Creative DIY Projects

Hope you had a great weekend and Happy Columbus Day! I wanted to share some cute ideas from different blogs that I think are so creative. Enjoy!

Simple hangers! All you need is a piece of wood and your favorite fabric. 

By: DIY Jill McClure

A great way to add an unique touch to boring vent covers!

By: Home Bliss, Kate Horner

Cake stand created by using metal stove covers, scrap paper and candle holders.

Wine rack turned towel rack

 

By: Anila Babla

Two benches secured together to make a beautiful side table. I found benches as cheap as $50 to recreate this look.

By: Rebecca Sledd

Pretty suitcases stacked togther and topped with a mirror! Gorgeous!

By: Aubrey Toon

Lamp Shade Makeover

I purchased the lamp for my bedroom because I fell in love with the ribbon and pin accessory but the color was never quite right. The accent color was a silvery blue and my accent room color is purple.  I purchased some Martha Stewart Acrylic paint and decided to give it a shot.

I learned quickly that I had to dry brush the color on. A little amount went a long way. I brushed on two coats of the new purple color. It’s a subtle change but now I know it matches my room décor.

Fall Crafts

I’ve been working on some inexpensive DIY crafts that you can do with your kids to get them involved in your fall decorating.

The first project is very simple and inexpensive. I found some stickers and appliqués from Michael’s on clearance and applied them to some votive candles that I used at my wedding. I knew there was a reason I kept those!

Supplies:

Votives: $0

Leaf Stickers - $.89

Fall Sticker - $1.50

Orange Appliqués - $1.50

Total:  $3.89

My second project was a Thankful banner to add to my mantel. I have difficulty with scissors because I’m a lefty but I did learn a valuable lesson. Never give up on something when it doesn’t look the way you pictured it in your mind. Follow through till the end and then decide.  I was so obsessed with each letter and making sure that each paper cut out matched the previous one that I just wanted to crumble the paper and forget I even started!

Supplies:

Decorative Scissors – $1.99

Glue - $0

Hole Puncher - $1.99

Glitter - $1.79

Ribbon - $.99

Scrap Paper – 5 pieces of solid color .59 a piece and 4 pieces of pattern .59 a piece

Package of Cardboard letters - $4.99 (You can cut out your own letters to save money but you wouldn’t have been able to recognize my letters. That bad!)

Total:  $17.06

Steps:

1.       I used the box that the cardboard letters came in to trace the shape for the brown scrap paper. I cut them with the decorative scissors.

2.       I used the plastic packaged that held the cardboard letters to trace the shape for the designed scrap paper. I cut them with the decorative scissors.

3.       I attached the cutouts together with glue and then punched a hole near the top.

4.       I took the cardboard letters, applied glue and then sprinkled the glitter on them. I let dry for about 5 minutes and then I attached them to the scrap paper.

5.       I laid them on the floor and attached them together with the ribbon. I tied a bow to secure them to each letter.

It took me about 2 hours to complete and I could have completed faster had I let go of my OCD tendencies.

For the third project I took my daughter for a walk and we picked fall leaves.  It was so much fun! I took the leaves she picked and placed them in a frame I had to showcase them. Simple and Sentimental.

I think these are great craft projects to do with your children that will add a personal touch to your home and  bring lasting memories.

Favorite Decor Items

I wanted to share a few items that have my design wheels turning and mouth drooling right now. I hope to add some of these beautiful pieces to some of my DIY projects soon. Take a peek :).

 Pier 1 Rosette Hayworth Lamp $99

 IKEA Alvine Floral Pillow $19.99

ZGallerie Bukhara Pillow $69.95

JCP Cindy Crawford Draperies $39.99-$74.99

JCP Cindy Crawford Dubai Damask Draperies $34.99-$49.99

 ZGallerie Devon Mirror $199

 IKEA EKTORP Chaise, Blekinge white $299.99

ZGallerie Kensington Cake Stand $49.99

JCP Linden Street Set of 2 Butterflies Wall Decor $109.99



JCP Linden Street Spring Valley Draperies $29.99-$34.99

Do you have any items that you are currently in love with?

DIY Fall Wreath

I’m not sure about you but I love how a wreath sets the stage for your seasonal décor. It’s the first impression to someone’s house to me. It’s like a sneak peek of the person’s style. Do they have simple, contemporary, elegant or traditional style? Maybe I’m just nosey J.

Wreath’s can be very expensive and I usually like the ones I can’t afford. Typical!

My goal for this week was to create a couple different wreaths and to discover the most cost effective ones by figuring the costs of supplies, time it takes to make and how the final product looks.

I stumbled upon an idea for my first wreath while shopping for another project. The branch type wreath immediately caught my eye. I pictured adding the pretty flower that I used on the velvet pumpkins and some sparkly butterflies. I love butterflies!!

Supplies:

I got too excited with the butterflies and forgot to take a picture before I used them. Opps! They cost $6.99 for a set of 8 and I used them for both wreaths.

Steps:

1.       Pull apart the flower, beads and leaves so each piece is separate.

2.       Lay out the design you would like.

3.       Once you are happy with the layout secure with a hot glue gun.

It’s that easy! It took me 5 minutes and the whole project cost me $9.99 plus tax J!

The second wreath I attempted was a little for time consuming. It took about 3 hours. I got the idea from another blog I follow and wanted to recreate it. I changed up the colors and finish product to add my own twist to it.

Supplies:

Steps:

1.       Spray a coat of the base color to the first side of the foam wreath.

2.       Let it dry for about 20 minutes and apply a coat to other side.

3.       Repeat steps one and two for adding the gold glitter and allow to dry for an hour.

4.       Start placing the beads in a pattern that works for you while leaving a 3 inch space for the ribbon at the top. I started in the middle and went about 6 inches in a horizontal direction. Once I achieved a somewhat straight line I would start filing in the area with the beads using a hot glue gun and continue the same process until complete. I left an opening at the top to add ribbon.  Some would probably have started with placing the ribbon but I needed to see the final product before selecting the right ribbon. Call me crazy!

5.       It took me about 2 hours to complete and I let it sit over night.

      6.       I finished the next morning by securing the ribbon and adding beads over the ribbon.

I ran into a couple of issues with this project. I had several beads fall off over night. It was very frustrating because I don’t know why they weren’t sticking. I used a generous amount of glue. The wreath is very bulky and took too long to create in my opinion. I felt that the effort I put into the project didn’t show through in the final result. The total cost for this wreath was $23.04 plus tax. It’s still cheaper than most store bought projects but looks cheaper than the first wreath to me.

What’s your thought?

First Fall Mantel

We recently moved into a new home with a fireplace. I relocated from South Florida where we don't have seasons. It's either warm, hot or extremely hot. I took advantage of this new climate in Georgia and decided to decorate our mantel for fall. Check it out :)

I created the banner with craft supplies that cost under $20.

The pumpkins were purchased from Hobby Lobby and they were 40% off! I used some metallic paint to add shimmer to them.

I found items on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby and added them to an existing jar I owned. It all cost $5! I used napkins on clearance at Kohl's to add some color to the bland white mantel.

I created the wreath in this photo with some basic foliage on clearance from Hobby Lobby and butterflies purchased from Michael's. The whole project cost $10 and took me less than 5 minutes to make.

DIY Canvas Wall Decal

Have you ever wanted to purchase a great wall decal but you didn't because you immediately thought it's a lot of money to spend for a wall sticker?

When it came to decorating my daughter's room I knew that I wanted to have her name placed above her crib. Like usual, I wanted something unique. I loved the idea of using a decal but since we leased it wouldn't make sense to get one and place it on the wall. We also had knocked down walls and the decals didn't like to stick very well to a textured wall. I had to come up with a different way to use the decal.

First, I thought of placing the decal on a mirror. I looked at HomeGoods, Michael's, IKEA and Target and I couldn't find a mirror that matched the dimensions I needed. I was starting to get discouraged when I spotted the canvas section at Michael's. I was able to find one close to the dimensions of the wall decal. I had no idea if a decal would stick and was told by multiple craft specialists it probably wouldn't.

I took the left over satin latex paint (Behr Pearl) that I used for my daughter's room and rolled in on the canvas. I found the rolling technique worked better than brushing.

Once the canvas was dry, I centered the decal to the canvas and started the process of removing the decal paper so it would stick to the canvas. This was the most tidiest process which took the help of my husband and about 45 minutes to complete.

I attached some hooks from a picture I wasn't using and it was ready for it's debut.