Easy Homemade Headboard Monday, Apr 13 2020 

Everyday Life and Home Decor , Mary K. Doyle 11:05 am

Since all of my presentations are on hold, I’ve had extra time on my hands. I’m not one to sit around and watch TV. I can get depressed and lonely living alone and distanced from loved ones. So, I keep busy.

The past few weeks I changed all the door knobs in the house from worn brass to polished nickel, hung a rod in the guest bath, hung racks in the garage, installed a timer for the outside front door light, organized my tools and hardware, shredded office files, baked, quilted, wrote, and read.

I also made a headboard for the guest bedroom. The normal way would be to attach covered foam to plywood and hammer nails where you would want tufting. However, I simply covered foam with fabric and used an assortment of buttons I had. I sewed the buttons with a long needle to pull them in as much as I could. The tufting isn’t dramatic, but I’m happy enough with the end result.

The headboard is light, so I sewed a band across the top of the back and hung the headboard on the wall with a row of tea cup holders. The total project cost under $50 and took me most of a day to complete.

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See photos from my pilgrimage to Israel and Italy in my latest post, The Road to Crucifixion, on my other blog? And check out all my books on my website.

 

Essential Oil Pendants Wednesday, Sep 7 2016 

Everyday Life and Health and Home Decor and How To , , , , , Mary K. Doyle 12:51 pm

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As you’ve read in previous posts, I’m a fan of high quality essential oils. They have so many uses to support health and happiness. I use them for everything from cleaning and air freshening to flavoring water.

One way to benefit from essential oils is by diffusing. Most often this is done with a small appliance that spreads drops of the oil into the air with or without water.

Diffusing is also done by placing a couple of drops of essential oils on cotton balls or a pendant and allowing the oil to penetrate into the air. Pendants made of clay look attractive and work particularly well. They can be made simply or intricately depending on your creativity.

I had fun making some of these pendents for gifts and myself. I kept the rejects-which were many-and hung them in closets, my car, lingerie drawers, the laundry room, and placed them in my handbag and luggage. They also can be worn as a necklace which offers a way to enjoy the fragrance of your choice all day long.

To make them, purchase clay that air dries, string, leather, or ribbon, and beads or stones of your choice. You also might want to look for stampers, but check around your home first for buttons, leaves, jewelry, or other items that can make a deep enough impression into the clay.

Begin by taking a small amount of clay and knead it until soft and pliable. Roll out to the desired thickness. Thinner pendants are easier to wear. Thicker ones are best for larger spaces like closets. Cut into desired shapes. Gently press stampers or objects into clay being careful not to spread the clay. Take a straw, chopstick, small doll rod, or other round object to push through the top of the pendant for a hole for the string.

Loop the string through the hole and then slide the desired beads onto the string. Another option is to glue a magnet on the back and use the pendant for an air freshener on the refrigerator door.

Allow the clay to dry about three days. Then slowly drop essential oils onto the pendant. Be careful not to let the oil run to the back which can mark your clothes or object you place it on.

(See my newly updated website, Mary K Doyle, my posts on Mary K Doyle Books and Saint Theodora/Mother Theodore Guerin and my Facebook author page.)

 

 

 

Quick Fix Thursday, Aug 16 2012 

Everyday Life and Home Decor and How To , , , , Mary K. Doyle 3:11 pm

The easiest, quickest solution often can solve a disturbing problem. The challenge is in discovering that solution.

I have a cabinet that has bothered me for years. The shelf in my cabinet under the kitchen sink was bumpy and worn. It looked terrible no matter how clean it was. Contact paper wouldn’t stick to the irregular surface and placing a board over it would be difficult to fit because of the irregular shape of the corner cabinet

The solution was to press self-sticking tiles over it, an idea I found on Pinterest. Within less than an hour I was able to cut and stick over the mess giving the cabinet a clean look.

The tiles were 28 cents a piece from Home Depot. I used paper to make patterns for the odd-shaped tiles needed on the ends, placed the paper over the tiles, and slit the top of the tiles with a utility knife following the patterns. I then cracked the tiles along the slits.

The job took nine tiles for a total of $2.52 and less than an hour to complete. No telling how much it saved me emotionally.

©Mary K. Doyle

 

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