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Tea Cup Bird Feeders

Living on the West Coast has its advantages. For example it’s spring here while I know the majority of Canadians are still suffering winter’s fury.

And there are certain disadvantages. Like it hardly stops raining.

This year I wanted to welcome the season by making a bird feeder. I know, not so glamorous. But with all the rain I thought having little birds visiting me through the window would make me feel better about being stuck indoors.

As a kid I used to make pine cone bird feeder’s by spreading peanut butter on the cones and then rolling them through birdseed. I would then hang them on branches throughout my parent’s yard and then investigate every other day to see which mixtures and locations were popular.

But now I don’t have the luxury of trees. I have a covered balcony.

A quick browse through Pinterest showed me tea cup feeders are popular this year. I’ve never seen these before but I do happen to have quite the collection of tea cups. If you haven’t got a stash of tea cups on hand, you can find inexpensive vintage and gently used ones through your local UsedEverywhere.com site.

I thought about going all out and setting up a tea party for my bird friends but reason won out and I decided to do some testers before committing to the bit.

Here’s the recipe I used:

• Warm 1/3 cup of peanut butter and 1/3 cup of natural honey in a saucepan
• Mix in 2/3 cup of birdseed, sesame seeds, or other seeds, 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds, and 1/4 cup of flax seeds
• Press the mixture into desired dish
• Cool and serve

Although it was a bit messy the actual project only took about 15 minutes from start to finish. And if I wasn’t doing a test run of the stuff I would have thought ahead to make a bit for me…it is so tasty!

The birds in my neighbourhood will have to be crazy not to come by my deck for tea.

Unfortunately it was evening when I set out my project and although I could hear the birds in the bushes below I probably won’t see any until daylight.

I’m eager to see how this works and I’m in the market for bigger and better birdseed recipes so if you have one please pass it along!

A Triad of DIY Word Pictures

They used to be called Positive Affirmations and contained nouns with motivational descriptions under them. Oh, and a pretty scenic photo to complete the package. But now, they’re… morphing. Now they’re called Word Pictures (as far as I can tell) and they’ve broken out of the Positive Affirmations mould. They’ve become, well, generational. For the parents there are those inside jokes I don’t get, for birthdays there are witty quips, and there are even office coupons to pass around on special occasions.

On any given day I see a half-dozen different images float through my social media streams, making me lol… making me grimace… making me squint in confusion. Word Pictures. They’re a thing and now I want to do my own, to decorate my house. Good thing Pinterest is always on hand for my pop culture whimsy.

As spring rounds the corner maybe it’s time to add some new decor to your walls too! Here are three easy ways to make your own Word Pictures.

Upcycle Used Books

I love this idea because it’s not only unique and creative, but it’s easy.

Are you able to glue paper on to canvas? Then keep reading. Can you paint a tree-like object? Then you can do this project!

Detailed directions are available on the creator’s blog (in Spanish) but it’s actually a straightforward project. Here are my Coles Notes:

• Take canvases and cover with book pages, gluing securely
• Once it’s dry paint a four or five part image (like the tree pictured)
• Voila! Art!

Lasting Lyrics

If you’re at all handy with a computer, this may be the project for you! You can follow the step-by-step directions on the creator’s blog or figure it out as you go.You’ll need canvas(es), Mod Podge (glue), and lyrics printed on card stock.

Daring Decals

Of all the DIY Word Picture, this is probably the most difficult and finicky. You need a few items you probably aren’t storing in your craft cupboard (well, at least I’m not) like decal paper and a laminator. This blog details a tutorial for decorative canister labels, but I think it can be applied to a wider spectrum.

I’m not certain which method I’ll try first (maybe the first two and then work my way up to the third) but I am sure looking forward to adding my own inspiration to my home!

Decor DIY Disaster Averted

You know when you see an amazing project on Pinterest and then you try and try and try to recreate it and then finally (mercifully) admit defeat?

That’s what happened to me here.

Nearly a year ago I pinned some awesome DIY frosted vases and for the past few weeks I’ve been trying to recreate them.

I did everything right. I found jars I wanted to convert to vases, a ton of rubber bands, and “frosted glass” spray paint.

And then I got to work.

Coat after coat… after coat.

I just couldn’t get my project to look like the original.

So I switched methods. Instead of creating cool frosted vases with rubber bands I decided to try a glue gun picture on the jar, followed by a few coats of frosted glass.

This idea went better.

I did two: a heart and the word “love” in honour of Valentine’s Day.

The glue was difficult to see against the glass but after a few rounds of spray paint it looked positively embossed. I was pleased to say the least.

The spray paint took a while to dry completely (doing this project in warmer temperatures would surely have sped up the process) and once it did I filled my new vases with red wax and candles to test out their frosted glow.

It was a pleasing effect.

Now I’m hoping to find some short-stemmed flowers to try out another look but really the possibilities are endless.

I like how such a simple project can take a regular everyday jar and turn it into something fun and unique.

Five Gifts in a Jar Sitting Under My Tree

Gift-giving has always been difficult for me. I over think it.

Every Christmas I find myself wandering the malls and window shopping, trying to find the mythical perfect gift.

But this year, I’m giving up. Oh, not on the giving part. The perfect part.

Gifts in a jar. They’re everywhere and I love them.

But first I needed Mason jars. I did a quick search on a few used sites and managed to pick up a box of jars for $10. Score!

Online there are roughly 100,000,000 different ideas for gifts to put in jars so it’s not difficult to find ones I can manage. I narrowed in on five to try out: cookies in a jar, scarf in a jar, sugar scrub in a jar, coffee in a jar, and apple butter in a jar.

Cookies in a Jar

Basically you mix and layer the dry ingredients for the jar, then send instructions for the rest:

• Empty dry contents into mixing bowl.
• Mix.
• Add half a cup of margarine, an egg, and a teaspoon of vanilla.
• Roll into balls and place on cookie sheets.
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.

You can garnish the jar with fabric and ribbon. I had some trouble keeping everything together so I glue gunned it all over the place. Which looks nice but will be a bit of a prank on the recipient.

Scarf in a Jar

I wanted to give some knitted gifts this year but I also wanted to stick to my jar thing. So I gave it a shot!

I needed a bigger jar.

The pattern I used for this infinity scarf was a simple lace pattern and about 150 stitches. I think it was from a recent magazine but unfortunately I can’t remember much more than that.

Once I actually got the scarf in the jar I thought about how fun it would be to take out of the jar. It would be like those never-ending scarves the magicians pull out of their sleeves. Brings back great memories.

Sugar Scrub in a Jar

Last Christmas I received some swanky sugar scrub and love how soft my skin feels when I use it. All exfoliated and stuff.

Anyway, apparently you can make it with a couple cups of sugar, a cup of extra virgin olive oil, and a few tablespoons of lemon or essential oils.

Mix it up really well and then put it in the jar.

The yellow colour coming from the olive oil is a bit off-putting, which is why I made the bow on this one extra large.

Coffee in a Jar

OK so this is pretty much just transferring the coffee beans from one place to another but you have to admit the jar gives it a certain something something.

These beans are a bit special because a friend of mine roasted them with his special blend and I wanted to do something nice with them.

Another direction you could go with coffee beans is also provide a latte or mocha dry mix. Now that would be a nice on an early Christmas morning.

Apple Butter in a Jar

This autumn a friend convinced me to pick crab apples with her. While the picking was pretty fun, I wasn’t sure what exactly to do with the apples once I had them.

They were kind of sour.

So after some boiling and pureeing I discovered I could make apple butter. And that’s not sour at all.

Fruit butter is so amazing. I only wish I could find the recipe to Trader Joe’s cookie butter. Do you think it exists?

My five jars came together after quite a bit of research and some false starts. And I’m happy with them. But they took too long. I have, like, 10 gifts to go. Just hoping the next batch goes a little smoother.

Four Ideas for Reusing Used Cards

For a while now I’ve been at an impasse with my greeting card collection.

As in, I have too many and I don’t know what to do with them.

Sure, the easy answer is to throw them away (recycle them of course, or even donate them in some cases) but I suspected I could do better.

When I began my quest to re-use, reduce, and upcycle my greeting card overflow I was filled with purpose, eager to find millions of excellent ideas so none would go to waste.

Unfortunately, after my first four or five ideas they kind of just started repeating themselves.

So I’ll tell you what I figured out, and hopefully you can figure out a few more for me. Because I still have a lot of cards to go.

Greeting Card Gift Tags

This is probably the best use for old cards. Simply find images you want to use, cut them out, and write on them (either front or back, it’s really up to you). Then, use a hole punch and tie a ribbon or string through it in order to affix to the gift. You can make them for any occasion and tailor them to your gift recipient.

Make Old Cards New Again

If you have any scrapbooking/card-making skills you will blow this re-card idea out of the water.

Unfortunately, I lack said scrapbook skills so you’ll have to endure my old card cutout, one-liner, and construction paper concoction. Hopefully it will go over well.

Really all you need is a good cover image, a caption, and some paper. And then really make it your own. Customization is key!

Christmas Tree Decorations

This is a fun way to commemorate favourite cards in a semi-permanent way. You can follow the same directions as the gift tags, or you can step it up a notch. Like add lamination, incorporate it into a paper mache, or even cover it in glossy topcoat and glitter to give it that something something.

Make a Homemade Postcard from an Old Greeting Card

This works best with a square image and a blank backside. All you have to do is cut the card to the desired size, then sketch out the postcard on the back. As long as you use a real stamp (or if you’re handy with carrier pigeons) your postcard will reach its destination.

Oh, and a paper cutter is recommended to help make really straight edges.

Of course this isn’t a new phenomenon, as a kid every Christmas my mom put out an old handmade nativity built from used greeting cards.

Using old cards is a lot of fun, it gives something seemingly worthless a refreshed purpose.

And I’m thankful I figured this out before the next batch of cards comes in this holiday season—my attitude will be much better this year!

Updating Lamps: From Eyesore to Feature Piece

You know when you’re moving into a new place…your first place (or a bigger place), and you’re hitting up all your friends and family for their old, unwanted furniture so you can furnish your place while you get over the financial hit of moving?

And then years pass and you just can’t quite get rid of it, even though you can’t stand it?

That’s how I feel about my living room lamps.

They came to me along with a truckload of other furniture. My grandma’s friend said I could have the whole lot for $300—saved her from selling off the pieces one by one and saved me the trouble of collecting this and that from all over the area.

It was an amazing deal, really.

But the lamps…

They are so interesting! And…such an eyesore.

Three years passed since I took possession of the lamps and finally I had enough. I had talked about it for ages but finally I was ready to tackle the lamp problem.

The grooves, shiny bits, and inconsistent textures made me nervous to simply spray paint the lamps (although I desperately wanted to).

After asking around for a while I set out to grab some decorative stone from the home improvement store—I even took the time to shop around for new and/or used lamps and still came out thinking it was cheaper to re-cover the lamps, even if it took three layers of $50 faux stone to accomplish it.

But then! I stumbled upon spray paint, which gave a textured finish. And it was made for ceramics etc. For only $11 I had to give it a shot—what’s the worst that could happen? I’d have ugly lamps?

So, I taped up the parts I didn’t want to spray and started in.

The paint was thick and it didn’t run at all. I had a good feeling.

One lamp took three coats of paint, which is an entire can of spray paint. So in total my lamp experiment cost me $22 (plus tax) and I can’t say I’m disappointed.

I let the paint dry almost completely between coats (I’ve had some bad experiences with spray paint) so it took a few days to really finish the lamps, but it was well worth the extra effort!

Not only did I avoid the faux stone, which would have been much messier, but they look actually quite good. And the best part is I don’t hate my living room lamps anymore.

On a side note I did purchase some new lamp shades, which I thought would help even more but they looked awful. I’m not quite sure what sort of shade will look better than the ones I have…perhaps I’m not done with these lamps quite yet.

Although, they are growing on me.

Upcycling Nature: Sticks and Stones and Shells

STICKS

Over the summer the office I work in decided to update the lobby. While I was in favour of it and agreed with most of the decisions I had a small (big) problem with the decor—with one item in particular. Sticks. I see these things everywhere, and I know you can pick up a bundle for $10 or so at any number of local retailers.

My issue? The fact these same sticks could have all been collected outside and prettied up to look as good if not better than the store bought versions.

Here’s how:

Take a walk in a well treed area with a sturdy bag. While you’re out collect the longest, thinnest fallen branches you can find. I suggest trending towards birch branches but really any tree branch will do. When you’re finished collecting clean off any unwanted debris and spray with a glossy coat of polyurethane. Allow the branches to dry completely and style as desired, in a vase, against the wall, or however you envision it!

STONES

There is SO much you can do with stones to make your space beautiful. Take a turn on Pinterest for inspiration. You can paint designs on them, you can crochet little coats for them, you can pile them up in a vase or candy dish.

I always grab a few rocks from wherever I’m visiting and try to do something interesting with them…lately I’ve used them in my guest bath, trying to create a spa-like feel without any actual steam or massages.

SHELLS

If you live anywhere near an ocean you’ve undoubtedly collected your share of sea shells. But what do you do with them afterward? Once the shells are cleaned and sand-free they make amazing and beautiful decorations in any room.

You can put them in jars, glue them to picture frames, and even repurpose larger ones into soap dishes or bookends. Really, if you can dream it you can do it. Just make sure there’s nothing still occupying the shells or you will have a different problem on your hands.

Upcycling Nature: Pine Cone Decor

When I first became interested in upcycling nature there was no such term as “upcycle.” At least not in my vocabulary. I have always loved finding shells or rocks or sticks and repurposing them, but taking a closer look into the different options of upcying I came to a realization: there is no way I can properly cover this topic in one post. Or in 100. The options are endless.

As this was more than a little overwhelming I decided to start with something I look at every day over my balcony: pine cones. Easy.

However, a quick peruse through an old Martha Stewart craft book made me see even pine cones have endless options for upcycling and crafting.

So where to begin? Did I want to make picture frames? Or little decorative animals? Or fire starters? Or how about hanging ornaments? Or birdfeeders? Oh my!

In the end I decided to start small, and build from there. Pine cone decor.

Going out to the tree I look at every day I collected a few pine cones and decided to spray paint a few gold and a few grey. Then I placed the pine cones in different bowls and vases I had on hand until I found a combination I liked.

With the leftover pine cones I decided to work a bit on a centrepiece.

Taking an old gold-flecked scarf I wrapped it around three small pine cones and affixed them with ribbon. Then I spread some spray painted pine cones and mixed in some wine corks and twig balls (although I’ll admit the twig balls were from the dollar store—not nature. I’m working up to it!).

Already my living room feels more decorative and I can be proud of not spending any extra money on this starter project as I had all the materials already on hand.

Perhaps I’m ready now for pine cone picture frames. They looked amazing!

DIY T-Shirt Jewellery

First of all, I have to say T-shirt crafts are huge on Pinterest but I can’t find much interest in person. I made a few pieces and then wore them out and about for two weeks and received no attention. I know I live in a fashion-sleepy part of the country but even I was surprised by the lack of response.

However, I didn’t let real life interfere with my T-shirt craft curiosity. There is so much out there right now I want to be on the cutting edge, so to speak.

If you’re new to the T-shirt movement here are two really simple pieces to get you started.

T-shirt Necklace

What you need:

• T-shirt (preferably one you don’t mind destroying er…upcycling)
• Scissors

What you do:

• Starting at the bottom of the shirt, cut off the hem and set aside
• Cut 1” strips horizontally (so your strips will actually be loops) until you have six or so loops
• Stretch loops a bit and affix using the hem piece or some other piece of scrap fabric

T-shirt Bracelet

What you need:

• Long T-shirt (or remnant fabric)
• Scissors
• Fingers

What you do:

There are two options for this. If you know how to finger knit (or aren’t afraid to Google it) follow option one. If you would rather braid a bracelet then follow option two.

Option #1:

• Cut one strip (not loops this time) of at least 60”
• Finger knit on two fingers until there’s about 1” remaining on fabric
• Secure ends

Option #2:

• Cut three strips of at least 60”
• Secure strips at one end and braid until about 1” of fabric remains
• Secure ends

Hope all your T-shirt crafting dreams come true! And if you have any suggestions for further T-shirt crafting please share. I’m working on a rug next!

DIY Upcycled Vases

“Upcycling,” the process of taking waste materials and turning them into better quality products, isn’t exactly a new term, but it sure is trendy to say these days. And I’m glad. A big part of my environmental education has to do with the importance of upcycling instead of consuming a new product when possible.

Today I’m going to demonstrate a fun way to create upcycled vases from garbage.

What you need

• Empty cylinders such as soup cans, juice canisters, etc.

• Spray paint

• Scraps of ribbon

• Dried flowers or other decorations

What you do

• Wash and dry all containers

• Spray paint containers allow to dry completely (according to directions on spray paint, approximately 12 hours)

• Decorate as desired

When you first look at empty soup cans, scraps of ribbon, and old, dried out flowers it doesn’t seem like much. But with a little spray paint, trash is suddenly upcycled into something you can both admire and brag about. This project inspires me to look with new eyes at what other perfectly usable items I’m overlooking. I’m sure I have a long way to go!