DIY Felted Dryer Balls

This post could also be entitled [dis]Proving Pinterest.  That is where I originally found the idea for felted dryer balls. (Confession: that's where I find most of my ideas these days. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if a Pinterest addiction gets its own name an description in DSM-5.)  The blogger wrote that the dryer balls would cut down on drying time and eliminate the need to buy dryer sheets.  "Dry clothes faster? AND help the environment by eliminating waste? Sign me up!" I thought.  I ran right out and bought a skein of yarn in order to try this myself and share the results with you.

Materials:

• 1 skein of 100% wool -- yes, it must be 100% because you are going to felt it. (I used a 40% off coupon at Michael's to get an 8oz skein, which made four balls, for $7. This was a time I wish I was an avid knitter so I could just use scraps and be more economical!)
• Old socks or pantyhose from the rag bin
• Washer/dryer
• Patience

Step One: Tightly roll yarn into a ball.  Remember that the yarn will shrink during felting, so make the ball a bit bigger than your desired end result.  I wanted dryer balls the size of tennis balls, so I rolled mine a bit bigger than the palm of my hand.

Step Two: Place each ball in an old sock and knot the sock so that the ball stays in place.  If you have old pantyhose you can fit multiple balls, as seen in the original blog posting about this idea.

I knew there was a reason I kept old, ratty, discolored socks in the rag bin!

Step Three: Wash the balls on hot and dry them on a cotton setting.  (I threw a small load of towels in, too, so as not to waste a cycle.)  As anyone who has ever accidentally shrunk a wool sweater knows, the only time you do this to wool is when you want it to shrink and become felt!

Step Four: Repeat wash cycle until the balls reach the desired felt level.  Mine took two cycles.

Step Five: Use in the dryer in place of dryer sheets!  If you want them to smell pretty, add 2-3 drops of essential oil to the balls.  I did this, but the scent only lasted for a few loads. However, even without the scent the laundry smelled fine -- no icky wet wool smell at all (which was one of my worries).

So, did they work??


Sadly, like most things that sound too good to be true, the claims here were a bit exaggerated.  I did not get to reduce my drying time.  However, my clothes were static-free.  That, to me, is a a win.  Even if I can't improve the performance of my horribly inefficient dryer, I can at least stop throwing a dryer sheet away every time I run a load of laundry. I'm sure Mother Earth is thankful for that, and it makes me feel like I've improved the Green status of our household, if only by a bit.
********************
End note: Do you have an obsession with Pinterest?  Maybe we can join forces!  Click here to see my boards and start following me and then leave me a note so I can return the favor.

How to make your own inspirational greeting cards

I have a theory that most women are obsessed with stationary.  Who doesn't like pretty paper, a beautiful greeting card, and -- most important of all -- the possibility of receiving such a thing in the mail unexpectedly?  I know that I love to send notes, letters, and cards to people because I enjoy the surprise of receiving something myself.  Back when I had a bit more time, I used to make it a point of sending out at least one card or letter a week.

Unique cards with pretty paper are a personal favorite of mine.  I especially love beautiful photos with inspirational quotes as greeting cards.  One day I was looking through Etsy and realized that I could probably do this myself.  Could I?  How much would it cost?  What would it look like?

Honey and I love globetrotting and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery around us.  Who wouldn't want to remember a beautiful place?

Sintra, Portugal

I recently discovered Picasa, Google's free photo organizer/editor, and so I decided to try my hand at creating photo cards.

What you need:
1. Picasa (which can be downloaded at picasa.google.com)
2. Cardstock
3. 12"x12" paper
4. scissors, ruler, pencil, rubber cement (or similar glue)

Download Picasa.  It will access all of your photos on your computer.  Once it's done that, choose the photo you want to use for a card.  Picasa allows for easy photo editing, if you want to add/change colors, texture, etc.  You can also add text to your photo, so choose a good quote!  Once that is done, click on the button in the upper left hand corner, next to "Import," to create a new folder for photo cards. Click and drag your modified photo with text to the photo card folder.  When inside that folder, click on the lower right hand side to export the file folder.  This will allow you a separate folder for the photo cards that you can then upload to a printing service.  I use the photo printer at Costco.

Hanoi, Vietnam

When you have your photos printed, glue them to cardstock.  I used a template that I created from cardstock to make sure that all of my cards were the same size.

When folded, the cardstock gives a border of about 1/8" all the way around the photo.

I sprayed the back of the photo with a spray adhesive and pressed it to the cardstock to make my card.  Then, using the card and a ruler I traced a rectangle on the backside of some pretty 12"x12" paper, making the traced rectangle 1/8" bigger than my card (on each side).

On the top and sides of the paper rectangle, I used the ruler to draw triangles.  I then free-handed a smaller, rounded-corner rectangle at the bottom.  This was my envelope template.

I cut around the template, folded each piece, and then glued the bottom of the envelop to the sides using rubber cement.

Be careful not to use too much rubber cement -- you don't want it to ooze out on the rest of your paper or your card. Once it is dry, you can use it with your card.  The top can be sealed with a touch of glue or with double-sided tape.

I made six cards this weekend, but I am thinking of making more.

Total cost:
$0.13 per photo
$0.08 per sheet of cardstock (purchased in a package, 50 sheets for $3.99)
$0.19 per sheet of 12x12 paper (since I only buy it on clearance at Micahel's)

Cost per card: $0.40!!  That's much better than a $3 Hallmark or $5 farmer's market card.

The cards took me about two minutes per card once I had the photos.  The longest time was spent choosing what photos and quotes I would use.  I think that I am going to make about 20-30 different options and then print them and make a bunch of cards.  Who knows, maybe I'll even try selling them in a friend's little boutique.  Are they good enough for that?  We'll see.  But they make me happy and that's what counts.

I'm linking here:
Momnivore's Dilemma