A Craft Box Overhaul

Whoa. Can you believe this:

was lurking under this?

Those are craft supplies and sewing notions, piled high in a big wooden crate. I picked up this box for $18 years ago at the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts. When we moved to PA it became the purse stand and craft catch-all, but it only did one of those jobs well. The craft supplies needed an overhaul, clearly.

So, with the catalyst that is Love & Renovations' Organize-a-Thon, the craft abyss got a makeover. I decided making a shelf insert would be the most effective solution, so after taking measurements, Mike and I headed to Home Depot to pick up the lumber. One 2x12x12 board later (we had one cut made in the store, so it would fit in the car), I got to work:

I measured out and marked the board to fit a configuration I liked (that's my plan on that piece of paper), then took the board to the miter saw, and got to cutting.

Because this was a 12'' wide board, the 10'' miter saw wouldn't do the job with one cut. We improvised and cut one width, flipped the board, matched up the laser to the cut (love that laser!), and cut the other half of the width. Since the shelves were going to be hidden in the box, I wasn't too finicky about perfection (not that I ever am, ha).

After all the cuts were made, it was time to lay out that bad boy:

When the configuration was finalized, I busted out the beloved Kreg Jig and made some pocket holes to connect the boards at the T-junctions. If you're not familiar with the Kreg Jig, its the ultimate in joinery. I honestly did not even know that was a word until this little kit came into our lives (thank you Auntie Mary & Will for the wedding gift!!), but yeah, it is basically the ultimate in joining boards, or joinery. I really can't believe that's a word. Anyways, check it out:

It's so ridiculously quick and easy, especially when you're not worried about perfection. For the junctions where I couldn't get the drill to fit, Mike toenailed in some screws from the back, just so it would stay together. I forgot to take pics of this. Bummer city.

But yeah, once the the shelves were assembled, in they went!



Once they were in there, I cursed myself a little for buying the board that was $5 cheaper, but double the thickness. Half the box is filled with wood! Oh well, thank goodness all the stuff fit, or I'd REALLY be cursing a blue streak. (See what I mean by not obsessing about perfection? The whole thing is listing port. Ha, what's better than a little boat humor on a Thursday?)

So after organizing my junk stuff, and thinning the fabric scrap collection, back in it went.

Ahhhh, much better! Now maybe I won't avoid glue gun use at all costs for fear of 'the box.' Darn, I love organizing!

World of FAIL Craft: Personalized Smart Cover

(I don't know what came over me with that World of Warcraft joke. I don't even like video games. I was compelled by a higher power. Only logical explanation.)

Oh boy, is this a doozie.

It's no secret that I love me some gadgets and my iPad is one of the most prized pieces in my techie quiver. I have the iPad 2, and protect it with a cute plastic case and a simple smart cover. Now, we all know those smart covers have limited color options, especially when you're the crazy lady who waited in line to buy the iPad the first day (yes, that was me). So, I had the coolest gadget in the world covered with one of the ugliest colors ever (ok, maybe not the ugliest ever, but not my cup of tea). Yeah, clearly something had to be done.

So why not paint, right? I mean, people paint tea towels, leather purses and who knows what else, so why not a smart cover? Oh, how wrong I was.

I settled on an oh-so-chic chevron pattern and got to work carefully making a template,

which involved serious number crunching

then it was on to measuring,

and taping,

and painting,

veeeerryyy carefully

with a little help from the Poats dog and a head lamp.

Then I sealed with modge-podge to make it stick and

got it looking so so good...

I was so confident/excited about this project I took 80 photos. Seriously.

Then I used it. F to the A-I-L. Cracked City, USA. Here is how it looks after 3 weeks of use:

Now, it's not thaaaaaat bad. It still functions as a smart cover after all. But it's cracked, and chipping, and not exactly chic. The major place I went wrong is painting over the creases where the cover bends. I think if I had incorporated those into my design so they remained the original light blue, it would have fared much better, but who knows. The paint also may have been an issue; I used acrylic paint, and maybe if I had used something meant to have a little give I'd have an EPIC craft instead of a FAIL craft. Either way, now that the smart cover personalization seal has been broken, I'm thinking of maybe decoupaging it? We'll just have to see how that goes.

Anyone else a resident of the World of FAIL Craft?

Dying Cashmere: It Can Be Done

Ah, my love/hate relationship with the classic Rit Dye goes way back. Tie-dyed t-shirts: love! Tie-dyed hands: hate! Beautiful colors: love! ...but they all came off in the wash: hate! You get the idea. Needless to say, I was less than optimistic going into this project. During my recent closet overhaul, I pulled out two cashmere sweaters I bought on eBay and decided that it was time they get an upgrade.  I sniped them at a great price, but regretted my trigger finger after realizing they weren't exactly, ahem, complementary to my skin tone. That 'place bid' button has a way to make you put blinders on. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

This photo booth background, so beautifully displayed behind my family in this photo booth picture from our wedding, was my last foray into tie dying:

But, cashmere? The soft and delicate and damn expensive goat's fur? Yes, cashmere can by dyed at home. Now, I'm not saying this method will work for ALL cashmere (so don't hold me to it!), but it worked for me and my sub $30 eBay find cashmere sweaters (I was surprised, too!). Maybe the secret ingredient was having nothing to lose. Weird how it works out that way sometimes, right? (So much easier to make the half-court basket when $50K isn't on the line!)

Anyways, me and my fearlessness started dying with these ingredients:

We have two pots, a stock and a sauce, used ONLY for dying. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but dying pots should be used only for dying - it's toxic stuff! So, we have pots, white vinegar, a measuring cup, the dye, fancy stirring stick (some may call it a broken shim), and the sweater to be transformed. Coffee maker not included.

Now, I cannot lie, I basically just followed the directions on the box, but I do feel that a few of the steps were more important for this process in particular, so I'll highlight them here. #1) Pre-measure your sweater, so you can lay it to dry with the same dimensions!

After measuring, we go on to dissolving the dye. I put the burner on medium-high, and poured in the dye. I don't like this part because the fumes smell caustic and weird, but it has to be done. Now that I'm looking at this pic, I'm not sure having an open flame so close to the burner was such a great idea...

While that was warming up, I presoaked the sweater in tepid water. Now, I really think this made a difference in ensuring even coloring. The cashmere is weirdly hydrophobic, and it took me a good 5-10 minutes just to get it all soaked, but I'm pretty sure it was time well spent

Once that was soaked,  I filled the stock pot with warm water (not scorching hot, or the sweater will shrink!) to a level just above where the sweater would be submerged. I poured in the dissolved dye,

and dunked in the sweater. It was totally a 'Here goes nothin'!' moment, fingers crossed and all :).

After 5 minutes, add 1 cup of white vinegar (apparently, with animal fibers, it helps the color stick). Then starts the waiting game. I soaked it for a total of 60 min, stirring around every 15 min. After 60, it looked pretty red and I decided to go for the rinse. Wearing some rubber gloves (that luckily Mike had in his work truck!), I squeezed and twisted the sweater, then rinsed it in warm-then-cold water until the runoff was clear. It. Took. Forever. (20 min? In my defense, it felt like forever.)

Simple task, simply boring. BUT, through the magic of Rit, the dying worked!! The color was even, and didn't wash out! Score! I laid it to dry (according to the original dimensions). Sorry for the bad pic, I think by the time I got to this step I was a little tired of dying.

It took about 4 days for it to dry all the way, and for research sake, to make sure I was dolling out at least semi-useable advice, I took it to the dry cleaner to ensure the color was held fast. Guess what? It did! And now I have a fancy red sweater that I'll actually wear!

Heck yes! I also dyed an obscenely orange cashmere Lands End cardigan (also an eBay score) black. Now, this one didn't come out exactly as promised (and hasn't been dry cleaned yet).

I used black dye, but it came out mocha brown. For some reason I thought black would be a guaranteed slam dunk, but after cogitating, I realized dying black takes more pigment than any other color. So, maybe because it was originally orange, or because it required more dye, I now have a perfectly neutral mocha cardigan. Also, I think the thread used on it was synthetic, it didn't take color. Call me crazy, but this was a happy accident. It does forewarn you, though, that this dying thing is a fickle beast. Proceed with caution. However, if you're game for a little color adventure, grab a piece of clothing and dye away!

Somewhere to Hang my Scarves

So, I'm a scarf fan. They're pretty and they add a bit of panache to any outfit, if I do say so myself. Given my fandom of scarfs, it stands to reason that I have a few of them. Or quite a few of them. Seventeen of them, as I found out while doing this little project.

I was cleaning out/reorganizing my closet recently as I'm known to do when I feel in a style rut and after the redo, I was without a place for my scarf pile. After the proper fantasizing of one day having a huge closet in which I'll never be want for storage, and will always sip champagne while getting dressed, I thought of a piece of ladder I had outside that could help solve my scarf problem.



The ladder is actually a leftover piece from a trash find that we used to display escort cards at our wedding. (Thank you neighbor 2 doors down for chucking it! She obviously wasn't plugged into the blogosphere's obsession with rustic chic.) Here's the other half in a mock up we did pre-wedding:

It looked like maybe an apple picking ladder, but regardless, it was old and rustic and had that great patina that only genuinely weathered wood gets.

I brought that bad boy down to the newly organized basement (thanks to the husband working on it all day Saturday) so I could work where it was warm. Call me crazy, but I was not interested in working outside in 19 degree weather, even if it was sunny.

The ladder was missing a rung at the bottom and was too tall for the spot, so I measured it out and cut the bottom off using the trusty jig saw. (I didn't wear eye protection, but you SHOULD. I totally forgot until after I was finished.)

Murphy's oil soap and hot water came to the rescue in cleaning off the dirt and grime that had accumulated in the grain. I scrubbed and wiped until I thought it was good enough, brought it upstairs where it was brighter, and deemed it good and clean. After letting it dry, I went over it one more time with a dry cloth and brought her in the house.

My original plan was to hang it, but after realizing it would involve either a) finding studs or b) toggle bolts, I decided leaning against the wall was a-ok with me.

Unfortunately, after the first go, the ladder stood a little crooked, kind of like we all did as teenagers with one knee bent and a foot turned 90 degrees from forward. ("Ugh, Mom, you're, like, duh, so uh-NOYINGGG.") Anyways, Mike came to the rescue and measured and marked evenly from the bottom-most rung using a square rule.

We hauled that thing back down to the basement and employed the miter saw to cut this time. (Didn't realize this pic was blurry until it was too late. Bummer.)

Back upstairs, I leaned it against the wall:

Hung the scarves:

And turned it around!

Et voila! Ladder turned scarf rack. Getting them on and off is easy-peasy, and I love that I can see all of them. Look out, world, my accessorizing is about to be kicked up at least 10 notches.

Everything Under the Kitchen Sink

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Remember how Monica on Friends was always SUPER organized, but had that one closet that was a hot mess? Yeah, I barely do too. Anyways, I had an under-the-sink equivalent of Monica's h-e-double hockey sticks hole closet. It looked like this:

Which from a higher angle looked like this:

and this:

Makes me itchy just looking at it. Mold, disorganization, a pile of empty sunflower seed shells; all of it was under there. Don't ask. And every time I wanted to grab something, I had to root around that nightmare of a cardboard box to find it. I had had enough and finally just emptied it out and figured if I took stuff out and put it back in, I'd at least know what was in there.

Well, of course, after everything was out, I got inspired to at try and improve the space a little. That mold in the back was enemy #A1. I know, I know, mold is dangerous. Please, don't let what I did diminish that fact. Anyways, I decided to let sleeping mold lie and painted over it. I figured the spores were better left in-tact and attached to the wall than airborne after of trying fruitlessly to scrub it clean. I got out the trusty Kilz II from the basement and painted right over it. I understand it may come back, but at least for now it's under a thick coat of primter. I painted the rest of the surfaces under there also, just to start out with a fresh coat on everything.

Then, I had to come to terms with what was going back in there. Little space, lots of bottles. I laid it all out so I could take stock and start to scheme how to put it all back so it wouldn't devolve into an abyss again.

So, what did I have under the sink?

• Big screw-top bottles


• Aerosol cans


• Spray bottles


• Trash bags


• Spools of aluminum foil and other misc. papers


• Rags and kitchen towels


• Emergency tea light candles


• Sponges


• Paper towels


• Brushes


• Trivia place mats. Once, when Mike and I first started dating, we spent a whole Friday night memorizing the presidents in order. I can't bear to get rid of them.

Conclusion? Mishmash. I really didn't know where to begin, so I took a look around the basement for inspiration. I found these old farm boxes (a blueberry and apple crate, I think) I bought off Craigslist when we first moved to PA. I committed to buy them and then realized they were about an hour and a half car ride away in rural New Jersey. Did you know New Jersey could even get its rural on? Trust me, it can.

I used two of the one on the left, and one of the type on the right. After fitting the jigsaw puzzle of goodies back into the cabinet, I was left with the spools of paper, paper towels, and spray bottles. For the spools, I hung the Ikea metal paper dispenser back up on the right side of the cabinet.

Paper towels got a custom job using these ingredients found in our Hoarders worthy mud room.

After marking out where the roll would hang,

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I screwed in an eyebolt on the right side,

and a hook on the left side.

No exact science here, totally eyed it.  It is on the back of a cabinet, after all. Then, I broke out the clothesline and tied one end to the eyebolt and measured to the hook, leaving a little slack so that a full roll could sit on the string without being too tight. I knotted a mini carabiner (from an eyeglasses screwdriver key chain) to the end. Voila! Feed the clothesline through the roll, hook, and grab a sheet.

The spray bottles were the last obstacle. There was an Ikea tea towel holder (I can't, for the life of me, find the official Ikea name for it) screwed on the right side door in the 'before' cabinets.

The holes serendipitously were the perfect diameter for hanging spray bottles. I added two more holes, for a total of five by drilling VERY carefully and slowly. This wood wasn't exactly industrial strength.

I wanted it hung up-and-out-of-the-way, which of course meant putting it where no screwdriver could fit. Mike was changing the oil in his car, and when he came back in to get something I lured him over with my endless DIY-in-sweatpants charm and made him hang it. He's much more patient with hanging things. He got out the smaller screwdriver and toenailed in two screws by going up through the holes made for the bottles and screwing into the cabinet side. Boy, I do love that man.

BOOM. Spray bottle caddy, love ya.

And here is the organized, non-panic inducing and sunflower seed-less after. I must have opened the cabinets to just stare at the organized bliss at least 12 times the day it was finished.

Attack 1 of the 2012 Organizing Monster is a sweeping success.