Bath Rug from Recycled Towels

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Fine Craft Guild's easy tutorial for making a soft bath rug from recycled towels caught my eye today. You could use recycled bath towels, kitchen towels, face cloths or even tee shirts. This looks like an easy do-in-front-of-the-tv craft and I live that I'll be able to custom size it for my weirdly shaped bathroom. Have you ever made one of these kind of rugs? How did it turn out?

You can find the tutorial here: http://www.finecraftguild.com/eco-friendly-bath-mat-fun-diy-project-to-do-in-the-easter-break/

Happy crafting!

How to Make an Easy Clothespin Wreath for Fall, Thanksgiving or Harvest

Over a year ago I saw a cute clothespin wreath somewhere (maybe in a Martha Stewart magazine?) and decided to make my own version as a thankfulness wreath. Now that I see it against my white door I wish I'd painted the clothespins yellow instead of white but other than that I'm pretty happy with the wreath. You don't even have to paint the clothespins if you don't want to but I did because the marker bleeds some on the unpainted wood and looks nicer on painted clothespins. Here's how to make your own.

• Cut out a donut shape for your wreath base (I used a recycled priority mail envelope for mine; it was handy and it was already white so I didn't need to paint it, saving me a step). I recommend making the width about the same or slightly less than your clothespin grip depth (so your clothespin has the maximum amount of cardboard to grip but isn't sticking out into the middle of your wreath).
• Clip your clothespins all around your wreath until you're happy with the arrangement. I recommend using a multiple of three if you are going with my design.
• Spray paint your clothespins your desired color, following the directions on the can. You could also use acrylic paints if desired.
• Wait until after the wreath is completely dry. 
• Using three different colored markers (I used brown, orange and red for a fall/harvest/thanksgiving theme), write something that you are thankful for on each clothespin (this could be a fun family activity).
• Embellish your wreath as desired. I used leftover sunflower and scarecrow stickers from last year's wreath. I also cut out a rectangle from another part of the recycled priority mail envelope, used a red marker to create a border around the edges and wrote "Thankful" in the middle and then affixed it to the wreath with double sided tape.
• Tie a ribbon around the top of the cardboard wreath form and securely knot it in a bow for hanging.

Happy autumn and happy crafting, dear readers!

Butterfly Wreath from Recycled Security Envelopes

I think I'll start saving up security envelopes to make this cute butterfly wreath from recycled materials (in this case, security envelopes). I might add a red ribbon or some other red accent to make it patriotic as that tends to be my theme for summer decor. You can read the directions on how to make the wreath here.

Happy Memorial Day! 

Recycled Sweater Snowman Candy Bowl

I totally love this snowman craft idea! But any white sweaters I might have recycled for this project have already been donated to charity. I guess the next time I see a white sweater with a nasty stain or hole in the body at a dirt cheap price in a thrift store or something I'll make this craft. Or I might just use some white yarn and knit a cozy for one of my glass vases. That would probably be faster than waiting for a white sweater sleeve to appear.

Here's the link to the photo and directions:
http://www.bhg.com/holidays/?sssdmh=dm17.558992&day=82&esrc=nw100d11_2_d82_120611&email=1602867523

Happy Crafting!