Thursday, February 27, 2014

PVC CAN HOLDER

Materials:
1 PVC 2" Pipe Coupling.
8 Wood Screws #8 x 3/4".
1 Piece MDF 4.5" x 10" x 3/4".
Tools:
Sharpe Marker
Combination Square.
Hand Saw.
Sand Paper.
Screw Driver.
Cloth tape measure.
Steps:
1. Measure coupling and mark 4 spots 2 3/32" apart as in photo #1.
2. With combination square make a line at each spot full length of couping as in photo #2.
3. With hand saw cut coupling into 4 pieces as in photo #2.
4. With sand paper smooth the 4 pieces of PVC.
5. Make a center line on the inside of each piece and drill and counter sink for 2 screws as in photo #3.
6. Lay out MDF piece for the screws as in photo #4.
7. Attach the 4 pieces of PVC to the piece of MDF and spray paint(I use a copper paint) as in photo #5.
8. When completely dry stack can of your favorite beverage on the rack as in photo at the top.


                                                                                                            
 

 


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

HANGING DISH TOWEL

This hanging towel is designed for the person who doesn’t knit but likes the hanging towels and wants to make their own. This can be done by hand if you are so inclined, Or if you don’t have a sewing machine.
Materials:
1 pot holder
1 matching dishtowel
Pins, thread, sewing needle, button
Sewing machine
1. Gather your supplies. You can use matching dish towels and potholders or they can be of contrasting designs. Lighter weight potholders are easier to work with than heavy ones.
2. Mark the middle of the dish towel. Make a light mark along the center for your stitch line or you can mark the centerline with pins.
3. Set the sewing machine for basting stitch. If you want, you can sew with contrasting thread to make it easier to remove the basting stitch when you finish.
4. Sew straight across the dish towel. Don't back stitch on either end. Gently pull the basting threads from both ends till the towel matches the width of the pot holder.
5. Fold the pot holder in half top to bottom mark or pin for the center line.
6. Lay the potholder on a flat surface face up. Place the gathered dish towel on top of the potholder face down. Pin the towel to the potholder along the center line and adjust the gathers so that they're even.
7. Adjust the stitch length on the sewing machine. Change the thread to a matching color. Sew a straight line across the dish towel and potholder(see photo below). Back stitch on both ends. Remove the pins and basting thread.
8. Fold the potholder in half. Sew a large button beneath the loop on the front half of the pot holder. Attach the hanging dish towel to a kitchen cabinet door handle or the oven door.



Monday, February 24, 2014

RECYCLED MATERIALS BIRD FEEDERS






Here is a simple craft project you can do with the kids! It recycles waste material and feeds the birds in your yard. Take 2 single frozen entree dishes and 2 4" lengths of 1/2" dowel, drill a pilot hole in the center of both ends of dowels. Drill the same pilot hole in the lifting tabs on the 2 dishes. Attach the dowels to the bottom dish with #8 x 3/4" long, round head screws. Then attach the top dish with coffee cup hooks. Hang your new feeder using a pieces of heavy string. The best way to hang it is to tie a loop in the center of the string and then tie each end to the cup hooks, this helps keeps feeder hanging straight. To make a larger feeder use family size entree dishes and use 2 dowels and 2 hooks on each end of the dish for stability. You can also use 4 dowels and 4 hooks on the small dishes for more stability. If you have entree dishes without lifting tabs you can use 4 dowels and place one in each corner and attach to the top and bottom dish.
BIRD FEEDER
Materials :
2 single frozen entrée dishes
Empty and cleaned.
2. ½” dowels 4” long
2 # 8 x 3/4 “ round head screws.
2 cup screws. Open end type.
String for hanging, your choice.

This one is basically the same using 2 round dishes from Betty Crocker Swirl Cake Mix. Take 1 piece of 1" dowel cut 6 " long, 1 plastic bottle cap 1.5" diameter, 1 cup hook and 1 #8 x 1" round head screw. Drill a hole in the bottom dish and bottle cap and attach to one end of 1" dowel with
#8 screw. Drill hole in top dish and attach to other end of dowel with cup hook.















My 3rd recycled feeder is a little more involved but still quit easy to make. The material list consist of 2 old throwing saucers(Frisbies), 1 empty 1 quart size mayonaise jar, 1 short piece of 1" dowel 1/2" long, 1 coffe mug hook, and 1 round head screw #8 x 1". Tools needed are a hot glue gun, a compass, cordless drill, and an exacto knife.
Start by drawing a 3" circle in the center of the saucer you choose for the top. Cut out the 3" circle and remove the piece. Next drill a 1/16" pilot hole in the center of the bottom of the sauce and the mayo jar, also drill the same pilot hole in the center of the dowel and the jar cover. Cut 4 hole 3/4" diameter in the side of the jar at the very bottom as shown in attached drawing that also shows how the pieces are assembled


With the #8 screw attach the bottom saucer to the bottom of the mayo jar and apply a bead of hot glue completely around the joint of the jar and saucer. Set the top saucer over the top of the mayo jar and hot glue the 2 together as shown in the drawing. Screw the coffee mug hook through the top of the jar cover and into the center of the dowel and tighten. fill the jar with bird seed, screw the jar cover on the mayo jar, hang the feeder and watch the birds.