. How to Link Lace
     How to Link 
3. Kimono Robe
    Wonderful with a bit of colored embroidery  around the white of the old wedding dress. How to Link
4. Evening Gloves How to Link


5. Arm warmers with thumb holes
6. First Holy communion Dress
7. Garter
     Make garter for your friends and family  How to Link
8. Christmas ornaments
9. Jewelry Bag
10. Flower girl's dress

11. Anniversary Outfit
       Shorten the dress if you're going to be dining out, remind your husband how beautiful you looked                  on your wedding day
12. Fabric Earrings
13. Fabric flowers
      My fav is the fabric Flowers  How to Link
14.Bed skirt
15.Padded hangers How to Link
16.Ring bearer pillow
      For your family and friends How to Link


17.Burial Bunting
18.Cocktail Dress
19.Donate To a Local Theatrical Company
20.Bassinet Skirting
     A very sweet way to remember your life and child a beautiful skirt of your own wedding dress.
     How to Link
21.Fairy Princess Dress
22.Halloween Costume
23.Fabric Flags with photos printed on fabric.
   Print on dress and make cute fabric flags for your anniversary party .Remember to get other anniversary photos through the years to add to the flags How to Link
24.Art Canvas
      Stretch across a frame and paint away ,or print on fabric and frame .
25.Donate To Charity
26.Christmas Tree Skirt  How to Link
27.Doll cloths or Doll dressed like an angel
28.Pillow Sham
29.Sell On eBay
30.Shadow Box
31.Prom Dress
32.Sell to a second hand shop
33.Stuffed animals How to  Link Dog

34.Quilt or Photo Quilt - How to print on fabric
35.Tablecloth
36. Table runner  How to Link
37.Wedding Album Cover
      A great way to store all the wedding memories is in a fabric covered photo album covered wedding         fabric and lace. How to  Link
38.Wedding Gift Wrapping
39.Storage box Covers
      How to stylishly store your treasures . How to link

40.Christmas bags  How to Link
41.Christmas stockings How to Link
42.Baby shoes  How to Link
43.Fabric postcards invitations
44.Ballerina dress
45.Hankies
     For the groomsmen and grandchildren or just a memento of the day  How to Link
46. Evening Purse How to Link
47.Tree Skirt  How to Link
48. Card fronts for a anniversary dinner or celebration. Mixed media  Quilting site
49. Valentine gifts
50.Tooth fairy Pillow

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Make Homemade Liquid Sidewalk Chalk

Opproximate Time: 5 minutes
Supplies:
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
food coloring
old muffin tin
Tin foil

Instructions:
1.Mix together the cornstarch and water in a bowl.
2.Line muffin cups with foil
3..Next divide it among the muffin tin holders.
4..Now add your food coloring to each one and stir. This is also an opportunity to teach your child how by mixing colors together you can make new colors. Combine red and yellow to make orange, blue and red to make purple, and blue and yellow to make green.
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Recipe #2

Super Sidewalk Paint

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
6 to 8 drops food coloring

Mix cornstarch and cold water together in a small bowl. Add food coloring and stir. Repeat this process to make different colors of paint. You can color larger areas of sidewalk more quickly with this paint than with the regular sidewalk chalk.
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Sidewalk chalk
2 cups water
2 cups plaster of paris
2 Tbsp wet or dry Tempera paint
toilet paper tubes
duct tape
Use duct tape to cover one end of each toilet paper tube. Mix all ingredients and set aside for 5 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or foil. Place tubes upright(open end up) on cookie sheet. Tape the tubes upright onto the wax paper or foil to make it steadier. Pour mixture into holders. Let sit until chalk mixture is almost firm. Rip off the toilet paper tubes and let the sidewalk chalk dry for about 2 more hours.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Paper Lanterns how To Make

paper-box-lanterns


Art Project: Paper Box Lanterns
Post by annie
February 19, 2011
Wondering how you could re-use your seasonal holiday lights? I've noticed that even towards the end of February, many people in my neighborhood still have their decorative lights displayed. It certainly helps with the dark winter months so they don't really bother me. A spring-like solution: turn them into a magical string of lanterns, and you'll be sure to spruce up any porch, office or even a basement! This project is easiest to do with origami paper but use any paper you'd like, just make sure to pre-cut into perfect squares or the process will feel very frustrating. Here's a step-by-step instructon for making paper boxes:

How to Make a Simple Paper Lantern
1 Fold a piece of paper lengthwise and make a sharp crease. Use scissors to cut along the folded edge, starting and stopping about an inch away from the edges. Make as many cuts as you like, but be sure to make them evenly.
2 Unfold the paper. If you wish to add designs to the lantern, do so now. Consider gluing strips of ribbon down each cut-out, or paint a picture on the paper to add a different look.
3 Roll the lantern together, gluing the 1-inch edges together. Hold them in place with two paper clips until the project dries. Measure a length of a ribbon or fishing line and glue it to the top of the lantern so it can be hung.
4 Measure the diameter of your lantern and cut out a matching piece of thin cardboard. Be sure to include small tabs that you can glue to the lantern. Allow the project to dry again.
5 Place a small tap light with batteries on the cardboard base and turn it on. If you would prefer to use a candle for lighting, visit Candle Help's Web site for instructions on a different lantern. Consider making a few more lanterns to hang around your home, adding a little international flavor to your decor.

By Ned Gorski
Can mere mortals make sky lanterns?

How to
http://blog.skylighter.com/fireworks/2008/11/how-to-make-chinese-sky-lanterns.html

Gorgeous Fabric Flower Roundup Tutorials free patterns

You all know I am obsessed with flowers.
Time to freshen up your flower collection with some of the top ten best tutorials.

Maize in Montana created an easy to understand tutorial on how to make this frayed fabric flower.

Boutique NutMeg Designs created a tutorial how to make a these a flower pattern to approx 3″x3″.

 The frayed flower card Ashely made is soooo cute.


 This is Molly Chicken’s  beautiful simple version.

 Wise Craft also has a flower tutorial  the purse is wonderful

 I hit the mother-load of fabric flower tutorials on The Domestic Diva. These are amazing!

 This is Pink Paper Peppermints rounded petal fabric flower
I love this one Sooooo pretty!

 Here is Sew Ritzy Titzy’s multi-petal flower tutorial.


 Julia created a tutorial on how to make her Fabric Flower brooch.


 This is  Grace Violet’s rosette embellished tank.

Please send me any photos of flowers you make.

Monday, July 11, 2011

The Little Garden

Well readers it has been 1 year and a few plants more .
The little garden has began to grow. Both trees are healthy and tall ,pansies are still blooming around the flowering pear and the wisteria is shooting all over the place.
Thew veggie garden has cucumbers where the tomatoes were last year and the plastic still protects the peppers.
Temps still dropping into the mid 30s at night in the middle of July.
The Little pear tree had no flowers this year.We had a late snow and froze all the flower buds.


This year we have snow peas,garlic for the marmots,tomatoes,lettuce, tons of strawberries,parsnips,peppers,an artichoke and cucumbers.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Coffee Grounds

How to use old coffee grounds

1. Soften and add shine to hair. When washing your hair, rub coffee grounds through wet hair and rinse.
For brown hair, coffee grounds add highlights.
2. Use coffee grounds as an exfoliant for skin. Pat on skin, massage over skin, rinse.
3. Add coffee grounds to your skin mask beauty routine.
4. Make homemade tattoos (temporary) with henna and coffee grounds.
5. Fertilize plants. Old coffee grounds are nutrient-rich for plants that thrive in an acidic soil.
6. Add used coffee grounds to the pots of indoor plants.
7. Work used coffee grounds into your garden soil before seed planting. After your plants start to emerge, work in coffee grounds near the plants. Used coffee grounds are said to repel snails and slugs as well as adding nutrients to the soil.
8. Increase your carrot and radish harvest by mixing seeds with dry coffee grounds before planting the seeds.
9. Use coffee grounds to repel ants.
10. Keep cats from using your garden as a kitty box by spreading used coffee grounds and orange peels throughout flower beds.
11. Deodorize a freezer. Place a bowl with used coffee grounds in the freezer to remove unwanted odors. Add a few drops of vanilla to coffee grounds.
12. Rub coffee grounds on hands to get rid of smells from chopping or cutting up pungent foods.
13. Make a used coffee grounds sachet. Fill old nylons or cheescloth with dry used coffee grounds. Hang in closets to absorb odors.
14. When you need an abrasive cleaner, coffee grounds can be used. Be careful of any surfaces that might stain.
15. Remove furniture scratches with wet coffee grounds.
16. Got a fireplace? Sprinkle wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep from becoming engulfed in the plume of dust ashes create when you need to remove them.
17. Dye fabric, paper or Easter eggs. Simply add used coffee grounds to warm water and let sit a bit to create a dye.
18. After you give your dog a bath, rub coffee grounds through the coat of your pet. Coffee grounds are said to repel fleas.
19. Keep bait worms alive by mixing coffee grounds into the soil before you add worms.
20. Grow mushrooms on old coffee grounds.
From DIY