Brainwaves weekly: upcycling and beauty hacks

Every time I wanted to glaze my bread with an egg wash, I found myself wasting a whole egg. Tired of wasting food, I beat an egg wash into a bowl, then poured the mixture into an ice-cube tray and froze it. Now, whenever I need a glaze, I just pop out one of the cubes, let it thaw, then brush it on my bread.Jac Wilkins, Frome, Somerset

As my old toilet brush holder was quite decorative, I was reluctant to get rid of it when I bought a new one. Instead, I gave it a good clean, then filled it with soil and planted a small flower inside it. It sits outside my front door and no one would ever know it used to be home to my loo brush! Rose Janes, Monmouth

When my partner Jake decided to make a fairy castle for his two young nieces, he had an idea. We gathered up some branches and tree trunks, which we screwed together to make the castle walls. We used leftover wood to make a roof and a drawbridge, added some little wicker hanging baskets to the top to make turrets, then stuck on some windows. It's now the perfect castle for any fairy princess.Ann Roberts, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcs

It was my mum Moira's 80th birthday, so I popped a special post on Facebook and was overwhelmed with messages from family and friends. Mum isn't on Facebook, but I wanted her to see them. So, I transcribed them on to three cards and gave them to her. Mum loved reading through all the well wishes.Claire Bews, Patrington, E Yorks

My radiator needed a new cover, but the ones in the shops were pricey. So I decided to make my own. I took apart an old pallet to create a shelf, which I sanded and varnished. Next, I drilled a hole in either end before inserting a metal curtain pole into each hole to create legs. Finally, I attached my pallet wood above the radiator with square brackets and decorated it with house plants. Tiffany Hodgson, Scarborough, N Yorks

I wanted to create curls, but without using heat that might damage my hair. So I divided my hair into two and clipped the middle of my dressing-gown tie on to the centre of my parting. I took the left side of my hair, split it into two, twisted it around the length of the belt like a French braid and secured it with a hair tie. Afterwards I did the same on the other side. Then I slept with it like this overnight. The next morning, I unravelled the sections to reveal gorgeous curls. Chloe Clover, Uffculme, Devon