Stripping Tea Tins

I Love Metal, Concrete and the Smell of a Skunk!

I know that it's strange to claim to love metal, but I also love concrete and the scent of a good skunk.  I believe that skunks have gotten a bad rap.  They smell a little bit like rubber bands.  No one ever smells a box of rubber bands and exclaim "Ewwwwww!  I smell rubber bands!" I believe we have been conditioned to think that skunks stink.  A friend suggested that maybe we have Saturday morning cartoons to blame.  Who knows where the little critters got the bad reputation.  Back to the subject at hand--

I also love tea and enjoy collecting cute little metal tea tins.  Since I drink so much tea and I can't throw the tins away, I have more than I know what do with, which necessitates a brainstorming session with myself.  

Here is one of my favorite little cups that I found at Goodwill.  I hand wash it because I love it so much.  I also don't leave it outside for weeks.  I take a little cream  with my tea, making it look like coffee.  Coffee gags me, so tea is my coffee and I feel grownup when I drink my tea with cream.  I insist on drinking from a dainty little tea cup, especially on Saturday mornings.  I digress.  

Back to the Tea Tins.  I have been collecting these tins for some time and wanted to try stripping them of their paint and then repurposing them.  I could leave them as is, but they distract me.  They aren't cute.  Someone, I won't mention any names, insisted that stripping would not work and it would be a failed project.  I am always up for a good challenge, so I pulled out the big guns.

This was all I needed, plus some steel-wool, and wet sandpaper for the stubborn paint.  And a scraping thing--whatever that is called.  I think its called a scraper.  

I used an old paint brush and painted on the striper really super thick.  This particular tin started peeling pretty quickly.  The black tins were not as obedient, but some steel-wool and wet sandpaper helped.  Let the stripper set for a bit to begin eating the paint, but don't let it dry.  Try letting the stripper set for 10 or 15 minutes.  You may have to repeat the process.  

Stripper is powerful, so be sure to wear protective gloves.  In my estimation, the key here is to wear two left gloves.  It must be the secret to my super successful stripping.  I was told it couldn't be done!  Although the black paint was a bear, I stripped the heck out of these tins.  After the tins were mostly clean, I used a little steel wool and wet sandpaper.

I could have spent a little more time to get the black ones really clean, but I like the haunting look that the little paint evokes.  Plus, I am a Shabby Chic kind of girl.  

Splendid Trash

And there you have it!  Pretty tins that you can repurpose for so many things. Here are just a few ideas for your newly designed tins:

Q-Tips
Cotton Balls
Hair Ties
Matches
Craft Supplies
Sewing Supplies
Office Supplies
Chocolate Supplies
Tea Supplies
Money
Makeup
Pickles
Drugs

Just checking to see if you are still reading this post.  'Pickles' is a funny word and I wanted to wake you up.  Hello!  Please don't put pickles in your tin.  And please don't do drugs.

Now go repurpose something and make something useful!  Make some Splendid Trash!

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!

One Man's Trash....My Treasure!

One of the benefits of working in the fashion industry is attending the sample sales.  Oh, boy!  I can get in a lot of trouble at these events.  But, one area  of the sale that many bypass is the  fabric samples, which is understandable.  The pieces tend to be small or have huge chunks taken out of them.  But, they are FREE!  I love free stuff.  So, for some reason, I passed up this damaged little treasure, and it haunted me.  I thought about it for days.  The sale was over and there was nothing I could do about it.  I told my boss, described the piece and then she went out of her way to get it for me.  It helps to know people.

I love this blanket!  It's fuzzy on one side and quilted on the other side.  Hmmmm... I wonder what we can do with this 'trashed' blanket to make it a treasure.  Think, think, think!

My twin, Karri, and I decided to cut off the bad part using a straight edge and a rotary wheel and then bind  the raw edge.  We planned to give it to her daughter, Karra, so we chose a black and white floral fabric that she would like.

Binding a raw edge is super fun and easy.  Here's how:

Iron out the wrinkles.  It's important!  Trust me!

Measure the raw edge of the blanket and add a couple inches.  If your fabric is not long enough, you can sew strips together.  It's always better to make your strip a lot longer than the edge you want to bind.  

Place the strips, right sides facing each other in the shape of an 'L'.  Sew diagonally to the other edge.

Cut the excess fabric about 1/4 inch or less from the stitching.  

Press open the seam.  You could just sew the two pieces end to end, but this method will eliminate some of the bulk.  Trust me, it will look a whole lot more professional.

Fold the strip of fabric, lengthwise, wrong sides together and press.  

To avoid a raw edge, unfold the fabric, and iron a hem about 1/4 inch.  Then you fold it back, wrong sides together again and press again.
Now you are ready to attach the binding to the blanket.

Place the raw edges together, starting with the end that you just ironed that little 1/4 inch hem.  I like to use the edge of my presser foot as the guide for my seam allowance.  Your seam allowance need not be wide (less bulk).  Sew as straight as possible!  You can pin in place if you need help holding it all together.

When you get close to the end, fold in another 1/4 inch hem (but don't worry about ironing it) making sure that the edges are even.  Finish sewing to the end and back stitch to lock your stitches in place.  Now the binding is attached to the blanket. Yay!  

Press the binding toward the raw edge.  The next part is my favorite!  Hand sewing!  

Fold the binding over to cover the raw edge.  Use the line you stitched as your guide.  You may pin in place, but I find that they get in the way.  Use the hidden stitch to attach.  If you don't know how to do the hidden stitch, google it.  There are a ton of tutorials out there.  

This almost landed in the trash, but now it's a treasure!  I am happy with how you don't see much of the floral, making it modern and funky.  

Next Up:

What should we do with this leftover fabric?  Throw it away!  Have you learned nothing, Grasshopper?

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!!!!  

Fridge Binz and Keeping Your Refrigerator Clean and Organized

Full disclosure here:  I work at The Container Store, but this is not a commercial.  Nobody is paying me to write this post.  I love my job, the company, everyone I work with, our customers, and moreover, I love our products! 

Today I would like to feature an unassuming, overlooked-product that will change the way you organize your refrigerator.  "What?"  you say.  "Isn't that a bit extreme?  Why should I organize my refrigerator?"  Let me ask you this: ave you ever had multiple bottles of open catsup in your refrigerator?  Have you ever cleaned out your fridge and a day later, no evidence of your labors?  Have you ever stood with the door open looking for an item you were sure you had, only to find it weeks later ready for the science fair?  Are you constantly throwing away moldy food?  Dude, you need to organize your refrigerator!  You are wasting time, energy and more importantly, MONEY, BABY!

I am ashamed to say that I ignored this product until a customer asked for it and I didn't even know what she was talking about.  When we finally located it on the shelf, I asked her to tell me why she liked it so much.  I don't remember what she said, but I bought my first Fridge Binz that very day.  She was passionate and I was soon to supercede her enthusium.

Check-out the obedient condiment soldiers,  lined up, ready to battle the burger and fries.  Notice the built-in handle?  Super smart!  The construction of these babies match the heavy duty strength of the refrigerator!  

Like items can be placed  together making it easier to find the yogurt or Kimchee.  No longer forgotten capers or spoiled leftovers to plague your food budget!  You can designate a tray for lunch items, snacks, leftovers or whatever!  An added benefit of the Fridge Binz is that if you're defrosting chicken leaks, simply pull the bin out and wipe clean.  Without the Fridge Binz, a spill can result in a complete refrigerator clean-up.  What a time sucker!

Fridge Binz come in different sizes and heights to suite your needs.  The depth  fits perfectly in a standard refrigerator.  No wasted space.

So, come on in to The Container Store!  It's the first step to a beautiful, organized and hassle free refrigerator.

Splendid Scraps! A Unique Use For Quilt Scraps.

If I had to use all my fabric stash before I entered the kingdom of heaven, the gates would rust while I worked my fingers to the bones.  I have a problem.  I think I'm over the acquisition phase, but I have trouble getting rid of even the smallest scrap of fabric, because I am sure I could find a use for it.  My husband tries to slip little pieces into the trash when we are making a quilt together and I snatch them up and put them into my 'some day I will make something out of this' box.  After all, they are lovely little treasures!

Just look at these precious scraps!  Now tell me you wouldn't risk ridicule over each and every inch.  I acquired the green flower print from my grandma after she died.  She was in the process of making a dress, which she  probably started before I was born!  She was the ultimate recycler! I could tell you some stories about my grandma and her husband, but I will save that for another day!  Remind me to tell you about the collection of elastic saved from her unmentionables.

Soooooooo....what does one do with all this rescued fabric?  I made miniature quilts, to be used as coasters!  I asked my husband to make a little holder so that when they are stacked, it would evoke images of 'The Princess and the Pea' children's story.  The wood came from an old discarded church window.  Splendid Trash?  No?

I would rotate this picture, but I don't know what I'm doing!  The remnants you see are lovely memories of little dresses, baby quilts, party napkins, pillows and the fabric I bought to make my daughter an outfit that never materialized.  At least my grandma cut her pattern out.  Oh my, I am sentimental~

There you have it!  I love my little quilted coasters!  Grandma would be proud that her dress has a purpose, even if it's mission is to keep the coffee table clear of unsightly stains.