recycled mail scrabook/cardmaking/stationary paper

I bet you've thrown away like 

50 pieces of this cute stuff this month. 

I can't throw away cute paper

I have tried

but I am getting better 

at making useful 

projects from the 

cute old paper

for example this collection of recycled 

card-making/scrapbooking/stationary paper

made completely from old mail

I have one (10 piece) set of assorted 6in x 6in paper

Four (10 piece) sets of 4in x 4in paper

and one (16 piece) set of assorted sizes and patterns

the 4in x 4in sets are up on etsy

I will be listing the rest of the collection soon

hope you love cute paper as much as I do

now go make someone you love 

an adorable handwritten card

I promise it will change their day!

7/26/13 UPDATE!!!

Just got a note back from someone who bought some of my recycled envelope stationary and this is what it became!

staying creative...

Some days I want to study.... 

Some days I just want to stitch together 

little paper and bead flowers...

Check out my Etsy shop! 

More listings to come!

Morning Inspiration!

Blogshop

I am so not there yet but someday I want to make it to one of their classes...

actually... we should request a Detroit class.

Confetti Compost Cookies

My attempts at the craziest cookies on Pinterest.

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup crushed salt and vinegar potato chips
3/4 cup chocolate chunks
1/2 cup crushed salted pretzels
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup chopped heath bar
1/3 cup peanut butter chips
1/3 cup assorted sprinkles
1/2 tablespoon coffee grounds (yes, actual grounds!)

I 1/2'd all the ingredients and it made 19 pretty big cookies. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt, then set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the cooled butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed and smooth. Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. I even used my hands to help at one point. Fold in all of your add-in's here, using a spoon and also your hands to bring it together. I literally smashed the ingredients into the dough.

Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a nonstick baking sheet (I actually used this method of stacking the dough) about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the middles are just set. Don’t over bake! Let cool almost completely

[recipe idea from the milk cookbook, recipe slightly adapted from giant rainbow cookies].

Use the star-shaped sprinkles.

I also (accidentally) put in at least twice the amount of coffee grounds. So I am changing the name to "Crazy Girl Cookies."

The original recipe says to bake at 325F for 9-12 minutes. 

They didn't really look "done" until like 17 minutes.

They are a little cripsier than I usually like cookies so maybe try 15 minutes. 

They REALLY hold their shape. 

These would be really cute for a birthday party. 

Best made while listening to the Jose Gonzalez Pandora station. 

should probably be studying instead...

First attempts at using US30 knitting needles. 

I bought the needles from Jones & Vandermeer. Shipped very quick. 

They're super clumsy to work with at first 

but the rows go by quick and it looks awesome. 

Also, here are some adorable cupcakes I made. 

regular yellow cake

 from the package

vanilla pudding 

squeezed out of a ziplock bag 

into a small hole in the top of the cupcake

*make sure the cupcakes are fully cooled before frosting them*

dark chocolate fudge frosting 

squeezed out of a ziplock with the 

corner cut off to get the swirly effect

start the frosting swirl from the outside of the cupcake and circle in to the middle

maraschino cherry 

on top

lovely

These are the Mini Caramel "Apples" I made for our Noel Night party tomorrow night. Got the idea from Pinterest.

Replacing a leaky faucet

I just learned how to replace a seriously leaky faucet on YouTube. It took about 30 minutes once I had all the proper tools. It was a lot easier than I was expecting. I'm sure you could pull this off too if you put your mind to it. Saved me a ton of money.

Recommended project music: MGMT/Flaming Lips Pandora Station.

This is the OLD nasty faucet. Which, as you can see, is in the 'off'
position and is clearly still running.






I highly recommend a flashlight. I just used my heavy-duty penlight from work.
This lil guy's day job is checking brain trauma patient's pupils. He was looking for a second job anyway.




The most important step is turning off the hot and cold
water supply line (righty-tighty).






By far the hardest part was getting these plastic washers off. Especially because I was told by a real-life plumber that who ever put this sink in originally hooked all of this up before dropping in the sink, making me very thankful to be a relatively thin female. I have no idea how a beefy plumber would have fit back here.


Next: Enter the Basin Wrench! (Basin Wrench even has his own Facebook page....why???) Picked him up at Third Street Hardware which is an excellent resource for anyone fixing up a house in Detroit. It's small but they always have what I need. Also, they sell bikes. Bonus! I can't decide if I scared or impressed the guy there...hot pink nail polish and all.




Nasty old faucet's last moments.









I bought the medium cheap faucet from Home Depot. Good enough for me. Once the old faucet is out just place the new faucet in its place, screw on the new washers under the sink (righty-tighty) and reconnect the supply lines (righty-tighty). Now turn back on the water supply (lefty-loosey). Lastly, wash your filthy hands and think about how much of a bad@$$ you are.



I think the elephants are much happier about their new situation.

Cute Recycling Bins, Birthday Cupcakes and a video.

Our recycling pile was getting out of hand. So I made the two bottom shelves of our pantry a recycling organizer. These were made completely from crap we had laying around the house.

I used pink construction paper and a Sharpie to write out the words and decorate. Then I "laminated" them with clear packing tape and made hole punches.

I tied the tags to the milk crates with this green scrap yarn I had.

Super easy.

And cute. And now our recycling isn't piling up in the kitchen!

These are the adorable cupcakes Stephenie made for Amber's Birthday. So cute.

Last week I went to a conference and heard the guys from First+Main speak. I thought this video was really well done.