You’ve probably heard all about the amazing uses of distilled vinegar, using olive oil to condition leather and even that nifty trick of using a potato to loosen a broken light bulb. But today, we are going to talk about some of the not-so-known uses for everyday items like coffee filters, marshmallows and dryer sheets.

COFFEE FILTERS – The little paper-like liners that make your morning cup of joe possible have many more uses than just getting your morning started. Because coffee filters are lint-free and absorb oil very well, there are many, many uses for these little guys. Did you know…

• You can use coffee filters to clean glass, CD’s/DVD’s, computer monitors and even your iPad.
• Pour some baking soda into a coffee filter, wrap it up with a rubber band and stick it into smelly athletic shoes to absorb the stench.
• Use a coffee filter to pour oil into your car engine without messy spillage.
• There are also many interesting crafts and DIY projects on the World Wide Web using coffee filters. One of my favorites being this Anthropology-inspired coffee filter garland by Pam Garrison.
• In case you run out of dryer sheets and you’re in a pinch, just apply a few drops of fabric softener to a coffee filter, rub the sides together and stick it in the dryer.

DRYER SHEETS – Speaking of dryer sheets, did you know…

• If you plan on storing your luggage for a long period of time, stashing a dryer sheet inside each piece can help prevent musty odors.
• Going camping this Spring? Hang a dryer sheet outdoors to repel mosquitoes. (It really works!)
• The anti-static formula used in dryer sheets can help remove baked-on food from pots or pans. If time is on your side, simply place a sheet in the pot/pan, fill it with warm water and let sit overnight. The next morning, the baked-on food should be loose enough to clean as usual.
• Rub a dryer sheet along the blades of dull scissors for a quick fix.
• Some golfers have been known to put a dryer sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.
• You can use a dryer sheet to dust wood furniture or even spruce up chrome fixtures.
• For those of you who sew (I wish I had that talent), try running the needle through a dryer sheet before sewing to prevent the thread from tangling.

MARSHMALLOWS - Yes, it’s true. There are more uses for marshmallows than s’mores or Rice Krispie Treats. Though both are quite delicious, did you know…

• Stash a few marshmallows in a box of brown sugar or the sugar bowl to prevent the sugar from hardening or clumping.
• Make ice cream cones less messy by sticking a few marshmallows in the bottom of the cone to prevent the ice cream from leaking out.
• Eat three or four marshmallows to sooth a sore throat. Greg has actually used this a few times but I’ve always thought it to be quite odd. Come to find out, there’s a scientific reason as to why it works. Apparently, the gelatin is very helpful when it comes to relieving irritation and soothing pain in your throat. And I’m sure it’s a lot more tasty than nasty throat lozenges.

CLEAR NAIL POLISH – Handy for more than runs in your hose. Did you know…

• A tiny bit of clear nail polish can touch up small dents and scratches on hardwood floors and can help prevent further damage to the area.
• To prevent rust rings in the shower, you can apply clear nail polish to the bottom of the shaving cream can.
• Keep ribbons (or even shoelaces) from fraying by painting the ends with clear nail polish.
• In lieu of licking envelopes, use a few swipes of some clear nail polish. It’s a lot better than tasting the nasty “mint” flavoring.
• Scratch the paint on your car? Brush a coat of clear nail polish over the scratch to prevent it from rusting until you are able to get it repaired.
• Reset loose stones in inexpensive costume jewelry with a coat or two of clear nail polish. This also gives the jewels a little extra sparkle.

TOOTHPASTE – Used for making your teeth squeaky clean and sparkling white. But did you know…

• You can brighten up your white tennis shoes with a toothbrush (one used for cleaning of course) and some whitening toothpaste. Just scrub and rinse.
• No caulk on hand? Use a bit of (white) toothpaste. This works really well on small pinholes and white woodwork.
• Use a spot of toothpaste to remove stains from carpet. Just brush it in the carpet, rinse and the stain will come right out.
• Remove hairspray residue from your hair straightener or curling iron with a tad of toothpaste and a soft cloth. Since toothpaste is abrasive, you may not want to use this on ceramic models.
• Overnight blemish cream. It works. Enough said.
• Toothpaste can soothe pain from minor burns (that don’t involve an open wound). It has been said to temporarily relive the pain and actually prevents the wound from opening.
• Use toothpaste to remove scratches from leather. Just dab some toothpaste on the scratch, wipe it off with a soft cloth then wipe the area with a damp cloth. Be sure not to use whitening toothpaste, as it might bleach the leather.
• Get rid of the nasty onion smell on your hands by “washing” them with toothpaste.

Do you have any clever uses for everyday products? Let us know in the comments section. We’d love to add them to our list!

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Images found here, here, here, here and here.

Time for an update on the guest room. As we mentioned last time around, my grandparents are coming to town in March to stay with us for two whole weeks. We’re super excited, but before their arrival, we’ve got some major work to do in the guest room.

We made a trip to IKEA to check out the kitchen cabinet options. Those of you who have been to IKEA know you can’t go without checking out the entire showroom. First of all, it’s not a dash in / dash out kind of place. Secondly, if you try to do that, it would be just wrong. Before making our way to the kitchens, we came to the bedroom furniture. On the back wall, I spotted an ultra comfy-looking bed:

It was simple, understated, and you couldn’t beat the price: $179 for the entire kit and caboodle. Not bad; not bad at all. It was love at first sight. Without much apprehension, we grabbed our little IKEA pencil and jotted down the bin numbers so we could pick up the pieces in the warehouse on our way to check out.

After a little more browsing, we came upon a dresser. THE dresser. When Greg and I first laid eyes on it, we simultaneously said, “Oooo.” Yet another “love at first sight moment”. Coming in at just $299, the price was absolutely right. We were sold. Unfortunately, I failed to take a photo of it in the showroom. I guess I was just too excited to think straight! Fast forward 24 hours, and it was assembled and in place in its new home.

One thing we love about the dresser is the size. First of all, it’s tall (38 1/4″ to be exact). Greg has an appreciation for tall furniture seeing as how he is 6’7″. The dresser also has eight good-sized drawers for storage. Another big selling point for us was the glass top. This will protect the dresser top and even make it more kid-friendly. If the glass gets scratched, we can just replace it and move on.

We’re loving the size and durability of the dresser but it could use a little personality (that may have been why we fell for it so hard). New hardware or maybe some paint details come to mind. We’re holding off on making those decisions until after we’ve picked out the bedding, accessories, etc. One thing that doesn’t need sprucing-up is the inside of the drawers which are decorated with canary yellow pinstripes (love!).

We’re loving how the bed fits in the room. The headboard and footboard are going to be fun to work with when choosing the right bedding.

It’s not too snug but just large enough to make the room feel cozy–like a little pocket of comfort. Well, it doesn’t look comfortable yet (but hopefully it will in time for my grandparents’ arrival). There’s a perfect amount of walking space between the dresser and the bed, as well as ample room for bedside tables.

As of this moment, two of the five major furniture purchases for this room have been made. The jury is still out on the other three pieces: two side tables and a reading chair or desk. Overall, we are super happy with the furniture purchases and can’t wait to add some sparkle (and a mattress!) to the room. When we headed out for IKEA that day, we hadn’t planned on finding furniture for the guest room. Sometimes it’s the spontaneous purchases that can prove to sometimes be the best. Lesson learned.

It was about 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon when all of the sudden, I got the urge to do something creative; a fun DIY project or something. So I called a friend to see if she wanted to go to Michael’s with me. Fifteen minutes later, there we were, searching the aisles of Michael’s. We passed up the scrapbook aisle, the seasonal aisle (they already had Easter stuff!) and even the aisle of unfinished wooden boxes (for some reason I always want to buy one). Nothing was “clicking” with my inner urge for creativity. Just when I was about to give up, we came upon the canvas aisle. Then it dawned on me, “I want to paint like David Bromstad.”

I’ve been a fan of David Bromstad’s work since season one of HGTV’s Design Star. Remember the pet store white box challenge? The rug made out of wood chips and reptile bark? Oh. My. Goodness. Genius. For those of you who may not be familiar with his work, here are a few shots from his show Color Splash.

Did you notice the one-of-a-kind paintings? That’s part of the awesomeness known as David Bromstad. Not only does he design amazing spaces, but from time to time, he will paint a custom art piece for the homeowners. Some of it’s super detailed while other pieces are totally simple and abstract. But regardless of the style, his artwork always brings that special, finishing touch to the room. He makes it look so incredibly easy — to the point where you say “I could do that!… I think.”

Back to Michael’s.

Aside from painting the walls in our house, I have no painting experience. So I pulled out my iPhone and Googled “David Bromstad painting supplies”. The first couple of search results mentioned acrylic paint, so that’s where I started.

I decided to go with Liquitex Acrylic Basics paint. It’s also noted as “beginner paint”. And I’m definitely in the “beginner” category. After a few more Google searches and a phone call to my mom (mom’s know everything), I ended up with the following items in my cart:

• One 24 x 48 Stretched Canvas
• Way too many paint brushes (in various types & sizes)
• Liquitex Acrylic Basics Paint in these colors:
  • Bright Aqua Green
  • Cadmium Red Light Hue
  • Raw Umber
  • Grey
  • Titanium White (2 large tubes)
• Liquitex Basics Modeling Paste (an opaque matte structure paste to add a subtle 3D effect)
• A cheap-o modeling paste knife
• One Squirt Bottle (apparently this is a frequent tool of David’s)

I probably purchased more “stuff” than I need — especially in the brush department. And who knows, I might even end up getting another color or two. But this is what I’m starting with.

As for the canvas. Greg thought it was a little large, but I quickly reminded him that we like big pieces of art and if this were to actually turn out to be “good”, we’d want it to be large. Right? Right.

As far as my “artistic ability” goes, I’m okay-ish. In Kindergarten, I got a C in coloring. True story. Around middle school, art became my favorite subject and I had a good amount of sketch books in my possession. In college, I majored in Advertising and minored in Graphic Design, so I had a pretty hefty amount of art classes. They mostly focused on graphic design, as opposed to media like paint. To summarize, while some would say I’m “artsy”, I’m not a closet Picasso with a few painting tricks up my sleeve. This will truly be an experimental endeavor.

Truth be told, I’m a little nervous about posting this for all to see. Simply because if this turns out horribly, I still have to post the results. What kind of home blogger would I be if I didn’t? After all, it’s mostly about the journey, rather than just the destination. So whether it’s a week or two months from now, I will be sure to post what I created… whatever that may be.

Have you ever tackled your own David Bromstad-esque painting? Any advice or warnings? I’d love to hear them!

UPDATE: Okay, so it’s almost been 9 months since I wrote this post and the canvas is STILL empty. Every time I walk by it, I try to ignore the fact that it’s the first on the list of projects that I said I was going to do, and have never done them. Hopefully, I’ll get the guys to throw some paint on it someday. When I do, you will be the first to know. Fo sho.

David Bromstad images found here.