Okay, full disclosure here, I have lumped a WHOLE BUNCH of things in to this one idea for myself for the year and I am now completely overwhelmed.
1. Yes, I am committed to the Compact and reducing my purchasing of new items. Yes, I am staying within the guidelines as much as possible.
But I also said I would do a Freezer/Pantry challenge in which I am using up all the food in my freezer and pantry rather than buying something else to prepare for dinner. So there's that.
Then I agreed to a Savings Challenge of seeing how much I could put away in my savings account for the year. My goal is $5000. I think this is very conservative and do-able. But I haven't been accountable in that I didn't write down my starting balance and make note of each deposit. I think I need to get some of this written down so that I can track where my savings are coming from.
And on top of this! I signed up on the cleaning-decluttering daily challenge. Daily is just too much. I have not been able to commit to this. I would bet that I haven't even opened this week's daily emails due to the fact that I have been babysitting all week and this is the first time I have been on the computer since last week. So, I can't very well do the challenge when I haven't even SEEN the challenge. It's too much.
This is for my own accountability. But I will try to keep regular updates to stay on track.
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Friday, January 26, 2018
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Recommitting to The Compact and to Decluttering
Here I am again!
I am going to post these thing separately for ease of searching them out later. 10 years ago in January of 2007 I heard about The Compact, a group of people in San Francisco who made a commitment to not buying anything new for the calendar year. I signed up on the yahoo group (there are still about 10,000 people participating in that group) and started and education. Boy, did I learn a LOT! There are so many ways to look around and find a used item or make do or borrow or barter or any number of ways to do something other than just buy a new whatever-it-is.
What goes hand in hand with not buying new things is taking really good care of your old things. Also, I found a TON of ways to do the environmental thing rather than the easy things. Such as:
*Use cloth napkins rather than buying and throwing away paper ones. I guarantee you have cloth napkins, or bandanas, or wash cloths or and old table cloth that has a hole/stain in it that you could cut up and hem and make napkins. I have not bought a single paper napkin in 10 years. I haven't bought any new cloth napkins either. I already had some and I have found some in estate sales and added to the pile. Just a few extra napkins added to a load of laundry will cost you no more in water, soap or electricity. Plus they are much nicer.
*Recycle everything that you don't compost. Buy foods with as little packaging as possible. When you buy food with no packaging you are automatically buying your food as close to its natural form as you can get it. That means you aren't buying crap for your body, either! Yay! I have been known to dig through the garbage and move things to the recycle bin or to the compost bucket.
Here's a short list of things that I throw in the compost bucket, things that no longer go in my trash:
Toilet paper cores, Paper towel cores, used tissues, shredded paper, dead plants, flowers, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, tamale husks.
Now, picture your trash can and take all those items and compost them. Then start looking for things to recycle, like oatmeal boxes, glass bottles, plastic bottles. If you get those things out of the trash, look how small your trash pile is now! It's awesome.
Anyhoo, I have back-slid quite a ways from my Compacty ways and I am now publicly making a recommitment to get back in to that. I will post here regularly (not exactly sure how often) and see what I am adding to my list.
In addition to getting Compacty, I found a decluttering challenge called JanuaryCure 2018. Go here to see what is happening with that one. I signed up for it and today's challenge is to clean out a drawer. Any drawer. Freezer drawer, desk drawer, junk drawer, dresser drawer, any drawer. Dump it out, see what you can throw away, recycle, put in its rightful place, clean the drawer inside and then neatly put in the contents that need to live there. I will be doing that here in just a bit as soon as I select which of my cluttered drawers deserves the honor of being the first one decluttered!
Let me know if you are interested in either getting Compacty in your ways or in decluttering your way through 2018. I would love to hear from you.
I am going to post these thing separately for ease of searching them out later. 10 years ago in January of 2007 I heard about The Compact, a group of people in San Francisco who made a commitment to not buying anything new for the calendar year. I signed up on the yahoo group (there are still about 10,000 people participating in that group) and started and education. Boy, did I learn a LOT! There are so many ways to look around and find a used item or make do or borrow or barter or any number of ways to do something other than just buy a new whatever-it-is.
What goes hand in hand with not buying new things is taking really good care of your old things. Also, I found a TON of ways to do the environmental thing rather than the easy things. Such as:
*Use cloth napkins rather than buying and throwing away paper ones. I guarantee you have cloth napkins, or bandanas, or wash cloths or and old table cloth that has a hole/stain in it that you could cut up and hem and make napkins. I have not bought a single paper napkin in 10 years. I haven't bought any new cloth napkins either. I already had some and I have found some in estate sales and added to the pile. Just a few extra napkins added to a load of laundry will cost you no more in water, soap or electricity. Plus they are much nicer.
*Recycle everything that you don't compost. Buy foods with as little packaging as possible. When you buy food with no packaging you are automatically buying your food as close to its natural form as you can get it. That means you aren't buying crap for your body, either! Yay! I have been known to dig through the garbage and move things to the recycle bin or to the compost bucket.
Here's a short list of things that I throw in the compost bucket, things that no longer go in my trash:
Toilet paper cores, Paper towel cores, used tissues, shredded paper, dead plants, flowers, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, tamale husks.
Now, picture your trash can and take all those items and compost them. Then start looking for things to recycle, like oatmeal boxes, glass bottles, plastic bottles. If you get those things out of the trash, look how small your trash pile is now! It's awesome.
Anyhoo, I have back-slid quite a ways from my Compacty ways and I am now publicly making a recommitment to get back in to that. I will post here regularly (not exactly sure how often) and see what I am adding to my list.
In addition to getting Compacty, I found a decluttering challenge called JanuaryCure 2018. Go here to see what is happening with that one. I signed up for it and today's challenge is to clean out a drawer. Any drawer. Freezer drawer, desk drawer, junk drawer, dresser drawer, any drawer. Dump it out, see what you can throw away, recycle, put in its rightful place, clean the drawer inside and then neatly put in the contents that need to live there. I will be doing that here in just a bit as soon as I select which of my cluttered drawers deserves the honor of being the first one decluttered!
Let me know if you are interested in either getting Compacty in your ways or in decluttering your way through 2018. I would love to hear from you.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Recycling, Downsizing and Letting go
Remember the other day when I showed you the KonMari book?
I am trying to implement this in my life. If you know me in real life you may be picking your teeth up and putting them back in your mouth. I KNOW!!! I am a packrat. I love stuff. I have accumulated loads of stuff. I have collections of stuff. Let's face it, I am on my way to being a hoarder.
So I am trying my best to embrace the more minimalist side of myself. The part of me that sees all the stuff as things that weigh me down, that keep me from being the best I can because I am too busy dusting, arranging and finding homes for all my important stuff. It is hard to completely change your mindset, especially when you spent years of your life accumulating. I did recognize years ago that I had a lot of things and made a hard and fast rule that any time I saw something I wanted I had to stop and think of a similar object in my house that I was willing to let go of, be it sweaters or shoes or whatever. Note: this rule has never applied to books. Books are sacred and as such, limitless in the number you can own.
I let things go all the time. And yet, the clutter persists. So I am reading and re-reading the KonMari book up there and falling more in love with the idea of having fewer beloved items that now have air around them, that aren't crammed into a large collection so that this item of beauty can shine all on its own.
And you know what is really strange? Along with minimizing my stuff I am also changing my style of furnishings and things that I want to inhabit my space. I have always been in the Bohemian camp with loads of competing patterns, fabrics, textures, over-stuffed big comfy furniture and the like. Nowadays, my taste is running more towards mid-century modern, Danish 1960s looking things and craftsman/arts & crafts. Where the hell did THIS come from??
I have very slowly over the last 15 years come around to the Small House Movement way of thinking. I love the idea of making great use of the space you have and not building, heating, cooling and walking through long hallways of unusable space.
That's me right now; recycling things that need to go to someone else, downsizing the amount of treasures I want to keep and letting go of all the things that no longer serve me and no longer spark joy in my life.
Holler at me if you need something, I just might have a collection of said item that I would love to gift you.
I am trying to implement this in my life. If you know me in real life you may be picking your teeth up and putting them back in your mouth. I KNOW!!! I am a packrat. I love stuff. I have accumulated loads of stuff. I have collections of stuff. Let's face it, I am on my way to being a hoarder.
So I am trying my best to embrace the more minimalist side of myself. The part of me that sees all the stuff as things that weigh me down, that keep me from being the best I can because I am too busy dusting, arranging and finding homes for all my important stuff. It is hard to completely change your mindset, especially when you spent years of your life accumulating. I did recognize years ago that I had a lot of things and made a hard and fast rule that any time I saw something I wanted I had to stop and think of a similar object in my house that I was willing to let go of, be it sweaters or shoes or whatever. Note: this rule has never applied to books. Books are sacred and as such, limitless in the number you can own.
I let things go all the time. And yet, the clutter persists. So I am reading and re-reading the KonMari book up there and falling more in love with the idea of having fewer beloved items that now have air around them, that aren't crammed into a large collection so that this item of beauty can shine all on its own.
And you know what is really strange? Along with minimizing my stuff I am also changing my style of furnishings and things that I want to inhabit my space. I have always been in the Bohemian camp with loads of competing patterns, fabrics, textures, over-stuffed big comfy furniture and the like. Nowadays, my taste is running more towards mid-century modern, Danish 1960s looking things and craftsman/arts & crafts. Where the hell did THIS come from??
I have very slowly over the last 15 years come around to the Small House Movement way of thinking. I love the idea of making great use of the space you have and not building, heating, cooling and walking through long hallways of unusable space.
That's me right now; recycling things that need to go to someone else, downsizing the amount of treasures I want to keep and letting go of all the things that no longer serve me and no longer spark joy in my life.
Holler at me if you need something, I just might have a collection of said item that I would love to gift you.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Cool Stuff in the Mail
Y'all, I am beside myself! Do you remember a few years ago I was looking online at cute eyeglasses frames? Well, I chickened out on trying to order them online because I was afraid if I didn't like them or they didn't fit well I would be stuck.
But after living with the crappy frames I picked out last year I am ready to take the plunge and try out something else. So I got on Etsy and of course, I found some outstanding frames available!
There was one seller in particular that I seemed especially drawn to his items, so I bit the bullet and ordered. They are made in Israel and if the return address on the box can be believed they are from a Kibbutz.
Let me show you the pictures of these beauties!
First up is each of the cases with the card of the artist making them.
Here is pair #1 They are blue cat eyes and have little flowery things at the temples. Cute!!!
And these are called the Frida Kahlos. Note the black unibrow-shaped top. Lots of vibrant red, pinks and pretty flowers.
Now, didn't I tell you the truth? Aren't they the cutest? And guess what?
THEY FIT!!!!
First thing in the morning I am calling my eye doctor to schedule my annual check-up to get lenses put in these beauties. Then I can promptly donate the glasses I have now to the Lions Club.
I promise to post some pictures of me sporting these new pretty glasses as soon as I can.
But after living with the crappy frames I picked out last year I am ready to take the plunge and try out something else. So I got on Etsy and of course, I found some outstanding frames available!
There was one seller in particular that I seemed especially drawn to his items, so I bit the bullet and ordered. They are made in Israel and if the return address on the box can be believed they are from a Kibbutz.
Let me show you the pictures of these beauties!
First up is each of the cases with the card of the artist making them.
Here is pair #1 They are blue cat eyes and have little flowery things at the temples. Cute!!!
And these are called the Frida Kahlos. Note the black unibrow-shaped top. Lots of vibrant red, pinks and pretty flowers.
Now, didn't I tell you the truth? Aren't they the cutest? And guess what?
THEY FIT!!!!
First thing in the morning I am calling my eye doctor to schedule my annual check-up to get lenses put in these beauties. Then I can promptly donate the glasses I have now to the Lions Club.
I promise to post some pictures of me sporting these new pretty glasses as soon as I can.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Antique Chairs
I have these gorgeous antique chairs that came from my Great-Aunt Bea. There are 3 of them. One is a regular chair with 4 legs, one is a not so regular chair with a base and a spring on it that makes it a rocker, and the third one is a large chair-and-a-half. Then there is a foot stool.
Way back in the 70s or the 80s judging by the fabric, my Aunt Bea refinished and recovered 2 of the chairs and for some reason left the chair-and-a-half alone. Let me show you photos.
I just adore the old original fabric on the larger chair but that avocado green stuff where they were updated is not so good. Sadly I checked and the original fabric is not underneath.
So I have been searching high and low for years to find something gorgeous to put on these chairs and bring them back together. And I do mean years. The upholstery needs to coordinate with the antique sofa and the rug. You can see a bit of the rug in the photos.
And one night I was in bed dozing off and what popped in to my head?!!
I have some old needlepoint canvases that my Nana gave me years and years ago and I stuffed them into my hope chest and forgot about them. I suddenly thought "what if there are enough of the needlepoints to fit the backs of the chairs?"
The very next morning I got up and got out those needlepoints and there are four of them. 2 that match that fit the chairs, one large one that will fit on the back of the larger chair and a smallish one that is perfect for that foot stool.
You can not believe how serendipitous this is!!! Now all I need to do is find a neutral fabric for the seats and the back sides of the backs that will bring this all together. So I trotted myself on down to Calico Corners and picked up some gorgeous velvet. And I am taking these all over to the refinisher/reupholsterers to have them brought to their former glory. Nay, even better than their former glory!
These chairs are going to be so beautiful that my kids will fight over who gets to inherit them. I can't wait to get them finished and show you the after photos.
Way back in the 70s or the 80s judging by the fabric, my Aunt Bea refinished and recovered 2 of the chairs and for some reason left the chair-and-a-half alone. Let me show you photos.
I just adore the old original fabric on the larger chair but that avocado green stuff where they were updated is not so good. Sadly I checked and the original fabric is not underneath.
So I have been searching high and low for years to find something gorgeous to put on these chairs and bring them back together. And I do mean years. The upholstery needs to coordinate with the antique sofa and the rug. You can see a bit of the rug in the photos.
And one night I was in bed dozing off and what popped in to my head?!!
I have some old needlepoint canvases that my Nana gave me years and years ago and I stuffed them into my hope chest and forgot about them. I suddenly thought "what if there are enough of the needlepoints to fit the backs of the chairs?"
The very next morning I got up and got out those needlepoints and there are four of them. 2 that match that fit the chairs, one large one that will fit on the back of the larger chair and a smallish one that is perfect for that foot stool.
You can not believe how serendipitous this is!!! Now all I need to do is find a neutral fabric for the seats and the back sides of the backs that will bring this all together. So I trotted myself on down to Calico Corners and picked up some gorgeous velvet. And I am taking these all over to the refinisher/reupholsterers to have them brought to their former glory. Nay, even better than their former glory!
These chairs are going to be so beautiful that my kids will fight over who gets to inherit them. I can't wait to get them finished and show you the after photos.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Dark Shadows!
Have you seen the trailer to the new Dark Shadows movie?
Oh Lawzy, it looks like fun!
I will be first in line (cyberly) to get tickets! Yes, I am that excited about this.
p.s. Fabulous soundtrack, don't you think?
Oh Lawzy, it looks like fun!
I will be first in line (cyberly) to get tickets! Yes, I am that excited about this.
p.s. Fabulous soundtrack, don't you think?
Saturday, February 4, 2012
FINALLY!!!!
Those of you who have been with me since the beginning know what an epiphany this is. Anyone else, just play along.
Remember how I am a tea hoarder? You know I have whittled and whittled down my tea stash only to create a tea tin stash? I can NOT bring myself to throw away perfectly good tins. I have looked and searched and thought and thought of ways to recycle, reuse those tins and not much has come to mind.
And then I found this Please, go check out this fabulous recycling blog. Beautiful, creative and innovative ways to use found objects.
Here are a couple pictures of the tea tin lights
Before:
And after:
Very clever.
Remember how I am a tea hoarder? You know I have whittled and whittled down my tea stash only to create a tea tin stash? I can NOT bring myself to throw away perfectly good tins. I have looked and searched and thought and thought of ways to recycle, reuse those tins and not much has come to mind.
And then I found this Please, go check out this fabulous recycling blog. Beautiful, creative and innovative ways to use found objects.
Here are a couple pictures of the tea tin lights
Before:
And after:
Very clever.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Lots of stuff!
I have so many things flitting around in my head to tell you about and pictures to show you!
First up!
Just when you think you have seen everything, you haven't. Check this out: We were driving through a parking lot and saw this truck with shrimp decals on the back window and then saw the driver's door.
In case it wasn't clear enough, I got a much closer view below.
THE SHRIMP PIMP! It's a Shrimp Pimp-mobile!!
When's the last time you saw one of those? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say probably never. Ha!
And now, let me share with you my latest project. Do you remember a long while back I showed you pictures of the cute trivets I was going to make when I got enough metal bottle caps saved up? Well, after having some family members here for a good long visit we accumulated a great supply of bottle caps. Yay!!
Here is the little tub I have been collecting the caps in. A varying assortment of beer, ginger beer, root beer and I guess some non-beer caps!
Next to the bottle caps you will see that I am using just plain #10 cotton crochet thread. I have scads and scads of that stuff. Small amounts of about every color under the sun leftover from other projects. Just the right thing to use on this and turn a leftover bit of thread and a rescued-from-the-garbage bottle cap into something useful and cute as hell!
As I make up the crochet-covered caps I am storing them in a ziplock bag while I accumulate enough to put them together in some sort of cute trivet design.
And here are the first two I have finished! They are going to be my sister-in-law's birthday present. She has the cutest 1950's all original kitchen in shades of blue and yellow. It is bright, sunny and just as cute as it can be. I wanted to be sure to take photos of them before I give them to her. Shhh, don't tell her!
Aren't they awesome? I am so excited to get even more made! I have loads of cotton thread. Certainly enough to make hundreds of trivets. It's just the bottle caps that I have to keep stocked up on. I have been picking them up off the street and in parking lots too. Any that I find that aren't flattened out or too bent are snagged and taken home and washed.
If you look closely at the photos, you can kind of make out that there are different color caps underneath the thread. I gotta tell you, this is shaping up to be one of my favorite projects!
And if that wasn't enough cuteness already?
I have some pics of the little mama kitty and the one remaining baby kitty that we have been fostering. The little boy kitten has already gone to his forever home and has been given the moniker of Ollie. Very cute.
You'll see what I mean when I have been saying that the little mama kitty didn't appear to be any more than 6 to 8 months when she gave birth. She had these babies on July 4th, so they have been with us for 7 weeks today. And this is probably their last week with us (and together) as they will each be making their way to their respective new homes. Awwww.
Check them out:
See, you probably thought this was the baby because she is so small, but nope. That's the tiny mama!
Here's the teensy baby kitty hiding under the table so that I won't take her picture and steal her soul or whatever it is that baby kitties might think!
There she is again! Hiding under a chair.
And here's the mama kitty with her savior and rescuer. Isn't she precious? Look at those stripes!
And here's the baby. Awwwww!
Look at that little bundle of trouble!
And here's one more of the mama kitty sitting on a foot stool looking up at me. What a pretty, dainty little girl.
First up!
Just when you think you have seen everything, you haven't. Check this out: We were driving through a parking lot and saw this truck with shrimp decals on the back window and then saw the driver's door.
In case it wasn't clear enough, I got a much closer view below.
THE SHRIMP PIMP! It's a Shrimp Pimp-mobile!!
When's the last time you saw one of those? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say probably never. Ha!
And now, let me share with you my latest project. Do you remember a long while back I showed you pictures of the cute trivets I was going to make when I got enough metal bottle caps saved up? Well, after having some family members here for a good long visit we accumulated a great supply of bottle caps. Yay!!
Here is the little tub I have been collecting the caps in. A varying assortment of beer, ginger beer, root beer and I guess some non-beer caps!
Next to the bottle caps you will see that I am using just plain #10 cotton crochet thread. I have scads and scads of that stuff. Small amounts of about every color under the sun leftover from other projects. Just the right thing to use on this and turn a leftover bit of thread and a rescued-from-the-garbage bottle cap into something useful and cute as hell!
As I make up the crochet-covered caps I am storing them in a ziplock bag while I accumulate enough to put them together in some sort of cute trivet design.
And here are the first two I have finished! They are going to be my sister-in-law's birthday present. She has the cutest 1950's all original kitchen in shades of blue and yellow. It is bright, sunny and just as cute as it can be. I wanted to be sure to take photos of them before I give them to her. Shhh, don't tell her!
Aren't they awesome? I am so excited to get even more made! I have loads of cotton thread. Certainly enough to make hundreds of trivets. It's just the bottle caps that I have to keep stocked up on. I have been picking them up off the street and in parking lots too. Any that I find that aren't flattened out or too bent are snagged and taken home and washed.
If you look closely at the photos, you can kind of make out that there are different color caps underneath the thread. I gotta tell you, this is shaping up to be one of my favorite projects!
And if that wasn't enough cuteness already?
I have some pics of the little mama kitty and the one remaining baby kitty that we have been fostering. The little boy kitten has already gone to his forever home and has been given the moniker of Ollie. Very cute.
You'll see what I mean when I have been saying that the little mama kitty didn't appear to be any more than 6 to 8 months when she gave birth. She had these babies on July 4th, so they have been with us for 7 weeks today. And this is probably their last week with us (and together) as they will each be making their way to their respective new homes. Awwww.
Check them out:
See, you probably thought this was the baby because she is so small, but nope. That's the tiny mama!
Here's the teensy baby kitty hiding under the table so that I won't take her picture and steal her soul or whatever it is that baby kitties might think!
There she is again! Hiding under a chair.
And here's the mama kitty with her savior and rescuer. Isn't she precious? Look at those stripes!
And here's the baby. Awwwww!
Look at that little bundle of trouble!
And here's one more of the mama kitty sitting on a foot stool looking up at me. What a pretty, dainty little girl.
Monday, February 21, 2011
New Bed!
Okay, here's Old Lumpy. I had already put the quilt in the washer and removed all the blankies and was stripping the bed when it dawned on me to take some pics. So that's why you are seeing Old Lumpy dressed up in 29 year old sheets. You might further notice that we have a shitload of pillows up there at the top. Mr. Ed has 3 pillows and I have 4 1/2 pillows. We do like ourselves some comfy pillows!
Can you see the big high spot in the middle and the two low sinkholes on either side of the place where you get high-centered?
Ooops! They took the mattress out before I could get a pic of it sans sheets. Goodbye old box springs!!
Look, here are the brave, strong delivery dudes bringing in the new non-lumpy mattress. See how they have to park waaaaaay down at the cul-de-sac and then schlepp that bad boy up the drive and then up the stupid steps that are a step-and-a-half wide each? I hate those stupid step-and-a-half steps.
Here is one of the delivery dudes setting up the new frame. Pay no attention to all the crap laying around the room while we make room for the removal and set-up.
Here's the new box springs all covered with a clean dust ruffle thing. Lovely, uninformative photo.
And there's the new mattress!!! See? It still has the "Do not remove under penalty of law" tags. It's all cushy, plushy and comfy!!
My friends Little Eliza and Virtuous Yvette showed up just in time to help me put new sheets on my bed and then try it out. Don't we look like we worked really hard? Don't you love my bunny slippers? Don't you wish Yvette would put her whole self in and quit playing hokey pokey?
Actually, Little Eliza came by and rescued Old Lumpy from the delivery dudes truck and had them load it up on her truck and she took it home with her and it is now a "new" bed for her and her new husband. Yea for recycling and repurposing!!!
And here we have two more satisfied customers trying out the new bed. Aaaaaahhh! Can you just feel the relaxation?
Mr. Big Ed and I have spent more hours in the that bed this past weekend than I care to count.
Next purchase needs to be new headboard and nightstands. Those things are just old and tacky.
Hope you enjoyed perusing the old vs new mattresses in Chez Lisa Pie!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Bottle Caps!
Does anyone remember the song we used to sing at Girl Scout camp about bottle caps? Never mind, I just looked it up and it is "One bottle pop, two bottle pop, etc." WTH is bottle pop? Oh well, I think most of those old GS songs had crazy lyrics. (But they sure were fun!)
So! My friend and fellow Compactor Ellen has just made a fabulous little bottle cap ornament. And that got me thinking about the project I have on the back burner that requires bottle caps. I am trying to save up as many as I can. Now, none of us drink bottled soda or beer on a regular basis that have cool metal bottle caps. Certainly none of those crappy plastic ones, either. What on earth could you possibly do with those?
And then I remembered that I have not one, but two of the cutest necklace and earring sets made of bottle caps. So here are some pics of those for Ellen to look at, and of course the rest of you that aren't bored to tears talking about old school metal bottle caps.
First up is a pic of the project I am hoping to get enough bottle caps to make.
And here is a more updated version:
Aren't those adorable?
The old school Granny pineapple pattern comes with variations to make into a bunch of grapes and also a butterfly. They each require 50 - 60 bottle caps.
If any of you are interested, I would be happy to post the crochet instructions on how to do these lovelies.
Now, on to my bottle cap necklaces! The first one is made with all Big Red caps and the fronts are done with all Scotties, plaid patterns and mail boxes (with heavy plastic covering the pics). Cute, right? There are little pewter-y dangle things that pertain to the theme.
The next one is all RC cola caps on the back side and on the front each one is different brightly colored quilt patterns. The little dangly things are scissors, hearts, sewing machines, etc. It is so precious! Could I be any more of an old lady?
Oooh! Look at the thimble! Isn't it sweet?
Don't you love them?
Ellen, if you are here and still reading this; could you tell me where you got your bottle cap puncher thing? That really seems like a useful tool to have around the house. You never know when you are going to want to embellish your bottle caps with dangly hearts and thimbles and then further dangle said caps from a necklace or turn it into a lovely ornament or whatever.
Oh! Also, the Sarah with an H has not contacted me. I will give it a few days and then draw a different name out of the hat.
Have a great day out there!
So! My friend and fellow Compactor Ellen has just made a fabulous little bottle cap ornament. And that got me thinking about the project I have on the back burner that requires bottle caps. I am trying to save up as many as I can. Now, none of us drink bottled soda or beer on a regular basis that have cool metal bottle caps. Certainly none of those crappy plastic ones, either. What on earth could you possibly do with those?
And then I remembered that I have not one, but two of the cutest necklace and earring sets made of bottle caps. So here are some pics of those for Ellen to look at, and of course the rest of you that aren't bored to tears talking about old school metal bottle caps.
First up is a pic of the project I am hoping to get enough bottle caps to make.
And here is a more updated version:
Aren't those adorable?
The old school Granny pineapple pattern comes with variations to make into a bunch of grapes and also a butterfly. They each require 50 - 60 bottle caps.
If any of you are interested, I would be happy to post the crochet instructions on how to do these lovelies.
Now, on to my bottle cap necklaces! The first one is made with all Big Red caps and the fronts are done with all Scotties, plaid patterns and mail boxes (with heavy plastic covering the pics). Cute, right? There are little pewter-y dangle things that pertain to the theme.
The next one is all RC cola caps on the back side and on the front each one is different brightly colored quilt patterns. The little dangly things are scissors, hearts, sewing machines, etc. It is so precious! Could I be any more of an old lady?
Oooh! Look at the thimble! Isn't it sweet?
Don't you love them?
Ellen, if you are here and still reading this; could you tell me where you got your bottle cap puncher thing? That really seems like a useful tool to have around the house. You never know when you are going to want to embellish your bottle caps with dangly hearts and thimbles and then further dangle said caps from a necklace or turn it into a lovely ornament or whatever.
Oh! Also, the Sarah with an H has not contacted me. I will give it a few days and then draw a different name out of the hat.
Have a great day out there!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Updating. or . . . Everything old is new again.
I have just figured out that I need to get my eyes checked. Somehow I missed going last summer. I go every summer to get my eyeballs checked and get my glasses updated if need be. And I can't remember a thing that happened last summer that was so pressing that I would forget to get my eyes looked at.
Charming Miss Rachel Pie says to me yesterday when I was grumbling and bitching about not being able to see because I had missed last year's eyeball check that "here's a novel idea! you could just get them checked in the fall! or the winter! or hell, break out of a rut and go in the spring!" Madness. That's what I say.
Why wouldn't that kind of care-free willy-nilly idea occur to me? I have no clue. But the fact is, it doesn't. If I normally do something in August and it gets skipped, well, it just stays skipped till NEXT August.
Anyhoo, all this planning to get my eyes checked has got me planning on what kind of new glasses frames I want to get. Right now I am wearing some that are at least 3 and maybe 4 years old. They were way cool and different when I got them. Now? Not so much. Everybody and their mother has this style now. Even Tina Fey and Sarah Palin. Time for an update, is what I am sayin'.
Interestingly enough, over on the Compact group site, one of my very favorite people posted a question as to where one could get eyes checked and not pay a bazillion dollars for new glasses. So I perked up and have been checking everyone's responses as to how they manage to not go broke each time their own eyeballs need new lenses. And the best idea popped up, and I am really sorry that I have no clue who it was who posted this, but there is a store near her that sells really cool vintage frames. Vintage is right up my alley. So, of course I have been scoping out vintage frame people all over the internet.
Here is one vintage frame site that I really like. And here are a handful of the frames that I really like:
Charming Miss Rachel Pie says to me yesterday when I was grumbling and bitching about not being able to see because I had missed last year's eyeball check that "here's a novel idea! you could just get them checked in the fall! or the winter! or hell, break out of a rut and go in the spring!" Madness. That's what I say.
Why wouldn't that kind of care-free willy-nilly idea occur to me? I have no clue. But the fact is, it doesn't. If I normally do something in August and it gets skipped, well, it just stays skipped till NEXT August.
Anyhoo, all this planning to get my eyes checked has got me planning on what kind of new glasses frames I want to get. Right now I am wearing some that are at least 3 and maybe 4 years old. They were way cool and different when I got them. Now? Not so much. Everybody and their mother has this style now. Even Tina Fey and Sarah Palin. Time for an update, is what I am sayin'.
Interestingly enough, over on the Compact group site, one of my very favorite people posted a question as to where one could get eyes checked and not pay a bazillion dollars for new glasses. So I perked up and have been checking everyone's responses as to how they manage to not go broke each time their own eyeballs need new lenses. And the best idea popped up, and I am really sorry that I have no clue who it was who posted this, but there is a store near her that sells really cool vintage frames. Vintage is right up my alley. So, of course I have been scoping out vintage frame people all over the internet.
Here is one vintage frame site that I really like. And here are a handful of the frames that I really like:
Are those the cutest things you ever did see? How about ever see through??? I love them all.
Now apparently, I need to come up with measurements of my current glasses to know which of these will fit my face and not be too small or too big. And let me just say this . . . every single one of these awesome vintage frames are cheaper than the new and not nearly as awesome new ones that I have seen. Of course, I can't see. Which is why I need to go get my eyeballs checked and get new prescription lenses.
Do any of you wear glasses? Did you just switch to contacts because the whole wearing glasses thing was too much trouble? Did you get the lasik surgery because the contacts were way more trouble? Do you just have perfectly shaped eyeballs and don't need all this stuff?
And most importantly, which frames do you think I should get? : )
Friday, January 22, 2010
Making something out of nothing
I am trying to hurry and get all the office cleaning and organizing done that I can in the month of Jan. So I brought in the step ladder that lives in my pantry and got up eye-level with the top shelves and started working my way down.
Oh, sorry about the before pics! I had already cleared 65 cookbooks off the shelves BEFORE I got the great idea to continue with the office for the last 12 days of Jan. So I felt like any pics I took would not truly be "before" photos but more like "in the midst" pics. I swear I will do good pictorials of the next month's room.
Back to the shelves and what I found on them. Mr. Big Ed keeps saying that all that stuff on the shelves is mine. Mine. In his office. But they are all mine. Mr. Big Ed is a big fat liar, is what he is. This office has one wall that is all built-ins. Cabinets below and shelves above. 4 shelves wide with 5 shelves high on each. They are about a yard each so that makes it about 4 yards across in total. That's pretty frigging wide.
The far right ones are the ones that contain cookbooks. They were completely jam-packed and now there is breathing space. I am happy with them. If you were keeping count at all that leaves 15 more shelves and I just counted 10 books that are mine. 10 books out of 15 YARDS of shelf space. I rest my case, gentlemen of the jury. Is Mr. Big Ed a big fat liar or what?
Oh, and back to the reason for this post. I found a thin paperback journal that was from when I was pregnant with Jonathon. Which I had done a piss-poor job of filling in. It's one of those pre-printed "I felt this way, and the person I admire most is _____" kind of things. And first I put it in the throw away pile, but then after I got down off the ladder I decided to look at it and see what my 25 year old self had filled in. Not much, that's what. But I did find some great fill-in-the-blank pages towards the back for moms and dads to use to think about the birth and how things went. So instead of trashcanning this book I am going to scan and print up copies of these pages for my clients. Instead of rubbish it is now a resource!! I am loving this!
Oh, sorry about the before pics! I had already cleared 65 cookbooks off the shelves BEFORE I got the great idea to continue with the office for the last 12 days of Jan. So I felt like any pics I took would not truly be "before" photos but more like "in the midst" pics. I swear I will do good pictorials of the next month's room.
Back to the shelves and what I found on them. Mr. Big Ed keeps saying that all that stuff on the shelves is mine. Mine. In his office. But they are all mine. Mr. Big Ed is a big fat liar, is what he is. This office has one wall that is all built-ins. Cabinets below and shelves above. 4 shelves wide with 5 shelves high on each. They are about a yard each so that makes it about 4 yards across in total. That's pretty frigging wide.
The far right ones are the ones that contain cookbooks. They were completely jam-packed and now there is breathing space. I am happy with them. If you were keeping count at all that leaves 15 more shelves and I just counted 10 books that are mine. 10 books out of 15 YARDS of shelf space. I rest my case, gentlemen of the jury. Is Mr. Big Ed a big fat liar or what?
Oh, and back to the reason for this post. I found a thin paperback journal that was from when I was pregnant with Jonathon. Which I had done a piss-poor job of filling in. It's one of those pre-printed "I felt this way, and the person I admire most is _____" kind of things. And first I put it in the throw away pile, but then after I got down off the ladder I decided to look at it and see what my 25 year old self had filled in. Not much, that's what. But I did find some great fill-in-the-blank pages towards the back for moms and dads to use to think about the birth and how things went. So instead of trashcanning this book I am going to scan and print up copies of these pages for my clients. Instead of rubbish it is now a resource!! I am loving this!
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