The Lazy Lady’s Guide to DIY: Hanging Herb Garden. At some point near the middle of March, I always decide that I’m “done” with winter. The sweaters and jackets get pushed to the back of the closet, the flip flops come out, and I inevitably freeze my butt off for several weeks until the weather catches up with my warm-weather state of mind. Likewise, my cravings for fresh herbs and veggies are always a little ahead of the season. Growing your own herbs is a great way to save money and avoid buying too much at a time and letting most of it go to waste.
If it’s still too cold to plant outside where you are (or if you’re short on space!) This hanging herb garden is the perfect project to get you in gear for spring. What you’ll need: Tin containers with snap-on plastic lids (tea, cocoa, and coffee cans are a good bet), coat hangers, pliers, scissors, herbs (I bought basil, rosemary, dill, and cilantro for about $2.50 each), masking tape, coffee filters, a nail, a hammer, X-acto knife, scrap fabric or paper, and glue or spray adhesive. A Little Bite of Everything | An Ikea Rug Makeover. UPDATE: I’ve added the stencil to DIY your own Moroccan rug in this other post. I love the dark wood floors we have in our home. The problem is that, since they are so dark, they show every little bit of dust, especially in the living room, which gets a lot of traffic.
So I started looking for a rug but they were all so expensive, and didn’t really convince me. After months of looking I found one at Ikea, the Erslev, which I liked both for the price and the color, but it was too… simple. Too solid. I wanted something with a pattern. That’s when it hit me. What do you think? DIY + How To. An occasion for dispensing confetti doesn’t present itself too often, so why not do it with appropriate aplomb? As if we didn’t already know that black-and-white, bold graphics, and a dash of sparkle are a surefire route to a memorably festive visual statement, along come these confetti poppers—a DIY project — Continue reading Talk about a gem of a DIY project! This shimmering, beautifully faceted holiday ornament, which we discovered on the unfailingly industrious site, A Beautiful Mess, was fashioned at home with the help of standard craft staples: balsa wood, X-Acto knife, gold paint—and, yes, a dose of motivation which (we admit) — Continue reading We were immediately struck by the moody prettiness of this Christmas tree, only to find that we were fooled by a terrific home-made optical illusion—and the most artful no-fuss tree we’ve seen in a while.
As illustrated on Almost Makes Perfect, the beauty of opting for this tree is that — Continue reading Oh man, it’s here.
Lighting. Art. Outdoors. Marble magnets. I finally gave in and made marble magnets. Not surprisingly they are quite fun, smooshing the glue out to make a perfect little magnified image is very satisfying. Here, in order of appearance, are the places I referenced: paper candy instructions with pictures (this is the first place I saw this project) dogmestic with instructions and pictures photogeek pictures ugly green chair cute ladybug magnets – pictures with packaging threads at Glitter:onetwothree I bought all of these supplies at Michael’s, including the glue I went back for since I got the wrong kind to start with. I bought 1/2″ and 3/4″ round (strong) magnets (in with the frames, near the corks); 1/2″ and 3/4″ clear flat glass marbles (in the fake flowers aisle, check the mosaics section too); silicon sealer made by the Crazy Glue people (in the glue aisle).
All of the pictures were cut out of Lucky magazine, in the last five issues. New England Through Yummy Mom's Eyes: Tutorial: Photo Wood Block. Make coasters from curling ribbon | Chica and Jo. Years ago when I was a college student, I had a part time job in a card store. One day on the job, I was fiddling with the curling ribbon we used for balloons.
As I twisted and curled it in my fingers, I found myself rolling it into a tight spiral. As it grew and I added more colors, I soon realized I had a really cool design forming, and without too much effort I would have a spiral of color large enough to use as a coaster. I bought some rolls of ribbon and that weekend I sat down and made several fun coasters by carefully coiling the ribbon around itself. Ever since then, whenever I get balloons or gifts that are tied with curling ribbon, I save the ribbon in a special box in my craft room.
When the box gets full, I pull it down and make more coasters. Selecting the ribbon You probably haven’t been saving up used curling ribbon from balloons and packages (not yet, anyway), so you might need to buy some new ribbon to start on this project. Winding the ribbon Now for the fun part. WELL WORN: Faux Real: Luxe Snow Globes. Check Out My Moves! **Update: Come see new and updated photos of this project HERE! :) Does anyone else feel like their spice cupboard and/or baking cupboard is full to the max? Or overflowing, even? I used to dream of a spice rack that would allow me to have all my spices organized and at my fingertips. And then I got one. And it collects SO. I have been saving and washing Emily's baby food jars ever since we got back from Florida in order to do this: (see that dusty spice rack????)
In order to eliminate all of these from my spice cupboard: I still have some spices left in my cupboard, but I ran out of magnets, so I was only able to make 10 jars. These took a bit of time, but very little skill. Obviously. I just collected baby food jars, rinsed them out, and pulled off as much of the label that I could. I had some nice powerful magnets. To eliminate any need to coordinate colors on my part, I used the DCWV Latte Mat Stack, with its coordinating solid mat stack to decorate the jars. Now for the magnets. Whew! Christmas tree ornament mobile, how-to. Here is how I made my Christmas tree ornament mobile, it was easier than it looks, promise.
The Supplies a 17″ steamer rack from a restaurant supply storeabout 5 feet of lightweight jack chaina small carabiner100 basic ornament hooksone roll, 500 feet, monofilament jewelry string (not the stretchy sort)200 jewelry crimp beads or tubesjewelry crimping tool100 lanyard hooks100 ornaments Note: In the photo above I show earring wire instead of ornament hooks. I changed that later as I found ornament hooks made it far easier to move ornaments around after they’d been hung. Also, my supplies are based on a 4 foot tall mobile using almost 100 ornaments, you’ll need to adjust amounts if you make one larger or smaller. Creating the Mobile Frame Creating the frame for my ornament tree mobile turned out to be fairly simple. For the top of the mobile I needed something that would allow me to easily secure a lot of hanging points without them sliding around too much. Notes: Why so many hooks and bits? Decorating Frames « In the Wabe.
I had a bad morning and needed to make myself busy with something, so I went to the BX and bought a cinnamon roll, some cheap little frames, and a world map. The cinnamon roll was unrelated to this project but significantly improved my mood. I just tore strips of the map and arranged them on the frame with rubber cement. I’d still like to find something to help seal them but will have to look to see what’s available around here. Edit: I soon got my hands on Mod Podge, and it fit my needs perfectly as both a glue and a sealant! Â I’ve been making these for a while now, using a variety of papers and switching between glossy and matte glue.
I tried a few different designs–the one in the front has a lot of water, the middle is mainly land, and the back is a good blend of both. Name the book (I make sure the photo had a few recognizable names)! I have the perfect photo to put in this frame! Edit: Since I first posted this, I’ve made even more frames. Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy wednesdays: knot trivet. Last month i bought lauren a set of “the family creative workshop” books for her birthday. we’ve been having a blast learning all sorts of new things as we make our way through the incredible variety of projects collected in the volumes. one section we were particularly excited to explore was all about knots, which we’ve long admired both for their usefulness and their beauty. this project is based on a “carrick bend” and is great for creating trivets and placemats, but you could just as easily hang it on your wall to be admired for its decorative charm. have fun! Derek & lauren CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!
Here’s what you’ll need: -14 feet of 1/2” rope for an approximately 8” trivet (we recommend you play around with different lengths and thicknesses of rope until you find a size and style you like. the cotton rope is great for this project, but we couldn’t resist the nylon rope with its amazing patterns and colors.) -scissors -needle -thread. 137 inexpensive, handmade holiday gift ideas, Part 1 - Craftynest. Why Christmas when we’re in the throes of summer?
I know. I worked six years in retail. In my experience, nothing incited people’s groans more than Christmas being stocked on the shelves in August. However, I think this a worthy exception. After all, if you’re going to have a handmade Christmas, you can’t very likely undertake the proposition in December, now can you? I’m excited to share this prodigious list of Christmas gift ideas that I compiled years ago. This is the first of seven parts that I will post over the next few weeks (MWF). Part 1: Home & garden crafts curbly.com 1. 2. 3. Marthastewart.com 4. 5. Source unknown 6. 7. 8. Charliescraftroom.com 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Save-on-crafts.com 16. 17. Notmartha.org 18. 19. 20. Ohdeedoh.com 21. 22. 23. Threadbanger.com 24. 25. 26. Rhodeislandaltars.com 27. How to Make and Install Hungarian Shelves. Recycle Reuse & Repurpose ? Glass Jar Photo Frames. In South Africa, recycling is way of life that not very many people incorporate into their daily routine.
Partly because we do not have the facilities or many places that offer this service, but mainly because most people are too lazy to think about what happens to their rubbish once they toss it in the bin. So instead of carelessly dumping your trash, one of the ways you can help give used things a second life, is to reuse your glass jars, and use them as novelty photo frames.
You will need A selection of different shaped glass jars A bunch of your favorite photos Doom Paper Towels Scissors / cutting knife Ruler Pencil Step 1: Remove the label After speaking to several people in search for the best method to remove the gluey sticky mess left behind when attempting to soak off labels on glass jars, I have discovered the secret is… Doom. Step 2: Measure the Jar Step 4: Place photo into the jar Slightly roll the photo, with the image facing outwards, and insert it into the jar upside down. Etched Glass Storage Jars and more decorating ideas, organizing tips, and homekeeping and cleaning solutions on marthastewart.com. Monogram Mugs. Friends! I’m so pleased to share our first gift DIY of the season. Maude made these fantastic monogrammed mugs over the weekend. Don’t they look terrific? The idea came when we saw these fun initial cups at Anthropologie and remembered our kitchen was lacking in hot cocoa mugs.
It’s a very doable project. 1) We started with a trip to Goodwill, where we collected 8 plain white mugs. 2) Then we gathered supplies. For the font, I had something very specific in mind. 3) Cut out an initial and a piece of transfer paper. 4) Trace the initial. 5) Take your Porcelaine pen and trace over the lines of the initial. 6) Once the lettering is done, let the mugs sit for 24 hours. 7) And that’s it!
The project turned out so well that it has my mind spinning with other possibilities. What do you think? Need more sibling gift ideas? Felt Ogee Ornament Tutorial. I woke up this morning with an image in my head of a felt snowflake. So I asked my kids to make a few traditional fold and cut paper snowflakes for me before they left for school. I wanted to use them as templates for my idea. Instead, my 10 yr old showed me a 3D paper snowflake they had made in his art class.
I loved the beauty and simplicity of it, so I changed my course! After some quick google research, I’ve found that apparently this particular 3D Paper Snowflake is quite prevalent on the internet. …it worked! Step 1: Cut one 6″x 6″ square of felt. Step 2: Using a straight edge and an Xacto knife, cut along the first line from the corner to about 1/4″ from the diagonal line. Repeat until all cuts have been made, keeping the felt intact at each corner on the diagonal line. Step 3: Lift the corners of the center square and hand stitch the ends together with matching thread. Step 4: Turn the piece over and lift the corners of the second square. Magical Mason Jars - Style Lush. Tin Work Ornaments featuring Bic Mark-its. Happy Friday, friends!
We’re in the homestretch of the Christmas holiday now, and I’m STILL making little gifts. Today I came up with this idea to make some metal-work ornaments. Wanna see? Craft Metal + Nestabilities Dies + Bic Mark-It + Tools = Awesome! I made this with craft tin, but you could just as easily use recycled soda can aluminum. I used an embossing folder to add instant texture. For this bird version, I then embossed the shape using a Cuttlebug folder. Next, I decided to free-hand a design on a bird shape & hand-tool it so that it was 3-D. Then I colored it in with my Bic Mark-It Markers and let them dry. You can blend the colors with a bit of alcohol. In the meanwhile, I cut an extra birds shape from embossed craft metal and from adhesive backed foamies. Adhesive-backed foamies help keep the tin's shape. I placed a ribbon hanger in there, and voila- a hand-tooled ornament suitable for any season! For this version, again, I free-handed my design.
How to Make Non-Obnoxious Alphabet Magnets | {NiceGirlNotes} Okay, okay. Non-obnoxious isn’t a word. But neither is unobnoxious. Not really, anyway. I’ve come to embrace this part of my life where I have a baby and a toddler. There will be toys. A multitude of them. However, for the sake of my sanity, I try to make it look like we all share the space together – adults and tiny ankle biters – as opposed to Jack and me just unrolling sleeping bags in the middle of a Toys R Us. Enter alphabet magnets. Hard plastic. And the floor. Just kidding. But Rembot loves alphabet magnets. A win-win situation: non-obnoxious alphabet magnets. I picked up some flat wooden disks, magnet strips (these work really well, too), and rub-on letters. 1) Spray paint both sides of wooden disks. 2) Lightly spray paint one side with white spray paint. 3) Spray with blue spray paint. 4) Rub letters onto each disk. 5) Take sandpaper – or whatever this thing is called: a sponge wrapped in sandpapery goodness – and roughen up the edges. 6) Cut little magnets out of magnet strip.
Mismatched Chair Bench.