DIY: Blueprint-Inspired Holiday Project Our own Angelica completed a DIY project over the holidays that's positively brilliant. She writes: After a series of failed baking adventures I realized it was time for me to transfer my love for YumSugar and food magazines to CasaSugar and design magazines. In the spirit of the holidays I picked a Light Bright project from this month's Blueprint magazine. I must admit, I'm a much better painter and craftswoman than I am a baker so the project was definitely a confidence booster. To find out how to make your own replica, just read more What You'll Need stretched canvaspaintbrushesgroundcloth or newspapers to protect your floorpencilawlwhite twinkly tree lightscraft glue You can find the complete Blueprint directions here. Start by painting a stretched canvas from an art-supply store (Blueprint used a pale-pink latex paint, I picked a light-gold color because the walls of my house are all beige.)Plot out your design by penciling dots on the back, keeping them a half inch apart.
11 Unusual Household Uses For Food Items That Will Save You Money | MintLife... photo: charles chan * The next time you find yourself in need of a household product like stain remover, shower cleaner or ant deterrent, check the pantry before heading to the store. You might just find what you need, in the form of a common kitchen ingredient. From a green perspective, going the DIY route eliminates some of the harsh chemicals in your home, reducing your family’s exposure to them. It can also save you money. In a pinch, using cinnamon or cayenne pepper could save you the $5 needed to buy a set of ant traps. Post your own tips below, and try these household uses for common foods: Baking soda * Jan Patterson of Cotati, Calif., uses it to remove “stubborn sticky stuff of any kind” from furniture and other household items. * Add vinegar, and the mixture works well as a drain cleaner, says Leslie Reichert, a.k.a. * “Use it as your first treatment when you spill fruit juice or wine,” says lifestyle consultant Joshua Duvauchelle. Bananas Beer Cayenne Pepper Cinnamon Honey Ketchup Tea
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! …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. Step 5: Continue turning the piece over, overlapping points and stitching until all 4 squares are stitched. This makes a large ornament, about 10″ in total length.
Cool design ideas #2 | Email Junk Some really cool design ideas: folding chairs, folding bath, cool light, pizza scissors,… Related articles: Cool design ideas, Cool inventions (15 pictures) Crafty Weekend My friend, Olivia, came over today because she wanted to make some painted glasses like I had done in February. Since I can not sit idly by while other people are being crafty, I made these two new glasses. The favorite for me is definitely the squid, only heightened by the fact I used purple and yellow on it which makes it look way more awesome than I could have ever dreamed. It took me a little while to finish due to all the curves, tentacles and whatnot. This octopus is based on one from the front of a "thank you" note another friend had given me.
Tutorial: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk | oh my! handmade goodness by Michelle Vackar, Modern Handmade Child One of our favorite outside activities at our home is drawing with chalk on the driveway. You can play hopscotch, four-square, and of course draw and create silly stories. My daughters and I were talking one day as we played hopscotch about how to make chalk and I thought to myself, let’s try it! It ended up being quite a lot of fun. What you will need: • Toilet paper or paper towel tubes • Scissors • Duct tape • Wax paper • Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe • ¾ cup of warm water • 1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris • 2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint • Paper bag or a “mess mat” ** we made six tubes of chalk – we simply doubled the above recipe Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube. Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within. Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes.
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. 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. You can see a lot of potential fun here with patterns and colors.
Chairs Made From Old Computers Offer Interactive Seating Photos via BRC Designs We've seen a lot of things made from computer parts but this might be the most elaborate. A series of furniture, including chairs and a table, have been fashioned from junked hardware... and they couldn't be more interesting. They're even interactive! I definitely agree -- this looks cool, but I'm not so sure about sitting directly on these old computer parts that have been busted up and refashioned together. BRC Designs writes: The Binary Chair 01 or BNR011000110110100001100001011010010111001001-00110001BRC Designs, featuring modern studio-built furniture by Benjamin Rollins Caldwell, is excited to unveil two new pieces to The Binary collection: The Binary Chair 01 and Binary Chair 02 . The amount of effort put into construction is pretty impressive -- here is the underside: There's another version of a chair, more of a dining chair style. It is made from ethernet cables stripped to the wires, then woven and held in place with grounding wire clamps.
Tornadoes and Tigers: Against the wall one. two. three. four Hi readers, my name is Amanda and I write a blog called Here Comes the Sun. Dane has been a friend of mine for many years now- in fact he was a groomsman for my husband on our wedding day and his gorgeous wife was one of my bridesmaids! We also got the chance to be in their bridal party when their wedding day came around as well, so needless to say we know each other pretty well! Anyway I am happy to be here today and share a few interior pictures that have been inspiring me. Anyway I hope you enjoy these pictures and have a very nice Christmas! Thanks for having me Dane Amanda Thomas Here Comes the Sun