Wait! Don't Trash That!

As you go about your holiday merry-making, you're bound to generate what many would consider plain, ol' trash. A case in point: this cute, cute almond snowman cookie box.  It's just a heavy stock paper box with the name of the cookies around the band and the typical nutrition information on the bottom. But the design is fun and festive.

Don't toss it. Upcycling a nice box is about a 10-minute project, depending on how elaborate you get with your remake. Because I planned to use my box for a gift that would then be stuffed into a packing box and shipped to Texas, I made my makeover very simple. No point in adding embellishments that would get crushed in shipping.

I decided to add red grosgrain ribbon around the box top using double-sided tape. How easy is that? And, the ribbon was exactly the same size as the lip on the box. Whoa, baby! Simple.

For the bottom, I added scrapbook paper I had on hand that coordinated fairly well with the striping on the box. For a perfect fit, just trace around the box and cut slightly inside the tracing lines. Attaching the bottom paper was easy. You guessed it: double-sided tape.

A good salvaged box, a few fixin's from the craft room, 10 minutes and you've got a professional looking, but nearly cost-free, package.

This holiday season, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for little gems masquerading as trash.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Sunday Show-Off
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop

Junk, Beautiful Junk

Despite how it may appear, this is not an abandoned blog. As much as I love it,  blogging just hasn't been my top priority these past several months.

My husband and I are empty nesters. But, even with all the kids out of the house--and out of the state--the past several months have been anything but life at the corner of Ho Hum and Easy Street (although we did stand in that sweet spot with my dad in Carefree, Arizona, just long enough to snap this photo last week). We both have aging parents who increasingly need as much of our attention and assistance as we can provide. After all their years of sacrifice and commitment to us, it's now our turn to give back.  Not as easy as driving across town, though. Hubby's parents are two states away, in Illinois, and my dad is more than 1,200 miles away, in Arizona.

Even with frequent long weekends away, I was able to launch my Etsy shop this summer, but haven't been able to fulfill my goal of creating and listing as many handmade items as I'd like.

I don't know how often I'll be able to post here over the coming months, but I'm not giving up. I hope you'll stick with me and check in occasionally. Even though I don't have as much time to post these days, I try to keep up on your blogs as often as possible. I continue to be inspired by all of you out there.

This weekend, I finally found time to photograph the great  items I picked up at the Nebraska Junk Jaunt in September.

These beautiful old jars are the extra big ones. They might make interesting over-sized snow globes for the holidays.

The sewing machine drawers have a wonderful design of what looks like branches in a frame shape around the carved handles. I haven't cleaned these up at all, so you're seeing them with dust and crud and all. They're so lovely, they deserve special treatment to highlight that charming carving. Onto the future painting project list they go.

This raggedy, dirty old cloth tape measure was a mere $1, but is so much more precious than its price would indicate.

Soda crates and pulleys and tongs, oh my!

One of two nice wood stove handles I picked up. This one is from a company called Quick Meal Ranges.

I see a role for this primitive rake in a horror movie. After Halloween, it can be repurposed as a unique jewelry hanger.

These tongs are fascinating, although I'm not sure what they're used for. I thought they were meat hooks for use in a packing plant, but others think they're ice tongs. As you can see they can expand and contract to different sizes. The top is a hook that looks like it might hang over a pulley line. Do you know what it is?

A nice cast-iron biscuit pan is great in the craft room to hold small items such as beads, clips, pins and small bits of paper.

I love my new treasures and am already looking forward to Junk Jaunt 2013.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Cowgirl Up!
Knick of Time Tuesday
All Star Block Party
What's It Wednesday
Rednesday
Fridays Unfolded