DIY Armoire from Bookcases

It’s amazing the things you can find on the web when you start looking around. I found a beautiful armoire, see the pics, which was made from two bookcases – and it’s entirely do-able!

DIY Bookcase Armoire

She found two matching bookcases on Freecycle! so these are even being recycled and reused – and they were free! The bookcases are hinged together with piano hinges, clear plexi is added to some of the shelves to keep things in place, and the drop-down desk is hinged too.

And look how much organization and storage she’s got inside!

DIY Armoire from bookshelves - lots of organization and storage

So useful but equally as important, stylish and decorative. You could use any sort of paper to decorate the outside – make it shoji style, add a mirror, you name it.

Talk about inspiration! You can check out more directions on Ayoska’s Blog. Lots of green ideas there too 🙂

Recycled Bottles into Art

Okay, it’s not recycled paper – you know I like to recycle my fave medium – but it’s definitely recycled, and it is definitely art. Take a look, this is gorgeous!
Water Botttles turned into Art

This gorgeous display – wall art – cascade – was created by Michelle Brand via Green Design Girl.

I’m not suggesting you should copy her – but be inspired by her? Definitely. Can’t you see this in front of a window? or adapted to become, oh, the ‘door’ of a cabinet? (come on, work with me here). There will be ways we can take this inspiration and use it. If nothing else, hang it in front of a window.

(Don’t buy all those bottles though. Enlist everybody to save them for you.)

Reuse – Recycle – RETHINK

I meant to post this yesterday for Earth Day but kinda missed…. but this doesn’t need to just be an “Earth Day” idea. We can all learn to see with new eyes. To “rethink” – how can I use this? do I have to throw it away to just fill up a landfill, or can I do something totally new with it?

You know, usually we CAN.

I ran across this picture (sorry didn’t save the link, I was having a leaky brain day) – if you know where it’s from (or it’s yours!) please let me know so I can give credit where it’s due! Take a look at this terrific basket:

Recycled Newspaper Baskets.

It’s made from rolled-up newspapers, and I don’t have directions so will be experimenting myself. Roll the newspaper tightly to make tubes – lots of them. Start to coil your basket, securing the coils with cotton string? Clear fishing line, IF you already have some and would not be buying new…. Or, maybe colorful cotton strips torn from an old sheet (okay, CUT from an old sheet – sheets are tough and strong!) Or yarn you have anyway? Anything that could be used to “sew” the coils together.

The basket would be lightweight and strong (paper is very very strong in compressed layers). I bet there are lots of adaptations we can think of, using this general idea.

Recycle, reuse, rethink 🙂

Wallpaper as Art – Do It Yourself

Another very cool way to add art to your space – use wallpaper 🙂

Okay, this is not a new idea. But it’s one worth revisiting. And I recently found a cool pic that shows a great example:
Wallpaper on Artist's Canvas - Do It Yourself Wall Art

The full directions for how they made it are on SquawFox.com. She actually stretched her wallpaper pieces over artist’s canvas, which makes it a bit more three-dimensional and more “genuine art” (whatever that means!). But you could simply glue the wallpaper onto foam core, or tack it directly to the wall – add a border (paint, ribbon, lath strips, you name it) and you’ve got yourself some framed artwork that can be customized to your exact space and color scheme.

Even better, you could use scraps left in the basement – or use wrapping paper (I know I’ve talked about that before), or make a collage with the wallpaper, or – well, you see where I’m going with this. Everybody can cut and paste. Now everybody can decorate on the cheap 🙂

Paper as Art – and Do It Yourself, Too

Wow. I found an incredible artist who works in paper – you won’t believe the intricacy. Take a look:

Intricate Hand-Cut Paper Art by Auyama Hina

Intricate Hand-Cut Paper Art by Auyama Hina

My source is Paper Forest, a nifty blog that features paper in many incarnations. Another of her recent features is a fun do-it-yourself box:
Do It Yourself Smiley Cake Box
– and yes, she includes “how to”s.

Check out her blog – and have fun 🙂

DIY Recycled Wastebasket

You know I love to hear about new ways to recycle paper, since paper is after all one of my preferred materials 🙂 I saw this totally cool idea that tells you how to make a “new” wastebasket out of recycled magazine pages!


Recycled Wastebasket made with magazine pages

Recycled Wastebasket made with magazine pages



This is from Homemade Originals and there are clear directions included here.

You’ll probably think of a lot of variations on the theme – hey, if nothing else, you can take a wastebasket you already have and decorate it with magazine pages – not so original, but still a lot of fun. And all it costs is a magazine you’ve probably already got, and some glue.

Vive recycling!

Gemstone Turquoise – Real or Fake?

Turquoise is one of my favorite gemstones and I’ll bet money (Monopoly money anyway!) that it’s one of yours too. It’s gorgeous, it’s flattering, it’s not hard to find, it looks good all year round and with all skin tones…. you know what I mean!

And sometimes it’s hard to know if you’re looking at the real deal, or a pretty fake. Of course if it’s pretty enough you might not care – unless you paid for Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and got assembled crap instead. (And if you paid for Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, believe me, you’ll care).

This post just gives a few examples of the good and the (not as) good. Take a look below – here’s a couple examples of real versus not:

Turquoise Magnesite Genuine Arizona Turquoise Teardrops
and
Turquoise Howlite Beads Turquoise Howlite

Only one of these examples is real turquoise – the teardrops at upper right. I know they’re genuine because (1) I bought them in Arizona in person, and (2) I do this for a living and after a while you can tell.

The other pics show very attractive beads – they’re just not real turquoise. Upper left is ‘turquoise magnesite’, a much easier to find stone and it fools a lot of people. Lower left is dyed howlite. Once again, easy to find, and it’s pretty – but not turquoise. The lower right is what I think of as “felt” in the stone world – it’s stone dust (probably howlite again), dye, and glue, and all pressed together. Pretty. Not turquoise.

Tricky, ain’t it?

Buying Jewelry for Investment and Source of Emergency Fund

Is it a good idea to invest in jewelry? How about using them as a source of your emergency fund?

Some people think so. Particularly because the value of gold and precious gems can appreciate through the years. So it follows that it is a good investment, right?

Well, that’s not necessarily true.

Jewelry as Investment
Jewelry prices can be quite subjective. And the value of precious metals and gems, such as gold, silver, and diamonds, are incredibly volatile. If you’re looking for a trustworthy place that has decades of experience in buying and selling gold, silver, and other jewelry made of other precious metals. Their experts will be sure to help you out and give you the best price for your jewelry.

In fact, their prices go up and fall down at a greater pace and magnitude than the stock market. This makes it relatively a more risky investment that stocks.

Here’s the 100-year historical US Dollar price of Gold. Notice how there’s no significant trend to the price, or at the very least, it’s just a sideways movement.

And here’s the 100-year historical price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is like the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index. While the price fluctuates, it nevertheless shows an upward trend.

Both charts are inflation adjusted, and thus accurately shows how investing in gold is more nerve-wracking and panic-inducing, especially for long-term investors.

Additionally, as I’ve observed from those who like buying jewelry, most of them actually have no plans of selling them for profit, especially when gold prices are up.

If that’s your mindset, then whenever you buy jewelry — you’re simply acquiring an asset and not an investment. Because an investment should make you money.

In fact, the only time they’d consider selling their jewelry is when they really need cash. Which brings us to the second reason why people foolishly buy them — as a source of emergency funds.

Jewelry as Emergency Fund
When you need money, you can pawn your jewelries to get cash. But is that a smart money move? Apparently not.

Pawnshops will only give you up to 70% of the value of the jewelry as cash. And you need to pay the interest if you want to get it back.

So wouldn’t it be better to just put cash in the bank as your emergency fund? This way, when you need money, you can get 100% value and there’s no interest fees to pay. If you need intant cash try selling gold jewellery Adelaide

Of course, there’s also the option of selling them.

But there’s a financial emergency and time is of the essence. This means you’ll most likely sell them at a discounted price, that is if you can find a buyer at all, which is another challenge in itself.

In the end, having cold, hard cash saved in the bank or tucked away in a low-risk investment is still the best option for an emergency fund — not jewelry — and similarly, not designer bags, not luxury watches, not antiques, not artwork.

In Summary
There’s nothing wrong with buying jewelry. Go ahead and buy them if you’re fond of wearing them, or as a gift for your loved ones. One of the most recognisable luxury watch brands, Breitling has been making exquisite watches since 1884. With a talent for precision chronographs, Breitling soon established itself as an industry leader with a reputation for innovative and beautiful watches. If you want more inflammation look it out Breitling guide on NanaDC.

Here at La Gold Buyer Exchange we buy your coin silver gold any year and any condition we are number one at los angeles California for coin buyer near me.

But never buy jewelry if your mindset is to have it as an investment or a source of emergency funds. It’s better to just invest your money in paper assets or keep your cash handy in a savings account.

Touching your tomatoes

I saw a very interesting post today about growing tomatoes from seeds – I’m going to include a link below. The author is Margaret Roach. Among her many interesting comments, she noted:

“Brush the tops of the seedlings daily with your hand to provide the “mechanical conditioning” that creates sturdy, not spindly seedlings. Not just once, but gently for a half-minute or minute. (Yes, go ahead, talk to them while you do it. I probably do without even realizing it.)”

Talk about “hands on” gardening! But she said a lot of things that make sense. Here’s the link to the full article:

Makes me want to get started myself – it’s past time to start the seeds in flats I can bring inside.

Coffee Grounds

In a word – coffee grounds. Most plants love them – I’ll do some checking to find out what *doesn’t* like the acid in coffee. But most do.

Scatter the grounds as mulch. Dig them into your soil to both lighten and enrich it.


add coffee grounds to your garden - as mulch, as food, as compose - its all good

add coffee grounds to your garden - as mulch, as food, as compost - it's all good



And definitely add them to your tomatoes. Yum yum. Happy tomatoes.