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Brenna’s secret storage books

Brenna’s secret storage books
it seems i am always in need of extra storage space. i have an abundance of art materials and supplies that just keeps growing. i am already storing boxes of paints, paintbrushes, paper, pens and scissors, and a multitude of glues behind a linen curtain beneath our built-in desk. it is a great storage place for the things i don’t necessarily use all of the time, but what about the things I use constantly, like my watercolors and rulers, exacto knives and bulldog clips? as much as i would like to, i can’t exactly leave them out on the dining room table within reach of my almost two-year old. the solution: sightly boxes to store my wares. since we have a lovely built-in bookcase, i thought it would be great to have a storage box disguised as a book, adding charm instead of just utility. so here it is, a bit of unexpected storage. secret storage books…not a secret anymore. -brenna (paper +ink) CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! Instructions:

Do-it-Yourself DIY String Wedding Lanterns Yarn Chandeliers Jessica of Wednesday Inc shows us how to make those gorgeous twine chandeliers from the inspiration shoot she shared with us this morning. Using balloons, glue and twine, you can also make these lanterns for your wedding – and then bring it home and use it as your very own mid century lampshade. What you will need are: balloons, glue, yarn, tray for glue, corn starch 1/2 cup of Corn starch, 1/4 cup of Warm water, clear fast drying spray paint, hanging lamp cord or fishing line (depending on your desired final product), and a lighting kit if you’re looking for a fully functional lantern. Are you getting excited to try to do this at home as much I am? Instructions: 1.

Make Your Own Desk Accessories | Easy Crafts and Homemade Decorating & Gift Ideas mismatched containers of varying sizes wood hobby board, approximately 1/4" thick spray paint formulated to adhere to plastic or glass museum putty hot glue gun and refills hand saw with miter box container embellishments (embroidery thread, fabric scraps, leather, twine) Paint Containers In a well-ventilated area, spray-paint all containers. If spray paint is formulated to adhere to plastic or glass, you shouldn't need a primer coat. Apply multiple coats of thin, even paint. Embellish Containers Add a little embellishment to each container. Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Tassel-Step1_h Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Tassel-Step2_h Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Tassel-Step3_h Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Tassel-Beauty_v Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Step2-Leather_h Saw and Sand Board Decide on a length for your board, ensuring that it will be long enough for all containers. Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Step2_v Paint Board Affix Containers

Recycled Cardboard Hanging Organizer After tossing all the holiday wrapping and boxes and looking sadly at my overflowing recycle bin, I am not embarrassed to admit that I dumpster dove in my own trash. I had this idea to create a much more affordable version of Vitra’s Uten.Silo organizer using the boxes that had served their purpose and been so close to facing their fate in the recycling bin. Not so fast. My wall-mounted organizer sits above one of my worktables, keeping the tools I use most close at hand. Have a DIY project you’d like to share? Read the full how-to after the jump! Materials recycled boxespaper to cover boxeswhite glue or ModPodgepaintbrushscissors or X-Acto kniferulermarker or pencilhot glue gun and glue sticksscrap piece of wood or heavy cardboardtiny nails Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Upcycled Doily Lamp « I’ve been collecting vintage crochet doilies for several months, with plans to make this pendant lamp. Finally, now that the holidays are over and things have slowed down a bit, I took the time to make my first prototype. There are a few things I need to work out, but overall I am very pleased with how it turned out. The shadows that it creates on the ceiling and walls are just gorgeous. If all goes well, I’ll add it to my home line. Please email me if you’d like to be notified when it is available. P.S. P.P.S. Like this: Like Loading...

Customize It... Office Wall Pockets - Emily Henderson Some of you may have seen a new column in Redbook last month featuring some DIY projects by me (and some people on the team). January is always a huge organizational month for me, I throw out all systems that don’t work (which is basically all of them) and start new systems (that I’ll surely fail at as well). So Beth Ziegler from Bneato (the lovely organizational expert in LA that I work with) came up with some very cute and functional wall pockets to help keep paperwork off my desk and up on the wall in a very cute way. That was the article but I know its kinda hard to see on just that page, so we broke it down for you. Here’s what you need, and pretty much everything can be purchased at a hardware store, except the lucite file folder which came from Staples. 1. 1. 2. 3. 4. I chose to do ‘To Do’, ‘Invoices’, and ‘Receipts’ because those are all the categories that I hate dealing with in my life so they just pile up and up on my desk which really just creates anxiety in my life.

Crayon Art One of my daily rituals is browsing the DIY section of Pinterest. If any of you do the same, then I’m sure you have seen the melted drippy crayon art. Intrigued by the concept of melted wax, I started playing around with crayons and hair dryers. I thought the “Drip” was cool, but over done and a bit boring. By exploring different methods of heating and blowing, I came up with something pretty cool and unique. Below is my process along with some tips and tricks.... Supplies You'll Need LOTS of Crayons ( theres is one of each shade in a box, you can go through at lest 3-5 crayons of one shade on a single crayon painting) Hair Dryer Heat Gun {Optional} Canvas Exacto Knife or a sharp kitchen knife Paper Plate or piece of cardboard I suggest separating the colors {Red, Green, Blues, etc.} Grab your canvas and a color and start!! Tips and Tricks for Heating and Blowing You pretty much always want your heat level to be on hot, but high and medium speeds melt the wax in different ways.

Space Saving Tiny Apartment, New York This tiny but highly sophisticated studio apartment in the East Village of NYC has made us very proud, thanks to JPDA. Not only was it built as a super efficient multi-functional unit but with the use of detailed mill work, the storage capacity was very cleverly executed and resulted in a super stylish studio with a decent amount of floor space. Shouldn’t all NYC dwellers aim to live like this? You decide… A schematic rendering demonstrates a realistic plan for this tiny apartment. Although we’re not too sure how realistic that cubbyhole at the crown of the loft is in a NYC apartment building, the rest of the space makes perfect sense. This tiny living/work space is beautifully masked with natural light and looks so inviting! This mezzanine bedroom is constructed with beautiful teak wood that houses hidden storage compartments… What great use of typically neglected storage space…. Well lit and highly efficient modern kitchen has beautiful appliances and plenty of counter space.

D.I.Y. Louisville: Make It: DIY Seashell Candle Hot summer days make me want to convert my whole house into a beach cottage. I’m always trying to find ways to display the vacation treasures we bring home each year, and turning seashells into candles is a simple way to use some of many shells we collect. DIY Seashell Candle Tutorial 1) Start with deep shells that have been soaked in a bleach and water solution and a tealight candle. 2) Take apart the tealight candle and remove the wick and metal plate. 3) Place the wax back into the metal tin without the wick. 4) Once the wax is melted, use tongs to pick up the metal tin. 5) Pour the melted wax into the shell. 6) Place the wick and metal plate into the melted wax. 7) Let the wax harden thoroughly. Enjoy your beautiful shell candle! Happy summer crafting, DIY’ers! ~julee~

Cardboard Christmas Star This has been my first experience decorating a Christmas tree as an adult. After university, I always lived overseas and traveled on my holiday break. Once we moved to Japan and started our family, the girls were always so little and then there was the question of space, storage and living or artificial tree. I ended up finding a little artificial tree at the recycling center and the girls have fallen in love with it. They made pomanders, threaded glass beads and popcorn, and covered it with the 100 tiny paper cranes that one of my husband’s students gave to him several years ago. We were missing a star though, and although the one I made for the top is a little serious for our kid- decorated tree, I hope we will grow into it over time. Simple Steps: I used recycled gold cardboard that I’ve collected, but you can use thin cardboard and gold paint to get a similar effect.

A bit of green :: Crafts :: Plastic Cup Lamp Now that my university is closed for winter holidays, I finally have more free time to do all the crafty things I’ve been wanting to. One of these is a lamp made from plastic cups I’ve seen at taf, the art foundation, in the Monastiraki region in the center of Athens. When I first saw it at taf, I was amazed; I looked closely and I couldn’t believe my eyes! The object itself is so peculiar, modern and alien-like it could be in any design exhibition. With my best friend’s birthday coming up, I decided to make it myself and give it to her as a gift. It turns out it was the easiest craft I’ve even done, the epitome of DIY objects! Disclaimer: There have been some concerns about the safety of this construction (see the comment of user “when” below for example). I only needed a couple of things: 200-250 large plastic cups (recyclable, at least )600-700 staplesa staplera lamp socket, lamp cord and plug – mine came from a broken IKEA lamp! That’s all you will need. …to this! You might also like:

TUTORIAL: DIY Pink Candles and Glitter Candle Holders | PARTY BLOG by BirdsParty|Printables|Parties|DIYCrafts|Recipes|Ideas I recently worked on another super fun shoot for HGTV (hope to share details soon!) and had some leftover materials and a burst of inspiration (not to mention a bunch of glass yogurt pots I had been collection for yonks...). This is how these pink, glittered, candle cuties came to be. They'd be perfect for those lazy summer evenings - Imagine how they'd flicker and glisten on your tabletops or patios. Pretty picture, right?! :) Super easy to make too (I used melt and pour wax!). DIY Glittered Candle Holders Materials Needed: * Glass yogurt pots * Gold paint or PVA glue * Foam Paintbrush * Glitter baby! * Optional: Masking tape Directions: Paint the bottom half of each pot with gold paint (or glue) using your foam brush. Dust liberally with glitter. DIY Pink Candles Materials Needed: * Melt and pour candle wax (from most craft supply stores or candle suppliers online) * Candle wicks with metal base (from most craft supply stores or candle suppliers online) * Wooden spoon and large heat-proof pot

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