Ideas to Make Life Easier

Here is an email I received today. Thought I would share this tips with you all!

Enjoy!

Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture

will disguise dings and scrapes.  Rubbing a walnut

over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings

and scrapes.

Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or

computer screen with WD40.

Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box

by securing with a rubber band.

Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets

inside one of their own pillowcases and there will

be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod

in a bowl.  The concave shape amplifies the music.

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.

Add this item to your beach bag.  Baby powder

gets sand off your skin easily, who knew?!

Attach a Velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys.

Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls

against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the

floor.

Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a

stocking over the vacuum hose.

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting

crosses into a box lid.

For those who can’t stand the scrunching and

bunching: how to perfectly fold a fitted sheet.

Forever losing your bathroom essentials?  Use

magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers

and clippers, behind a vanity door

Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty

soles rubbing on your clothes.  And you can

find them in just about every hotel.

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy.  Magnets

hold the plastic cups down to make them

tip-resistant.

Bread tags make the perfect cord labels.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so

much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper

bag.  Much healthier and cheaper than the packet

stuff.

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough

over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit

or ice-cream.

Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing

sunburn relief.

Create a window-box veggie patch using guttering.

Use egg cartons to separate and store your

Christmas decorations.

Pretty cool, huh?

We Have a Winner!!!

Thanks to all who participated in my very first giveaway, and for all the wonderful and encouraging comments. Gives me the warm and fuzzies:o) Anyway, the winner of the bag is Miranda! Just email me your address and I will get it in the mail asap:o)
***I also wanna wish the hubs Happy Anniversary today!! He has put up with me for 7 years. He told me that it has seemed like 3 minutes...under water...haha, gotta love it:o) Anyway....***

 This week I am concentrating on using the craft supplies that I have in my home to make fabulous stuff instead of going out to Hobby Lobby, Lowes, Target, Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc. for more supplies. So this week's blog titles will be called "Use Whatcha Got." So here goes....
Our half bath has a pedestal sink and I have always wanted one. Love it, but the only problem is that there isn't anywhere to hide the additional toilet paper. I didn't want to leave rolls just hanging around on the floor...yuck... but I definitely wanted to leave some in there(no fun if you get stuck with nothing of which to wipe with, if ya know what I mean;o)) So, as I was looking thru my Paper Crafts mags, I ran across this pic, and knew I had to re-create it as my new T.P. holder.

 

Here's a quick tutorial on how to recover a box to put whatever you want in it...mine of course will be housing said T.P.

I bought a gift box set at an after X-mas sale, and the middle sized box was the perfect fit for the T.P.

 

I grabbed all my supplies...coordinating scrapbook paper, scissors, Mod Podge, paper cutter, my Paper Crafts Mag., to keep me on track, and embellishments(i.e. stickers, ribbon, letters, etc.).

 

Find the paper that you want to use for the box top(I looked for one that had a nice pattern on it). Lay the box top on the wrong side of the paper and measure. Make sure to leave enough room for the edges to overlap the sides. Bust out the Mod Podge, slather it all over the paper, and apply it to the top. Make sure all sides are even.  Take your scissors and cut the corners at a slight angle so that each side will fold down smoothly.

Set the top to the side to dry. Now for the bottom. I cut 4 rectangles, each were the width of the box, but the length was longer so that they could overlap the bottom, and the inside of the box. Make sure to cut the angles as you did the top. Apply the Mod Podge and smooth out evenly. 

(Look at that sweet little arm...my babies love their crafting too;o)... After the Mod Podge has had time to dry, apply a thin coat on the lid and the box itself to make it a little more sturdy. In the pic below, I cut out a square that was just smaller than the actual box to cover the rough edges, and to make it look more uniform.

You can add another coat, or move on to embellishing. I have lots of scrapbook stuff that has been lying around waiting for the day when I would remember them and give them the love and attention they deserved... I pulled out these cool letters that I have had for years...I never used them in my scrapbooks b/c they were too bulky, but they are perfect for this lil ole box...The front says bath tissue b/c that sounds soooooooo much nicer than toilet paper. I wanted to sound somewhat educated:o) The top of the box says "Open". I put that one on there for the men who visit that toilet...you just never know;o) I am really happy with how it turned out! Now my T.P. has a home, in a box, on a shelf, hidden from plain view:o) Stay tuned for more "Use Whatcha Got" crafts...