Recycled Paper Towel Roll Flower Tutorial

The lovely finished product:

 

 The flowers are incredibly light and would make a nice decoration on a package instead of a bow!

Here's the how to:

What you need:

Scissors
Cardboard Paper Towel or Toilet Paper Roll
Glue Stick (I love Martha Stewart's, its super strong)
Clothespins
 

Step 1.  Flatten your cardboard roll and cut six strips all the same size.  The width of the strip will determine the height of the flower.  (I like about 1/2" or less)

Step 2: Using the glue stick, put glue on the bottom half of one of the strips and stick it to another strip then secure with clothespin until dry.

Step 2 should give you something like this.  Repeat Step 2 three times!

Step 3. Once you have the 3 "sets" of petals glue two sets together and secure with clothespin until dry!  Repeat the same step with the last set of petals.

 

Step 4:  Now you should have all six petals glued together and they just need to be connected.  So put some glue between the first and last petal, shape and secure with a clothespin.

The finished product, they are so easy to make it doesn't take long to make a bunch!

Feel free to decorate them however you want, I used a punch from sheet music and a little button :)

Enjoy!

Wedding Wednesdays: Beautiful Recycled Vintage Hair Comb Set

Need I say more?

 

This pair of hair combs was created from salvaged vintage jewelry parts.   Pearls, aurora borealis crystals and lovely gold roses with white enameling!  A great statement piece instead of a veil!

Check back soon, there are more great combs to come!

Recycled Rustic Wall Vase

I took yesterday off from blogging b/c the BF and I were working on getting stuff together for the garage and starting on the floor for the attic.  I am very excited b/c yesterday I learned how to use a miter saw which turns out to be very very easy.  I helped him cut the boards to the lengths he needed and he nailed them upstairs.  As a result of the garage project, there is tons of scrap pieces of wood around, so I cut this one myself to size.  I then attached an old hose clamp I got when we were cleaning out my grandparents house before it sold with 2 nails and tighten it to hold one of my blue Bertolli jars.  The best part of this is what I used to hang it on the wall, scroll down to find out!

 

Thanks to Pinterest, I found this super neat idea of using tabs off of a soda can, which I already have tons of them saved for something :).  One nail through the hole in the center and it works great!

Uniquely Northern New York - Buy Local, Discover Artistans, Crafters & Vendors

As some of you know I am currently working on finishing my Masters in Information Technology.  I am slated to graduate Spring 2012.  It has been a long process while working full time, but one of the perks of working at Clarkson is you get to take classes for free.  I definitely won't miss my Electrical Engineering class, that one was killer! 

For my final project, I wanted to create site that was both needed and that I would want to maintain after I was finished, so I created Uniquely Northern NY.  It combines my two great loves in life, crafting and web design.  It is a site dedicated to buying local as well as discovering artisans, craters and vendors in the area. 

www.uniquelynny.com

If you are a artisan, crafter or vendor in Northern New York feel free to add your profile and share your information with others.  If you are a shop or have a favorite shop(s) feel free to add them to the map.  Also add upcoming craft shows to the calendar to share with others and the community.   I felt this site was desperately needed I have already found so many other great local people, that I probably never would have met before!

Become a fan on Facebook to see what is changing on Uniquely NNY and when a new artisan, crafter or vendor is added!

Don't forget The Mad Recycler will be at the Waddington Homecoming Craft Show from 10 - 4 this Saturday, August 6th.  I will be setup right next to the gazebo on Rt. 37 :). 

Blue Button Pom Wreath Decoration

Made from Blue Floral Sample Upholstery Fabric and some lovely old white buttons!

These and other great new decorations will be available this Saturday from 10 - 4 at Waddington's Homecoming Craft Fair!

Stop by and check them out!

Wedding Wednesdays: Make it Meaningful

When my Dad passed away this spring, in lieu of flowers my co-workers/friends got together and gave me a Potsdam Chamber of Commerce gift certificate b/c they knew I would do something wonderful to remember my Dad.  This past Monday the BF and I finally built the garden arbor that I used the gift certificate to buy the lumber for. 

 

My thoughts for this arbor is one day when the walkway is complete from the garage to the house we can put it over that and I would walk through it every day and remember my Dad.  

Another really good idea and part of the reason I built it, is someday we can get married under it and it would be a meaningful way to remember my Dad at the ceremony.   

So a big THANK YOU to my co-workers and to the BF for helping me build it and agreeing we could get married under it SOMEDAY!

Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent

Normally I use Tide.  I like it b/c my clothes/sheets always come out clean as well as soft.  But lately at Tide costing between $10 - $12 it just seemed a little outrageous.  I am such a scatter-brain all the time I normally forget to use coupons, so DIY stuff is a better option for me.  Honestly what can they put in detergent that would make it so much better than you can make yourself.  Through Pinterest I found a great DIY recipe for Laundry Soap, that I have been using for a few weeks now and notice very little difference.  My sheets are just as fresh smelling and soft as when I used Tide.

 

Instructions

Ingredients: 

1 cup of Borax

1 cup of Washing Soda

1 bar of soap (any kind)

Hand Grater

Step 1.  In a large bowl, using the small site of the grater, grate the entire bar of soap.   I should be fairly fine

Step 2.  To the bar of soap, add the borax and the washing soda. 

Step 3: Mix thoroughly.  I stirred mine for 3 - 5 minutes. 

I put my finished soap in an old blue Atlas canning jar with a tablespoon measuring spoon.  I use between 1 - 2 scoops per load depending on how large the load is.  I let the washer fill a little then add the soap and then let it continue to fill to make sure the soap dissolves well.  It won't be sudsy but it still cleans great!

1 box of borax and 1 box of washing soda will make several loads of detergent, for less than $10.  

The finished project:

Check back soon for my Homemade Dishwasher Soap!