DIY: Plastic Bag Holder

I try to carry reusable bags when I remember, but, there are times when I forget. Or when my hubby has to pick up some things on his way home from work. So we have a lot of plastic bags around our house. I had been keeping them in a bag in the kitchen but I was having to take all the bags out just to get one. While we were at the grocery store the other day I spotted some plastic bag holders and figured I could just make my own! This is another project that I just used fabric scraps that I had in my stash.

 To start I took two pieces of fabric 8 inches wide and 20 inches long and sewed them right sides together. On one side I left some room at the top so I could create a space to hang it from.

Then I hemmed the edges of those pieces.

Next I stitched a portion of the top closed.

After that I just made an elastic casing, on each side, and added 8 inch elastic pieces. That's it, easy peasy, this whole project took me maybe 10 minutes to complete and now the plastic bags in my kitchen are organized! 

 

I'm linking up at:

DIY: Book Sling

 

I saw this when I was looking around on Pinterest and just knew I had to make it. All the tutorials I saw for this required that the sling be bolted to the wall. Like this one I found at Penny Carnival, which is what I based my sling portion off of.  But we rent and can't really do much to change how our place looks. So I figured out a way to put the sling up, without messing up the walls. 

To start you need to gather your supplies. For the sling you need fabric, wooden dowels, thread, and pins. For mounting it to the wall you need two double rod brackets, some sort of wall safe adhesive, and wood to act as a buffer. I used Oval Rossette fittings. 

For the sling portion I just took some fabric sewed it up right sides together, snipped the corners (to reduce bulk), turned it right side out, and top stitched the opening closed. here are some pictures to help you see what I did. 

Then once that was all sewn up I used the dowels to measure out the casing.

After I finished up the sling I started on the mounting. I took my wood piece and my rod brackets (that I got at walmart for $.97!) and put them together. If you get a different kind of bracket just attach it to the wood as you would to the wall.

Then I took my UGlu (that I won in a giveaway! Yay!) and attached it to the back of the wood. You can use any kind of wall safe adhesive just make sure that it will hold the weight of the books.

 Next I measured the space where I wanted to put the sling and "glued" the wood with the brackets to the wall. I ended up with a great storage solution and a cute addition to my girls' play space! 

What do you think would you make this? 

I'm linking up at:

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DIY: Fabric Refresher

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I don't know about you, but around here I'm constantly needing a to refresh something. Whether it's our couch, carpet, or curtains. With two kids things get messy and start to not smell so fresh. It's normal in our house to keep a bottle of fabric refresher spray on hand. But to be honest I don't like the smell of them. Or spending the money on them. So I decided to create my own! 

It was really easy to make and it's safe on pretty much any fabric (do a fabric check before hand just to be sure).  All you need is a spray bottle, baking soda, and your favorite fabric softener. 

First I put about two tablespoons of baking soda in a water bottle.

Then I added 12oz of fabric softener.

Lastly I added warm water to the mix and shook it up. 

That's it! It couldn't any easier. The baking soda absorbs any odors and the fabric softener leaves a nice fresh smell. I love using this stuff and the scent lasts longer than most commercial fabric refresher sprays. This has become my secret cleaning weapon. After I finish cleaning my living room I give my couch and curtains a quick spritz and the house smells great!

Is this something you would try?

I'm linking up at:

Men's Dress Shirt Refashion

My husband had this lavender dress shirt he wasn't wearing and our newly painted living room needed some color. So I figured a refashion was in order :o)

I started by cutting the top and bottom off of the shirt. If you want a taller pillow you could cut it closer under the arms. But that's not the look I was going for.

Then I just  turned the shirt inside out and sewed up the sides, leaving an opening so I could stuff it. I also sewed the button portion closed. While the shirt is inside out you'll be able to see where the two sides meet. You don't want the seam to show, you just want it to look like a buttoned up shirt.

Next I turned it right side out, stuffed it, and sewed the opening shut. I used filling from an old pillow to stuff it. So I had to really fluff it once it was all stuffed, because it was really lumpy. If you buy stuffing for it then you'll get a much smother look.

This is what I ended up with. 

You can cut the shirt to be any size pillow you want, I just personally like the jelly roll look. 

Small Space Solutions part 1

We have a really small apartment. Like really small. My sewing and crafting has taken over our dinner table and I literally have nowhere to keep my things. So my very smart hubby came up with the idea of creating me a sewing space. We brain stormed on it and found some very lovely desks online. One of my favorites was this one:

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But they were rather expensive so we're making a similar one that will fit our space, and our budget! Yay for me! So far we've gone from this:

To this.........

That's just primer

I don't know what color I'm going to paint it yet and we still have soooo much to do. But I think it's coming along nicely!

Best Homemade Pizza Ever!

I'm not sure where I got this pizza recipe from but I know that it is our go to recipe. I've tried tons and tons of pizza crust recipes and the most common problem I've run into is that the outside cooks up too quickly and the inside is too runny! But this recipe is perfect! 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 packet of yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons oil

First I heat my oven to 400 degrees. Next I put all the dry ingredients into a bowl, then I make a well and add the yeast. I pour oil on the outsides of the flour and pour half of the water directly over the yeast. 

I mix everything together with a fork and then add the rest of the water. After most of the flour is wet I begin using my hand. 

I start by punching the flour down, then I use my hand to gather the flour and punch it down again. I repeat this process until the flour forms a ball. 

Then I pour a little oil on my hands and rub down my pizza pan, my rolling pin, and the dough. I roll out my dough using my pin and the heel of my hand.

(If anyone knows how to get this pan back to it's original color please let me know!)

Once the dough is rolled out I set it to the side and cook up my toppings. For this pizza I used veggie sausage and peppers.

(Ignore the hole in the package, I started to open it before I took the picture lol)

I add the sauce and cheese. Then the toppings and some more cheese. Then I bake for 20 minutes.

And voila!

For my little munchkin with food allergies I just make her a personal pizza.