Tag Archives: michaels arts and crafts

How to spruce up OLD outdoor furniture

OK!

So I just had to share this with all my Jaderbugs because it is so fantastic!!! I totally had this old chair and this little dingy outdoor table from a friend and they have been “hidden” for quite some time because they were {not pretty to look at}.  I just could not figure out if I was ready to throw them or {{{spruce them up}}}.  I picked option #2!!!! Once you see the end result then you will see why I chose to keep them.  People, anyone could do this.  Seer-e-us-leee!!!!

All you need is different colors of paint and something old and dingy.  I used some cheap acrylic paint from Michaels Arts & Crafts! I think they were like .99 cents! Fuh-Reel~
I just want to say that I went in no particular order while painting these! I just let myself go!
See how pretty!!! It totally dressed up my dingy wood!
So next time you have something that looks dingy or boring just add some color to it and it will give it a whole new look!
OH! and don’t forget to add polyurethane to it when it is completely dry.  This will make the wood last a little longer and give it a great coating so the paint won’t chip off!
Happy Crafting
Wishing it was summer and I was sitting in this chair in the SUN,

Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent

Well. I finally did it. About a year ago I remember seeing a blogger friend try a “similar” recipe and I though, “What, that can’t clean like the nice expensive ones do”… Then I lived my life for the next year buying my nice expensive laundry detergent. Certain it WAS the best after all. Then about 3 months ago I saw a random pin on making some! Still didn’t convince me. I was certain my GAIN was the best.  ((plus I don’t love change))

Then about 4 days ago mother in law made me some. I hesitated at first because of fear. The fear of actually “LIKING” it and abandoning my good ole GAIN. I smelled it and it smelled SOO good (even though my brain tried to convince me it wasn’t GAIN)…. Crazy but I am a total texture girl. I LOVED the way it looked and the texture it presented to me. OK. I am buckling at this point… Am I really thinking about trying this stuff….. I had to. It just sat there saying:

I’m CHEAPERRR
I’m prettierrrrr
I’m HOMEMADEEEE

So I put a batch of clothes washing and “tested” this stuff that keeps popping up in front of my eyes. I went about my business doing other chores until my nose sniffed some ridiculously  awesome smell. “There’s no way”, I said. BUT WAY! I secretly got super duper excited and after taking out my first batch I scattered through the dirty clothes to gather ANOTHER load! I kid you not.

So I sit here. Ready to share with you an amazing way to save SOOO much money (don’t worry I will break it down) by making your own laundry detergent.

Ingredients:

I got my BORAX from Wal-Mart. I got lucky because someone must have known I was coming and put ALL of the ingredients I needed right next to each other. Thanks Wal-Mart for making my life amazing! This box was about 3 bucks. The Borax cleans, disinfects and softens the water.

These babies were only .99 cents each! Epic deal. The Fels Naptha Soap is a heavy duty laundry soap bar & stain remover.

This was around 3.49 for the box. Still liking this!!! Arm & Hammer Washing Soda works on grease and neutralizes odors.

Mother in law told me she added this to enhance the smell so I figured I would try a little bit of it. I think she used another ingredient but I can’t remember what. Our recipes are not exactly the same but I am pretty sure they do the same job!! This was around 4.60 but well worth it.

Get something you won’t use for cheese (((ever again))) hehe…I had an old grater so I figured I would add to everything else it has been through.

Start by grating your bars of soap. I will put the recipe at the bottom of this post but I grated 4 bars of soap and pouring in all of your ingredients  (recipe below) it will look like this!!!

So pretty right!!!

I made some for my dad and I had to think of something to put on it so he would ALWAYS know what it was!! (you know men, they never REALLY pay attention more than once)… So I grabbed some bright neon labels that I had.

I grabbed one of my Martha Stewart punches and punched out a little sucker!

Just bright enough for him to ALWAYS see! (and not too girly)

If you follow the recipe below you will have enough laundry soap to wash 110 or 200 bad loads of laundry.  Trust me, I scooped the whole batch to figure this out! Let me explain my numbers.
The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons per batch HOWEVER if you are washing a small load or if you don’t have a big washing machine I recommend using 1 tablespoon
So if you use 2 tables spoons for every batch then you will get 110 loads out of it!
If you use 1 table spoon then you will have 200 batches…. AMAZING RIGHT.
If you are like me then you will have some batches that are big and some small but either way it’s amazing how much you have here! Plus it’s all good for ya and full of natural ingredients!
Total price to purchase all the items to make my own detergent was around 14 bucks.
 Homemade detergents do not have alot of  suds.   Don’t worry, this is normal and your clothes will still come out redokulousley clean.

Large Batch Recipe 

4 – Bars Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
1 box of  – Cups Mule Team Borax
1 box Cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 bottle of Purex Crystals

Grate soap using cheese grater. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Place in sealed container or tub and measure out two tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) for each load. I put a medicine cup for my dads batch. Two scoops from that is 2 tablespoons. I know everyone has tons of those suckers laying around!

Smaller Batch Recipe

2 – Cups Laundry Soap Shavings
(you can get this easily from one bar)
1 – Cup Mule Team Borax
1 – Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

Follow instructions for above recipe.

I sure hope you enjoyed this post and let me know how yours comes out!!

Sending you all sortsa good energy to wash every single piece of clothing in your house (like I did),

This post is brought to you Plaid’s Martha Stewart line of paint and stencils. I received product for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. You can check out Plaid’s full Martha Stewart product line here

DIY: Kate Spade inspired CONFETTI CANVAS

So the other day I started looking online for a new iphone case. I wanted a really bright, shiny gold one. You know, like the real “gaudy” gold!!! {{teehee}}

In the process I ran across this:

 I fell in LOVE right away. While staring off into space deciding if I wanted this one  or if I wanted a COMPLETE gold one I noticed a big sheet of gold shiny paper just sitting there. I totally forgot I bought it and I though it would be cool to make some art using the gold paper. How cool would it be to have a BIG oversized Kate Spade Iphone case!! Wanna see what I decided to do!

Is it not so pretty!! Let’s make it now!

Get canvases. I got mine from Hobby Lobby.

This shiny sheet of gold paper is from Hobby Lobby. I am not sure of the name but it’s where are the project paper is. I think it was around 5 bucks for a sheet but the sheet is large!!!!

I used my Martha Stewart punches and you can get them at Michael’s Art’s and Crafts.

1-inch Craft Punch
Pointed Circle 1in Punch

Get your hot glue gun and start glueing them down where you like them. I used Martha’s dual temperature glue gun.

Jaderbugs! This is what it will look like. I had a blast doing this.. If only I could find a gold confetti bed spread!
Happy Mardi Gras!!!
Sending you gold confetti and money to buy everything Kate Spade,

If you are planning a Valentines surprise for your love one’s tonight well you still have time to make this! It is cheap and super easy.
If you want to decorate that steak you are cooking, “stake” it in that meat!! {{hahaha}}

Ingredients you will need are:

* Skewers which I bought from walmart and pom poms from Hobby Lobby. The name brand I bought is called “tree house studio”.

They come with 18 pom poms that are cute and shiny.

The bakers twine I used is from Martha Stewart’s line at Michael’s Arts and Crafts.


First thing you want to do is add some hot glue to your pom pom. I am using a dual temperature hot glue gun from Martha Stewart’s line of crafts.

After you add your hot glue to the pom pom you want to immediately put your bamboo skewer into it. I broke my skewers to make them a lot shorter!

 

When you are done tie a little piece of bakers twine to the skewer and voila! Your little nugget of food decor…

I wonder if anyone will really stick this into meat! HAHA

Sending you lot’s of steak love for your nice night, 

This post is brought to you Plaid’s Martha Stewart line. I received product for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. You can check out Plaid’s fullMartha Stewart product line here.

DIY: Mini Bunting for Cake or Flower Pot

Holy Moly Macadamia Nuts! I never knew I loved these nuts until my first trip to Hawaii! Those are the BEST little suckers ever. Thanks Kiyo and family for sending us the BEST chocolate covered macadamia nuts! That was the best thing we have EVER got in the mail!

{{thank goodness the mail man didn’t eat them}}}

 {teehehe}

If you are looking for that perfect last minute valentine’s gift I have just the thing for you. I personally love getting and giving greenery as a gift. It’s something that will last a long time if it’s cared for properly . 

You know I love flag bunting! I swear it’s the one thing that will make my toes tingle and my heart smile. Who woulda thunk it!

Let’s hurry along because it’s already nighty night time and you need to see this before the morning!!!

The ingredients you will need are:

Martha Stewart glue gun, 2 wooden skewers, Martha Stewart all purpose scissors, Martha Stewart Baker’s twine, and some little triangles cut out of fabric. You can get all of the Martha Stewart products at Michael’s Art’s and Crafts.

Start by laying out your flags they way you want them. Make sure to put the “good” side facing down so you can glue the twine to the back.

Add a little line of hot glue to the back of the flags. Gently press the twine into the hot glue before it dries.

SERIOUSLY…. How cute is this!!! It’s super simple and definitely adds a whimsical, fun touch to any plant or cake. Have fun with this! This is totally a project you can afford to do for EACH holiday!!! Don’t you just love all of these succulents? I bought ALL of them at Home Depot!

In case you didn’t see my tutorial on how to make this fish bowl terrarium click HERE….

Stay tuned for a post on which plants give off good energy! You don’t want to miss it.

Gotta go finishing preparing for a fun filled Valentine’s DAY,

This post is brought to you Plaid’s Martha Stewart line of paint and stencils. I received product for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. You can check out Plaid’s fullMartha Stewart product line here

DIY: Glittered Envelope with Martha Stewart Glitter

 Jaderbugs… I have been super swamped lately! Don’t get me wrong… It’s the only way I know how to live but phew. I’m giving myself a run for my own money!

It’s 1 in the morning and I JUST have a minute to post this. LONG day ahead of me!

I hope you enjoy this quick but FUN tutorial!

Isn’t it SO cute!

You will need double stick tape, envelope, Martha Stewart gold leaf glitter, wax seal, and a lot of love.

These are the colors I used. They are SO pretty.

Put a strip of double stick tape along the top and snip the sides.

Sprinkle whatever color you want to use on top of the double stick tape.

Read the directions before burning your wax. I like to turn my wax almost upside down and make it turn black in some spots!

See the little black in it. Make sure you press your stamp in the wax before it melts.

So you see! It’s SUPER DUPER easy and I am positive whoever gets this will LOVE it!

I hope you enjoyed the extra picture I put for you!!! Happy Early Mardi Gras and Valentines day

Me and kitty wishes you a wonderful weekend,

This post is brought to you Plaid’s Martha Stewart line of paint and stencils. I received product for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. You can check out Plaid’s fullMartha Stewart product line here