DIY Cement Garden “Hands”

At first, I was a scared little girl when it came to working with cement. It seemed so permanent and could be a colossal waste of time if I screwed it up. Which I do often. Then, I had an epiphany. Cement is no different than cookie dough-other than the whole edibility issue.

So, I opened up the creative floodgates and made a cement hand (or two). This little hand will be perfect holding birdseed, or just adding a little pinache to my flower beds. And it cost almost nothing to make.

Here’s all that you’ll need to make your very own cement hand:
Bucket and access to water
Rubber gloves
Sand/Topping mix
Hand shovel or garden trowel
Cooking oil and paintbrush

Pour a cup or two of the Sand/Topping Mix into a bucket. Add a little water and begin to mix-just like cookie dough!

The cement needs to be the consistency of thick dough. Do a test by pushing a little to the side of the bucket-if it stays in place pretty well, it’s thick enough. If it slumps right back down, you’ll need to add a little more of the Sand/Topping Mix.

Turn a rubber glove inside out and pour a tablespoon into it. Clamp the end of the glove and give it a good shake, until the whole glove is coated inside with oil.

Fill the inside out rubber glove with cement, squeezing it to the tips of each finger.

Prop up the fingers into the desired shape and let dry overnight.

Once the cement hand is completely dry, remove the rubber glove carefully by cutting and removing sections a little at a time.

That’s it-you’re done! Easy as making cookies, wasn’t it?

 

You now have a one of a kind art piece with which to decorate your garden, your fireplace mantle or even use it to hold your business cards at work.

Take that, normalcy!

Christmas on the Cheap-Decor Ideas

Each year, I love to create new decor ideas for Christmas. The stores are filled with glittery goodness, and I like to keep my wallet full of my hard-earned greenery goodness.

If you get my drift. (That’s no snow joke.)

Here are a few ways that I’ve decorated our house for pennies on the dollar.

My Pretty Paper Xmas Trees were very inexpensively made. They grace my fireplace mantle and add a lot of color to my gray living room. Each are made from dowel rods, scrap plywood, wrapping paper and hot glue.

This is what the trees look like this year; surrounded by vintage deer, tinsel and very breakable bulbs (knowledge courtesy of ninja cats).

I made the Wooden “Peace” Garland that’s on the  Broken Mirror Art from a felled tree, spray paint and stencils.

These are the pieces close up to the Wooden Christmas Garland before I polyurethaned them.

This DIY Vintage Aluminum Christmas Wreath was made from Aluminum foil, cardboard and leftover red bulbs. Super cute, lightweight and cheap!

Simple, different, pretty and sparkly. My Silver Twig Wreath is a fanciful addition to our front door. And yes, I like fanciful things very much, let me tell you.

I also made this Retro Christmas Stocking for Biceps…

…and one for me using leftover felt and vintage ric-rac. They were both very simple to make and much better than the gigantic knit one Biceps insisted on using-hoping Santa would fill it to the brim. The size of this Retro Christmas Stocking is much more practical, although certain people aren’t happy about it.

To match the stockings, I also made a Retro Christmas Tree Skirt for our secondary tree with the same felt and ric-rac. This tree skirt just took a few minutes to make.

Throughout out the house, if there are any remaining surfaces untouched by Christmas, I fill jars with inexpensive ornaments picked up over the years at flea markets and garage sales. I add some sparkly tinsel and a few varieties of colors of bulbs and my house is ready for Christmas.

I have always said, “You can never have too many bulbs and you can never have too much Christmas.” I’m sure you’ve heard me say that, right?

I hope you’ve been inspired or at least your creativity has been sparked from some of these ideas. I would love to see and hear how you are decorating on the cheap this year!

If these parties are up, I link to them! (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor

Does Christmas Shopping Online Actually Save Time or Money?

So, it’s cold. Like, “never want to leave the house cold or get out of my house pants” cold. And-“make hot cinnamon tea 24/7” cold.

I have a really cute fireplace that’s warm, decorated with homemade stockings, vintage tinsel, retro deer and homemade “Who-ville” trees (according to Biceps).

Right next to that is our sparkly silver tree in all of its retro glory, filled with ornaments collected over the years.

Throughout the house are old jars filled with vintage ornaments, tinsel and tiny trees. My house is literally vomiting Christmas. Be aware if you plan to come and visit.

With all of this lovely Christmas-ness, why would I ever want to leave to go Christmas shopping? Plus, leaving makes my tea cold.

So, I decided to try and give online shopping a try. I here it’s all the rage. (Welcome to the ’90’s, Rebekah…)

Normally, I make most of our gifts alongside my trusty sidekick, Biceps. This year won’t allow for such luxuries and since I am a borderline agoraphobic-I have a confession to make.

I’ve decided to hit the internet.

I trolled all the “great deals”, checked out coupons and researched what was requested of Santa by family members. It felt so weird just buying gifts, but it felt oh-so good doing it in the comfort of my living room.

I have to question what’s happening to me, though. The next thing you know I’ll be throwing out ziplock bags rather than washing and re-using them and purchasing store-bought laundry detergent.

Perhaps you are making homemade gifts, as I’ve done years past. Or are you opting to shop with the masses, or the chase of a Black Friday deal, or maybe on your couch-sipping hot tea?

Do you think that online shopping actually saves any time or money-or am I barking up the wrong sparkly tree? Hold on. Before you answer-I need to go make another cup of tea, in my housepants.

Non-Toxic Produce Cleaner (Veggie Wash)

I am a vegetable and fruit addict. My produce bin is typically full of apples, strawberries, grapefruits, carrots, broccoli…you name it, I like to eat it. Along with the bounty from my garden, I almost need a bigger fridge. (Hint, hint, Biceps).

I needed a solution to get the wax and germs off of store-bought produce and the dirt off of my garden produce. However, I didn’t want to pay the $5 for the “Veggie Wash” and I didn’t like the list of ingredients I found on most of the bottles.

Time to make my very own Non-Toxic Produce Cleaner.

Here is all that you’ll need to make your very own Non-Toxic Produce Cleaner:

1 TBS Lemon Juice
6 TBS White Vinegar
2 1/2-3 Cups of Water
Spray Bottle

Using a funnel, measure out the 1 TBS of Lemon Juice and add to the spray bottle.

Next, add the 6 TBS of White Vinegar.

Finally, fill the bottle to the top with the water.

You can store your Non-Toxic Produce Spray under the sink or in the fridge (if you are nervous about the lemon juice). With the vinegar acting as a sort of preservative, I’ve found that it’s not really necessary.

Here are links to my other Homemade Household Cleansers and Beauty Products:

Homemade Hygiene Products
Non-Toxic Beauty Products
Non-Toxic Cooking Spray
Anti-Bacterial Spray
Easy Laundry Soap
DIY Brass Cleaner
Organic Vegetable/Produce Cleaner
Homemade Household Cleaners

And here are a few Homemade Food Items to easily replace store-bought items:
Simple, Tasty Granola
Easy Crockpot Yogurt
Simple, Homemade Butter
Cooking and Freezing Beans, avoiding BPA
Homemade Hummus
Garden Fresh Salsa

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending time with such a weirdo. Make sure you become a Facebook Fan or a Linky Follower to keep up to date with what this weirdo comes up with next. Have a great day!

If these parties are up, I link to them! (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor