Binder for Craft Material Storage

This is an easy peasy project that's also pretty and useful!

Supplies
Contact paper ... already had ($1 at Dollar Tree)
awesome zebra striped Duck Tape ... $2 clearance at Wal-Mart
1 gallon plastic freezer bags with slider lock ... $2.50/25 bags. I used 10 so the rest went to the kitchen.
Scissors ... on hand
Hole punch ... on hand

Process
I found these ideas at Contact Paper Covered Binder  and Plastic Baggies in Binder.

Here's what I did:

1. Measure front of binder.
2. Add 1 inch to height and 1/2 inch to width.
3. Cut 2 pieces of contact paper to these measurements.
4. Place  contact paper on front of binder flush to the left side. Make sure you have 1/2 inch on the top, bottom and right to wrap around the edges.
5.  Remove backing and smooth paper on, wrapping on 3 sides. Cut corners so lies flat.
6. Repeat on back and edge. I used 3 separate pieces so the paper doesn't hinder opening and closing the binder. It makes it look a lot neater also.
7. Apply duct tape to one edge of baggie - not the top or bottom. I used one long piece and wrapped it around the bottom and up the back.
8. Punch holes.  This might be difficult since you're cutting through 2 layers of tape and 2 of plastic. I had to use scissors in addition to the hole punch. I initially put the tape half on and half off the baggie then punched through the tape only. It was a lot easier but the bags stuck out of the binder which I didn't like.

Results

I love the binder so much, I made a second one. They hold my stencils, stickers, trim, fabric patches, etc etc.

 

Good luck on your projects!
Ellie

Closet Dividers from Old CDs

I'm hardly what you'd call ultra organized but I do hoard stuff I hate to send to the landfills...like old CDs. When trying to get rid of them I saw this idea and loved it.

Supplies
CDs ... free, part of my Crafts Stash I'm trying to get rid of. Yay!
Contact Paper ... $1.00 from Dollar Tree. I had plenty left over for another project.
Kitchen Shears ... on hand
Heat Gun or Hair Dryer ... on hand

Process

I followed the directions from SweetCheeks Closet Dividers.  It's HARD to cut up CDs. Even with kitchen shears. It wasn't until I broke out the heat gun that I could cut them without destroying my hands. Some CDs were impossible to cut without cracking so I'd recommend having more than necessary.

There are lots of ways to cover the CDs but contact paper is soooo easy & looks awesome. As you'll see from the photos below I can barely hang my clothes up, let alone spend hours decoupaging closet dividers.

I didn't label the dividers since I didn't want to ruin their beauteous-ness (can you tell I'm ridiculously proud of these?).


Results
Here they are newly created:

And in their new habitat:

  

I'm happy, what do you think?

Ellie

Improving Plastic Hangers so They're No Slip!

When cleaning out my walk-in closet I noticed I have lots of plastic hangers I don't use because clothes fall off them.  So off to Pinterest I went.

Supplies
12 Plastic hangers ... on hand
Pipe cleaners set of 25 ... $0.88

Pipe cleaners were from Wal-Mart in lots of colors.

Process
Followed from Clothes Closet Hanger Organizing Trick.  Be aware the wire ends poke fingers as well as clothes!  Keep the section laid parallel to the hanger very short.  Otherwise you will have 2 ends to tuck under.

Results

These work surprisingly well.  I busted them out easily watching TV.

Good luck on your projects!
Ellie

Sewing Machine Cover

I have a buncha bunch fabric that I picked up for free or very little.  I wanted to make a cover for my sewing machine but am a VERY NEW sewer.  So here's what I did...

Supplies
Fabric ... free
Sewing Machine & Thread ... on hand

I got the fabric free. It was being thrown away at the end of a garage sale.

Process
I followed the directions from Sewing Machine Cover.  I had issues with sewing the corners square and sharp. As you will see in the photo.


Results

 

It's not perfect.  I didn't press or hem it, and should have used a heavier fabric but...I love it! Considering it's my first ever sewn from scratch project I'm happy with it.  Not only did I use up some of my fabric but my sewing machine won't get dusty anymore :)

Scarf Organizer from Hanger & Shower Curtain Rings

I needed to organize my walk-in closet and after spending an ungodly amount of time on Pinterest, decided on this very simple project which reduced the space where my scarves hang.

Supplies:
Plastic hanger ... on hand
Shower curtain rings ... on hand
Duct tape ... on hand

Everything can be got at a dollar store or Wal-Mart. It would have cost about $3.

Process:
I followed the directions I found here at Inexpensive Scarves Holder. It was really easy, fast and came out adorable thanks to the pink Hello Kitty tape I used.

Results:
Here's the end result without scarves.

Here's the end result with scarves, gloves etc.

And I have plenty of room for more stuff!
Good luck on your own endeavors!
Ellie

Frame & Lace Jewelry Organizer

I got the idea for this all on my lonesome. Then I looked on Instructables and Pinterest and saw hundreds of similar ideas. So I'm not as brilliant as I'd like.

Supplies:

Frame ... free
Lace shirt ... free
White glue ... $1
Small hooks ... $3
The frame & lace I got free from neighbor who moved. Glue came from Dollar Tree. Hooks came from Home Depot in a little pack

Process:

1. Drilled small holes into the frame then screwed in the hooks. I used a drill and later added more holes with a Dremel when I realized I didn't have anywhere enough for the amount of jewelry I wanted to hang. It was much harder to screw the hooks into the Dremel holes because they weren't as deep. Would not recommend. I eyeballed the spacing of the holes but measuring would be even better :)
2. Cut the lace shirt larger than the frame.
3. Glued the lace on with Elmer's glue. Why, you ask, did I not use a glue gun? Because I did not think of it until this very moment. Sigh. It would have been a lot easier. The Elmer's took forever to dry and I had to use thumb tacks to keep the lace in place until it did.
4. Cut the lace so it fits within the frame.  I didn't cut to fit initially because I had to re-stretch the lace as I went to keep it taut enough to hang the earrings.
5. Hung necklaces and hooked earrings into the lace.

Results:

The lace shirt I used had many seams so my jewelry holder has one. I'd like to say I made a thoughtful decision to use the lace despite the seam but actually I started cutting before I realized the issue and the frame is so large I didn't have enough lace to re-cut. On the plus side I love the pattern of the lace this way.

The black lace with good thread looks fantastic against my tan wall but the jewelry doesn't stand out. I arranged the necklaces by color but will have to rearrange them so the silver and lighter colors ones are against the black.

Overall I'm really happy with the results. I love being able to view everything without opening drawers etc.  It's also great to have coordinating earrings next to their necklaces.

Good luck!
Ellie

Of Coupons and Craft Stores

I recently went to 2 craft stores. I know this blog is about using up the crafts crap I already have, but some projects can't get done without extra supplies so off I went.

Conversation at JoAnn's

Me: Can I use this coupon on my phone?
Cashier: Sure. (She waits while I fumble trying to get it up)
Me: Can I use this Michael's coupon on my phone?
Cashier: Sure. (She waits while I fumble trying to get it up)
Cashier: Do you get our coupons online and to your home?
Me: (mumbling) I think so.
Cashier: Because you can use 1 phone coupon, 1 email coupon, 1 mailed coupon, 1 from our Sunday ad and a competitor coupon together. As long as they have different barcodes.

She continues talking about % off an item and % off the receipt coupons. She must see my eyes glazing over.

Cashier: Next time just bring in all the coupons you have and we'll figure out what works best. Come to the register first so you know what discounts you can get before you shop, if you want.

Conversation at Michael's

Me: Can I use this coupon on my phone?
Cashier: Sure. (She waits while I fumble trying to get it up)
Me: Can I use this JoAnn's coupon on my phone?
Cashier: No. You can only use 1 coupon.
Me: What about this coupon from Michael's ad?
Cashier: No. You can only use 1 coupon per visit per day.

I gaze at the stuff I really want that I really didn't want to pay full price for. I end up buying it.

However I did email Michael's asking for the coupon policy.  Will let you know when I hear back!

In the beginning..

In an effort to feel more in control of my destiny I recently started cleaning out my huge walk in closet. I realized something. You can put your crap behind closet doors, it can be neatly placed in totes, labeled, color coordinated and organized, you can pretty it up every way possible BUT IT'S STILL CRAP!

I have a ridiculous amount of craft supplies. I have lots of great ideas but somehow never get any projects completed. Sometimes I don't even get them started :) 

 

This blog is a record of my successful and not so successful attempts to clean out my crafts storage by actually doing some crafts. Wish me luck!