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)

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 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.

I'm Loving: Penguin Cloth Cover Books

I've always said that it's fine to judge a book by its cover, as long as you take time to discover what's inside too.* Now (finally!) Penguin USA has released it's gorgeous cloth-covered editions of some fantastic books, many of my favorites, actually. And they are so pretty (plus, only $13.60 each)!

What do you think, would you buy a book because it looked nice?


In case you were wondering, and because I can't help myself, here is a list of the titles that I want (did I mention PRETTY????)

Available Now

• Sense and Sensibility
• Wuthering Heights
• Great Expectations
• Jane Eyre
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Pride and Prejudice

Not Yet Available in the US

• Crime and Punishment
  
• The Hound of the Baskervilles
• Emma
• The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint
• Little Women
• Oliver Twist

*I'm talking books, here, not people!

A Flower Collage

Hope you are all having a good day. Since it's gloomy and rainy out here, I thought I'd share a few pictures I took with my camera phone a week ago, when I believed it was actually Spring.

And I thought I'd use the opportunity to point out that using Picasa, Photoshop, or some other photo editing device, you can easily and cheaply make some simple art with just a digital camera and a little cash for prints. Many photo editing programs will even make a collage (like the one above) for you with the click of a button.

Envelope to Gift Bag Tutorial

I've posted before with tutorials for how to use envelopes to create beads and to make new envelopes.

This time, How About Orange provides a great tutorial so you can learn how to turn old envelopes into nice gift bags in just a few steps.

P.S. This is not an April Fool's Day joke! =)

Simple Tutorial: Googly Eye Tacks

Loved this easy idea from Zakka Life:  diy googly eye thumb tacks.  I may have to put some of these on my work bulletin board.

DIY Album Cover Wall Organizers

 

Paper and Stitch has come up with this brilliant reuse idea for old vinyl covers.  Make your own wall organizers using their ingeniously simple tutorial.   (via Ready Made blog)

Profiles in Craftiness: Rock Paper Scissors Collective

My friend Tam told me about this awhile ago, but since I've been neglecting this blog, I haven't shared it with you all yet. 

I'm very, very jealous of all the people in the Bay Area (that's the San Francisco Bay Area, for all you folks from elsewhere who think there might be more than one Bay Area) for many reasons, but partly because they have access to the Rock Paper Scissors Collective, a

"volunteer-run organization that fosters creativity and collaboration in order to strengthen local communities and encourage sustainable practices and alternative models 

RPS currently realizes this through an accessible space that offers free and low-cost classes, curated and open submission art shows, the retail of independently made clothing/craft/zines/music, a drop in arts lab, community events space, and youth involvement."

In other words, it's a place with some of the awesomest crafting classes around.  From classics like Knitting, Crocheting, or Silk Screening to wilder options like "Making Shoes out of Sweatshirts" "Girl-Friendly Skateboarding" or "Messing with Bikes" the options at Rock Paper Scissors are a crafty girl or guy's dream come true.  Did I mention I'm jealous?

So if you are lucky enough to live in the East Bay (or you're willing to commute), check out the Rock Paper Scissors Collective.

My Next Project: Foam Board Decor

Courtesy of Jessica Jones (of How About Orange? fame): Decor8 offers this simple wall art project tutorial.


Just grab some foam board from your local art store, glue on some paper, and start cutting. It's practically that easy. And it's lightweight, so you won't have any problem hanging it pretty much anywhere.

Weekend Project

This weekend, I finally started getting serious about filling in my blank walls.   This is one way I did something about covering the boring off-white:

 

  

I'd never actually painted with acrylics before, so I felt pretty pleased with myself for managing not to totally destroy any of the little canvases I had.  If you wanted to make something like this, it's easy to find these small canvases at an art store.  After that, you just have to glue ribbon to the back for a simple hanger (I was happy to get to pull out the old glue gun).

Meanwhile, I've fallen in love with painting.  I want to do more!

DIY Zen Garden

Curbly user DIY Maven shares a video tutorial on how to make a low-cost (under $10) zen garden.  You too can make one that's soothing on your budget.  (via Craftzine)

How To...Make a Shirt out of a Muumuu

Time for a trip to the thrift store.  You can find out how to transform a muumuu into a cute drape-neck top on San Francisco's Stitch Lounge urban sewing blog.  It turns out that you can actually make a few shirts out of the average muumuu, but you can also just use the free pattern on the site with one yard of any knit fabric (just use a sleeveless shirt for a template and then follow the instructions for cutting out the draped front).  Who knew a muumuu could be this cute?  (via ReadyMade Blog)

How To Make a Watermelon Keg

As it continues to get hotter here in DC, I am inspired to share this exciting tutorial from Evite blog on how to make your very own watermelon keg, so that you can serve guests spiked watermelon juice right from the tap. (via How about Orange?)

'Picture Perfect' Picture Frame Tray

Design* Sponge recently featured a tutorial from photographer Ashley Ann on how to make this picture frame tray:

It reminded me of a project that I'm doing (currently in-progress). I turned a picture frame into a coffee table top with the simple addition of some fabric remnants I had lying around.

Currently, it sits atop a less-than-lovely cardboard box. My next step will be to pick up some contact paper and liven up the cardboard, for a slightly less low-end look. Anyhow, here is the tabletop today:

Post-It Book Tutorial

Just because Greetingarts has posted this tutorial (via Folding Trees...I love that blog)  on how to make adorable notebooks using sticky note pads and scrapbook paper does not mean that you have an excuse for office supply theft.

Fourth of July Drink Charms

Need a last-minute craft to make your 4th super patriotic?  Plan on having folks over for so many drinks that everyone will be confused?  Then this instructables tutorial on how to make drink charms using printouts of classic American posters is for you:

DIY: Easy Felt Makeup Bag Tutorial

Okay, so now my excuses for non-regular posting have dwindled.  I was sick for a few days, which meant mostly sleeping in.  And I have been doing more crafting, which takes time away from blogging about crafting.  But, I'm gonna turn over a new leaf.  And I'll start by doing a couple of immediate posts.

The following was a 15 minute craft project (from a kit that was on sale at Barnes & Noble).
  

 To do it yourself:  Just grab some felt.  Cut out 3 squares of a different color felt.  Sew them on by hand.   Add a zipper (I attached with a sewing machine, but it would be easy to do by hand too).  Unzip the 2 sides of the zipper, and sew up each side of the bag.  Done.

Easy DIY decorating: Google's "Earth as Art"

I was doing some mundane Google mapping yesterday, when I saw a link to something called, "Earth as Art," which marks points on every continent. Click on them, and you can see interesting views from above, many of which I thought were very pretty.

Clicking "more" under an image links to the US Geological Survey/NASA website. There, you can read more about the images and download larger, printable pictures. Now here's an easy way to score some cool, very modern looking art. Just pop it in a frame and you're done.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Ocean Sand, Bahamas


Terkezi Oasis, Chad


Vatnajökull Glacier Ice Cap, Iceland


Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

DIY: Starbucks Card Jewelry

Got old Starbucks gift cards lying around? Probably the most environmentally-friendly option is to reload them with cash and reuse them. But if you have several or you don't go to Starbucks that much then you might try this fun idea (via craft blog):


The creative crafter who made this says that one card easily makes a whole bracelet. You can see more of her Starbucks card work at her blog, Confessions of an OCD Knitter.