Get a Grip!

Throughout the ages man has been faces with an annoying dilemma. Certain clothing items were not designed to stay put on hangers. Wide neck openings, silky materials, thin straps, all prove problematic when organizing your closet. Never fear! I will provide you with a simple solution requiring supplies you most likely have laying around the house. 

For this project you will need:

-Hot glue gun and glue sticks (Low temperature is best)

-Scissors

-Permanent Marker (optional but helpful)

-Non slip Drawer liner (If you don't have any laying around you can find it in just about any store's kitchen department.)

-Hangers to non-slip-ify

Step 1:

Cut strips of the drawer liner about 3" long and wide enough to cover the top and sides of your hanger. I have wooden hangers so my strips were about 1.5" wide. For  plastic hangers 1/2" wide strips should work well.

Step 2:

Place one of the strips toward the outer edge of the hanger. Use a permanent marker to mark where the ends of the strip lands.

Step 3:

 Line up your hangers and use the marked hanger as a guide to marks all the other hangers on both sides.

Step 4:

Apply hot glue around the edges of the hangers where the strip will be, using your markings as a guide. Quickly place the strip on hanger. Be sure to use a little pressure to make sure the glue has adhered to the strip. You can touch up any edges that didn't stick completely.

*WARNING*

The hot glue is hot! The drawer liner has holes in it that the hot glue will seep through. That is why I strongly recommend using a low temp hot glue gun. You will get hot glue on your fingers during the adhesion process. High temp hot glue will burn you. Low temp hot glue reduces the risk of burns.

Step 5:

Once the glue has completely cooled your hanger is ready to keep hold of whatever clothes you need it to keep hold of!

Shoe Love

A couple days ago I was visiting the love of my life. During this visit I got a pair of shoes (every girl's dream!). I must give credit to my sister for introducing me to this very special addition to my life. This love of mine is not a man...someday my prince will come...it's a store. The Goodwill Outlet is magical land where treasures are sold by the pound. If you don't mind a little digging (okay, a lot of digging) you will find amazing deals on everything you didn't know you needed. So, back to the story...

While on my most recent trip to the Goodwill Outlet I found a pair of Ralph Lauren Polo brand canvas shoes. They were in fairly good shape, but looked as though they were left out on the porch all summer long. What had once been a dark navy blue had faded to splotchy shades of purple and red. The rubber soles were a little dirty and the white color was yellowed with age. You can see why these shoes had been passed by in the regular Goodwill stores. But, at $0.99/lb these shoes cost right around a buck. I can work with that! Below I'll show you step by step how I am giving new life to these shoes.

In The Beginning:

Upcycling Egg Cartons

Welcome to the Renewed Relics' first blog post. Today, I thought it would be fun to give you instructions on how to make a string of flower lights out of empty egg cartons. This project is pretty simple, but it can be time consuming. Have a go at it yourself or check out the floral string lights I've made in my etsy shop.

Materials for this project:

Egg Cartons (Cardboard or Styrofoam), Acrylic Craft Paints, Sharp Utility Knife,

Foam Paintbrush, Hot Glue Gun, String of Christmas Lights, Cutting Mat

Step 1:

Using the utility knife cut the egg cartons along the red lines in this picture. With a styrofoam carton, not every cup will make a good flower shape. This carton yields 16  poppy shaped flower. The cardboard carton on the right will yield

5 lily shaped flowers. Save up your cartons or ask your friends and family to donate theirs to your project.

Step 2:

You will want to trim the edges of your carton cutouts to clean up the rough edges. On the styrofoam flowers I have shaped the edges to look like the top half of a heart. The cardboard cartons will sometimes have fuzzy edges. You can also round the pointed corners to give your lilies a different look.

Step 3:

Now it's time to paint your blossoms! I've found that sponge paint brushes work best to cover the irregular surfaces and works the paint into the little creases and dimples well. As you can see on the orange flower, the styrofoam will show your brush strokes. This gives the flowers a watercolored look. The cardboard will paint up nice and evenly. I recommend painting the insides of all the flowers first. By the time you've painted the last flower, the first should be dry and you can then begin painting the insides.

Step 4:

Once all the paint has thoroughly dried, use the utility knife to cut a small X shaped slit in the bottom of your flower. This slit is where you will insert the light bulbs.

Step 5:

Insert one of the light bulbs through one of the flower just far enough that you can remove the bulb and change it if it burns out.

On the back side of the flower, hot glue the flower in place. It helps to hold the flower in position until the glues is set. Repeat this step for each flower, making sure the glue is cool before moving onto the next light.

Final Product:

These lights make a whimsical decoration for your room. They also make wonderful night lights, providing a delicate and colorful glow.