Rat Trap - Altered

Do you see objects when you are shopping, and think "I can do something with that?"  I seem to do it all the time ... I was in a shop purchasing some notepads when I saw this packet of Rat Traps

 

I had some notepads in my hand at the time, and thought - Notepad Holders!

 

 

Can you see it, the snap, used to hold the notepad securely - easy to access

 

I removed a couple of the fittings, and just left the spring and snap.  Then I base coated it, just in case the rat graphic showed through the paper.

 

 

The paper I chose to cover it with, has a fabric type feel, and in the retro 1950 style ..I just used mod podge to glue it down and then sanded the edges.

 

 

I painted the edges black, and then attached some very strong magnets to the back .. I think I overdid it with the magnets, but it certainly will not fall off the fridge

 

 

 

Now to take it into the house for the test on the fridge - all good! 

It looks great just by itself without anything clipped onto it, nice piece of art of the fridge

 

 

Add the notepad to the clip

 

 

 

 

It will also be great to hold artwork, invitations, bills, reminders etc

 

 

 

Now I have one more rat trap left, and I am going to try a totally different look for this one.. same principle but maybe a vintage look with lace, or a floral one with artificial flowers ... I will see where it takes me.

 

Have a great weekend

Judy 

Cable Tidies

These little cable tidies came about by accident.  I went to the craft studio to grab some ribbon to tie around my power cables before packing them for holidays.  However, I saw the velcro tabs I had cut in preparation for the top opening tissue covers, and an idea came to me.

Fabric Cable Tidies

These three were quickly made with just scraps of fabric

iPhone and iPad cable tidy

Camera charger cable tidy (must take photos of the wedding)

Then I decided to make one a little longer, for the iron cord

I tried the iron cable tidy on an extension cord, but it was not long enough, so I will make one longer when I return from holidays.  Great idea to keep all the charger cables, power cords tidy.

Measurements I used, just in case someone else is interested.

The iPhone and camera charger:

4-1/2" x 2-1/2"

Iron cord tidy

6-1/2" x 2-1/2"

• Cut two of each size in fabric and one in interfacing, round the ends, just to make it look nice
• Iron interfacing to the wrong side of one fabric piece
• Place wrong sides together
• Sew all around, leaving a gap for turning
• Turn right side out, iron
• Top stitch all the way around the outside
• Sew a velcro tab to each end, ensuring you sew each piece on opposite sides
• All done

Easy, but handy.

Judy

Steam Mop Cover

I recently purchased a steam mop, I love how easy it is to clean the tiled floors throughout the house.  However whenever I want to use it, the pads are either dirty or in the laundry.

Photo "borrowed" from Danoz Direct website

See the white pad above, that is the pad that came with the cleaner, it is held on with velcro strips.  It gets extremely dirty, even after sweeping the floors before use.

Time to get researching, I can buy extra pads for $29.95 or I can try and make my own.  I found this site, that suggested using a car mitt for a cover - definitely worth a try.

 

The discount store had a lovely pink mitt for only $3.00.  I unpicked one side of the mitt to begin with.

 

It then sort of fell into the shape I required for my mop, before I needed to do anything else

 

After trying it on the mop, I discovered it was exactly the size I wanted, now to tidy it up a little.  No photos, sorry, I was too absorbed in getting it all together to remember to take photos of each step.

I sewed a binding along the messy unpicked edge, and then attached strips of the binding with Velcro attached to each side of the elastic strip on the back.  Then I sewed the corresponding piece of Velcro to the front of the mitt for easy attaching.

Finished ... top showing how it is attached.

 

Bottom - see how it covers the entire base of the mop - thick and thirsty

 

I have given it a quick test, but a thorough testing is scheduled for today, so I will let you know if I encounter any problems with my new cover.

Cost = $3.00

Time = Approx 1 hour

 

Update:

The new mop cover was excellent, no streaks, and no slippage.  One thing I will need to look out for in the future,  the nylon interior of the new cover, pulls on the hooks on the bottom of the mop - may rip and tear with use

Judy