Reusable Tissue Box Modification

This little project came about because I typically cannot stand how tacky most tissue boxes are... So when I find a good one I stock up, but sadly these designs tend to come and go with the seasons. What I decided to do was make my favourites reusable by adding a button and a small elastic.

It is quick and easy to do, all of the steps can be found below! Enjoy!

Simple Library

I had this odd little corner that wouldn't work for the TV since it is so bright, too far from the tv to put the couch over there... so I turned this little nook into the Library.

The shelves were found at Canadian Tire, I'm not so sure that they still carry them, but at the time they were only $100 a piece and have a great look fitting the Mid Century Modern look I'm using...

The Ribba picture frames from Ikea are a great way to showcase some records I've had for a few decades. I pulled the record out just slightly so it was apparent that it wasn't just a reprint of the cover but actually showing the original record.

The Mushroom Lamp was given to me by my mum and is an vintage piece.

The Union Jack chest was a Winner's find and the little robot was something my Brother and I found while in London... so I figured where else should the lil guy live but the Blanket and Scarf chest with his flag from home...

The last really is the White SCOOP Stool from Structube. Regularly $99, but I got it as a floor model with minor bumps and bruises for $40!

Overall a pretty good rate to give my self a rather rad looking Mod Library.

Total Project: $500 +tx

Plus the random books and nick-knacks collected over the years like the small statue, diffuser vase and the Scorpion!

Bathroom Reno - DIY

I moved into my little townhouse just over a year ago. The cabinets and counter tops were fairly evidently that which were put in when these houses were built in the 70's. One of my 1st DIY projects was to give my bathroom a bit of a facelift.

The Bathroom had the most terrible tiles stuck down, some aluminum sliding door cabinet (you know the kind that will always leave a seam down the centre of your face?) the big round bulb lights put on a box to be able to stick out over the wall cabinet. All set over a built in vanity that ate up most of my floor space.

The 1st order of business was turning off the water and taking out that vanity. I had a plumber friend cut off the water valves and cap them while I did the rest of the work. Out came a big hammer and pow, no more vanity. And after a bit of scraping with a spade the tiles were all taken up too.

I had a few issues to fix while I was in there. Turns out our contractors thought it was a good idea not to connect the wall to the floor in a bathroom. Amazed that we've never had a flooding issue yet that destroyed the ceiling in my living room below, I used a spray foal insulation to fill the gaps before replacing the baseboards. Secondly the plywood for the floor was pretty spongy near the toilet so that plywood was replaced too.

After replacing the floor painting the walls and putting down new rounded edge vinyl tiles, grouting and all that good stuff, it was time to install the baseboards and replace the vanity and toilet.

The Vanity was a Rona Truckload Sale for only $119. Two Nackten bathroom mats from Ikea, at $4 each. Wall shelf from Ikea $29. Savern Mirror Ikea $39. Three blub Vanity light from Multi Luminaire $150. 24" x 12" Groutable Vinyl tiles Home Depot $59/box.

Total Project: $525 incl tax.

Counter top water dispenser

I recently set up a basic apartment in my basement for short term stay tenants or perhaps longer visitors... I'll do a full blog on the basement when its closer to done, but in the mean time I found a fab way to have water down in the apartment with out needing a huge machine standing on the floor.

It started off with a quick stop in at Value Village this morning (this seriously sounds like many of my other projects) where I came across this fantastic 3 litre water dispenser. I really liked the simple clean design and the sturdy design of the spout for for $3.99 I figured what am I going to lose?

After a good wash down and test I was fortunately correct that the tap has no leaks! and it cleaned up like new it must have barely been used.

Next up was to find a base... Due to the positioning of the tap there is no way anyone can get a glass under there with out keeping it at the edge of the counter which really didn't sit well with me.

My vision was to find a nice squat ceramic flower pot in a turquoise colour to match what I have going on in the basement. Sure enough after a bit of wandering around HomeSense I found exactly what I was looking for!

Lucky for me, the size was a perfect fit... (since I forgot to measure the water dispenser before leaving the house) And the final product is a pretty slick looking $15 counter top water dispenser!

Chunky Crochet Throw Blanket

Last week Michael's had my attention with a yarn sale with some of the chunkiest softest yarn on sale for more than 50% off...

I have been meaning to make my self a throw blanket for quite some time, and at $3 a ball of yarn I could hardly say no... The blanket was made with a 9.00mm hook using 12 balls of "Charisma" by Loops & Threads yarn, and was split to 3 balls of Taupe and 9 Off White. Certainly use whatever colour combination you wish!

The final product lays 66" long and 53 inches wide, however at this length the yarn would make it just under 4 rows, my suggestion would be to shorten it by one chevron (or 10 inches) and this will allow for a bit less waste and could bring your waste down a fair bit.

Counting in multiples of 20 count out your 1st row - single chain up to approximately 56"

Add two at the end of your 1st row, and double chain starting in the second last hole for a count of 9. In the 10th hole double chain three times.

Continue in the next hole, and double chain for 7 more. In the 19th hole and 21st hole do the 1st loop of a double chain and then pull through all three to reduce holes 9-11 to one loop for the 2nd row.

This is a quick video on the Chevron stitch I found on youtube. In his video you will see how he does the reduction taking two double crochet and bringing them together. I wanted a more angular finish, so you may note the difference is that I skip a hole in between.

And for an amazing set of written and photo instructions check out this blogger from Attic 24 and her "neat ripple pattern" for crochet.

Lots of new projects posting soon!

Well it looks as though I spent more time making things than posting at the end of 2011...

I have several exciting posts to come, including 2 new blankets I have started, a collection of images from my Bathroom Reno last year, a silly project for a Tissue Box and LOTS of fab finds for yarn so I expect to have many many new pictures of crochet soon to come.

In the mean time, check out some tasty cupcakes I made for my Grandmother's 95th Birthday!

Image #1 are chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Icing and a Mini Peanut Butter Cup on top! The second image is a Buttery Cake with a Milk Chocolate Icing, topped with blue edible confetti!

The Cupcake wrappers I must say are the MOST amazing idea ever. Not only do the cakes look adorable, but they make a great border to help keep the decoration safe! Wrap the whole tray in tinfoil and off you go! They arrived after the 1 hour drive in perfect shape :)

Ultimate Holiday Makeup Stash

I always love this time of year, its not the holiday music, or the pretty decorations... those are just distractions from the real opportunity that only comes around once a year... and if you're not careful you'll miss it.

'Holiday makeup gift set' time is here again!

For probably the deepest discounts you will see all year from the biggest brands in the business, let me walk you through some of the best buys you can find this holiday season.

Eyeshadow:

Stila Cosmetics really does it again with this beautiful 22 shade compact or only $24 (in Canada). For the same price you get approximately 6 times the volume of eyeshadow as purchasing one of their

famed single compacts!

A great range in shadow and the same quality they are famous for in a beautiful palette.

Eyeliner:

Likely the best bargain in eyeliner you are going to find this season, 5 great shades of eyeliner for $24 (in Canada) in Smashbox's great stay put formula. These pencil's mean business... smooth and blendable on the skin, yet your liner is steadfast all day long, no smudging and dark circles under the eye by lunchtime.

Five beautiful shades that includes really wearable shades of green and blue make this kit a real treat. For the price of buying only one eyeliner, you get 5 half sized pencils to choose from to finish off your holiday look, or to brighten up your makeup once the drab darker days are upon us.

Lipgloss:

Another outstanding deal would have to be Stila Cosmetics' Holiday Lipgloss collection. 8 half tubes of gloss for just over the price of purchasing one! At only $33 (in Canada) for the set makeup lovers everywhere can get a great assortment of some of Stila's most popular shades plus a few special edition shades just for the holidays!

I am personally pleased that this season includes two more caramel/mocha type shades, past seasons were very pink and rose this will have a wider appeal over all.

Brushes:

Always a great source for brushes all year round, M.A.C. Cosmetics their “Make It Perfect” brush sets available for only $49.50 for this adorable 5 piece set. An amazing value considering the foundation brush alone sells for $36.

This Icy kit comes with a large dome blush, Foundation Brush, large fluff, crease brush and an angled liner. No wasted brushes here, a fantastic value for the price!

There are two other variations on this set, an all white haired set and their mineralized collection.

Hands down the best $150 (incl tx) you could possibly spend on makeup this holiday season! All of the above comes to a whopping $500 (incl tax) at any other time of year, and quite frankly you'd only get half the amount of variety of shades if you had to buy full size!

______________

For the Stila and Smashbox products these can be found at any Murale location and many Shoppers Boutique locations, The M.A.C. brush sets available at any M.A.C. store or select Bay locations.

Images care of stila.com, maccosmetics.com and smashbox.com