DIY iPad stylus...use on any capacitive screen...you know, one you have to touch with your finger :)

So this project was easier than I thought. One metal pen and one piece of sponge.

I took the ink cartridge out of the pen and shoved a thin piece of the sponge into it, making sure enough sponge was sticking out of the pen to protect the screen from the metal of the pen.

It really was just that simple. I found out online that sponges conduct electricity and therefore they work to get the electrical charge from you finger to the screen.  In this case, the electricity is able to pass from the metal pen to the sponge, then your screen. I had the sponge lying around, but I'm pretty sure I got it from the dollar store (the type that looks like a sponge vs. foam).  Like this:

If you are wondering if the sponge you have works, just test the sponge before you put it in the pen (holding the sponge and see if you can use it to control the iPad before you make the stylus). I was actually surprised that it worked :)

Another free project!

Hang baskets under your cabinets for extra storage

One of my favorite storage solutions in my home is my wall baskets in my kitchen.  I hung four of them under a bank of cabinets with an odd cut out spot.  It was dead space that was just crying out for a storage solution.

I found these hanging baskets at pier 1 and they fit perfectly.  Just enough room for four. We use them to store tape/glue in one, scissors in another, permanent markers in the third, and a few other office supplies in the last.  Keeps them "easy to find" and in their own specific spot.

It's sort of the same concept IKEA has with those rod and basket systems they sell (obviously this was a much cheaper option, and the type of basket I bought hides the contents...but theirs are very cute : )

Wall baskets can really be hung anywhere (down a odd small wall, on a wall in a pantry).  There are quite a few options out there if you just search wall basket (some are more country, others more primitive, some more modern).  Another great way to organize your stuff.

My latest apothecary jars - wine corks and monogram

Here is my latest apothecary jar update.  Since there isn't a holiday on the horizon, I decided to go with a more universal theme that I can use in between various holidays.  At first I thought I might do a generic spring theme, but when you have this many corks on hand, its too tempting to use them : )

I first needed the letters (I decided on an A monogram).  I went to Hobby Lobby and didn't like the A in the whimsical style of the only smaller letter they had.  It sort of looked like an oddly shapped D.  So I went to Michaels and found quite a few smaller-sized letters to choose from .  This was the only lower case option (they had three upper case options that I didn't really like either). 

I decided to paint them with my trusty Modern Options Sophisticated Finishes Blackend Bronze paint (by the way, I did look for it at Michaels while I was there to see if they still had it, and yes they do, right in the middle of unfinished wood section as before. Its $9.99 full price, but of course use your 40% off coupon : )

For the ribbon I used a furry cheetah that I found a Michaels a while back. It was a single-sided style, which always proves to be tricky in a bow tieing situation, so I just "glued" it into a bow : )  Whatever works right!

With this one you get a twofer.  Apothecary jar project and wine cork project!

Duct tape flower hairbow

My daughter asked for duct tape for her birthday, and now we are duct tape craft crazy! : ) This is a duct tape flower we made, then taped it to a headband.

You start with a rounded petal (fold the tape over about an inch and leave about 1/2" of tape showing.

Slit it up the middle about half way, then overlap the two parts slightly to make it curve. Trim off the corners to make it look rounded. Make 8 of these.

Then do 8 more slightly smaller. We made them exactly the same, but trimmed them 1/2" all the way around.

Then make 8 "halves" (making two petals out of one piece by cutting it in half first.

You are going to simply stack these four per level (4 large, 4 more large, 4 med, 4 more med, 4 small, 4 more small). centering each layer between the previous petals.

We then cut a small piece of red to cover any white showing in the middle.

For the center, we cut a 4" piece of purple, then cut that longways into 4 strips. We folded those over long ways 1/3, so 1/3 of the sticky was still showing. Finally we rolled and rolled those pieces until it made a tightly wound center. We hot glued that to the middle.

To attach it to a headband or barrette, just use a single piece of tape on the back.

It turned out so cute we'll be making lots of these ; )

Our first duct tape flower pen

My daughter asked for duct tape for her birthday, so after her grandmother took her shopping, she came home with 5 rolls of duct tape to craft with...it was a proud moment for a mother who loves a good project :)

She already had a folded petal pen from a friend, so she decided on the folded corner style.  It is actually a very simple project that doesn't require measuring.

Basically you are going to first wrap the pen with your stem color (start where the cap ends so the tape doesn't bunch up when you put the cap on). You end about an inch from the top. You place it on in one piece lengthwise. 

Just eyeball it, cut it to the length and stick it on around the pen.

To start the petals, use the color(s) of choice, and cut a 2" x 2" piece (basically a square) off the roll. Fold the right corner down at 45 degrees to the center point.

Then repeat for the left corner, and you end up with a pointed end and a sticky end.

Simply wrap the sticky end onto the end of pen.

You will repeat this over and over until you are happy with the size of the flower. For us that was about 30 petals.  To determine the placement of each, just try to stagger the points.  We used two colors and alternated them, so we did three of each color per level, spacing the points evenly on each layer and making sure no two petals overlapped identically.

At the end, wrap the base of the flower with a small piece of the stem color tape to give the transition between the two a more finished look (if needed).

As you can imagine we have a lot of tape now, so I'll be posting a lot of duct tape projects :)

Baby possum :)

Odd post, but I had to share this adorable picture of a baby possum we found in my yard this weekend (it's on the rake...and was not harmed). My husband was mulching the beds this weekend and ran across this tiny thing with no sign of mom or home. Afraid it might get hurt in all the cleaning, tilling and bag throwing, we placed it behind our iron fence (we live on a creek). This just might have been the cutest thing I've ever seen! My daughters were in love :)

My first food post, Veggie omelet (migas)

I'm no food blogger or chef, but seeing as this is a "Jack of all trades" type of site, I thought I'd start to share any recipes I make up that turn out to be really good.

Today it was a veggie omelette (sort of a Migas inspired dish I made for lunch)

2t vegetable oil
1/3 of a red bell pepper, chopped
2T red onion, chopped
2 corn tortillas, cut into small pieces
2 eggs, beaten
2T cheese, shredded
1/2 of a tomato, chopped
2T green onion, chopped
Salt, pepper & cumin (season to taste)

Cook oil, onion and red bell pepper until they start to soften. Add tortillas and stir until they are coated with mixture. Pour in eggs and season with salt pepper and cumin at this point). Just when it's done, top with cheese, then fold in half as you plate it to help the cheese melt. Top with tomatoes and green onion (I combined those together with a little salt and pepper on the cutting board before I put them on top).

This was soooo good I had to share!