Decorating: Little Shelves

Most of the time shelves are pretty wide.

Intended for books, framed pictures, clocks, etc.

But what about the little stuff?

Like rubber duckies?

Don't forget the duckies!

Last year we repainted some rooms and redid the floors. This required the base boards to be ripped up. 

Some didn't survive too well.

So we cut off the messed up parts and painted them and prepared them to be shelves.

Home Depot has packages of little (one and a half to two inch) L brackets.

 We screwed the brackets onto what was the front of the base board then screwed the other side into the wall. This put the back of the base board facing up towards the ceiling.

Now add your little items. 

Since most little items are light there is not a lot of worry about being strong enough.

I have shelves in my bathroom to hold rubber ducks (need to add more).

A short shelf in the bathroom to hold stuff for guests taking a shower. Extra toothbrush, soaps, little lotions, etc.

I'm soon going to put up another one in my craft room to hold the baseball memorabilia we have and maybe some of my paintings.

One Hat, Four Looks

Last round of Iron Craft was about making something all of mostly from the Dollar Store.

I made and submitted the After Bath Wrap

But I didn't stop there.

I also dressed up a hat I got at the dollar store.

Some supplies were dollar store, many of the extras were not dollar store (which is why this was secondary to the bath wrap).

With some fabric, lace, buttons and velcro I turned a plain hat into a multi-look hat.

This would be really great for traveling since with just a little space you can have four different hats!

For one look I wrapped ribbon around the brim of the hat then made a fabric flower for where the ribbon crossed and used a button for the center of the flower.

This is made with one long strip of fabric and a straight stitch that is then gathered creating a circle.

For the second look I made a four petal fabric flower with a button center.

This flower is created by cutting out circles, folding them over and sewing the ends together.

Third look is lace bunched around in a circle with a red ribbon bow center.

Last look has sheer and satin ribbon into a large bow with a fake flower and pearl bead in the center.

The hat has a soft piece of velcro attached to the brim. Each decoration has a rough piece of velcro attached to the back of it.

The end result is easily removed decorations that wont destroy the hat or fall off easily. And the hat can look fun and beach ready or elegant and nice!

Or take the easy way!

 

Here and There

If you are into sewing I am currently hosting an I-spy fabric square swap on Swap-bot.com. You have till March 26th to sign up. Even if you are not up to making an I-spy quilt you could use them to make a bag, cover a notebook, etc.

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/115531

Swap-bot is free to join and you can swap anything from emails to large packages with people all around the world. You get rated and rate on each swap you are in so it cuts down on people not following through.

Join me on FaceBook at: http://www.facebook.com/CreativeIdeas2Day 

Like the page and get post links on your fb wall!

Want some of the things I make here but are unable or unwilling to make them yourself? Or need a unique gift that you know the recipient won't already have? Check out my Etsy page here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativeIdeas2Day

See you around the net!

Deliciocity Friday: Pi Day Pie

This past Wednesday was Pi day.

Think back to math class, skip over the horrible memories of bad grades and go straight to that weird wavy table looking symbol.

The one that was supposed to help you figure out the circumference of a circle. 

Pi=3.14 (and it goes on and on)

So March fourteenth, 3/14 is pi day.

How best to celebrate pi day?

With pie of course!!

Math never tasted so good!

 (don't ask me the circumference of my pie, I did good to remember the 3.14 bit!)

I like pie once in a while.

My hubby loves pie. His statement is; "I only like two types of pie. Hot pie and cold pie!"

So of course it made his geeky, sweet loving day that I made apple pie for pi day!

Now I cheated and used a can of apple pie filling (though added some extras to it) but I made a crust from scratch that was awesome! (and fairly easy)

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 sticks butter or margarine

1 tbsp sugar

8 tbsp cold water

Have your butter be very cold, I took one straight from my fridge, the other stick just a couple minutes out of the freezer.

Put the flour in a medium sized bowl and cut the butter into slices and add to flour. Use a pastry cutter or strong fork to cut the butter into the flour.

Add the sugar and cold water and mix.

Put out onto a flat surface and using the palm of your hand mush the flour together and into a ball.

Separate into two equal sized balls and set one aside.

Roll out the first ball till about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and place in bottom of a pie pan.

 Pinch the edges up around the top of the pan. Use a fork to poke the crust all around.

Add your filling then roll out the second ball to same thickness and place over top the pie.

Pinch the edges with the bottom crust edges then use your fork to crimp the edges.

 Poke a few vent holes into the top of your crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

(You may want a flat baking sheet on the shelf below your pie so that if the filling bubbles up and out it will hit your sheet, not the oven floor. It's easier to clean up that way)

I know I did a few things different then most recipes will tell you.

Most recipes for pie crust say use unsalted butter and add salt. I used regular salted margarine.

Most crust recipes says refridge the dough for at least an hour after working it into a ball. The closest I did to that was place a couple ice packs under the glass cutting board I was using and let it sit for a couple minutes before rolling.

Even breaking some common pie crust rules, this was one of the best crusts I ever had!

I took it out of the oven as soon as the 40 minutes was up and the crust didn't burn and get horribly dry like many do.

It was flaky yet moist.

Sweet but just barely.

Absolutely delicious!

I apologize for there not being many pictures but most of pie making is messy and there was no way I was going to pick up my camera with my nasty hands!   

 

The Least of These

Today is not a craft post.

Why?

Because instead of crafting Sunday I joined a local mission opportunity called God In Shoes.

 

God In Shoes organizes women to go out into their community and spread God's love by serving other women.

They give manicures, pedicures, spa pampering, hair cuts, massages, etc. Then leave the ladies with a gift bag with things like flip flops, slippers, lotions, towels and more.

 

It's not about pressing the women to talk about God or accept Him, it's about giving the love that we know Jesus would.

Matthew 25:40 - "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "

 

This was my third year helping out with God In Shoes and I always enjoy it. I'm there to give to others but I too receive a blessing. 

 

God In Shoes goes out to retirement communities and women's shelters. Some of the women we serve have been abused by men, some have lead a rough life, some just have not been the recipient of love and care in a long time, if ever.

Many of us go get our nails done, go to the salon, buy a new pair of shoes, without a second thought. Many of those we serve are unable to even think of doing that sort of thing.

 

The last two years I have gone to a retirement home and given manicures to the ladies. One lady I met was in her 90's and a joy to chat with while I did her nails. Others have stated to me that in their 60-70 or more years of life they have never had a manicure. 

 

A question I often get asked is if I give manicures for a living. The answer is no, I do my own nails a couple times a year and I've been doing manicures for God In Shoes, one day a year for the last two years. No training, just a willingness to serve others.

 

You don't have to go to far away places to spread God's love.

You don't have to be an amazing speaker to spread God's love.

In fact, if you are only ever going far away to minister then you are neglecting the need that is right around you all the time.

There is an old saying that goes: "Spread God's message ceaselessly, and if necessary, use words."

 

As much as you think your life may be bad, there are always those who have it worse and you don't have to be rich to help others. I'm usually doing good to get by but I've volunteered my time many times in many ways.

 

Search for a local shelter or retirement home and ask if there is anything you can do to help. Work with your church to organize something, maybe even your own branch of God In Shoes.

 

Just a little of your time can go a long way towards sharing God's love.

There is a song called "Light Your World" by Newsong:

"Light your world
Let the love of God shine through
In the little things you do
Light your world
And though your light may be
Reaching only two or three
Light your world"

 

"whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me"

Don't think you have to be rich or go far away or be a word smith, you only have to be willing to humble yourself and share God's love. 

In the end, you may be just as blessed as those you serve!

The women getting ready to go out to serve

Spa treatment at the retirement home

Me on the left, giving manicures