Make Your Own Plug-In Refills

Everyone loves a great smelling home, but why pay an arm and a leg for it. Yes, I keep my house clean, but I like to have a plug-in here and there to make sure the house is on the up and up (esp. around the litter box). I bought the Frebreeze plug-ins, but the refills are $6...yup I am that cheap. So I took off the lids and filled them up myself with castor oil and orange oil. Total cost per refill: about 50-75cents.

It's simple...take off the lids, fill 80% with castor oil (or any other cheap carrier oil) and about 10 drops of any essential oil.

Boom! Your house smells good and you got your thrift on!

Organizing Embroidery Thread

I can be a very sloppy crafter at times, even though I am super anal about cleanliness and organization.  Recently I threw a ladies sewing party and was a bit embarrassed at my hectic and random sewing/craft boxes. I needed to get my craft life in order.

 I love embroidery thread, and have tons of it, but never knew how to keep all of the leftovers in check. A friend of mine suggested a super easy way to get them in order quick, easy, and cheap. This is only a bit of the mess I had in one of my boxes:

Take cardboard (just check your pantry for cereal boxes, etc.) and cut out two layers in an "H" shape. The multiple layers is for sturdiness. Glue or sew the two pieces together. I happened to have my machine out for the first round (in brown) and used glue for the second (white cardboad).

Wrap up your thread:

And that's it! You're thread is officially somewhat organized for your next sewing party. Show it off ladies!

How to Remove Tacky Water Ring/Stains from Wood Furniture

This is so painfully simple, you don't need to be adventurous or crafty!

Water stains are so irritating, especially on a nice piece of furniture. This is the most simple, permanent solution to get rid of them.

Needed:
-Stained piece of furniture
-Iron
-Dry dish towel/t-shirt/rag

The stain:



Turn iron on low/medium heat.
Place towel over the stain.
Gently run the iron over the towel.



Voila! How easy was that??



I would also suggest a good oil or polish afterwards.

Make your own ridiculous art

I am no artist, but I love all things original. You will never find an art poster in my house or Crystal's for that matter. So here is a guide to making your own fresh pieces with a little help from one of my best friends, Mod Podge.



Things you will need:
Old frame
Paint
Any piece of "art"
Mod Podge
An old credit card or any plastic card laying around
Scissors
Wet rag

Take an old frame, remove the glass, and paint the backing board.



While drying, pick out the art piece. I have been dying to do an Olivia Soprano piece for months, but you can use a newspaper/magazine clip, your kid's art, or vintage paperwork....like this old report card from the 60s:



For this project, I took craft paper and printed out my favorite lady and quote. Line it up to get a good feel.



Squeeze out the Mod Podge on the backing board and front of the picture.





Rub the Mod Podge over the picture and scrape out the air bubbles and excess glue with your card.





Take your rag and wipe up the glue around the edges of the picture.



Bask in the glory of your finished piece. Go on, brag about it.



Additional Mod Podge work:

This is a piece using a magazine cut out-



And Crystal's marvelous collage work-