A Mason of One’s Own One thing that we get a lot of envy of over in the Land Beyond Beyond, are the beautiful little mason jars. These beauties are ubiquitous when it comes to the expectations that we have of weddings Americana style. But, well the closest that we come to here are the Robinson’s marmalade jars – which really don’t do it for us – we love the look and feel of the lovely Mason’s. They have this chunky solid feel that we just love. So, of course you could colour us happy when we happened upon the Pure and Noble blog (check it out there are a whole load of lovely finds up in there). The photographic glory goes to: Brooke of Pure and Noble About the author I'm the big kahuna with the whole shebang.
The Idea Room: Tissue Rosette Kissing Balls *Update–Many of you have had questions about how to “twist” the paper. I have made a quick video showing you how. You can find the video for how to make tissue flowers here: How to Make Tissue Flowers Video Thanks everyone for all your sweet comments about my last Valentine’s day project…the “Be Mine” Framed Art. Many of you will remember that I have made these before and have them hanging in my daughter’s room. First off you will need a couple of rolls of tissue paper streamers. Start by cutting the paper into strips about 24 inches long. Now take your strip and start on one end and begin rolling it up between your fingers. After you have a few rolls, continue to roll it up but now twist the paper. Now just continue to roll and twist until you have reached the end of the strip. After you have a few rosettes made, start gluing {I used a glue gun} them onto a round styrofoam ball. On this particular rosette ball, I did not twist the paper. The fun thing is to just try different things.
Patterns, projects and techniques | Felting | CraftGossip.com Via duitang.com on Indulgy.com Envelope Book A Basic Envelope Book Materials Needed: To create a basic envelope book you will need: 4 envelopes all the same size2 pieces of plain cardstock cut to the same size as the envelopesPatterned scrapbook papers to cover the cardA piece of cardstock as wide as the envelopes and 12" longA length of ribbon Cover the plain cardstock with the patterned scrapbook paper, snipping the corners to get a neater finish. Fold the long piece of cardstock accordion style. Lay the ribbon across the centre of both covers, tape down to stabilize if necessary and glue the spine in place. Cover the inside front cover with patterned scrapbook paper and an envelope to the back cover. It's up to you whether to cut the flaps off or leave them on -- either way looks good.
Tutorial – How to Design and Sew a Slipcover, Part 1 So you’ve got a perfectly comfortable, functional couch… it just looks like hell. With a custom made slipcover, no one will know what evil is lurking underneath all that handmade awesomeness! We scored a couch, loveseat, and chair set at a secondhand furniture store when we first moved in. The upside is that it’s the most comfortable couch I’ve ever had the pleasure of napping on. The downside is that the couch takes quite a beating, especially from our two cats. I’d been thinking about slipcovering it for a while, and once Spring Fever hit me, I decided now was the time to do it. Step 1 I decided on the fabric first. I saw a commercial a few years ago that featured two women sitting on a couch that was covered or slipcovered in a sort of crazy quilt type patchwork. Too busy. To choose my fabric, I did a few sketches on the computer, inserting various Home Dec fabrics I found online, until I found the ones I liked. Just right! . Fabrics! I also wanted something I could wash. Step 2 Step 3
D*S diy projects for ladies’ home journal A few months ago, we were asked to contribute some holiday gift DIY projects to the December/January issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. The magazine has just hit stands, and our projects are now available to view on their website! Some of these are variations on past projects, while others — like the vintage book tablet case and the coiled rope bowls — are brand spankin’ new. If you have any free time over the holiday weekend, you should definitely consider these projects for getting a jump start on your holiday gift-making. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday everyone! Image above: A trio of coiled rope nesting bowls in gold and neutrals make a chic, easy hostess gift. Image above: Make a vintage book iPad or e-reader case with a linen lining. Image above: A variation on our popular cat scratch pad tutorial, this time in a fun goldfish shape. Image above: Dress up simple white mugs with hand-painted botanicals or images of your choice to create personalized gift set.
DIY Chanel Pearl Hairpins This week’s DIY, requested by a reader, was inspired by the abundant and delightful use of pearls in Chanel‘s Spring 2012 Collection. Though I’m usually not the biggest fan of pearls, I actually fell in love with the way Karl affixed them along the back of necks and pushed oversized ones into loose updos. His modern interpretation of the underwater gem just goes to show that pearls can be worn any day, at any age! With a few easy steps, you’ll be able to whip up a handful of pearl hairpins as fast as you can say “Sally sold seashells by the seashore” 10 times. Backwards. You’ll need:8mm – 12mm half drilled crystal ‘faux’ pearls20 – 22 gauge wirebobby pinswire cutterflat nose plierssuper glue Start by cutting off a 5 inch piece of wire. Put a few drops of super glue onto the tip of the folded part and insert it into the pearl. Allow it to dry completely. Continue to wrap tightly 5-6 times. Now, secure the pearl by wrapping the other side around the bottom half of the pin.
DIY+Pregnant Brain Without getting into too many details-the baby is going to be a little longer than we thought. We were afraid that she was going to be early, and now that she isn't, I sort of feel like I'm living life in limbo.I don't know if it's just me, or women in general, who find the strangest tasks to pass time until a baby arrives. Suddenly, the weirdest things pop on to our 'to do' lists, and become oddly important. Right before I had Reuben, for some reason, I decided that my living room futon needed a new cover. Before I had Zeke, I needed to get all my Christmas cards done early-not just written, that wasn't good enough. My mom also contributes to this fun little routine-I think that she nests right along with us. That, and that's what her Mom always did to "help". I couldn't help but laugh last week, when the two of us sat in my living room, and we found ourselves performing the strangest tasks yet-all in the name of "getting ready for baby."
Hand Embroidered Cards Look what I found in my desk drawer! I made these embroidered cards so long ago and then just tucked them away in a drawer to be forgotten about. What a shame! I thought these cards would make a great DIY for the blog because they're easy and fun to make, and you probably have all the supplies on hand already. What you'll need: Pencil for drawing your designPiece of thick cardboardEmbroidery flossSheets of blank paperEmbroidery needle and a pin with a headBlank Card Start by drawing out your design on a piece of thin blank paper. When I made my fruit cards, I actually used an iron-on transfer from Sublime Stitching, which is a really great book that you should all run out and buy right this very second. Now you can start poking holes along the lines using the pin with a head. Now comes the fun part! I just used a back stitch for my whole design, but you could get really creative here with different stitches. Once you're done, admire your work!
butterfly wall hanging tutorial I'm so excited to share my Butterfly Wall Hanging today! I created this project as part of "All About Easter"...so welcome to all of you who popped over from Kiki Creates! (And the rest of you should really check out the other posts if you haven't already...all kinds of Easter goodness going on over there.) Keeping with the butterfly theme I've got going this year, I wanted to add something bright and cheerful to my spring/Easter decor. a photo frame craft paint/paintbrush or spray paint mod podge butterfly images an xacto knife scissors or a paper cutter a page from an old book wire wire cutters/pliers hot glue a marker scrapbooking tape I actually had all of these things on hand, except for the frame which I picked up at the dollar store. Now you might be thinking, "She just happened to have some vintage butterfly illustrations on hand? Well, no. Okay, so once you have your images printed and all of your supplies gathered, start with the photo frame. I went with turquoise. Lookin' good!
Silk-Dyed Eggs {aka TIE-Dyed!} I posted this tutorial a few years ago and it has become somewhat of a tradition to bring it back every year! One of our family Easter traditions is dying eggs with pieces of silk. I saw a cute lady show Martha how to do it a few years ago and I ran upstairs right then to steal a tie! It’s way cooler than those cups of neon liquid that end up all over your clothes, your furniture and your hands plus it gives you an excuse to rid a man’s closet of ugly ties. Here’s the run-down: You need 100% silk for this to work. I try to find an assortment of colors and patterns. Usually it will tell you if it’s 100% silk right on the main label of the tie, but a lot of them don’t, and if that’s the case, check that little tiny end, it’s usually hiding there. The first step is to deconstruct the tie. Next you cut a piece large enough to cover an egg. Now, notice how I tied the eggs in the above photo- with the tie on the top of the long side of the egg. I wish eggs came like this at the grocery store.