Thursday, September 30, 2010

Get Organized


This is not necessarily a craft...but the art of organizing! I used to hang all of my scarves on a hook behind my door, but hated that the hook made it hard to shut the door all the way. So, I decided to roll all of them up and put them in a basket that I have in my cube shelves. It looked really cute and is much more efficient in keeping my room organized. This is a quick change you can make to your room, especially since it is almost time to get those scarves out to wear! Brrr!!!

Hand Stand Time







This is one of our favorite crafts that we have completed, and we actually thought about selling them. We need to make them in bulk to make any money though!


We found these "hands" at Scott's Antique Market. (Can you tell that we love that place yet?!)The guy sold us 3 of them for $8 a piece. The hands were used back in the day at Latex factories as a mold for the gloves. It looks completely random on its own, so we decided to go to Michaels and get some different shaped plaques to serve as a base for the hand.

Next we needed fabric to cover the base. I actually found a decorating store that was going out of business a couple of years ago, and they were selling their curtain swatches for like 10 cents a piece. Naturally, I freaked out at the sale and bought all of them. You may not get this lucky, but shop around at some curtain stores and you may hit the jack pot. You could also find cute fabric at a thrift store for dirt cheap, or even a cut fabric from a pillow you aren't using.

Once you have your hand, base, and fabric, you will need to flatten the fabric tightly around the base and use a staple gun to fasten the fabric securely. It took a few tries, and a lot of aggravation, but we eventually got the hang of stapling the fabric tightly. Once the fabric is in place, add 2 large holes into the fabric and base using a drill. Take 2 large (and long) screws and screw them up through the bottom of the base so that the hand does not move at all. Wallah!!

You could even paint a cool design on the side of the hand to add some texture. We did one for Lacey's room, but we did not like the way it turned out. I suggest drawing your design in pencil first and keeping the detail to a minimum.

Don't get me wrong, this project took a long time, but it is worth the time! It is great for gifts, or to use as a jewelry holder in your own room. Love it!

You will need:
*A Latex factory hand
*A swatch of fabric large enough to cover the base
*A plaque to use as the base
*Staple gun/staples
*Screw driver/Drill
*Long screws





Personalize It




I had some random canvases of all different shapes and sizes left over from art projects in high school, and was tempted to throw them out for the sake of space in my small apartment. But instead of being wasteful, I decided to spruce them up. I found some colors that worked well in my bathroom and decided to paint away. You can do any design that you want, but adding your initials adds some cuteness to any room!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Button Flowers







Lacey and I saw the CUTEST idea at Scott's Antique Market last year when we went and decided to replicate them and add our own twist. Scott's had a vase full of "Button Flowers" at their front desk. We studied them carefully to see how they were made and headed to Michaels. They had used wire (thick enough to stand up but not too thick so it wont fit through the buttons) and stuck them up through a set of stacked buttons and back down under the buttons to secure them. We went to the sale sections and found some super cute paper flowers and decided we would try it out to see if they would stay. They did, and we spent an hour making these buttons. Once you get the hang of it, you can make them very quickly. You can pick whatever patterned flowers and buttons that will match your room. They are cute to decorate any room of your house with, and are reasonably cheap!

You will need:
* A bag of buttons (you can find at Michaels or any craft store)
* A package of paper flowers (we found ours at Michaels)
* A pack of silver or gold wire (Make sure they will fit through the buttons)
* A cute vase to put the flowers in

Monday, September 13, 2010

Cute as a button!


I saw this idea on etsy.com and thought it was so cute! These people were charging a minimum of $50 per pillow so I figured I could try to do it myself for free! I used one of my boring,solid green pillows- took the pillow out of the cover, and drew a K on it as an outline. Then 1 by 1 I sewed each and every button on it. This was not the easiest thing to do....mainly because I don't have the kind of patience it requires. But if you have the patience to do it- it would make a beautiful addition to your couch or bed set!

Burlap Wall Art




I've been searching for some kind of wall art to put above my bed but couldn't find anything I liked. I found this really great frame at Goodwill ( $9) that fit perfectly above my bed, but I didn't like the painting that it came with. I decided to cover the painting with burlap- You can find burlap at most fabric stores($5) and I painted the frame a deep chocolate brown to match the colors in my room ($3). I didn't want to just put pictures in the frame so I decided to do something different. I found some lettered wall art at Hobby Lobby and nailed it to the frame ($15) The letters are a little big but I like the way it turned out. This was a pretty easy fix although it took quite a few steps to finish it. All in all it cost me $32 to make- which wasn't the cheapest fix, but depending on what you want it can be done cheaper. Wooden letters would have probably cut the price in half, and getting plain fabric instead of burlap would have also cut the price down a lot. There are lots of great options you can use to fix up wall art.

Shabby Chic Dresser





If your sick of your bedroom furniture, don't get rid of it- give it a new look! It's simple and easy to do, all you need is new paint and new drawer pulls. You can make-over almost any of your furniture pieces with a new coat of paint. I took my old wooden dresser I've had since freshman year of college, painted it white and added some Anthropologie drawer knobs. Within a day they had a completely knew look, and I had a brand new bedroom set!