Saturday morning project

What do you do on a Saturday morn, soccer games are cancelled due to rain, and the rest of the family is sound asleep? You recycle dog food bags into dog food bag bags.

The bag our dog food comes in is made of a woven plastic type fabric. It seemed a shame such sturdy material gets pitched. I have been saving them up until inspiration struck.

Step one: Turn dog food bag inside out. (easier said than done) Wash bag to the best of your ability. You'll need soap since the dog food leaves a greasy film. Rinse well and let dry.

Cut off the top few inches of the clean, reversed bag.

Open cut top portion at seam. This becomes your handle. Fold edges in and sew.

If you have the needle down option on your machine use it. The fabric is slippery and the feed dogs slip a bit so help guide it through.

Fold over top inch of bag and sew.

I did this two times 1/4" apart to give it a finished look.

You want your dog food bag bag looking good right?

Hold the edges and cram your foot in, to reverse bag.

Wearing pajama pants is your call.

Stitch handle onto bag.

I did this twice, 1/4" apart for reinforcement.

See how nice the stitching is.

Fold over and secure at the top. You are covering the raw edge of the handle and making it very sturdy.

See how purdy it looks. Ok, my photo skills suck.

Now you have a finished dog food bag bag.

Its very roomy.

Here's the back side.

This bag isn't water proof due to the stitching on the bottom, but it is very water resistant.

I figured it would make a great bag for the car, holding winter blankets, hats and gloves. A great beach bag for the sandy towels, buckets and seashells. Picnic bag for the Frisbees, balls or other toys. Soccer or other sports gear. Just hook it on the headrest and let hang behind the seat.

I made four. One is definitely going in my car.

Confessions of a Trash Picker

I am a trash picker. I have been for years. I have a huge list of items I have rescued from the curb. In our family we like to call them curbside treasures. One I'm proud of is my fashion model which I've bragged about before.

Here she is in the garden earning her keep, modeling an apron.

The cool gal from Henbogle ( I still haven't figured out the link thing but you can go to the sites I love and click to her site) talked about this topic on her February 12th blog. I left a comment and she requested a photo of my dresser drawer bookshelf I made. So here are many photos and the story behind it all.

My home, if you climb the stairs to the upper floor, has a bathroom straight ahead. To the left and right are my kids bedrooms. There is a small landing with not much room but I invisioned book shelves on both sides. We have tons of childrens books and I figured it would be nice for the kids to just walk out and pick a book at bedtime, also saving valuable floor space in their rooms.

Very narrow.

One side is deeper than the other and I was trying to find a bookshelf narrow enough to fit the shallow space. I didn't have any luck size wise or price wise. My husband is a busy man with many projects of his own. I am an independent woman and only ask for help when absolutely necessary, but my building skills are piss poor. (sorry if i offend, but it's true) I didn't want a bookshelf that looked like I built it.

I live on a beautiful tree lined, semi rural, dirt road. One of the bad things about it are not so nice people come out here and pitch their trash on the side of our road instead of throwing it away in a proper way. Not nice. Luckily people on our road take pride and it usually doesn't stay for long.

One sunny day quite a few years back, I was driving home on our beautiful tree lined road and saw a crappy, particle board dresser with a pile of other house hold items strewn about. But as I mentioned before, I am a trash picker and hit the breaks. The dresser and one of the drawers was wrecked but 5 of the drawers were fine. I put the dresser on it's back, took the good drawers and emptied them into the dresser and stacked the rest of the discarded items on top. I'm not strong enough to lug and dispose of the junk but I can at least make it a little neater/easier for someone who can.

I took these drawers home and when I get a wild hair, I have to do things right away.

First I screwed the drawers together using the holes that were in the drawers for the handles. Lucky for me the screws that were in the handle were pointy so I didn't have to scrounge for just the right size and amount of screws.

I made sure to use the holes for the bottom side of the "shelf" so the screws would be covered by the books.

Once done, the "shelf" was very wobbly since they were only connected in the center.

I scrounged some trim pieces from hubbies stash and covered where the 2 drawers connect to make it purdy. I put the flat side up so it would be level with the shelf.

On the side facing out (remember it's fitting into a corner) I ended up using 2 bigger trim pieces to cover the joints of the drawers and to make it look nice. With all these it made it very sturdy.

I used nail filler and caulk to fill nail holes and gaps. I primed it with about 2 or three coats since the particle board sucks in the paint. I never did get around to painting it, I couldn't decide on a color. Someday.

It fits!

I got together with my dad who is a builder and made one with scrounged lumber to make one for the other side. (pay no attention to the messy books) I still need to prime and paint that one. Someday.

I liked this project because even a gal with piss poor building skills with good tools, can build a sturdy, straight bookcase that even impressed the real builders in the family. I also saved a bit of trash from going into the landfill. Best of all it was FREE!

tutorial

My family loves rice, those rice packages are easy but not as healthy as brown rice. Brown rice is also much cheaper. I have an easy, tasty brown rice recipe that my family loves. It takes longer to cook but the hands on time is minimal.Ingredients, brown rice, butter, onion, mushrooms, and chicken bullion.

Saute onion and mushrooms (drained) in a tablespoon of butter till lightly browned.

Figure out on rice directions the amount for your family. Add one bullion cube per one cup of water. Add rice. Different brands have different cooking times from 35 min to 1 hour. Cover and wait.

Stir and serve. Easy right?

I usually make a double batch and turn the leftovers into fried rice the next night.