We are forever having to buy new shoes for kids (with 5 citymade pairs of kid feet between Melany and I). So we almost always have empty shoe boxes.
Of course shoe boxes make great storage, but they don’t have to look like shoe boxes.
We dressed ours up with this patterned cotton fabric.
Now we can use with out having to hide it in a closet.
Another donation from MIL of citymade, Nancy, a pair of cargo pants. Nobody could wear them, so we decided that they would make a really good bag. It was easy to do. We added a lining made from old curtains and a strap made from an old belt (triple repurpose!)
We think citymade hubby, Jeff, looks really cool with his cargo bag.
I really liked this hand soap bottle.
I know that is weird, but it was just the right size and the pump part worked really well. So when the hand soap ran out, I didn’t want to throw it away. I decided to use it instead to dispense my dish soap.
Just one pump does a whole sinkful of dishes (I sound like a commercial), but it will really help your dish soap last longer.It looks neat and there are no soap drips from a messy bottle. Plus, that is one less piece of plastic in a landfill.
(By the way-obviously this will not work to dispense auto-dishwasher “stuff.” We, at citymade, don’t have “fancilful” dish washing machines. For real, we don’t)
This idea came from friend of citymade, Michele P.
We took an unused neck tie (it has a nice pattern, it just had a few stains that prevented it from being worn as a tie) and trimmed the bottom half (about 17 inches).
Then, folded it about in half, leaving the point of the tie to use as a closure, and top stitched the sides.
We added some velcro to create the case.
Now we have a cute, functional case for our glasses. No more lost glasses ever!
Citymade MIL, Nancy, gave us a large bag of clothes to re-purpose. We used one of the T-shirts to make this cute drawstring bag.
We cut the T-shirt to the size we wanted our bag to be and sewed the sides together. We made a casing to insert a drawstring, then added grommets to the bottom.
Lauren looks adorable with her new drawstring backpack.
We have a good friend who is expecting her second baby. Rather than have a traditional “shower” , she had what is called a “Blessingway“. One of the “gifts” you are asked to bring is a bead so that the mother can make a birth necklace. According to the website “Planning a Blessingway” the beads are strung onto a cord for the mother to wear during labor. ” Many mothers have said that these birth beads give them strength and focus during labor. It is a powerful and tangible way to show your love and the community support that surrounds the mother.”
Being the re-purposing kind, Melany and I decided to make a bead from each of us and to reuse an old issue of New Beginnings magazine (the La Leche League publication) .
With a little planning, we were able to make the beads show a pictures of babies.
Sister of citymade, Susan, sent us this great idea for a gift box.
She took a cereal box, cut it in half, and with some tape and pretty paper created a gift box.
What is great about this project is that 1. the box can be put in the recycling after being opened and 2. you can personalize the box or, as in Susan’s example, have it match the gift inside.
Our final flower display involves an empty milk carton. It’s perfect for keeping your herbs fresh while preparing and cooking a meal.
Keep your favorite herb handy by the stove without worrying about breaking a good vase or glass.
If you are looking for something to put your plastic plant containers in try using an old crock. Â Plants tend to look even prettier when they are in pretty containers.
Even this droopy aloe looks nicer in the crock. (Come on aloe, you can do it. survive!)
If you happen to have a really neat jar without a lid try using it to display your flowers.
Melany had this great jar with a hint of blue.
Because it is a little taller, we can use it to display some nice tall flowers.
