Crafting Creatively with Crypton

Brooklynite Erika Burling’s interests include architecture, sewing, reading, and traveling – and all of these are evident in the urban-chic accessories she made using two of our favorite fabrics, Bella and Herringbone.
 

The tote bag and iPad case, which Erika designed as a birthday gift for her photographer husband Ari, are sleek enough to look right at home in any global metropolis – and the pillow comes in handy when curling up for a good read.

“Being an avid sewer and living in New York City, I’m always looking for unusual and durable fabric that can withstand an urban environment,” explains Erika, who insists accessory design is just a hobby despite the high professional quality of her work. “I took a class called ‘Understanding Fabric Selection’ several months ago at the School of Visual Arts. The teacher pointed out that Crypton fabric was stain resistant,easy to clean, and environmentally correct – I was sold.”

A visit to the web site clinched the deal: “I was pleasantly surprised to find such a variety of colors and textures – especially classic gray herringbone, my favorite,” Erika adds. “I love the rich colors of the fabric, which work well for bags and household items, such as pillows. I look forward to creating more items from Crypton.” 

Have you recently used Super Fabric for any fun crafting or interior-design projects? We’d love to see how they turned out, and hear your thoughts on how the fabric handles and holds up. Your Super Style projects could be showcased in upcoming blog postings, so please email us!

Posted by Julia Szabo.

Sporting goods as cleaning tools – a winning idea.

This week, Life on Crypton is hosting an expert we think you’ll love to hear from. His name is Tom McNulty, the author of CLEAN LIKE A MAN – Housekeeping for Men (and the Women Who Love Them), the first housekeeping “how-to” manual written for, and by, the AverageJoe. Welcome, Tom!

Finally, there’s a way to help men embrace housekeeping: make it seem like a game! Start by taking a couple pieces of common sports equipment and repurposing them as cleaning tools.

• A stopwatch – Racing the clock while cleaning a room brings out a guy’s competitive spirit. If he allots 10 or 15 minutes for a room, he’ll push himself to finish as much as possible in that timeframe. He’ll focus better and finish faster.

• A tennis ball – Spray a little all-purpose cleaning solution on one side and the ball’s tough, nubby surface to remove crayon marks from walls, scuffs from floors, and winter grime from patio furniture.

• A golf ball retriever – Put an old sweat sock over the top. It telescopes out to reach high spots: clearing cobwebs in corners, dusting cupboard tops, cleaning ceiling fan blades and the like.

• A bowling ball – Avoid endless blotting of carpet stains – it’s hard on the arms and the spirit. Instead, apply a cleaning solution to the stain, place a clean cloth over it, and roll a bowling ball around on it for effortless blotting! Repeat as needed.

• Sneakers – To protect wood floors from ladder and stepstool legs. Just put the shoes onto the legs. In this case, size doesn’t matter – any shoe fits!

Tom McNulty’s mission is to deliver ingenious, guy-friendly advice on cleaning, organizing and other domestic arts that often intimidate or confuse men. Tom lives in Minneapolis with his dog, Coco, who has an irrational fear of vacuums. For more manly cleaning advice, visit cleanlikeaman.com.

Inside tips on outside cookin’

This week, Life on Crypton is hosting an expert we think you’ll love to hear from. His name is Tom McNulty, the author of CLEAN LIKE A MAN – Housekeeping for Men (and the Women Who Love Them), the first housekeeping “how-to” manual written for, and by, the AverageJoe . Welcome, Tom!

July Fourth may be over, but there are plenty of summer picnics, cookouts and family reunions still ahead – complete with overturned plates of burgers and beans, colorful spilled drinks and condiments, and mini-moguls of post-meal trash.

Here are some Clean Like a Man tips for making faster, easier work of the outdoor events:

• Dads can assign each of the kids a job for either the prep or pickup part of the meal. One can bring out all the plates of meat destined for the BBQ, another can keep the cooler stocked, and several can fill garbage bags with debris before heading home.

• University of California-Riverside researchers say dads who help out with housekeeping are good role models for their kids – the children not only learn teamwork and responsibility, they do better in school and have more friends.

• To save garbage bags and be “green” too, re-use dry cleaner bags for trash. Just double them up for strength, tie them off at the bottom, and fill ‘em up.

• Another trash-saving idea? Freeze a two-liter bottle of water and use as an ice-pack in the cooler.

• The “barbie” at home was Sunday, but “garbie” pick-up isn’t ‘til Friday? Seal trash tightly in plastic bags, then toss them into the trashcan with a few cups of cat litter, which cuts odors.

• At 48×54”, Crypton Throvers make ideal outdoor tablecloths or picnic ground-cloths because they’re virtually impervious to moisture and stains – even tough ones like ketchup and mustard.

I hope these tips help you and your family enjoy “the best of the rest” of summer!

Tom McNulty lives in Minneapolis with his dog, Coco, who has an irrational fear of vacuums. For more manly cleaning advice, visit cleanlikeaman.com.

Crypton plays starring role on Better TV

Better TV is Better Homes & Gardens’ hugely popular, nationally-syndicated show with upwards of 50 million viewers per month. It’s must-viewing for anyone who appreciates, well, having a better home and garden! 

Friday’s topic was “Owning Pets and Keeping Clean,” so pet-friendly, stain-resistant fabric and dog beds were right at home on the set. It should be pointed out that the hot-pink pillow looked especially hot next to Rhiannon Ally, the lovely host.

I’m always happy to share tips from my book, PrettyPet-Friendly, which is all about the right tools for keeping your “animal house” up-to-sniff. But adorable, adoptable Tony, available from the HumaneSociety of New York, is the real star of this show. To watch, click here.

Posted by Julia Szabo.