Beaded keychain DIY

There are some things that just say a lot about people, you know? Their wallets for one.  (Mine is navy with a gorgeous gold clasp...and overflowing with receipts.)  Their dogs.  (I've got the most adorable labradoodle you've ever seen with the most adorable personality to match!)  Their desk drawers.  (Messy, messy, messy and full of things I am hoarding.)  And, of course, their keychains.

Think of all the different keychains out there.  Don't they say so much?  A carabiner?  I am adventurous and outdoorsy.  A rabbit foot?  1993 was awesome or I am incredibly ahead of the trend.  A mini stuffed animal?  I am the worlds most kind-hearted adult.  A bottle opener?  I live in a frat house or like to camp.  A souvenir keychain?  I've never been there but someone I know has.

Since I have always thought of the keychain is an extension of myself, I put a lot of effort into having pretty ones.  That's where the worlds easiest DIY comes in.  These classic and stylish keychains are made with simple beads from a craft store and suede cord and take just minutes to make.

I made a loop at the top of the cord which is tied off with a knot.  Then I strung the cord through the beads and tied a knot at the end.  I left the ends a bit loose so that they would hang down like a tassel and it was as simple as that.  I got the idea here, but instead of painting my beads, I just picked out pretty ones from the craft store.

You can decide for yourself what this keychain says about me... What kind of keychain do you have?

Gray summer day

Yesterday was a stormy summer day, dark gray and muggy with heavy clouds.  Instead of curling up on the couch, I got in crazy productive mode.  Three hours later, I had this beautiful painted chest and a scrumptious pie coming out of the oven.  

The corner of my apartment behind the stairs and right next to the door had been driving me absolutely crazy.  It was a neglected space, one that I hadn't bothered to fix up since moving in.  I had a bland chest of drawers there that I picked up for free in Coburg when I was desperate for storage, which made the space colorless and unfinished.  

I got these beautiful brass knobs at Hobby Lobby while I was in California and they inspired me to finally fix up this piece.  So, I got out a sanding block and went to town. 

This was not an ideal piece to paint since the it isn't actually wood and I certainly didn't paint it according to the rules.  I used wall paint, which I had on hand and only did two coats on the sides that you can really see from the hallway....I am a horrible DIYer. 

Still, I think it looks so much better!  I am in love with how much more finished the corner looks and how the gray really adds and pops against the white wall.  

What do you think?   

Homemade Christmas gift: customized mugs

When it comes to Christmas, there is nothing more heartwarming than giving the people you love beautiful handmade gifts.  I love handmade gifts (you can see some of my favorites here, here, here and here) and think that they are a really smart, affordable way to do Christmas presents, not to mention the effort and love that goes into making them.  

For the design of the J on this monogramed mug, I used this typography.

I am sure that you have seen this tutorial on Sharpie mugs, which seems to be the hottest thing on the Internet this year.  A while back on a cold Friday evening, a friend of mine and I decided to give it a go and see if we couldn't make ourselves some awesome mugs.  So, as you can see in the "before" pictures below, we went to the dollar store, loaded up on cheap mugs and brought out several sheets of white paper to practice our designs.  We put our mugs in the oven for an hour and, with hope in our hearts, tried washing them with soap and a sponge after they cooled.  To our disappointment, all of our beautiful designs wiped right off.  

You see, our problem was that we didn't have actual Sharpies to work with for this project.  We couldn't find them here in Germany, so we chose another brand of permanent marker (and a cheap one at that).  Perhaps it doesn't have all the toxic chemicals in it to make the ink stick or perhaps we made a mistake in our baking (I have since read that it works better if you let the mugs heat and cool in the oven).  Either way, this was a project fail.  

Determined not to give up, the next day I went to the craft store looking for a better permanent marker.  Before I found one, I came across a porcelain marker that doesn't even need to be baked in the oven!  You simply use it on a clean, dry surface and wait while it sets for three days. Afterwards, you can even put your dishes in the dishwasher! Awesome! 

And it's worked! 

Here's how you can make your very own customized mugs:

You need: 

Porcelain mugs
A porcelain marker (I used a PorcelainPainter by Marabu in black, bought in Germany)
A piece of paper and a pen to practice your designs
An oven (if your pen calls for oven fixation)


Method:

Wash and dry your mugs.  Make sure not to get fingerprints on the parts you want to paint.

Choose your design and practice it a few times on a piece of paper to make sure that you don't mess up on your mugs.

Use the pen to paint on the design, using a damp cloth to wipe up any mistakes as quickly as possible.

Set your mug aside for 3 days (I hid mine in a cabinet so that I wasn't tempted to mess with them) or put them in the oven (depending on the method stated on your pen).  Use!

Tips: 

I chose to do monograms on many of mine because I like the simplicity.  Make two matching ones with nice monograms for your favorite couple!

I got the inspiration for my floral, scrolled monogram here.  I love the feminine details. But, if you want to make the mugs for a couple (not sure the man will appreciate the flowers), you can find more pretty typography here, here, here and here.   (All from Graphics Fairy).

You can also use cute or inspirational quotes or sayings.  I chose "Make tea, not war" but there are plenty to choose from.

For a real gift, fill the mugs with your favorite fancy tea bags, cocoa mix, coffee or chocolate covered spoons (you can find some ideas here).

A sloth mug for Peter.  He just LOVES is weirdly obsessed with sloths.  

Super simple housewarming gift (aka thank goodness for good friends, tea and cheesecake)

I made this super simple (shh! don't tell) housewarming gift for my friend Nicole yesterday.  Since it's her first real place on her own, I wanted to do something personal and went with a monogram.  I picked out a frame I liked and then bought a few pieces of heavy colored paper to print the monogram on.  

I loved this woodsy stick monogram from Martha Stewart and chose to use it.  You can find each letter of the alphabet here.  The only problem is that the letters are intended for ironing on and are therefore backwards.  I had to flip it in an editing program before I printed it.  Since it was a PDF, I couldn't flip the image as it was.  First I took a screenshot of it (see picture below) and then I mirrored the screenshot.  

As you can see from the image below, I chose the flip horizontal option to make the N look right.  If you don't use a Mac, you can use a similar function. 

This is how the letter looked in the end.  I simply printed it on the pretty colored paper and cut it to fit inside the frame.  And simple as that I had a lovely monogramed piece of wall art for a lovely new home.  

I added to the picture a pretty candle holder and a little fruit tea and I had a great little gift.  Best of all?  I got to see my friends place for the first time.  I got to drink tea with her and dish.  It was wonderful and very much needed and I can't wait to do it again.

Typography: instant art (and happy Monday)!

Image from The Graphics Fairy LLC

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a nice weekend...do anything fun?  Peter and I had a fantastic date night, complete with all of the fun things we could find at our local grocery store: fancy pasta, a bottle of yummy wine, fresh bread and panna cotta.  It was a lot of fun and felt really special.  We also had brunch with a friend and two autumny soups (here and here), although summer seems to have come back today.

Today I am bringing you an idea for some cute instant art.   I love typography and think it looks great as "art" because it is so graphic and unfussy.  For Peter it works well because it isn't too girly.  Plus, it is as easy as printing it on a piece of card stock.

There are many places to look for cute typography on the internet, but my favorite is a website I love called Graphics Fairy (I am sure you remember me mentioning on here before).  I found this awesome piece of typography there and simply printed it out on a heavy white sheet of paper and put it in a frame.  I chose white to pop against the vanilla background, but you could choose any color you wanted.  This one in particular seems like the perfect combination of simple and special.  I decided to hang it over my couch.

I think it looks really fun there.  What do you think?

Here's how to get the look yourself:

1. Go to the link above or click here.  Save the image file on your computer.

2. Print the file in the size you want on heavy paper or card stock.

3. Buy (or salvage or thrift, like I did) a frame.  Put the image in a frame.  Hang.  Enjoy your super simple art.

Guest post: Earring holder DIY

My friend Nicole is really crafty.  She has tons of talents, including crocheting, embroidering and sewing (can you say Martha Stewart?) but from time to time, she tackles less difficult projects, as well.  Here, she shares with you her most recent adventure in crafting: a picture frame turned earring holder.  No need to fear, this one is as easy as 1, 2, 3 so that even the DIY Dummies among us can do it. 

***

I have a friend who is slowly getting into crafting. While perusing a craft store one day she “casually” mentioned that she was looking for something that would hold her ear studs. Not just any earrings—ear studs. Since her birthday is coming up soon I doubt there was anything really casual about the remark, but the gauntlet was thrown.

She knows me too well.

I perused the internet. There are lots of how-to videos posted mostly by teenagers with a little too much interest in zebra prints and bows for my taste. In all fairness, however, the basic idea remains the same.

Here's what you need:

1.              A frame. Not one of those 'invisible' ones, but the kind with an actual frame that you   

          could adhere something to.

2.              Enough fabric to cover the frame. I chose burlap. It's got a lot of holes in it that are 

          ideal for poking studs and normal earrings through. I also learned that burlap is a biotch to 

          work with. It frays easily and gets everywhere. An interesting alternative is a cheap 

          machine-made doily you can spray paint, but really any porous fabric will do.

3.              A staple gun/a regular stapler/hot glue gun/super glue combo. I used a normal stapler 

          and a hot glue gun (just because I wanted a reason to buy a hot glue gun, really).

4.              Scissors.

5.              Paint or beads if you want to decorate further.

Step 1: Get your stuff gathered. 

Step 2: Remove the backing and glass. Don't throw away the backing. It comes in handy later. You're free to do as you will with the glass.

Step 3: Measure out a piece of your fabric. Eyeball it. It just needs to cover the opening plus enough to fix in place. Cut.

Step 4: Choose some place on the back of your frame and staple it in place. Pull tight and do the same to the opposite end. Repeat on either side. A note about stapling: I used a normal stapler because that's all I had on hand. The problem is that you really need to be careful; it's slippery and the staple doesn't always go in the right way. A staple gun would do the trick the first time.

Step 5: Prep your glue. You could of course staple all the way around, but my burlap frayed and I wanted every bit of it to be stuck to the frame. You want it to be durable. It's better to hot glue all around the edges and smooth the loose fabric over it with a card.

Step 6: Get your backing. Decide how you want to frame to sit (lengthwise or on its side). Once you've worked that out, prop your backing and frame together so that it forms a V. You want to be able to reach around and pull off the earring backing when you need to. After you've determined everything, hot glue/super glue the backing's edge. Press it to the frame to form the V. Hold for a minute or two.

Step 7: Back away and admire your handiwork.

Optional Step 8: Go to town decorating your useable masterpiece. 

A gilded menagerie

My favorite?  A teeny, tiny gold animal perched on top of some books.  (Image from Glitter Guide via Living Gazette)

I don't know that there has ever been a time when "interior design" has been so focused on detail.  I say interior design in quotes, because I am not really sure that this term is even accurate anymore.  It brings to mind images of immaculate houses with Martha Stewart-made beds and framed art hung on the walls but these days it seems that emphasis is on having a home which is organically assembled and then imperfectly styled rather than on being "designed."  (Check it out here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

What we are seeing is more and more use of detail (and dare I say clutter) to give spaces a more personalized, lived-in look.  Particularly common are things like necklaces and other jewelry hung over dressers or on the wall, used as decoration; pretty bottles of lotions and potions left out in the bathroom; pictures leaned up against the wall or on the floor instead of being hung; photographs strung across the wall like bunting or haphazardly taped up with washi tape and blankets and pillows thrown on the couch like they have just been used.

How whimsical and unexpected are these?  GOLD DINOS!!!! (Image from Glitter Guide via Living Gazette)

I love these looks, as hard as they are for me to achieve with my organization and cleaning OCD. I try to make things look "unintentional" but it bothers me when things aren't in their perfect place. Our place is simply either messy (Peter seems to think this look can be achieved by throwing his pants and socks on the floor when he gets home from work) or it is so tidy and organized people are afraid to sit down on the couch for fear of messing up the pillows.

In an effort to metaphorically kick off my shoes (and resist the urge to put them directly into my closet), today I  am bringing you...painted gold animals. This suuuuuuuper simple DIY/tchotchke-maker is the perfect way to add a little detail (and a little clutter) to your space.  It's sooooo easy.  I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs Decor8 and I just had to share it.

A larger gold pig.  You could use a kid's piggy bank.  (Image from Glitter Guide via Living Gazette)

Here's how:

STEP 1:  Buy little plastic animals at a toy store/Target/the dollar store.  You could also use anything you had on hand or anything that you like. 

STEP 2: Buy gold spray paint.  Or borrow some from my mom.  Seriously.  I've never met someone who spray paints more things gold.  I am sure she has some to spare.  

STEP 3:  Spray the animals.  

STEP 4: Let them dry.  (Wait, is this really it's own step? Yes, it is.  Now go for a run or cook yourself some dinner.)

STEP 5:  Put them around your home, any place you want guests to get a little surprise, like in the bathroom. 

Summer of the jam jar

What can you do with these?  The possibilities are endless...endless, I tell you!

Perhaps you've noticed that they have been all over Pinterest this summer.  Perhaps you have bought a few yourself and topped them off with stripey paper straws.  Perhaps you have hung a few in your garden and put tea lights in them (lord I wish I had a garden).  Chances are that you have them sitting around and chances are (especially if you are reading this blog) you have come up with some creative use for them.

I am talking about jam jars or mason jars are whatever you prefer to call them--the favorite go-to of the blog world, the DIY world and of the Pinterest community.  And I, my friends, am not immune to the peer pressure.

I freaking love this jam jar craze.  Because, seriously, what is not to love about an inexpensive, reusable , multipurpose vessel that also has a ton of super cozy, rustic and whimsical style? I am telling you, the jam jar is pretty much the boot cut jeans of the food/indoor styling world.

Don't believe me?  I have assembled a huge list of uses, ranging from the seriously practical (kid you not, you can take your lunch to work in one of these bad boys) to the fabulously stylish (faux mercury glass jam jars anyone?).  And a set of four cost me 2 EURO and 50 cents at the supermarket...

Prepare to be amazed!

1) The salad in a jar

I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to copy it (using one of my own delicious salad recipes of course).  The original post is from here and is for vegan salads in a jar.  And, while I would really like to try a vegan version at some point, I just had to add a little feta to my salad to complete it.  This is seriously SO convenient and perfect for a summer picnic.  (Recipe to follow in a few days.)

Dipped

My personal favorite, an ADORABLE dipped Ikea hack from The Sweet Beast.

Color dipping seems to be the hottest thing for spring.  It's perfect for bringing a little color into your home and it's super easy.  All it requires is the ability to tape in straight lines and paint or, in some cases, literally just dip things into paint.  I am dying to give it a try.

Take a look at a few of these dipping inspirations:

Dipped cooking utensils.  Would make a fun springy hostess gift.  (Image from Pinterest)

Neon dipped vase.  Image from Strange is Pretty.

A cool color-dipped basket, which you could definitely do alone.  Image from Annixen.

And Martha Stewart dip-dying how to, just in case you aren't the best DIYer.

Fun color-dipped bowls.  Image from Black.White.Yellow.

Just please, please, please don't  dip your dog...

Image from YaSaGuRe.

Fun wall art DIY

Image from Young House Love. 

Hey guys!  Hope you had a lovely weekend.  Here is really fun/easy wall art DIY from Young House Love.  I love this and hope to make one soon.  You could do the same with a letter or an ampersand.  Plus, like he says in the post, it costs only $2 (if you already have the paint and tape).  Not bad. Inspiration for next weekend, I think.

What letter/number/symbol would you use?  Peter and I met on the 9th of June...perhaps a 9?

The Rast Hack

That chest of drawers is a Rast hack!  From Aubrey and Lindsay's Little House Blog.  

Have you ever heard of this?  A huge sensation on DIY blogs, the Rast Hack takes the Rast, Ikea's most inexpensive, unfinished dresser, and turns it into something fabulous and one-of-a-kind.  The dresser is ridiculous; it costs a mere 19 Euro, 34.99 USD or 15.99 British Pounds.  But, after a Rast Hack, the dresser often looks like an expensive designer piece.

I am dying to try it out in my house!  As soon as we get into spring and I can paint with the windows open, I am planning on refinishing a bunch of our furniture anyway.  I can't wait to try my hand at jazzing up a Rast.  I have so many places I could put it and so many things that I could do with it.

Which of the following Rast Hacks is your favorite? (Click the links in the photo credits to see how they did it!)  Have you attempted one?  Are you tempted to?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

The original Rast dresser from Ikea. 

A Modern Rast Hack by Kate Miss of For Me, For You.

An adorable 50's inspired Rast Hack by Nancy Marcus of Marcus Design.

A very girly Rast Hack by Sita Montgomery of The Family Room.

And a more masculine look from Ikea Hackers.

An industrial look, also from Ikea Hackers. 

A traditional Hack from Erin of A Charming Nest.

Finally, a whimsical Rast Hack from Laura of Rambling Along (via Hodge:Podge).  Unfortunately, there's no how-to with this one.  But, maybe you could figure it out?