Crafty Mountain Mama - Crafts, DIY, Projects, Tips and Tricks: Magnetic Matchbook Advent Calendar

Crafty Mountain Mama - Crafts, DIY, Projects, Tips and Tricks: Magnetic Matchbook Advent Calendar: Crazy creative holiday idea of the day...so I found a bunch of cookie sheets at Walmart for 96 cents, which was much better than Dollar ...

Dust Bag Solution for Miter Saw

Okay, here's the deal...they aren't expensive, and with Amazon it's easy to get a "legitimate" dust bag.  But if you're in a pinch you can throw on a pair of old panty hose and secure it with a cable tie.  If you don't feel that will do for you, go ahead and get one from Amazon!  In the meantime, it's all about the panty hose.

Replacement Dust Bags

   

Don't see what you're looking for?  Click below for full search results from Amazon.

Results for Miter Saw Dust Bag

Another PVC Storage Solution

After another very exciting go at the culled wood section of Home Depot, I found myself needing to do more with my wood than lean it against a wall.  Enter PVC...again.  Actually had made this as a "railing" for Vivian's slide (ended up it was better for her to just figure out how to use what the slide came with)...needless to say, it's not exactly what I would have designed for this purpose, I probably would have used something more than 3/4 inch PVC; however, it works.

Just a tip.

Creative solution to replace Bell Pull

I have a bell outside of my door.  It came with my house.  I rarely ring it; however, one of my clearest memories from childhood was my mother ringing a bell to call us in from the streets (back when that was safe!) so I'm a bit nostalgic about the bell.

It was pretty unloved when I bought my house...but some new screws and Brasso (which absolutely STINKS by the way) and it was good as new.  I could have certainly just tied a piece of leather to the clapper but I was in a golf ball phase so I did what I have done with several light fixtures and ceiling fans....I drilled a hole in a golf ball, filled it with hot glue, stuck some ball chain into it and voila!

Creative and functional Splat Mat

Have you noticed that so-called "splat mats" (the thingies that go under high chairs to protect your floor and allow for easy cleanup) are basically overpriced sheets of filmy plastic?  So, when it came time to deal with this issue for me I came up with several solutions.  First one was, of course, an actual splat mat that someone had given me.  It was thin and not very aesthetically pleasing and when I tried to clean it with a cleaner that had some level of bleach in it, the Elmo design faded.

First solution:
Shower curtain.

This worked just fine and was easier to manipulate and clean; but it still wasn't what I was looking for.

Final solution:
Bathroom linoleum-type flooring.

I was in the process of re-doing my bathroom floors with this new product that you just cut and lay.  It didn't have anything sticky on it, it just lay flat.  I noticed it was relatively easy to cut with a utility knife (as I was doing the bathrooms).  I had a good bit of excess laying around and one day I cut a square of it out and decided it would be my new splat mat.  I was able to cut openings for my table legs AND I can scrub the heck out of it with anything I want!  It stays put and it looks a heck of a lot nicer than anything else I tried!

You can go to your local hardware store and look for "no-glue" vinyl flooring and you may even be able to find a remnant!

PVC + 5 Gallon Buckets = Great Toy Storage!

Here's a quick and easy PVC solution and a fun way to store toys or anything else...

Vivian LOVES putting things away these days...I can only hope that habit will last!  So I thought of making a small (but expandable) "storage shelf" that she can reach and where she can put balls and various other toys.  This project took less than an hour.

Materials needed:

• 1" schedule 40 PVC pipe.  They sell this in 10' increments which is just about exactly what you need for this project.
• 4 x 1" PVC slip tees
• 6 x 1" PVC slip elbows
• 1 x 1" PVC 4-way cross connector
• 2 x 1" PVC end caps
• PVC Pipe cutter (I use a table/chop saw because I cut a LOT of PVC)
• 3 x 5 gallon buckets (can get at hardware or superstore in paint section)

When I have just a few cuts to make in a 1" or smaller pipe, I will use a pipe cutter.  These range from VERY affordable to my favorite thing...the chopsaw...

 

1. Cut 10 pieces measuring 10  inches
2. Cut 2 pieces measuring 4 inches
3. Cut 3 pieces measuring 2 inches
4. Assemble as shown

 When adding the buckets, put the buckets face-down and bang the pvc onto them for a snug fit.

You could also paint the whole project now that there is awesome spray paint that bonds to plastic!

MacGyver Gift Idea Today, Magnetic Chalk Board Cookie Tray!

Beyond Viv's new obsession with chalk (just hoping she figures out how to enunciate the "H" sound soon!), she LOVES magnets.  One day she just plopped down in front of the fridge and started arranging the magnets...taking them off and on again and putting them all into a bucket.  I then started gluing random things to magnets so I would have even more of them!

 So a little while ago I made a chalkboard with a nice wooden frame and a "windowbox" that holds chalk (and whatever else Viv wants to put in there).  It's not too lightweight or portable so I thought I'd make the "travel" version.  I'm pretty pleased with the finished product.

This one was really simple and easy.  I bought a tray at Family Dollar (but I recommend getting one even cheaper because the non-stick coating won't be as nice).  I sanded it and primed it (priming is a MUST, but don't use oil-based primer such as Kilz...I had a can of that handy so tried that first and it wasn't EVER going to dry on my tray).

I then painted it with chalkboard paint on one side, and a bright, colorful paint on the other side.

I also painted an Altoid tin to match and glued magnets to the bottom of it and a ribbon to the top.

Then I slapped some more random items onto magnets, put some chalk into the Altoids tin (which is now a removable "caddy" to put stuff in)....and Voila!  How simple is that??

Definitely a Big hit!

Holiday Decor of the Day - PVC Wreath

Update...after mandatory supply run today (was out of PVC glue and was trying to "wing" it with some random caulky glue which was far from successful.  Had a chance to cut up some more PVC and dig for remnants from previous projects.  Partnered with dreary weather and tornado warnings all day, it's been a good day for crafting around.   As before, Instructions and information coming soon; but one thing I will say is that if you don't have a decent table saw or chop saw (or know someone who does), then this project might be too time consuming; but the finished project is just stunning and I can't wait to improve on it even more!

It was almost fun and therapeutic once I had the right adhesives in place.  I thought about figuring out a way to create some kind fancy algorithm so that I could create a mathematically generated pattern and then I realized that I was, as I tend to do, overthinking it when I could just do it the simple way...glue one pipe...then eyeball it, and then the next.

I used a piece of plywood to serve as my staging area ad I realized that a small metal spatula is super handy for separating the pvc...one of those lucky moments when I thought the entire project was glued to the plywood until I tried the spatula (thinking that PVC glue pretty much just sticks PVC).

So there will be more detail coming soon...today's lesson learned, use the right tool for the right job, especially when it comes to glue, it makes your project so much easier!

This was Round 1 with the "caulk"...not quite the ticket

 

Kmart Deal of the Day

Had to post this on the blog, it's just too good to pass up.

Deal of the Day (or in this case, the week)

at Kmart

 

What a Deal!

$120 off Hitachi 40" Class LCD HDTV $379.99 on sale 11/13-11/19

Product Description

Hitachi L40C205 - 40" LCD TV - widescreen - 1080p (FullHD) - HDTV - high-gloss piano black
1080p perfected (1920 x 1080)

Anti-glare screen

High efficiency liquid crystal display

High dynamic contrast ratio

High brightness

Clear motion fast response time

Long life CCFL backlight

Ultra wide viewing angle

Picture perfect video processor

3D Y/C comb filter

PC power management

ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner

Picture memory by input

V-Chip parental control

Advanced closed caption

Sleep timer (120 Minutes)

Dolby Digital/MTS stereo/SAP

Surround sound

Wideband component input

Composite video inputs

PC input: (RGB D-sub 15)

PC audio input

RF antenna input

Digital audio output: (coaxial)

USB input

• 1080p perfected (1920 x 1080)
• Anti-glare screen
• High efficiency liquid crystal display
• High dynamic contrast ratio
• High brightness
• Clear motion fast response time
• Long life CCFL backlight
• Ultra wide viewing angle
• Picture perfect video processor
• 3D Y/C comb filter
• PC power management
• ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner
• Picture memory by input
• V-Chip parental control
• Advanced closed caption
• Sleep timer (120 Minutes)
• Dolby Digital/MTS stereo/SAP
• Surround sound
• Wideband component input
• Composite video inputs
• PC input: (RGB D-sub 15)
• PC audio input
• RF antenna input
• Digital audio output: (coaxial)
• USB input

limited time deal, expires on 11/19/11