Quick Tip: Keep Wrapping Paper Neat

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crafting, organizing, repurposing, toilet paper rolls

I don’t know where I first saw this, so I don’t know who to credit for it, but it was one of those things I can’t believe I never thought of!

Cut open an empty toilet paper roll & use it to keep your wrapping paper (whatever the paper) from unrolling.  This works best laying down since it loosened a little & fell to the bottom of this roll I had standing up in the closet.  That would be easy to fix with a bit of tape or a rubber band.  Either way, the roll protects the paper.

Bonus tip! I just found this & love the idea.  Use empty toilet paper & paper towel rolls as labels for shelving.

Source: Michele Made Me

Something Simple: Hair Band to a Hair Pin

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hair doodad, hairpin, repurposing

This is one of those super simple projects I’m ashamed I never thought of until last night.  A few years ago I found this hair band on clearance.  I knew I would probably never wear it, but I loved the flower so I bought it anyway.  I have only worn it once until today (now it’s twice!).  It occurred to me last night I could turn it in to a pin, so I did just that today.

Repurposing: Hair Elastics Holder

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hair doodad, hair elastics holder, organization, photo holder, picture holder, ponytail holders, repurposed, repurposing

Just a quick idea I thought was really cute.  I was looking for a way to corral my collection of ponytail holders & had this photo holder sitting around.  It seemed like a natural fit, so here you go!

Photo Holder repurposed to hold ponytail holders

Building a Collapsible Lightbox for Free

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DIY, free, lightbox, links, Photography, Pinterest, repurposing, upcycling

As I mentioned yesterday, I finally built a lightbox.  It’s something I have had in mind for a while, but was never sure just quite how I wanted to do it.   I finally decided to bite the bullet & do it.  I once again hit the faithful internet, most high font of ideas, & then whipped one up with items I had on hand.  FREE!

The secret to an easy, free collapsible lightbox is a collapsible cardboard box, so that’s where I started.  I had one I had been saving for some nonspecific need I knew I would have in the future.

 

I also used two sheets of white poster board, clear packing tape, Elmer’s Glue All, scissors, a ruler & a measuring tape, a pencil, & a goose neck clip on desk lamp.  I wish I had had a yardstick for a straight edge, but I made do.

NEW! Origami Necktie Earrings from old text books

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earrings, Etsy, Goodsmiths, jewelry, OOAKindness, origami, repurposing

Today’s new items was made to go along with the origami necktie necklaces from Monday.  I made cute little baby origami neckties!

Origami Necktie Earrings from old text books math by OOAKindness.

The neckties are ~1.5in & the overall earrings are ~2in.  They come on french hooks, & a bead can be added.  I can also add a simple design or a star punch to them.

Check it out at my Goodsmiths shop, too!

NEW! Origami Necktie Necklaces from old text books – algebra, literature, & otters

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bibliophile, books, Etsy, geekery, Goodsmiths, jewelry, JoyOOAK, literature, math, necklace, necktie, nerdy, origami, otters, repurposing

Being a night owl, I have a loose definition of “today”, so l’m claiming now as still being Monday.  That’s my story & I’m sticking to it.

So, here is Monday’s new item!  Origami necktie necklaces made from old math & literature text books.  I also have a beautifully illustrated children’s book about otters.

Check it out on Etsy!

Or try my new shop at Goodsmiths

More From The Pinterest Files: Pillowcase Laundry Hamper

Tags

home projects, Martha Stewart, organizing, Pinterest, repurposing

Today’s project was short & sweet.  I had found the idea of making a hanging laundry hamper out of a pillowcase on Pinterest a few weeks ago, & today I finally rummaged around & found a suitable old pillowcase.

Here is the original idea at MarthaStewart.com.

Here is my version:

Martha used a 14in embroidery hoop to hold hers open, but I didn’t have that.  What I did have was a big, boxy old wire hanger.  So I used a pair of pliers to wrestle the top of the hanger open, made a snip in the pillowcase, near the inside top of the “back” side, then ran the hanger through the pillowcase’s hem.

The only problem was the seamed side was sewn through, so I had to make a couple of extra clips, one on each side of the seam on the inside again, then threaded the wire through those two holes.  If I had my sewing machine with me, I would have maybe done a buttonhole for the slits, but I don’t know if I could have done one without sewing through both layers of the casing.  Some sort of finishing would be nice though, so I might go back to it with some fabric glue or something.

But anyway, ta-dah!  Hope you enjoyed it.

New Uses For Box Tops & Swizzle Sticks

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box tops, hair, hair doodad, hair stick, hair style, repurposing, swizzle stick, yarn winding

Here are just a quick couple of things I thought might be useful ideas for box tops & swizzle sticks.

Small box top flaps make good starters for yarn balls, especially the slot side of the tab closing boxes.  (Does that make sense?  I feel I lack the appropriate vocabulary for discussing box tops.)  It can be done with any cardboard, but those bits of flap require the least amount of effort to be useful.

A wholly unnecessary photo tutorial on how to turn box top flaps into yarn winders:

First Real Post!!! Roast Pumpkin, Cinnamon Roll Waffles, & a Gift Bag

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desserts, don't do that, gifts, links, needs more sausage, Pinterest, pumpkin, recipes, recycling, repurposing

So maybe “soon” was optimistic back in January.  But I like to think of me as an optimistic kind of person; at least on the good days, which can tend to be ephemeral in my life.

Thankfully today is one of those good days, & it is also my father’s birthday:D  Since my current obsession is Pinterest, I tried out a few things I found on there.  Per Pinterest Etiquette for craft bloggers I will be linking to the original blog & not the Pin, just a handy FYI.

First, I roasted a pumpkin.  The idea originally came from elsewhere, but I lost it, so I just searched Pinterest for “roast pumpkin” & went from there.  I didn’t really follow any of the recipes, but here are the main three I took inspiration from:

• How to roast pumpkin
• Balsamic Roast Pumpkin
• Roast honey & cumin pumpkin

Here is what I ended up with: