DIY Recycled Towel Mat

Once the new bathroom was finished I went out and got some new towels (finally!) And the old ones got a new life...as a bathmat!

This project used 24 long strips of towel cut 3 1/2" wide.
About 4 or 5 bath towels.

Just trim off the sewn ends and start cutting.

Once cut I sewed 3 ends together and started braiding. If you want you could first fold and sew each strip to secure the cut edges, but as long as you fold the edges in as you braid it works out fine.

When you get near the end of the first 3 pieces sew 3 more onto the ends and keep braiding. NOTE: Don't try to sew all 24 strips together to make 8 long ones....impossible to braid with, trust me 😕. Just attach the next ones as you go.

When you reach the end of your strips sew the ends together. You can lay the braid on the floor to get an idea of the size the finished mat will be. Feel free to add more strips for a larger mat.

Now even though you've been neatly folding in the edges the mat will probably have a good side and a not-so-good side. Starting in the middle with bad side facing you begin stitching (yes, by hand) the braid together. Remember this mat will probably be thrown in the wash alot so if you have heavy duty thread use it.

I wanted a round mat so I started with a tight turn in the middle. But if you want an oblong mat just start by laying the braid about 6-8" out and coming back up beside it and continue from there.

Sew the last ends together and tuck in to sew.

Soft and absorbent...and FREE!

For the full Beach Bathroom Makeover:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/02/beach-bathroom-makeover.html

Coastal Decor

I wanted to bring a bit of the seaside to our new bathroom.

A piece of florist foam
spanish moss (from craft store)
driftwood
glue gun

I started by cutting the florist foam into a rough ball leaving a flat bottom.  Next I placed the spanish moss loosely around the ball to cover it. Once I was happy with the way it was positioned I lifted parts of it and squirted a bit of glue onto the ball, pressing the moss back gently into position.

Then using one of the the smaller pieces of driftwood I made a hole in the ball. I removed the small piece and took another abit larger, put a dab of glue on the end and pressed it into the hole. I continued adding driftwood until I liked the look.

I knew when I collected this driftwood on our Canadian maritime trip last fall I'd find a use for it!


Here's the link if you'd like to see our trip to Nova Scotia:

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2017/10/road-trip-nova-scotia.html

A little bit of Harbourville in our home.

And for the full Beach Bathroom Makeover:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/02/beach-bathroom-makeover.html

DIY Kleenex Box Cover

De-cluttering our new bathroom meant getting things off the counter. Starting with the ugly kleenex box.

Had this wooden crate that was large enough to hold the largest kleenex box that we buy. I removed the hardware, hubby lightly sanded it and gave it a couple of coats of white paint.

He cut a slot in a long side (which will be the bottom of the dispenser) for the kleenex to come through.

Then he cut a piece of wood thin enough to slide through the slats like a door or panel. Also painted white.

I printed out B e a c h in keeping with our beach-themed new bathroom. I cut the letters out to make a stencil. Don't forget to keep the letter inserts (see B e and a)

I put the stencil on the wooden panel and taped it in place. Also placed a small piece of tape under the cutouts.

Using a sponge I dabbed light blue paint (the same as our wall colour) over the stencil then removed the stencil before the paint dried because I was afraid the paper would stick!

Here he is installing the box on the wall.

Sliding the whitewashed panel in to cover the kleenex box.

And here's the finished piece.  I think it turned out pretty cute!

For the full Beach Bathroom Makeover:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/02/beach-bathroom-makeover.html

Homemade Bisquick Baking Mix

Blend the ingredients together and store in the fridge.
Use as you would store bought baking mix. Another good idea is to make it up, put it in jars and give it as a gift.

You can make tea biscuits or the well-known Bisquick impossible pies with this mix. You can even make these Hint of Orange Impossible Brownies!

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/03/hint-of-orange-impossible-brownies.html

The full recipe for the mix makes a big batch so I included the measurements for smaller batches below.

Full recipe:

1/2 cup baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
9 cups flour
1  1/4 cups canola oil

1/4 recipe:

1/8 cup baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
2  1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup + 3 tsp canola oil

Or even smaller recipe:

1 tbsp baking powder
1  1/2 tsp sugar
1  1/2 cups flour
2 tbsps + 1  1/2 tsp canola oil