How to Get a Melted Candle Out of a Jar

I love the look of candles in glass jars – until they’re all melted and stuck to the sides. I’d read a tip about freezing them to make the melted candle stub easier to remove, but that only works some of the time.

Phillip came up with an ingenious improvement: give the candle a handle!

Here’s what to do to unstick melted candles from jars and other glass containers:

Pour some water into the jar on top of the candle stub.
Partly submerge an S-hook or something else sturdy enough to use as a handle.*
Freeze.
Once frozen, you can use the hook/handle to just pull the candles right out.
To retrieve the handle, allow ice on top of the candles to melt.

*Phillip used IKEA S-hooks, because we had those around. Large paper clips weren’t strong enough, but a Popsicle stick or butter knife might work.

January 12, 2017January 3, 2018

Make a Euro-Inspired Mini Lamp Garland

I stumbled across a tutorial on a site called Taylor Made Creates to make this mini lamp garland, using plastic cups and mismatched fabric on string lights. Seems like a great way to use leftover fabric and put holiday lights to use in the off-season!

It also reminded me of the photos I saw last year of the (much larger) colorful lampshades of Linen Lux.

If you won’t be in Paris when the lamps go back on display January 19, you can make your own miniature version and bring a bit of the City of Light into your home.

A photo posted by Christoph Jakob (@el_kalam) on Aug 15, 2015 at 3:39pm PDT

For a (more) boho look, add some fringe or lace scraps, like these string lights at Brückenfestival, a 2-day music festival in Nuremberg, Germany that also has a thing for lamps.

A photo posted by Agi 🌸 (@leucht_auge) on Aug 17, 2016 at 7:00am PDT

– More info –

Linen Lux 2017 will be on display during Paris Déco Off January 19-23.
Brückenfestival 2017 happens in Nuremberg August 11-12.
The lamp shades on a string craft originally came from Rebeccas DIY. She also illustrates cityscapes for paper lanterns, like these Venice lanterns.

Photos:
1. Taylor Made Creates
2. European Linen and Hemp
3. Christoph Jakob (@el_kalam)
4. Agi (@leucht_auge)

October 5, 2015December 12, 2017

Quick Bedroom Upgrade: Line Dresser Drawers with Wrapping Paper

A photo posted by stephanieliebold (@stephanieliebold) on Jun 9, 2013 at 8:58pm PDT

I was putting laundry away and decided I’d had it with my underwear drawer. It had become an overstuffed catch-all for camis and jammies, briefs and bras, swimsuits and socks, unmentionables and mentionables, all mingled together in a messy jumble. I re-homed, re-arranged and got rid of everything that didn’t belong in there.

The unfinished wood at the bottom of the drawer seemed a little too rough for my delicates, so I started looking around the house for a quick fix.

What turned out to be perfect was this colorful striped wrapping paper.

I cut it to size, folded the uneven edge, and secured it with masking tape.

That’s it. And, 2 years later, it’s still in tact and in place – even after our recent move.

You could use odd-sized paper ends for smaller drawers (nightstand? desk?) or even reuse paper from presents you’ve unwrapped to smooth out all your dresser drawers and make your laundry day a little brighter.

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PS I was messing around with creating a page that makes it easier to find posts from my Instagrams, and I forgot that those posts would also go in my RSS. So if you noticed a bunch of random photos with dates as the title on our Facebook or in your inbox (if you subscribe), that’s all that’s about.

September 7, 2015September 8, 2015

Moving in

We finally have everything moved over to the new place – bookcases that need to be reunited with their shelves, a disassembled desk, an armchair that’s still covered in shrink wrap, stacks of boxes and bags and baskets.

But we got our bed set up. And the coffeemaker plugged in. And, even if there’s nowhere to sit in the living room, the patio is quite cozy.

Despite this cardboard jungle phase, it’s already starting to feel like home.

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September 3, 2015

Awash

I have a packed suitcase, and I won’t be sleeping in my own bed tonight – but I’m not going anywhere.

My bed, my dresser, and various other furniture items and boxes of things are already in our new place, down the road.

Moving is a little like standing in a doorway. Or like the feeling when the edge of an ocean wave foams up over your ankles and then pulls back, dragging the sand beneath your feet with it, until just when you think you might lose your footing completely, and it withdraws, leaving you alone to steady yourself in the sand. Piece by piece, everything shifts, and then it’s done, and you find your balance again.

Tonight, we’ll roll out sleeping bags on the floor. In a matter of days, we’ll have these rooms emptied and cleaned out, and we’ll lock the door on the bittersweet memories of our years here and begin to settle in to a new space.

It’s only a few miles away, but it feels like a fresh start.