DIY $17 Light fixture

I really wanted a light fixture to put over my breakfast nook/coffee bar area but the rules were it needed to be cheap and since there is no previous fixture there I needed to be able to plug it in versus trying to cut a hole in the ceiling and wire it myself (which I know nothing about). I found this one pinterest  http://imgfave.com/view/1272606 a while back and decided it was perfect! Ikea sells the perfect cord kit for this but I found a really nice one for $12 (including shipping) with a super long cord on amazon and it was going to be much cheaper than driving the 2 hour round trip to Ikea so I ordered it and it arrived in 3 days. I picked up a playground ball at the dollar store for $1, the glue came from the craft section at Walmart for $1.50 and the twine came from the hardware section at Walmart for $1.97. Total costs of all supplies was under $17.

This is the cord kit I ordered: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AK7OP6/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

First step is mark off your ball with a circle big enough to fit your fixture and it's light bulb through.

Next I poured some of the clear glue onto a paper plate. I dipped my fingers in the glue and as I began wrapping the twine around the ball I ran it through my fingers so the twine could get coated with the glue. You should start with the area around the circle so that you can define it. Once the circle area is done just start wrapping the whole ball making sure to avoid starting any particular patterns from forming. The more chaotic the better :) The twine doesn't need to be soaked with glue at this stage it just needs to be a little tacky enough for the twine to stay put while it dries.

No worries if you cover your circle area because you can cut the over lapping strings later. It needs to dry for several hours or over night.

Once it's dry I started putting a second layer of twine on, just enough to cover any larger gaps I may have left. I also began saturating the twine with glue so that it would be dry nice and hard and keep it's shape perfectly. Take the glue and put a line on each section of twine and then rub it in with your finger. This step takes awhile (like 2 days really) because as you complete a section you need to let it completely dry so that you don't flip it around to a side that's tacky and risk messing up your work.

 

Now that it's completely dry cut any twine you had over lapping the circle area. I put another layer over the circle area to cover any loose ends I had. Thirty minutes after that I popped the ball and let it deflate. Very carefully pull the flattened ball out through your circle. Install your fixture by running the plug in part and cord through the circle and out through the top. Try and keep it right in the center as best as you can. The light cord kit came with a hook so now all you have to do is figure out where you want it and hang your light. Since it has to be plugged in make sure you place it near an outlet.

TA DA!!!!!!!!!

 

              I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! I have decided though that it needs to be bigger so I am going to move this one some where else in the house and use one of the larger balls to do it all over again :) What do you think?


(PS I am in no endorsed by Walmart or any other brand mention in this blog)

A little paint can change everything

Painting can be one of the most cost effective ways to do a complete makeover of any room in your house. If you have a small room go with light, warm colors to make the room feel larger. If you want to redo a large room don't be afraid to go BOLD! I am definitely not shy about color nor am I afraid to use it. When we purchased our home it was beautiful and freshly painted very nice earth tones, all of our furniture and decor went well with every room BUT like I said I dream in color ;) My first room makeover I tackled was the kitchen because it was the one room I knew exactly what color I wanted it to be, RED! I have always dreamed of having red walls but when you are renting or living in government housing on base rich, dark colors are a pain to cover up and are usually not allowed so it was just never a possibility for us. Now that we OWN our walls though it was the perfect time to make my dream a reality. I picked up TONS of swatches from Lowe's and taped them to the walls with scotch tape and then just starred at them for about 3 days before I finally went with my gut and bought a sample size container of "Heirloom Red". I am so in love with the fact that every where that sells paint sells samples of all their colors now. Of course as soon as I got home I was slapping up the color on the walls and yup it was love at first sight just as I imagined, my husband even feel in love with it right away too.

Next morning I was off to the store for my gallon of "Heirloom Red" and by that afternoon my walls were complete as well as my dream. This was the first moment reality hit me that I was a home owner now and that this house was no longer "theirs" but MINE. That feeling was one of the best feelings ever (of course behind kids being born, getting married and the end of a deployment lol). Do you have a dream wall color you have yet to be able to use? If so what is it and where would you use it?

The before shots

The testing phase

Oh yeah can't wait to cover this big area

OMG YES I love it!!!!!!

Beautiful!

DIY Dish washing detergent that really works

 

Since my homemade laundry detergent turned out so fabulous I decided to try a recipe for some dishwasher soap. I have done 2 loads so far and dishes are coming out clean and sparkling. The recipe for this will do about 110 loads using 1Tbsp per load. You place it in your detergent pocket just like you would any brand of product. Here's what you need for it:

 

Home made Dish washing Detergent:

2 cups Borax

2 cups Washing Soda

12 oz Lemishine (use the whole thing)

1 cup kosher salt

 

The total cost to make this was just under $13 for about 110 loads

The best part though is that when you need to make a second and third batch you only need to purchase the LemiShine because there is lots of the other ingredients left over from the first batch. That means that for around $20 you will actually get about 330 loads!!!!

 

 

Original recipe found here: http://simplydesigning.blogspot.com/2011/05/hard-water-stains-dishwasher-detergent.html

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So today is all about my washer. I am currently using a homemade trick to cleaning my HE washer and when it’s done I am heading to the store to buy all the ingredients necessary to make homemade laundry detergent. I have been wanting to try making the detergent for the last year or so but we did not have access to the right soap needed in Germany. The laundry pile is getting big and I ran out of soap 2 days ago so yup it’s the perfect time to do this J I’ll let you know how it goes and here’s the recipe I’ll be using. http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent

Armed with supplies and helpers

My neice and daughter were so excited to take turns with the grater until they learned how quickly their little arms got tired lol.

Yes it looks like shredded cheese but that is both full bars of soap finally done

We layered everything in our big bucket, got elbow deep and stirred it up and TADA it's done. I bought the little pyrex shot glass because it has 1-2 tbsp labeled on it which is all you need of this stuff per load.

UPDATE:

I have been using this detergent for about a month now and hands down it is the best I have EVER used on our clothes. I love how clean they are, they smell devine and since it already includes fabric softner I also no longer need dryer sheets so I am saving even more. Here are some of the pictures from the process of making it. It was very easy to do and I have no doubt this amount will be lasting me at least a year since I have barely put a dent in it.

Welcome to Armed with Lipgloss and Powertools

Hi there everyone and welcome to my new blog!! I have been a stay at home mom for the last 4 years, 3 of which I spent living the military life in the amazing and beautiful countryside of Germany. We lived in a very small little town, high in the clouds about an hour away from the border of France. Life there was simple, laid back, easy and COLD! Hubby and I are both from Texas so fall and winter (which pretty much lasts year round) kicked our butts. After a few hundred pieces of papers were signed my husband reenlisted and now we are out of Germany and back in the lone star state. I am glad to be "home" but definitely miss the peaceful life we had in Germany. There is no hustle and bustle there, shops close in the middle of the day so people can have time to rest and they are WAY beyond us in the living "green" catagory. Being crafty in Germany was definitely a challenge though because well there just weren't a whole lot of places to shop for supplies within an hour of where we were. So now that we are back in the states and I have plenty of stores to shop at it's time to get armed with my lipgloss and powertools so I can tackle all my pinterest pins. I will be doing at least one craft or building project every week and will be keeping it as low budget as I can posting pictures and instructions to go along with it. We bought our very first house right before we left Germany without ever stepping foot in it so I now own all the walls and floors so I can do anything I want with them. This idea is very scary for my husband because I have BIG dreams and a very small budget but he is happy we are making this OUR home and proud that I have set out to do all the projects DIY style. I hope you enjoy all my upcoming posts and find something that may be helpful and inspiring to some of you as well.