Pull Tab Picture Hook Project

I love finding ways of replacing one item with another item that was due to be discarded or thrown away. This idea  is so simple but amazingly clever.

Using a soda can pull tab to hang pictures.

Image: Make

All you need to do is remove the tab from a soda can with the rivet-ring intact.

Image: Make

Image: Make

Step 1: Rotate the tab around the rivet until the pull tab is directly over the open mouth of the can.

Image: Make

Image: Make

Step 2: Grasp the short end of the tab with a pair of pliers, as shown.


Bend the tab down into the mouth of the can while pulling up at the same time.


The tab should pop neatly off the rivet with the ring intact.





Step 3: Attaching the pull tab.
Mark a convenient centered location in the upper back surface of the piece to be hung. Set the tab in position with the rivet hole over the mark. Drive a short wood screw through the tab's rivet hole into the marked location. If your piece is softwood, like pine, a pilot hole is probably not necessary. If it's hardwood, you may want to drill a very small pilot hole first.

Image: Make

You may find that the pull ring on the mounted tab does not have sufficient clearance from the wood to go over a nail head. If so, insert a flat-blade screwdriver under the pull ring, as shown, and gently pry it out away from the wood.

Image: Make

Naturally, you should use caution when hanging heavy, valuable or fragile items, but you will probably be surprised at how strong these hangers are.

I've also found a great use for the rest of the can, but that's for another time.

.

Plastic Bag Kite Project

Here's a fun video tutorial that I just found, showing you how to make a traditional kite out of old plastic bags (or even newspapers - whatever you have handy)

It should take about half an hour to make.

You can also pop over to Storm The Castle for a full set of photos and instuctions along with a huge range of other projects to help you be creative.

Garden Table Project

I'm having a small love affair.

Last week in London I was out and about with my wife and son, on my way to The Old Cinema to check out some upcycled furniture, when I found my eye wandering slightly.

It's happened before and I've become very adept at hiding these sly glances while in my wifes company but one of these days she's going to catch me out. In a way, I've already tried to prepare her for what comes next. Some days, while she is out, I'll  take my car and drive the back streets in the vain hope of fulfilling my growing obsession and I know one of these days, in her company, I'm just going to walk straight up to one and bring them home.

I am, of course, talking about pallets and this is the latest project I've found for turning these sturdy, discarded items into a unique piece of garden furniture.

Image: joy ever after

This particular table was made using 2 – 4′ x 4′ wood pallets, 1 – 4″x4″, 4 caster wheels, some L-brackets and screws and gray stain. The result is a very practical outdoor rolling table that can act as a coffee table when you’re sitting outside, interacting with your friends or family, or as a mini dining table when having a snack and you want to enjoy it outside.

Jump over to joy ever after for the 'how to'.

Doodle Duvet Project

Image: A Thousand Words

Last weekend I paid a visit to The Old Cinema on Chiswick High Road in London. A shop devoted to selling antique, vintage, retro, industrial and upcycled furniture. I could have spent hours (and every penny I have) browsing their amazing unique collection.

Some people may feel the same way about IKEA (and that's ok*)

The great thing about IKEA is that it provides a user friendly 'identikit' for home decor which is also it's greatest weakness. When choosing a rug, bedspread or curtains, you constantly run the risk of ending up in someone else's home, confused it's not your home, as everything appears almost identical in every way to yours.
Top tip - a quick scan of the reading material on the billy bookcase will usually reveal your true surroundings.

That is why, when I saw this idea, I felt a comfortable nudge back into the 'one of a kind' shaped world I live in. This idea for a doodle covered duvet comes from Jen Morris over at A Thousand Words

Image: A Thousand Words

You can have a look at how Jen created this Duvet over on her website here.

All you need are some doodles (she used some of her sons drawings) which she took photographs of and then using photoshop, she removed the colour so that all she was left with were simple black and white images. If creating your own you can just simply sketch them with a black pen.

Image: A Thousand Words

Once she had a simple drawing, Jen scaled the images up in size and printed them onto A4 sheets, ready to trace onto her blank white duvet with a felt tip fabric marker

Image: A Thousand Words

Start with your first image under the duvet and begin tracing.

Image: A Thousand Words

Repeat this process for all of your doodles and pretty soon ('soon' being a few hours) you will have a truly unique, one of a kind duvet cover.

Image: A Thousand Words

 (*I have actually wandered aimlessly around the winding paths of my local IKEA for hours and I'll admit here that I've never come out empty handed - but I will say this, I always go against the arrows!)

.

Last Minute Valentine's Day Printables

Ok, It's Valentine's Day tomorrow.

You haven't taken my previous advice and gone for the simple option and now you are almost out of time and in a panic as to what to do.

There's still time though. LOVE vs DESIGN have kindly provided a free printable Valentine's card and some fun coupons. They've even designed them so that you can fill them out yourself and added an expiration date and terms & conditions.....just in case.

To download them, follow the instructions below these images.

Image: LOVE vs DESIGN

Image: LOVE vs DESIGN

Step 1: Go to the The Printable Templates Page page
Step 2: Click on 'Download the free template here' link
Step 3: Print, cut and fold your cards and coupons together. For your envelope liners use some glue.
The pattern can be printed on the backside of the coupons or as an envelope liner.


If that wasn't enough, ISharePrintables have over 90 FREE Valentine Printables.

Image: howdoesshe

Here is the link to all of the Printables.

Now, If none of this takes your fancy and you'd much prefer to steer well clear of anything 'Valentines' then I suggest you go sit in the corner, sip on some bourbon and have a listen to a little bit of this.

Valentines Dish Project

I've mentioned before that I don't get caught up in the whole "must buy flowers, must buy big flowers, must buy big red flowers" sentiment of valentine's day. However, I do go to some effort and I find, a little effort goes along way.

Here's a clever idea from How About Orange that really achieves some great results.
Decorated dishes with icing sugar.

Image: How About Orange

All you need is 3 tablespoons of icing sugar, 1 teaspoon of water, and 2 drops of liquid food coloring.
Mix them together and grab your paintbrush.

Image: How About Orange

Image: How About Orange

 If you make a mistake, it's perfectly edible so lick it off and start again!

Image: How About Orange

So this valentine's day, instead of getting into a panic and trying to book a restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year or desperately trying to think of something stunningly romantic to write in a shop bought card, why not make sure your loved one starts their day with a nice breakfast and a touch of added sweetness.

.

Bookmark Project

Whenever I'm reading a book I tend to use whatever is the nearest 'paper-like' object around as my bookmark.

I've used photos, bus tickets, shopping receipts, my driving licence, sweet wrappers, newspaper clippings, foreign currency, a piece of tree bark, an actual book (although it was slim) and once, strangely, an unfried slice of bacon.

The problem is, when I finish a book, I often forget to transfer the bookmark that I've been using and so over the years, I've  misplaced many of my cherished photos and lost my driving licence on more than one occasion. I know I could 'just bend the page' but I'm just not that kind of person.

Then I saw this wonderful idea over on d.Sharp journal about making your own bookmark from an old envelope.

Image: d.Sharp journal

There are plenty of ideas out there to recycle old envelopes (and I've probably even used a few as bookmarks) but this is such a clever idea.

Simply cut the corner off an old envelope that you were going to throw in the recycling bin anyway.

Image: d.Sharp journal

Then slip it onto the corner of the page.

Image: d.Sharp journal

If you happen to be one of the those people who give books as gifts, you could make a personalised one and scribble a little note on it about why you love that book.

It's a nice little fun idea that couldn't be simpler and I'm pretty sure they would prefer to use it as opposed to a slice of unfried bacon.

Make Your Own Pencil Project

Image: Scissors.Paper.Wok

I know some of you might think I'm mad.
I know some of you might think I'm crazy.
I know some of you might think I've lost the plot, because I know you can pick up a pencil for less than 50 cent in any corner newsagents. However, here's the thing.

I've always tried to suggest a number of craft ideas that you and any young child in your family could sit down together and pass a few hours on some rainy day. I've also loved finding ways of recycling old magazines or scraps of paper that end up in the recycling bin. To me, recycling is not just about sorting objects into the right coloured bin. Recycling is also about reusing.

This little project fits those 2 criteria and that's why I'm sharing it with you,                                            courtesy of SCISSORS.PAPER.WOK (It also uses Mod Podge which rocks)

Here's what you'll need.

Image: Scissors.Paper.Wok

Here is a note on the supplies.
Paper: They recommend using 6″ origami paper but I think you could use any craft paper or magazine page that looks colourful. Why not try an old map too (you know how I feel about maps). Here is the exact product used in the tutorial in case you are a stickler for rules. Try out a few ideas as you might find the paper you use could be too thick and won't act as a skin when rolling the pencil.

Lead: Make sure you use a HB lead. If you use 2B leads or above, the lead may be too soft to roll without snapping.
I've looked around and found 12 tubes (that's 96 pieces of lead) for an unbelievable €4 plus €4 postage for sale on eBay here. That works out at about .08 cent per pencil.

Here's the How-to.

Image: Scissors.Paper.Wok

There is also this video, made by Kimanh from Scissors.Paper.Wok.

You could even try out lots of different ideas.
Try placing twine between the layers to make a hook to hang it on something.
Use an ink stick instead of pencil lead.
Try a different size or different layers. The picture below is layered with different paper to fade from red to light pink.

Image: Scissors.Paper.Wok

The possibilities with this craft are endless and knowing the weather in this country, you might need more than a few hours to pass the time on one of our rainy days.


.

Newspaper Basket Project

I posted an item on Monday about making a newspaper recycling bin and much like I mentioned in this article, there is one glaringly obvious concern. The quality of the crates you can get for free.

Of course if you wanted to go to one of the expensive home stores around town I'm sure you could pick up a great looking faux vintage, shabby chic, rustic crate. However, you need not do this.
Instead of using a crate to hold all your recycled newspapers, why not make a basket out of your recycled newspapers?

Image: How About Orange

This first idea comes from How About Orange where you can find a full tutorial, which was originally inspired by this article over on CraftStylish.

Image: CraftStylish

You don't even have to use it as a recycling bin, pop it at the back door to store your dirty garden shoes in it or fill it with shredded paper to make a nice comfortable bed for your cat or dog.

As for me, I'll try and hold off on any more newspapers articles. For now.

Newspaper Recycling Bin Project

Image: Martha Stewart

Following on from last weeks 'must get organised' post, I found this other idea over on the Martha Stewart website.

One of my pet hates is dumping all paper/cardboard and all things packaging into the large green recycling bin outside the front of my house. I know it's all going to the same place and it all gets recycled but it fills up so fast its normally overflowing by the time it's ready to be picked up.

The only solution to this problem, as I see it, is to stack the newspapers (which normally take up half the capacity of the bin) into an area, much like our bottles and glass jars, that get taken to the recycling centre every couple of weeks.

The only problem to this solution, as I see it, is my wife would go crazy if I was started stacking old newspapers in random places around the house, for fear I would become much like that man who hoarded everything who was on TV last month.

So this seems like a nice compromise. An easy-to-make bin, ideal for holding old newspapers between trips to the recycling centre. Just choose a paint color to complement your decor and add some twine to make bundling papers a breeze.

Materials you will need:
Wooden crate
Paint
Paintbrushes
4 screw eyes
4 cleats (2-inch)
Twine

Instructions:
1. Paint wooden crate, and let dry.
2. Attach screw eyes, centered, to the top edge of each side.
3. Attach cleats, centered, to the exterior of each side.
4. Before filling the bin with newspapers, run lengths of twine loosely between each pair of opposing screws eyes, and wrap loose ends around cleats.


So there it is. A neatly stacked pile of old newspapers ready to be tied up and disposed of next time you take a trip to the recycling centre. In addition, you might need to dip into this stack as you find a few ideas amongst these pages which may call for some of your old newspapers to be used, saving you a messy expedition into your large green recycling bin filling up outside the front of your house.