Thrifty and Chic: DIY Wood Sunburst Mirror. As I mentioned last week, I've been itchin' to change up my front room. It was a hard decision to make, but after much thought, I decided to do it. I'll give you the short end of a long story...well, not really. Anyway, here's the deal. My house use to have the main accent color as black...black frames, black tables, etc. When I started redecorating, I kept finding that I was leaning more and more towards natural earthy colors, and what goes best with natural earthy colors? Now, black and brown can co-exist. When I first started to venture into redecorating the space, I still wanted to keep the grounding color black, but I found this totally awesome fabric that I had to have....and it of course, naturally had brown in it. ....aka...be huge :) and the fabric was calling for something a little more vintage looking...and brown, of course.
And thought that I could totally make that. These are just two of the many many ways I tried....I think I had decided to pursue the bottom design. Thrifty and Chic: PVC Pipe Mirror. Happy Monday! Hope you all had a good restful weekend...ours was chilly and rainy and just plain out gross. Welcome spring! So, of course that kept me indoors most of the weekend.
Which was good because I was able to get a lot of stuff done! So I guess its a catch 22. One of the projects I was finally able to complete has to do with a somethin' we call PVC pipe. So with all this extra pipe, I decided to put it to some good use. (short disclaimer: I'm not recommending that you do what I am about to say, I think it was a little dangerous, but it worked for me. Okay. You can also spraypaint the pipe whatever color you wish before doing the aforementioned process. Now that you have all your cut pieces, lay them out into whatever desirable decor piece you would like. It took me about a good hour or two to do this, making sure all the spacing was correct and what not. And, as you will see soon, I changed the configuration of this quite a bit. Okay. Once all was said and done....and dried.
Lol. Thrifty and Chic: Tree Stump Coffee Table. I have a favorite magazine that I bought like 5 years ago....no kidding, still have it. I wish I could remember what its called....Something about ...actually I really don't know what its called. I won't even try. Anyway. In that magazine it featured a house and in the living room the guy used concrete for table tops on his coffee table and side tables. Not concrete that he molded and smoothed out himself.
A piece of concrete from a sidewalk that was torn up by his house. Its ideas like those that I thrive off of though. Anyway. I didn't even know if they sold the stuff. I didn't even know how much tree stumps went for. $5, $10, $40??? Anyway. Differing sizes of course. First, I sanded the heck out of them. Next, I primed each one one half at a time. (this one I had to fill with mud cuz it had a very scary looking hole that went through the whole thing, and I didn't know what the heck would rear its little head out of it at any given time in my living room...so sealed up it got) Tree Stump Coffee Table. Do-it-yourself Twig Jewelry display… « They did it! They did it! Apartment Therapy posted the jewelry display Gadora finished a while ago (it’s been sitting in my e-queue for some time). Love Adrienne’s post (Thank you Lady)! Here’s how Gadora made it happen… Fashioning a wall-hanging jewelry display is an economical way to milk additional life out of nature’s fallen limbs, and it’s quite a fun little project!
Branches display ~ DONE How can YOU make one? Twigs ~ Before While they were pretty naturally, Gadora opted for a cleaner look by removing the bark with a standard utility knife. Cut twigs and removing bark… The end of each branch was sanded to make a smooth end cap. Twigs ~ let the sanding begin… Once all limbs were bark-free/knifed sufficiently, Gadora sanded each one* to remove any knife marks, finishing with a smooth surface. I <3 my sander. Sage is a light wood, so as not to channel the great Southwest, Gadora opted for a light stain, which darkened the branches, but only slightly.
Staining Clamps Copper joints. Supplies… Stray Dog Side Table. DIY Pom Poms. If you don’t absolutely love pom poms or haven’t ever considered making them yourself, perhaps we can sway you after this week’s DIY. We adore pom poms and were beyond excited to discover the Clover Pom Pom Maker, which allows you to crank out pom poms of all sizes and 10 times faster than the conventional method. You will need a few skeins of yarn, a Clover Pom Pom Maker and a pair of scissors. The Clover Pom Pom Maker separates the process into two halves; you’ll start the first half of the pom pom by cutting about 7 yards of yarn. A time saving trick is to double it up twice, so you are working with 4 strands at one time.
Because time is money, right? Wrap the yarn from one edge of the arch to the other, making sure you have the entire area covered. We must warn you that this process is quite addicting and you really can’t stop at just one. (all images by Honestly…WTF) DIY Braided Hex Nut Bracelet. We’re nuts for nuts. Is there a more versatile and inexpensive DIY component than a hex nut from the hardware store? You can imagine our excitement when we first discovered Philip Crangi’s Giles & Brother Hex Collection. Honestly, nuts braided into jewelry is WTF genius! With a few items that we always seem to have lying around, we tackled the technique and made our own spine-like braided hex nut wrap bracelet. You’ll need:3 strands of cotton butcher’s twine cut into one yard pieces18 small brass hex nutsa bit of dexterity!
Gather the 3 strands of twine and tie a knot at the top, leaving about 2 inches of slack. Keep your thumb at the base of the braid, holding the nut in its place. Repeat the steps, by threading the rest of the nuts to the outer pieces of twine before they are crossed over. The bracelet should wrap around your wrist at least two or three times. Good luck!! (top image from here, rest of images by Honestly…WTF) DIY Wrap Bracelet. You should all know by now that we are all about stacking bracelets on our wrists. The more, the better. In fact . . . the most, the best! With that being said, we’ll show you how to master a version of the ever so popular wrap bracelet.
It’s so simple and addicting, you’ll soon be churning out these wristlets with your eyes closed. Clearly this arm party train isn’t stopping and it’s about time you get on board! You’ll need (for a double wrapped bracelet) :* Lengths will vary depending on the size of your wrist (see comments for suggestions). Fold the length of leather cording in half to form a loop. Place the ball chain along the leather cording with the end of the chain meeting the end of the wrap. Continue wrapping while checking it for fit around the wrist. When you have reached the end of the ball chain wrap the linen cording around the leather strands 2-3 more times. Thread the hex nut through the strands and tie a second knot. Trim with scissors and your wrap bracelet is finished!! DIY Pom Pom Necklace. The moment we saw designer Nicole Akong‘s dramatically colorful jewelry collection, Conquistadora, we were smitten. Honestly, what’s not to love about these ethnic and tribal inspired pom pom necklaces?
And how can we resist figuring out how these beauties were made? With just a few feet of cording, trimming, and chain, we’ll show how you can DIY your own Akong-inspired necklace! You’ll need:2 feet of pom pom trim2 feet of chain40-60 jump rings4 feet of nylon cord2 needle nose pliers Start by attaching the chain to the outer edge of the pom pom trim with the jump rings. Once the entire length of the chain is attached to the pom pom trim, thread the cord through each jump ring. Pick up each end of the cord and the chain will naturally fall on top of the pom pom trim. Your new pom pom necklace is finished!! Experiment by adding more chain, attaching different sized jump rings or using a variety of colored cord! (top image from Style.com, rest of images by Honestly…WTF) DIY Box Braid Necklace. The moment we saw Phillip Lim‘s Box Braid Collar Necklace, we were immediately overcome with a wave of nostalgia.
Our memories of a neon, plastic box braid lanyard was suddenly transformed into a sophisticated leather jewelry component. Honestly, brilliant! Inspired by our fondness of Lim’s necklace and our love of utilizing hardware, we made our own interpretation of a box braid necklace. And in case you forgot how to make your favorite childhood summertime craft, take a trip down memory lane with us! Start by cutting the suede in 4 three-yard pieces. Tie them together in a knot, leaving about 15 inches of slack which will serve as ties for the necklace. Because the strands are so long, tying them into bundles using rubber bands makes them more manageable and prevents tangling. Repeat the box braid until you are ready to add washers to the necklace. Once the necklace is finished, trim the ends.
Wear it as a necklace, wrap bracelet or even a headband! DIY Proenza Schouler Rope Necklace. Lauren and I have been waiting for an excuse to use colorful bungee cords for some time now. And after seeing this Proenza Schouler necklace from their Resort 2011 collection, we jumped at the opportunity to recreate our own version of this amazing piece of jewelry! Start by cutting a 10″ and a 15″ piece of bungee (or climbing rope). Burn the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying. Then, wrap the middle sections with either twine or mason line using the friendship knot technique and use the hot glue gun to secure the ends to your bungee cord. (Click images to enlarge) Lay the center of the twisted cord in between the two pieces of covered bungee, twist twice at the top of the necklace and bring both sides down to create a small loop.
Wrap each glued section with mason line or twine and trim any excess twisted cord. Your Proenza Schouler inspired necklace is ready to wear! (top image from here, rest of images from Honestly…WTF) DIY Rope Bracelet. Climbing rope? Bracelets? Count us in. Inspired by Miansai‘s colorful, stackable and adjustable rope bracelets, we were determined to add another do-it-yourself bracelet to our growing collection.
With some colorful rope and an S hook from the hardware store, making this bracelet is as simple as mastering the versatile sliding knot. Before you begin, seal the tips of the cord by burning them with a lighter. Coil the cord twice around towards the left loop. Repeat the same steps on the other side. Trim and re-burn the tips if necessary. Try making the bracelets with leather cord too. (top image from here; rest of images from Honestly…WTF) DIY Friendship Bracelet. For several months now, we’ve been receiving emails requesting a friendship bracelet DIY. Well, friends, ask and you shall receive! Today, we’ll give you a step by step tutorial on the classic chevron pattern. If you used to whip up friendship bracelets like a champ in grade school and have since forgotten how, consider this a refresher course. And if you can make these with your eyes closed and arms tied . . . umm, can we still be friends?
You’ll need:embroidery threada safety pin or tapea pair of scissors Start by cutting several strands of embroidery thread at about 24 inches each. Start on the left side with the outermost color (shown here in red) and make a forward knot by creating a 4-shape over the 2nd color, loop it under and back through the opening. Pull up and to the right to tighten. Now pick up the outermost color on the right side (show here in red) and make a backward knot, creating a reverse 4-shape over the 2nd color, loop it under and back through the opening. Friendship Bracelets. Macraméd friendship bracelets were all the rage when I was growing up in the eighties. All the girls at my school would obsessively make them for one another in a dizzying variety of colors, widths, and patterns.
It's amazing, thinking back, that such young girls could make such beautifully intricate accessories. I, of course, tried my hand at making them as well. I would ride my bike down to the five-and-dime store and pick out the most sophisticated color combinations of embroidery floss I could find, but when it came to the actual macramé I never got beyond plain stripes. There was nothing wrong with plain stripes, except that the other girls seemed so much more advanced with their diamonds and chevrons.
A bit intimidated, I never did become a big friendship bracelet expert. Fast forward 20 years: Purl Soho started carrying DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss in every conceivable color (including fluorescents! Materials Beginning To begin, pick out your colors. The Left Knot Right Knot Ending 1. Friendship Bracelets Forever: Paintings, Crafts, & Parties | Apartment Therapy San Francisco. Crafty Crafty: Rags to riches: make jewellery from old t-shirts. Artichoke Phone Book Pendant Paper Lantern by Zipper8Lighting. How to make a flowery pom-pom pendant lamp » Curbly | DIY Design Community « Keywords: paper-lantern, pom-poms, pendant.
DIY Retro Pendant Lamp » Hey, Jaki! Yarn $2.99 Exercise ball $9.97 Fabric stiffener $13.75 Ikea cord set + bulbs $13.99 Vaseline $3.49 Empty and cleaned pasta sauce jar Rubber gloves Newspaper Draw a 6 inch circle just off-center of your inflated exercise balls. This will allow you access to change the bulb in future.Put your rubber gloves on and rub Vaseline all around the ball. This will make it easier to remove the ball from your completed string pendant.Unravel the yarn into your jar, then fill it with the fabric stiffener, ensuring the yarn is fully saturated.Lay the newspaper out around your work station; this is where it starts getting fun and messy. Begin wrapping the saturated yarn around the ball in random ways until it looks the way you want it (some people like it really thick/dense, I prefer it thin for more light). Instead of string, you can also try lace or crochet pieces.
Darling DIY: Make a Doily Pendant Lamp - PAPAYA! BLOG. Today's doily inspiration comes from More Design Please, who showcases amazing DIY projects from around the web. This inspiring DIY Idea comes from the DOS family blog in Sweden, inspired by the beautiful pendant lamp found at reMade USA (shown above). All you need to make this light magic is an oversized balloon, wallpaper glue & doilies... Instructions to make your very own Doily Pendant lamp can be found here. Lace lamp – DIY | DosFamily. Love It or Hate It? Teardrop Pendant Light. Flower Garland Tutorial. Creature Comforts - daily inspiration, style, d.i.y. projects + freebies: D.I.Y. Repurposed Catalog Hanging Flower Decorations. Wedding Blog / DIY Coffee Filter Pom-Pom's Revisited: Assembling by COLOURlovers. I'm crushing on coffee filters - pamgarrison.