What I learned from my First Garden

It's officially autumn here in South Carolina. The air has a sweet chill in the morning and the leaves have shown a touch of bronze. Coffee is being served hot instead of iced. I'm totally into it. Sadly, some of my plants from my first patio garden started back in April are not enjoying it quite so much.  I've learned a lot from this experiment. For starters, I actually enjoy gardening which was a bit surprising. A few other lessons were more practical and I figured some fellow ambitious gardening novice may actually be able to benefit if shared.

1. Not all plants are friends: I (stupidly) categorized all herbs as being friends. They can all live in the same container and have a sweet, happy herb party together, right? Wrong. Certain herbs, like mint, grow fast and aren't good at sharing. They tend to take over the space they're given with no regard for their flavorful roommates. So the mint got transplanted into a new pot. You'd think that would be enough for me to learn but no, I then found out that certain herbs don't even like to have the same amount of water in the soil. Lavender, apparently, prefers a fairly dry soil while basil likes a little more moisture. Putting them together, like I tried, would be like pairing together a fish and a cat in the same room and expecting them both to survive. Oh wait...I did that too on accident but that's another story (RIP Fancy). All the herbs that survived now have their own homes.

2. Not every blossom will produce: Every time I saw a flower on my zucchini or eggplant I thought to myself "YES. HERE WE GO." Every time. Every flower. Spoiler alert, not one zucchini actually grew all summer. It was disappointing but I've been told that was a pretty common issue in the area. It may have been a lie to placate me but I'll take it. I've heard there are ways to manually pollinate as long as you have both a male and female plant but heck if I know how to spot the difference between the two on a dang zucchini plant.

3. Pruning is more than pretty: I had heard of pruning before. I assumed it was mostly about the looks of plants. Because, you know, they're trying to attract those sexy female zucchini plants ;) Okay, not quite, but I did think it was about looks so I trimmed plants until I was happy with the size and shape and made sure they didn't take over the whole patio. As I'm sure the rest of humanity already knows, that was barely helpful in my gardening mission. The true reason to prune is to make sure the plant isn't wasting unnecessary energy and resources growing and supporting the wait of extra branches or leaves. Each plant has a different method that's recommended but in a nutshell, you want to prune to make sure the main stalk, sprout, shoot, whathaveyous, has enough nutrients before the plant has to worry about supporting offshoots.

4. Aphids are the devil: I can't even express my frustration with these gross little mini-demons. They have attacked a few of my plants and completely ignored others. Because sometimes I overly trust the world that things that suddenly appear must be a good sign, I didn't know they were a pest and I didn't immediately try to eradicate them. Because as you may have gathered by now sometimes I'm an idiot. Eventually I wised up and tried some homemade remedies. They worked okay, but I've had much more success with a product called Bon Neem. It's available at your local nursery, I'm assuming.

So there you have it. It's almost a little embarrassing to admit how little I knew about plant life in general before starting this project. I've gotten rid of a few of the strugglers who didn't like the cooler weather and replaced them with beets, parsnip, kale, and spinach. Don't worry, I actually did some research this time. But I am starting from seed so there's lot of room for error.


Are you planning a fall/winter garden? Any other tips that would seem obvious that you want to share? I'd love to know!

Sheila

T-Shirt Pillows

Every so often, a shirt comes around that is just too great to be stored in the closet. You might try to wear it as frequently as possible to share the awesomeness with the world. After all that sharing with the world, eventually it starts to wear out. That, my friends, is a sad, sad day. This is a story of two such shirts.



Behold the awesomeness that is this pink Elvis t-shirt that was a Birthday gift from my best friend, and this Golden Girls shirt my Gram gave me as a Christmas present. I have had a slight obsession with both Elvis and the Golden Girls since high school, if not before. Yup. I’m so hipster I liked these things before it was cool to ironically like them. Adjusts unnecessary glasses and sips PBR.

They’re both made of very thin material and were starting to get a little worn over the years. I was worried that a hole would develop and it might be lost forever. The best course of action was obviously to turn these great t-shirts into great pillows.

You Will Need:

Nerdtastic t-shirts
Scissors
Ruler
Chalk or Pencil
Sewing machine (or needle/ thread/ perseverance)
Stuffing
Straight pins
Embroidery floss (optional)

Square Pillow


Lay your t-shirt flat and decide how much of the main image you want to be featured on your pillow. Take a deep breath and thank the inanimate object that has been worn so many times and started so many conversations. Tentatively, hesitantly, and mournfully cut the sleeves and collar from the shirt. Have second thoughts. Decide to continue and tell yourself you’re giving it new life. Cut up the side seams of the shirt and across the shoulder seems, separating the shirt into two pieces, front and back.

Turn halves inside-out, use the ruler and chalk or pencil to draw a square on the shirt featuring the design as desired. Pin the two sides together inside your lines. Carefully cut out your square.

Use your sewing machine to stitch around the edges leaving about 3-4” open at the bottom of the pillow. Remove the pins and turn it right side out. Stuff your pillow A little fuller than you think it should be; the filling will flatten out over time. You can also use a pencil to help get the stuffing all the way into the corners. Once it’s full, use a slip stitch to sew up the last few open inches. You can stop there OR you can add tassels. And when you have the option to add tassels, why wouldn't you?

To make the tassels, don't listen to me. I kind of just messed with embroidery floss until it worked. Seriously. Each one is slightly different. Since I can't be trusted when it comes to tassels, this tutorial will be much more useful. When they're finished, just run a few stitches through the center of the tassel into the corners of the pillow.

Circle Pillow



The circle pillow shares a lot of steps with the square pillow but you have to be extra careful not to tug the fabric while machine sewing the edges or you'll end up with a lumpy circle. T-shirt material is notoriously difficult because it is so stretchy. I used a lamp shade as a guide for a perfect circle because I'm a classy, classy lady. Don't forget to leave a few inches open to turn right side out and stuff. Afterwards, stitch it up and you're all done.



Any favorite t-shirts laying around that need a makeover? Do you know how to make a good tassel? I'd love to know!

Sheila

Weekend Inspiration: Work Spaces

GUESS WHAT?! I got a new computer! Well, new to me. My old laptop has done me very well but at this stage in it's life it was starting to have some issues. I can't fault it. The technical status of this little 2007 MacBook is beyond vintage, beyond antique, straight into dinosaur classification. It's survived many a late night, 20 page paper writing session. It's had coffee spilled on it. It's been thrown from a moving vehicle IKidYouNot. Then it became the platform for everything posted on this little blog and has done quite well keeping up with the task. As much as I love that little machine, it was definitely time for an upgrade and upgrade I did! The new computer is excessively large but since it was a great deal on it-why not? AND that means lots more pictures of higher quality, more ability to edit them and be detail specific... so many possibilities! The only issue is that this monster of a monitor is way out of place at the moment sitting on my craft desk. The space is going to need some revamping and reorganizing to keep up. With this upcoming task in mind, the weekend inspiration is work spaces!



1. These shelves look like a super simple DIY.

2. Am I cool enough to get away with a quote wall?

3. Love me a good lookin' peg board.

4. A little dark for my taste but the idea of using wire hangers to display things is brilliant.

5. Empty cans? Check. Plain board? Check. All set to make this organizing set up!

6. I never would have thought of using a mug tower for something like this. Never.

7. The look of the stacked books to create the desk leg is gorgeous but not too friendly to re-readers. I guess that's the sacrifice made for aesthetics. Sigh.

Another work space challenge is this little one seen here cuddling with her arch nemesis, the giraffe.



She's been great about really chewing or scratching on things or getting into places where she shouldn't, but at the same time I don't want to tempt her by being overly trusting. She is only 4 months old. So finding a layout and system that is functional, inspiring, but not too kitten tempting is the criteria.

Any suggestions for a craft and kitten friendly space? And changes in technology you want to warn me about from 2007 to 2014? I'd love to know! :)

Sheila

Hanging Herb Garden (The Unexpectedly Challenging One)

Last week we talked about 2 different pretty simple hanging planters. Now it's time to up the anti and bring on the macrame. Are you ready for this? *stretches arms in preparation*



When I worked with children back in the day, one little girl came in with a handful of twisted cord determined to make a bracelet like the ones the big kids made in art class at school. All she remembered from the older kid who was trying to teach her were the terms "snake" "lizard" and "tunnel." Filling in the gaps, I figured she must be talking about macrame. Soon all the kids wanted to learn how. The idea of teaching a bunch of boys and girls how to play with yarn was essentially a dream come true. The snake/lizard method was by far the easiest to understand.



That's the primary idea. The lizard will always go under the tunnel and over the snake and the snake will always be opposite of that. If you alternate which reptile goes under and over, then the knots will begin to twist. It's actually pretty cool if you're doing a long project but with just a few knots it looks messy. Just a tip, it's easier to tighten the snake and lizard if you hold the tunnel tightly. Once you've got the basic knot down, you're ready to move on to the planter.

6 Strand Hanging Planter

You will Need:

Small Pot filled with the sun-craving plants of your choice
6 pieces Nylon rope, 72" each
1" Steel welded O-ring (can be bought individually in store for 80 cents)
Lighter (optional)

I chose these pots from Lowe's for a few reasons: cheap, adorable, colorful, self-watering, light weight, annnnd immediately available.



The O-ring should be centered on the strands and secured with a pretzel knot.  Separate the strands into 3 groups of 4 strands. 8" down from the O-ring, you'll add 4 macrame knots into each group. 2" or 3" down from the macrame knots, tie a pretzel knot between the macrame groups using just the outside strands (the center picture). Gather all your strands together. You'll notice that the strands that were the "tunnels" in the macrame knots are a bit longer than all the others. A few inches  below your pretzel knots, grab one strand from each of the tunnel groups and pull them to the side. Those pieces are now your snakes and lizards to make a large set of macrame knots at the bottom of the holder. Knot to your desired length (mine is about 10 knots long) and then tie it off by wrapping all the strands in a pretzel knot. Pull each strand tightly, trim edges to desired length, and finish off with a quick pass of your lighter to keep the ends from fraying.

As mentioned in the previous posts, I wanted my hanging planters short so they wouldn't take up too much space on the patio. If you need longer ones, start with rope pieces longer than 72".



This one might take a little practice, but I think it might be my favorite. What do you think? Have you made one yet? I'd love to know!

Sheila

Hanging Herb Garden (The Ever-So-Slightly More Complicated One)

Remember that time when I promised to publish a series of tutorials on plant hangers? 'Cause that promise was just made yesterday. I'll be referring to it a bit in this post so you might want to check it out first. This planter was the biggest of the three but only took a few more minutes that the first. Lowes only had 2 of the small pots in colors I liked so I got the next size up in this lovely blue. This time there are 5 strands were cut to 108" each. B-t-dubbs, all 3 of these were made with one bag of nylon rope that was 100' total.

You will need:

Small Pot filled with the sun-craving plants of your choice
5 pieces Nylon rope, 108" each
1" Steel welded O-ring (can be bought individually in store for 80 cents)
Lighter (optional)

I chose these pots from Lowe's for a few reasons. As mentioned in the previous post they are cheap, adorable, colorful, self-watering, light weight, and perhaps most importantly they were available exactly when I wanted them.

5 Strand Hanging Planter

Start off by twisting 2 pieces around each other, like hair, for the top 10"-12". Keep that in place by looping the rope at the bottom of the twist and pulling the ends tightly (pretzel knot is still relevant!). 6" down from the first know split the strands of the pairs that were twisted together and pretzel knot them to their immediate neighbors. 4" from that second round of knots, you'll make another set of knots tying the strands back with their original partners. It's basically an on-again-off-again relationship like we've all seen before. 3" down, finish it all with a tight pretzel knot. You can see the whole thing a little spread out in the last picture if that helps for comparison.



I can already tell the sun is making a big difference. The picture below was taken less than a week after hanging the plants. Good thing the mint is in the big pot!



The good news is that the next planter (the one with the pink pot) involves more exciting things than just pretzel knots. The bad news is it's a bit more complicated. If you already know a few macrame knots, you're golden. If not, get ready for more of my made up terms that shouldn't be used in front of people who know what they're doing.

Are you growing any herbs? Anyone want to come over for mojitos? ;) I'd love to know!

Sheila

Hanging Herb Garden (The Easiest One)

Things have pretty temperate here in Greenville lately. Not too hot or rainy and just a little breezy. The long sunny days have encouraged keeping the curtains open as much as possible to let in the natural light. I noticed something that made me a little nervous: the sun was never reaching my herb plants. Obviously, that led to an instant panic that the plant babies were going to die any minute from a lack of sun. Something had to be done.



Macrame and I are old friends going back to the days of summer camp and friendship bracelets. I've seen all kinds of hanging planters on the interwebs and decided it shouldn't be too hard to combine the old skill and the "new" trend. I've been pleased with the outcome since the herbs seem to be much happier and the colorful hanging pots are more fun to see. Because each hanger involves so many steps, I'm splitting them into 3 posts to keep them from getting overwhelming. This first one using 4 strands took about 10 minutes to make.



You will need:

Small Pot filled with the sun-craving plants of your choice
4 pieces Nylon rope, 72" each
1" Steel welded O-ring (can be bought individually in store for 80 cents)
Lighter (optional)

I chose these pots from Lowe's for a few reasons. 1, they were adorable and cheap (that alone would be enough honestly). Second, they were light-weight plastic so they wouldn't weight down the rope or the hooks too much and the sun shouldn't be too drying or damaging. These pots are also "self-watering" which means the pots don't drain on the patio below and it should help protect them from drying out with the dramatic increase in sun. Lastly, I was already there and didn't feel like shopping around anymore. So there's that.

4 Strand Hanging Planter

It was originally hard to see the detail in the pictures with the white rope so I used different colored yarn instead. Also, there were no rings left so I used the ring from a plastic bottle. Because I'm classy.

The first step is to gather all the strands and feed them through the ring. Once the ring is at the center of the strands, you'll tie what I like to call a "pretzel knot." Warning: do not use that term in front of people who know what they are doing/care about technical terms or they will laugh at you. The pretzel knot is the only one you'll use for this whole planter. Just cross the strands over each other and pull through the center. It helps to pull each individual strand as tightly as possible after tightening up towards the ring.

There's now 8 strands that are a little less than 36 " long. About 10" down, tie pretzel knots in pairs. 5" from there tie pretzel knots again, being sure to split the strands that were just tied together and join them with their immediate neighbors (see why the colors made this so much easier to explain?). Lastly, 3" down tie another pretzel knot using all strands and tighten. Finish it off by trimming the ends and using your lighter to melt the tips to keep the rope from unraveling. That's it! Seriously, 10 minutes tops.



The planter is pretty short. Finished it's only about 20" long, which was perfect for what I wanted but you may want to make your ropes longer that 72" to start with if you're looking for something more. They're so quick to make you can experiment. Keep an eye out this week if you're interested in the others which will be titled "The Ever-So-Slightly More Complicated One", and then "The Unexpectedly Challenging One."

Do you think macrame hangers are back in style? Do you know the real name for the pretzel knot? I'd love to know!

Sheila

The Start of an Apartment Container Garden (this could end badly)

Do you ever just get carried away with an idea? Usually, I thoroughly research before starting a project or making a purchases that could fail miserably. For some reason this time I just threw caution to the wind and came home with a sizable collection of baby plants and delusions of grandeur about a patio container garden.



For a beginner, it was bit ambitious but go big or go home I suppose. The collection includes strawberries, banana peppers, green bell peppers, and spinach, plus an "herb shelf" with mint, lavender, and parsley. Y'all. I went all in. But all in, in all the wrong ways. Just in case anyone out there is an naive about keeping plants alive as I am, I'm going to fill you in on all the mistakes and lessons so far so hopefully you won't have to make as many on your own.



For starters,there is a huge difference between garden soil and potting soil, which is probably insanely obvious to everyone but me. I didn't make this realization until reading the bag AFTER transplanting the first few plant babies. This was corrected the very next day with a healthy blend of potting soil and Compost Plus. Needless to say, I also had to grab some gloves since the Compost Plus is fresh off the dairy pasture...

Next, I had bought long, deep canisters called veranda boxes which don't come with the drain holes already popped out. You're supposed to do that yourself. I didn't notice until after filling the containers so fixing that took some fancy finagling. The herbs are in a smaller, shallower window box. Aside from the original drainage issue the boxes are great. They're heavy enough that wind doesn't bother them but light enough that I was able to move them inside when there was a freeze warning the other night.

The last lesson was on overcrowding. I had this image of lush, abundant garden boxes overflowing with edible greenery... I had put 4 pepper plants all right next to each other with about an inch inbetween before reading that they need some distance to allow roots to spread without competing for nutrients. Plants, like people, like their personal space. Who knew?

So in a nut shell: potting soil, draining, and space are the magic words. At least I knew enough to check how much sun they would need! After repairing the many, many mistakes, it was time to add the first personal touch with wood-burned plant markers. Oh, and did I mention they were free? Because starting a container garden is surprisingly expensive if you don't already have a ton of stuff on hand.

You will Need:

Wooden paint stirrers
woodburner
pencil
minimal fear of burning yourself



The nice man at the paint counter of Home Depot didn't even make a face when I asked for 8 paint stirrers without buying any paint. The hardest part of this project is following the curves in letters. Straight lines are nice and simple but even the slightest of curves gets a little complicated. Write out the labels while waiting for the woodburner to heat up, then very carefully go over the pencil with the burner. Watch your hands--that this is NOT playing around. I also recommend having a few extras you can practice on before going for the real thing, but I'm obviously a very novice woodburner so maybe that won't be an issue for you.



They're plain, but sturdy and rustic. If you really wanted to get fancy you could paint them or weatherize them.

You might be proud to know that not only are all of the original plant babies still alive, I actually have some seedlings sprouting for zucchini, eggplants, mini tomatoes, and sunflowers. The professionals didn't even have to start these. Naturally, a gardening Pinterest board was created.

Do you have any gardening experience? Container or otherwise. Any tips or rookie mistakes to avoid? I'd love to know!

Sheila

P.S. Happy belated Earth Day :)

Granny Square Seat Cushions

You may have seen my dismay yesterday when my post was lost somehow. Have no fear! It's ready for your crafty consumption. 

$25 solid wood chairs? Yes please. Sitting for any extended period on solid wood? No thank you. I love these simple, plain pine chairs from Ikea but they needed a healthy dose of color and comfort. These seat covers were my handmade solution.


It's actually 2 different layers but it doesn't take nearly as long as you would think. I could finish 2 in a night. Or, 4 episodes of The Good Wife if you prefer that measure of time.

You will Need:

A bunch of random yarn in any color you like (it's a GREAT way to use up scraps)
1 full skein of your background color
crochet hook, I used 5.5
optional: stitch markers



It's easiest to start with the backing square:

Instead of repeating the steps to make a corner each time, I'll write them here and note "corner stitches". To make a solid corner, dc 2 in same stitch, dc 3 in next, dc 2 in next.

Ch 6, slip stitch to join in circle
Row 1: Single crochet 12 through center hole, slip stitch to join
Row 2: chain 2, dc in next 2 stitches, corner stitches, *dc in next 3 stitches, corner stitches* join with slip stitch

At this point, it would be helpful to add stitch markers to the center corner stitches. If you don't have stitch markers, you can use safety pins, other pieces of yarn, or anything else on hand to mark your corners.

Row 3-12: From here on out, you will dc in each stitch across until you get to the 3 stitches that make up the corner and join the end of each row with a slip stitch.



Finish it off and remove your stitch markers. You can make as many rows as needed for the size of your chair, but 12 worked well for mine. Also, if you're making the back squares different colors, make sure your yarns are the same weight or it will result in different sizes in you cushions.

Now on to the granny square part which is much faster even though you have to change colors:

This time in the corners you'll dc 3, ch 3, dc 3 in the space

Ch 6, slip stitch to join in circle
Row 1:ch 2, dc 2 in center, *ch 3, dc 3 in center* join with slip stitch
Row 2: change color if desired,*ch 3, dc 3 in space* corners
Row 3-12: change color each row if desired, dc 3 in each space, ch 3, corners

That's the worst explanation ever for a granny square... I should stop trying to write patterns. But it's so repetitive! If you've done it right once, you can just keep doing the same thing over and over. Don't forget to weave in the tails as you go so you don't hate yourself at the end of it.



Once you've finished the granny square and the solid square, you'll join them together by single crocheting all around the edges. The number of stitches don't line up perfectly so you'll have to use your judgment and spacing.



When you finish that, you're done! It'll look a little something like this:



Just lay it flat on your chair. It doesn't provide a ton of padding but it definitely helps. I'm brainstorming what to add to the back of it to keep it in place better without ruining the look.



Are you a fan of multicolored decorations? Any suggestions on what to add to give it a little grip? I'd love to know!

Sheila

Put a Cork in it! (Cork Place Mats)

A while ago, I found this amazing table that I fell in love with almost instantly. It's an antique folding table that has a healthy dose of wear and tear and was buried beneath a protective force field of dirt. Through all that I could see the diamond in the rough. I bought it, forced it to fit into my car, cursed my sedentary life choices while drudging it up the stairs to my apartment, and cleaned it up a bit. Now it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I'm having so much coming up with accessories and centerpieces. The most recent incarnation of "table dress-up" has been these very simple cork place mats.



I bought a roll of thin cork a while ago for a project that never happened. I'm pretty excited to let it live out it's crafty destiny in some way finally. The timing just happened to work out around Thanksgiving. This would easily be a fun project to keep kids busy while they are waiting for Turkey time AND teach them some basic sewing.

You Will Need:

4 pieces of thick cardboard, cut to 12"x18" rectangles (I used a furniture box)
1 roll of thin cork, large enough to cut 4-12"x18" rectangles
box cutter
glue
ruler
writing utensil
yarn of your choice
yarn needle
*optional: hole punch, decoupage roller

First cut your cork and cardboard to size. This was easiest to do using a SHARP box cutter. Make sure you cut the cork very carefully or it will tear. Not that it happened to me.*

*That is exactly what happened to me. 

Pour a thin amount of glue on the cardboard, focusing on the edges and corners with a large x through the center. I used a foam brush to smooth it out the first few but found that to be unnecessary. Line up the cork to the edges and press it to the cardboard. If you have a decoupage roller, you can use that to smooth the cork down. If not, just use your hands. They work too. After gluing I trimmed the edges with a box cutter again to make sure everything lined up perfectly.



Use your ruler and writing utensil on the back (the cardboard side) to draw a line an inch away from the edge all the way around. If you have a hole punch (I used my crop-a-dile on the small setting) you can pre-punch holes every quarter to half inch or so. You can just skip this step and get your yarn on if you're impatient but punching holes in advance makes the sewing go much faster. Double thread your yarn needle and start in a corner. You'll stitch all around the edges on the line. When the yarn runs out, just double thread your needle again and tie the ends tightly onto the old piece in the place mat. It makes for a pretty easy transition. 

Once you're done stitching the edges, tie the yarn to itself and flip it over. Admire your handiwork and subtly encourage those around you to compliment it.



Do you already have your Thanksgiving table all planned out? Is there room for a handmade addition or is it full of family pieces? I'd love to know!

Sheila

P.S. A sneak preview of tomorrow's project...

Chalkboard Bar Top (Renter friendly!)

I've just discovered the coolest thing ever: chalkboard contact paper.

The roll on Amazon is $6 for a piece 18" across and 6' long. I wasn't totally sure what do with it when I bought it, but I knew I wanted it. The package arrived Friday and by Friday afternoon this plain boring bar top area became a chalkboard bar top. It took about 10 minutes and should be just as easy to remove when it's time for me to move out again. In the mean time, I love the variety it brings to the kitchen and how it matches the living room.

Carefully cleaning the counter top is important since even a grain of salt leaves a bump in the finished surface. Unroll the contact paper to lay it out straight. A ruler works well to press down the contact paper as you pull the backing paper from under it very slowly to make sure it doesn't get crooked. The trickiest part was using a box cutter to trim the edges once the entire counter was covered. Last, I "primed" the surface by lightly covering it with chalk. I've heard that's an important step for all things chalkboard.

Oh, and I bought a fish! Her name is Fancy. She lives on the counter now. I drew her picture. Because I'm an adult.

A perfect, simple big impact project with little effort for us renters out there! Or homeowners who just don't want to commit.

Have you been wanting to try the chalkboard trend? Did you already jump in head first? I'd love to know!

Sheila

P.S. You should have at least a few inches left over from the end and the side. Hold on to them if you can, I've got some ideas in the works.

Scrapbook States!

You may have noticed by now that I really love maps, especially outline maps.




If you haven't noticed, there's plenty of proof here and here. There are so many amazing home decor projects on blogs out there but very few of them are possible for those of us renting. This isn't a huge project by any means, but could definitely add some color to plain beige, unpaintable, apartment walls. The secret? Removable glue dots. Those things are tiny dots of magic that hold forever and come right off when it's time to move on.

You will need:

Scrapbook paper, leftover scraps work great
a large map printout
scissors
removable glue dots

Print out your map. I believe the link included above is a public domain map. I printed it out over multiple sheets using Microsoft Paint because I'm high-tech. It seemed to work best printed in landscape, 3 sheets across and 3 down for a total of 9 sheets. Tape the 9 sheets together and cut out the large outline. I had to sacrifice Alaska and Hawaii in this... sorry.



Cut out each state from the big map and use as a guide to cut the state from the scrapbook paper. I didn't find it necessary to trace them beforehand. Helpful hint: As you cut out the states put them back together like a puzzle on a cookie sheet, it'll be much easier to transport them from your work space to the wall where you want to mount them. This whole process took about 2 hours, but I got distracted frequently. Thanks Netflix.



Add a glue dot or 2 to the back of each state and put 'em on the wall. I kept a quote on the wall with them for at least 9 months in my Montana apartment and when they came down they left no residue whatsoever. Not even a grease spot like sticky-tac tends to.


Basically, I hold a little bitterness to the New England area right now but I'll get over it.

If you invest in removable glue dots now, I've got some seasonal decorations coming up that will be able to use them as well ;) What are your favorite temporary decor projects? Any tricks up your sleeve for making a rented home feel homier? I'd love to know!

Sheila

New Apartment Tour!

I've now lived in my new place for just shy of a month. It's been an interesting month; I've had electrical problems, plumbing issues, and some other little things that have made me think it might be an interesting year. Aside from those things, I LOVE the location and the lay out. I thought it might be fun to give you a little glimpse of the empty apartment through this little video I recorded for a friend the very first day I was here.

It cut me off a little at the end (let's be honest, I wasn't even really sure I was recording). Since this video was made, I'm happy to say I now have a bed AND a couch. Because those are things grown-ups have. Still working on the rest of it... 

Any suggestions? I'd love to know what you think!

Sheila

Paper Towel Roll Napkin Rings

You didn't think I was going to stop with just the napkins did you?

Napkin rings are the punctuation to a table setting; they finish the look and complete to the tone. But they tend to be expensive as even the cheap ones are a few dollars a piece. To create an inexpensive alternative you can use a regular, plain ol' paper towel roll.This project was inspired by Renee's DIY Napkin Rings over at Rustic Crafts and Chic Decor. Thanks Renee!

You Will Need:

Paper towel roll or any other type of cardboard roll 

6 strips of unrolled paper twist, 15" long

Hot glue

6 buttons

Cord or ribbon

Hole punch

The first step is to cut your roll to size. You can use any type of cardboard roll you desire. I cut mine down the center and then in 1-3/4" wide sections since the roll was 11" long total. 

Next, wrap your unrolled paper twist around each section. It was easiest to wrap and then glue. Once you've completely covered the cardboard, hot glue the ends and any lose sections. 

Adding the buttons and loops was the tricky part. Use the smallest hole punch you have to punch a  hole centered about 1/4" away from each edge. Use a short piece of cord through the holes and your button and feed the back of the cord through one hole. Knot several times until it it is larger that the hole.

Next, use a longer piece of cord and tie a loop. Push the loop end up through the empty hole, leaving the knotted end inside. Both inside knots could also be hot glued into place if desired. 

Then just close it up around your napkin.

You could make them all the same, but it seemed like more fun to switch it up and let each ring be as unique as the napkin.

Even my "non-crafty" friend who I tricked into helping thought they were super easy to make.

Can you tell they started from a paper towel roll? More importantly, have you ever used paper twist before? I'd love to know!

Sheila :)