DIY Menorah

If you are still missing your Hanukkah menorah, here's a beautiful and simple tutorial to make your own modern version. Happy almost-Hanukkah all!

Stuff to Do With Paper Scraps

Really enjoyed this DesignSponge post on re-using paper scraps for simple crafts. This could be a good idea for leftover wrapping paper!

More DIY Wreaths + Tutorials

Speaking of wreaths (see my recent post)....



Brenda at Alpha+Mom shared these great ideas for creative (and sometimes recycled) wreath designs that can be done with kids or just with kids-at-heart. Love them! (via Craftzine)

DIY Gift Bows

Awhile back, I shared a DIY trick for making gift toppers out of plastic bags.


As the holiday season approaches again, I thought I'd pass along this tutorial from How About Orange on making gift bows out of recycled items you have on hand, like maps or magazine pages.

Thanksgiving and Holiday Wreath

I thought a nice wreath would be a good item to help transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas decor, but when I went to the store I found out just how expensive a wreath can be. 

My solution: I found a cheap wreath at Michael's made of wooden sticks and added some berry garlands.  It came in under $10. 

Happy early Thanksgiving everyone!

DIY Fabric Stenciling

Love this tutorial from How About Orange on using freezer paper to stencil on fabric. And don't you want to do that adorable design?

DIY Velcro Catch Ball

This one could be fun whether or not you have kids. I am imagining starting up a game in the office....


Check out this super easy tutorial from Craftzine on how to make your own Velcro Ball game.

DIY Coffee Stencil

I think How About Orange's idea of creating a DIY stencil to make words or designs on top of coffee etc. is very cute. Learn how to do it here.

DIY Poppy Pins Tutorial

Check out the Grosgrain tutorial on how to make these great fabric poppies. So lovely.


She makes them to pin on sweaters as boutonnieres, but I think they could make great hair accessories as well. Make some of your own and come up with other creative uses!

A Childhood Classic Revisited

Some people take coffee breaks, I take craft breaks. In honor of the cold weather we've been having here in DC, I present to you a (mostly clean) paper towel (from the office kitchen) turned snowflake. What can I say, I enjoy using scissors as stress relief.


As you may be able to tell, it's been strategically posed on my office chair, and photographed with the not super high resolution camera on my phone. As for the original, it is now hanging in my office window.

Cereal Box to Drawer Organizer

Gotta love this simple recycling idea from A Little Hut. While there's no written out tutorial, her pictures provide a pretty good idea of the steps.



And given the normal price of such things, it's absolutely wonderful to find a free, environmentally friendly way to accomplish the same thing. I think these would look amazing covered in some fun fabric.

DIY Recycled Can Flower Magnets

This is a great tutorial from 10th muse studios on using old soda cans to make adorable flower magnets. Just be careful not to cut yourself on the aluminum!

DIY Japanese Paper Dolls Tutorial

These Japanese paper dolls that Kimono Reincarnate makes are super adorable. They could work as bookmarks for those who want a more grown-up way to play with dolls. Here's the easy tutorial.

Young House Love

Six months later.... I haven't been crafting much in the past 6 months, but as the weather cools, I'm feeling inspired to stay indoors and make stuff. So maybe I'll start posting here again. After all, this blog serves as a sort of idea scrapbook for me (and hopefully, some entertainment for you).

One great new find is the Young House Love blog, which is written by a great couple who have done DIY to their whole beautiful house (below).


They give tips on home decor, have a fantastic page of their house before and afters, and share how they managed to put on a backyard wedding for under $4,000! A fantastic site!

DIY Cereal Box Notebooks

The long thread provides a great tutorial on using a cereal box to make your very own moleskin-inspired journal. A great re-use idea!

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, Crafty Chica is posting tutorials for 24 creative re-use projects....one every hour. The spectacular ideas she's posted so far include these great ribbon picture frames and mixed media wind chimes.

Craft Fail

Craft Fail is a new blog where people can post their craft ideas gone wrong (found via Craftzine). Sounds pretty entertaining to me. Always love to see what others are doing in the craft/diy world.

Which reminds me, if any readers here have completed (or not) craft/art projects that you'd like to share, I'd love to post them on here. Also, feel free to send in sustainable design projects (ie. recycling old objects for craft, repurposing stuff that's no longer useful, or fixing up something instead of throwing it away).

You can email me at designphoenixblog at gmail dot com (see the new link on the right).

Plastic Soda Bottle Vase Tutorial

Here's a fun (and free!) project available on wikiHow: a tutorial on turning a plastic soda bottle into an attractive vase.

Plastic Bags into Baskets

Craftzine recently featured a pretty straightforward tutorial from The lucky ladybird craft blog on making baskets out of old plastic bags. Very cool. If you like this stuff, check out my older posts on using plastic bags as gift bows and art.

Business Card Artwork

Whether you've been laid off in this horrible recession or you just have a lot of used office supplies hanging around, here's one idea for an alternative use for business cards:  stick 'em together and make a quick and easy art project.  (If you're interested, I previously posted about using business cards to make a nice origami-style box).

All I did was put masking tape on the back, so that they formed a single sheet.  Masking tape or painter's tape works well because it comes off later.  They don't need to be perfectly aligned.

Then I made my drawing.  I used only office supplies on hand (permanent markers and highlighters).

Last step was to remove the tape.  You could keep it together for a textured look.  Or you could mount them on some other paper with space in between.  Another option would be to hang each piece on the wall separately.  Or how about using it as a simple puzzle?  Anyone have other ideas?  I haven't decided what to do with my little masterpiece yet.