If you want a unique focal point for your floor think about making a braided rug in shades of soft blue and white. Braided rugs are made by braiding a long stretch of rope and then coiling it into a pattern and stitching the coils together tightly to keep them in place. The braids can be made from natural fibers like cotton, sisal or jute, or artificial fibers like nylon. The actual braiding is done using a technique called flatbed, to make sure the rug doesn’t have uncomfortable bumps and ridges.

An interesting suggestion that works well for a modern, largely white or Scandinavian style room is it to make a blue rug by braiding rags in various shades of blue and white taken from old clothes, jeans, towels, or anything mainly blue that can be braided and stitched. The method is quite simple. You cut the fabric into strips, making sure that you take out any seams, buttons, zippers or fasteners as these items won’t braid smoothly and will destroy the flatbed effect and you join the strips into long lengths.

Braiding is usually done using three strands of material, but you can use multiples of three, depending on how narrow or thick you want the braid to be. Thick braids have better tensile strength, making the rug tougher, but they will also reduce the flatness of the rug. To make a braid, you can stitch the three strands together at the top, or make a knot, and then fasten them onto a firm surface like a pillar. Braid the three strips as tightly as you can. The tighter the braid, the smoother the rug. Remember that the rug should be made of one continuous braid, so once your strips run out, attach more material by stitching the ends of new strands on the old ones. Do the joining carefully to maintain the smoothness of the braid.

Once you have a long enough braid, coil the whole long braid into shape. Round and oval rugs are the most common shapes, but you can be creative and come up with something different. Stitch the coils firmly in place, and if you wish, reinforce the bonds by stitching a backing material to the lower side of the mat. It can be rubber, nylon or raffia. You now have your very own blue braided rug, and you have also helped the environment by recycling fabric.

How To Make A Braided Rug

Of all the different ways that netting can be used in the garden, a surprisingly small number of people are familiar with garden trellis netting or its uses. For those that are familiar and experienced in its application in the home garden, not actively using the netting for their gardening is simply unimaginable. The versatility and space efficiency are simply too valuable to dismiss.

The primary purpose of trellis garden netting is to implement some form or vertical gardening techniques into your design. Some plants, such as green beans, are naturally inclined to use trellis netting for their growth. They need a way to spread out, grow, and climb. The netting provides that structure for them to grab hold of, and helps facilitate their healthy progress.

What many people fail to recognize is that your typical vine plants are not the only types of vegetables that thrive in a vertical environment. Not only can you grow beans up your trellis, but cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peas, melons, and a number of other indeterminate plants will also thrive. A basic rule of thumb is that if the plants can spread out on the ground to grow, it can spread out vertically as well.

The first question that people ask is whether or not the plant and/or trellis can really hold the weight of the fruit that is produced. Particularly for plants such as melons, pumpkins, and squash, the fruit can be quite heavy. The only real deterrent to this is whether or not your support structure can handle the weight. As long as the supports for the netting are strongly secured, the netting will hold and the plant will be more than strong enough to handle its own weight. If you grow paranoid, you can simply support the plant with additional homemade systems.

How To Grow a Container Garden

An almost limitless resource of used furniture exists just waiting to transform your home into a dream interior at a fraction of the cost of new furniture. Of course antiques and collectables make this choice of furnishing expensive so how do you find the sort of furniture that you can afford?

Fortunately because of the proliferation of old furniture, there are plenty of sources to check out and not just online either. You might even find an antique for a bargain at the same time.

Auction houses

Auctions can be a great place to find bargains. It’s important to attend the viewing day which is usually a couple of days before the auction. Make sure that you decide in advance what you are going to spend on your desired piece and STICK to it! Find out where your local auction house is by looking in the local press, the phone book or searching online. make sure you can collect your purchase within the allotted time. You will need a truck especially if you’ve splashed out on a complete set of bedroom furniture!

House Clearance

Auctioneers also run house clearance sales. Again look online for these companies and join the mailing list. You will be bidding against professionals who are looking for bargains but don’t be put off by this, you may be willing to pay more than they are as you are not looking for a profit.

Garage Sales and Garbage Skips

The easiest place to find cheap and free used furniture. Don’t be afraid to barter. Ultimately, garage sales are designed to get rid of unwanted stuff. They’ll be grateful that you are taking it away for them! Make sure you get the owner’s permission to look through their skip if you decide to try this idea.

Although Ebay is a great place to find all sorts of used furniture and unwanted items but it’s actually quite a lot of fun acquiring your heirlooms of the future offline. Each piece will have a unique story of its own to tell.

How to Make Used Furniture Look Awesome

Start by cutting off the bottom of a recycled soda bottle or recycled half gallon plastic milk jug to make it into a funnel. As you water your garden place this funnel right at the base of the plant, pushing it down below the surface if possible, so that when you water, all the water goes directly to the roots of the plant. You’ll be saving water and BONUS, you’re not watering the weeds.

Then I remembered that I had some chalkboard paint leftover from a home office project, which I then used to paint the other side of the cookie tray. I’ve since discovered that there is also a chalkboard contact paper that you can use if you don’t want to bother with painting on the chalkboard surface. Now I had a tray that the kids could use with dry erase markers on one side and chalk on the other side, and of course the tray itself works great to take along in the car, on the plane, in hotel rooms for childrens craft kits, craft projects, magnetic games, etc.

Simple Gift Wrap

• newspaper
• comics
• magazine pages
• wallpaper sample pages
• leftover wallpaper
• contact paper
• colored saran wrap
• tissue paper (I have tons of white tissue paper that can be layered for a luxurious looking gift wrap.)
• pretty shopping bags (use stickers or glue on pictures to cover up any areas you don’t want visible)
• trash bag – tie with gorgeous bow, decorate with stickers or glued on pictures from magazines or copies of family photos
• paper bags – use shipping tape or hot glue to secure
• fabric remnants
• linens with stains or holes – cut away the stain or hole or cover with an iron-on applique made from another piece of linen or fabric

Ribbon

No need to stop at gift wrap for creative gift wrapping ideas. Ribbon deserves it’s place in your green wrapping party.

Embroidery Floss

If you’re like me you have hanks of embroidery floss left over from projects completed or abandoned long ago? Well dust them off  for an easy and elegant way to wrap your gifts. Use generous strands of floss to wrap small gifts & tie into a bow on top or wrap the gift several times with different colored strands and leave the ends hanging free.

Or braid the embroidery floss to use as ribbon to wrap gifts.

You can even use the floss to make tassels for gift toppers.

Fabric Scraps

Fold scraps of fabric into ½ to l-inch wide strips. Use in place of ribbon when wrapping a gift. A bow can be made out of these strips also.

Small scraps can be sewn, glued or ironed together with iron-on webbing to make strips long enough to be used as a ribbon for a package. Frayed edges left showing make the gift look especially “country”.

Other Ribbon Ideas

• hairbands, scrunchies, pony tail holders work great for small gifts
• twine or string
• a pine garland works well for larger gifts
• string of lights which no longer work
• colored wire
• belt- the buckle becomes the gift topper
• necklace or bracelet which you no longer want
• clear or colored saran wrap twisted into width of ribbon you desire
• buttons – string together with elastic thread, fishing line or dental floss
• feathers, glued around the circumference of the gift

Bow or Gift Topper

• silk flowers – great way to use a tired bouquet or single flowers that have fallen off
• dried flowers
• pretty leaves
• sand dollars
• Christmas ornament
• belt buckle from belt you no longer use
• keys
• jewelry or hair accessories you no longer use
• feather – use one or a group of them
• sea shells
• buttons (glue on or string together and bundle on top)
• small toy

Not So Simple But Still Easy Gift Wrap Ideas

With a little more effort you can come up with some fantastic creative gift wrapping.

Photo Wrap

Enlarge a favorite photo on a copy machine and use the resulting page to wrap a small gift. For a larger gift tape together several photo copied pages arranged so that the ribbon covers the seams.

Fabric Gift Wrap

Cut fabric to the appropriate size to wrap your gift. Leave the edges of the fabric raw, trim with pinking shears or fringe them.

Wrap fabric around gift in the same manner as you would if you were using wrapping paper. Secure with diaper pins, small gold safety pins, stitch with needle & thread, secure with double stick tape or use the ribbon you wrap around the package to secure the fabric.

Or set the gift inside the fabric piece. Gather the fabric up around the gift & secure the gather with any of the items listed under CARDBOARD TUBES.

Wax Paper Wrap

Waxed paper and leftover craft supplies can be combined for a truly unique gift wrap. Cover your ironing board with a sheet of newspaper or a large piece of cloth. Lay a sheet of waxed paper flat on top of the paper or cloth. Place real or silk flower petals, dried leaves, confetti, small photos, anything that is relatively flat on top of the waxed paper. Place another piece of waxed paper on top of your arrangement. Place a second sheet of newspaper or cloth on top of the waxed paper and run a hot iron over the whole thing. The heat will seal the edges together and when it’s cool you can wrap your gift.

Extras

Spray wrapped gift lightly with glue and sprinkle with glitter or confetti. You can even make your own confetti using scrap paper, magazine pages or comic pages.

Cut out front of used greeting card and glue to top and/or sides of wrapped gift.

Glue cards from deck of cards or game cards that are no longer useable to top and/or sides of wrapped gift.

Protect your rubber gloves from being split by sharp fingernails by pushing a piece of cotton into the tip of each finger. Toss the cotton when it gets wet.

Spread the foil your recycling one last time, over the top of the muffin pan. Cut an X in the foil over the center o each muffin cup. Push the foil into the cup and pop in your muffin liners. When it’s time for cleanup you can just toss out the foil and stick your pan back in the cupboard.

Note: because this easy Christmas ornament uses a glass light bulb please do not leave your child unsupervised while working on this project.

Materials:

• burned out incandescent light bulb
• dishwashing liquid cap
• water or soda bottle plastic cap
• decoupage items such as photos, magazine pictures, etc.
• ribbon and decorative trim scraps
• gold, silver or copper wire
• heavy duty crafters or jewelry glue
• metallic paint pen or metallic paint to match your wire
• acrylic enamel paint
• crackle medium (optional)
• clear shellac or varnich
• hot glue
• old color beads of choice (1 for the bottom of ornament and 1 flat bead for the top center)
• rubbing Alcohol or white Vinegar

Wipe the light bulb with a little rubbing alcohol or white vinegar and a piece of cotton from a vitamin or med bottle or a soft cloth. Allow to dry.

Wash bottle caps with hot soapy water and allow to dry.

Using a small nail, poke a small hole in the center of the soda cap. Bend wire into a U-shape and thread both ends through the hole in the cap. Secure the wire ends on the inside by twisting together. Now you have a hanger for your ornament.

Using heavy duty craft or jewelry glue, glue the soda cap to the socket of the light bulb and the dishwashing liquid cap to the bottom center of the bottle cap. Allow the glue to dry.

Paint the glass portion of the light bulb with enamel paint. Paint the socket section, the bottle cap and dishwashing liquid cap with a metallic paint. Allow paint to dry and apply additional coats if needed.

Glue your decoupage items to the painted light bulb.

Follow the manufacturers instructions to apply a crackle finish. When crackle finish is done apply a small amount of an antiquing medium such as burnt umber paint. Allow this to dry and then apply 2 to 3 coats clear shellac or varnish. Do not apply clear protectant to the metallic painted areas, as the varnish will dull the metallic paint.

Use hot glue to apply small pieces of decorative trim to hide the socket area and disguise the dish-washing cap.

Glue a bead to the bottom center of the ornament.

Note: you can leave the dish-washing liquid cap either open or closed. If you decide to leave it open, place a dot of glue inside the cap to keep it from closing.

You can shred any type of paper if you’re going to use it for shipping. If you’re going to use it to wrap a gift then I would suggest choosing your paper with the end product in mind. Even then, you’d be surprised what types of things can be shredded to make beautiful shredded “tissue”:

• odd pieces of gift wrap that are left over after wrapping a gift
• used wrapping paper that is not fit to reuse to wrap another gift
• comics
• newspaper
• magazine pages
• tissue paper that is not fit to reuse for gifts