DIY: Crochet Water Bottle Carrier

To go along with my 4th Flops, I made a quick water bottle carrier. This skip-stitch design was fast and easy. We all know how it is - go to a get together, sit down your drink, and forget where we put it!

I started with the following YouTube tutorial, but had difficulty getting the entire video to load (internet brain fart), so I followed it to the second round of skip stitches. From there I did six more rounds (8 total) skip stitches and topped it off with a round of single crochet.

The strap is just a row of single crochet, a row of skip stitch and another row of single crochet. Be sure to attach it securely with your blunt sewing needle!

Water Bottle Tutorial:

There are a number of applique videos and patterns on YouTube and Pinterest to customize your carrier with. As I mentioned yesterday, by changing color and motif, you can create an entirely new piece, like this Halloween style one I made for Britt:

DIY: July 4th Flops

Here's a fun and easy way to dress up a pair of flip flops for Independence Day!

You will need:
* Size H (5mm) Crochet Hook
* Blunt needle to sew in ends
* Navy Yarn
* Red Yarn
* White Flip Flops

(Below, I have embedded the tutorial videos I used for both the flip flop straps, and the star appliques. This same method could be used with other appliques such as flowers or butterflies to embellish your every day wear flops, too!)

Once you have crocheted around the straps and created your appliques, secure your stars to the flip flops by sewing through the back of the star and completely around the strap several times in the middle and on the horizontal points. Be sure to secure firmly!

FLIP FLOPS:

STARS:

DIY: Dough Christmas Ornaments

Decorated by Brittney

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner with their family and friends yesterday! I promised I'd post the dough ornament recipe I tried if they turned out alright. Here it is! 3 inexpensive ingredients and a little paint later, our tree will have an entirely new theme this year!

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. All Purpose Flour

1 c. Salt

1 1/2 c. Warm Water

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix flour and salt together thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Slowly add water a bit at a time, mixing thoroughly as you go. Knead dough until it is of smooth consistency. Roll dough out on a floured surface, cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters or a sharp knife. Use a large diameter screw or nail to punch holes in the top of each ornament. Bake on cookie sheets for 60 minutes. Remove ornaments from sheets and place on cooling racks.

Once ornaments completely cool, use acrylic craft paints and glitter to decorate as desired. Seal with a coat of clear varnish. (Glue on embellishments like rhinestones and ribbons should be glued on after sealing.) Use green thread or wire ornament hangers to place them on your tree.

DIY: Reconditioning Cast Iron

At his "other job", Brian often comes across perfectly good items in need of a little TLC in the trash. With a little elbow "grease", literally, you can turn a rusty old cast iron pan into a like-new cooking machine!

Reconditioning  old cast iron pots and pans is simple, and can save you hundreds of dollars! Keep an eye out for them at garage sales or thrift stores. Properly seasoned and cared for, they are just as non-stick as teflon pans, without the toxic fumes and will last a lifetime!

PROCEDURE:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. First, scrub the pan with a scouring pad to remove surface rust. You may need steel wool for more neglected items. Scrub until majority of surface rust has been removed and dry thoroughly. Next, rub entire surface with a light coating of lard and sprinkle garlic powder into the pan. Place the pan into the oven for 60 minutes. Allow the pan to cool and repeat the process. The pan will become blackened and is now ready to use!

Once pan is "seasoned", do not wash it with water and dish soap, but rather wipe the pan out with a paper towel or dishrag while it is warm.

DIY HD TV Antenna

Like droves of others, we recently cancelled our subscription TV services. While many are opting for Netflix, Hulu+, and other on-demand streaming services, they're not an option for folks living in rural areas on satellite internet services with restrictive download limits. We didn't want to invest hundreds of dollars on an antenna to simply watch the news, either... 

Brian searched around the internet, and using commonly found materials, built this DIY antenna which receives network signals from both Toledo and Detroit! Our satellite provider had only aired Toledo stations. This obscure looking creation picks up 15 different analog and digital HD channels with excellent sound and picture clarity!

MATERIALS:

2x4" board

4 metal coathangers

12 washers

12 wood screws

DIRECTIONS:

The instructional video Brian used can be found here:

How to Build an HDTV Digital Antenna

He added the washers himself for stability and 2 extra receivers.

The antenna can be directly connected to the TV indoors, but our aluminum siding interfered with signal reception. Brian ended up taking it outside and hooking it up using the previously installed satellite cable! It's admittedly not the most attractive looking device, and fortunately, hiding it in a bush doesn't seem to affect it's signal strength!

By doing away with satellite TV service and installing this simple device built from scrap materials, we're now saving $79 per month we paid for "Extended Basic" service!