Plastic containers run amok!

I have a love/hate relationship with plastic storage containers.  I love them for the ease of use when it comes to leftovers.  I absolutely hate them when it comes to organization. The amount of time I have spent trying to find a lid to match a container is ridiculous!

Thankfully, once I become irritated with a situation, I make sure I find a resolution.  My solutions are far from designer level goods, but they work for me.  Case in point, my oddball plastic container storage solution.

Although I try to avoid the packrat lifestyle, I realize I have an abundance of "stuff" in our home.  As an example, I was given bags full of material, yarn and t-shirts last year.  At the time, I had no idea what I would do with so much fabric, etc. but was not going to decline an offer of free textiles. Many projects later,  I am still working my way through this bounty.  This project is a result of that process.

Among the bags full of fabric, I found many upholstery samples.  You know the type, small pieces of heavy fabric affixed together with grommets to be displayed on a rack.  Essentially, it is a stack of heavy fabric stapled together with grommets.  Well, hot dog! I finally found a use for these odd sized pieces of fabric!

Sewing the pieces together was quick and easy.  I pulled out the serger, grabbed some fabric samples and made some pockets.  A seam across the bottom of each pocket followed by a seam on either side and the sewing aspect of this project was complete! Since the back piece was part of the upholstery sample, I left the grommets in and used those grommets as hangers. Hanging the happy little organizer inside the cabinet doors was a breeze. A small drill bit and two cup hooks later and my organizational wonder was complete.

Now all of my lids are hanging inside the cabinet doors while the matching containers are stacked ever so neatly on the shelves.  This new system has worked out so well!  Rather than opening the cabinet and having plastic pieces flying out, I can easily grab whatever I need. Not to mention, I get to see the pretty colors of the fabric holders every time I open the doors.  I just love that!

Fitness rewards

FitBit Rocks! I am getting fit and racking up miles in the #Achieve15 challenge.  Oh, and did I mention that I have earned another $5 in points at Shop Your Way?! Oh my goodness! I encourage any Shop Your Way members with FitBit devices to link your accounts so you too can earn reward points.  It is almost as good as money in the bank!

FitStudio

For those not familiar with Shop Your Way, I encourage you to look into opening the free account.  Shop Your Way (SYW) is a reward site for the Sears, Kmart and Land's End companies.  Members can load coupons to their accounts which can be applied to purchases.  In addition to coupons, SWY members can earn reward points by linking a fitness tracker. Surprise points are occasionally issued to account holders as well.  To be clear,  points equal money to spend in store or online.  I don't know about you, but I can always find something at Sears or Kmart. From groceries to jewelry and everything in between, Sears and Kmart have it all.

Shop Your Way

My man has a FitBit of his own, as well as the SYW rewards account.
His job requires quite a bit of walking which has allowed him to accumulate many miles each week.  Last week, he used his points to buy me an undergarment and laundry soap for the house.  This week, he will be picking up some bags of mulch. Now, I recognize this type of reward is not for everyone.  But for us, it is perfect. My man and I are painfully frugal, both by nature and necessity. Getting everyday essentials without spending any cash is what we love! And best of all, we are able to do this by completing fitness goals!  Life is good!!

Booth Dinette upcycle

I recently received this sweet little treat from my man.  Some women may enjoy flowers or candy as gifts, however, I happen to appreciate pieces of furniture.  The funkier, the better! Free goodies from Craigslist just make my heart flutter!
                                                                                                                                                                                       My poor little benches were in desperate need of some love and affection.  The previous owners appear to have tried to fix these benches by adding screws, to no avail.  And when I say they added screws, I mean they ADDED screws.  There must have been 20 extra screws and accompanying holes!  Thank goodness I keep wood putty on hand, otherwise these little babies would resemble Swiss cheese.

Not only did my cute benches have extra screws and holes, the pieces did not fit together!  No wonder the previous owners added screws as these babies were never going to stay together without some serious adjustments.  Namely, a saw.  I realized, after multiple attempts at reassembly, that I would have to cut 1/4" off the back support pieces if I had any hope of putting the darlings back together.  Thankfully, I have the necessary tools to make this kind of mistake disappear.

After much fiddling, sanding and reassembling, my sweet little benches are complete.  I just LOVE the color combinations, much more so than the original light stain.  Next project, a table to go with my benches!!  

Flowers for the Garden

After making my garden hose mat, I found I had a little hose left over. Not wanting to waste my scrap materials, I decided to make a flower for my fence. Have I mentioned how much I love flowers?  

The most time consuming aspect of this little project was waiting for the paint to dry.  Other than that, this was a snap to put together.  Quite simply, I cut three equal lengths of hose and used electrical tape to keep them in a "petal" shape.  Next, I used a little more electrical tape to tie the "petals" together.  A pretty little yellow spray paint job and my ugly old hose bits became a cute little flower for my fence.  

This flower now hangs on a fence in an area that gets a little dark at night. Considering I do not like dark little corners, I decided to add a little glow of my own.  I placed a solar light in the center of the flower.  This small landscape light emits a sweet little glow each night.  Now I can enjoy my flower day or night!  The silliest things bring me joy!

Tropical transformation - metal patio furniture

Many years ago, I purchased a patio set.  My boy was very young at the time, so I wanted something sturdy, heavy and not easily tipped.  Toddlers have a tendency to topple furniture.  I wanted to prevent my little one from taking a nose dive on the concrete floor of the lanai.  Simple mommy logic - keep the young ones out of the emergency room, if at all possible.  Long story short, I ended up with a somewhat heavy metal patio set.  In black - my least favorite color for outdoor furniture in Florida.  

My boy is now a teenager.  The black paint has long since peeled away and I have been looking at one ugly patio set for quite some time.  Black may be my least favorite color, but rust is even worse.  Yuck!  It was time to either throw the set away, send it to the scrap yard or find a way to fix the mess.  I chose the latter; I have a strong dislike of disposing of usable items.

This particular revamp was quite time-consuming.  The black paint had not completely peeled away and the rust had made quite the mess. There were many hours spent sanding, scraping and pressure washing. This was followed by priming, spray painting, light sanding and painting again. Although I love the tropical colors, I was very tired of smelling the paint. I spent the better part of a week in my back yard, applying paint.  Bright sunshine and paint fumes can give a girl a whopper of a headache! 

Only time will tell how long this paint job will last.  I have seen what rain, direct sunshine and teething puppies can do to metal patio furniture.  It's not good.  Hopefully, all of the prep work will pay off in the long run.  If not, well, I'll just cross that bridge later.

Plastic spoon flower

I LOVE flowers! Sadly, I am not very good at growing them.  And those pretty little bouquets from the florist are quickly eaten by my cats.  The little stinkers!  

No worries, I will just make my own cat-proof flowers.  A few plastic spoons, hot glue and spray paint can do wonders.  This was a fun little project that required very little time to complete.  I simply snapped the spoons at the spot where the handle meets the bowl.  Next, I used my handy-dandy hot glue gun and affixed the spoon bowls to an unused plastic lid, making sure I left enough room for the bottle cap lid.  I then spray painted the spoon leaves and lid and left them to dry.  The final step was to glue the lid in the center on the front, and a soda can pop-top on the back.  The pop-top is used as a hanger.  Easy peasy!  

This little flower makes me smile every time I walk by.  So much so, I think I will make more.  Who knows?! I may just cover the walls with flowers.

Gotta love a $2 lampshade!

Our monster-sized puppy struck again!  In her haste to "play" with one of our cats, the clumsy girl slid into a floor lamp ... again.  And broke, or rather cracked, the lampshade one more time.  Sigh.

Time for some creative problem-solving.  I can remove the lamps, buy new lampshades, get rid of the dog or purchase lamps which could be hung from the ceiling.  Quite frankly, I did not like any of those options. Our clumsy puppy may make messes, destroy household items and dig in the yard, but I love her to pieces.  She stays.

Further brainstorming, followed by a trip to Dollar Tree highlighted one more option.  I could make my own inexpensive lampshade. When I say inexpensive, I really mean cheap. As in less than $5.00 type of cheap. Odds are good, our little darling will crash into the floor lamp again.  Even better odds are that I will be making this shade a few more times.

So ... this is what I came up with.  Two plastic salad bowls and a hole saw drill bit.

I checked the diameter of the metal piece that connects the shade to the pole.  Next, I inserted an appropriately sized hole saw bit into my handy dandy cordless drill and got to work.  I placed each bowl on a piece of scrap lumber and gently began the drill.  It didn't take long for me to realize the colored bowl was a little thin as I drilled through.  Thankfully, the UPC sticker on the base of the bowl prevented any cracks while I was drilling.

Once I drilled through each bowl, I stacked them together and inserted the metal ring.  All that remained was to put the shade on the base pole and add a fluorescent light bulb.  We had used an incandescent bulb within the previous (plastic) shade, but I am hesitant to do the same with this one.  Melting plastic is not one of my favorite smells.

As you can see, I tried to photograph the lamp while it was on. However, I do not feel the picture shows how beautifully the lamp glows and sparkles.

Using the colored bowl inside the mock cut-crystal design bowl creates and lovely look.  Let me know what you think.