From bowl to chandelier

So, I found this bowl at Burlington...

And I knew I had to have it for my office.

My office is not devoid of light, style maybe, but not light. There is a west facing window, so ambient natural light abounds during the day. Rather, it is devioid of stylish or even useful light, save one Ott Light desk lamp. That is about to change, at least the stylish part.

Ok, for all you haters out there, this is my office, with my style aesthetic; I didn't ask you for a reason. There, now that that is done...

Materials

Said bowl from Burlington

Jewelry connectors? From Joann's

Chain, also from Joann's

Pliers (2 recommended)

Steps

1. Measure how low bowl is to hang, and measure out the same amount of chain.
   
   
2. Open chain with pliers.
   
   
3. Attach one end of chain to bowl and close chain.
   

   
4. Attach other end of chain to connector (ring) and close chain.
   

   
5. Repeat for a total of 3 chains/rings.
6. Hang rings on screws of existing light fixture.
   

   
7. Admire your upgrade!
   

   

Once again, from this

And this

(Where I should be inserting the unphotographed before picture of the plain, boring, builder grade, and a sundry other adjectives I cannot think of while in tremendous back pain from clearing out said office light fixture)

To this...

Potty Bag

I have the Potette plus travel potty because our bathroom is literally so small that we need a collapsible one. I like the idea of the reusable liner so much that I created my own travel versions.


Well, the bag that came with the potty is plastic, and to my dismay, I found it had ripped down the side before a family outing.

I decided that I could easily make a replacement travel bag that would hold the potty, a mat, and some prefolds to wipe up messes.

Armed with my trusty Jo-Ann's coupons I headed over to the craft store to pick up the fabric. For the drawstring and bead to hold it shut, I used good old Daiso products. Using the same technique as for my diaper pail liners, I created a bag with gussets based on the measurements of the potty. Unexpectedly, it fits both folded and unfolded.

I am including pictures of the assembly. My tutorials are basic but they usually assume. that you have some minimum sewing experience. I should probably mention at some point that we are neck deep in potty training with the Monkey. I will not elaborate on my sticker system now, but I prefer giving stickers rather than candy as a reward.

Potette Plus Outer Bag Tutorial
1. I used the dimensions of the potty seat, plus a little give, plus seam allowance to decide the cut of material. A tracing of the potty on a piece of paper gave me most of what I needed.




2. I cut the material to the dimensions I needed.



3. I used hem clips to hold the material together, but pins would work, too.

4. I folded in the gusset in the bottom and re-clipped.


5. I folded down a casing at the top and clipped.


6. I sewed the sides using my White serger. On one side I sewed all the way up, while on the other side I left room for the edges of the casing to be open for the drawstring.


7. The fabric I used is the Babyville PUL and it is very tempermental on my vintage machine. I used regular polyester thread to sew the seam for the casing.


8. Finally, I threaded my Daiso drawstring through the casing and bead. Then I tied a knot.

I made sure the gussets turned properly.



Voila! Travel potty once again travel ready. I hope that if you have this product and need a replacement for the bag it came with you can use this tutorial to make a replacement.

Thomas The Tank ...wagon: Finale!

The day has arrived. B-chan put on the stripes last night, and I just finished painting the face. The last details like the dome, bumpers, and number 1s need to be applied, but we are pretty much done. To recap, here is a before picture: And here is the after: Materials: boxes, duct tape, paint, electrical tape, various plastic domes, box cutter, pencil, paint brushes, wagon (or other wheeled base)

Thomas The Tank...wagon: Decoration III

So today is actually Halloween. We are down to the wire with this project. Mostly just the face is left. It looks pretty amazing, and I have to say that B-chan did a pretty phenomenal job turning cardboard into a convincing train character. It is difficult to find the time to paint because I have to constantly stop and do something for babies. If its not feeding one, it's changing the other, or putting them down for naps. As I write this I'm about one third done. I could be done by now, but we just had lunch and I have to put babies down for naps. My consolation is that B-chan is coming home early to participate... Except he just came down with what the monkey got from daycare and gave to me. ~2 hour interlude~ Anyhoo, I have just finished painting the face, and aside from obsessing over blending details, I'd say it came out pretty good. Here is the sample: Here is mine: Before After Keep in mind painting is not my hobby. Sewing and photography are. So I haven't painted in a while. I also have never taken a painting class nor have I taken more than one studio art class either. So...not bad, huh? I like it, and so does the monkey.

Thomas The Tank...wagon: Decoration II

So I had to buy B-chan another can of blue paint, a can of red paint (Krylon Banner Red), and small craft paints in black, white, and gray. In addition to everything so far. Here is the sample face I used followed by the rough sketch I made. I have yet to receive the pictures of the painted body, so when I receive them, I will update the post. Update: Here are more pictures of the mostly finished structure before and after paint.

Thomas The Tank...wagon: Decoration I

So, the monkey still doesn't even realize what we are doing. He still thinks its just cardboard boxes. Details Most of the structure is finished, and B-chan just needs to apply a few of the details. So on Sunday, I went and got the supplies to decorate the cardboard. Supplies: (clockwise from left) N95 mask, Krylon spray paint in True Blue, Rustoleum primer in White, Krylon spray adhesive, spray can trigger,black poster paint, and electrical tape (red, yellow, & black). While I did that, he nipped and tucked a little here & there to neaten things up. Now we just have to apply the design. The most difficult part will probably be the face.

Green Monkey and Hut

A Collection

Evernote Notebook: Homemade Household and Personal

 I decided to make public the collection of recipes I collected from the web to continue the process of green-ifying my home. Since I already do cloth diapers and wipes, I thought I would expand my green methods into other areas. The link above will take you to my Evernote notebook with my collection of DIY recipes from diaper wash to deoderant to gopher repellant.
I used the web-clipper via Google's Chrome browser (indispensable, might I add) to make the notes so that you have the articles/recipes not just URL links. Sidebar: If you have not tried Chrome (for Windows) and Chrome for Android (if that's what you have), I highly recommend them, as the web pages you view sync effortlessly.
As for me, I will be trying the diaper wash first because that's what I need. I will probably tackle dish washing liquid next, and ... Oh yeah, I have that wet-bag project I need to get to sometime in this lifetime. Meanwhile, I am trying to figure out how to make my own version of the PackIt that is super popular right now.
FYI: If you decide that taking the greener path is the way to go, I suggest starting to save containers, especially glass ones with lids, to store your bountiful concoctions. I have a stash of glass jars and lids from my mother, as well as, a couple pump and spray bottles we just finished.

The Monkey

On a completely unrelated note, my little monkey started walking the day after his first birthday. He sprouted a tooth a (very whiney) week later. So, momma decided that it truly is time to be done nursing. We were down to once a day until I realized that he was getting more from his pre-bedtime dose of milk than he was from me. So, to my relief, I can wear normal clothes again (ladies, you know what I mean!). By the time 8 months rolled around, I was about ready to be done. We have also made it through the sleep training, which made leaps and bounds of progress once I cut out nursing during the day. He is very curious asking about and pointing at everything, jabbering on in Wookie. He is also quite the social butterfly; he says hello and goodbye to almost anything that moves (including what goes down the toilet, hopefully that will be helpful for potty training).

Finally

Hope you enjoyed the 411 on the monkey and that you get some use out of the recipes I have listed in the notebook. In addition, the notebook also contains projects to cut down the paper waste in your home by replacing disposable wipes and Swiffer pads with reusable ones. Happy greening!

Spring 2012 Project update

Project update... the latest one.

Warning: This page contains an image that some might find disturbing, disgusting, etc (read: dead gopher)... If this is you, do not read this post.
Last update
Original page

Home Improvement

Organizing

I got together with my mother to hash out the details of what needs to be fixed and when and put together a Home Improvement Binder (courtesy of Tip Junkie). We prioritized so that we would not be butting heads about what needed to be done and in what order.

Forever more with the Weeds!

Our friends, the M's, were gracious enough to help us do a huge amount of yard work prior to my Elegant Day with Mum Afternoon Tea. Without them, our yard would still be a disaster!

Momma kitty and Boots

Cats, rats, and other varmints

The momma kitty finally decided to move her 3 kittens elsewhere rather than reside on our back porch. That just happens to be next door, but better there than here.
There still seems to be a profuse amount of rat droppings in the garage. Hopefully, the traps we set will work soon...

Ick! Need I say more?

So this gopher decided to turn up on our driveway. I sent B-chan a picture thinking that it would still be on the drive way when he got home. Alas, when I returned after an errand it had disappeared. Good riddance! I would rather not deal with another gopher ordeal.

Sewing

Before

 My sewing desk has once again emerged from the mess to be joyfully employed in quite a few projects. I was finally able to clean off the mess, donate some stuff, and for the first time (in a long time) open the table to sew! I made bags as favors for my Afternoon Tea event. Not bad at $1.12 per bag!

After

I am slowly going to make progress on digging out some of the older projects I have. Many are mending projects, like the overnight bag I made with cheap handles that couldn't bear the weight of what I carried.
Also, I found inexpensive handles at Daiso, so I will try to use some of my home decorating material for that. My yukata will have to wait because I want to make a jinbei (boy's yukata) for Monkey Z by Expo.

Homemaking Binder and Wipes

Currently, I am mid project for the M's. Momma M gave me some old receiving blankets to make wipes. Yeah, re-purposing!
Lastly, my sis-in-law is expecting in June, so I want to make the effort on something handmade for her and Baby Yeh #2.

Photography/Video

Since I have the blog, I take pictures of the things I do, so that I can write about them. Also, I am trying to take pictures of Monkey Z so that I can document his milestones. He can sit, crawl, stand, walk with help, cruise, and is beginning to feed himself. We are scheduled to attend the Huntington's Free Day for the month of May *does victory dance*, so I will be breaking out the DSLR for that.
The wedding Video will still have to wait. Soon, though...

Monkey Z

We are neck deep in sleep training. It is getting better though. I purchased cloth diapers specifically for night time. They seem to be helping because we don't have to endure him crying because his diaper is soaked. He still wakes up and cries, but is capable of going back to sleep on his own in a shorter amount of time. I will finally get my 2011 Christmas present when he can sleep all the way through. Any day now... Please?!

Freak of Womanhood

What, you ask, is that title supposed to mean? Well, I am an odd oxymoron of totally girly frufru while being totally at home with power tools and dirt. As a child, I remember wanting, not Barbie, but rather Micro Machines. They were cute little tiny cars... I still haven't given up on the cute and tiny.

The Toolbox

I wrote a little about this in an earlier post. My toolbox had more tools than B-chan's when we got married. Now, they have merged, but back then...
It started when I wanted to put better shelving in my closet at my parent's house. My dad had about 5 of each kind of tool in every size, but was I allowed to use any of them? Nope. I literally had to go out and buy my own tools and some for my mother to have so that we could fix things when he was lost in the library somewhere. We also had to keep them hidden so that he would not assimilate them into his own collection. Thus, I assembled my collection of tools and pretty complete, I might add. I even had my own drill and a set of bits.

Handygirl

I'd like to think that I can handle things on my own, so using the tools, not just having them, was (and is) important to me. I guess it was to my dad, too. He raised me to be a landlord.
We have a 4 unit apartment building in a local Orange County town. Add to that a house on the other side of said town. Those are in addition to the house where I grew up and the mobile home my grandfather left... in Las Vegas.
Unfortunately for my dad, he got stuck with two daughters, but that is probably why I am a "freak of womanhood". So, how did I get to be so handy? Most typical teenagers, preteens, even girls in general spend their weekends playing, finishing homework, hanging out with friends, going to the mall to shop, or even sometimes working. Not me! I was handing my dad tools at said apartments or mowing the lawn at the house... for the majority of my childhood!

Don't wait for a guy's help... DIY

So, what does this have to do with a blog about being ecofriendly? Well, I kind of learned to do things myself because my dad didn't want to share. It was also because that's what I saw him doing. He constantly reused parts or tried to cut costs by doing it himself. Somethimes it worked, but not always a good thing.
As for the being a freak of womanhood, I am totally at home with using my tools or doing things that most girly girls wouldn't be caught dead doing. Then again, I am a mommy. I rinse my own cloth diapers and launder them myself. Sometimes, even my loving B-chan can't handle that.

...And Dirt.

I like to garden, too.
As a little kid, I remember being outside and "helping" my dad. I'm not sure how much help I actually accomplished other than making sure he didn't paralyze himself by falling off a ladder or something many many times. Anyway, one of those times I decided to make stuff out of mud. So, I mixed water with dirt and fashioned a couple mud teddy bear figures (my girly freakishness was coming through). It didn't bother me that my nails were dirty or that bugs had crawled through my medium; I was creating.

Then there's the shoes

When people look at me, they see someone who is probably on the tall side of average. When they hear my shoe size and they recover from the shock of their jaw hitting the floor, they try to tell me that I am tall. Well, number one, my best friend is taller than I am, and number two, she has smaller feet than I do. So, no, I don't buy it, not one little bit.

Ever since 6th grade, I have had difficulty finding shoes. When I wore size 10, most retailers only carried to size 9. When I wore size 11, stores carried to size 10, even now some still only carry to size 10. Yes, my shoe size is larger than that, and forgive me, but you can stop gaping now.

It wouldn't be so bad if more than just two, count them a whopping two, retailers sold my size. I know, I know, I can buy them online. But, how am I supposed to save money when I have to pay for my shoes before I even get to try them on... At Payless?! Not to mention, I have one fifth the selection of other non-freaks. Let's not get me started on how I am stuck paying full price most of the time because inventory in my size is so scant or how most of the styles are just plain ugly! Kind of hard to penny pinch when shoes cost at least $30 a pair, or they never even make it to the thrift store because every other large footprinted woman keeps every pair of shoes she owns (and for good reason).

I guess that brings me to the list of retailers at the bottom of my blog page. Those are the websites I probably frequent the most. At one point, I even found shoes on the Target website, but alas, I do not know if they still do. If money is no object, then go to Barefoot Tess, Nordstrom, or Zappos. If your budget is a little tighter, go to the Zappos outlet or Nordstrom Rack (a brick and mortar store). If you just want cheap shoes for a little more than cheap, Payless is your store. There are more out there, but these are my most popular ones.

Finally...

That, people, is why I am a Freak of Womanhood. I actually consider it as kind of a compliment, though I don't know if it was meant to be. The term was coined, in good humor I'm sure, by one of my church's evangelists, so I embraced it.