Crafting Supplies and other uses

[i {heart} papers]

Lynn and I were talking about weird things we've used crafting supplies for in our household or elsewhere. I said I have a pair of SU Paper Snips in my manicure kit and she's thinking about using i {stick} papers tape to help her weatherstripping problem. Have YOU used any crafting supplies in weird or non-crafty ways?

[Lynn in St. Louis]

Ok...I have another one. I have used Crystal Effects to re-stick car mouling that was beginning to come loose. Stuck it once and I haven't had a problem since!

[i {heart} papers]

WOW! That Crystal Effects is strong stuff! I've used Ultra Clean to get a juice stain out of my countertop in my kitchen.

[Lynn in St. Louis]

Ok, that's a real keeper of an idea!

[Jan]

My hubby used my crop-a-dile to attach dog name plates to the dog collar. I watched his every move so he didn't try to make off with my tool! LOL Jan

[i {heart} papers]

HAHA! That's a good one!

[Sarah (Sairabee)]

I fix ripped toddler books with mini glue dots. :)

[Lynn in St. Louis]

I lOVE thos things! Mini glue dots rock for all kinds of fixes!

[i {heart} papers]

I used my retractable craft knife today to trim shelving liner!

[i {heart} papers]

Here I am working on a glass project and it had one of those really sticky, annoying labels on it. I usually use lighter fluid but I hate it. So, I reached for my Ultra Clean and voila! off it came!

[christine veneruso]

the side of my camera came off, I couldn't get it to stay in place, it's now held there with glue dots

[Cathy (Seaside Rose at SCS)]

I checked out this discussion thread. ....I was searching for info about cleaning acrylic blocks with WD40 and something else I can't remember; can't remember where I saw it but obviously it wasn't here, but I LOVE the suggestions and ideas!!!

In this house, Crystal effects is my first line Go To magic solution for almost everything. (In fact, it used to everything until I discovered Kate's red tape!!!) My housekeeper accidentally dropped and broke one of my favorite China vases. It broke into three large pieces a a couple of large chips that also came off it. There was a crack all the way through the bottom of it, which was the largest piece. She was distraught but she found all the pieces (it could have been a lot worse.... the chips were few and quite large, and it fit together perfectly). We put that baby back together and she thought that I should put a dried arrangement in it, which she offered to buy. I said phooey! I like to keep flowers from the garden in it. It holds water jut fine. ;) Plus, unlike "regular" cracks that discolor and turn brown over time, you have to know exactly where to look to see where this has been repaired. I painted a thin narrow line of glue over the crack on both sides and it has never discolored and it has never leaked.

I also used it to temporarily fix my eye glasses when I accidentally broke the frame, snapping it where it curves along your face and along the side of the lens to hold the lens in place. The weight of the lens kept pulling the frame down and then the lens would pop out. It lasted for the entire three days that it took for my lenses to arrive (they are a special order and can't be ground on site). I'm blind without them and the side that broke was my "good" eye so as you can imagine, I was pretty desperate. Worked PERFECTLY, and I still have them - kept them as a spare in case anything happens to the new ones. ;)

But my BEST use of Crystal Effects was the wall IN THE BATHROOM of all places. I used it to adhere the tile portion of one end of a ceramic toilet paper holder (the wall mounted kind) to the metal piece that is screwed into the wall.

The wall mounted metal plate has a tooth that fits under a lip on the ceramic piece. A contractor had been doing some repairs to a small part of the wall that was damaged when the connection between the pipe and the shower head started leaking inside the wall. You can get a sense of his skill level (and my frustration) when you realize that this tp holder was nowhere near where the repairs were being done and it didn't need to come down for any reason. We hired him to simply repair the part the wall that the plumber had to open to fix the leak.

Somehow, he chipped that little lip and then when we were putting this bathroom back together, that ceramic piece wouldn't stay up. This was part of a very old hand painted ceramic set but one that I love so much, I actually brought it with me from my old house when I moved here! (It matches the print on my curtain valences LOL - they aren't a set at all, but you'd swear they are.)

Mind you, this used to be a guest bath but since we've shifted my stamp room, it is now the one our teen-aged sons share and they aren't "gentle" with anything. It's been a year.... still hanging on ;)

As for that fabulous red tape, I know I had only ordered some a week ago, but I had fully intended to order MORE in the latest order! You know what means.... another order!

Anyway, I have since taken one of the rolls that was half gone and put it up in the kitchen to have on hand for odd little jobs.. I have held a warped and wobbly fountain together with it, used it to repair the telephone after I stumbled and fell against and knocked it completely off the wall and it fell apart. I also used it to hold the little plastic battery cover on a remote control --over time, as they change the batteries, the boys are hard on them and they break off the little teeth that lock them in place. Then they fall off and get lost and the batteries keep falling out. I just put a little piece of tape along the short edge where the teeth should be and that's enough to hold whatever is left of the stub in place. You need to pry it off with a little knife to change the batteries, but at least it works!

And my absolute top use for that ultra red adhesive red tape..... I actually got the idea from Kate's write-up about it (she says it's used to repair cars). My son had two critical (in his opinion only) problems. The first is that he somehow managed to snap off the cup holder from the the plastic thing it's attached to that slides in and out of the center console part of the dash. I think he was being too rough with it. He has a 2.5 hour commute each way so when he is driving back and forth for visits home, and he makes this trip at least and sometimes twice a week, he drinks a lot of coffee and cola in the car, so having that thing unusable was a major issue for him.

The second thing is that we had given the boys GPS navigators for their cars last year and his has been a thorn in his side. The base of the holder will not stay attached to the dashboard. It kept falling off, usually just before a critical turn LOL, and he's come to really rely on it.

While he was off with Steve at a Masonic meeting a few weekends ago, I fixed both things for him. I told him to be gentle with the cupholder, but it has held up nicely. What helps is that the cup actually fits in a well and this thing surrounds the cup just to keep it upright and hold it in place, so there is not that much strain on it.

As for the GPS, I mounted the holder for it to the front of the dash, not on the top of the dash where it typically goes, held on by another small holder attached under it's base to the dashboard.

I unscrewed the base completely from the unit and attached the holder directly to the front of the dash between the speedometer area and the radio at a perfect height for viewing. The phone slides up and out of it just fine. And let me tell you, if he trades the car in, he's going to have to leave the holder there and get a new one. That puppy isn't coming off there for nothing!

Okay, now I didn't get anything uloaded to my blog, nor anything posted. I'll be burning the midnight oil Time for sleep..... I'll post pix and blog info tomorrow!

Night everyone!

[i {heart} papers]

WOW! That's quite an exhaustive write-up! Thanks for sharing all of these great tips for how you're using things. Amazing!