25 Ways to Refashion a Sweater | The New Home Ec By craftyamy | I truly love sweaters, especially cardigans. I also feel like I am buying a new group of them every single year after I’ve blown them out (or just not worn them) from the year before. nggallery id=’125734′ Want to know more about me? About craftyamy craftyamy Amy Anderson is a crafty, DIY kind of girl who lives in Atlanta with her pug. TP Tube Wall Art If you filed away the idea of making cardboard wall decor after seeing Suzy Myers' surprising faux iron scrollwork, now is probably the time to be saving up a supply of toilet paper tubes. I noticed a commercial for the Scott's Naturals tube-free variety a few nights ago, and realized cardboard rolls may soon be a thing of the past. The ad is a wonder of tp roll skyscrapers and such... wish I could share it with you here, but alas, no one has posted it on YouTube yet. (But it seems even tp rolls can stir up controversy, as you'll see in this video!) Leaving that behind, I didn't have to look far to find lots of inspiring cardboard tube decorating ideas. Here's a terrific family tree idea and tutorial by a young mom who blogs from Alaska at No Dime Design. From The How-To Gal, turquoise wall art that she rightly calls trash to treasure. Jamie from See You There designed this classy wreath that's dressed for the holidays with waxed paper flowers, gold balls, and grosgrain ribbon.
Upcycled Mason Jar Lights from Boots N Gus Wow. I was just blown away when I came across Boots N Gus! I mean, how completely awesome are their collection of upcycled mason jar lights and chandeliers? …so, what did you think? Of course, my eternal problem reigns supreme – just which one would I choose? Oh, and make sure to check out the rest of Jeff and Marks’ creations – they use vintage cookware in their light-making adventures, too. radical possibility: Easy Anthropologie Confetti Tumblers Thank you all so much for such amazing feedback and for helping this project circulate all over the internet! My cups have held up pretty well due to not being used too often (they are currently just holding bobby pins in my bathroom) but several readers said after a little wear and tear, the paint comes off. Other readers have found that using paint specifically for glass leads to a much longer life! In the comments, readers have specifically stated that Martha Stewart Paints and DecoArt paints have lasted the best. I have used both, and love them both! Here's the thing about Anthropologie; everything is gorgeous. Let the knockoff begin! The internet taught me that I can use acrylic paint on glass as long as I seal it afterwards, so thats what we are going to do here. In true knockoff fashion, I did one rainbow confetti, and one each of red and blue. So there you have it. xo,
Tinted Mason Jars in Rainbow I love using mason jars for decorating and a seemingly endless supply of craft projects. But rainbow tinted mason jars, just like the vintage ones you can never find anymore? This one might be my favorite project with mason jars yet! Mason Jars Mod Podge in Gloss (buy it here) Food coloring Ramekins to mix colors Newspaper or paper bag Mix food coloring with a T or so of water into individual ramekins. You can do any color combination you like. Add a couple T of mod podge into your mason jar Add one ramekin of color into the jar and stir to incorporate it all together With a bowl underneath, carefully twist the jar around coating the whole inside with the mod podge/food coloring mixture. Let dry upside down on the paper Do the same with the other colors. Place the jars face down on top of wax paper and a cookie sheet into an oven, set on warm. When they're ready, they'll look clear and the mixture should lose most of its streaks.
DIY Shrinky Dinks for Adults Here’s a cool DIY that puts the shrinky dinks you used as a child to good use! Why should kids have all the fun? All you need to get started is shrink plastic (google for sources), a pair of scissors and stamps to apply your design. I’d love to give it a try with bracelets! June Gilbank of PlanetJune has the full tutorial available on her website. Visit PlanetJune for the full tutorial! Check out other articles by Rachel here! Glow Jars - Guide Posted on October 19, 2011 by Christina Aren’t these glow jars sublime? They take about two minutes to make and cost only 20 cents a piece. How’s that for an enticing DIY wedding project? These would look amazing at an evening outdoor wedding. If you like this project, check out my DIY ‘glitterarium‘. DIY Glow Jars Tutorial For each glow jar you will need: a jartwo Glow Sticksscissorsrubber glovessafety glasses Disclaimer: This is a project meant to be done by an adult – not a child! Purchase Glow Sticks (I got a pack of 15 for $1.50) and dig a jar out of your cupboard. Grab two glow sticks and cut at one end.
Draw Simple Patterns On Painted Bottles Here's a super simple way to turn painted wine bottle vases (namely the ones I wrote about here) into something a little more bold and decorative. With just a permanent black marker, we had fun applying designs and illustrations to our painted bottles. And the results really are so much fun, and perfect for a casual summer party, or even something more sophisticated if you spend the time to draw with precision. Have a favorite geometric pattern that you'd like to see in your home? And it's always a great creative exercise to get kids (and yourself) to draw on something three-dimensional! Tin Can Lanterns Tutorial I love summer and I love that I finally have a backyard to have parties in! I made these tin can lanterns for a 4th of July party and they looked so lovely that I thought I would write a tutorial to share with you all. So follow the tutorial below to get started making your own lanterns for your own outdoor summer party! Materials: recycled tin cans hammer nail bailing wire pliers spray paint ( I used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Paint) tea light candle Step 1: Remove labels and glue from the cans. Step 2: Fill cans with water and stick them in the freezer. Step 3: Take your frozen can out of the freezer. Step 4: Make your design. Step 5: Once your design is all finished, let the ice melt out of the can and dry it out. Step 6: Upon turning the can over, you'll notice a big bulge in the bottom. Step 7: Time to make a handle. Step 8: Twist the hook around to secure it. Step 9: Time for some spray paint! Step 10: Once the paint is dry, insert tea light candles and light them up!
Hello Kitty amigurumi for a friend | Random assortment I've been thinking about making an amigurumi Hello Kitty for the longest time but I always ended up making different things. I finally hunkered down and came up with a pattern for this mini Hello Kitty. It's part of a Christmas present for a good friend. The process ~ I thought about the general shape of Hello Kitty's head first - she sort of has this flat, oval shaped head so crocheting in the round with a magic circle would not suffice. The normal magic circle + crocheting in the round would work for the rest of the doll. I didn't want the final doll to be too big so I decided on starting with a chain of 11 stitches and then working in the round from then on. I used a 3.5 mm crochet hook for this project. Materials: Pink embroidery thread (for the bow) Black embroidery thread (for the whiskers) Polyfill stuffing Yarn needle 3.5mm crochet hook for Hello Kitty, 1.5mm crochet hook for the bow Pattern: I've made some changes to the pattern for the head - hopefully it will be much easier to read.
the photo-to-wood transfer This Christmas, I made most of my gifts. The majority of the handmade items were photos transferred onto blocks of wood. It was something memorable to give family (especially for parents, who never seem to need anything!). Everyone seemed to really like them. I first heard about the photo-to-wood transfer from a coworker. She had found it on Pinterest, and wanted to try it out for Christmas gifts this year. I followed the directions on this youtube video, and came up with a nice collection of photos on wood. I thought I’d share some tips I learned during this process. Photo-to-wood transfersmaterials wood gel medium paintbrush photo, printed on copy paper varnish (or Mod Podge)step one: the wood I think any wood works, but just look for something that doesn’t have a lot of markings on it, or this will affect your end image. step two: the image Two rules of thumb here: use cheap cheap cheap paper (i.e. photocopy paper), and use a laserjet printer. Then it was time to rub the paper.
Shirt From Dollar Bill Essential life skill #3: folding a shirt and tie from a dollar bill. In terms of usefulness, I rank this right up there with the ability to parallel park. This is my first-ever money origami attempt, which was much more successful than the parallel parking section of my driving test, which I failed. Granted, nobody needs to parallel park in rural Minnesota where I grew up, so the incentive to learn was not great. You can fold yourself a drawerful of shirts by following an instructional video. Painted Bottle Vases Crafting is near and dear to my heart and I realize that it is shamefully under represented here at The Apple Crate. So today I bring you a project that has long been in the making, recycled jars and bottles as vases! I have Martha Stewart to thank for the idea. Lots of people are out there doing something similar, with either spray paint or acrylic paint. I started out by collecting old bottles and jars; things I went through in the kitchen and saved rather than recycled. The hardest part of this was actually cleaning all of the labels and sticky residue off! The tutorial was a little vague on what kind of paint to use. And here are my lovely jars and bottles! I was so excited to finally put some fresh flowers in and see how they looked. My smallest bottle makes a sweet bud vase in the windowsill. One of the great things about this project is how economical it is.