Glass Etching, Easy as Pie!

My Recycling Illness

I love Kombucha.  But O my, the stuff is expensive.   My co-worker bought me one as a treat and now I am doomed to drink the stuff until I die.  Good thing it's healthy, otherwise I would never forgive the girl who started this whole obsession.

So now that I have this habit, I figured out a way not to feel so guilty.  Yes, the bottle is glass and it can be recycled, but better yet, reuse it in a new and pretty way.

Have you ever tried glass etching?  

Glass etching is fun and easy.  I can even do it by myself and I usually need my husband to help with everything.  Etching makes me feel smart and creative.  And Happy!

Shopping List:
Etching Acid
Pen
Clear contact paper
Sharp exacto-knife
Tape
Small paint brush

Step One:

Choose a cute font and type the words or letters you want to etch.  You may have to experiment with the size or bold your text.  For my design, I chose the font Big Caslon, the size is 144 for the 'H' & 'O' and the '2' is size 96.  Testing fonts and sizing could take hours.  Soooo much fun!  Print your text.  You can also etch designs instead of text.  This is where you can really go crazy!

Step Two:  

Place the contact paper over the text and tape in place.  Trace with a non-smudgy pen--not a felt tip.  For this design you will have to move the contact paper to trace the '2' so that is lower.

Step Three:

Peel the contact paper backing and position on your glass bottle as desired.  Carefully smooth out all the bubbles.

Step Four:

With an exacto-knife, trace the pen lines, pressing firmly enough to cut in one, clean line.  In other words, you want it to be as straight as possible, not hacked.  I am not that great at this part, but you will improve with practice.  Don't fret, just do it!  Once you trace the letters, use the point of the blade to pick out the contact paper from inside the lettering.  If you missed a spot with the blade and it doesn't come out cleanly, recut the area instead of pulling and stretching the contact paper.

Step Five:

Paint on the etching acid and let sit for 10 minutes.  The bottle directions instruct 5 minutes, but we have found that 10 is better.  We also discovered that it's best to lay the bottle flat instead of up right.  This will prevent the acid from running onto the glass.

Step Six:

Rinse the acid off the bottle before removing the contact paper.

Step Seven:

Rejoice that you have have just created Splendid Trash!  We keep these babies filled with water, stocked in our fridge.  Water tastes better in a glass bottle labeled H2O.

Rehab Porch Swing, From Trash to Treasure

Curb Appeal

We love trash day.  I remember the first time picking trash.  My friend was with me and I saw a sweet table in my neighbors trash.  It was after dark, and I laughed all the way home as we carried the table down the street.  She didn't know what was so funny and she kept telling me to be quiet!  I felt a mix of embarrassment and a rush of adrenaline.  It's the ultimate high!

This was intended as landfill!  But, wait!  It's not Trash!  It's SplendidTrash!

It's nice to have a truck for these stealth operations!

Rick used an angle grinder to remove the rusted bolts.

We bought some lumber the same size as the rotten boards and drilled holes for the new bolts.  Rick also rounded the edges with a plane so that it would be kind on the booty.  Rick chose pine wood--less than $20 bucks.  

If you are like me, there is always some leftover paint in the basement.  I had some house paint and white trim paint that I mixed.  Pretty?

We found some really great textured metallic paint by Rust-oleum that made the frame look galvanized.  If you use textured paint, alway prime with a similar color since the textured paint doesn't cover very well.  We didn't and Rick had to go back and retouch with some silver paint.  We were in a hurry to get this project finished so that we could sit on it.  We are not perfectionist and embrace our inner hack.  Just don't look too closely at our stuff.  Flaws abound, and we are fine with that. 

Every yard needs a swing.  

The Best Things in Life are Green!

I Have a Problem!

We have established long ago that I act as if I lived through The Great Depression.  I have not, but my grandmother has.  She was as frugal as they come, and became more so as she got older.  I, on the other hand, am a paradox.  A strange creature who can't make up her mind.  I am frugal, I am excessive.  Whatever!

  

Dortheaa Lange's Migrant Mother

 This woman moves me.  These children kill me. 
 

I Get a Thrill!

For me, it's a hobby to make things last a little longer.  Stick it to the manufacturer and get more use than they intended.  I love the little thrill of digging out every last bit of my Burt's Bees lip balm with a sharp object.  You would not believe how much is left in that tube after you use it up.  But that's another post!

You can buy these Scotch-Brite Scour Pads for about 4 bucks at Target.  These come in a pack of 4.  But they are unnecessarily large.  You only need a bit of scrubbing power to get the job done.  To get more bang for your buck, cut them in quarters!  Now you have 16 scour pads that take up less space and is still able to eliminate your stubborn baked-in food stuff. 

What a lovely pile of green, that will help you save green and be a little more green!  If you know what I mean!

Selling Crap on Craigslist Part 2

If you want to sell your crap on Craigslist, you need a good photo and a great description.  I tried to hawk this sweet little table last week to no avail.

Maybe the electrical outlet is too distracting.  I would give this photo a 'B'.  I also had a few close-ups attached to the ad.  My description went something like this:

Shabby Chic side table.  Features beautiful leather-like insert and a handy cubby for storing books, magazines or a basket.

I included the measurements and $30.00 cash price tag.

Not one bite!  I had multiple inquiries on the other side table and sold it right away.  So, I had two options.  One, lower the price.    Two, change the wording and try again.  I already had a lot invested with the walking next door in the dark and hauling it into the house.  Plus hiring my husband to paint it for free.  So you can understand why I had to charge the full 30 bucks.  The change I made to the ad was minimal:

Madmen meets Shabby Chic, side table.  Features beautiful leather-like insert and a handy cubby for storing books, magazines or a basket.

Boom! Four people wanted it!  Boom!

I just love selling crap on Craigslist!  My sister and I have an idea for selling chairs on Craigslist!  Coming soon!  

Selling Crap on Craigslist

You know what I get a kick out of?  Finding something in the trash, fixing it up and then selling it on Craigslist.  It's so exciting!  Mystery, intrigue, danger, with a feel good ending!

Mystery
Why did someone throw away this little treasure?  It just needs a little TLC,  and elbow grease.  I love the smaller sized objects. You can quickly pull your vehicle over to the curb, swipe the discarded items and throw them in your trunk all before  the neighbors witness such low-level activity--or before they change their mind.  You wouldn't believe the cool stuff people throw away.

This little nightstand was missing a little piece of wood on the right lower corner and the drawer pull.  No big deal.  My 'before' picture could use a little more forethought and skill.  A true 'before' and 'after' would showcase the missing chunk of wood.  I should work on that, but imagine the worst.  

Intrigue
Neighbor looks out the window, sees me driving slowly by her house, stop, slowly backup and put the car in park.  I quickly get out and examine her discarded object, grab the nightstand, pop my trunk and throw it in, and zoom away.  She wonders, "What is that crazy neighbor doing with my trash again?  Now what on earth is she going to do with that broken, ugly o'l thang?  Maybe I should leave her a sandwich and aluminum cans."  Now, she is intrigued!

Suspense
What will it look like when it's finished?  Will anyone want it?  How much should we sell it for?  Or, should we keep it for ourselves?  Gift it?  What shall we do?  It's a nail biter!  A cliffhanger!

Danger
Everyone knows the stories of 'The Craigslist Killer' or the guy who robbed the fellow in a Craigslist scam.  It's a risky business to be involved in, especially in my hood!

A Feel Good Ending!

Recycled Food

Plan ahead, and you will save money and calories.  One simple thing you can do is prepare your lunches at the beginning of your work week.  This is just one sample of my meals for the week, less Friday.

I will come up with something later in the week for Friday's meal.  I cheated this week, but that's ok.  It just so happens that a lot of what you see is leftovers from San Sai, one of my favorite fast food places.  I totally recycled my leftover lunch and made enough lunches to almost get me through the week.  The far left jar contains some of the leftover salad with the addition of fresh lettuce of my own.  Notice  the bits of pasta, corn and other colorful veggies topped with greens.  On top of that, I added some cashews to give myself a protein boost.  The small jar on top of the salad holds cauliflower puree, which tricks the brain into thinking that you are eating mashed potatoes.  With this particular batch I added some fresh garlic sauteed in a little olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper.  You may also add potatoes, just remember to use more cauliflower than potatoes to lower your carbohydrate intake.  This batch only contained one potato and an entire head of cauliflower.  Everyone loves this, including kids, provided you tell them after they eat the 'mashed potatoes'.  We faked a lot of people out a couple of Thanksgivings ago and now they request that we bring the 'potatoes'!  I'm such a liar!

The next few jars contain brown rice and spicy chicken from San Sai.  I will pair this with homemade roasted zucchini.  Roasting vegetables is one way to pack more flavor without added caloric filled sauces.  Simply toss veggies with olive oil to coat, add some herbs, pepper and maybe some balsamic vinegar.  Roasting veggies will be your new love! 

The remainder of the white jars are filled with Honey Greek Yogurt, from Trader Joes.  I proclaim it is the best yogurt on the planet.  You can add your own fresh or frozen fruit or simply eat it plain.  Yum!!!  It is so much more economical than buying individual servings, and less sugar laden.  Warning:  4oz is plenty for a serving.  It has a tad more fat than I would prefer, but it's worth it!

The benefits of using Mason Jars are numerous.  It helps with portion control, cuts down on plastic, and looks pretty!  I believe that aesthetics are very important, especially when eating.  And sleeping.  And living. Mason Jars are easy to transport to work and take up very little space.  You may want to bring a bowl or plate to work, but for some of these you can eat right out of the jar.  They are also easy to clean, however, I wash the lids by hand so as to keep rust at bay. 

Doesn't this look yummy?  And to think how far I stretched this meal into the work week.  You don't have to deprive yourself of tasty food or never go out to eat in order to eat healthy.  This meal was tasty and satisfying. 





Bon Appetit!

Charming Recycled Key Hook

Are you still there?  If you are, this post is dedicated to you!  Especially Lindsey, who requested that I write another one.   That request came about a year or so ago.  Briefly, there were technical difficulty.  A plethora of technical difficulties too boring to get into.  I'm over it!

 This post features this lovely key hook, constructed of discarded (trash) objects.  The wood: trash!  The hooks: trash!  Some people throw away the most beautiful trash!

Now for the back story... Here at the Hess House, we have some members that have a little difficulty keeping track of his or her keys.  I'm not naming any names, but let's just say that a certain person in this house got tired of looking for another certain person, or persons' keys.  I, or should I say, a certain person would advise the other certain persons to make a habit of putting his or her keys in the same location every time they entered the house.  Unheeded.  Repeatedly.  Soooooooo.....The hooks were born.  Or should I say reborn.  This took a lot of begging, but eventually a certain person made this out of a bunch of junk found in our dungeon.  That's what I call our basement.  Have you seen it?  It's a dungeon!  Tours are available upon request.




Check it out, it conveniently features 3 hooks, and 3 people live in this house (up until recently)!  Notice the nice frame constructed by a very talented member of this family!  Admittedly, the peeling paint is not for everyone, but I love it!  It reminds me of the passage of time, and survival.  If you can't relate, fine...you can go to the store and buy some shiny hooks and mount them near the front door so that you don't waist time searching for keys.

But look, after all that begging and then the labor involved crafting this little beauty, one little set of keys hangs.  One lonely set of keys, hanging forlornly on its prospective hook.  Longing for it's fellow keys.  Oh well.  Attempts were made!

Up next....a rehabilitated dresser from the trash!!!!