Tired of the Dollar Tree?

Too bad - cuz I'm not quite finished yet!

I needed a larger container to hold my scrapbooking scissors (and the normal ones too) so off to the store I went! I first found a tin at Target for $2.50 in the Dollar Spot that I loved but I felt like it was smidge too big and I had been hoping for something for a dollar. Hmmm. I'm so glad I listened to my gut and decided against it because look what I found at the Dollar Tree!

Same idea, perfect size! And I need to ask - why not leave a good thing alone? Why did they add the ridiculously silly pictures on the side? Oh, well - they are just testing my imagination to see if I can find the potential! This is supposed to be a planter and you should be able to find one for yourself when your store gets it's spring supplies in. One of the stores near me had it and one did not so I think they are just coming out.

Anyhoo....

I pictured it covered with burlap - not quite to the top or to the bottom, just a strip around the middle with tin showing above and below. Then I had thought to add some cute black ribbon around all the way around in the middle of the burlap.

But the tin had other plans! You shall see!

First I cut a strip of burlap wider than the planter's height and longer than it's circumference and hot glued it to the planter.

Then I trimmed it. And I ended up trimming too much! The silly blue butterfly wing went up higher than I thought and the tip of blue showed. :( So I ended up just taking some plain black ribbon and gluing it around the top to hide my mistake. It actually looked very cute with just the burlap trimmed flush with the edges on the top and bottom. But I like this better so I'm glad for a providential scissor mishap!

This one was a quickie and there is much room for embellishment or you can keep it simple! I may add to mine - maybe a label or burlap/scrapbook flower. I'm not sure yet, but I love it for now!

Other recipes I plan on trying

This is mostly so I can find these when I'm ready to mix up some cleaners...

Again from the Earth Day on the Net Site:

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Looking for ecological and effective method to clean your toilet? Look no further. Plus you get a super fun science experiment that young children will adore -- which is great news if you're looking for ways to get them involved in the household cleaning.

1/2cup baking soda
1/2 cup white vinegar

Pour baking soda into your toilet bowl and mix thoroughly with a toilet brush. Scrub inside the rim as well. Allow the baking soda to sit for up to 20 minutes -- the longer it sits, the more stains and odors it removes. Pour in white vinegar and stand back as your toilet foams up like a mini-volcano.

When foaming action stops, scrub thoroughly with toilet brush. Clean outer surfaces and toilet seat with All Purpose Cleaner.

Flush to remove any residue.

Bathroom Mold Remover

The mold that builds up in your bathroom tile grout can quickly become a serious health concern. But you don't need to use the toxic guns to remediate it.
Start first with prevention: Maximum ventilation in the bathroom is key.
If there are no windows to crack or if the mold has already multiplied, then using this all-natural recipe will cure the problem in a jiff:

4 tablespoons 3% hydrogen peroxide
8 tablespoons warm distilled water
Mix peroxide and water together in a small spray bottle. Spray affected areas and wait at least one hour before rinsing.

I also think I'll be adding Thieves Oil to the Mold Remover - do you really think I have to rinse it off? I wonder why it would matter since it's dry by the time the recipe says to rinse.

Floor Cleaner

Most floors can be easily cleaned with one cup of white vinegar mixed into a gallon of water.

Don't worry: Your house won't smell like a salad bar as the vinegar smell dissipates in seconds. You can always add a few drops of Essential Oil, though, if you prefer a fresh mint, citrus or lavender scent.

Again - I'll be adding Thieves oil - or maybe just Lemon - mmm!

For really dirty floors, dissolve 1/4 cup of Borax in a cup of warm water and add to the vinegar mix.
For ceramic and stone tile floor, use the above formula, but rinse well with clear water.
For wood floors, mix one part olive oil with one part white vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake well and mist over your floor. Shine with slightly damp cloth.

Oven Cleaner

from Recipezaar.com

An environmentally friendly, easy, non-chemical way to clean your oven. No over-powering fumes.

1 cup baking soda (or more)

water

2 tablespoons dish detergent

The curtains are done!

These are (again) in the craft/laundry room in our basement. I just love them. And the tan fabric is burlap! You can either glue these together or sew them. I chose to sew - and surprisingly the burlap worked well! I was worried since the weave was so loose, but I didn't have any problems (well, not any problems that didn't involve a brain malfunction on my part - it's a rare project that I don't end up using the seam ripper!). I found my inspiration here and still plan on doing something similar in my living room. I haven't had window treatments in that room in the 6 years we've lived here. I was just waiting for something to strike me and now it has! Yay!

Made it!

Thieves Oil All-Purpose Cleaner. Mmmm - the kids loved the smell and I loved the clean! I found a recipe online and went to town in the kitchen last night - counters, microwave, cupboards, stove knobs, window sills - the works! I have to say that it did at least as well as 409 has for me - likely better. I think it is safe to say that I will be gifting some of my cleaning supplies and making my own.

If you are interested here is the recipe from Earth Day on the Net:

This is a great All Purpose Cleaner for everything from kitchen countertops to bathroom tubs to unidentifiable carpet stains. Gentle enough for young children to use on their own, yet tough enough to remove stubborn stovetop grease.

Note: While this recipe is 100% natural, Borax can cause eye irritation and, if consumed in large quantities, can be poisonous to humans and animals. Exercise caution when handling Borax and store it safely away from children and pets.

1 teaspoon Borax
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
2 cups hot water
Optional: 15-20 drops of Essential Oil (EO) of your choice

Mix vinegar, Borax, washing soda and 1 cup of hot water in a 16-ounce spray bottle. Swish around gently until the Borax and washing soda has fully dissolved.
Add remaining hot water, dishwashing liquid and optional essential oil. If you can't find washing soda in the laundry section of your grocery store, substitute with 1 full teaspoon of regular baking soda.

From Erika: I added the Thieves Oil I made as the EO and used Dr. Bonner's soap for the dishwashing liquid. And make sure you are using washing soda and not baking soda. Ask around at your grocery store - sometimes they keep things that aren't purchased often in a back room.

Dollar Store Cork Board

So cute and lovely, no? The original Dollar Tree cork board was nice - it just had a medium oak color frame.

First thing I did was to spray paint. On this frame, unlike most I've painted, the back didn't easily come off. So to keep from painting the cork I slipped pages in between the frame and the cork all around the frame. Here's one piece of paper to show what I mean...

The cork on this board is super thin (what do you expect for a buck!) so I am thinking about buying a roll of cork board and cutting out a rectangle of it to glue to the back side of this frame. But that's for another day!

Now on to the pushpins!

I bought a pack of pushpins (again at the dollar store) and pulled off the pin. It's the dark portion in the pics below. It was held on with a dab of glue and was SUPER easy to remove.

I could have hot glued some fabric around the existing cover (pink in the pictures) but I didn't want to have a sticky mess so I bought a pack of 4 button covers at WalMart - I think they cost $1.22.

I took the back of the button and pounded down the sewable metal loop so I could stick the pin on.

Cut a piece of your desired fabric and place it in the rubbery portion of the button maker.

The directions say to cut the fabric at least 2x the diameter of the button. Don't be afraid to cut it too big - you can trim it later! (And it will look very silly and require some craftiness to salvage your button if you trim too much now - ask me how I know!)

 Then place the button cover on top of the fabric.

Use the pusher and push the cover down into the hole.

Tuck in the fabric (here is where you can trim a little bit of the fabric if you like - but not too much!) and place the button back on the top.

Next use the pusher and push the button together.

And out it comes!

Place glue on the button and the tack on the glue.

  

And you're done!