Sweet Chunky Cowl

I made this Sweet Chunky Cowl (or infinity scarf) with no pattern and I am super pleased with it. It's just double crochets all around.

Here are the myriad 6 ways you can wear it:

Make and share as you please!

Mail Center-$1.99

My husband leaves mail EVERYWHERE.
So I'm making a mail center.

 I am using these things.

1. An unfinished window box from Michael's clearance section-$1.99

2. Paint stirrers from the painting we just did in the living room-$0

3. Scrap piece of floor trim found in the basement-$0

The floor trim has two flat sides.

The window box sits at an angle--fine for flowers, bad for mail.

So I'm gonna use wood glue to put this little cutie inside the window box and create a surface for the mail to sit upon.

 Here's the finished product.

In all her glory!

These pieces are just tucked in there with a little wood glue.

Repurposed Dollar Store Rack

Leftover Corn on the Cob Wrap (Vegetarian, Low-fat)

CORN ON THE COB!!! Right? 
But reheating it always makes it dull and lifeless. 
Here's something you can whip up that will put some spring in its step again.
You'll need:

And one low-carb wrap, whatever brand you like. Also, the taco seasoning and cheese can be whatever brand you like. You can even make your own seasoning from scratch if you don't have any in your pantry.


1. Spray a 12" pan with cooking spray and put on low heat.


2. Lay your empty wrap in the pan.


3. Shave off all the corn from the cob and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the diced tomatoes and 1 tsp of taco seasoning. Mix well. Microwave, covered, for 1-2 minutes.


4. Place corn mixture in the pan on top of your wrap. Sprinkle with cheese and cover.


5. Heat the chik'n patty as directed. Cut into strips and lay, lengthwise, in your wrap.


6. The bottom of the wrap should be nice and crispy now so scoop 'er out and enjoy!   

Faux Whitewash Goodwill Piece (~$20)

This was a great Goodwill find! $10 and in decent shape. It was plain wood laminate at time of purchase.  The idea was to make it look like an old, beloved book that has been reread throughout one's life.

First Step: Sanding

Second Step: Primer

Third Step: "Whitewash"

I achieved this effect by using white acrylic paint. It's very thick and dries quickly, making the coat very uneven. Perfect for a distressed appearance. I did two coats but you could really get away with one.

Fourth Step: Distressing

This needs to be done before the paint dries.  I used a wet washcloth and simply wiped away the paint around some edges and corners.  Once the paint had dried I took a razor blade to the top and scraped away some paint to achieve a "chipping" effect.

Fifth Step: Accenting

I used a color called "calypso sky", also acrylic for the drawer pulls and door knobs, as well as the bottom molding.  

(I felt that the sides were too bare so I accented them with this color also. See bottom for instructions.)

 Inside the doors I used torn pages from an old, yellowing book and decoupaged them with diluted Elmer's.

Continuing with the theme of "old book" I printed out some very large font Times New Roman letters, placed them under clear contact paper, traced, and then cut the contact paper to create stencils.  Since the contact paper has an adhesive side it lays perfectly still while you paint within the stencil.  I created the blurred, printing press look by wiping the black paint with a wet washcloth and making fingerprint smudges around the letters.

This is a birthday present for my best friend so in order to make it special I summoned all her friends to think of ONE word that describes her best.  Using one of the same pages I used for the insides of the doors, I printed those words as though they were a paragraph in a book, with her first name as the chapter heading.  I put a very small amount of glue on the back of the page and placed it to the right of the word "loved".  

Then I finished the whole piece with satin polyurethane, (although I think matte would have been more in keeping with the old, distressed look). 

Finally, since the purpose for this piece is to house her jewelry boxes, I added ten eye hooks to each side for long necklaces.  I also put a chain across each door for fishhook earrings.

Here you can see one hook in the top left side of the piece.  I added nine more to this side and ten to the opposite side.

Side Accents: I removed one of the drawer pulls with a screwdriver.  Holding it in place on a piece of clear contact paper, I carefully traced around the edges.   I then cut out the shape with an x-acto knife and discarded it.  I removed the paper backing of the contact paper, exposing the adhesive, and placed it directly on the side of the cabinet.  I used a wet sponge to dab the paint within the stencil and then removed the contact paper carefully.

Lentils for Dummies ($1)

I have a friend who doesn't cook.  She lives above people who are constantly cooking Indian food, thus making her fiend for the heavenly spices and textures of Krishna's cuisine.  I am going to surprise her with this tonight:
1. Jar of dry lentils.
2. Jar of Indian spices.
3. Easy instructions on how to cook Indian food.

Here's what I did:
1. Purchase 1 bag lentils for 1 dollar.
2. Paper mache a glass jar.

3. Type, print, and cut out instructions for cooking lentils.

4. Glue instructions to pretty Mulberry paper. (Can be purchased at Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, one dollar.)

5. Wait for everything to dry.

6. Thread a pretty ribbon through the instructions.

7. Ta-da! 10 Indian meals in a jar!

8. Don't forget the jar of spices.

Key Organizer($0)

3 clean tuna cans (no lids)
tape (any kind)
3 metal eye hooks with anchors (you will need a power drill to make the holes for them)
paint and paintbrush
1. Drill a small hole into anywhere along the side of each tuna can.
2. Screw a metal eye hook into each hole, making sure to insert it into the anchor on the other side of the hole.

 3. Paint each tuna can with acrylic or tempera paint.

 4. Line up all three tuna cans so that the eye hooks are parallel. Tape them together where they meet.

5. Attach to wall with thumbtacks, nails, picture hangers, et c.

6. Hang your keys on it. :)