Wallet-friendly Wet Mop Pads

 

I love love love my Wet Mop (made by a very popular company), but I hate hate hate the cost of pads and fluid.  So I found a cheaper option for both.  For now, I’ll show you how I get around buying the expensive pads.  I’ll show you how the fluid workaround in a later post.

Aside from the price, I hate how the pads made by the company do not pick up animal hair very well.  With four animals in the house, this is a big deal.  I checked Etsy for washable pads I could purchase, and realized I could make them myself! 

I found a five pack of microfiber towels at Dollar General for $4 and realized the fabric would be perfect!  Microfiber is super absorbent and I knew it would pick up the animal hair.

I folded each towel into thirds, making each section as close to the same size as possible. 

Using a regular straight stitch, I stitched around each side, then made three stitches down the length of the pad.  If you are a perfectionist, LET GO OF IT for this project.  Microfiber gets a little wonky and doesn’t always allow you to sew perfectly straight, flat projects!

That’s it.  Because the pads are made of microfiber, they stick to the bottom of the Wet Mop without having to attach velcro.  You will have to push a little harder to move them across the floor, but when you see how much they pickup, you will not mind that extra bit of work.  When you’re finished, throw them in the wash!

Note: If you do not use dryer sheets or fabric softener, the pads will keep their maximum absorbency for a longer period of time. 

A Mod Podging Lesson

If there is any one craft that I love the most, it would definitely be Mod Podging.  I have been doing it for at least 10 plus years.  In college, I used to Mod Podge picture frames with words and pictures for all my pictures of friends and family. That's how it all got started.  Now, I mostly alter wooden letters for myself or for others.  This past week, I Mod Podged a set of letters for a friend who is having a baby boy named Tanner very soon.  I decided to document the process this time and post it on Scissors and Hot Glue.  Mod Podging is not a quick process...just a warning.  It can take several days because everything does have to dry thoroughly.  So, don't expect Mod Podging to be a quick project.  Ok, here we go...

Materials List:

Wooden  Letters (smooth front)

Mod Podge

Cardstock

Pencil

Scissors

Paintbrush or Spongebrush

Acrylic paint

Sandpaper (optional)

First you need to cover your work surface (newspaper is not a good idea since the paint will stick to it as well as the Mod Podge).  I used some freezer paper that I had...shiny side up and it was perfect.   So, lay out your letters on your work surface and let's get started.

Step one is to trace the FRONT side of each of your letters.  To make sure that you keep everything in order, it's a good idea to mark the back sides of all your wooden letters and the cardstock that you have just traced and then cut out.  That should help you know which side is which.

Now that all our cardstock is traced and cut out, we can now get the backs and sides of the letters painted.  This step is optional is you want to keep the natural color or if your letters come painted.  I wanted to go with a tan color for my letters though since the front will be done in chocolate brown.  You may be fine with just one coat of paint or you may end up having to do 3 coats like I did.

Now that the paint on the back and sides have dried overnight, it's time to do some Mod Podging.  Now you may notice in the picture below that I do have paint around the edges of the front.  It's not totally required, but I bring the paint around to the front just so that if there is a place where the letter shows through, it will blend with the rest of it.  Just my personal preference.  Ok, back to the actual Mod Podging.  Take a clean paintbrush and brush a thin coat of Mod Podge onto the entire front of your letter.  Then once you have it all covered, place your cardstock cutout letter onto the wooden letter and smooth it down until it's all stuck down. Let all of the letters dry for an hour or two.

Next, is where the real Mod Podging starts.  You will brush the Mod Podge all over the surface.  I try to keep all my brush marks going in the same direction, but that could just be my perfectionism...ha ha!   I typically put about 3 coats of Mod Podge on everything I do.  You will need to allow drying time between each coat.  Like I said, this is not a fast process.  I typically just let each coat dry overnight before I attempt another one.

As you are applying the Mod Podge, there will be drips down the sides.  Take q-tips to clean that up.  I buy the cheap ones for crafting purposes.

Here are the finished letters!

I put together a little collage of different things I have Mod Podged over the past several years.  Some were gifts, some were requested, and some are hanging in my own house.

Thanks for sticking with this one.  I know it was pretty picture heavy, but I know that I can better understand something if I can see it too.  I hope that you all go out and get all your supplies for your first Mod Podge project.  I am sure that you'll get hooked too!

Alicia

Winner!

We have a winner!!  I plugged the number of comments in Random.org, waved my magic wand, pressed the button and our winner is . . .

Maria!

Contact me at scissorsandhotglue <at> gmail.com or on Facebook for the details on claiming your prize!

Digital Scrapbooking - and a GIVEAWAY!!!!

I posted a small blog post about it recently, but one of my newest hobbies is digital scrapbooking.  I love scrapbooking, but HATE the space that is required for all of the stuff ... and the money that can be involved. 

I happened to enter (and win!) a giveaway on another blog a few months ago and the prize was a copy of the My Memory Suite (MMS) software.  This software is FANTASTIC!!  Is it extremely easy to use and the new Version 3 contains some fantastic new features, including an easy way to create a calendar on your scrapbooked page, and a way to group elements together and resize all of the grouped elements at one time.  Digital scrapbooking couldn't be easier!  Here are a few of the pages I've made:

The banner of this blog was also made using the software.

**Giveaway!!**

MyMemories.com is giving one lucky reader a chance to win the very same software I used to create the pages above.  To enter, visit the MyMemories.com website and view the digital scrapbooking kits.  Post a comment here, telling which kit you would most like to use to create a page.  I will select one winner on Monday 01/09.  

Welcome to our Pinterest friends!

Shawna, Alicia, and I would like to welcome everyone who has found us by way of Pinterest.  We are excited to share our ideas with you and hope you will add us to your RSS reader and visit us often!

We are a new blog and still establishing ourselves, so please do not get discouraged by the lack of material.  IT.WILL.GROW!

Read us, comment on our posts, share us with your friends... and we promise we'll stick around.

Leah

Detangling a mess

I have a huge collection of beaded necklaces. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I adore the colors, the chunkiness, everything about them.... but there's a problem. How do you store beaded necklaces when you have 50+?

A jewelry box is not a feasible solution because you end up with a tangled heap of beads. I had resorted to hanging them on a hanger in the closet, which also didn't work well because everything still became tangled. After a trip to the local Dollar Tree, I had my solution . . . 

The hook sets are surprisingly sturdy and came with the hardware to attach them to the wall. The strips of wood were leftover from recent projects. I trimmed the wood down to the size I needed and attached the hook sets, then convinced the hubby to use his brilliant stud-finding skills to help me mount them to the wall. 

Add the necklaces and my new necklace storage area is complete!! I can see exactly what I have and nothing is tangled. The entire display costed only $3 and looks great on the wall. Perfection!