how to make QR CODES in google sheets or excel first attempt at a temporary business card

 Here is the thing. I could and kinda would LOVE to skip ahead to the shiny pretty business that I will make and grow into in even a few months from now. However I think it is really important to show that starting SOMEWHERE is better than not starting because it is not great. So going to the farmers market today and if I get to talking (which is my specialty) I wanted to hand over something with my current instagram and contact information. Neither the contractor card or the temp business template have my "real business name" on it. That still needs to be registered and I do not want it to be taken before me! The appointment is 2 weeks away and that seems like a nice easy excuse to lay low some more and not put myself out there.  I do know how to make QR CODES in google sheets or excel!

The temp business card first printing on cardstock that is pre perforated came out all wrong and barely on the card. And you know what, I will probably still use those! I am going to try again and print one more batch of 10 for tomorrows farmers market. 

Ok so those lines were what I was centering to and they were not actually the right measurements for perforations. They were for a different company template and I should have looked at it. Either way I am prepared to hand something over if someone what to know more.  It links back to my personal instagram (company one not in use yet, waiting for name registration to take). 

Here is the the thing that I know how to do you that makes my business cards, as temporary and silly as they are, have a huge impact. 

I know how to make QR CODES in google sheets or excel. 

 Make coloumn 1 the URL and make column 2 this code (copy and paste)

=image("https://image-charts.com/chart?chs=150x150&cht=qr&choe=UTF-8&chl="&ENCODEURL(A2))

You will seem like the genius at work making all sorts of short cuts to things.

 ONE STEP AT A TIME!!! Building a business is overwhelming for sure! Even if you think you have a simple business to start, there are so many pros and cons of each choice that you have to make. 

Business name is the hardest! And I have one. I will have the website on the 23rd. My day to register it is 22nd. By then I need to choose the address for this, weigh the pros and cons of my actual home address or a PO Box or a virtual address. If it is a PO box I will have to ask for a street address for it if I want to be an LLC. I can start at sole proprietorship and work my way up to LLC in which case which are two other questions. 

I feel like I should be drawing a diagram for this. And there went 20 mins looking for free decision tree templates to use to make one for this.... oy vey. 

Ok so on step at a time, right. 

1. name
2. 2 address   - a. home b usps - c. ups 
3. be an llc and cant use PO box have to ask for private box with street address. or be a sole propritor. 
4. 
   
5. ANNNND I got side tracked trying to figure out a milage calculator for my buisness google sheets since I went somewhere to work today! 

Breathe Breathe Breathe Breathe Breathe

 

My first post to my GVR community face book page about my new company. I am a Garden Coach and Consultant. 

It reads:

"Hello! My soft opening for my Kitchen Garden Consulting company is going so well and I will announce the company name on July 23rd on my grand opening! In the mean time, I want to offer 5 FREE 1hr garden consultations to members of this group.

Have you just moved here? Have you lived here a while and always wanted to do a raised bed kitchen garden? Do you already have raised beds but can not figure out the what and the when of it all? I want to remove your fear of failure and the amount of confusion you may have around growing food. Focusing on food that you already enjoy eating, incorporating what works locally to the Denver Metro surrounding suburbs, and to be more connected to your community and yourself. You will be able to enjoy your Kitchen Garden with confidence. I will consult with you on your ideas. If you are interested in further assistance I can also design, plan and install your kitchen garden beds. I also offer planting plans through out our unique planting seasons.

If you love the idea of growing some of your own food, supporting our local pollinators, and generally living more sustainably, message me! Think your space is too small or it’s too late in the season to get started? Message me! I can get you set up to enjoy more than just summertime in the garden. I am here to guide you, so you can dig in and get growing!

Have More questions about what a kitchen garden is or what a consultation entails? Let me know below in the comments!

Serving Denver North East and North Aurora. Especially Green Valley Ranch / Painted Prairie."

If I did not have the I'm going to puke feelings I would leave it at that for this post. However... I thought it was a good idea to share how vulnerable it feels to make your first "announcement" about your new company and what you are offering to the world. It is the "about to perform in your high school play opening night feelings" it is the "at the top of the rollercoaster about to drop and scream and still also somehow be delighted and invigorated feeling" it is all that and more. When I told my partner "can I share with you something that I feel nauseous about? He answered in a question tone "the seadragon?" which is true. It does now in my older age make me a little nauseous. And while we both laughed, because it is brought up a few times a year even though it was many years ago my last trip on that was... I also was nervous to tell him the real reason.

I had been typing up this message to my community and putting it off for a few weeks now. The scary hard part is stepping out of your comfort zone and showing up for yourself and your community. I know that I have information that I want to share with the people around me. I know that I want to continue to grow and learn and know even more. The best part about this is that I will never be an expert in everything that has to do with the garden. I will, however, have amassed those around me to that fill in the gaps and help us lead our community in the Kitchen Garden Revival.

I officially started on this journey the first week of June. That is when I signed up for the Gardenary courses to give me the tools I needed to navigate this age old, and yet very very new profession. The one where we fill the gap of garden knowledge. What and when to do this and that with these plants. I have been propelled to take this idea of a business and to actually take action towards it. My peers in my community have helped get me to here. I am looking forward to putting in the work this summer and fall to make next year so extraordinary that I do not even recognize myself or my company anymore. Welcome to my ride!

I posted the offer to the group just before typing all of this. It is up for review by the group and it should be posted soon. I will go to sleep tonight and wake up to my first inquiry about what I am offering. There goes that nauseous feeling again! Remind me to breathe and I will keep you posted. 

Someone in on of my communities asked: 

"I am new to gardening...started last spring during lockdowns...I have carrots from last year that I left just to harvest the seeds...I just don’t know how. What do I do from here? " Here is her photo.

My answer to her and any others with this question: 

You wait! Wait until the fall or when the seeds get all dark and seedy. When the seeds start to brown and dry you can cut them off and store in a brown paper bag to finish the drying process. I actually always leave a few to go to seed in the garden and let them just plant themselves the next year too. If the seeds are all the way brown and dry on the stock I still put them in a paper bag for a bit before putting them in jars that I store in a dark cabinet until I am ready to plant. I will never need to pay for them again if I always leave a few to seed the next year, and not pull them all.

Poshmark: 5 lessons from what my first 50 listings taught me.

 Poshmark: 5 lessons from what my first 50 listings taught me. 

So far all of my listings on Poshmark are clothes from my actual closet. Some of them, a lot of them, I did get second hand or on sale and some never wore. It’s kind of emotional going through clothes that you no longer fit into or maybe never did and seeing them all online as a memory of a person you were trying to create.

The other thing I am learning from this experience is that it really is ok to put out c or b- work first. That way it is out there. The styling of my closet and photography is still not where I want it to be but it is definitely B+ or A- now. I love knowing that I still have room for improvement. There is still much to be learned. AND I still had a few sales from my first attempt at putting things online that no longer serve me. 

I know that releasing and letting go of the ideas in your head is really the cleansing, learning, growing part of all of this. I released the idea of perfection and finally after thinking about it and telling other people about it I finally got up to do it myself. I sold things, I learned a lot those first many 50 or so listings.

What my first 50 listings taught me. 

1. Just start getting things listed. You can add more pictures, information and more, later.
2. Shoot your photos in SQUARE mode. You can even use a setting where you can "lock in last mode" on the iphone so it stays there, if you are planning on shooting a lot. Honestly this is great for instagram too. The 1:1 ratio is what it will be called on your DSLR camera. 
3. You will probably try on a lot of your previous clothes to "make sure" this is going to be a lot. A lot of emotions, a lot of wiggling, some jumping, straining to get things back off again. Be ready for this by making sure you've eaten, have water, good tunes, maybe some other sensory needs like aromatherapy. 
4. Because of number 3 I recommend you have a shower, wash your hair, maybe even put on a little mascara. You will be looking the mirror a lot. If you are taking photos of yourself in the clothes, which is a great way to sell them if they fit well etc you will also appreciate this step. Remember you can always update the photos and information later.
5. Find a place you can shoot photos consistently so that there is some cohesion. My first 50 was me trying to figure out placements and shots and places in the room and lighting. And while I do not have any of these things perfected now, I have a set up that works can be recreated easily.  

When I spoke to my friend about the memory of a person I was trying to create, she said "Think of all the energy you put into trying to create that and how much more energy you will use to create your future. And you can thank the person you were creating then for getting you to now." 

So thank you past self for envisioning who you wanted me to be AND knowing know that it is an ever changing target that gets honed in more and more with each choice you make. Thank you for the energy and joy you had in the moment of finding that piece of clothing or even the joy you had wearing it on occasion. Thank you clothes for bringing me to a newer version of myself. You may now continue your journey with others that will also find enjoyment and beauty out of you and be a part of their story as well.  

 To get started on your poshmark journey Join me on Poshmark—my favorite app to buy & sell fashion and more. You'll save up to 70% off of top brands! For a limited time, use my code UPDING to save $10.

Yellow photos are from the first listing. White balanced, better lighting white background are the new photos I replaced the old ones with, deleting the yellow photos. 

Chia Seed Microgreen

This Chia Seed Microgreen method has NO SOIL. 

I set out to grow chia seeds I already had as micro greens. I did not want to use soil because we finally got our gnat problem down and did not want to invite bugs of any kind back in.  Some of our salad green come in these big plastic containers. I love reusing something before recycling it. This worked out perfect for the humidome part. This is where the rainforest effect happens inside of the closed space when it is watered and has no where to evaporate to.  

Friday the 11th, I started by a wetting paper towel with water and sprinkled some Chia seeds onto it. I then placed in a closet to let the seeds germinate.  I gave it some more water on Sunday, the Chia seeds all appear to have sprouted. It looked very wet in there so I left the lid off of it for a few hours before placing it back in the closet. This closet has no doors and so it was not super dark, just not in light.  On day 3 or 4 of the seeds being in the closet with the lid on and being sprinkled with water every day I moved them out to a space with indirect sunlight. By day 7 they were looking really healthy and yummy. I am going to let my go a bit longer before harvesting for my pita pocket sandwich. Once we have another salad container I will rotate another crop in at about this mark, where we are a week in. So that we will always have fresh greens! 

Day One. Sprinkle the seeds on a damp paper towel. Cover it with a lid

Re-Using a plastic container as my growing humidome. Then placed it in a closet. 

Top down view of the seeds all popped into little seedlings. I was afraid they were too wet so I vented the lid a bit for the day. 

June 18th, 7 days after I started this experiment. 

Top down view of day 7 of sprouting in indirect sunlight, You can see them all leaning towards the light. 

Close up view of the Chia Seeds Sprouts on the 7th day. I turned the container around so that the next few days they can lean the other way towards the sunlight. 

 

What starting a Garden Coach business feels like.

 

Hello friend! Are you struggling to see how you can take your joy and knowledge in a thing and turn it into a business? 

This is what starting a Garden Coach business feels like. ::Pictured here elation and bit of madness, the good kind like the mad hatter holding my booklet about consulting on kitchen gardens via Gardenary's Garden Coach Society training::

Are you struggling to get through the idea of providing a consult? I feel like I'm "not doing it right... yet” and today just looking up "consultation" makes me see that you are asking to be paid for your time to hear a persons needs and help identify a plan of attack" That's it! When you are used to talking about a subject you like and willing to offer help to those that have that dreamy eyed "wish I could grow stuff/do that thing you are doing" you know you are in the right spot.

Though I am cheating this week a little and on consult #2 (we will call her B) with just friends and have not pressed send on an email to my contact list (which is a different beast in and of it self and I am not sure I should use old work contacts), I am realizing that even these friends are close to doing the thing but something is stopping each of them! B has seeds and starts even that she grew from seed that desperately need out of their container. Simply knowing I was coming over for the consult she cleaned up so much oversized debris in her yard for recycling and tackled some of the other yard issues that she had been putting off. She also expressed her love for the questionnaire because it connected her more to the process. She was excited and though it will be a DIY renters special, I can see how even if I just left her with the 3ish plants per season to focus on and how to care for them, she was so happy about the experience. She even loved my specialty which is discussing/using free or found things for that extra personal/rustic touch. 

Converting VCF to CSV files on a Mac for free, for real, no downloads or upsells.

Converting VCF to CSV files on a Mac for free, for real, no downloads or upsells.

 Whether you know it or not, you are coming along with me to this business starting adventure.  Many MANY of us love the Apple products and though it comes with a lot of great things, converting files back out of it can be a challenge. 

Here is the way that I was able to convert my VCF to CSV files for free, on my Mac, for real, no downloads or upsells. Caveat is that you have to have a gmail account. I mean if you do not have GMAIL yet... what are you even doing! 

Export your iPhone contacts card on your computer using https://www.icloud.com.  

Log into your account and go to your contacts app and click on the setting button in the lower left hand corner. Select the Export vCard option. Know what it is named and where it is downloaded to. 

Next log into your Gmail account. And find your Contacts app in your Google apps button those 9 dots in the upper right by your photo. 

Find your Contact app it will look something like this below. 

Import your contacts, which they accept iPhone VCF (vCard) files as contact lists! 

The VCF file converts to CSV file when you go to export it out from there! 

You may be wondering, Katrina, why in the heck would I even need to do that? Well I will tell you. You will want all of you contacts in your CRM. More on the importance on a Client Retention Manager later!

I am a Garden Coach

I am a Garden Coach.

I want to remove your fear of failure and the amount of confusion you may have around growing food. Focusing on food that you already enjoy eating, incorporating what works locally to the Denver Metro surrounding suburbs, and to be more connected to your community and yourself. You will be able to enjoy your Kitchen Garden with confidence.

I am offering Kitchen Garden consults. These are 1 hour in person with a virtual follow up. This will cover the basic consult with a pre-consult questionnaire. In person I will help identify a plan of attack for your particular needs of where you are thinking of having your kitchen garden and what you would like to plant. I will create quick design with measurements. We will talk strategy for the follow up. This is where you decide if you would like to purchase a design and installation of the kitchen raised bed garden and even a planting plan.  My specialty is using free or found things for that extra rustic / personal touch. So let me know now if there is anything you dreamed of being in the garden.  

Whether or not you decide to have me design a planting plan will be up to you for this additional service. This includes a detailed design based on your preferences out of some set options that work well in your space in the garden and in the state.   

Dairy Free (Vegan*) Ranch Dressing Homemade

Dairy Free (Vegan*) Ranch Dressing Homemade

Dairy Free (Vegan*) Ranch Dressing Homemade

What 

• 1/4 cup almond milk (or more for desired consistency)
• 1/2 cup mayo (or Vegan mayo*)
• 1 teaspoon fresh dill or 2 teaspoon dried dill (or to taste)
• 1 crushed garlic clove or 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• Some chopped fresh scallions / chives or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder  
• A pinch of Himalayan salt and some pepper   

How to

1. Whisk Whisk  Whisk all ingredients together until everything is well combined
2. It can last a week or more. Store in fridge in air tight container
   

You will never believe what I did with a tomato!

What to do with extra tomatoes? 

You will never believe what I did with a tomato! 

 Tomato Facials!

There are a lot of classics out there of ways you eat these delicious fruits. If you have never grown your own tomato it might be hard to classify them as fruit in your brain. But once you get that taste.... oh so very good. I digress... this is not about eating tomatoes. No not this time. This time I am WEARING my tomato. You see? 

I was so incredibly excited to see a post on using a tomato as a facial cleaner. Tomato facials? I actually had run out of a face wash that I am glad to be done with. I am trying to use up all of my "old me" products before buying replacements. Old me did not read ingredients on soaps etc. I knew how to do it for food but did not step into the world of soap yet.  I like the idea of all these face masks too you see in the world but not only are the ingredients suspect (just google face mask lawsuits) but then there is the waste aspect. I am trying to reduce waste anywhere I can. Reduce toxins. Reduce pores! So at home facials I knew I could do. I was already doing at home hair masks. 

Can you believe my joy when I saw TOMATO FACIALS. I HAVE TOMATOES! Like too many. Huge harvest before a frost. Which also means really tiny cherry size tomatoes even though they are supposed to get to full fist or larger size. Also I have a lot of tomatoes that are getting a little too ripe to use in all recipes and those are great for tomato facials too! So all of these green tomatoes will ripen in the kitchen. The redder the tomato the better to use for this project.

Look, I am not a doctor. And I can not guarantee any results or reactions. However, how often have you just grabbed whatever from the store trusting only the marketing layer without reading the ingredients. My 15 mins were up mins ago. I let it go a little long but it is still good. My skin is tight and glowing. It makes me feel cleaner than any facial soap I have ever used. My acne feels calmed. I know you know what I mean. There is definitely a difference between angry acne and calmed acne.  

Recipe: 

Tomato (ripened - overripe)

Face (don't forget the neck. I also do top of chest too for those little bumps)

Cut in half. Rub all over face neck and problem areas. I kept layering on the juice rubbing it all in.

Let stand / sit fo 15 Mins of your time

Rinse off with a Cool or Warm Wet Washcloth 

Benefits of a tomato facial as per google:

tomato facials Reduce oil

tomato facials Act as an astringent

tomato facials Reduce pores and black heads

tomato facials Reduce sun burn

tomato facials Reduce so much more

Why does this tomato facial work? 

Tomatoes are loaded with so many good natural things. Tomatos are  a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. Other plant compounds: 

• "Lycopene. A red pigment and antioxidant, lycopene has been extensively studied for its beneficial health effects (11Trusted Source).
• Beta carotene. An antioxidant that often gives foods a yellow or orange hue, beta carotene is converted into vitamin A in your body.
• Naringenin. Found in tomato skin, this flavonoid has been shown to decrease inflammation and protect against various diseases in mice (12Trusted Source).
• Chlorogenic acid. A powerful antioxidant compound, chlorogenic acid may lower blood pressure in people with elevated levels (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source)."

Tomato facials for the win! Catch you on the tomato side.

Apple Cider Vinager as conditioner for your hair

APPLE CIDER VINEAGER RINSE

Look I am not even going to apologize for yelling. I am that excited about it. I CAN NOT STOP TOUCHING MY HAIR. I also have been making others touch my hair. Please touch my hair.

FULL ok I can be done yelling Disclosure

My hair has not seen a "traditional" conditioner in years. Neither a super well known  shampoo. I try to only wash it once a week and if I do only the roots. My hair almost reaches my butt. I understand that the shorter your hair is and the different types of hair all need their own style of maintenance. I am sharing what works for me and if you have a similar situation it may work for you. When my products run out (on anything in the home) I try to ask myself. What is it that I am using and do I need to be using it or can we try something else. It is important to get out of the habit of just refilling the thing you used up without asking these questions. For me I use a certain brand of body wash shampoo just for washing my hair. I like how it makes my roots feel and love the Orange Cream smell. Then nothing. No conditioner.

I have tried a mayo wrap with a brand I was trying to use up. It was good. It made me feel like I did a thing with things I already had in my home and that was loverly (r on purpose...say it like in My Fair Lady).  The beauty of that recipe was it was no recipe. Just put mayo on hair, leave under a hair cap (plastic bag) and eventually rinse out. It was good.

But (gosh I want to yell with excitement) this was GREAT. Do you have Apple Cider Vinegar? Water? A thing to put them in ? I use an old Shampoo or soap bottle ( too nice to throw away) from my Costco size product (less waste, better value).  This is the kind that has that industrial size hand pump on it (think the size of coffee shop flavor pump for your ... coffee).  I have seen people use spray bottles. I am hear to tell you I think that use of those is over rated and a lot of work. But to you.


Recipe.
Make sure the Apple Cider Vinegar is shaken up. If it is the good real stuff there will be sediment on the bottom.

3 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup water

Repeat a few times if you want a larger batch to live in your shower.  (I did three)

Wash hair as usual. Pump directly into hair soaking it. Leave in Apple cider vinegar whilst continuing to wash thyself. Rinse.

When hair is dry.... touch repeatedly.

Donate books to jail.

Are you in flux of books and have decided to "Tidy Up" and find that you just do not need these books but still have love for them and want them to find a good home? Here are a few different way you can donate your books to jail.

https://www.swopbehindbars.org/books-in-jail/



If you are thinking about the reference books you no longer need or never used you would be surprised that they are in high need! Here are some other book types that top the list for needed most in jails etc.

https://prisonbookprogram.org/donatesection/donate-books/top-book-requests/

Dolly Parton has an Imagininate Library free for kids. Free books by mail for kids

Dolly Parton has an Imagininate Library free for kids. Free books by mail for kids compliments of Dolly.


https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Summer time Free Audio books for teens to keep (and adults too!)

Hello everyone!
Free Audio books! FREE AUDIOBOOKS! Who does not love free!? If you know me you know it is a very favorite way to be! Free!

 Today is exciting because it is only 5 days away from the first installment of 2 FREE AUDIOBOOKS to keep that are geared towards teens. Let us be honest. A guilty pleasure of my is YA (Young Adult) novels. These are a great treat that you get to keep courtesty of Sync. They have helped expand my audio books beyond what I typically am geared towards and allow me a wider range information that expand my horizons.

SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens. Returning April 25, 2019, SYNC will give away two complete audiobook downloads a week - pairs of high interest titles, based on weekly themes. Sign up for email or text alerts and be first to know when new titles are available to download at www.audiobooksync.com.

Here are Sound Clips of the 2019 titles  Soundcloud Playlist

Saving basil seeds.

How to save basil seeds. Homesteading in suburbia from seed to seed. Basil start to finish. Most people take a leaf here and there from their basil. If they are ambitious pesto is in the cards. But the relationship ends there.

This is year 4 of growing basil. Each year I have gotten more and more involved with the plant itself. Here is what I've learned. 

When your basil goes to flower, pinch it off. You want the resources of the plant to go into making new leaves not seeds and flowers. They will keep producing flowers and I just to through and pick them all again. 

This promotes healthy growth.

When it flowers, some people loose interest in the plant at this point. Either letting it go calling it done or even ::gasp:: tossing the whole plant ! 

I'll admit I was tossing the flowers and seeds before. This year I'm really into drying herbs and saving seeds. 

Here's the trick. Dry everything for at least a week. It might have gone to two. Then just roll the bits you saved in your fingers. It crushes up the driers flower bits and the seeds come out! There are typically 4 seeds per pod and the pods looks like this on their own. 

You get really good at identifying the seed pods. They look like this. Typically found on the stem below the flowers (which are also edible) ! 

Fully dried and ready to store for next year ! I use an airtight little tiny jar then envelope them to protect from light deterioration. Handy to label year and plant origin! 

Any leaves that dried are saved for winter use and soups. All the crushed up basil bits that came from harvesting seeds just went into the dried jar too for later use! Great flavor!

It's obviously a time consuming and not at all "cost effecient" to the rich mans eyes. But not only is it free to save seeds but some day someone might control all the worlds seeds and have all of the fruit and produce "trademarked" and breed to have seeds that will not produce fruit. Even if that was not a worry, why not stockpile and ensure that you yourself have independence and a different gratitude for the food you create! 

What are your favorite things to do with basil ? 

Painted rocks. Strawberry

Last nights random project. 

Painted rocks to mimic strawberries

Hoping to dissuade the birdies and teach them our food is no good. I'll let you know how it ends up at the end of the season !  

4 Steps to Creating a Chalkboard Cabinet Door with Measuring Cups and Measurement Conversions

 Chalkboard Craze! I absolutely LOVE the idea of making surfaces multi-purpose. On top of that there are also other benefits to having my measuring cups all have a home and always in an order. Baking is just that much more fun when I can leave my cabinet door open and have every spice and measuring cup at hand! The measurement conversions come in handy too! Most of the materials I already had on hand too!

Cost : $3.67 for the Rust-Oleum Specialty Chalkboard Flat-Black Spray Paint

Materials:

Chalkboard spray paint

Piece of wood

Cup Hooks

Drill 

Masking Tape

Chalk

 

 4 Steps to creating this:

1.) Get a slim piece of scrap wood to add to the middle of the inside of the door. I attached this using wood glue and used a heavy object to hold it in place overnight while the glue dried. 

TIP: Make sure that when you are opening and closing your cabinet door that the extra wood and what will be hanging off of them do not interfere with the existing interior shelves.

2.) Line up all of the utensils in the order you want them to hang. Using a Sharpie color in the holes to mark where you will be drilling. 

3.) Pre-Drill the holes slightly smaller then the coffee cup hooks you will be screwing them into. Screw in cup hooks.

4.) Mask the edges of the wood you do NOT want paint on and then spray away! Following the instructions on the can, it is important to prep the chalkboard with chalk then erase once its dry. 

Voila ! And a Beautiful addition to our home! Though I do have to warn you... this cabinet door is noisy if you find you swing cabinet doors open fiercely. Which apparently I used to do but no longer as the clanking of Stainless Steel is enough to make me have a new softer approach !

5 Tips to building an AWESOME Cat Shelf

Cat shelf!

Yes we built a shelf for the cat. 

Just think of all the possibilities! One a little above you by the bed to keep them off you! An unused nook in the room you notice them in the most! 

Cost: Free! 

We had all the supplies lying around. 

2 metal braces we had up in our garage not doing anything and were there when we moved in.

1 Some extra carpet that also came with the house 

1 Piece of wood, cat sized

1 Staple gun and lots of staples

1  Drill and a Few Screws

2 Dry Wall Anchors (got ones rated to 70lbs. We have a DENSE kittie)

I am AWESOME at stapling carpet to the wood apparently.

5 TIPS :

1.) Make sure staples are all the way in. I pushed the carpet away and got in real close. Then if I felt it at all I Hammered it in. 

2.) To get it tight around the corners I snipped away some of the carpet, stapled it and then did the actual wrap around and stapled some more and more and more and more. Remember the kitties have claws and like to use them.

3.) If you can use a stud, DO! Kitties jump and I like the idea of it NOT EVER ripping out of the wall.

4.) How to find a Stud the easy way. Take the strongest magnet you have. Run it up and down the wall till it sticks. That means its a nail and that means its a stud so you know its running up and down from there.

5.) Use a corner to stick the cat shelf in. That way there is a place for curling up in.  

See the dog trying to figure out how to get there!

Yes we have now made a Kittie Highway for the stairway. 

Puppy Proof ! 

4 Steps to DIY Photo or Word Magnets

Cost: Free!

“This is too nice to throw away.” That’s our phrase. And a lot of things really are, or take up microscopic space like this next project !

We live in new construction suburbia. Lots of old school “door to door” sales men. The one’s that I enjoy are the ones that just leave their flyers. Some have gotten smart and leave a magnet on your garage door. This company that was promoting their services gave me the inspiration to tear off the sticker. Use it as a Label and Magnify that with these flat glass marbles or gems.

Enjoy!

Supplies: 

Magnet 

Hot glue

Scissors

Flat Glass Marbles or Gems

(I encourage you to get a large bag of ones that speak to your color scheme for other projects. Clear ones work best for this one. I scored a half gallon size bag of these at goodwill for .99 for other things and it has paid off)

Imagination of what you want to "magnify"

(You can always glue card stock to it to write on them if the sticker doesn't peel off nice or you bought one)

These magnets are so easy to cut up into any shape and size !

1.) Write directly on the white!

2.) Trace a "gem".

3.) Cut the magnet.

4.) Hot Glue word side on bottom of the gem.

(Tip: If you are doing this with photos to magnify them you can use photo glue ) 

FREE!!!!

Used here to label the steel lids of my canisters on my island!