Sunday, June 24, 2012

Mutant Strawberry!

Today I visited Whole Foods for a quick trip to pick up some of the essentials. While washing up my strawberries I came across this guy!

Holy humongous batman! Almost the size of my whole palm!
I just had to compare it to the average sized strawberry out of my basket. Organic and all, this guy takes the cake,  measuring out at almost the length of a business card. 
I was almost too attached to eat him...almost! Yum. I guess the bigger the better. :)
Have you seen bigger? Let me know in the comments section. Give me a link to a picture if you've got them.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Strike-A-Match Jar

Have you been looking for a classier, fresher way to transport your matches? I saw a similar tutorial floating around from the Burlap Bag, using sandpaper for the lid...it looked great, in theory. After testing it out I noticed that about 75% of the matches I tried to strike were not lighting, the sandpaper was just rubbing off the activator. Boo. So I've come up with an alternative, and you can use either Strike Anywhere or Strike-on-the-Box matches. Enjoy.

Using a mason jar gives it that cute look, also very practical for refills, and taking outdoors.
I started off by tracing the opening onto heavy cardstock, this will make the match striking surface more durable to pressure. You can use any cardboard you like - a cereal box would probably have worked just as well. Cut out the circle,  but don't cut out the hole quite yet. 

As for the sandpaper conundrum, my theory was - if it ain't broke, don't fix it -  Cutting the striking strips off the sides of the box work just as well as any old sandpaper, perhaps even better. Recycle! Align the strips on the circle. This is the part where it's ok to fudge a little, the jar rim will cover most of the curved edges so just get the straight edges of the strips lined up as best you can.   
Once you have all your pieces, use spray adhesive or double sided tape to attach your trimmed strips to the cardstock/cardboard circle. Use an X-acto or craft knife to cut out a small square about 1-2mm from the edge (1/4in). Make sure your rim doesn't cover it all up. 
Now fill your jar and screw your lid on tight, get ready for some summer BBQ fun.  The lid should last for a whole box of matches, if not grab a new one and refill.  The tops are easily changeable so your jar should last you a life time. 

Just in case you wanted to see it in action...here's my first attempt at making a GIF. Next time I'm just sticking with video. 

Sc8xaW on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs