DIYing all over the Soap Dispenser

I purchased a bathroom set that included a tissue dispenser, soap dispenser, and tray....  it was in the perfect shades of purple and lavender for our guest bathroom and I just LOVED it.  Until I found a problem.....

Problem:   The pump didn't work on the soap dispenser. 

It was bought used so I should have checked it out a bit better.  But it was empty when I bought it (I say, in my defense).

However, being the stubborn....  err, creative... sort, I was bound and determined to figure out a way to make it work.

I tried soaking it in hot water in case there was dried out soap lodged in the pump.  I tried pumping water, a little oil to loosen things, and then just air.  Nothing worked.

I did have a similarly sized pump on another soap dispense but it did not screw on tightly...  so I still had a problem.

I put my thinking cap on....

Solution:  I also had rubber bands !!  All different sizes and lengths...  LOTS of rubber bands!!!


I wrapped a rubber band around the spirals of the screw top of the container ...

I tested different size rubber bands by screwing the pump onto the container to gauge the fit.   I decided I liked the fit of two skinny bands wrapped independently, rather than one fat one.

Once the rubber bands were installed to get the fit I needed, I filled the container with liquid hand soap, screwed the pump on, and VIOLA!!!  


Perfect!   well, perfect for this girl!

I am thrilled with the results....  and back in love with the set.  And I think the new replacement pump looks better than the original pump !!

I am also aware that I may have to change rubber bands every time I refill the soap dispenser. 

However, the dispenser holds A LOT of soap so that won't be very often. *

* Can you see my super adorable toilet brush holder in the lower left of the mirror?  Yes, its a WHITE CAT!  also bought used :).  I wonder how my real white kitties feel about that?

I often manage to leave a pillow behind when I stay with my grandkids and my pillows are always very popular as they figure out who gets to keep grandma's pillow.

With this thought in mind, I decided to give the grandkids, and their parents, a new pillow and pillowcase for Christmas.

Easy enough!  A stack of new, fluffy pillows!  But can I say that a car fills up pretty fast with a bunch of pillows stuffed into it.

Now for the pillow cases.   hmmm....  They should be fun....  they should be individualized....  and brrrrr, they should be flannel.

But, honestly, I have been frustrated with pillowcases that didn't ever seem to fit correctly and that the pillows would often slide out. 

Necessity is the mother of invention

"its about time" project #2 and #3.1: House numbers and pool equipment cover

Our second installment of working on all those projects around the house that we were all gung-ho about doing....  and STILL want to do, but haven't gotten them done yet.  They had become a WAY too long list and we needed to actually do them.  Sadly, the items on the list are fairly beneficial (one way or the other) things...  not just a 'hang a different picture' type thing.

An extended illness and some back problems have kept me from getting the list whittled down...  actually its gotten longer.   <sigh>


Project #2:  Viable and Visable House Numbers

In Arizona, plan on it being hard to find addresses...    anywhere.  The wide open spaces seem to make the numbers that (may be) there, hard to see....  and the limited lights at night make the whole address finding thing even tougher.  

Our numbers were previously near the front door.   Not much good as one would have to leave the comfort of their car and walk up to the door just to find out that you may have the wrong house.

So we added numbers near the end of our driveway.  The are of normal size but the wide open spaces seem to have swallowed them up and they aren't really noticeable. 

The driveway side of the post around our courtyard seems to lend itself well to more numbers so the project was in place.  For those keeping track, we are now at the 2 year mark owing this house.

We drilled out and ground out the space for a set of numbers that we found in the garage when we bought the house but that go-around ended in a pile of dust at the foot of the post.  Note the three year mark.

Now we have a hole to fill.    So the search for new numbers began.   and progressed.....   slowly.

Then my cousin Colleen drew my attend to a booth that we were perusing at the Mesa Flea Market.  EUREKA!!  numbers!!!   after a bit of disappointment, hope, running around, and losing each other, we found the numbers I wanted.  I, oh so carefully, brought them home and placed them on the table ever so gently.

DH adjusted the opening a bit and gave me the responsibility of attaching them to the post.

It was about time....  and we are thrilled!   One more checked off the list !!!

Stop by and see our new numbers !!!

Project #3.1:
A shade cover for the pool equipment

Another long-time coming project.  The Arizona sun is a mixed blessing and we wanted to protect the costly pool equipment from the damaging rays.

We started with a very complicated and detail plan.  I did actually get a tape measure out to draw up these plans too!!
















We also needed some tools.....

We wanted to keep the uprights out of the wash so we decided to go a little crazy on the design and create a shape that does not match the square-ness of the house, but gets the shade where it needs to be.


Its getting there!



















And the frame is up, painted, and ready to be covered.  And I think the hubster is pretty proud of it, as he should be.  It looks perfect to me!!!

We choose this shape after much discussion....  Its triangular shape keeps the legs out of our little wash.   Its higher on the north side so that if work needs to be done on the equipment, someone can get under there.  Also, the center support is removable, if needed.   The lower brace on the south side (nearest the photographer) will provide the support for the lower edge of the sunshade fabric.

Covering the structure will be another installment (#3.2) and we will be doing more fun, and useful, projects to check off our list.

~*~

I wanted to include the door of the shed that appears in the background the above photo.  I just LOVE our upcycled door handle.  We found it at a flea market and I bugged the hubby until he went back and bought it.

Stay tuned for the next crazy thing we start working on !!

"its about time" project #1

Yanno all those projects around the house that you were all gung-ho about doing....  and STILL want to do, but haven't gotten them done yet?  For us, they seem to end up being a list before we decide to actually do them...  and the really stupid thing about them is that they really are beneficial (one way or the other) things...  not just a 'hang a different picture' type thing.

#1 example:

Our 'big' house in Iowa had Corian countertops, which we removed and replaced with granite - thank you amazing son (AS), Mike.  Side note: the buyers loved the granite when we decided to move to AZ and sell the 'big' house.  We kept the Corian, thinking we would replace the laminate countertops in our 'little' Iowa house with the Corain as it was a very close fit and AS could make the adjustments.

Well, that never got done BUT we figured out that the Corian from the 'big' Iowa house was exactly the same Corian in the AZ house.  We sold the majority of the Corian but kept the piece from the kitchen island so that we could use it in the AZ laundry room as a countertop.

THEN I got the brilliant idea to replace the AZ island countertop with the Iowa island countertop....  because the way it was set up, there was hardly enough room between the island and the refrigerator to pull the fridge out if you need to (like cleaning under and behind or retrieving dropped things behind).  

Of course, I forgot to take the PRE photo while the old countertop was still attached to the island.  Here is a photo of the old countertop piece with DHs bowl of candy as reference.

The Iowa island was narrower, which would make more room between island and fridge, and lots longer, making room to put a stool or two at the island (YA!). 

Lets just say that the ONE thing I know about Corian is that it is NOT forgiving.

I will tell you that I was nervous about starting this project.   So, a call to AS Dan resulted in a step by step over the phone on how to do this....  of course, providing that we live in a Walgreens world where everything is perfect.

With much trepidation, we began the project... and, lo and behold, we apparently DO live in a perfect world - at least for this project.  The old countertop came off just fine and the new went on with only one call to an amazing son for some pointers to reattach the new countertop.

The finished countertop is larger by a square foot but it seems  it has FAR more useable space AND more room between the fridge and the island countertop.   I am in LOVE.   And DH loves his candy bowl back where it belongs.

I think I see me making some pads for the stools in the near future.

The last step of this project was to make an emotional call to AS late last evening thanking him for walking us through the removal and replacement process.  

and yes, there will be more 'its about time' projects...  stay tuned.

Don't wait to do those things you want to do....  do them NOW...  and for YOU.... its PASSED time to start enjoying your life, your love, your interests, your desires.

Last minute is the best minute sometimes

No matter how well I plan, I find something that I absolutely MUST make for someone at the last minute. Today was going along just fine... on schedule and DH was happy.

Then it happened...

Something trips some synapsis in my little brain... and OFF I GO on a crafting delay. I remember that I have these letters with hanging hooks for my twin DGD's and, well, SOMETHING must be done with them immediately. (even though I have had them for 9 months)

I leave the house in a semi-tornado state and rush to the studio! I find the letters, dig out stuff from here.. from there... more over here... and sit down with the glue gun. As I wait for the gun to heat up, I think about a plan for these letters. I decide that I need to hide some representation of their family in the junk I am going to glue on these letters. With no further plan, a hot glue gun, and a bunch of "stuff", I get started.

In my head, I can hear DH shaking his head and mumbling... something along the lines of "it was going so well... I had her attention... I was careful not to say anything that would trigger a crafting episode... " and a lot of sighing. But I forge onward, determined to finish and SURE that it would only take just a few minutes. I also remember that I have 2 matching floating shelves... hmmmm... how long could it take to do those too????

Flash forward 2 hours.... I am finished... at least with the letters. I could do more on the shelves but I decided to stop. Why? because it was getting dark and I just knew DH was glaring my way from somewhere in the house. So here they are. I think they are pretty cute.



The silver double hearts are to represent their mom and dad, the teddy bear represents their brother, the silvery letter represents the other twin, the bead angel is for them, their dog's name is included, and the pink stone is for me. The hanging pink beading matches the shelves, and the rest is just fun, fluffy stuff.



I think the shelves look ok too. If I had more time (clearing throat), I would have jazzed up the shelves a little more but I think the girls will love them.

It will be ok before its over... and if its not ok, its not over.

Rub-a-dub Rudolph

My adorable GC gifted me this adorable reindeer. It's a boxed bar (or 2 bars, depending on size of box) of soap, a dollar store washcloth, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, a pom, ribbon, and a bell. Such a sweet little gift that kids could make for their teachers, etc. More kisses, guys, I will cherish him!



And speaking of gifts, one of my quilt groups, The Happy Hour Quilters, had our holiday party and exchanged pincushions. I have been enamored lately with hexies and guess what my pincushion was.... YEP!! Hexies!!! PLUS, its filled with crushed walnuts to help keep my pins sharp. It was the perfect pincushion for me!



Thank you so much to everyone for a wonderful party, great food, tons of laughs, and the bestest pincushion ever!!

The Mother of Neccesity

My oldest DS is also a bit creative... my creativity feeds through fiber and his is through wood and metal. I have been called Martha MacGyver (a mix between Martha Stewart and the guy on the old TV show) as I am usually able to make something out of a pile of nothing... and so it is with DS. We both have a vast amount of raw materials (the "nothing") and just need the right opportunity to make the "something".

This is the story as I understand it: DS's house needed a new light fixture over the dining room table. It happens... things wear out or break... its a cycle of our "stuff". No biggie, right?

So DS makes a new light. Again, no biggie... but the materials he used were... umm, let's just say maybe not what DIL was hoping for!! I am guessing the light was as much a joke on DIL as anything.



While the industrial look is big in certain circles, the stereotypical 'Tucson wife with 4 kids' is probably not a fan. So discussion regarding the light ensues... but the kids get involved and they want the light to stay. After all, daddy worked so hard on the light and they are proud of daddy's work. In my mind's eye, I see DIL rolling her eyes because she knows she is stuck with this light for a while. I told DIL that I liked the light... but then again, its not hanging over MY dining room table HA!

So time marches on, the light remains, and here it is THANKSGIVING DAY!! An assortment of friends and family are expected at DS's home for dinner. Maybe 35 people? Just as DH and I arrive, we see the garage door open, which means something is happening in the "something from nothing" department.

I enter the house and I am greeted by the sound of happy children, the perfume of the perfect Thanksgiving Day dinner, and DIL staring at a broken spout on the kitchen sink. Great timing... A ton of people waiting mostly patiently to eat, a pile of dirty dishes ready to be washed, and a growing number of people preparing their dishes for presentation and all needing to wash food bits off their hands.... water at the sink was desperately needed.

BUT!! We have DS on the scene. He is already in the garage so I know we are in good hands and I am confident that the sink will be in working order in no time. He has the "nothing" and here was the perfect opportunity to make "something". And I was ready... At least I thought I was.



OH MY Gosh... who could have expected it to look like this??? I burst out laughing!!! On the other hand, why on earth was I surprised? DS repaired it with materials on hand and within 5 minutes. There was running water in the kitchen. The meal could proceed after a mere hiccup in the process. And best of all? With a lot of teasing and good natured eye rolling, it was agreed by all that the faucet matches the light !!! Don't mess with success!

I know that tomorrow, the sink will be properly repaired and returned to the 'Tucson wife with 4 kids' style of spout. I can't make any promises about the light.

May you recognize and appreciate the true importance of the tiny blessings in your life.