What to do with all those extra wine glasses?

I stole this idea from a friend who had already mastered this creation. A very simple design, but a bit tricky with the execution. I highly recommend doing this in a safe, open area because let's be real, your hanging thin glass objects from the sky with thin wire, some carnage is bound to happen. All it took was some thin wire, a light kit, and a dozen or two wine glasses. What if I don't have a dozen or two wine glasses you say? I went to a local thrift store and picked up my lot for about 35-75 cents each. Plus I got to mix and match different glasses by doing this, which I always appreciate.

My plan of attack for this delicate beast was starting at the lowest point you want the piece to hang and then building my middle and working my way out. I wrapped wire several times around where the stem meets the base and then again wrapped the other end several times above the contraption where the light bulb screws into. I will put out a warning that this light fixture can get fairly heavy, so invest in a good light kit and really secure the fixture to where its home will be. The light kit I bought had a hook on the cord that could be adjusted to whatever length you desired, but it could also slide out easily. I chose my length and then super glued it in place. Also if you choose to hang it from the ceiling, check the ceiling hook (or whatever you decide upon) to see how much weight it could hold. I have had numerous projects fall from the sky due to ceiling hooks "sliding" out from there home. It was a super fun project and I only broke two glasses.

The little bench that could.

So occasionally I get wild hairs and want to do a completely random projects. And usually I am not prepared in anyway (know how and supplies) to do these projects. This could be why I have a garage full of half done projects. Anyway, I decided one day that I wanted to make a bench. Out of wood. With nails. And stain. So off to Home Depot I go. Not knowing the first thing about wood and too prideful to ask for help (really I didn't want to ask for help because then they would find out that I had no idea what I was doing and probably refuse to sell me wood), I grabbed the first thing that looked like what I wanted and didn't cost my first born. Little did I know that what I was about to purchase were studs and that would prove to add difficulty later on. I then bought the nails and the stain, left the store, semi-safely fastened the wood to the top of my Subaru, and headed home.

At this point I will mention that I had no power tools, nor had a measured out plan for this bench. But I had a picture in my head and that was enough. I brought the wood into my garage and grabbed my grandfathers HANDsaw and went to town cutting my wood. 8 hours later and unable able to lift either arm, I had my wood cut. I fastened my pieces together, nailed them in place, and presto, I had a bench! That was unfortunately lop-sided and not perfect 90 degree angles. But I made a bench!

A few weeks later my father came to visit and brought the proper tools and helped me to make a few minor adjustments. And he gave me one of his extra power saws (which could be good or bad).

Zip tie light? Yes please.

I am a big follower of the Better Homes and Gardens "Do it Yourself" magazine. It's one of my go to's for ideas and tips that won't break your wallet or make you feel like you somehow have regressed in your mental functioning capability. The Fall 2009 magazine to this date is one of my favorites. I have done many, many projects just from that one magazine. The super star project (in my opinion of course) was the zip tie light. I will say it was a rather monotonous project, but a few evenings spent with it and some chick flicks proved to be worth it. It's a mood lighting fixture, so if your wanting something to read by, this is not the best choice.

The project supplies include: a large bag of zip ties (obviously), a light kit, and a grill grate. You will need a cutting devise of sorts to cut out a hole in the center of the grate to place your light through (I used a Dremel tool). I spray painted the grate white to blend in with the zip ties, but surprisingly there are a wide selection of multi-colored zip ties out there you can go nuts on your color choice. I choose a bag with different lengths to create a more chandelier look. All these supplies can be found at a hardware store or if you are like me, just rummage around your garage or basement and you will find the needed items and then some.

The project ran me about $30. Zip ties are not the cheapest item, a 1000ct bag was about $22, but I had plenty of ties left over for, well, whatever you need zip ties for in real life. The grill grate cost about $7 for a 13in (ish) grate and I lucked out by already having a light kit.

Craft on!