DIY
Household Cleaning Hints,
Craft Ideas
and Cooking!

CRAFTS


Fill decorative planters with lush green moss and polished river rocks or stones. For a finishing touch anchor pillar candles or small votives inside.

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Garden Glove Planter
In a bowl, mix Quikrete with water, and fill a leather garden glove halfway with the mixture. Then use a dowel to push it into the fingers. Position hand and fingers so glove will stand on its own and form in an appealing way. Allow Quikrete to dry. Line the top half of the glove with a piece of plastic, and add a plant or flowers.

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WOW Wastebaskets
Lend a decorative touch to any room with a custom-tailored wastebasket. Project Level: Intermediate Think of a wastebasket as punctuation at the end of a sentence. It can punch up a room with a shout of style, or it can express a quiet statement. Add a creative touch to your room's decor with a clever custom wastebasket. They also make great holiday gifts. The wastebasket can be covered in toile wallpaper to add a bit of elegance to a guest bath.

Waxed Paper Leaf Collage

Materials:
Wax Paper
Leaves (either fresh or dry)
Iron
Newspaper
Scissors

Process:
1. Spread newspaper over a flat surface.
2. Place a square piece of waxed paper on the newspaper.
3. Arrange leaves on the waxed paper. (Make sure that none of the leaves touch the edge of the waxed paper.)
4. Place another piece of waxed paper on top of the leaves.
5. Cover this with another layer of newspaper.
6. Press waxed paper leaf collage with a warm iron. (USE CAUTION!)
7. Remove newspaper.
8. Trim off the rough edges of waxed paper with scissors.
9. Place collage in a window and watch the light shine through the beautiful leaves.

Variations:
1. Add confetti, lace, glitter, ribbon or bits of colored paper.
2. Make a leaf banner with 2 very long pieces of waxed paper.

Button Photo Frames

Materials Needed:
Inexpensive wood Frame, Paint, Buttons, Glue

Instructions:
Buy some inexpensive wooden frames and remove the glass. Let children paint the frame. After the paint dries, glue buttons around the edge of the frame. Insert a school photo and you have a great gift for the Grandparents or other family members.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
These are neat and easy to make for the Christmas season.

Items NEEDED:
Plastic disposable short clear drinking cups.

NOTE; (Use the Hard cups
DO NOT use the softer colorful cups
or any styrofoam cups)!

Sewing thread
Sewing Needle, large size is best
Glitter in various colors
Optional - craft paint to personalize ornaments
and Ribbon, narrow sized.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
USE CAUTION!
Place cups upright on a baking sheet. Sprinkle some glitter inside the cups. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes but watch the cups so they don't melt too much. They only need to melt just enough so that they start to fold in or collaspe. Remove and let cool. Take a threaded needle and burn the end of the needle to heat it enough to poke a hole into the top end of each ornament. TIE off a large loop in the thread OR another option is to string a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie it off. This ribbon will be used to hang the ornament on the Christmas tree. There's various ways to personalize these plastic ornaments and they will last for years.

~NOTE~
These ideas are for ADULTS ONLY.
Not recommended for children to try them without adult supervision.

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COOKING IDEAS

PEANUT BUTTER SMORES in a Jar

Layer in glass jar:
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 sleeve of chocolate grahams
or regular grahams; reduced to
crumbs(you choose)

Create a Tag.
Instruction TAG should read:
'Empty Contents of jar into a bowl. Melt 1/2 cup butter, add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients, mixing well. Pat into a greased 9" spuare pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 9 to 12 bars.'

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How to Clean WINDOW PANES
Wipe the glass with a white paper
(unused) coffee filter to clean the
window and get a Streak Free shine.

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Midi compliments of Painted Pony