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Mr. Rogers had it right with his opening tune, but what happens if you’re anything but glad with the neighbors you’ve got? We’ve found crafts to help creatively overcome your unlucky lot (pun intended) while also adding a little levity to a trying circumstance.
A common complaint with neighbors is noise and privacy. Curtains foster both visual and auditory seclusion, so consider making drapes from thick fabric to shut away neighbors' noise and looking in. Pad the drapes with quilting material to enhance noise reduction.
Make your own curtains with this free CraftFoxes’ how-to.
Dog poo ruins both footwear, days and neighbor relations. To overcome, create a discrete sign. For something a little more direct, make a DIY poop bag dispenser to give your neighbor. Be careful, though. It's easy to interpret this gesture as judge-y, rather like being offered a breath mint.
Favors between neighbors can be a great way to foster relations — as well as a great way to tear them down. If you’ve got a neighbor who borrows your tools and has trouble returning them on time, steal a page from your local library and attach a book plate and maybe even a sign-out date. Then, track your borrowings with the iPhone app, Get Back, which keeps an eye on all the stuff you lend out.
Download the free printable book plate from Lavender’s Blue Design.
Start with pie. Make friendly (if not friends) with your neighbors by making them something sweet and warm like pie, that old-fashioned comfort food. Keep an eye out for any food restrictions like gluten-free allergies and veganism before baking.
Create these handheld pumpkin pies from this CraftFoxes’ recipe.
The leaves' soft rustling creates a natural white noise that can block barking dogs and shrieking kids while also preventing a stylish and (if planted in containers) moveable privacy screen. While this woody grass is great for preventing neighbors from invading your privacy, note that bamboo itself is also extremely invasive, even the slow-growing species, so we recommend planting in containers.
Keep the containers stylish by wrapping them in twine like this how-to via Pumps & Iron.
Dog barking and teen loitering might be eliminated by a covert installation of the Viatek BC16G Super Bark Stop (an anti-barking device) or the Mosquito anti-loitering device for teens, both of which emit a low-frequency beeping only those with new or highly-developed eardrums sense. Hide the device in a DIY concrete pot or other hide-away.
Make your own concrete pot to hide your anti-noise device via this CraftFoxes’ post.
When all else fails, a fence is often the best way to keep bad neighbors away. Keep this necessity stylish with crafts, including vertical container gardens, murals or even fitting marbles into holes drilled into the planks.
Image credits (from top): Tyro Press, Jennifer Paganelli, Care2, Lavender's Blue Designs, Flickr.com/parislemon, Ellen Silverman, Flickr.com/pearl_girl and Camilla Arvidsson
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