DIY Neoprene Sunscreen Stick Holder

Going through my stash of upcycle items, I still had a bit of 2 mm neoprene from a old pair of surf shorts that I had cut up for a past neoprene project. I only had a bit left, so I used the remnant to make a little holder for my sunscreen stick that I can attach to whatever I want when I head to the beach.

For this, I needed neoprene, some 4 lb test fishing line or strong thread, a medium weight needle, a split ring (like for a standard keychain), some scissors, and my sunscreen stick:
 

I made a pattern that is usable for a regular sunscreen face stick like you'd pick up at the drugstore. Mine is 3" around and 3 3/4" tall, so the pattern is based on those measurements. You can adjust the pattern as needed if yours is a bit different. The pattern is there to give you an idea of the cutout outline.
 

Neoprene Sunscreen Stick Holder

I cut out the pattern to show you how it works. The dotted lines are fold marks plus one line-up mark to show where the top and bottom will meet. You'll be folding the top part over the split ring and straight stitch across, then fold the bottom up and whip stitch up the sides. Neoprene's stretchy, and this is meant to be a snug fit, so this pattern is meant for use with this material only. You may need to make it wider if you're using another material like cotton.

To make sure the pattern stays in place while I cut, I stapled it to the neoprene in a few spots. 

 

Next, I folded the top section over the split ring and just straight stitched by hand with the needle and fishing line along the section's bottom:
 

I clipped off any extra line after knotting the ends, and flipped it over. I folded the bottom section up like the pictures above indicated, and just whip stitched up the sides. Try to make small stitches- taking shortcuts will guarantee a short life on your holder. You can add a carabiner or clip to it for convenience. As you can see, the snug fit keeps the sunscreen stick from falling out.

 

When I was done, it looked a lot a mace holder. Maybe that's appropriate. The Sun can be pretty deadly.

Easy DIY Sunscreen Safe

Here's a simple little hack to keep your things safe on the beach from prying eyes that I've seen using a wide type of sunscreen bottle like this:

 

You'll want to keep things like you're keys, money, etc., but, the opening is usually pretty small:

so by taking an Exacto knife and cutting away the top except at the lip where it can still attach at the original top:

you can make a wide mouth safe to put your stuff in that nobody will suspect.

If you have trouble keeping the top on, just use a hair elastic, no one will think anything of it:

Super easy!!

Mini Sunscreen Dispenser on the Go

Even though the Summer is ending, I'm still planning on being on the water, surfing and paddling....and freezing, probably. I've still got to remember to put on sunscreen because even in the Winter, you can still get charred skin, and since your face is normally exposed, I thought it would be good to keep some with me for my face.
I'm guilty of using some of those water flavor things in that compact packaging that really is wasteful, but makes my water taste a lot better. I hate to throw these out since they are great little squeeze bottles, and the labels are wrapped around the outside, so they just peel right off:

Make sure you rinse the bottle out really well by giving the bottle top a good twist. It will pop off. Run water though the nozzle too or you may have some "orange tangerine" in your sunscreen....hmmm, it would smell good!
Next, I got some sticker paper I can run through the printer to make a cool label:

I had to make the label VERY small, so keep that in mind. I hand cut around the image to the size I wanted. I could stick this directly onto the bottle, but since I'm going to use this around water, I wanted to protect the image, so I used some packing tape over the top of the image and then cut it out:

I just peeled off the backing of the sticker, placed it onto the front of the bottle, and it's labeled.
Squeeze in some sunscreen from a large bottle (use economy size and save some cash!) and pop the top back on. The little bottle is leakproof, just make sure it snaps on completely:

Done! Pocket sunscreen on the go.....

Surfin' Daddy Goody Pail

Father's Day is around the corner, and many of us around here know of more than one Dad who is good at being a father and may surf OK too.
Here's a little idea to get him something he may appreciate for his other love.
First, I picked up a clear craft paint can at the craft store. Sometimes they sell these at the hardware store, but they're about the same price, really, and I like the clear ones better for gifts. The top opens up just like an actual paint can, so you can use a paint can opener or just a quarter (this one is pretty lightweight):

Clear craft paint can (you can paint on the clear plastic!)

Inside, I'm going to put a nice surfboard leash- if you don't know what size to get, estimate around a 7' leash, that's pretty average.

Take the cardboard sleeve off of the leash

Next, with the cardboard sleeve off the leash, I'm going to coil the leash around the inside of the can, leaving space in the middle:

Leash in the can....

Since I've got some space in the middle, I can put other things, like a set of Proteck safety fins (hey, gotta keep the old man safe, right?), some sunscreen (very important!), and, of course, some wax. If you have extra space, instead of buying that shredded paper crap, get some wrapped candies he likes to fill in the space- it looks nice and serves a purpose! Doesn't someone make tequila flavored Jolly Ranchers?

Fill 'er up!

Put the top back on, and I used some sticker paper to print out a neat clip art pic on my printer to make the gift look a bit more professional. You can paint the outside too, but using sticker paper is faster and can look better depending on your artistic level- hey, but if your name rhymes with Spew Trophy, give the painting thing a go.

Done!

This is a fun project for the kids and Moms to make together for the Dads. Throwing in a "Anytime Surf Pass to cash in When Needed" in there probably wouldn't hurt either....

Relay for Life

This week, I've been pretty caught up getting prepared for Relay for Life, an event to raise money for Cancer Research. This year, for me personally, it's really brought up an awareness of the dangers of sun over exposure and the threat of skin cancer.
Whenever you live in a sunny climate, the threat looms greater all year round, but really, it's important to cover up and put on sunscreen whenever you head outside.
If you'd like to donate to my team, please visit this website.
In the meantime, here's some links to some of my past projects that encourage sun safety:
Sunscreen Labeling (at the bottom of the entry)
Sunscreen Applicator
DIY Sunscreen Dispenser
Sunburn Aloe Gel (DON'T GET TO THIS STAGE PLEASE!)

Please remember to be be safe in the sun....if you cook yourself, you just may be tastier to sharks.

DIY Sunburn Aloe Gel

This week in the Cocoa Beach area, we were blessed with near perfect waves for around here. Lots of people got out to enjoy the waves and the warm water, but the low tide was around midday which meant cooking a bit in the sun. I am very careful these days to wear a long sleeved rashguard and put on sunscreen, but I have to admit, I stayed out just a bit too long (just one more wave.....) and I did get a little red on my face. I can go to the store and pick up some green dyed ooze aloe vera gel, but seeing that I've got a bazillon aloe vera plants growing like weeds in the backyard- like most Floridians- I wanted to make up some gel "au naturel" without shelling out cash for the organic stuff.
Aloe vera grows pretty easily in the deep Southeastern United States. It's a succulent plant, which essentially means it holds extra stores of water and can go for longer dry spells, much like a cactus.

Aloe Vera growing in a pot in my backyard

Since Florida can be considered sub-tropical the more south you go, Aloe vera grows easily, but I give mine a bit more shade and protection from the sun, and grow it in a clay pot, which seems to help the plant thrive the best.
If you want to start your own plant, just get a small clay pot, some decent soil, and find a nice neighbor to give you a pup from their mother Aloe plant. Chances are, they'll be more than happy to thin out the Aloe since it tends to overtake a pot pretty fast.

A pup from an Aloe Vera plant

Just take the pup, plant it deep enough to cover the roots and the base of the plant, pack the soil down around it, water it in, and watch it grow like a good Chia Pet.
For my gel, I took some of the most outer leaves from a mother plant. They are the largest, and contain the most gel.

Outer leaves from the Aloe plant

I brought them inside and washed them off, just like any other fruit or vegetable from the store. Next, I put them on a cutting board to get ready to filet the leaves.

Leaves ready to be stripped for the gel inside

You may notice the leaves already oozing gel. Lots of people use the Aloe straight from the leaf, putting it on the sunburn directly. While that works well, I'm going to make an emulsion that spreads and moisturizes a bit better.
Next, I'm going to take a sharp knife (be careful!) and gently remove the outer thin green skin so just the clear Aloe gel remains. The stuff in the store is usually dyed green, but natural Aloe is clear and transparent.

The Aloe skinned (almost invisible!)

Toss the skin and finely chop up the gel as small as you can. From this batch, I got around 2 ounces:

Pure Aloe

Next, to make the Aloe a bit easier to spread, I'm going to add in an equal part of pure glycerin, which you can find at most drugstores for around $5 or less.

Adding glycerin to the Aloe

The glycerin just makes the gel a little less viscous, adds some moisture, and clings the aloe to the skin better. Give the two a good mixing, trying to mash the aloe up into the mixture as much as possible.
After that, I just pour the mixture into an airtight container and pop it into the fridge. Since this stuff doesn't have any preservatives, it should be used within several days.

It doesn't look like a whole lot, but you don't need much gel for it to help, just a thin layer over your skin is plenty- after that, you're just wasting it.
Take THAT Banana Boat!

Forget-Me-Not Sunscreen Dispenser DIY

I was thinking today how it would be nice to keep some sunscreen handy in the house, not just out in the the garage with my surf equipment, which is probably bad for the lotion anyway.
I like buying the El Grande sizes in things, because not only is it cheaper, it saves on those excess plastic bottles. So, I have huge bottles of sunscreen in the garage, but if I brought them in and sat them on the bathroom sink it would be a total eyesore, plus a big thing to take up room on the sink along with everything else. I also wanted to have some sunscreen handy for my face as I'm heading out the door, whether it's for surfing or just cruising about.
The other day, I was gifted a large bottle of sunscreen (WOO HOO!!!), and then I had to pick up some hand soap from the store. With the tub of hand soap came a small dispenser for the sink for free. We reuse ours over and over, but I decided to replace one with this new free one, so I had a spare to use.

Yes, I saved the remaining soap!!

I took the old dispenser and after putting the soap into another container, I rinsed out the dispenser and took the labels off.

Buck Naked.

Because we have a tendency to use too much of a good thing, I wanted the dispenser to dispense the right amount for my face so I wouldn't get my face greasy- not too much, not too little- so I used a hack I've seen times before. I took a small rubber band and wrapped it around the neck of the dispenser. This prevents the pump from pushing all the way down (as we have the tendency to do), and gives a more measured amount of sunscreen. Or soap, if you want to use it for that too (prevents wastefulness).

Red rubber band wrapped around the neck of the pump.

I filled the dispenser up with some of the sweatproof, waterproof sunscreen and put the big bottle in the cabinet under the sink out of sight. I also made a funky label for the dispenser so I know it's sunscreen and not lotion.

Happy little surfboard clip art!

Just the right amount.

Of course, you need to reapply, but this will give a first layer that's handy and doesn't look too bad in the bathroom.
Slip, slap and slop yourself silly!!

Everybody's Free (to wear SUNSCREEN).

One of my favorite songs- well, it's mostly spoken words to music- is Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann. It's kind of trite on some lyrics, but I still like to listen to it when I'm bummed.
The opening and ending lines remind the graduates to wear sunscreen. That's the truth. Trust me, do it- the consequences can suck. And get a doctor's check every year if you're out in the sun a lot- glad a friend reminded me I should go.
So, on that note, I wanted this week's craft to be something to remind you to put on sunscreen- no excuses. Here in Florida, we get sun year round. I'm very diligent about wearing a sunshirt or long sleeve rashguard (I get cold if it's less than 90 degrees anyway) and even Lycra running pants for paddling or surfing to keep sun off my legs.
The thing is, I still have to put sunscreen on my face. My biggest complaint is that I'll be running out the door with my board and bag, and I don't remember to put sunscreen on until I'm at the beach. I'll put some on my face then my hands are all greasy, which doesn't help when surfing. Ideally, I could wipe my hands off with a dry towel (while waiting the 10 minutes to allow the sunscreen to absorb before going into the water). Problem is, my towels are always chock full 'o sand, which won't help keep the wax on my board from getting gritty.
When I get done with my Diva excuses, I need to come up with a solution.
I decided to make a little face sunscreen applier. Laugh if you want, but if it gets me to put the 'screen on, I really don't care. Instead of sewing one from plain cloth, I thought a better option would be to crochet one from undyed Kitchen cotton yarn. This stuff can be found at most any craft shop, or big box stores. It's the stuff you make bar towels or kitchen towels out of since it's soft and absorbent.
As a plus, the nooks and crannies of the crochet will hang on to the sunscreen better, and it can be chucked into the wash with your other towels every so often.

Kitchen cotton and G hook

Essentially, I'm going for a little mitten. Here's my general pattern, but may need to be adjusted for your hand:

PATTERN:
Materials:
Standard unbleached Kitchen cotton
4.00 mm Crochet Hook (Size G)
Abbreviations:
DC: Double Crochet Stitch
SC: Single Crochet Stitch
Ch: Chain
st: Stitch
BO: Bind off

Make Magic Circle
1st Round: 8 DC's into circle. Do not turn. (8 DC in round)
2nd Round: Make first stitch of next round into first st of last round (you still be making a spiral of stitches). Mark this st. Make another DC into the same st. 2 DC in each stitch of 1st round (16 DC in round)
3rd Round: 2 DC in first st of last round, mark first st of this round. Make 1 DC into next st, 2 DC in the next st, 1 DC in the next st, (*2 DC, 1 DC*) and so forth until returning to the marker. (24 DC in round)
Check size over your four fingers. You may or not need to make another increasing round. (32 DC in extra round)

If not increasing, or finished increasing, make DC in first st of last round. Mark this stitch. Make 1 DC in each st from last round.
Keep fit checking the mitten over your hand. Once you've made enough rounds to get down to the first knuckle of your thumb (all fingers together), stop.
Mark the place where you stopped. Ch as many loops necessary to go around your thumb to connect to the other side of the mitten:

Start of thumb opening

DC in the stitch where you connect back to the main part of the mitten's last round. Continue to DC in each stitch until you get back to the marker you placed.
Next Round:
DC in each st around, including in each ch from previous round. Fit check. Keep making round as necessary to make comfortable fit.

Fit check

Last round: SC in each st of previous round. BO.

Making last round

Final fit check

At this point, you may wish to add a ch loop on the side to add a key chain loop, hook, etc.

Completed loop to hang

*************************************************************************************************
Now, anytime I need to apply sunscreen to my face, I'll slip this on, put some 'screen on, and no more complaints about greasy hands. Works with that spray on stuff too, since, really, you're supposed to rub that in as well. Keep it with your sunscreen bottle and put it in a Ziploc. Done.

Hanging out on the Sunscreen Bottle

If anyone gives you a hard time about your sunscreen mitten, give 'em a wink and say "Do my back??" Bonus points if you have CRAZY back hair.

Save a Surf Kit

In diving, you are always recommended to take a "Save a Dive Kit" with you, with o-rings, extra fittings, etc.
I thought for the holidays, it would be nice to make a fellow surfer a handy gift they may appreciate, but won't break the bank for you.
First, I picked up a small plastic pencil box from any local store- they usually cost no more than 99 cents, if that, and are a nice compact size, to fit in almost any glove box or console box in most cars.

Small pencil box

Next, I started collecting items that I thought would be handy if you pulled up to a break, and SOMETHING's wrong, missing, or breaks. First, I thought of these items:

A bar of wax, a ding repair kit (really, a small roll of duct tape can take it's place), a sunscreen face stick (NEW please!), and a wax comb (or you can make a comb yourself...ahem.
Next, I chose:

An extra side bite plastic fin (probably err on the side of 4", and try to find out what system your buddy uses who you're giving this to, a longboard screw and nut, screws, a fin key (not shown), and some quarters...especially if they want to surf the CB Streets. Hey, at least they MIGHT get 5 minutes of surf. The quarters, screws, and fin key can fit into a reused Altoids Smalls tin box.
Next, I put in:

One of my leash strings (OK, you don't have to make your own, just get some nylon cord and knot it with a generous amount of loop, a double ended pocket screwdriver (I got mine as a promo at a trade show, but they have them for cheap at the hardware store), and a copy of their car key, if you can snag one long enough to get one made. If they have one of those electric doo-hah's, well, the Beemer's just ASKING for it.
All of this fits quite neatly into the pencil box, with room to spare, even putting in an additional bar of wax. This box is really meant to be stashed away, and forgotten until the need comes up. I have one in my car, and would really appreciate the thoughtfulness if someone had made up one for me. It's saved me time and gas going back or canceling going out.

The finished kit

Now, tell your gift recipient they have NO EXCUSE. PADDLE OUT!

Leashes...I NEED my Leashes!

Ok, as you may have guessed by now, I love to organize. But, I must confess, the hardest thing to keep neat are leashes. They are about as easy to keep organized as a stack of fitted bed sheets.
I never keep my leashes wrapped around my boards, since I tend to use different leashes on the same board quite often. However, when I'm finished surfing, I can never get the leash into something resembling an organized coil to put away, and if I do, it comes apart into the pile anyway, and ends up like this:

What a mess!

Now I know some people may have one leash, some may have many more, and can distinguish them by color, brand, etc. I can't. I just have too many other things I'm forced to remember. And it gets really frustrating when I'm trying to determine the leash I need. NOW.
So, instead of trying to guess at which one is which, I'm going to label mine using some plastic duct type tape from the hardware store (or your garage). Electrical tape works well too.
I used two colors for mine: blue and yellow. Blue is for my "shortboard" leash (7 footer), and the yellow tape is for the longboard leashes. Now, I also have two longboard leashes that I can use for my SUP's. Those I marked with yellow tape with a narrow cut of blue in the center. I have the tape wrapped around the leash just below the swivel where the leash attached to the board. I kind of like thinking of it as marking them like a resistor- you can get really creative with banding if you want, but I want to keep this simplified!

Tape wrapped around each leash base for marking

Closer view

In addition, I may want to know a little more detail about the leash, so I put a little marking on each one with a sharpie, indicating the foot length, and even my "knee" leash:

Good to know...

At least now, I can pull out the right leash- now if it's tangled like a ball of Christmas lights, that's my own fault.
This labeling is not only useful for leashes, but I find that it's helpful for labeling things like sunscreen as well. Sunscreen loses a lot of effectiveness after 6 months- 1 year of opening, so I mark my bottles with a label to tell me how long I've had it, so I know when it's time to chuck it.

Which one of these needs to go??? Hmmm......

Hope this helps out! Enjoy!