DIY Pencil Holder and Inbox

I've been on an organization kick.  Maybe it's because it has been feeling like spring here in Pittsburgh putting me into spring cleaning mode... I don't know.  But I do know that every room in my house has now been re-organized.  I even color coded my husband's closet and used all white hangers since we don't have a closet door up there right now... I know, useless tasks, but somehow, those white hangers just make me feel more... zen.  


I have also decided to re-do my office, piece by piece, to go a grey, black, white, and pink theme.  So far, I have only gotten to the re-organizing part.  (Noticing a theme?).   I made this really quick, really cute pencil holder.  My first black/white/pink accessory!  

I didn't do step-by-step pictures of this one, but if you're interested in making one, all I did was re-purpose a large tomato can.  After removing the label and washing the can, I simply cut cardstock to fit the lip and inside of the can, and used modge podge to adhere it to the can.  Next, I cut the black and white cardstock in a strip the exact size of the outside of the can, and again used modge podge to adhere it.  Ta-da.  Can to pencil holder for less than 50 cents!!!

 In this ongoing process of 're-doing' my process, I also decided to stream line what I keep in my office.  One of the things I decided no longer belonged in my office was our miscellaneous 'we need to address this' mail - you know the kind, something that isn't going to hang around long enough to file away, but something that needs to be addressed - maybe a bill, or a 'call us about...' letter... They were all just piling up on my desk and making me feel cluttered.  So, I decided I needed an inbox that I could put in a central location that we could both access, so we could both address these annoying pieces of mail! How about the fridge? After my dry-erase schedule/menu planner that I made and hung on the right side of our fridge, I decided I would re-purpose a cereal box to make an inbox to hand on the left side that coordinated with the planner.  Here is the fruit of those labors:


Step One: Cut the top flaps off of the cereal box.  Then, cut two inch slits from the top along the sides, and then straight across to look something like this:

Step Two: Choose your paper.  I used 12x12 scrap book paper.  Fold it so that it will fit across the front of the box and cover around the sides like this:

Step Three: Wrap it around the box, and tape it (I just used scotch tape) like a present, covering down an inch or so on the inside of the box like this:

Step Four: Next, fold and cut another sheet of paper so that it will sit down inside of the box, covering the inside part that you see.  This is kind of hard to describe, so hopefully this picture helps to show you how I folded and cut it:

 Step Five: Slide the paper inside, tape it up, and hang that baby up! Here is how mind turned out!

Thanks for checking out my crafts today! Hope they inspired you to get crafting with the things you have laying around!

DIY Laundry Detergent

Since I haven't been working a full time job in quite awhile, I've been trying to be creative with ways to save money! I hate saving money... I like spending it! I know we all do, but really, I get some sort of satisfaction from shopping that is un-met by other pastimes.  However, whenever I get to spend money in order to save money, that makes me happy too! Like today, I decided to try my hand at making laundry detergent.  I figured, I'd get to shop to find the ingredients, but the husband should be happy because it will save us a LOT of money in the long run! ** Note: I did use this for several loads of laundry, and I'm very pleased! Everything seemed super clean, and smelled like a fresh breeze :)  It has a very light scent, so if you like your laundry to have more of a scent, I'd add laundry crystals, but for me, it was perfect! **

Ingredients:
1 bar Fels Naptha
3 cups Arm & Hammer washing soda
3 cups Oxyclean (or store brand equivalent)
4 cups Borax
1 pound box baking soda

Grate the Fels Naptha either in a food processor, or with a hand or rotary grater.  I used a cheese grater for mine.  It worked great, and then it looked like this: (and don't worry, it will dissolve in the water!)

Next, mix in washing soda, Oxyclean, borax, and baking soda.  Make sure you evenly mix all ingredients.  You are now ready to use it! Use only one tablespoon per load, as this recipe is very concentrated! Hope you enjoy the spending to save as much as I did!!!

Cute DIY dry erase board

I've been trying to be less wasteful in all aspect of my life, like trying to convince myself it is okay to use a bath towel more than once (to cut down on electricity used for laundry), to reusing to-go containers (which I was always afraid to do).  A few months ago I got in the habit of typing up our menu and schedules for the week, printing them out, and sticking them on the fridge.  This has been so great for me - its completely cut down on wasted food! I always hated having stuff go bad in the fridge simply because I forgot I had it...


*sidenote* By the way, if you don't meal plan, you should! It saves a lot of time and money too! You can always check here for new recipes for great meal ideas!


Anyway, so since I started printing these lists out, I've done a really good job of sticking to them.  However, I've noticed how wasteful it is to print it out every single week.  I was thinking about buying a dry erase board for the fridge to write the list up there, but there were quite a few drawbacks to that.  1) I would have to spend money to purchase one, and I avoid that when possible.  2) I'd have to re-draw the chart every week because when I erased the menu, I'm sure I'd end up erasing half of the lines.  3) They are not very pretty... I like pretty!


So, I set to brainstorming how I could make my own that would meet my needs.  I looked around my house for something that you can use dry erase markers on.  In case you didn't know, you can use dry-erase markers on glass.  When I used to do home-care OT, I ended up having to take down a lot of phone numbers inevitably while sitting at a red light when you don't exactly have a pen handy... A friend had told me to carry a dry-erase pen, and just write it on the window.  That was a great trick!  Anyway, I found a picture frame (brand new, mind you) that had been given to me in a gift exchange, or for a wedding present, or something along those lines... But the point is, I wasn't using it. I decided I could totally make this pretty AND make it meet our needs, all the while doing my part to be a little more "green".  


- Sidenote: I see myself repeating this project with other un-used frames (of which I have many): For grocery lists (also to be posted on the fridge so that when my  husband uses the last of something, there is no excuse to not write it down so I know!), for calendars, for "to-do" lists in my home office... the list goes on and on.  If I had kids, I would use this idea to add their picture on the left column, and then write their chores across the row.  I don't know, there are no rules! Just be creative, and have fun!


Here is how I did it: 

Supplies:
- 12 x 12 picture frame
- 12 x 12 cardstock
- 12 x 12 vellum
- Scrap-booking sticker letters
- Card-making embellishments (cardboard flower; metal brads/flowers)
- Glue dots
- Cutting board, cutter, and ruler
- Permanent markers (non-bleeding type)





First, I picked a lightly patterned paper and vellum.  You want to pick something that won't be too busy so that whatever you write on the glass will show up! After I picked my paper, I wanted to leave a 2" margin at the top so that my title would be displayed prominently! I measured down 2" on the vellum, and then used a scrap-book cutter to make sure I had a straight edge! I then used glue dots to affix the vellum onto the cardstock.



Next, I picked a cardboard flower embellishment, and stuck that on with a glue dot too.  I then picked my sticker letters (green GLITTER, of course... because you can never have too much glitter!).  If you are new to scrap-booking, the best way to center your letters if find the middle letter or space, and start there.  Once you place your first letter, work backward to form the beginning of the work, and then forward to form the end of the word.  I know, I should have taken a picture, but here is an example: My title was "our schedule" - 12 characters.  So my middle was split between c and h.  I placed the c and h, and then added the s, space, r, u, o, and then added the e, d, u, l, e.  Comment if you have questions!

I then planned my grid and how I wanted to organize it.  I used a blank 12 x 12 sheet of paper to plan it on there.  I used a ruler to make sure everything would be all even.  I decided to have 8 columns, and 4 rows.  The top row having the 7 days of the week, and the left column having "appointments", "menu", "to-do".  Once everything was measured, I sketched it very lightly with a super-fine pencil.   I then used a straight edge and a permanent marker to draw the chart.

I decided to use the bottom space for a "notes" section.  I always need to jot down notes.  Always.  Now I know where to go to do it, and I won't lose them!

I then wanted to balance the 'notes' by adding two embellishments (flowers with brads) to the bottom right corner.  Brads are fun! You know those brass pins, that have two bendable pieces that you can stick through a paper and then separate? Those are brads.  In scrap-book world, they come all dolled up. I chose two green ones, and two metal flowers.  I simply pushed the brad through the center of the flower, and through the paper.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

Next, I decided to hand write my column and row headings, because I didn't have any stickers small enough to fit.  It crossed my mind to print them off of the computer on colored paper in a cute font, but I didn't want black text, and my colored printer isn't working right now.  But if it was, I would have done that.  Instead, I tried to use my "bestest" hand writing! I think it turned out fine!

I then opened the frame, and stuck my work of art behind the glass! Once it was all set, I filled in the rest of this week's schedule with a dry-erase marker, and hung it on my fridge! When I get a chance, I am going to try to find a few different colored dry erase markers so I can color code our appointments for each member of the household.  I like organization... To hang, I used a suction cup hook I found in my desk.  It works great! I then used a magnetic pink chip clip to hold the marker! Now I feel organized, and accomplished! Let me know what you use your DIY dry erase boards for!