Tool Time Tuesday...Flower Power

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of TTT. This time it's a recycled Tool Time. My daughter Kelsie received flowers a few months ago for dance recitals and graduation. I started saving those little water vials on the stems of flowers and then the plastic picks that holds the cards. Did you know that those picks are called cardettes? I just learned that myself.
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Well, here are a few ideas I thought of to use these instead of throwing them away.




Here is the top of the vial. The cap is usually rubber and has a tiny hole for the flower stem to go into.



If we are going to be using these for anything else but flowers, we need to plug that hole.

The first way would be to squeeze a little hot glue in there and let it harden.

You can also trace the circle on card stock...

cut it out and glue the paper inside the cap.

and here you have it all stopped up. You could also glue a little piece of fabric too.

Now here are a few ideas to use the vials...

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How about for the larger needles that are hanging around your sewing room. You don't use them very often, but you still "Need" them. The vials are great for hand sewing needles too. Keeps them in their own special place.

Just pop the cap on and they are all contained. You can also put a little label on it, but it's clear enough to see inside.

They're also great for all your machine sewing needles...you know the ones that you haven't snapped off running over pins, but they aren't sharp enough for fabric. I keep mine for when I sew through paper for craft projects, like the paint chip napkin holders.

and don't forget your regular pins. These vials are great to take with you to a class or retreat.

They are also great for beads, pearls and little doo dads.

If you want to keep the little container close at hand, you can try this.

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Add a bead to a necklace or a ribbon...

Insert the clasp through the hole from the inside towards the top.

Pull until the bead is up against the inside of the cap.

Snap the cap on and the necklace is ready to wear. Keeps the needles or beads right there where you are working.

Here are a few ideas for the floral picks or cardettes.

Insert the index card into the tines of the fork of the pick.

Then insert the pick into a plant that you might have in your kitchen. If you don't have a plant, you can always insert it into a cup, can, vase or anything near by that will hold it.

It's just so handy to keep the recipe card up and off the counter. You can easily read it and it stays clean too!!

Close up of the tines. I'll share this recipes with you later this week!! It's a great one from my Portuguese grandmother.

Here's another great idea. The picks can hold your quilt patterns or cutting instructions. If you're like me, that pattern usually gets buried under a mountain of fabric.

Now it's up and out of the way and easy to read.

and don't forget the cutest pictures of your loved ones!! Who needs frames when we have free cardettes!!! That word is just too funny. I keep saying it over and over. I think my name should be Karen Cardette!! OMG if there really is a Karen Cardette out there, I apologize!

So the next time you receive flowers, make sure you save all the extras, because I know you throw them away. If you haven't received flowers in a while, go out and buy some for yourself...you deserve it!!!

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My favorite flower is a tulip...what's yours?
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Have a wonderful Tuesday,

~Karen~