Easy Gift Idea under $10

I have a wonderful friend, Amanda. She is cute, creative, crafty, and loves to get ideas on Pinterest!

So what to get the girl who can make anything for her birthday? Especially when I'm on a budget?

Well, she just became a sales consultant for Stella and Dot. Yes, that's a live link. You can show Amanda your love by clicking it. The accessories and jewelry are actually all high quality. But, I have to admit that most of it is above my budget.

At one of her "trunk shows", she apologized for the single hand-mirror she had for those trying on jewelry and viewing it.

Instantly the gears began whirring in my mind! I had two months to make Amanda some amazing mirrors to use for her business!

Please ignore the items in the background. I'm a real person who writes for a hobby and I don't spend my time doctoring all my photos. I collect peanut butter jars for my second grader when her teacher asks me to.

This part of the project actually terrified me! An instance where vandalism was not vandalism, but it still felt like I was breaking a rule somehow by using a permanent marker to "color".

I started with a Google search and quickly determined that making my own silver paint and finding some glass would be a non-budget project. (not to mention that some of the chemicals seemed, well, best suited to a chemistry lab rather than my kitchen counter)

I had thought, from the beginning, that I would use inexpensive photo frames to make these mirrors for her. That way, they could be propped up by the piece on the back and stand alone, or be picked up for better viewing.

I visited our local Dollar Tree and found not only the frames, but also mirrors that were intended for candles to be placed on them! Perfect!

Candle-base mirror
(they had square and octagonal varieties, but I chose 4x4 squares)

 

These frames are deep and not only can hold the mirror against the original glass, but the backing still fits into the frame!

Note the way the backing locks over the top of the mirror?
The frame below with tabs simply wouldn't clasp over anything thicker than a photograph!

 I ran into a problem with my third frame: it was too shallow to hold a mirror and still clasp the backing against the original glass.

We've all had these tab frames before, right?
The small metal triangle piece you see here became a problem later.

I simply took the backing off the frame, measured it to adhere to the small mirror so it would stand on its own, and glued it to the back after cutting it.

I embellished the frame with a silver sharpie and some hot-glued "jewels"

Be sure that you account for the "kickstand" when measuring your cut.

I also ran into a small problem with the 5x7 photo frames. Though they accommodated the mirrors nicely, there was a 2 1/2 to 3 inch gap at the bottom of the "picture" that had to be covered.
In the silver frame, I used some white felt, in the gold frame, I used remnant of the backing cardboard I had cut for the other mirror.
The black did not go well with the silver, nor the white with the gold, so that is what determined my choices.

If you look closely at the gold frame, you will see a small "blemish" in the black cardboard. Remember that metal triangle piece? I had to remove it and then color the cardboard with a black sharpie and even glue a tiny piece behind that to make it all seem black.

Again, I embellished with a silver sharpie and the front of the frames with more hot glue and "jewels".

 Though I cleaned the glass thoroughly, there is a quality issue with glass sold at the Dollar Tree, and these frames have a slight set of lines running along the glass that do not wipe off.

see the striping?

If you're not looking for the stripes, though, they won't show.

End of story? This project was well worth the time and effort, and it was well received! The best part about putting the mirrors in frames, is that people will grab and handle the frame, but the actual mirror and glass won't get all the fingerprints that the non-framed mirror will get.

I chose to do one of each color as the viewer may be choosing silver or gold jewelry and I wanted to complement her choices with the frame.

Remember, anything worth doing is worth trying.
Tammy

Handy Tammy

A friend of mine posted the following photo on Facebook in desperation and frustration:

 

She made a comment about Google and six hours of frustration. I asked her if it was a clogged drain or a broken water pump. She replied she had thought clogged drain but after two attempts of baking soda and vinegar and boiling water, the dishwasher was still full of standing water. (The photo shows all the baking soda foam, not mineral buildup.)
I told her I was now curious and excited and wanted to "come play handyman". She took me up on it.
She actually removed the spinner arm and assembly to get down to the drain to see if there were anything blocking it.
Nothing.
She had scooped most of the water out already.
She gave me the model number and I went to the Appliance Parts Pros website. Amazing site for those of you that are handy. That's how I fixed our dryer.

Anyway, the site will have commonly replaced parts along with symptoms and customer reviews/testimonials. I watched the broken water pump video, gathered the two tools necessary, and headed over the next day to her house.
We assessed everything first, then turned off the circuit breaker to the dishwasher, removed the kick panel and looked underneath.
Thankfully there were no leaks, so we put a cookie sheet under the pump and drain, unscrewed the clamp on the drain hose, assessed it for blocks and found none. I removed the two wire clips that power the motor. I then used pliers to remove the spring clamp and (per the video) broke the locking tabs to pull off the pump. I used needlenose pliers to pull out the other pieces. It was reminiscent of playing the game Operation as a child.

We then tried running water through it and it had no block. Since the part was just under $40, she went ahead and ordered it.
The following week it arrived, I went over and installed it.
Here's the video from the site: http://www.appliancepartspros.com/frigidaire-drain-pump-assembly-154580301-ap4019644.html#videol

When we removed the pump, the water left in the dishwasher came straight into the cookie sheet, so we tested for leaks by pouring water into the dishwasher and checking underneath.
We saw no leaks so we ran a test cycle "rinse only". It ran perfectly!

Remember, anything worth doing is worth trying.
Tammy

Does Microwaved Water Kill Plants? Part Six

Two months ago, I began an experiment. (Link to first post, end of March)
Had I simply googled the information, I would have found that I was not the first to attempt such an experiment.
However, I tend to try things first and then see what others have done.
I'd rather be pinned on Pinterest than use it to search for ideas. It's fun to come up with new ones!

So, I took three different glass jars of water, tried to heat them uniformly via microwave, stovetop, and simply hot from the tap.
I then planted seeds, both spinach and sunflower, using the same soil for all, hoping to prove that microwaving water does nothing to affect plant growth.

After two months, I can assure you that there has been NO difference between the microwaved water, boiled water, or tap water when it comes to the plant growth. I started them from seeds, then when I ran out of the experimental water, all plants received our tap water.

Far left plant, Group A (microwaved water), two center plants (they crisscross) Group C (tap water), and far right Group B (boiled water)
All three sets of plants have done just fine!

There were duds in each group, and the spinach plants did not survive the transplanting, but the sunflower plants have done well.

We potted some of them to give away to school teachers, so I now have only two. One from the microwaved water group (Group A) and one from the tap water group (Group C). My husband doesn't really want them in our garden, so I'm trying to decide what to do with them once they outgrow our large planter. Perhaps they'll adorn my flower bed. The irises are starting to fade after some glorious blooms and the day lilies will stay green but only once will they show their lovely orange faces.

Two of these plants received boiled water (group B), and two the microwaved water (group A)
Do any of them look wilted and unhealthy in comparison to the others?
Funny thing, the sunflower "dud" actually occurred from the control group tap water (group C)

I am not sure I will give you another photograph of their growth, but I'm tempted to do so at the end of the summer. Until then,

Remember, anything worth doing is worth trying.

~Tammy

Dryer Repair

I'm married to a handyman. He's got lots of tools and can do the maintenance on all our vehicles. He's a mechanical engineer and actually he's got a project 1967 Barracuda that we're swapping from an automatic to a 318 out of a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee, manual transmission. Here's his blog: Project Touring Barracuda

My father was an appliance repairman. He still is, as a matter of fact. He has graduated to quite complex commercial heating and refrigeration, but began as a serviceman for Sears Corporation. When I was in elementary school, he began his own business. He would purchase appliances at yard sales, fix them up and resell them. He would also do service calls. We got to rotate on Saturdays, and each weekend one of us would have the privilege of helping in his shop! We'd dust appliances on the showroom floor, vacuum out dryers, wipe out refrigerators, and sometimes we'd actually get to go on a call!

As a result, I've inherited his knack for taking apart small appliances and doing maintenance. (always putting them back together, of course)
I routinely pull the cover off the back of our refrigerator and vacuum out the lint and hair from the coils and motor and fan. I've taken apart our vacuum when a sock was lodged in the center of the plastic area (past the hose). In college, I took out my pocketknife which had one blade and two screwdrivers with can openers, and cut the hair wrapped around the beater bar which was causing the belt to smoke. I saw him do it on our Kirby multiple times.

Our dryer began making an awful noise. Thanks to the internet, the diagnosing was simple. We called him (we live 400 miles away) to verify the parts we thought we needed. And? My husband had to be gone for the evening but asked if I "wanted to get started on it"??

Ooooh, I was just waiting for an invitation! The most difficult part was the two front screws. They threatened to strip out while I got them started. The ground clearance was an issue, but once I got them loose, I was able to use a short "stubby" phillips head screwdriver to finish removing those. That freed up the entire front panel, door and all!
Rather than remove those two wires, I simply rotated the door against the wall, out of the way.

Right afterward, I put the laundry in a basket and emptied the lint filter! :D

Next was the piece that holds the drum against the back. Six screws later, that was off and out of the way.

It's easy to vacuum out the lint trap when this piece is removed from your dryer.

The drum then pulls off the rollers pretty easily. If you rest it on the bottom of the dryer, you can then work the belt off the back and pull the drum out.

This brings back childhood memories.

*Western music* "Rollin, rollin, rollin, rawhide!
P.S. Those black wheels are the drum rollers!

Last, I removed the belt from the idler arm assembly and checked it for wear. Ooof! It's been shredding for sure with more cracks than the San Andreas Fault Line!

One of the drum rollers spins easily but the other is stiff and is certainly the culprit for the awful metallic squawking noises we've been dealing with.

Getting your hands dirty is not optional, but don't let that stop you from trying things!

Based on the parts website we chose, others detailing a similar repair recommended not only replacing the rollers and belt, but the idler pulley wheel that acts as a belt tensioner.
Ours did not look lovely, and I'm unsure if it's supposed to be warped. What do you think?

it's supposed to be white.

I'm pretty sure that the black goo is not part of a properly working machine.

Can you see the warping? It's a little difficult, but the goo really shows up on this one!

At this point, we've ordered the parts, we'll put it back together (I am not sure I'll let him help me, as I'm really enjoying this project) and we'll be able to dry our clothes without concern.

If you were wondering about the red bandage on my arm, I had just donated blood about an hour beforehand. "No heavy lifting" "Avoid strenuous exercise" "Drink plenty of fluids"

All I did was manipulate a screwdriver or two. Nothing I moved was heavy.

Until next time, I wish I had a catchy phrase like Red Green. "If the women don't find you handsome, at least they'll find you handy."



Oh wait, I do.
 
Remember, anything worth doing is worth trying.

~Tammy

Does Microwaved Water Kill Plants? Part Five (week two and week three photos)

On March 24, I began an experiment to see if plant seeds started with unfiltered tap water, microwaved water, and stove-boiled water would show any difference in growth. Here's the link to that first post:

This is the fifth installment in my studies.

On Day 15, I transplanted the sunflower seeds from the bread pan into an outdoor pot, as they were continuing to grow at an accelerated rate.
I have close-ups of each of the groupings below.
As you have followed, Group A and B successfully began three plants, while Group C had a "dud" and only fruitfully gave me two plants.

Group A sunflower plants

Group B sunflower plants

Group C sunflower plants (one is the tallest and one is the shortest)

I also took the spinach plants in their pots and placed them outside at this point.
One week later, on Day 22, here are my results:

Spinach groups A, B, and C

 I have determined that the spinach plants did not enjoy being transferred. They have been in these pots and have slowly been withering since Day 9. Regardless of water type, all have been unhappy.
Beginning on Day 15, I ran out of water and began feeding all the plants my control water: unfiltered tap water.
Here are the sunflowers on Day 22:

Group A: microwaved water for two weeks, then unfiltered tap water for an additional week

Group B: stove-boiled water for two weeks, then unfiltered tap water for an additional week

The very tall and very short plants against the tag are the Group C control water plants.
In the foreground is a thriving Group A microwaved-water plant.

I will post follow-ups with sunflower plant photographs, but I have very little hope of survival for the spinach plants.
My advice? Don't try to do spinach seed starters. Sunflowers seem to be okay.

Does Microwaved Water Kill Plants? Part Four

I hope you have enjoyed following the progress of these plants. In the above photograph, I have circled in pink one "dud" in each group. Link to first post is here:
In Group A, I had a spinach dud.
In Group B, I had a spinach dud.
In Group C, I had a sunflower dud.

The roots of the sunflowers poked through the egg carton and onto the cookie sheet!

These photographs are all on the 9th day of the experiment. The sunflowers definitely needed to be transplanted.

Group C Spinach (the only group without spinach duds)

I transplanted each group into a separate container.

Group B spinach (one seed was a "dud")

Group A Spinach

Group A Spinach (one seed was a "dud")

The long white roots are visible on several of these sunflower plants!

Group A, B, and C Sunflower plants

So, I continued to water these spinach plants in their new containers with the original water.
The Sunflower plants I transplanted first into a bread pan, but far apart and used the dropper for watering. Groups A and B were all successful, but Group C had a "dud".


I feel by using the dropper, the water soaked directly into the plant and did not cross-contaminate.
There will always be those who disagree with me.
Tune in to my next post...part five!