Storage Bin Makeover

Coming from homes where we didn't have much and knowing how hard it was for our parents to get one step ahead, my hubby and I both shared the attitude that when we got something new we would take care of it to make it last. Hanging on to a TV for twenty five years before replacing it and still using furniture we've had since we got married thirty seven years ago is a testament not only to how well things were made back then but also to the care we took...perhaps not much fun for the girls to grow up with fussy parents, but they survived and along the way learned how to respect their own belongings as well. Some things do wear out and need replacing, like the fifty year old couch we bought second hand and used downstairs for my daycare kiddies. When I retired, the old furniture in the basement took a trip, not to the dump, but to a new home, and the furniture upstairs migrated downstairs to make room for new... all but a gigantic coffee table and two end tables.

So, while we saved money over the years, here is the downside of taking too good of care of your stuff:

1. You end up with a coffee table twenty five years later that is too big and out of style.

2. You can't get rid of it because it's in excellent condition, not a scratch or mark on it, and in the hubby's mind...why would you even consider it!

3. Forget about touching it with a paint brush or distressing it... the hubby would slit your throat first.

4. Even if I could convince the hubby to replace it...no go... the coffee table has been sitting in the same spot since we bought it, and moving it would reveal indentations in the carpet that no amount of steaming or brushing would remove...

Which leaves us only one option...replace the carpeting

..."the original 27 year old carpets"...

but wait...we've taken such good care of the carpets, they're still in perfect condition!
...and so stays the carpet,
...and so stays the coffee table.

  

 What I really had in mind was replacing the coffee table with a smaller, more modern

looking storage ottoman, something to add some color to the room and 

something you could actually put your feet on... and it would be OK! :)

While I've accepted that the coffee table has to stay, 

 I still wanted to make some changes, 

especially to the wasted space at both ends of the table. 

Not able to find something in the store that suited me, 

I had made up my mind that I would have to make my own bins  by covering boxes with fabric 

then I found these boxes with covers marked way down at Superstore

right price...right color but too plain...

 

I have a "love anything burlap" thingy going on right now

 so used 5" burlap ribbon the,

turned one edge under 1/4 of an inch, pressed and stitched along the edge.

 Next, I used dark blue yarn to make two rows of running stitch.

I folded the other edge down and pressed it.

I allowed for three inches to show on the outside of the box, 

and measuring carefully as I went, I hot glued 

the folded edge inside the box.

I used the back of a spoon to press the folded edge into the hot glue.

...glued on some snazzy buttons and

...ta...ta...I had the boxes I wanted.

...one for magazines,

the other, 

a place to throw the mending 

...out of sight

...and out of mind! :)

Now...to come up with something for the top of the table!

...and wait for the late 80's-early 90's style fads to come around again.

FROM LAMPSHADE TO BASKET

Although I haven't posted on this blog in almost a year, I have been reluctant to shut it all down, believing I would perhaps get back to it when I had more time. It's taken me almost eight months of retirement to finally find my way back

...but better late than never!

I love being off, 

partly because I don't have to get up before the crack of 9:00

...well sometimes 10:00

...but mostly, 

because I am free to do some of the things I used to do

 but never seemed to have time while working.

The first few months were busy clearing all my daycare supplies and furniture from basement, getting rid of stuff we no longer needed and rearranging everything so the basement looked more like a family room than a preschool classroom. I've set up a sewing/craft area and spread out my exercise equipment thinking that I would use it if it was easier to get at it...hasn't happened yet buy there's still hope :).

I also painted the spare bedroom and redid the furniture to give the room an entirely new look which I love.

Before

After

Throw in a little personal tweaking, a six week recuperating period plus endless time spent on Pinterest, I am finally ready to put that craft area to use.

My first project was changing an old lampshade from a dust collector into something useful, either a planter or a basket...depending how the finished product turned out.

 There is no pattern to post. 

All I did was crochet a chain using jute twine and some bulky variegated yarn so it would fit the smallest end of the shade and continued round using single crochet. Every third round I increased the number of stitches by 4 stitches evenly spaced in the round.

I continued until it was large enough to stretch over the lampshade,

then ended off.

To line the inside I recycled an unbleached SMU bag my daughter got for Frosh Week at Saint Mary's

(figured  fourteen years after graduating she would't miss it) to line the inside of the shade. As the finished project was either going to be filled with yarn or dirt, I didn't do any fancy measuring, just draped it and hot glued it into place. I trimmed the outer edge and glued in place. Next, I slipped the outer crochet cover on an glued around the edge.
 

Pleased with the way it turned out, I decided it would be a yarn basket which needed a handle. To do this I used a coat hanger, did a single crochet stitch around the hanger,  poked holes on each side of the basket and attached the handle. I wanted a little twist to my basket so I bent the wire shape to it and

...ta ta...I now have a new yarn basket in my living room. :)

Shaving Cream Painting

After many, many years of caring for children, one finds oneself in danger of repeating the same old crafts and themes. Luckily, there is a turn around of kiddies, usually a four year rotation from the time they start daycare at one until they leave to start school at five, so as long as I can come up with original ideas for a four year period I can generally start repeating but, although they are not getting the same old...same old, it can get a little boring for me. It's had to come up with new ideas especially for seasonal themes, but since I joined Pinterest I've been able to try lots of new ideas on the kiddies, like "shaving cream Easter eggs."

Source: littlewondersdays.blogspot.ca viaMarisa on Pinterest

This is our the first try shaving at cream painting. I won't go into detail on how it's done but you can click on the above Pinterest link from Little Wonders' Days to check it out.

Looks yummy...but don't eat it!

This shows that is is wise to test a new craft ahead of time...had I done that I would have realized that shaving cream painting works better using dark colors instead of pastels.

The most fun came when we were finished making our eggs and the kiddies got to "dig in!"

 As with most messy crafts, there will be those that really enjoy it...

 

 those who will be up to their elbows in it before they are done...

 

 those who won't even touch it...

and those who go into it tentatively...
and can get really upset when you try to take their picture. :)

A LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND

While an in-service day means
a day off school
for the kids,
it means a very
full and "busy" day for me.

Luckily,
the after school kids
...certainly not angels by any wild stretch of the imagination
...are quite good with the little ones
and are quick to jump in and help when needed
...to spread glue
..to help a little one scrape
a lunch bowl clean,
...to pick them up when they fall,
or
as an extra set of arms to offer a hug
when my arms are already full.

Last Fridays in-service was spent
working on "pumpkin" crafts.

...and here are all the creative, happy "crafters"... minus the baby who was picked up early that day and missed the final photo shoot.

NO LITTLE GUPPY

Kaiden, Caeden, Elliot and Kaidince

We haven't done much crafting lately, choosing instead to spend as much time outside as possible, so it was fun to stay indoors yesterday to make something special for Daddy for his special day. This craft was simple to do for the little ones (1 1/2 - 2 1/2 year olds) To make, just fold a paper plate in half and cut out wedges until you have a fish shape. Write "Daddy, you're no little guppy to me!" on the back and have kiddies sign/scribble their name. On the front side use different colored bingo markers to paint stripes or dots to cover fish. (My kiddies love using bingo markers for crafts, they're so colorful and easy to use) Glue on a google eye and add a couple of squiggly lines of glue and shake on a little glitter to make them special.

And what goes hand in hand with fish...worms...and they were pretty tasty too. We made sure to save some to wrap as "fish food" to take home for Daddy.

To all the daddies out there, especially the new ones, "May your heart always be full and your tank never empty."


My favorite father quote:

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874

On my morning walk today, while tuned into CBC's Weekend Morning, I listened to Steve Goodman's song "My Old Man" sung by his daughter, which has this line: "I'd give anything to hear what he said when I wasn't listening, my old man." That goes out to anyone who no longer has their dad and wishes they could go back and relive it, this time paying more attention.

CARBON FOOTPRINT “T’s”

In celebration of “Earth Day”, Wednesday, April 22, the kiddies and I wore our special carbon footprint T’s that we had made in March for “Earth Hour”. Lucky enough to find enough little white “muscle” shirts at Frenchys, all the children were able to have matching T’s. Using washable fabric paint, I printed the message on front and the kids had fun placing their foot into a tray of paint and then stamping their footprint onto the back of their T’s. The Moms had a little chuckle when first seeing the boys message “How big is yours?” until I quickly spun them around and pointed out the carbon footprint on back.

We also planted bean seeds in paper cups and are expecting them to sprout any day now.

LITTER BUG

Another craft that was a big hit ...LITTER BUGS...simple to make by balling up a sheet of news paper and tying it with string. We used strips of vegetable netting for the legs (you could use straws), glued on buggy eyes, mini pom poms for a nose , a milk cap for a hat and styrofoam packing material for wings. Our string was used twine compliments of my husband who works for a construction company and brings home twine that was used for setting grades...hence the bright orange paint you may notice on the string.