It is difficult times right now around the world, and wherever you are living, you want to keep your family safe and your surfaces clean. But many stores have simply run out of the Clorox or equivalent disinfectant wipes!
I found this awesome easy process to make your own wipes by "doing it on a dime".
For the Disinfectant Wipes, Here is what you will need:
1 x roll of quality paper towels (cut in half with sharp knife)
1 x cup of water
1/2 of a tablespoon of bleach
air tight plastic container (make sure the lid fits tightly)
Method: Step 1. Cut the roll of paper towels in half with a sharp knife (check in video) Step 2. Place the half roll of paper towel into a tight fitting container. Step 3. Mix bleach with water and stir
Step 4. Pour mixture over the paper towels in container. (enough to moisten don't have it floating)
Step 5. take out center cardboard roll. Step 6. Pull out towels from the center one at a time.
DONE!
Keep the lid on tightly to keep them moist and label the container!
Just thought I would share this if you haven't already seen it. Many stores have got the toilet paper and paper towels back in stock, but not a lot of the cleaners. So as long as you have some bleach and paper towels, you can make this!
I love recycling or being able to "upcycle" anything, especially magazines!
With most people around the world stuck at home as most business closed due to the Pandemic, it can be hard to come up with things for kids to do, but especially "tweens".
With their socializing totally limited to family members, I thought this would be the perfect craft to use leftover magazines, and create some artwork or even retro bead door curtains!
Crafting is also a wonderful way to curb some anxiety that we are all having in these difficult times. Check out the video by Artzi Crafts, to get the idea, but don't stop at bead curtains!! Get creative.
I love the pattern she created, but I also think going random would work nicely too.
Re-purpose an Old Picture Frame with Magazine Beads
If you don't want to go quite as large as the bead curtains, another idea is to take a old wooden picture frame, paint it and then simply hang the magazine/beads from it to create awesome wall art!
Tweens/teens, could decorate their rooms, and create gifts for their friends for when we are allowed to go outside again.
We are living through scary times, and the news is everywhere, which is good for keeping us informed, but sometimes it is also good to do some crafting to take your mind off of things and spend time with your family.
If you don't have everything, you can get creative, but you can also order some things online with places such as AMAZON and have craft supplies delivered to your door. Now is the Time To Try New Crafts
Maybe you were super busy before and just never got around to trying some of the upcycling craft ideas out there.
Now is the time... if you like this craft, find some old magazines and get started! Create some art for your walls and keep the magazines out of the landfill.
Hang a Picture Wire Across a Wall
You could also simply hang a picture wire across a wall and hang this bead strings onto the wire. This would make super cool wall decor (without damage) and/or cover a bad or ugly wall!
Search Your Home for Craft Supplies
It is actually amazing, what you probably do have in your home when it comes to supplies. But if you don't have everything, check online and don't go out there, let it be delivered to your door.
I hope this post has inspired you to get those well read magazines out of the basement and put them to work. Upcycling can be fun, and there are so many ways to use them now.
Now that we are all at home these days to protect ourselves against the virus, I started looking at things I had always wanted to work on around the house for not much money to also take my mind off things and help with some anxiety!.
I came across this awesome idea for making those glass doors on cabinets look like stained glass so you can hide everything inside. This would work well on the kitchen glass doors as well!
All you need is some Elmers Glue!! Check out the video by Hometalk:
I love glass cabinet doors, but you have to keep everything inside them super neat or it makes the place look cluttery (don't think that is even a word but you know what I mean!).
How to Make Fake Stained Glass
Step 1. Take the cabinet doors off.
Step 2. Clean the inside glass (or the glue will not stick)
Step 3. Take your glue container and add about a tablespoon of black acrylic craft paint. Stir.
Step 4. Find a pattern and print it out. (just type in free download patterns in google)
Step 5. Tape the pattern to the outside of the glass and then follow it with the black glue.
Step 6. Let dry overnight
Step 7. Take the clear glue and pour some into separate containers
Step 8. Add a few drops of acrylic paint colors and stir
Step 9. Paint the sections with your colors.
Let Dry and You are done!!
I absolutely love this idea. Once the doors are installed back on the cabinet, you have totally changed the look of your room as well as hidden all the junk! The glue keeps the paint from peeling off on the inside.
Pick colors that go with your room decor and just don't add too much color paint to the clear glue as you want that opaque look which resembles glass.
Also Try Old Picture Frames with Glass
This is another "on the cheap" way to change up your decor. You could also do this to old picture frames with glass and hang them on the wall for some cool looking art.
If you have frames laying around or ones that have seen better days, but still have their glass... You can paint the frames and then do this same project on the inside of the glass. You could create any pattern you want on paper first and then follow it with the black glue.
If you are at home, take this time to do a clean out and find some things to create such as this fake stained glass. Order your supplies online, get them delivered to your front door and you are set to go!
We are experiencing trying times right now, and we all have to be vigilant with washing hands well with soap and warm water.
But that is not always possible when you are out and about, and most stores have run out of portable hand sanitizers.
So I set about researching on how to make your own. So, save your little squeeze bottles and give this recipe a try.
Pretty basic ingredients, but this will give you peace of mind when you simply want to disinfect your hands and you are no where near soap and water.
Check out this video by MaMain the Kitchen:
What you will Need:
2/3 cup of Rubbing Alcohol (minimum of 70% but preferably higher)
1/3 cup of Aloe Vera Gel
Essential oils (to make it smell nice)
Method:
Mix together the aloe vera gel and the rubbing alcohol and mix well.
Add the essential oil to the desired scent.
Mix again, now pour into your squeeze bottle.
This is a super quick way to get the protection you want to carry in your purse or car. Keeping our hands clean is so important any time, but more so right now.
I have also used it to wipe down surfaces.
Everyone stay safe and healthy out there! I also sourced these 2 items on Amazon below if you can't find them in the stores.
I have pretty much tried all the so called "natural oven cleaners" and to tell you the truth, not that good in my oven! They just never seemed to get rid of what I call the "Crusty Crud".
I still had to scrub hard, and took way too much time, until I came across this one natural, less scrubbing, easier way to get the crud loosened so I could simply wipe clean.
Lemon Bake
Before you hit the back key, thinking... yeah right!! Check this out, less hands on way to clean the oven.
What you will Need:
3 lemons
casserole dish
water
Method:
Step 1. Take your casserole dish and fill it half way with warm water.
Step 2. Cut the lemons in half
Step 3. Squeeze the lemons into the dish with water and also add the squeezed lemons themselves.
Step 4. Bake for an hour at 300 degrees F. Step 5. Let the oven briefly cool enough for you to wipe, and start wiping clean.
I truly found this to be an awesome method.
Not only does your house smell nice from the baked lemons, but the steam and oils from the baking lemons just seems to loosen the crud.
I found for this method to work it's best, you need to get at the oven before it totally cools down. So allow some time for the baking and then cleaning.
I found a sponge worked the best and I just kept wiping the oven walls then rinsing the sponge and wiping again.
I even used the lemon water from the dish on the sponge.
I am telling you this works!
So, give it a try. You don't get fumigated with toxic oven fumes!
But if you simply don't like the idea of an hour and lemon squeezing, there are some natural products on the market to try with some good reviews.
It's a change in seasons and as you clean out your closet and your drawers of old clothes to make room for new ones, maybe you can also upcycle?
I am all about donating gently used clothing, but what if your's has seen better days? Instead of adding them to the landfill, you can create your own braided rug.
Check out the video below:
Try to Use Similar Weighted Fabrics...
I have done this many times, and my all time favorite is to use old denim jeans. But if you want a lighter rug, you can use old t-shirts, tops or anything.
But I personally have found the braided rug looks it's best with similar weighted fabrics.
Check Thrift Shops for Discarded Clothes
I found this to be a great source for fabrics. When people donate to the thrift shops, only the better condition clothes make it to the floor for sale. They quite often have bags of old clothes that end up in the landfill.
How to Make a Denim Braided Rug
I bought a bag of old jeans for 5 bucks! I washed them and then cut them up to make this rug:
How to Make a Recycled Jeans Braided Rug.
Follow the video (at top of page) on how to braid the fabric and attach new pieces.
How to Create Strips of Denim:
1. Cut up the side seams to the crotch and cut the top part of the jeans off, leaving you two open legs.
2. Cut strips about 2 inches wide.
3. To make this easier, you can create a cardboard template 1.5 to 2 inches wide in a long strip (tape cardboard together for a long piece), or use a yard stick, and make the outline with a fabric marker.
4. Cut the strips out using sharp scissors or electric scissors (totally saves your hands from cramping).
Obviously you need to have good sharp scissors, or electric scissors, which I used. I got them online from Amazon. Here is a link to
Electric scissors made the whole process quicker, easier and fun. Once you have the strips, then create the rug as in the video.
But this is where denim differs. It is much heavier, and unless you have a specific denim need for your sewing machine, I personally found it much easier to sew the coils together as they formed using carpet or upholstery thread and needle by hand.
This is a much stronger thread, and I found it much easier to work with than trying to fit this thicker denim rug under the machine needle. It is not hard to do.
I simply began coiling it tightly as soon as I could and sewed it together. As the braid grew I kept coiling it and sewing it by hand.
How to Make Your Braided Rug Safe?
If you are using the rugs for hardwood or tiled floors, then you need to make then "anti-slip".
I purchased this anit-slip fabric from Amazon and they really work. They keep it in place.
It generally comes in a big rectangle and you can cut it into pieces to fit under your DIY braided rugs. This keeps them in place on any surface to make them safe.
I hope this has got you inspired to cut up those old clothes and create awesome and one of a kind unique braided rugs for your home or cottage.
Feel good knowing you totally upcycled or recycled your clothes!
