Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: karen’s portable fire pit I greatly admire Karen’s penchant for discount shopping; it’s particularly awesome when she shares her results with the rest of us. We’ve posted her tutorials before, but this fire pit might be my favorite. And it couldn’t come at a better time — the leaves are falling outside my window and I am desperate to make a cup of something warm, sit outside and savor the late sunsets while they last. She crafted this beauty from such simple materials as a planter, cheap frames and a can of gel fuel. One trip to the hardware store and you’re set! CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! Materials marine siliconecheap glass frames (these need to fit around the edges of your planter)rocksany kind of metal mesh (available at hardware stores)gel fuelany metal planter with a lip (edge) Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. What makes this fire pit so amazing is the glass. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
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. 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 Original_Chelsea-Costa-Desk-Organizers-Step3_h Paint Board
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.
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: halligan’s chalkboard globe I have wanted a vintage chalkboard globe for quite a few school years. Unfortunately, I could never afford one and they are hard to come by. Even these beautiful reproductions are pricey! Today I’m sharing a quick and cheap way to get the look with out the hunt or the price! CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! Supplies chalkboard paint, one or two colors1″ paint brushthin liner paint brushoutline paint color of your choicechalkglobe (you can find them at thrift stores, eBay, or you can order a cheap one here or here) Directions Step 1: Paint all the water around the continents. Step 2: Paint all continents with your other chalkboard paint color. Step 3: Use your thin brush to outline all continents. You’re done!
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. 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. Click to Buy! Good Luck & Go Create!!
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: brenna’s paper capiz shell chandelier i love wax paper for packing lunches; i wrap sandwiches in a piece of wax paper and tie it like a present with a little cotton string. it’s so much better looking than a plastic bag. wax paper comes in handy for more things than i realized, like rolling it up to use for a funnel, or how about rubbing a piece of wax paper on the top of your shower curtain rod to cut down on that terrible screeching in the morning…problem solved. but who knew that if you iron layers of wax paper together it looks remarkably similar to a capiz shell? this discovery brought me to today’s project: the faux capiz chandelier. hung over your dining table, or outside at an outdoor dinner party, it is an easy solution to a dramatic light fixture and will look phenomenal in either setting. i hope you enjoy making your own as much i did! -brenna CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! Materials: Instructions: 1. spray paint your planter basket. let dry. 8. once you cover the hanging basket you are done!
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. (You can also purchase wicks and candle wax at the craft store.) 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.
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: peaches’ coffee filter flowers turning humble materials into something beautiful is an admirable skill. whenever you think you’ve seen the prettiest thing, something else comes along and blows your mind! these gorgeous blossoms are similar to the ones sold in kits that are made with tissue paper, but even tissue paper can be kind of pricey, and it doesn’t always come in the full range of colors you want. enter these amazing coffee filter flowers by aunt peaches! a recycled art specialist who works with a healthy dose of wacky fun, peaches makes flowers from materials most people toss in the waste bin. if you’re planning any end of summer parties, consider making some of these colorful flowers to scatter on your table. click here to read more about peaches’ flowers and see some of the other amazing colors she has made. great job, peaches! CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! Materials: for 10 grapefruit size paper peony flowers time: 1 hour to dye and assemble + 3 hours drying time. Instructions: 1. 2. 4. 5.
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