Create With Mom: decorative

Showing posts with label decorative. Show all posts

May 30, 2012

Bamboo charcoal natural deodorizer

Bamboo charcoal is a natural deodorizer from Ever Bamboo. This eco-friendly deodorizer is made with rapidly growing moso bamboo. The countless tiny holes in the bamboo charcoal make it a good deodorizer. It works as a dehumidifier because the high density and porous structure of the moso bamboo absorbs excessive moisture, and during low humidity it releases moisture back into the atmosphere.

I think it has a similar concept like mothballs where we don't see the effect, but over time we know it makes a difference. As a result of keeping this pouch of bamboo charcoal in the car, I don't smell or feel the stuffiness and odour in the car during hot summer days, so I believe it is working. The toxic chemical substances and polluted air particles such as formaldehyde, ammonia and benzene are absorbed by it. There is no smell from these bamboo charcoal like mothballs, which is good :)

Ever Bamboo has deodorizers for many areas in the home i.e. room, drawer, fridge & freezer, closet, shoes, hockey bags, car. The bamboo charcoal comes in granules, different size pouches and sachets. I have also placed it in rooms and closets.

These antibacterial deodorizers keep linens and other belongings in the closets, cabinets and drawers fresh by deterring moths and preventing mold. We can place it in shoes and bags to remove odour and moisture.

They also have a fridge & freezer deodorizer, which is supposed to absorb food orders, ethylene gas so the fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer.

The face and body bar can be used for any type of skin. It purifies, exfoliates, moisturizes, detoxifies and absorbs impurities.

According to the Ever bamboo site, when the bamboo charcoals are submersed in water it softens the water, absorbs harmful minerals i.e. chlorine and releases natural minerals i.e. calcium, sodium and magnesium into the water. So it can be placed in the aquarium, use as filter for bath water and other uses except drinking water.
The bamboo charcoal granules will look pretty with floral designs and home decors. The granules absorb excessive moisture and releases moisture back into the soil when it is dry providing better aeration for plants and vegetables.

To maintain care for these deodorizers, simply place in direct sunlight for 2 to 3 hours per side monthly or weekly for optimal performance. After about a year when you are done using it just remove the bamboo charcoal granules from the pouch and mix it with gardening soil to mineralize and regulate moisture.
Bamboo charcoal is available online and in many retail stores.

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May 12, 2012

Paper flowers

craft paper tissue
pipe cleaners
scissors
glue optional

Cut the paper into a rectangle 8" x 6". Keep 2 to 4 pieces or more tissue paper over each. Can use different colours and alternate it.

Then fold like a fan/ accordion. Fold the accordion in half, place the pipe cleaner in the middle about 1 1/2" of the pipe cleaner sticking out then fold the pipe cleaner down to make it tight.

We can snip the edges of the accordion to make it curvy at this point if you wish. Pull the layers up carefully one layer at a time.

It is optional to put a little bit of glue on both sides of the accordion to make the petals come upwards.
Bring the tissue paper upwards to make it look like a flower. Snip the paper if needed to make it look like petals.

I got cards from my children and also this paper bag or pouch made from my daughter to put little notes :)

May 10, 2012

Designerliners for wastebaskets

These Designerliners are fancy decor bags for our trashcans. These disposable bags made in USA are biodegradable.

Muriel Wiener came up with this creative idea to "dress the mess". She has a selection of 11 colours and design combinations to fit into any home decor.

Here is a list of available designs:

Polka dot pink, orange, navy blue and green

Gingham gold and red

Leopard black and blue

Toile red and blue

Tattersol black

We can re-use these bags if we wish depending on what type of trash is put in it. The designerliners I received were the large size 24" x 24" blue toile. They were pretty big, so I put them in my kitchen indoor recycle bin. These bags are strong enough to hold the content and I could easily take it out, get rid of the recycle and put it back in place or throw it away depending on the condition of the bag.

For the designs to show the bags have to be placed inside out. Friends and family that visited told me that it looks cute and ended up looking into the trash, which is definitely a different perspective on how the waste is looked upon :)

I also placed it in the bedroom trash container, where I put old paper and such so I don't have to throw these bags away each time.

Designerliners are also available in small size 17.75" x 19" bags and medium 21" x 24". I think I would prefer the small bags to place in the guest washroom. It would also be neat if there were a variety of designs in a package to change it up. A pack comes with 12 designerliners for $9.95. It would be nice if there were more bags in a pack especially if the small size packages contain more liners.

The designerliners also make custom design liners for companies. These decorative waste liners are available online and on amazon.

March 25, 2012

Decorating the Naked binder review and giveaway

Naked binders are simple eco-friendly binders made with 100% FSC certified recycle board. There are no vinyl, plastic or toxin. Less waste and processing are used to make these Naked binder products. There are no phthalates therefore the products are safe around children.

Next time you are getting binders for personal or professional use get these sustainable, beautifully designed binders. When we purchase their products some of the profits are donated to support wilderness areas and schools in the USA. There are four styles of binders with different D-ring sizes, folders, tabs, labels and tags. The spine wrap of these binders comes in different colours made with library grade cotton book cloth. It is sturdy and durable even if it gets wet.

The tabs have roman numerals for organization purposes. This notebook binder below that I have decorated, is 5.5" x 8.5" in size. There are so many possibilities to become creative with this naked or bare binder and to design/ decorate to compliment the decor, project or subject.

Here is what you need to do this simple decor...

bingo marker (sold at craft shops and dollar shops)

paper to cover the binder

tape

Decorate the paper the way you like with the bingo markers then cover the binder using tape.

Giveaway

Check their site to see discounts. Naked binder is offering the readers of Createwithmom a chance to win these binders and tabs.

Leave a comment on this post to enter by telling which of their products you liked the most.

The giveaway ends on April 5th and is open to everyone in U.S.A and Canada.

Please follow my twitter and Facebook so you can see the winner announcement.

Updated: The winner is comment #3

February 20, 2012

Paper quilling or paper filigree

I am very happy about my first quilling project :) It was easier than I thought because of the clear instructions from Quilled creations. Everything I need was in the basic kit, which made the project fun. All I needed was glue, tweezer and a toothpick.

This basic kit includes 1 slotted quilling tool, circle sizer ruler, 130 quilling paper strips, 2 cards, 2 envelopes and 2 tags. This kit is all you need if you want to learn the skills. The kit includes a handy guide that teaches all the techniques and methods.

Paper quilling or paper filigree is made simple and straightforward with Quilled creations' easy instructions and tools that make it so much fun. I had hours of fun even my children were excited and tried it out.

Quilled creations also has individual kits to make special cards and frames i.e. the Iris kit and love birds. The kits include step-by-step instructions, quilling paper, circle cut-out tri-fold card and envelope.

If you are interested in learning or finding the materials to learn this craft check out the Quilled creation website. Once you make one, you will know that it is not hard as it looks: even for those of us who have trouble handling delicate paper and designing :)

February 16, 2012

Tag a towel

I love this smart creative idea, and I think you will too.

Reusing our bath towels is an important part that we can do everyday to be eco-friendly and we should all think about it. It will reduce our impact on the environment and save water, energy, money and work :)

Although we are all in the same family, sharing towels is not hygienic: as it doesn't keep the germs and infections away. Sarah Burns came up with this cute fabulous idea to tag our towels. It is magnetic and made from super soft terry cloth so it will not rip and tear the towels.

Each member can have his or her own tag. This will teach children and adults responsibility and keeps the washrooms organized. And you won't be getting angry at someone leaving a wet towel for you :)

Tag a towel will be a perfect gift for newlyweds, college students, roommates and for travelling. You definitely have to try it to know how useful and a good idea it is. It is sold online and at Fisher kids.

January 23, 2012

Cottonelle roll covers

Cottonelle has come up with a great idea, that respects the toilet roll. Jonathan Adler, an interior designer has designed beautiful covers to keep the rolls in. It comes in Barjello blue, chevron pink and clover green. As you see, the designs are colourful and creative. He has used eye catching designs to fit any bathroom décor.

Cottonelle calls this "respect the roll" to change people's view of the toilet paper and to make people care about the roll the same way they do to their toothbrushes and cotton swabs.

I like this stylish way to store our rolls of toilet paper. It is a wonderful way to keep the toilet paper clean, handy and organized. You can order yours today and keep this decorative roll covers in your home.

January 12, 2012

Cupcake flowers and nutella cupcake

To make these fun cupcake flowers you will need...

different size coloured cupcake liners *

paper cut for leaves in an oval shape

paper cut for stems in a rectangle shape

marker

glue

scissors

* If you only have white cupcake liners you can decorate and colour it.

Let the children stick the leaves anyway they like on the stem. Attach the cupcake liners onto the top of the stem. They can decorate and draw to put details with markers.

Here is a recipe to make Nutella cupcakes in 10 minutes with only 4 ingredients

December 12, 2011

Decoration for a dinosaur cake and birthday card

This is made using fondant mixed with a little bit of gum paste. If needed use a toothpick to support the back of the tree. To get this colour of the trunk I used neon orange fondant mixed with a little bit of Wilton brown food colour.

For the leaves I used neon yellow with a little bit of Wilton green food colour. The number placed on top of the tree is cardboard.

This birthday card is made with brown felt cut into a dinosaur shape and glued on to a white cardboard. The grass is green felt cloth cut and glued. Crayon is used to decorate the card.

December 6, 2011

Brownie treats fun to make kit and giveaway

Brownie kit from Me Myself and Us includes directions, activity ideas, a baking pan, brownie mix, frosting, 3 primary colours of gel, colour wheel and brush. It is a very simple to use kit. This is a lovely idea to spend time with children.

I like that they included the primary colours, so we can teach our children the basic concept of colour. And learning to use primary colours to make secondary colours. Children from any age can help create beautiful art work on the cake as it is edible.

After painting the delicious treats and having fun; I did remove the top part of the icing and colour before giving the kids to eat :) This is just because I am not big on too much artificial colouring and unnecessary sweets. It would be nice if the colours were derived from natural products like vegetables or the like. The colours did leave some stain on the fingers.

We were so eager to make these brownies and made it right after school :) All of us loved the brownie so much that it disappeared within a few minutes before I even had a chance to save some for after dinner :)

November 29, 2011

Vanilla infused sugar

I don't use vanilla essence because of the alcohol in it. Instead I infuse the sugar with vanilla beans.

All you need...

sugar

vanilla bean

tight jar

If the vanilla bean is slit a little with a pairing knife, it is faster to get the beautiful aroma into the sugar. Keep the sugar in a tightly covered jar.

Keep refilling sugar to the same vanilla bean.

Vanilla pod can be scraped and used in other desserts.

November 28, 2011

Cake boards

It is easy to make these cake boards which can be reused or tossed away after using.

All you need...

heavy cardboard from boxes

aluminum foil

I cut heavy cardboard from boxes and covered it with aluminum foil. It can be cut into any desired shape.

A cake I made using an homemade cake board.

November 21, 2011

Ice cream cone cupcakes review and giveaway

Yummy ice cream cupcakes that are easy and delicious to make. I received these lovely box full of fun products from Me Myself and Us, which we had loads of fun making and eating.

We had a fabulous time making these cute cupcakes. The children were excited from the time they saw the box. This is a very good product to spend time together, bake, become creative and have fun while learning.

The presentation is really cute, the best thing is the silicone cones can be reused. The cake is very soft and delicious, which makes it hard to remove from the cones. All the packages have information clearly written with step by step pictures.

The cupcake mixture is a vanilla cake mix, in which we add 2 egg whites, 1 cup water and 1/4 cup vegetable oil.

For the vanilla frosting we add 1 cup icing sugar, 4 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp milk.

The cake mixture is filled up to the first line and baked in a preheated oven for 18 to 22 minutes at 325F by placing the cones on a baking tray. Let it cool completely. Then put the icing and sprinkle over it and serve.

We were so excited we couldn't wait to put the icing and sprinkles, so it started dripping like real ice cream :)

These creative baking kits from Me Myself and Us are available at Mastermind, Party Packagers, Hallmark, Toy stores in USA and Canada.

Review of the brownie mix and cookies are coming soon... There is also a giveaway of one of these products so do look at Me Myself and Us and leave a comment here to win.

November 9, 2011

Dahlia flowers to decorate

Dahlias last the longest and can be picked till autumn, these flowers are beautiful for decoration.

Dahlia 2011

Dahlias are annually planted. These plants need lots of care and pruning which is worth the effort.

There are so many varieties of colours and shapes of these tuberous plant. Dahlia's attract earwigs which a problem, so tap the flowers carefully before bringing it indoors.