My first foray into furniture

This stay at home mom thing is really giving me a chance to expand my crafting and creative horizons. This weeks adventure: upholstery.

I've had this red footstool for years and it has been through a lot: melted candle wax, muddy feet, more than one meal of spilled salsa or chili or something. It wax looking pretty thrashed and I've been wanting to recover it for ages.

So this week I pulled the base off, levered off the fastenings, measured, found new fabric at JoAnn's (Where there was a sale on home decor fabric! Woot!), washed, ironed, measured, folded, fastened the new fabric and reattached the legs. Success! I really like this furniture crafting. I may have to do more.

Crayon Art

We used an 18x24 canvas and a box of 96 crayons to create new art for the baby's room. Just hot glue then blow dry. Thank for helping Husband! Hope I didn't burn your fingers too badly.

Cheap & Classy

Those are not two words that I usually use together, however, this will come in super handy for a bridal shower that I have to throw someday.

Dollar store mirrors and candlesticks to make a beautiful cupcake stand!

DIY Chalkboard Cheese Tray

Was this craft invented just for me?!?! I think so.

Light Bulb Vases

I have a feeling this will make an appearance at some young women's activity that I'm in charge of someday.

DIY Ornaments

All of the simple instructions for the AWESOME DIY neon ornaments can be found here.

DIY Catch All Shelf

DIY Wall Art

Fun, easy, creative DIY wall art.

Magic Braid

I've always wondered how they do this...

 Find out here.

Gold Spray Paint is a good idea

Last week I finally took the plunge down the rabbit hole of "Do It Yourself" home decor projects and decided to spray paint every suface in my bedroom gold. Well, not every surface, but at least the lamp and the end table.

And I loooove the result.

AND I only got scolded once by a grouchy neighbor who was driving by and decided to throw a little fit over the fact that I was spray painting. SPRAY PAINTING! 300 yards from the nearest building! On a drop cloth! With no wind blowing! What if I had gotten gold paint on something across the parking lot?! Spray paint travels on the wind you know.

How dare I.

Now, I may be excellent at spray painting, but my photography skills are still in need of some assistance. Nevertheless, what is a little DIY without the pictures to prove it?

If a craft project happens, but nobody blogs about it, did it really happen?

These are the philisophical questions that keep me up at night.

With no further gilding the lilly and with no more ado, I give you, the golden lamp:

And the golden table top:

I forgot to take "before" pictures. I can't believe they still let me blog.

DIY Calling Cards

How pretty are these little homemade calling cards?

The DIY tutorial is here.

Chevron Picnic Blanket

I was totally smitten when I saw this picnic blanket that Kathleen made from a painter's drop cloth for $7.

Isn't that color gorgeous? I'm really tempted to try it.

DIY Abstract Art

I have always felt more of a connection with abstract art than with literal representative art. I think it is more expressive, more interesting, more interactive. I've always wanted to try it, but I know that its much harder than it looks.

Thank goodness for this great DIY tutorial on creating your own abstract art. Maybe I'll have the courage now to give it a go. Goodness knows I have the time.

Print your own fabric

I'm not sure if my crafting skills are up to this quite yet, but can you imagine? What if you could do furoshiki in handmade fabric. Oooooooooo.

Box Braid Necklace

See these necklaces:

You can make one! It uses that box weave that we all used to do with the neon plastic lanyards back in middle school. Tutorial here.

I'm dying to try it. Who wants to do a craft night!?

Furoshiki

I need to start collecting vintage scarves (although it might also be cute with some cowboy-style bandanas) so I can try this Japanese-style wrapping technique. And then I need people to give pretty presents to. Any takers?

Check out the tutorial!

Make your own postcards

I love postcards. I love sending them, I love getting them, I love buying them and then just keeping them on my cork board to remind me of the places I've been. Postcards are the best.

And now you can make your own!

Behold.... This online shop sells a backing for your photos that is postal service approved and will make them sturdy enough to send in the mail as a postcard. It comes in 4x6 and 5x7, and its affordable! Even for cute young broke and married people like me! You can get 50 for less that $15!

Leather Belt Rug

I am trying to embrace my impending future of being married and broke. So I'm looking for totally amazing things to do... Like crafty cool decorating things... Using old things that I can make new.

This is by far the neatest one I've seen yet...

Leather Belt Rug.

Yes, that is a rug made of old leather belts. No one seems to be able to explain HOW to make this rug, and yes, you'd have to collect a whole bug bunch of old leather belts to do it.. But isn't that what Deseret Industries and the Salvation Army are for?