May Pinterest Project | DIY Car Trash Bag

In April I bought a 2011 Honda Civic. So when you've got these plates on your car you better show you mean it! I must say that I love the way the landscape is mirrored in the chrome in this picture.

So for May, I decided to incorporate plaid into the interior of my car by making a plaid car trash bag.

I'm not going to share the step by steps here in my blog, but will link you back to the Pinterest Pin/tutorial that inspired me. That is HERE. Below are the pros/cons to the tutorial/design and my thoughts.

Pros: Best feature, aside from the plaid, is the use of boning around the top of the trash bag. Boning is the same stuff they use around the top of the nursing drapes for breast feeding moms.

Cons: The tutorial had me using interfacing on the straps and then having to turn them right side out after sewing. Almost impossible. I ended up having to go on to YouTube to find a demonstration of some techniques. I ended up using a shish-kebab stick to help, but even that wasn't as easy as it looked on YouTube. Also the instructions were pretty vague, not a true tutorial. There was no indication of seam allowances or direction of fabric when folding. I just figured it out as I went along and made adjustments as necessary.

Thoughts: If I need to make another trash bag, I'd probably look for another pattern or tutorial. Adjustments: I end up squaring off the bottom of my bag corners (sewing triangles across the bottom on the inside), which I think looks better. Overall, I'm happy to have a plaid trash bag...and be able to check off my May project! Again I was cutting it close, so was sorta rushed.

April Pinterest Project | DIY Etching a Casserole Dish

I did get my April projects done in April...just not documented! Life has just been so crazy lately that posting has been low on the priority list.

My goal this year was to do both a Pinterest Project AND Recipe each month. But I will post separately.

Glass Etching a Casserole Dish
When I saw this on Pinterest, my first reaction was DIY etching? For real? Yazzers, people! So cool!

I went an bought the recommended etching chemical "Armour Etch" which I found at Michael's. I bought the smallest container. Very easy to use.

1. Started out by printing out name on regular printer paper in the font and size I wanted...then taped that UPSIDE DOWN onto the back of contact paper. Looking back, I'm sure I could've figured out how to have this designed/printed in mirror so that I didn't have to flip paper and try to read through the back of the paper.

2. Then came the tedious task of hand cutting the letters with an Exacto knife. Be sure to keep the small pieces that get cut out for P's, O's, R's etc... you'll use them later.

3. Then I applied the contact paper to the dish as straight as I could. This is where you'll be glad you didn't lose the "insides" of your letters. I lost the innards to my "a" and had to fake a new one. It shows.














4. Then the Armour Etch (AE) is applied liberally with a paint brush. But make sure you don't accidentally get any on any other part of the dish or other surfaces or it will "etch" there too (lesson learned). AE directions say to leave on for 5 minutes, but I left on for about an hour...just to be sure I got a good etch. Some online comments said that Pyrex was harder to etch and they felt they needed longer application.














5. Before removing the contact paper, I rinsed off the chemical (some people say you can scrape it off and put it back in the container). Then I peeled off the contact paper...and what a big smile I had on my face!

And here's the final project!   As you can see the etching cream created a hazy area on the glass. 

Pros: Love that you can etch this yourself. So many possibilities!

Cons: Hand-cutting out the letters is for the dogs. A lot of work for something that isn't going to be perfect.If I knew someone with a Cricut machine I would have asked them to print something out on contact paper for me.

Thoughts: Because the lettering is hand cut, it's not nearly so pristine, exact and manufactured looking as what you see on Pinterest. Those are done with a Cricut type of machine. But it's still fun to have a dish with my name on it! And I am already thinking of other glass objects that I'd like to etch. Not too surprisingly thought, I'm totally thinking about buying a Cricut machine. Not that I really have any space to store one. Heavens, I don't even have a good place to keep my sewing machine! But looking for a good deal and trying to maximize with fuel points earned on gift cards (so need to figure out WHERE I plan to buy).