Craft: Recycled Rubber Ruler Earbud Holder

I have these rubbery rulers (like this).  I hate them.  They bend up and make lines uneven.  They disgust the perfectionist in me.  They do not please the artist in me with their unique lines because many times I need to make a straight line.  These rulers just DON'T work for what I want and need them for.  I'm a big girl; I don't need rubbery rulers!

So one night I somehow found earbud holders, oo-ed and ah-ed, and wanted some for my many earbuds.

Pluggd's Design

I noticed they had an hourglass shape.  I figured I could make a pair out of some hard flat plastic.  I looked around and couldn't find anything, then I remembered my rubbery rulers that I hate.  So I chopped on them awhile until I got a style I was mostly happy with.

My Design

The earbud holder turned out to be a little over 3 inches long.  It has two indentions to wrap the cord around. The top and bottom have the shape T cut into them, which creates a niche that does a decent job of holding the each end of the cord.  I tried cutting a straight line for the niches and that style did not work at all. I imagine using a hole-punch on both ends and snipping a straight line from the end into the hole would work best (like Pluggd's design).  Overall, my creation does its job.

Unpluggd's DIY earbud holders from credit cards or gift cards (Walmart gas cards!) is more like the design I'm thinking of.  Changing the material and adding indentions for the cord to wrap around adds more character to the earbud holders.  I will make another attempt when I find my hole-punch.

Future Plans: TV Stand = Play Kitchen

So after looking at homemade play kitchens last night, I decided I will one day change my cheap TV stand into a play kitchen.  I drew up plans and everything.  It shall be bee-u-tee-fuuulllll!  One day when I have money to buy a nice TV stand I will start this project. One day. One day... One day......

Here's my plans.

I'll probably make changes when I actually start the project.  Nothing is ever set in stone for me, but I like the gist of what I came up with.  I chose the TV stand since if I mess it up it won't be a big loss because the TV stand has, in my mind, put in its time, and I don't really have any other furniture I want to recycle into a play kitchen.

Play Kitchens Ideas from Da Web

Exploring the web tonight for ideas for the play kitchen I will one day make for de baby.  I am broke right now and she's still a little young, so I got time to plan and analyze this to death.  Poor parenting choices can have dire results.
1) Super Simple Play Kitchen

Nap Time Crafters: Guest Post: Play Stove Top from Tales of the Scottsnaptimecrafters.blogspot.com

Small living friendly and cultivates a child's imagination due to simplicity.  I like that.  I would simplify the burners a bit more to reduce so much sewing and bulkiness.  It would make a great present for kiddos during the holidays for crafty people who make their own presents. 

Here we go!  Found this in a Google Image search.  This is more of what I'm thinking of.  It's not so bulky and even has a sink.  Children will loves!


2) Gorgeous Table Cloth Play Kitchen

Top 10 Posts of 2010 — #6 | Frugal Family Fun Blog

www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com

This is awesome.  Notice the details, like the towel rack?  The kitchen looks like it fits over a TV tray.  I would make this if I had enough fabric lying around.  This is also good for small living since it can be easily packed away.  I imagine 2-3 year olds could set this up themselves without much or any assistance.


3) Recycled Bookshelf Play Kitchen

Kitchen from naptimejournal.blogspot.com


I really like this.  It's clever and has lots of personality.  I may end up doing this with an old bookshelf instead of building my baby a play kitchen or sewing one.  I will not always live in a 512 sq ft sardine can.



4) Sleek Recycled Kitchen

Recycled Play Kitchen
http://boomdone.blogspot.com/

Here we go!  Perfect AND for boys and girls.  Beautiful.  It deserves a minute of appreciation.  This might be my favorite out of wooden play kitchens.

5) Random Wooden Kitchens

It's a little plain, but easy to spruce up.  Painting the counter a different color would be an easy help or adding hooks for oven mitts and  kitchen utensils where the picture hands. I would have cut the top in a decorative way instead of straight. Little curtains pinned up around the picture would help too.

This actually looks fairly expensive.  Anyone else keep thinking the window is real?

Love the shelf.  It needs more accessories or paint.  A little chalk board with chalk on a string would be cute or a sheet of melt for magnets, but those might be a choking hazard for some kids.  More hooks for pot holders!

Gorgeous little play kitchen. It's perfect. I would do nothing to it! ...Probably.

I really hate the legs, but other than that it's good.  Maybe it's intended for boys or people who hate ugly legs like that. Overall, it is a good design for a simple homemade play kitchen. I would build it, but change out the legs.

This is a very nice recycled play kitchen.  I'm digging the colors and the chalk board.

There are a lot of great homemade play kitchens out on the interwebs.  To find these beauts I searched Google Image with the terms "recycled play kitchen," "homemade play kitchen," and "fold up play kitchen." 

Painting Shows are No More

I really want to know what happened to all the painting and drawing shows. There's none on TV anymore. I'm awake at all hours and have cable, so I know these things. PBS used to have painting shows. Now all there is are decorating shows, how to dress shows, a couple of craft shows and tons of cooking. I like cooking but I don't like to watch it except once in a blue moon.

I want a show about painting a painting! Landscapes, people, anything but walls and furniture!

Turtle turtle!

Messing around with Photoshop and my Bamboo tablet today while taking it easy and sleeping. I need a real sketch pad... My eyes are tired.

Here's another picture I edited a week ago. It's an actual picture of my living room wall.

I don't care if Monday's blue. Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too.

My mother-in-law D'ann gave me a bunch of yarn and a how-to book on crocheting since I told her how bored I am with no job and nothing to do. She also offered to buy me a crochet hook set, but I got the biggest hook I could find at Walmart for about 1.50 by myself. I can swing a buck fifty. Now I'm trying to crochet pot holders. They're something easy and quick to do so I can stare at them and go, "Look at what I made!"

I was bad this morning and skipped my doctor's appointment. It was at 11am and I usually sleep after 2pm. To get to the doctor on time I needed to get up at 9am. Well, it didn't happen. I slept til 4pm instead until Drew tried to bribe me with coffee to get up. It worked and he had to go to work in another 30 minutes.

After Drew left I bleached and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen for the next 5 hours. I cleaned all the dishes, the floors and this really gross brown gunk that was between the stove drawer and the drawer handle. It looked like dirt and I could scoop it out with a toothpick. There's more still there but I couldn't get it all without taking the handle off.