2011 Goals: Share More/Organize More - Repurposing Vintage Pillowcase Fabric To Cover Bulletin Board With Tutorial!

As you know, I have set goals for 2011 to Organize More and I have started with my "studioffice."  You can read about that ongoing adventure HERE.  Earlier this week, I gathered an old bulletin board, some thrift store/Habitat ReStore items, and a can of ivory spray paint:

 

Bulletin Board - Already had

Clock - Paid $2

Tissue Box Cover - Paid $1

Lamp - Paid $5

Yummy Vintage Pillowcases - $1 each

 Here is a closeup of the pillowcases.  The pillowcase on the right has already been cut to put on the bulletin board.  I washed the pillowcases and then simply trimmed along the seams, opened it out, and ironed it.  Super easy!

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1:

Spray paint the bulletin board frame with ivory paint and allow 

to dry completely.

 Step 2:
Remove cork from frame.  I had the hubby pull the frame apart at the
corner and we worked the cork out of the frame.

Step 3:
Apply spray adhesive (I used the kind for quilt basting that
I already had on hand) to the cork and smooth the fabric
over the adhesive, wrapping around the sides to the back.

Step 4:
Return cork to frame and secure.

Step 5:
Hang and enjoy!

The pillowcase that I used was very, very old.  There were a few "rust" stains on it and there is a permanent crease in the fabric that would not iron out.  I will be covering the flaws when I hang items on it anyway, so why not let this gorgeous piece of vintage goodness breathe new life into my "studioffice?"

I will be sharing the other finished items soon, so be looking for those!  I can't WAIT to share the lamp!!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

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LINKING TO THESE PARTIES:

   

   

(2011 Goals - Organize More) China Cabinet Re-Do Progress!

You may remember the china cabinet I found on Craigs List a couple of weeks ago....

Mini-me and I spent a weekend sanding, priming, and painting and we now have this (cell phone pic, sorry!):

We still have to do touchup painting on some spots we missed, finish painting the doors (not pictured above), scrape that yucky gold trim off the glass panels, and install the shelves. 

The problem with paining in a "studioffice" is that you can't paint while you are "on the job" because of the fumes.  Hoping to get this beauty completed this coming weekend for the final reveal and detailed instructions.  I can't WAIT to neatly store boxes and boxes of crafting goodies in here!

I am also planning a super fun and EASY card class. 
Look for details soon!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

Click HERE to place your online order 24/7!

"Like" me on Facebook by clicking HERE.  Exclusive offers!
Visit My Demo Service Site - I Blog For Demos!

(2011 Goals - Organize More) My Weekend Project - China Cabinet Re-Do!

I found this china cabinet on Craigs List for $50 this week!  The hubby is on his way to pick it up now.  I have been wanting to re-do a china cabinet for my creative supplies for a while and when this one popped up, I knew it was the one!

I was inspired by a craft hutch I had seen at Lolly Jane Boutique:

I had posted earlier about my 2011 Goal to Organize More, starting with my "studioffice."

My space is actually intended to be a dining room, so it has no storage, just walls and windows (and a floor filled with boxes of stuff with no place to call home).  I will likely need another cabinet or chiffarobe (or 2) before I am completely finished with organization of this space, but I am excited about this jump start!

Hopefully my furniture refinishing debut will be successful and the biggest problem I will have will be deciding .... distress or don't distress?  I will share with you the final results next week.  I found a great tutorial online for refinishing dining room furniture and I have a pint-sized helper ready to assist.

Wish me luck! 

Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

Click HERE to place your online order 24/7!

"Like" me on Facebook by clicking HERE.  Exclusive offers!
Visit My Demo Service Site - I Blog For Demos!

2011 Goals - Spend Less - Stampin' Up!® Meets Frugal Coupon Princess' Binder!

When my friend, Vicki, posted about her new coupon binder, I had to share!!  Not only are her coupons organized for money-saving shopping trips, Stampin' Up!® played a part!  You can read Vicki's post HERE for full details!

Vicki used the Round Tab Punch to create subcategories for better organization.

Round Tab Punch

Item 119867

Punches are a quick and easy way to add interest, dimension, and color to your cards, tags, and scrapbook pages (or tabs to your coupon binder!!!). You can glue punched shapes directly onto your projects or layer a sheet of card stock that has been punched over a coordinating card stock for a reverse effect.

■ New, sleeker body style
■ Larger surface area offers precise cutting and leverage
■ Locks to store

Vicki, good luck with your couponing!  Thanks for the "shout out" and for inspiring yet another unique way to use Stampin' Up!® punches!

If you would like to order the Round Tab Punch, visit my website HERE to order 24/7!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

Click HERE to place your online order 24/7!

"Like" me on Facebook by clicking HERE.  Exclusive offers!
Visit My Demo Service Site - I Blog For Demos!

2011 Goals - Share More/Spend Less: Share More Monday - Frugal Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

This week's Monday Share is
Frugal Homemade Dishwasher Detergent!

Ingredients Needed

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda
20 packs of lemonaid Kool-Aid
1/2 cup kosher salt
Knee-high panty hose
Rice

Instructions

Fill a container (with tight-fitting lid) with all ingredients. 

Add 1 cup of Borax:

Add 1 cup of Washing Soda

Add 20 packets of Lemonaid Kool-Aid

Add 1/2 Cup of Kosher Salt

Close lid and shake to mix all ingredients well. 

Fill the "toe" of a knee-high pantyhose with

a handful of rice and tie tightly.

Add this to the mixture to prevent clumping.

Now you are ready to wash your dishes!

Use 1 tablespoon per load by adding to detergent

reservoir on your dishwasher.

Fill rinse agent dispenser with white vinegar

to prevent spots.

Simple, easy, frugal, and no harmful chemicals!!

For more frugal homemade cleaning recipes, visit HERE and HERE!

Come back next Monday to learn about amazing nontoxic

cleaning for surfaces using just tiny drops of solution

and plain water.  A little goes a LONG way with

incredible cleaning power and NO CHEMICALS!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

Click HERE to place your online order 24/7!

"Like" me on Facebook by clicking HERE.  Exclusive offers!
Visit My Demo Service Site - I Blog For Demos!

2011 Goals - Share More/Spend Less: Share More Monday - Frugal Homemade Fabric Softener

In an effort to focus on spending less as 1 of my goals for 2011,
I began researching homemade laundry detergent online.
I was able to come up with a recipe that works wonderfully for me
and I shared it last Monday HERE. 

This week's Monday Share is
Frugal Homemade Fabric Softener!
I am sharing my recipe with you today in an
effort to show you how to remove dangerous chemicals
and toxins from your clothing (it touches you all day folks!)
and also to save money by going back to basics. 
Here is ALL that you need:

Ingredients:

Vinegar

Aluminum Foil

Lingerie Bag

Water (optional)

Directions:

STEP 1 - Fabric Softener in the Washer:

Take your vinegar and (instead of store-bought fabric softener)

pour it into your fabric softener dispenser or "Downy ball".  

Do your laundry as normal! 

NOTE:  I do not like the smell of vinegar at all, so I have been cutting

the vinegar 50/50 with 1 part vinegar and 1 part water and using it

instead of the plain vinegar.  It works just as well as

full strength without the smell during the wash cycle. 

Vinegar also doubles as a natural deodorizer.... and it is CHEAP!!

If you have a house full of sweaty "man stink" clothes during

the heat of a Georgia summer, vinegar is the perfect solution to

skunky socks and smelly shirts... TRUST ME - It works!! 

STEP 2 - Aluminum Foil in the Dryer:

Yep, you read that right!  Aluminum foil!

Simply take a few pieces of aluminum foil and wad them up. 

I cut each of mine to about the length of a cookie sheet.

Take your aluminum foil "balls" and put them into a zippered lingerie bag.

Toss it in the dryer with your clothes and forget about it!

That's it... and it WORKS!!

Now how much simpler could fabric softening be?? 

No fuss.  No muss.  No static!

Check Back Next Monday for

Homemade Frugal Dishwasher Detergent!

I will be doing a post on dishwasher detergent

next Monday, so be sure to check back! 

You will LOVE how simple it is

and it costs LITERALLY pennies per load! 

I hope you have enjoyed learning about homemade fabric softener!

Comments make me smile!
I would love to hear your thoughts! 
Leave me a Comment below!
Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

Click HERE to place your online order 24/7!

"Like" me on Facebook by clicking HERE.  Exclusive offers!
Visit My Demonstrator Service Site - I Blog For Demos!

2011 Goals - Share More/Spend Less: Share More Monday - Homemade Laundry Detergent

In an effort to focus on spending less as 1 of my goals for 2011, I began researching homemade laundry detergent online.  I found recipes for liquid detergent, as well as powder detergent.  I will be honest, I don't like powder detergent (at least the store-bought kind!).  I did not, however, have any desire to make up a batch of liquid detergent in a huge bucket to sit in my laundry room.  I am trying to declutter and adding anything else to my laundry room would be a step in the wrong direction. 

After lots of research, I formulated my own recipe for powdered laundry detergent that is based on all of the research I had done online.  I am sharing my recipe with you today in an effort to show you how to remove dangerous chemicals and toxins from your clothing (it touches you all day folks!) and also to save money by going back to basics

This recipe is super simple and may remind you of the smell of your grandmother's laundry room!

Ingredients:

1 Box of Borax

1 Large Box of BAKING Soda

1 Large Box of Super WASHING Soda

1 Bar of Fels-Naphtha

Other Needs:

Container(s) for Finished Detergent

1 cup Measuring Cup

Bowl

Cheese Shredder

Food Processor (optional)

Directions:

STEP 1:

In your empty container, add 1 cup of Borax...

..... and 1 cup of Washing Soda.

I am making 4 batches at the same time...

STEP 2:

Next, get your bowl, cheese shredder,

and 1 bar of Fels-Naptha...

Shred the Fels-Naphta.

Don't leave this sitting around in the bowl unattended!  

My kids thought it was cheese.... just sayin!!

STEP 3:

Add 1 cup of Baking Soda to the Fels-Naptha shreds.

STEP 4:

Add the mix of Baking Soda and Fels-Naptha to a food

processor.  I use a tiny one I bought for cheap!

You can hand-stir the mixture, but I have well water

and wanted to be SURE that the soap dissolves completely.

This is what it looks like after it has been processed:

STEP 5:

Add your chopped mixture to the container of

Borax and Washing Soda from earlier.

STEP 6:

Secure the lid on your container and shake, mix,

and tumble the mixture around until it is completely

mixed up.  Again, I have made 4 batches at once.

STEP 7:

Wash until your heart is content!  The beauty of this recipe is that

it only requires 1 TABLESPOON of mix per regular load of laundry!!

If you have heavily soiled laundry or if you feel that your water is too

hard to wash with the 1 tablespoon then 2 tablespoons may be used.

FAQ #1 - How Much Does it Make/Cost?

I purchased my products at Walmart, but they can certainly be found

elsewhere, including grocery stores. 

Borax = $3.36

Washing Soda = $2.77

Baking Soda = $2.16

Fels-Naptha =$0.97

I was able to make 5 batches from the powders listed above. 

You then have to add in the cost of 1 bar of Fels-Naptha per batch. 

This means you end up spending only $2.63 per batch!!

FAQ #2 - How Much Savings?

I generally wash at least 1 load of laundry every day. 

Using the recommended 1 tablespoon

of homemade detergent recipe,

it lasts me approximately a month!

Considering I was spending $9.97 for store-bought detergent

and another $4.97 for fabric softener

every 2 to 3 weeks, it is a HUGE savings!

FAQ #5 - How Does It Smell?

It smells wonderful!  The powders themselves do not really

have a smell, but the Fels-Naptha has a pleasant, fresh

smell.  You can add essential oils to the wash water if you

prefer a different smell, but I do not see any need to do so.

FAQ #4 - What About Fabric Softener?

I will be doing a separate post on fabric softener

next Monday, so be sure to check back! 

You will LOVE how simple it is

and it costs LITERALLY pennies! 

I hope you have enjoyed learning about homemade laundry detergent!

Comments make me smile!
I would love to hear your thoughts! 
Leave me a Comment below!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Katie Burke

Stampin' Up!® Independent Demonstrator

Pine Mountain / LaGrange, Georgia

http://www.bellabdesigns.com/

Inspire. Create. Share.

Click HERE to place your online order 24/7!

"Like" me on Facebook by clicking HERE.  Exclusive offers!