No-Sew Pirate and Ship Quiet Book Page (with tutorial and FREE template!)

Phew! I don't know about you all, but we had Snowmageddon here on the Vancouver West Coast last week. And by snow I mean we had almost two feet dumped on us over a few days, which is a big deal in a city that can go a whole year without a single snowflake!

I didn't even move my car for a whole week, and we lost power for a night. 

And at times like that, you just want to curl up on the couch with a good book - or three...

But I'm back this week to share the second page of the super crafty quiet book I made for my niece (you can see the entire thing in video here).

This page is actually one of the easiest to make because I could make a really simple template, and I used all bits I found at the dollar store, so it was very cheap.

My Niece's No-Sew Quiet Book!!

I'm so excited to share this with you all!! My niece turned two just before Christmas, and I wanted to do something fun for her this year. So I pulled out my felt stash and glue gun and spent a ton of time on Pinterest and Google and put together what I think is a rather epic, interactive quiet book!

And by epic, I mean it's twenty-two pages.

And it took me a million hours to make.

But it was totally worth it, because my niece loves it, and apparently she asks for it all the time. For some reason, she really, really likes the tiny felt toothbrush on one of the pages and keeps wanting to take it to bed with her...

 So over the next few weeks, I'm going to share my book and process with you, in case you're interested in making some of these pages for yourself. Starting with this cover page!
 

Easy, DIY Drawstring Bags for Christmas or Storage

This post originally appeared on One Creative Mommy back in 2012. I'm re-posting it now because it's still one of my go-to gift bags, and a great way to use up leftover fabric!  


I don’t know about you, but the commercialization of Christmas drives me crazy.  Not only does it seem antithetical to the reason most people celebrate it, but Christmas consumerism creates a ridiculous amount of bad environmental waste in the form of uneaten leftover food, wrapping paper, unwanted gifts, ugly knickknacks, old decorations and so on and so forth.
 
So this year on top of trying to find eco-friendly gifts, I’m making gift bags that can be reused for years to come.  In fact, these beautiful bags can even be a part of the gift!  They can be re-gifted, or used for storing things or even as little purses.  The bags are simple to make with a sewing machine, and the felt one is easy enough to make even without a sewing machine.

DIY Moss Tomato Hanging Basket Tutorial (Cheap and Easy!)

Most of you probably don't know this, but my very first real job in my early teens was at a greenhouse, and I worked there on and off for almost 20 years (sometimes just going in to help out one or two days a year at my old boss's request - Mother's Day and Victoria Day which are the busiest days of the year).

My old bosses and their kids even attended my wedding, and in fact supplied all the flowers, pots, and baskets to decorate the location and tables :)

And over those years, depending on the season, I made moss baskets.

Hundreds of moss baskets. Likely even thousands.

So this week's post is not a recipe, but an easy picture tutorial. I can't say that I ever made hanging tomato baskets at the greenhouse, but I do know how to make moss baskets, and this year I decided to try my hand at hanging tomatoes. I could have gotten one of those hanging tomato planter thingies, but frankly they're ugly, and at $10 a pop (without soil) I knew I could do it for cheaper.  Here's how I planted my hanging tomato baskets.

The Easiest Way to Defrost a Fridge Freezer (and the least stressful!)

I've never wished harm on an appliance before, but I frequently wish for the death of my freezer.

I might be the only person in the world left with one of those ancient fridge freezers that needs to be defrosted. My husband and I rent an apartment and the property management company won't replace the fridge until it dies. Trust me, after 1.5 years of having to defrost this freezer, I want this stupid thing to die, and yet it lives on and on.

In an ironic twist, most of the people I know with new fridges have had to call for service for them time and again within the first year of ownership. Just last month we had a fiasco in which my grandmother's brand new 4 month old fridge lost it's door handle. I guess this is proof that they don't make things the way they used to!

Regardless, over the last year and a bit I've come to learn that the best way to clean my icy fridge freezer is the one that causes me the least stress and least amount of manual labour.

So in the off-chance you, like me, suffer with a fridge that's older than time, read on and I'll tell you how to clean it! Along with what NOT to do.

My First Chalkboard Art!

Well. I lay no claims to artistic greatness here. I just got myself a Wallie peel and stick chalkboard  and thought I'd make an attempt at an inspirational chalkboard quote.

I'm fairly happy with the results, considering I didn't use any fancy shmancy stuff like a projector or tracing the text from large prints, I just free-handed it. I'll give you a basic run-down of how I did it here, in case you also have artistic pretensions ;)

How to Naturally Clean Makeup Sponges

I prefer not to just toss my makeup sponges in the garbage after I use them a few times. It feels wasteful and just contributes to more garbage.

I used to spend forever trying to clean them, running them under the tap, rubbing soap all over them, rinse, repeat, etc...

But a while back I discovered how easy it is to clean them, and it only takes a couple of minutes using things you might already have in your home. The sponge on the bottom right in the above photo has actually been washed twice now, so it won't get quite as clean, but it's still looking pretty darn good, I think.

Cheap, Easy and Natural Spring Table Decorations!

 
On Monday we had my dad and his wife over for Easter dinner. Since we were in Europe for a month, right up until the end of last month, we've done little to prep for Easter or spring in general. I wanted to update the apartment to look a little more "spring-like".

But there were two problems:

1) I don't have any spring-ish decor, and my table is black. Very un-springy.

2) I made the decisions to "spring-ify" things about three hours before my dad was due over.

So what's a girl to do?

Here's how I turned some cat food tins and an old pot into some pretty centerpieces for my coffee and dining room tables, adding little pops of spring colour for super cheap!

7 Suggestions for Finding Inner Satisfaction - Any Time of Year

New Year's Resolutions. Ugh. We've all tried to make them at some point, and we've all abandoned them at some point. And we feel guilty. Right now, some of you might have already given up on one of your resolutions.

So this year I'm not bothering with them. 

But what I have been doing for some time is looking for ways to feel better about myself and the things that I am doing.

Because when we feel good, we feel motivated, and more likely to be inspired. And then you won't need those lists, because not only will you feel good about what you're already doing, but you'll feel more confident about tackling those things you aren't.

Cheap, Easy, Natural Christmas Tree and Decorations for Small Spaces

Our apartment is not large. Also, many rental apartments don't allow for Christmas trees because they're considered a fire hazard. Some people also don't want the hassle of putting up trees, or finding space for one. So what does one do in such cases?

Well, you could buy a nice little potted plant. My mom did that for us. She bought a beautiful little rosemary tree and we decorated it last month. Sadly, however, it died (I think it was left standing in water too long and got root rot).

Since I wanted something to decorate the place for Christmas, and since we were having the family over for a Christmas brunch, I needed a quick fix. I needed a cheap, easy, natural Christmas tree.

So I grabbed a pair of snippers and headed out back of our apartment... This is what I came up with ...

Easy and Free Crochet Baby Set Patterns

This is one of my rare DIY posts, and one of my even rarer crochet projects. I have to share it, because these little crochet baby cardigan sets are the most absolutely adorable things I have ever made, or seen. I also have to share it because there's a little something I haven't told you all yet... sometime very soon, probably in the next two weeks, I'm going to be an auntie!!

So read on and I'll tell you (and show you) more about these free crochet patterns and my new little niece.

Cheap & Easy All-Natural Microwave Cleaner

I've been meaning to blog about this for some time. Several months ago, I saw a random post on Pinterest about using vinegar and water to essentially steam-clean your microwave. I tried it. And it worked! It's incredibly easy, and super cheap. 

The pics above are old ones from a few months ago, but scroll down and you can see what my microwave looks like after a bowl of beans in tomato sauce explodes all over the roof. Of course, what the pictures can't convey is the stench of reheated fish that permeated the microwave after heating up leftovers yesterday...

But fear not! All it took was a bowl of water and vinegar and about 2 seconds of wiping things down and it was shiny and pretty inside again. And no more fishy stench...

How to Make Elasticized Fabric Plate Covers (A super easy DIY for using up scrap fabric)

 

Ever have one of those days where you just don't feel like putting a leftover scrap of food into a separate container to put into the fridge? Or maybe there's something you just want to refrigerate for a brief length of time and don't want to clean yet another dish, or maybe even just carry something to a potluck? 

These super easy DIY fabric plate covers are one of my favorite time savers. My husband especially loves using them, since he hates doing dishes.

They're also incredibly cheap and eco-friendly, because you can use up leftover fabric scraps, or a fat quarter (a slice of fabric available at most fabric stores). I made 1 large plate cover, 1 smaller plate cover, 2 cups covers and 3 bowl covers out of 2 fat quarters that I picked up for $1.25 each = awesome deal! 

Here's how you can make these fabric plate covers in just a few minutes with minimal equipment. 

How to Naturally Clean a Stainless Steel Pot {Cheap!}

 

One of the things we noticed right away when my husband and I arrived in Madison, WI, was that the water seems to have quite a bit of calcium in it. Calcium deposits build up on the taps and, when we boil water, on our pots. 

This happens a lot because we boil our water, then filter it. We boil it because, well, the water in Madison kind of weirds us out due to the buildup.  I've read up on it a lot and they say that it's safe to drink, but boiling can't hurt, right?

It's not just the buildup that can be a problem, but sometimes when something gets burnt or a little stuck on the pot it can be a real nuisance to scrub off. 

So I use a method that my German Omi used to use for cleaning other things (and one that's similar to the one I use to Naturally Clean a Coffee Pot), and all it requires is something really cheap that most of us regularly in our kitchens. And it's as simple as boiling a pot of water. No SOS pads or frustrating, futile  scrubbing required. AND it won't damage your pot.

10 Classy DIY Pumpkin Decorating Ideas & Tutorials

I love carving pumpkins. One year when I was like 9, I carved 10 of them myself, one for each side of every step leading up the front steps of our house. 

But I must confess that as I get older, and I don't have kids, I'm less enthused about scooping out gobby masses of messy, hard to clean up pumpkin guts. And I wanted something that looked a little classier than a gap-toothed goofy grin on my pumpkins this year (although I have been known to work a stencil now and then)

So this year I went in search of some of the classiest looking pumpkin tutorials and easy DIY'ers that I could find, and here are ten of the best I found. Most of them don't require much in the way of expensive materials, and I'm always a fan of that!

8 Free and Easy DIY Summer Dress Tutorials

So summer is pretty much here for most people in North America, and I'm a few days away from leaving for my 2 week trip to Greece.

For months I've diligently gathered tutorials on my various Pinterest boards with the intentions of sewing myself a pretty summer dress to take with me.  I've marveled at how easy and quick these DIY summer dresses seemed to be. Well you know what Robbie Burns said: The best laid plans o'mice and men gang aft agley.

The upside of my lack of planning is that I've decided to share some of the prettiest, quickest, and easiest of the tutorials I've collected, so hopefully some of you can make use of them!

The Apartment Garden: How to Take Cuttings to Propagate Mint and Cuban Oregano

Using a bunch of store bought mint and a beat up Cuban Oregano in a cup of water

Ever wondered if you could take cuttings from a bunch of fresh herbs bought at the market, or if you could propagate without any fancy shmancy greenhouse stuff?  I did, so I gave it a shot.

And it worked!  At least with peppermint.  Which practically grows like a weed anyway.  I also decided to take some cuttings from a scraggly Cuban Oregano (a variety of mint also known as Mexican Mint or Oregano) from last summer, and that's worked out nicely too.  

I think this would be a super fun project for kids, too, as they can actually see the roots develop. 

How to Make Yogurt, Syrian-style, and Labneh (Greek Yogurt)

Easy Gluten Free Yogurt

Making yogurt is so easy, and not at all technical.  People have been doing it for ages without food thermometers or fancy yogurt makers!

I learned how to make yogurt from a couple of Syrian ladies a few years ago, so this method is based on what they showed me.  I'm calling it Syrian yogurt in honour of them, and in the hopes that their families and friends are safe despite the escalating casualties in the Syrian civil war.

Once you get the hang of making basic yogurt you can up your game and make Greek style yogurt, or the thick, drained yogurt known as labneh in the Middle East. This is my absolute favorite type of yogurt! 

DIY Sweater Recon: How to turn a large knit sweater into a smaller one

From Oversized, Thrifted Cardigan to Fitted Sweater in 30 Minutes ( and how to fix a snag on a knit top) 

I couldn't resist when I saw this beautiful, light-weight knit cardigan at the second hand store for $8.  I mean it's made out of 58% SILK and 42% cotton!!  How luxurious is that?  How would I ever be able to afford a knit silk cardi otherwise?? 

But here's the problem, this sweater was HUGE on me, and it had a big long snag on the back.  So here's how I reconn'd it in about 30 minutes to turn it into a sleek fitted cardigan.  

DIY Fabric Wrapped Cord Rug from Scrap Fabric

How to make a rug using scrap fabric

This is a very simple way to use up scrap fabric.  Cut some strips of fabric, wrap some cord, set your sewing machine on zigzag, and away you go!