Tutorial: Double Duty Dry Erase Board I am constantly writing notes and messages to myself to help me remember what I have going on for the day. But my office is also my bedroom, so an ugly dry erase board is just not an option. I’ve been thinking about solutions to this problem for a while, and at one point considered Idea Paint, but eventually changed my mind. I wanted something that could pull double-duty, and that’s when I came up with this…an idea for a pretty dry erase board that serves as wall art when not in use. Materials: 1. Step by Step How To: {click image above for larger step by step view} 1. For more ideas for quick and easy projects, click here to visit the tutorials page filled with more than 30 diy’s. This entry is filed under diy, dry erase board, girlie, how to, message board, office, organization, organize, pattern, patterned, pretty, project, tutorial, workspace, workstation.
Crafty Nest What a difference a little color makes! I decided my white sunburst mirror was a little boring. It only looked good from an angle, where the shadows would emphasize the shapes. How to make a sunburst mirror SuppliesIkea lazy susan 7-inch round mirror wood glue teardrop shaped Woodsies picture hanger and two small nails primer paint samples (I used white and Benjamin Moore Figi [AF-525]) toothpicks Tools small and medium paintbrush fine sandpaper tack cloth drop cloth pliers 1. 2. Soap Deli News Crafty Sisters I know, I know...I bet you're wondering when I am going to get to that room! My excuse is, it rained all week long. Today was our first day of great sunshine and hopefully it will continue so I can get some good pictures. Plus it was spring break and I couldn't torture my kids while I fluffed my room! I have been wanting mini sunburst mirrors for a long time. I love the sporadic look of the small mirrors on a wall. I stumbled upon tiny convex mirrors in the auto section in Wal-Mart! There are a couple different varieties, the mirrors pictured have a slant to them and were difficult to get out of the casing. I traced some of my favorite sunburst images onto paper...yep, right off the computer screen! Then I traced the shapes onto mdf and cut them out with a scroll saw. I had to break off my plastic slanted casing, so I replaced it with cording. On the "spikey" mirror, I drilled holes and added skewers. Then I covered the mirror part with paper and gave them all a good spray of gold paint.
Faux capiz shell lampshade Inspired by West Elm's capiz shell table lamp Some of you may remember my first faux capiz shell lampshade that I made for Sunset magazine. It was originally inspired by West Elm’s popular capiz shell table lamp. I was going for the mod look, but I didn’t quite pull it off. Plus I discovered, after two years of use, that the colored rice paper fades badly. How to make a faux capiz shell lampshade Supplies laminated 24-inch by 36-inch sheet of white rice paper (I bought the rice paper at University Art and took it to FedEx Office for lamination) white polyester thread lamp base slip uno top ring (the top ring of a lampshade. Tools sewing machine scissors3 circle punches: 1-inch, 1-1/4-inch, and 1-1/2-inch sizes (I found these at Beverly’s) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Crafty Sisters So, I learned a thing or two about scale this week.... I realized that the sunburst mirror I made last year and put hours of work into- is seriously too huge to hang above our bed. My hubby might be a little irritated if he had to sleep with golden spikes poking down near his head! Good thing I spotted a similar (and smaller) version of the mirror at Hobby Lobby. It only comes in brown, but hallelujah..the mirrors are already in place and it was 50% off. The only thing I had to do was spray it gold and embellish with plastic rhinestones. Don't worry...I left out the hearts, butterflies, and flowers. I used E6000 to glue the rhinestones to the metal. Then I gave the mirror a couple coats of Rust-Oleum gold spray paint Thank goodness the little mirrors each had a little plastic film to protect them from the spray paint. I wish I would have gone this route the first time, it took me about an hour to finish. Next time, I will be sure to use a measuring tape before starting a project!
The Butterfly Project... A few weeks ago I shared a pic of some butterfly punch-outs I had done from a Pottery Barn catalog (it was a really colorful picture of some towels all stacked together). I had seen a picture that Ali Edwards made of butterflies all lined up and punched from many different colors of paper (which gave me some serious inspiration in the butterfly department). I decided that I wanted to do something similar but with a different spin! I started working on this little project Saturday afternoon. I seem to have loads ideas that do not always turn out as I had envisioned them... so I figured I had better test carefully to make sure this was going to work out! In my day job I get a lot of really fine paper samples in the mail. Cougar paper had sent me sample called Ode to the Earth. I knew this was just the project for it! Picking the piece to use was the hardest part of this whole thing! You can faintly see pencil marks in 4 spots on the paper. Here is a side view of the finished piece... P.S.
All Things Alisa Marie Remember the Buffet that I re-did here... Well, I finally got it in the house and decided to make a starburst mirror to hang over it. This is like my DIY Corner and I'm pretty proud of it! I started googling DIY Starburst Mirror and came across Thrifty Decor Chick and followed her directions EXACTLY! Find them here (mine are below). Don't be intimidated by this project, it's really not as difficult as it looks. Here's What you need for your Sunburst Mirror: 2 Packages Wood Shims 14" Long - Home Depot $5 per package Round Mirror 12" Michaels $3 (with 40% Off Coupon) 2 Square pieces of Wood - Michaels $2 Each Gorilla Glue - Home Depot $5.99 Spray Paint (I actually ended up using a different color) Ready Nail ( I also ended up using nails and a wire to hang) Hot Glue Gun - already owned Begin by gluing Wood Shims to the square piece of wood. Now flip it over and begin filling in the spaces with one shim at a time. Here I just have the mirror sitting on top to see what it would look like.
How to Make Leaf Skeletons I wanted to share with you a project from one of my readers who shares with us how to make leaf skeletons. I LOVE this! I have several leafs in various forms displayed in my home and knew I needed to make some of her leaf skeletons to add to my decor. I have spent hours and tried various ways of making these. You need washing soda, not baking soda! Gather your leaves. Washing soda is a strong base so you may want to wear gloves when handling the leaves. You will add 3/4 cup of washing soda and 4 cups of water to your pot of leaves. Keep going, you will need to add more water so your pan doesn’t dry out. When 1.75 hours are up fill a glass baking dish with cool water. I carefully removed them and rinsed with water and added clean water to the pan. If you’re still with me, this is what I ended up with… I have a maple leaf which turned out not so well. 37.1Kstumbleupon