Goodwill Challenge: Weird Teal Strips of Material

My blog-friend-forever, Joni, and I love a challenge. A month or so ago, we challenged ourselves to find a crafty/creative use for $5 Dime Roll Wrappers (see the project here). When I was home for the Ladies Friendship Tea a few weekends ago (read about that here and here), Joni gave me our next challenge item. She proudly handed me two rolls of some teal knit-like material that was cut into 1 inch strips. But it didn't behave like normal knit - the edges didn't roll up when stretched. She had purchased 13 rolls of this mystery material from Goodwill for $2 (making each roll cost only $0.15) I have no idea what the original use for these items were (and if someone knows, please comment below!!) But not knowing the original purpose often makes me more creative.

I begged my mom to make a Walmart run with me, in search of a large crochet hook. (I purchased 2 large hooks in two different sizes for about $3).

I had been hoping to find a funky rug for inside my front door and thought these supplies may be exactly what I needed. I found a pattern for a rug made from T-Shirt yarn here.  I used this method for joining the strips (Each roll was cut into two different strips).

It took me an episode and a half of the Waltons to use up my two rolls...and it was no bigger than a large potholder.

So, I promptly contacted my supplier (AKA, Joni) asking if I might have 4 more rolls. The material crocheted rather easily with the large hook. I must admit, it is a bit of an arm workout to wrestle that rug around while you are crocheting.

Luckily, my supplier let me have the requested materials. I actually repeated a few of the rows, making my rug larger than the original pattern.

I was more than pleased with the result. My front door is high enough off the ground that it doesn't even touch the thick rug when it swings open. And it created the perfect pop of color I was hoping for in my foyer area. I have a few more pops of color in store for this little landing in our house.

And, not counting the purchase of the crochet hook, this rug only cost $.90. I will definitely try to make my own T-shirt yarn now that I know how versatile the material can me.

After completing my project, I still had half a roll of the mystery material.

So, I gathered a few more supplies. Namely, a pair of $2 brown flip-flops from Walmart and a pair of scissors.

Using regular scissors, I cut the normal rubber straps off the sandals.

This left three holes for me to work with.

My neighbor/BFF and I then got creative. I simply tied strips of the material in knots, creating different sandal patterns.

I had originally made them to look like regular flip-flops, but settled on the more creative-around the toe look. Ashlee even had the bright idea to braid the strips to make cute straps.

I decided to make my sandals where I could easily wear them two ways. Don't freak out - I promise to wear both feet looking the same, but decided it was easier to take a picture of one foot each way.

By simply removing two knots, I can completely change the look of these comfy shoes.

I wouldn't run a marathon in them or anything, but they stayed on just like any other shoe while I grocery shopped yesterday. I wore them without the extra ties.

So, I guess I interpreted this mystery material as needing to be around the feet. I love my new crocheted rug and my two-way sandals.

I have a tad bit of the mystery material left - maybe I can fashion one more project from it.

I can't wait to check out what Joni made here. 

I'm linking this project

Goodwill Challenge: Wallpaper

This week, (as mentioned here), I challenged myself to find some creative and useful ideas for some thrift store wallpaper that I had on hand.

With the striped paper, I decided to do something that at first, seemed a little difficult. I gathered my supplies - large canvas (see other projects I have made with these canvases here), scissors, homemade Modge Podge (see the recipe here), and wallpaper.

Since chevron is all the rage right now, I decided that these stripes would be the perfect candidates for a creative chevron project. I folded the paper in a 45 degree angle.  You will need to do some strips folded up and some down. Otherwise, all your stripes will be going the same direction instead of forming right angles. I know this may seem like muddled instructions, but once you start cutting and making the stripes into chevron patterns, you'll understand what I mean.

Using my homemade Modge Podge, I began gluing the paper strips down to my canvas.

It was quite the puzzle to try to match everything up perfectly.

In the middle of my canvases, a few of my stripes went a little wonky. But since I knew that I would be covering the center of the canvas with something else, I didn't let it stress me out.

I had purchased a map from Amazon about a year ago, hoping to use it to creatively track our travels. I simply Modge Podged the map to the center of the canvas and let it dry. 

I was very pleased with my finished product. Stay tuned to see how we track our travels on this map.

I also used some wallpaper in some other ways this week. Since it was a "challenge" I decided that one project wasn't good enough. I had purchased these adorable little travel coffee mugs from the dollar tree.  They were specifically for children to color the inside label. I simply replaced the label with some pretty wallpaper.

I also used some of the paper to wrap a birthday present.

For $1 per roll, this is definitely cheaper than regular wrapping paper.

I had another friend (who actually had the same paper that is picture above) share with me how she's used her wallpaper.

She filled a photo frame with it, using the frame to display some wedding mementos.  The wallpaper jazzed up some college storage drawers, hiding the drawer's contents. And it looks beautiful to fills some photo coasters with little pieces of the wallpaper.

My friend, Lydia, also "participated." I approved her amended supply item. She still created something awesome out of some supplies that she had on hand. Check out her jewelry storage idea using burlap. It's creative and adorable!

Did any of you find a creative way to use some wallpaper? If so, feel free to comment with a link to your project!

Goodwill Challenge: Who's going to join me?

Sometimes, a little push from a friend can motivate me to complete a project twice as fast as I normally would. Joni and I had a self-declared Goodwill Challenge last month. See what we made out of some $5 dime rolls here and here.  We gave ourselves one week...and we actually finished on time!
This time, I may be in this alone. But I am betting that a few more of you out there have the supply item that I am hoping to find a great use for! Or I am hoping that you will rush out to your favorite thrift store to commandeer a roll for yourself because you are so inspired by this challenge.
What could the mystery product be?  

WALLPAPER!!!!!

Last weekend, I found a roll of navy and white striped (where I come from this is a two-syllable word...stripe-ped) wallpaper for 99 cents! When I came home, I realized I had a second roll of awesome wall paper that belongs to my neighbor/bff. I think I had originally borrowed it to maybe paper my closet. But I have since stuffed our closet and don't feel like removing everything just to make the walls look a little different. I will definitely see if she wants to participate. And if she does, I'll give her roll back.

I'm dreaming up a better use for these rolls - and I'm giving myself one week to complete the project. Who's with me?

"How do I participate?" you may be excitedly screaming! Simply comment on this post, letting me know that you're up for the challenge. Then, either dig out some wallpaper that you previously picked up from a thrift store/garage sale/random basement - it's time to find a clever use for those beautifully decorated papers.

Once you have completed your project, email me (sothecooksaid@gmail.com) a picture and a brief description of your idea. Or, if you have a blog, email me the link to your post that describes your cleverly used wallpaper by next Thursday (March 5th, 2012). I will your creative ideas in the big reveal post on Friday, April 6th.
I can't wait to see what you come up with! Let the googling and Pinterest searching begin!

99 cents To Catch a Theif

No, I'm not talking about one of my little sister's favorite movies with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant... although, it is a great movie!

I'm talking about an awesome board game that I found at Goodwill for 99 cents!

Clue's (now out of print) Great Museum Caper has a 3-D board in which players maneuver video cameras and motion sensors. I had first played this game with a host family in Paducah, Kentucky. When I saw this in the game section at my local Goodwill store, I knew that this needed to be added to my game collection. Who doesn't love a board game? Since it was half-price Saturday, I only paid 99 cents. All the pieces were included! Double bonus. And, I knew that Jeremiah would love the stealthy aspect of the game.

There were just 2 small problems...

Problem #1: The instructions, although included, were in Spanish.

Even though I had played this before, I could not remember all the details. Luckily, Google came to the rescue. I found the complete instruction book (in English) here.

As I read the instructions, I was reminded of how great this game really is. One player becomes the thief, sneaking around the museum stealing as many of the nine paintings as they can before being "caught" by the other players.

The players, use colored pawns to move around the museum. At the beginning of the game, the players are able to place the video cameras and paintings any where they choose.

The thief, sneaks into a window and moves about the board secretly. Instead of moving a pawn around the board, the thief uses a special map of the museum, writing down what paintings they steal and what video cameras they disable.

Problem # 2. The box didn't include any blank "Thief Pads." Yet again, Google had my back. I downloaded blank forms from here. I am planning to laminate a couple of the thief note pads so that we can just use a dry erase marker.

We played this 4 times the other night - And will play this again! I tried to convince Jeremiah we should dress in early 90's attire to mimic the pictures on most game boxes, but he vetoed that idea.

So, don't overlook the game section at your Goodwill - and if your game is missing something, Google it!

Goodwill Challenge: Dime Wrappers

During my recent trip back home, my blogger-friend Joni and I made a trip to Goodwill (See our other projects from the day here and here).

We also each purchased 1,000 Green Dime Wrappers.  Why? They were an awesome color. They had a vintage look to them. And they seemed to be begging to become some awesome craft project.

Joni and I both have a love for "different" decorations. I think everyone's house should contain unique elements.

We gave ourselves one week to each complete a project. I searched online for ideas. I wracked my brain for a plan. I scoured magazines. After hours on Pinterest I still had not come up with a project. Apparently coin wrappers are not the hottest DIY supply. I folded the wrappers, twisted the paper, and looked at them in tube form...Still, nothing!

After searching my house for some other supplies, I finally came up with a project idea. I had a couple of those black, college dorm room floor lamps in the basement. And these wrappers would definitely make one unique.

I cut open the tubes along the seam. Then, to help them flatten quicker, I pressed the paper under an iron for 15 seconds on a low setting. (Place a pillowcase on top of the paper to avoid scorching your wrappers).

After cutting open the wrappers, I was quite surprised that the inside of the tubes were a different color. This would add to the final appearance of my project. After rounding the edges, I was ready to begin.

I used some Clear Gel Tacky Glue to start attaching the wrappers to the plastic lamp shade. I put glue on the three straight edges, leaving the rounded side open to let out more of the light. I also turned a few of the wrappers around to give a little color contrast every now and again.

But after 4 rows of wrappers, the paper was not sticking to the plastic. My mother taught me something a long time ago.

If at first you don't succeed, HOT GLUE!



71 wrappers later, I was left with this finished product.

I love the soft glow that the lamp gives - most of the light comes out the top of the shade.

I guess that you could say this is a $355 lamp (or at least that's what the wrappers say!) It has also given me an idea for a few other projects.

I was left with one problem though...I only used 71 of the 1000 wrappers.  I'm glad that our challenge was not to use all the wrappers at once! Maybe, eventually, I'll come up with enough projects to use up the entire box.  

Maybe I'll even attempt Joni's awesome project. (The zipper scares me to death though. ha!)

Check back tomorrow for another way that I used the wrappers!

Crafternoon: Good-Will Remake

This blog has many purposes - it keeps me motivated, it makes me actually complete projects that I Pin, it encourages me to keep reading through my Bible in a year, it helps me let family and friends know what we're up to, and it has also helped me to form some great friendships.

Joni, a fabulously creative blogger attends my parent's church. Her blog, Minister Grace, is always full of creative posts, ideas and pictures. She joined me in my reading through the Bible plan. Our friendship has since grown - we actually grew up in the same Ohio town and have similar tastes and interests.

While I was visiting my parents this weekend, Joni and I decided to have a Crafternoon (Actually, we started in the morning, but Craftermorning doesn't sound as cool). I met her at her adorably decorated home.

I just love all the built in bookshelves in her living room. Her kitchen is so cozy, and I am loving the "Eat" sign over her stove.

She also has the amazing farmhouse sink that I dream of having one day. And I am still on the hunt for a red "LIMA NEWS" box of my own.

I fell in love with these adorable swinging doors that lead to her sewing room. They are from her grandmother's house.

Her craft room/laundry room is heavenly.

From the checkered floor to the awesome table. This room would inspire anyone to love laundry.

She's even decorated her sewing machine.

After I finished drooling over her home, we headed off to Goodwill. We were actually on the hunt for long pleated skirts in hopes of remaking them into something cuter. Instead, we walked out with 2 large men's polo's in hopes of remaking this project. If you are attempting to tackle this remake, the collar of your polo should be fabric - not that bendable stretchy material that most polo's have.

We then removed the collar and the sleeves.  Mine took twice as long as Joni's. Reason #1: Joni is a fabulous seamstress and knows what she is doing. Reason #2: My shirt's tag claimed to be "Fine Menswear." Therefore, I deemed that my stitching was harder to remove.

We pinned the sides to help them look a little more feminine and not so boxy.

I proudly followed Joni's instructions and did my own stitching. I am most proud of successfully sewing my shortened sleeves back on. Thank goodness that knit is forgiving.

I found an inspection sticker on the inside of my shirt. Either the shirt was never worn or it was never washed. ha

We then used the collar and the extra sleeve material to create 2 long ties. Once these were reattached to our shirts, we were in business.

I love this shirt! It's super comfortable yet looks cute. And it's versatile. I can wear the ties long...

Or in a bow...

As I've mentioned before, I'm no Martha Stewart when it comes to sewing. But I do think I could tackle this project again. Jonie is definitely a great teacher.

Stay tuned for a few more Goodwill remakes and a Goodwill challenge.