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Spring Clean Your Vehicle Without Chemicals

It’s March and with West Coasters getting a taste of sunshine, planning begins for Spring cleaning and purging projects. One part of Spring cleaning that typically gets forgotten is deep cleaning a vehicle. Vans that transport kids to school, activities, and fun outings are normally covered in sticky foreign substances (sometimes it’s better not to know), dust, crumbs, and hidden banana peels that have slipped through the cracks of the seat. Although hanging a vehicle deodorizer and using traditional armor guard for the dashboard interior might be convenient, this is another area of our lives that we can switch to organic options. Especially when we realize that a vehicle doesn’t have much space to dissipate chemicals that carry fragrance to mask car odor. Plus, wouldn’t it be extra convenient if you could clean your vehicle interior with items from your pantry?

Here are tips to cleaning your vehicle without chemicals and keeping it budget friendly and convenient from your kitchen:

1) Pull out car seats and put them in the sunlight for a few hours. This is a natural disinfectant that kills germs and bacteria. Don’t forget fuzzy dice or angry bird stuffies in this step.

2) Sprinkle baking soda on rugs and upholstered seats that will be vacuumed. Baking soda is an organic compound that removes odor.

3) Fill a warm bucket of water and add Castile liquid soap (I use Dr. Bronners) and with a cloth, squeeze out excess water and remove dust from any hard plastic surfaces.

4) Replace Windex to clean interior windows with water and a microfiber window cloth.

5) When the dashboard is dry, pour olive oil onto a dry cloth or napkin and polish the dashboard. This will keep your dash naturally repellent of dust for weeks.  I’ve only tested the olive oil polish on a plastic dash board, if your dashboard is a different material, first test in a small corner of the dash to ensure it doesn’t stain or discolor.

6) If there is a lot of debris on the carpet, take your car to a service station with an industrial vacuum to use. Afterwards, use your home vacuum if it has a HEPA filter to minimize more dust.

7) If family members have asthma or allergies, don’t go back to using synthetic air freshener in your vehicle. If you like to ‘spray’ a mixture to mask odor, dilute your favourite essential oil in a spray bottle to use.

8) You can also add the Castile soap to a bucket of warm water to wash the exterior of the car. Rinse with a hose of cold water.

When you avoid using traditional synthetic sprays, air fresheners, and dashboard polish, you are saving your family from absorbing phthalates (hidden behind the term fragrance on labelled products), formaldehyde, and lead that can be carried via dust. Air fresheners really only mask odor, so simply opening your vehicle window will actually ‘freshen’ the air inside your car.  And by removing dust, you are also removing other toxins like lead and VOCs which is smart to do before turning on vehicle air conditioning in the summer!

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!

Memorable Kid's Parties

What makes a child’s birthday party memorable?  It feels like we’ve done it all with children’s birthday parties but I’ve learned something along the way.  The most memorable parties, the ones kids talk about for years after, are big on creativity and imagination – not expense.

Three examples of memorable parties that we’ve hosted include: playing Muggle Quidditch, fairy walk, and scavenger hunt. Each of these parties represented the interests of my child at the time making them extra special. Hosting a party in nature is unique these days but for kids that spend most of their time playing sports or connected to technology, they appreciate getting outdoors to play with friends. The secret of a memorable party is to find a common interest, boost that interest with lots of imagination, and think like a child. Hiding clues for the scavenger hunt or leaving traces that the fairies had visited the woods creates magic and memories for guests. For the birthday child it creates cherished moments with friends and a feeling of pride for hosting a special party activity. With Spring birthday party season just around the corner, here are a few more suggestions for creating a memorable kid’s party:

Host a Donation Party
Ask party guests to bring a small donation in lieu of presents. Have your child select a charity or social cause to help and donate a portion of the money received. Your child will feel empowered by helping a cause close to their heart. Extra bonus is there is less packaging and gift wrap to recycle from traditional parties with gifts and the birthday child can use their money to buy 1 special gift they want/need.

Have A Friend Take Pictures
Having a photographer at your child’s party is the perfect time to snap pictures. . . especially if you’re hosting in nature. Pictures taken in natural daylight look stunning and if it’s not in the budget to hire a photographer, ask a friend to hang out with a camera. Having your hands free to host and enjoy the moments during your child’s party is important, but so is getting great pictures. Have the best of both!

Plan As A Family
Creating a memorable party is going to effect the entire family so why not sit down and plan it together? Siblings are amazing with brainstorming creative ideas or party games and if the party is taking place at home, everyone needs to be on board to get ready. I’ll never forget the best part of the Fairy Walk we planned for my daughters years ago. It was the pre-party setup of climbing trees to hang felt garlands, hammering of a fairy chimney into a tree, and hiding clues that fairies had walked through the forest with my sons that made the party so memorable for me. They got so excited helping to setup the fairy walk, thinking of different ideas to make the magic more abundant for their sisters. I will always remember how that party truly became a family affair that everyone enjoyed.

Think Back To Your Childhood
What parties do you remember growing up? Remember 3-legged races, sack races, bubble gum blowing contests, pass the present, and blindfolded games? Think back and incorporate a few of these games into your child’s party. Chances are your kids will love and enjoy these classics too.

Here are a few memorable party ideas on Pinterest that are sure to inspire memorable party fun!

Ever heard the best toy is an empty box? This maze party idea might prove this theory correct! Photo credit Pinterest:

Obstacle course for the younger crowd? Done to perfection for these little pirates walking the plank! Photo credit Sweeten Your Day Events:

Watching a movie can be memorable with these box car seats! Even better if the seat doubles as the party take home gift. Photo credit Not Just A Housewife:

All parents have a little Peter Pan inside them. Unleash your creativity and enjoy making memorable parties that your kids will always remember.

Create Your Own Story This Valentines

Valentine’s Day is almost here. If you are looking for something special to give the love of your life there may be added pressure ensuring presents are sustainable. Holidays are slowly becoming a place to showcase skills and memories rather than your ability to run to a store to purchase ‘stuff’. With consumers asking questions of where products are manufactured and what they are made from, the chances of finding satisfying answers is tough for last-minute gifts. For those that want a story, feeling, or movement behind their Valentines gift this year, go with an up-cycle. Why? Every up-cycled gift will show effort and even if the original purchase was manufactured in a distant country made with not-so-earth friendly materials, when you go 2nd hand with gift giving, you are breathing new life into a gift and giving it your own story.

Here is your project with a beautiful story: barn window memory frame. Let me break down the symbolism for you and we’ll proceed with the project instructions. Barns exude the feel of haunting romance. A barn can be literally falling apart, but the more weathered it becomes, the more mystery surrounds it and that is romantic. If your project includes pictures, old cards, or poem, these will reflect the window of your heart. You might need to trust me with the symbol of how romantic a window pane is and the more weathered looking the better. If it can’t be from a barn, just a wooden window will be okay… but you might not be able to use the word ‘haunting’ in your gift presentation… and really, is there a better word?!

Our Prairie Home shows you how to take an existing window and cut squares of chicken wire to back each window. I love the chicken wire look because it creates a very special look and makes attaching cards, notes, pictures, or mementos super easy with little wooden clips. This could easily change from a note board to a special picture frame. Picture belongs to Our Prairie Home:

It’s actually easier than I thought to find windows to upcycle. With a quick search on UsedVictoria, I found 2 windows here and here. If you like the look of glass rather than chicken wire, there are also very cute up-cycle options with windows that still have glass. Check out the below frame pinned to the UsedEverywhere Pinterest board.

Supplies Needed:

Wooden window frame
Chicken wire
Printed photos
Tape measure
Hot glue
Picture hanging kit

There is still time to create magic for the love of your life and use some creativity that will be treasured and proudly displayed all year round. Think about incorporating up-cycling into your special Valentines this year and your efforts will be noticed. And you can use words like ‘hauntingly romantic’ in the description or something unique. When you upcycle, the story becomes yours to tell.

Make your own "classroom cards" for Valentine's Day

My kids are older now, so we no longer find ourselves working the assembly-line of Valentine’s Day cards late into the night on February 13th. But we used to, a LOT, because even though it was challenging to pull off sometimes, I still believed that homemade cards were worth making.

Oh sure, you can find cute cards at the store nowadays, but I still think that getting out the red and white craft supplies is an exercise that’s worth doing. Not only is it good practice for all kinds of things (using scissors, penmanship, spelling, etc.) but I think a homemade card edges out the Scooby-Do and Transformers cards you can pick up at the drugstore.

One of our favourite card designs was this lollipop flower. They’re very easy to make and the kids seemed to like them too.

It’s easy. Begin by taking a trip to Bulk Barn and scooping up a bag of small lollipops.

1. Download the PDF template and print it out as many times as you need.
2. Cut out the flowers.
3. Let the kids go to down decorating the underside with stamps and hearts. You can also cut out green “leaves” for this purpose, tape them to the lollipop “stems” and write the names here.
4. Punch a hole in the middle of the flower and push the lollipop through.
5. You are done!

Pretty nice eh? Does your family make their own classroom cards? I’d love to hear about it if you do!

Five Uses for Wine Corks

Last time I blogged about the versatility of the mighty toilet paper roll. As it turns out, it’s not the only item you can use for countless other purposes. Another very useful little gem is the humble, yet steadfast wine cork. I actually don’t drink a lot of wine, but after seeing the possibilities with wine corks, I might have to pick up the habit – or at least have my vino-loving friends start collecting them for me.

Here are just a few fantastic things you can do with a wine cork:

1. The Jewelry Wall

Forget that crowded, disorganized jewelry box. What you really need is a jewelry wall; an easy way to hang and organize all your earrings. Even better?  You can add corks that face outwards to hang your necklaces and bracelets.

2. The Heart Stamp

You can make adorable stamps from wine corks. Since Valentine’s Day is creeping up, making a heart might be a fun idea but really, you can make almost any simple shape. A little creativity and just five minutes with a box-cutting knife will do the trick.

3. The Bath Mat

Useful and beautiful, this wine cork bath mat is apparently super absorbent and naturally resists bacteria and mould growth. Here’s a tutorial for how to make one. It requires 500 wine corks, so you’d better get drinking. Or, if you know someone who works at a bar, that might be a faster route.

4. The Bar Countertop

You can use corks to convert an old dresser to a wet bar. Just glue the corks directly to the top of the dresser and you have an interesting and appropriate little wet bar.

5. Wall Art

Do you have a big empty wall you’d like to fill? Why not get creative with your wine corks and conjure up some unique (and free) wall art. Here’s one example of what you can do, but just use your imagination to create a one of a kind art piece.

These are just a few uses for wine corks, but I have come across many, many more. Have you ever used wine corks in an upcycling project? Please share!

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.

Free Finds on Used: The Victoria Woman Who is Renovating Her Home FOR FREE!

Karen Bragg is renovating her home and how is she doing it? With free finds from UsedVictoria. Believe me when I say this is amazing!

So Karen, let me get this straight, you renovated your house using materials you found on UsedVictoria for free?

We have renovated about half of our house using free materials obtained on UsedVictoria. We are also saving up materials for an addition to the house that we hope to begin in the spring. And it was not just building materials, but things we could use for the house too. It started out as a sort-of sociological experiment on my part to see what I could do with things I could obtain for free. I like to think it was, and is, a successful experiment!

And was it just the UsedVictoria site or did you venture out of the city and pick up stuff from other Used sites on the island and further afield?

We have never used another site besides UsedVictoria.  There didn’t seem to be a need.

How long were you renovating your house? Did it take longer than anticipated because you were waiting to find the right freebies?

The renovations on the house have been happening over two years, but we started saving materials a year before that.  I had some renos in mind (such as the deck extension and the sliding glass door in the master bedroom to access it) and there were a few that came about because of the materials we came across.

What do you think your best find was? Was there anything you were really surprised to find?

As for what the best free find was, that is hard to say. We got 12 trusses, perfect for our addition; about 30 sheets of 3/4″plywood that will be used for the addition; approx. 2,500 ft of solid oak trim pulled out of a heritage house; approximately 2,500 ft of maple hardwood flooring pulled from a 100 yr old school gymnasium; a wonderful nearly-new airtight wood-stove insert; a brand new soaker tub that the owner intended for his own renovation but never used (he showed us the receipt for over $500); approx 15-20ft long 2″x12″s. It’s hard to choose!

What would you say the easiest materials to find were?

We were lucky enough to come across a LOT of tile, as well as over 2,000 sq ft of nearly new carpeting from an office that had been newly renovated but the new owners wanted a different color carpet! Both tile and carpet are very easy to find. But I think one of the easiest things to find is cabinets of any sort: kitchen, bathroom, shed, armoires, etc.

Did you model your house around what you were finding or search for certain items you wanted to work with?

This is an interesting question. The fact is that I would ask my boyfriend (a carpenter who adores me) what we would need to do a certain project, and I would look for those items. If I saw anything that I suspected might be useful for some other purpose, I would ask him if it would be useful.

Where did all this great stuff come from? Was it from other homeowners?

Most of the materials came from other homeowners who were renovating or who had planned to renovate but changed their minds and couldn’t sell the materials, so they just wanted the stuff gone. Their wish was my command!

So, explain to me exactly what renovations you were able to complete on your home using free finds from the Used sites.

OK, list of renos and improvements with materials from UsedVictoria.com:

New furniture (not a reno, but made the living room look better!)

Bigscreen tvs

Mattresses & beds

Cool lamps!

2 slightly used refrigerators

All 3 fish tanks w/all accessories plus most of the fish (2-50 gal tanks and 1-130 gal tank, we just paid for delivery of the big one)

Almost all the flowers and plants in the yard

All the vertical blinds in the house

3 nearly new toilets

2000 sq ft of nearly new carpets

160 sq ft hardwood flooring for master bedroom (paid a few dollars for it, but nearly nothing)

1,000 sq ft hardwood flooring for downstairs living room, dining room and hallway.

Tiling for upstairs largest bathroom floor and bathtub surround

Tiling for master bedroom ensuite floor

Tiling for downstairs bathroom

Tiling for downstairs kitchen

Extended deck in back yard

Sliding glass door in master bedroom to access deck

Replacement thermal window for downstairs

Materials we used to make a gorgeous greenhouse (wood, glass, doors, windows, paint, etc)

Materials we used to make a large shed (wood, small wood-stove, cabinets, etc)

We also replaced our dishwasher, washer & dryer, and the double sinks with vanity in the largest bathroom

Anything you still need to find?

Oh, yes, we will still need a lot in order to complete the addition this spring; windows, doors, plumbing, etc. Not everything will be free, but Victoria is a generous place that prefers not to send its used materials to the dump, so I expect that we will find much of what we need!

What’s your number one tip for using used?

My #1 best tip is this: think ahead of time about the things that you would like to find, and just keep looking with those things in mind. It might take a few weeks or even a month of looking, but it will usually show up.

Recycle Your Christmas Cards into Valentine's Day Cards

I admit I am a very sentimental kind of girl who likes to keep every single card she receives, whether it be for birthdays, Christmas or even thank you cards. But as the years have progressed, I’ve ended up with a gigantic stack of cards that may or may not make me look like a beginner hoarder.  Lately, I’ve been obsessed with finding ways to upcycle items in the house rather than just chuck them in the recycling bin.  I managed to cut up last year’s calendar so my son could use the pictures to make crafts and stickers.  And this got me thinking, what if I tried to upcycle a couple of my old Christmas cards and turn them into Valentine’s Day Cards? Well, turns out this actually can work.  Here’s how you do it:

What you Need:

Recycled Christmas Cards

glue stick

coloured markers

construction paper (preferably pink and red)

scissors

Look through the recycled Christmas cards and pick one that doesn’t scream holiday card or have lots of Christmas words on it.

Next cover up any holidays messages or wording inside the card with pink or red construction paper. Then write your romantic message on top.

Look for objects or wording you can cut out of other cards to glue onto the front of your Valentine’s Day card.  Or instead, look for colours and patterns that will work and cut out heart shapes from them. If you can’t find the right words, simply write romantic words like “Love” or “Be my Valentine” on paper and glue them to the card.  You could also cut out letters from the recycled cards to spell out the words you want.

Get creative and glue the various items onto your card and there you have it…a beautiful, original, thoughtful Valentine’s Day card that anyone would love. I can’t say who’s going to get this one as it has to be a surprise…. but he probably can guess!  Tee-hee!

Create Your Own Unique Lighting On a Tight Budget

One of the most important ways to up the WOW factor of your space is with proper lighting. Too many people use overheads, which don’t address lighting needs around the room, and fail to highlight areas that can really pop with just a little extra effort.

In my house, we have a great bay window, that provides tonnes of natural light to our living room, but is a challenging space to work with. The shape is such that you can’t really put anything against it, and since our living room (and whole house) is relatively small, it means you have less space to work with. So we turned this room into a reading nook. All it took was building a simple bench, and a novel approach to lighting it.

By day, there is loads of light, but at night, not so much. The overhead doesn’t reach it, there is no place to put a floor lamp, and because it’s all windows there is nowhere to stick a wall sconce.

We got around this by coming up with a lighting option unique to the space. What you are looking at here is a collaboration between my wife and I that cost us all of $15. It consists of a string of incandescent Christmas lights, origami boxes my wife made, and a really big stick I found in the woods. It doesn’t generate much light, but it’s enough to read by, and makes the space super cozy at night. What’s great about this is that it helps carve a very small room into different spaces, and makes our whole house feel bigger.

Is it safe, you ask? Well, barring any shorts in the wire, the lights are designed not to ignite dry Christmas trees, so we are prepared to take the risk that they will not get hot enough to ignite the paper origami boxes. That said, we would never leave these lights on when we go out, or go to bed, just to be on the safe side.