I couldn’t come up with a good title for my first installment of Fresh Squeeze, because the topic this week is a bit scatalogical and I didn’t want to scare all of y’all high-minded folks away at the word go.
Just so you know this is a new Monday morning feature about creative projects, ideas and crafts to help make living a little bit more organized, nicer, prettier, and fresher in our tight little space we call home. Hence the name Fresh Squeeze. Hope you like it. If not, tough noogies.
I wanted to name today’s featured project The Great Turd Polish. You may thank me later for not naming it that. But that is more or less what I’ve done.
If, like me, you are a cat owner, you know about the Tidy Cats buckets. They are awesome, are they not? They might be one of the most usefully reusable product packages out there. We use them for everything: Diaper pails; dog food and treats; as a tote for traveling in the car. I am the first to sing the praises of reusing these buckets for diapers. Throw that Diaper Genie away, people. Those things use way too much plastic, and they don’t, and I mean DO NOT, hold in the stank. I’ve been in a number of households that use Diaper Genies, and I can tell almost as soon as I walk in the door if this is a Diaper Genie household. They do not work.
Tidy Cats buckets on the other hand, oh yes ma’am. You would not believe how good they work. My mother, who is a neat freak and not afraid of hurting my feelings, says she can’t smell the diapers in my son’s nursery. On top of that, she and dad regularly spend the night in the guest bed in the nursery, and she’s never once complained about any odor coming from those buckets. So, I swear by them.
Only one problem. They’re school bus yellow and have ugly logos all over them. In the context of my Little Dude’s robot and spaceship bedroom, the effect is jarring. The two buckets sitting next to the changing table just sit there like … well, like cat litter buckets. I decided it was high time for function to meet form.
So I started with some sprocket-themed scrapbook paper from Michael’s, and glued it on.
Yes, I see the wrinkles too. Let me just point out this is my first attempt. And might I remind you that this a bucket of shit?
By the way, I used Mod Podge for this project. I cannot stop raving about Mod Podge, and I can’t believe I never used it before.
I used sponge brushes because those work best for me, but you can use regular paint brushes, too.
Next, I printed some robot and spaceship images from the internet and podged those on top of the base.
God bless the Hubs. He went with me on my frantic “I’m so sick of these ugly buckets” run to Michael’s, and he found a bunch of these adorable foam stickers.
I think they add a great deal of depth, don’t you?
Here’s the finished product:
I know, I know. It seems like a lot of effort for a bucket of poo. But really, it was super easy. The Mod Podge cleans up great and is non-toxic. Hours later, when I discovered some of the gunk on my fingertips, it peeled off as easily as the Elmer’s Glue I used to use in elementary school. So I had a nice memory flashback, too!
We’re thinking as soon as the Little Dude is out of diapers, we’ll bleach these suckers out and use them for toys. Don’t you think they’ll make awesome containers for Legos? I certainly do.
All I can say is, this kid better be good to me when I’m old.
Recent Comments