Tea Towel DIY

I am so excited to show this tutorial! I made these tea towels from scratch and hand painted the drawings on them. It was so much fun to do! I have been seeing a lot of new and fun tea towels over on Etsy, and just felt so inspired to make a series of my own! The fabric is unbleached cotton from Ikea, just because it's very simple and a bit vintage looking:) And I guess I came up with the drawings because I have been so inspired by all the other fabulous tea towels that I've seen lately. Here's how: Supplies: Piece of unbleached cotton (or any other fabric that you like), Pen and paper, Fabric markers, Iron. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. fabric paint. All done! Pictures by Lana

Know Thyself: Setting Realistic Decorating Expectations One of the biggest mistakes I see in home decorating and decluttering is that people often make purchasing and design decisions based on aspirations (the kind of life you want to lead; the kind of person you aspire to be) — not reality. So, before you spend a ton of money and time decorating, face the facts. Distinguish between who you are — your real life habits, your idiosyncrasies — vs. who you WANT to be. When decluttering and organizing, work with your habits, not in denial of them! You want to be the kind of person who hangs up your coat on a hanger every day, who files bills carefully the minute they arrive in the mail, who curls up in the reading nook with a book and gazes out at the perfectly-manicured garden. Some common mistakes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. (Image: Flickr member PaperScraps via Creative Commons)

DRUNKEN DIY - Beer Brewing & Home Improving 10 Renters Tips Just because you don't own your apartment doesn't mean you can't dress it up, cover the not-so-pretty parts and give it your own personal touch. Here are 10 ways you can bring temporary personality and style to your home... • Ugly windows with an ugly view? Cover them up with Emma Jeffs Window Film from 2Jane. • Unsightly old counter tops can temporarily become granite with Appliance Art's Instant Granite. • Overhead lighting in apartments can be seriously hideous and unflattering. • Landlords love their white paint but it can make for a very bland apartment. • Sprucing up your outdoor space can make it feel like you've gained an extra room. • Pottery Barn's Stainless Steel Back Splash can bring a new, shiny look to even the most outdated and bland kitchens. • Bring a bit of your own personal history to your space. • Appliance Art also offers Instant Chalkboard and Instant Stainless for covering up old appliances and cabinetry. • Dali Decals offers a Set of 72 Bubble Decals.

DIY voice lights Two quick things: There is a thriving knockoff market for Arduino boards and shields on eBay (a nano clone is less than $10) and many are pretty good quality. For a lot of my single purpose projects, I've started using Arduinos to program ATTiny chips rather than dedicating a dev board - works for more projects that I expected and the dedicated cost is ~$2 for the chip + whatever components you need. A single AVR shield can be used as a central command and could communicate to your projects all over the house, (you'd probably need zigbee or some form of network access on your projects). I haven't messed with the AVR, but I'd bet you could rig multiple inputs from all over the house and it'd serve as part of the master brain. those are great tips! Yes, many of the clones are close to 100% compatible with the brand name Arduinos although they often don't have as robust voltage regulators. Here's the page on programming ATTiny's with an arduino: