"Repurposing" things - what have YOU done? Or what do you have that needs a purpose?

unrecordings

One for tessellation fans:
I found a packet of cress seeds recently I decided to give them a go this morning and found that:

a) the transparent tubs that Waitrose sell their 2x essential scotch eggs in are the perfect size for growing a small batch of cress in
b) cut a sheet of kitchen roll in half, fold it over and it fits perfectly in the bottom of the transparent tub
c) two transparent tubs fit perfectly in the opaque brown tubs that Waitrose sell cup mushrooms in.

All you have to do is cover the whole thing (a gas bill is perfect) to keep the seeds dark & damp until they sprout, then remove the transparent tubs to allow flourish in the light

jackieblack

Mir! wrote: »

shame as I really fancied giving this a try!

Ditto .....

GreyQueen

I've just raised my pine bedstead several inches by putting it up on 4 engineering bricks. Bricks have felt underneath to protect the floor, wadding around the side (to protect the toesies) and a tailored cover over the top, to stop dust and webs fouling the wadding.


The bricks were dug up on my allotment, the wadding came from a repuposed cot bumper and the covers are made from part of an old purple bedsheet - that and the cot bumper cost me £1 together and there is still plenty of wadding/ material for other projects.


And, I have resolved the pesky problemo of a very low-slung bedstead limiting what can be kept underneath, plus making cleaning harder than it otherwise be, without forking out for a new bedframe.


Am hot and tired and a bit dusty, but pretty pleased with myself. Gonna take a rest before remaking the bed with fresh linens.

Nonnadiluca

A question for any preservers: will it be ok to use a cast iron trivet in the bottom of the pan to stand my mason jars on? I want to bottle pears but don't want to have to buy a rack. Thanks

Primrose

Nonnadiluca wrote: »

A question for any preservers: will it be ok to use a cast iron trivet in the bottom of the pan to stand my mason jars on? I want to bottle pears but don't want to have to buy a rack. Thanks

I thought the answer was YEs but consulted a bottling website on the internet to confirm and this is what it said:


1. When processing canned goods in a boiling water canner, you must use a rack of some sort to elevate the jars off the bottom of the pot. You do this for two reasons. One is to prevent the glass from being in direct contact with the bottom of the pot (a cooktop with particularly strong heat source can sometimes be too much for even the most carefully tempered jar). The other is that the rack allows the boiling water to thoroughly circulate around the jars, which aids in heat penetration. If you have a round rack (both my pressure cookers can with them), you can pop one into the bottom of your stock pot and consider your canning pot ready to go."

I think most trivets from pressure cookers are probably aluminium rather than cast iron But as long as your trivet, whatever it's made of, has Holes in it to allow water to circulate through to keep the temperature evenly distributed around the jars it seems this is the important factor.

This iNfo taken from https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-canning-e-109885. It also suggests how you can make a temporary rack out of twisted aluminium foil if you don,t have anything suitable .

Nonnadiluca

It has a fancy 'duck in reeds' pattern so plenty of spaces for air circulation, thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I will send DH into the garden on a pear picking mission!

Working_Mum

Try this link

http://thetoymakersjournal.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-japanese-market-bag-tutorial.html

They are VERY easy and took me less than half an hour each once I got going!!

Dottles1

I have used a stainless steel colander as a light shade in my kitchen. My grandson cut a circle out for the fitting and it looks really good with the stainless steel shelving I inherited when I moved in. As a bonus it shines a lovely pattern on the ceiling in the evening.

Savvy_Sue

Bra extenders... I've cut hooks and eyes off old bras and sewn the raw edges together.

I'd be doing another tonight but I've come away without a sewing needle in the sewing kit I grabbed!

-taff

Working_Mum wrote: »

Try this link

http://thetoymakersjournal.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-japanese-market-bag-tutorial.html

They are VERY easy and took me less than half an hour each once I got going!!

This
https://downloads.practicalpublishing.co.uk/lovesewing/azuma.pdf
is the original link, they just messed it up....