mail sorter: a tutorial | bright and blithe I always feel better greeting the new year with a clean house. At least, as clean as our house gets. It seems I’m in a losing battle with our mail. Materials:unbleached cotton fabric coordinating thread 1/2″ wide elastic or ribbon (depending on where you’re hanging it) safety-pin off-white cardstock Steps:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Whether you add elastic or ribbon at this point is entirely up to you. Like this: Like Loading... Creative Recycling: Old Tin Cans into Functional Furnishings Tin cans are the subjects of many arts & crafts projects, frequently reused as the bodies of little tin robot soldiers or other kitschy knickknacks. This designer has taken the same classic object but added a useful and more minimalist twist – a set of simple plastic lids that make an old tin can able to serve a new function. From tea, coffee, sugar and other kitchen storage containers to soap dispensers and pen holders, these designs by Jack Bresnahan bring out the remarkable elegance of what one might previously consider a purely functional form. Not to wax too ecstatic about a simple cylinder, but somehow the silver shine and ribbed sides of the tin cans take on a new luster in the presence of these purposeful white tops.
DIY: shoe rack for a tight space Hi there, for this post I’m collaborating with 3M DIY. A few years back I made a shoe rack for the tiny corner by our back door which is the only place to put shoes when we enter the house. There isn’t enough room to fit a regular rack and the space is tight enough that I wanted to avoid having anything hard that I (because I am clumsy) could bang my shin on as I am reaching for my coat or hurrying to shut off the house alarm. At the time I took some inspiration from a designer rack (that was tragically built too long to fit into our space) and set up a series of short shelves that the toes of the shoes perch on. Our original rack was installed using a series of L-brackets and when we were putting it up we realized that if we’d mounted the shelves on a backing instead of the wall itself we would have to drill a whole lot fewer holes into the wall. I’m happy with the result but I’ll admit it was more complicated to build than my earlier version. Click through to see instructions. Sand
24/7 Bebenta Sa'yo, Life-Changing Clothing Organization Tips