DAY 31: Wire from Recycled Plastic Water Bottles

Today I'll be making wire from recycled plastic bottles, if we have any, as today was recycling day....

Wire from Plastic Water Bottles

RESULTS: Reusable Grocery Bags

Sorry, I've been very busy lately, and just haven't taken the photos of the reusable grocery bags made from t-shirts. I will say that it was a fun, but long process and that these t-shirt bags are much sturdier than the t-shirt bag I made at the very beginning of this experiment. However, I found myself adjusting the directions quite a lot especially since I felt they were excessive in using 2 t-shirts to make one bag and that this defeated the purpose of re-using appropriately.


GRADE: B

Day 30: EARTH DAY: Reusable Grocery Bag

In honor of it being EARTH DAY today, I've decided to make a reusable grocery bag made from old t-shirts. Now, I previously made a bag from a t-shirt before having a sewing machine, so now, I'll be making a better one. I think I'll be adjusting a few of the directions in this one, especially since she mentions using 3 t-shirts for 1 bag, which is excessive and defeats the purpose of re-using and re-ducing in my opinion.

Reusable Grocery Bag from T-shirt(s)

RESULTS: Ricotta Gnocchi

These were very delicious! I was very surprised that something so simple would still turn out good. I was convinced I had left out a step or something and that they would test completely disgusting. The only issue I had with this 'how to' was that the amount of flour was not given, other than "some", and it turned out I needed about a cup or more.

I recommend this 'how to' / recipe to anyone!





GRADE: A

DAY 29: Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

We have some ricotta cheese sitting in the fridge that needs to be used, so I'm making these for dinner tonight!

Ricotta Gnocchi

RESULTS: Rhubarb and Strawberry Tarts

The result was pretty good. I added strawberries to the rhubarb and apple, which really added an extra sweet and tartness to them. I cut out most of the sugar, since I added the sugar. The only down side to the tarts was that they don't really store well. They became soggy by the next day. :(

Other than the sogginess, the how to directions were decent because they were short and clear and didn't over complicate a simple dish. Check out the photos of the Strawberry Rhubarb tarts.

GRADE: A

DAY 28: Rhubarb Tarts

I've never made anything with rhubarb, but have liked rhubarb pie in the past, so I'm gonna give it a go: Rhubarb Tarts

RESULTS: Book Purse

Well, it took me 2 days (evenings after work), but I finished the purse made from a book. I actually made a clutch and not a purse, because I wanted to give it that old school look when people used to tie their books together with string or leather instead of a backpack. This first book purse will be going to AJ, since she made first dibs quite awhile back. Which reminds me, I need to make another carton change purse for Keeley.

The overall directions were not super clear, plus they didn't explain all the elements that you needed to know, and they didn't give you a very polished end product. I'm going to make a second one and hopefully fix all of the little problems.

I'm just posting pics tonight, because I'm tired and really need to go to bed.









GRADE: B

Day 27: Back at it again w/ a purse from a book

I started up the "How to's" again last night with making a purse out of a book, but it's gonna take me at least two nights it seems:

Book Purse

RESULTS: Planning a Wedding

Well, the plans continue on and I find some of the suggestions on Wikihow useful, some interesting, and others just cheapy/trashy. You'll have to wait and see the results come October.

Day 26: Plan a Wedding in Six Months

So we are getting married in 6 months!! Aaaghhh!! And we are on a super uber tight budget. This is a real test to use Wikihow as a jumping off point for our wedding... but let's see what info it can give.

RESULTS: Basil from Seeds

Well I thought I had basil seeds, but it turns out they are silver beet seeds. So I didn't exactly follow the directions. But hey, we could have silver beet seeds in a few weeks.....





GRADE: We will see what grows.

Day 25: Grow Basil from Seed

SOOO glad spring is here!! (more or less) So I'm celebrating it by growing basil in my window pot.

Basil from Seed.

RESULTS: Posture

I must say that the whole ear in relevance to your shoulder aspect is hard for me to remember, I'm constantly leaning too far forward. And the exercises for posture, well those were just awkward. At my age, the ballet classes would be more than humorous, and with my lack of flexibility, the yoga classes could be equally humorous, although they have been recommended by multiple people, so maybe I should take a class or too.

Overall, the 'how to' was informative, but leaned a bit to the too informative side; however, the instructions were 90% clear.

GRADE: A-

Day 24: Improve Your Posture

So I had to take a short break from the blog because I've been working 10 - 13 hours at work and was coming home too exhausted to do a 'how to'. In that time period, I've re-realized that my posture is horrible and I couldn't find a 'how to' on standing on my head (not a hand stand) which was requested. So here's to helping my posture:

Posture

RESULTS: Snapping Fingers with 2 Hands

Snap with 2 hands. Why would you ever want or need to do this? I really am baffled. I have to admit that I chose this one more for its ridiculousness than anything else. Snapping like this is completely awkward and a lot more complicated than snapping with one hand. If you are one of those people that can’t snap on one hand, you may try this out, but you’ll quickly realize that this is too awkward for you to do too. Sorry, but its true.

It would be fun to try snapping with three hands, or maybe trying the two-hands-bit with a friend.

GRADE: D

Day 23: Snap with Two Hands

I'm wondering what this is all about:

Snap with Two Hands

RESULTS: My Bunny

GRADE: A

Day 22: Make a Bunny on Computer

Today I'll be learning how to make a bunny by just using the letters and symbols on the keyboard.

Make a Bunny

RESULTS: Calm and Relaxed

For pretty much all of my life, I’ve been a little stress ball underneath the calm exterior. I learned it early on then added a lot of my own irrational and rational anxieties to the mix as the years have gone by. As a kid and into my early adulthood painting and being a little bit crafty has helped calm these nerves. However, living in the current apartment I live in, I don’t have the space for doing as much art as I’m used to, so I need some alternatives, hence the reason for this ‘how to’.

The second one on the list of suggestions is actually the one I have the hardest doing. Yup, that would be breathing. I find that I will be working, sitting on the couch, thinking or what not, and I’ve completely forgotten to breath and then I have to gasp. It gets worse as the stress increases. Just doing breathing exercises while reading the ‘how to’ actually helped a lot, so I will make a more conscious effort to breathe.

Thinking of something funny has definitely helped in the past too. For example, I’ve found remembering the incidents where the angry German taxi driver didn’t want me to marry his daughter; the random journey to the unknown location of a hammam in the mountains of Tunisia; and the times I would tell old Chinese ladies at the market that I was Chinese (I’m as blonde and blue-eyed as they come) particularly stress relieving.

The rest of the suggestions are pretty good, except napping. I am not a good nap taker, unless it is on a bus, then, for some reason I can fall asleep in seconds for a few minutes and feel revived, but if I lay on a bed or couch, everyone watch out, the bear has awoken and will not be happy again until the following day.


GRADE: A-

Day 21: Feel Calm and Relaxed

I've been stressed for most of my life, so I figured, it would be good to read up on some calming and relaxing methods.

Be Calm and Relaxed

SUGGESTIONS NEEDED, QUICK!!!

I've been at this for 20 days now! Can't believe it. I'm finding it hard to find 'how to' articles that I can complete in a day and that don't cost me extra money. I would like to already have all the items in the "Items Needed" section if possible. I especially like the ones where I recycle an old used item and turn it in to something else. Please send your article links via the comments section.

THANKS!!!

RESULTS: Carrot Cake

This ‘how to’ was well written except for the mixture in types of measurements. However, this was easily fixed by switching back and forth between the measurement converter online. The frosting recipe was very delicious and I think I will use it from now on, since the one I was trying to make on my own wasn’t turning out as well.

Making a carrot cake really made me miss London even more because a good friend made me carrot cake multiple times. And she was just one of two good friends that loved to cook for all of us. I was so spoiled there.

PS - I was unable to try the cake as it is still too warm to ice and its now nearly midnight and I need sleep.

GRADE: A-

Day 20: Carrot Cake

I love carrot cake, it's actually one of my favorite cakes. I'm sure this won't be as good as my friend Cherina's, but I'm gonna try anyways. Here's to Cherina.

Carrot Cake

RESULTS: Glass Blowing

Going to DC Glass Works was quite the trek, as it wasn't actually in DC, but in Maryland. Since I don't have a car this took a long time to get to and even longer time to get home from. It was well worth the trek and all the waiting in the cold. Watching the workers with their skills and seeing the beautiful lava like molten glass transform into beautiful glasses, vases, and sculptures was extremely transfixing and beautiful.

Thank you to Antonia, who told me about the open house at DC Glass Works! So glad she told me and SO glad she will be taking a class there now!

Turns out, after going to glass studio open house, Wikihow was back up and running and it has a how to on it.

Here are some pics.









GRADE: A+

Day 19: Glass Blowing

Today I will be going to DC Glass Works for my 'how to' since wikihow wasn't working.

Day 19: WIKIHOW ISN'T WORKING TODAY!!!

Wikihow is not working today. I keep getting error warnings. Hopefully this fixes soon and I can continue doing one 'how to' a day.

RESULTS: Polymer Clay Beads

So this started off fun and slightly messy with the white clay getting all over my hands. It was easy enough to roll them into ovals then stick a toothpick through the middle and then put them in the oven. I should've stopped there. Painting them with the suggested acrylic paint, wasn't such a good idea. Acrylic paint is obviously the cheaper paint compared to oil, but better quality than tempra, which is usually used for kindergarten projects. However, painting these clay beads with acrylic made them look like they'd been painted with tempra paint by a 5 year old at best. Of course, it doesn't help that I thought I would be creative and use this cracking technic that reveals the lower paint after painting over a middle layer of glue. Unfortunately, that just made it even more of a hot mess.

If I had oil paint and more clay, I would try this all over again and see if I could make some beads that are presentable.






GRADE: B

Day 18: Polymer Clay Beads

So I wanted to make Southern Blackberry Delight, which is the 'how to' of the day, but sadly, I did not have frozen blackberries, nor any other frozen or non-frozen fruit. So, I've gone with making beads from some polymer clay left over from when I was making our engagement rings.

Polymer Clay Beads

RESULTS: Hot Cocoa

FInally made the jump to trying hot chocolate made from baking cocoa. As one raised on the hot packet mixes with the occasional splurge in late teenage years into Abuelita's hot chocolate from real chocolate bars, it is hard to enjoy hot chocolate that has the bitter taste of purer chocolate. Despite how easy it is to make, it would have been a lot of experimenting with sugar and more chocolate to get it to a point that I would have enjoyed it.

At the beginning, I miss read teaspoons for tablespoons. (See photo) When I saw that there was more than in a regular pre-package mix, I thought, "This doesn't look right." Good thing I double checked or I good have had a cup of the most bitter hot chocolate ever.

Overall I'd give a separate grade for taste at a B- maybe even a C.



GRADE: B

Day 17: Hot Chocolate from Cocoa

So this may seem really easy, but I've never made hot chocolate from cocoa powder. In truth I've been worried to take that jump.

So here I am jumping.

Hot Chocolate

RESULTS: Paper Beads

This was fun to do but slightly hard considering I was a bit sleep deprived and it was late at night. The directions were very direct and simple. I'm excited to do variations of the cuts and experiment with papers to see what other kinds of paper beads I can make. Would love to figure out how to make similar ones to the ones I've seen African women make.


GRADE: A+

Day 16: Paper Beads

Today, I'll be making paper beads from an old magazine.

Paper Beads.

RESULTS: Spin a Pencil Around Your Thumb

Well, I've never claimed to have coordination and I've always known that it was never written into my DNA. Which, I think is why I've always daydreamed about being able to do those really nifty displays of coordination like hopping from log to log or post to post; walking with a book on your head; spinning a basketball on your finger (without hitting yourself in the face); juggling a soccer ball (this is on my list of 'how to's to do); and chewing gum while walking.

Sadly, I'm here to report that I have not successfully re-written my DNA and I was not able to twirl the pen around my thumb like a drill team member does with his/her baton. I was successful with .... one spin.

The pictures are off a few of the drops and the one spin.


The grade for this 'how to' is hard for me to assign, as I feel that a 'how to' show help me accomplish the task, but I wasn't really able, even though I followed their directions; however, I'm afraid to admit that I think my DNA overrode the effectiveness of the 'how to'.

























GRADE: A-

Day 15: Spin a Pencil Around Your Thumb

I've always wished I could spin a pencil while studying, thinking, or trying to look cool while flirting or something like that. So, here I am, finally learning.

Spin a Pencil Around Your Thumb

RESULTS: Speed Reading

This how to was lllllllooooooooonnnnnnngggggggg, but good. At first I thought that all these 'how to' instructions were more like 'tips' than 'how to' but then I got to the bottom section (method 2), and it actually gave 'how to' steps. I took a speed reading course as part of my SAT prep course in high school, and then another one in college for some reason, but I don't remember what it was for exactly. The only aspects I remember from those trainings was that I should stare at the middle of the paragraph and use my finger to drag my eyes down.



So far the 'how to' is helping me read quicker, but I definitely need to keep practicing.

GRADE: A+

Day 14: Speed Reading

Today I attended at conference on Early Childhood Development and received about 20 books, pamphlets, etc. This seemed appropriate for me to learn.

Speed Reading.

RESULTS: Carton Wallet

I was sent the carton wallet 'how to' by a friend (Keeley) a while ago and have wanted to do it ever since.

The directions were very easy and they even provided a pattern for the cutout.

Here are some close-ups of my carton wallet:









GRADE: A+

Day 13: Carton Wallet

Today, I am finally making a wallet from a carton!!! I'm excited. This was sent to me a while back from a friend.

Carton Wallet

RESULTS: Drawing a Sea Turtle

Well, here it is, my sea turtle drawing. Maybe I should have left it in black n white.



The 'how to' didn't really give every step, nor very accurate steps for the shapes. I wouldn't have come up with the same/similar drawing had they not provided their own drawing.


GRADE: B -

Day 12: Sea Turtle

Today I will learn how to draw a Sea Turtle. A certain friend of mine is going to be so excited.

Sea Turtle

RESULTS: Tracking my George's

Well the information in the 'how to' was useful, but the anticipation of waiting to see if my bill was tracked was a lot more than actually finding out that it hadn't been tracked at all before. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe it will be later, once I write the website all over each of them.....


GRADE: A-

Day 11: Tracking the Bills

So today, I'm learning how to track my dollar bills and where they travel.

This will be fun in that totally nerdy way.

Track My Bills

Day 11: Tracking the Bills

So today, I'm learning how to track my dollar bills and where they travel.

This will be fun in that totally nerdy way.

Track My Bills

RESULTS: Bag from T-Shirt

Well. This is a great idea and the directions were simple, direct, and the project was easy. So, basically, I loved it. I just wish the t-shirt I chose had some fancy screen printing or the like, but all the ones that had such art I wanted to keep wearing as t-shirts and not a bag.

I followed the written directions and not the video. By the looks of the still from of the video, I would say there are extra steps that are not mentioned in the written. Now I need to look for a 'how to' on screen printing so that I can put something on the front of this otherwise boring brown bag.

Oh, and PS - don't use a stretchy shirt when you make your bag. It makes a big bag a HUGE bag when you put stuff in it.


GRADE: A

Day 10: Bag from a T-shirt

This is gonna be fun, especially since I don't have a sewing machine. Which means a project that would probably take 10 minutes is going to take me 30 minutes to an hour. I really suck at sewing by hand. Man I wish I had been successful on Day 1 - bartering for a sewing machine...

Bag from T-shirt

RESULTS: Graffiti

I first started to appreciate graffiti when I moved to East London, Hackney to be exact. There were so many Banksy graffiti art, you couldn’t help but notice it all and think about what he was mocking, criticizing, or glorifying.

Trips to NYC while living in DC has allowed me to see more artistic kinds of graffiti that are much less tense than the graffiti of Banksy or of London in general.











Moving to DC brought a whole different form of graffiti that I do not appreciate as much. And that is the tagging form of graffiti, which is a form of the Agnomical kind, I just learned from this Wikihow.













I am a bit disappointed that this Wikihow didn’t explain the difference between a tagging that is just for fun and one that marks territory. It would have been nice to learn that, so that I can know when I should be worried in my neighborhood.





















GRADE: B-

Day 9: How to Appreciate Graffiti

I wish I could do today's 'how to' on the Miter Saw. But alas, I am without one. :( Then I thought, how cool it would be to plant and an Herbal Knot Garden, but I don't have the space nor money. Sigh

So I chose to learn "How to Appreciate Graffiti" since it is fairly common in my neighborhood. Hopefully this will help me learn the difference between a 'tag' and graffiti.

RESULTS: Haiku

C’mon, people. Seriously? Can you get even more detailed for how to write a Haiku? Does anyone else see the irony in being so wordy about how to write a Haiku? I get lost in all the "keep in minds" and history. Let me see if I can do this.

Well let me follow the directions:

1. Check. 5 - 7 – 5
2. Winter
3. keeping that a secret
4. sensory. OK
5. practice. practice. practice.

Some attempts.

soft ice melting
warm flowing yucky
yellow snow

smell of burning wood
flowing in the heavy air
winter in Istanbul

clear white ice
blocks every path
I fall on my a**

Well, I guess I need to practice more. That is the 5th step, after all. Well,
Haiku, I hate you.
We are through. At least for now.
Until next ‘how to’.

GRADE: C-

Day 8: Haiku

Today's 'how to' is "How to Write a Haiku". I like writing poetry at times, but must say Haiku, is not my favorite form.

Haiku

RESULTS: Palm Reading

Oh, Palm Reading. I had this done once or twice in my life, and well, they just seem like a scam. And now that I know what to look for, I’m tempted to go get my palm read during lunch break tomorrow. If only I had a job and $10 or $15 to do it… Just imagine how fun it would be to say to the lady (I’ve yet to meet a male palm reader – maybe I can be the first – hey there’s a niche for me after all). Anyways, I digress. Just imagine how fun it would be to say to the lady, “No sorry, ma’am my head line actually curves more than it is wavy.” And, “Does that bump there, ya, ya, that one there, constitute as a wave or just part of the slope?”

Well here’s a photo of a palm I read.




Maybe it’s mine, maybe it’s not. We just know it’s not my dog’s. It looks as if this person is content with love, yet had some emotional trauma, twice in their life, about 6 to 10 years apart, perhaps? And right now this person is facing some momentous decisions and is also a very creative person with a short attention span. Maybe this person can use their creativity to plow through the momentous decisions. Now, where was I, oh ya, the life line. It shows that this person has a LOT of vitality, now what does that mean, exactly? According to Merriam-Webster it means a person that has the power of enduring, and has physical and mental vigor especially when highly developed. SO the enduring this person has gone through or is going through is increasing their already existing physical and mental vigor. Now, unlike most people, this one has a fate line, but I can’t determine its meaning because there is just no advice on a fate line that is super long, shallow with crosses threw it. Its as if its saying fate is long and shallow.

Overall this ‘how to’ was entertaining, but lacked all the information I needed. Now I know I’ve said that I like short and to the point, but that all goes out the window when we're talking about reading the future. I mean this is important stuff, no leaving out the details. I need to know everything, including how to change the lines so I get what I want.

GRADE:either a B+ or an A - -

Day 7: How to Read Palms

Today I'm learning how to read palms. I'll start with mine. This will be fun, or very doomsday like. We'll see. I'm routing for fun, I've had a bit too much of the doom.

Reading Palms

RESULTS: Homemade Dog Biscuits

How do you spell spoiled dog? D-A-N-G-E-R! Well we were finishing up making the cookies for us and starting the biscuits when our roommate came home and we told him that we were making treats for Danger, so he went and told him. Danger came immediately running to the kitchen – no joke. He then sat and stared at all the ingredients and drooled, simultaneously creating a very ominously dangerous pool on the floor.

We followed the directions perfectly, well except the whole wheat flour, I thought we didn’t have any, but turns out we did (realized this at the end). Oh and the powdered milk, we didn’t have that either, so regular milk seemed a good enough substitute.

Each step was simple and direct, the way I like them and there weren’t many of them, which was an added bonus. Danger, obviously approved, and hated me when I kept holding them just out of his reach so that I could snap the photo. In fact, all these photos were after he jumped higher than I thought he could and stole the only biscuit we wrote on before I got a photo. He was mad at me for retrieving it for at least three more biscuits. Trust me, you don’t want Danger glaring at you, especially when he’s sleeping at the foot of your bed…


I made him wait a really long time. He finally got sick of it and jumped to take it back:









GRADE: A+

Day 6: Homemade Dog Treats

Today is Valentine's Day and we are making sugar cookies for each other as our Valentine's Day activity and cards (one must be creative when jobless). So I thought, we shouldn't leave our dog out of it, so I'm making dog treats from scratch.

Dog Treats

RESULTS: 3D Paper Snowflake

Well this was fun, in that I’m-decorating-for-the-church-youth-formal-dance-when-I-was-14 kind of way. I truly was having flash backs to my youth while doing this ‘How to’. I think I heard Depeche Mode’s Somebody playing in the distance while daydreaming who I would really like to dance with. Sigh. Memories. In fact, a lot of these ‘How to’s’, now that I think about it, remind me of my childhood and youth. Making tea from left over things. Did that. Making random things out of paper. Yep, that too. Trying to vacuum my dog. Well, kinda, but it was our cat. We had a mutual hate. Making a nice bed, well not so much actually, I’ve never been so keen on perfect cleanliness.







Anyways, back to the ‘How to’ at hand. This 3D snowflake wasn’t too hard, once I had enough paper. It must have taken a total of 15 or 20 minutes, which I guess was a bit long, but oh well, I won’t be making 3D snowflake building a career, at least for now.

The directions were pretty good. Straightforward for the most part, a bit wordy for my liking, but just barely. I thought I’d add some umph to it by adding a bit of color, blue and yellow, then I realized that yellow may have not been the best choice given that it is a snowflake after all. But it does look good in contrasting the blue, doesn’t it?





GRADE: A-

Day 5: 3D Paper Snowflake

Today I will be learning how to make a 3D Paper Snowflake. It looks fairly easy, but we will see..

3D Paper Snowflake

RESULTS: Vacuuming Dog

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! This was fun. My dog, despite his name (Danger) is scared to death of the vacuum. So I figured this 'How to' was gonna hit the fan in about two seconds. But…. well, the first step: Having your dog and the vacuum become friends, was the key. I spent about an hour with my dog and the vacuum. I had Danger sit next to the vacuum. Sniff it. Ran the hose over his body without it on. All the while feeding him his favorite treats. Then he and I sat next to it, I petted him for a while and then finally turned it on and vacuumed him instead of brushing. He actually liked it. I didn’t even have to hold his collar towards the end. I was amazed!

So TWO THUMBS up for the Vacuum your Dog ‘How to’





Sequence of events:

1. Danger is coaxed into sitting next to vacuum -super scared



















2. He sits willingly next to vacuum.






















3. He gets vacuumed, with some hesitance at the beginning.




GRADE: B