How To Recycle Old Coffee Mugs #DIY #Project

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

It’s SPRING!

What a great time to freshen up the yard with a totally 100% free project using items we already had. Don’t throw away those cracked cups with broken handles!

We all know I’m a collector of things, whether it’s empty boxes (‘cos you never know when you might need one) or bathrobes ( I have about fifty of them) or seashells (of course!) — and all the rest: shoes, jewelry, books…

I’m also a breaker of things — like coffee mugs and wine glasses.

At any given time, I have half dozen injured/wounded/disabled cups that’re in various stages of rehab.

Most of the repaired cups and mugs aren’t really usable for holding hot liquid, but I’ve held onto them because I love them and they’re special to me…Hello Kitty, Yale Mom, and the ones with seashell motifs — I mean, how can I just toss these guys in the trash?

One fine Sunday afternoon, I felt the itch to start another DIY project but nothing specific came to mind — just thought I’d wander around until something sparked interest — then I discovered an old boat ramp behind our greenhouse (not sure what boat it came from). I’d seen this ramp for YEARS and overlooked it a dozen times. This time, however, I had an epiphany.

It’d make an awesome shabby chic plant stand for the coffee cups!

Now I needed to find something to lean it up against, and chose a Brazilian Pepper Tree that we never really liked ‘cos it’s invasive, but it’s been here since the house was built, and the birds like it — because of that, so far it’s been spared. You can’t really grow anything under it (that’s only one of its problems) and the roots protrude and are gnarly.

Think Oklahoma dust bowl. Think Grapes of Wrath. That’s exactly what that neglected little area brings to mind. It was time to render a little aid and LOVE.

I filled the mugs with succulents that I already had growing in the garden.

View from the deck: A perfect location to turn into a bohemian hippie focal point.

I planted a square of Jupiter’s Beard from seedlings I propagated; it’s a drought tolerant plant with lush pink flowers — really easy to grow, and it’ll fill in an otherwise kind of ugly and barren spot.

I took a bird bath from the front yard and an assortment of other planters gathered from the garden and clustered them all together to create visual interest. The worn and broken tiles add to the shabby chic feel.

Bonus upcycle DIY: Turn an old hat into a planter by cutting off the frayed brim and attaching twine. So simple to set inside a pot of colorful flowers; hang and enjoy!

You can never have too much aloha spirit!

Share your best up/recycle #DIY project.

DIY Craft Project: Jazzed Up Animal Print Wedges

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

What could be better than marrying my love for shoe shopping with a little craftiness?

I found these cute Toms wedges on sale at Nordstrom Rack.

The FIRST thing I did was to remove the Toms label from the heel area of the shoe.

Unless it says Chanel or Dior or Versace or even Kate Spade, I’m not doing any free advertising for anyone.

Plus, to me, TOMS label/logo is ugly. A whole lotta negative valence happening, if you understand those types of dynamics. (I’m aware he does good things with the One for One giving back campaign.)

I studied the shoes for a while, pondering the shape and colors and textures and found them to be a bit lacking in style.

Hmmm, what could I do to jazz ’em up a bit?

Pearls didn’t seem right, nor did seashells, but then I remembered I had a container of wooden beads — natural, organic, and elemental.

Almost everything can be improved upon, right?

PERFECT!

It was so easy, you MUST try this! My tugboat man thought I bought them this way.

All I did was string three beads and relace the wedges.Why three beads? Because that’s how many fit the space. Two wasn’t enough, and four was too much. Three beads were just right.

Love!

Too easy, right? And that simple embellishment totally transformed rather bland shoes into fashion-forward and UNIQUE animal print wedges. They’ll totally rock with skinny jeans and a flowy, gauzy top, don’t you agree?

See?

PERFECTION!

Right now, I’m going to go crazy with my other lace up shoes and garnish them with jewels, pearls, and beads. I get all obsessed that way…

I’m a happy girl.

How To Freshen Old Grout Between Tiles in 3 Easy Steps

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

If you didn’t already know, it should really come as no surprise to anyone that I am slightly OCD.

Yup, I’m the one who needs all the pictures perfectly straight, the furniture dusted, and my floors ARE clean enough to eat off of…for reals.

Our house is kinda old, built in the late sixties or very early seventies, and we haven’t done a major overhaul on the kitchen, so I still have the old porcelain tile with white grout, which poses difficulties keeping spotless and sanitary even for someone like me whose middle name is “Bleach”.

Every so often, I step out of my Louboutins, throw down my Chanel, and get my hands dirty for a purpose — to freshen and reseal the grout.

Until we remodel and tear out the countertops, this is an excellent method of keeping everything looking clean and fresh.

And it’s SO easy!

This is what I use; it’s bright white ‘cos that’s my grout color. I purchased it at Home Depot — it’s pre-mixed and EASY to use.
STEP ONE:

I use my finger because I’ve tried a lot of other tools and nothing works better. I don’t even wear gloves, but you really should.

Just scoop up a mess of grout and push it into the space between the tiles, dragging your finger down along each square ’til it’s filled and even.

Make sure you really wash that stuff off your hands; it’s very drying and probably toxic!
STEP TWO:

Take a rag or a sponge (or both) and carefully wipe away the excess grout. Let it dry overnight and then wipe off the tiles again.

STEP THREE:
See the little brush? Turn the grout sealer upside down and squeeze just until enough sealer coats the brush; continue to squeeze, and paint all the grout with the sealer, let dry for about an hour and add a second coat.

When it’s dry, wipe the tile with a clean, damp cloth to remove any excess grout.

Voilà!

Beautiful grout again…sparkly clean and shiny, easy as 1-2-3!

DIY Part Two: Outdoor Swing Canopy Sewing Project

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Do-it-yourself…This is the second part of the project — I recovered the torn cushion — click HERE for that DIY post.

After that refurbishment, it was clear that I needed to find a way to create a matching canopy. There was no way I could be satisfied with two different patterns and color schemes.

There are tons of online tutorials, but I decided to freestyle it — I took a bunch of measurements and went back to JoAnn‘s Fabrics.

First I cut and pinned the striped material to the top; then I hemmed all the raw edges; repinned, and sewed it all together. It was sooo difficult to work with that much canvas material, especially the way it bunched up on the sewing machine, but I persevered because I’m stubborn that way.

It feels good to try new things, but I’ll definitely NOT take on this project again!

The corners were tricky…but from far away it looks fine!

Under the shade of a non-fruiting mulberry tree…with an orange orchid photobombing the picture.

It looks great if you don’t get too close…matching up the stripes is always a challenge; one side’s perfect — the other not so much. Oh well…

What do you think? Have you ever tackled a job or a project even though it’s incredibly difficult? Were you proud of yourself for meeting the challenge or did you give up before it was completed?

5 Simple Sewing Projects to Replace Disposables (craftingagreenworld.com)
Looking To get a Mini Sewing Machine (crystalbeadsxrl.wordpress.com)

Recycled, Repurposed, Reborn, and Reformed

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

It’s not always about Chanel.

Yes it is — well, I say yes, our bank account says no.

Whatev.

Moving on.

As much as I loves me some designer fashion — especially Chanel — I really don’t like to throw anything away ‘cos I think I’ll always find a use for everything if I save it long enough.

No need to toss out those nasty old cracked and faded Crocs,
merely fill with a little soil and some succulents!
Voila!

Crack a wineglass when you partied too much???
Fill with a little soil and more succulents.
Just don’t try and drink out of it again…

Chipped a dish?
Once again, fill with rocks and soil — and more succulents!
These need a little water; looking kinda sad…

Yeah, I break a lot of things.
More broken coffee cups, more succulents.
This is the desert, after all.
And yes, that’s a broken tile, too!

Repurposed fruit basket stand.
I painted it black ‘cos it was all rusty, lined the baskets with black plastic, filled with soil and planted begonias on the bottom and fuchsias on top.
Did you notice that the basin beneath it is not very photogenic?
It will have to go.
I found the Trix rabbit whilst digging. No one knows where it came from!
No, I’m not from the UK, but sometimes “whilst” is a great word.