DIY {fancy friendship bracelets}

I'm sure all you of, myself included, have made enough friendship bracelets to last us a lifetime. However, can you really have enough colorful and fun friendship bracelets? I think not! After seeing this fun take on embellishing them, I decided to give it a try and love the newest edition to my arm party. Get crafty friends! 

DIY {painted cork coasters}

For as long as I can remember, my coaster collection comsisted of those cheap very thin ones from restaurants and cool bars I've been to. You know the kind that when you were a little kid, you made a coaster house out of them when bored at dinner with your parents. I've always been fond of them mostly for the reason that the majority of them have funny or clever sayings on them and bring back some sort of memory for me. Well friends, I've finally decided that it's time for an upgrade. You know I wouldn't just buy any old coasters, I had to put my own little spin on them. I picked up a pack of cork coasters and some paint and got to work. I knew I wanted to have a fun pattern and some ampersands and incorporate white and mint. I made my stencils from contact paper and let the paint sit for a minute and was really pleased with the results.

DIY {etched mr & mrs glasses}

When it comes to gift giving, it might just be one of my favorite things. I love finding themes to presents and honestly I love getting creative and making something special for my closest friends. This time around, a fun wedding present. I wanted something a little girly yet still fun for the guy involved. I mean who wouldn't want to drink out of a mustache glass, right? I've seen multiple mister and misses glasses popping up around the marketplace and I thought I would try my hand at a new method of crafting, glass etching. I used this cream and a simple stencil made from contact paper and these were my results. 

DIY {valentine's heart arrow pick}

In the spirit of good old cupid, I grabbed some cut out hearts, glitter and arrow picks to put this little project together just in time for Valentine's day. Honestly, what girl can't get enough of glitter and hearts? This was easiest to do with a few kiddos and add to a sweet treat made later in the day. Hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day!

Happy crafting friends!

DIY {valentine's yarn heart}

The upcoming Valentine's holiday has got me in a pretty crafty mood lately. I can't seem to stop thinking of fun ideas for things to make for the ever popular hearts and love holiday. As much as plain hearts can get boring after awhile they still get me every time. This idea came from a local store who always puts out the cutest window displays for each season. I drove by and saw yarn wrapped wood hearts and I put my own spin on it by making it out of a coat hanger. I simply bent the coat hanger to my desired shape, wrapped the coat hanger wire with yarn (which is the only way I figured the other yarn would stay in place because it kept slipping off the smooth surface of the metal hanger) Then I took my pink yarn and wrapped sporadically all over the heart. I figured the best place to hang it would be on our front door to welcome love for this month. 

I can't wait to make a few more of these smaller in size and with brighter colors! Happy crafting friends!

DIY {metallic makeup pouch}

Lately, I've been referred to as 'Mr. T' and/or 'Goldfinger' because of my recent obsession with all things gold. I don't know if it's the shiny factor or the idea that when wearing a lot of gold, you could be considered unstoppable, right? Nonetheless, I can't get enough. So naturally there was no way I was going to pass up these metallic makeup pouches at the craft store the other day. I gladly scooped up a few of each color (black, bronze and gold) and went home with endless ideas of patterns that I wanted to decorate them with. Here are a few that I painted up yesterday, despite my high from the insane paint fumes. 

 

DIY {chalkboard coffee mug}

One theme that seemed to be apparent this holiday season was coffee/tea gifts and I couldn't be happier. We finally got a coffee maker that didn't make a bigger mess than you did when pouring coffee and we added fun newcomers to our mug collection, this chalkboard mug being one of them. I've been a fan of this chalkboard trend that has started but haven't participated much in it yet and I'm not sure why. It was so much fun to decide what I wanted to draw on my new blank coffee mug. I contemplated a bit and once I decided on my design, I made a stencil. I opted not for a saying but for a simple herringbone heart. A combo of two things I have been into lately and I love it! 

For a step by step how to on chalkboard painted mugs, check out this tutorial. Super simple and super fun

DIY {brown sugar body scrub}

I've always been the friend who makes most gifts, 1. because I think they're more personal and special 2. I like crafting and figuring out new ideas and 3. most of the time they are less expensive and way cuter than anything you could buy at the store. Now don't get me wrong I'm no cheapskate, I simply love making homemade gifts. It's my M.O. if you will. This year, my theme was beauty and I made homemade body scrub. Super easy and very practical. I've already used mine twice. I combined a few recipes I found online by added spices and extracts and I've very happy with the results. I hope you get a chance to try it for yourself.

vanilla - cinnamon brown sugar scrub:

1/2 cup of brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
a few dashes of cinnamon ( whatever you like )
and a few drops of vanilla ( I'm sure essentials oils work best, but I only had extract on hand )

mix all ingredients together. if you find that you added too much oil, add more sugar. The first time I made scrub I added too much oil, so add sparingly.

I also decided to decorate the jars that I put my new scrub in with cute paper I had on hand. A little modge podge goes a long way.

Happy crafting friends!

DIY {holiday wreath}

Since last holiday season I've wanted to make a holiday wreath and this year I finally go to it. I had the hardest time trying to decide what I wanted to decorate my wreath with last season but this year I took my own spin on this guy and am really pleased with the result. 

I used mostly material I had on hand, burlap and glitter snowflakes and went to work. I cut the burlap into about 2" strips and wrapped the wreath all around pinning and the end. Then I positioned my glitter snowflakes, pinned those in place, hung my ribbon and viola! It really was that easy. 

DIY {glitter mason jar candle holder}

A few months back, I got my hands on tons of mason jars and haven't quite decided what I wanted to do with them until now. With my recent addiction to glitter, as you must know by now, I decided why not glitter the mason jars for stylish holiday table decor. YES! So grab your jars, double stick tape and glitter color of choice and get crafty friends!

Here is my winter wonderland version. Stay tuned for the tablescape photos. 

source

DIY {green notebook}

I know I have already confessed my compulsive list making and I have found yet another way to organize them and keep them in one place. I was looking for a cheap and easy solution and came across this great idea, cereal box notebooks. Yep I transformed a cereal box and a few sheets of paper into a kate spade inspired polka dot notebook. Take a peek...

I have already used them this week for a few new adventures and have gotten several compliments.
Happy crafting friends!!

DIY {mason jar decor & burlap table runner}

It might not be a surprise to you that anything you put in a mason jar just looks homespun and so inviting. With that being said, I jumped at the chance to have a little fun with some good old mason jars for atop my newly refinished dinning table. yay. {I can't wait to share that makeover story with you next week} In the meantime, here is how I adorned the top of it; twine wrapped mason jars filled with vanilla candles, a doily, a lovely pink cactus and a simply made burlap table runner, which I washed, ironed, and added a little flare with some peach embroidery thread along the edges at an angle. Honestly, planting the cactus probably took longer than making the table runner, it's that easy. 

DIY {colorful doily plant holder}

I'm sure you know that I am a sucker for succulents. Especially because I do not possess any strain of green thumb-ness at all. Plant growing skills aside, I came across this amazing tutorial yesterday for a colorful doily plant holder and can't wait to try it. I completely love the fact that string holding these lively plants is friendship bracelet string, tied exactly the same way me and my friends used to make them. So bring back the nostalgia friends and get crafty! 

This would make the most amazing house warming present, in case you are ever in need of one!

DIY {Braided Bead Necklace}

On one of my pining sprees last week, I found this great tutorial for a braided bead necklace and immediately went to gather my materials. I found a small bead store near my house and was able to get everything I needed, plus a few extra. About an hour and a half later, this is what I had accomplished.

This beaded braid is the perfect summer necklace. Sorry this picture doesn't give you the best idea of the color, but it is a bright coral color which is the perfect addition to the already bright summer colors of most people's wardrobe. Come to think of it, coral may be the color of my summer, I seem to be making and buying everything in that color. I smell a color crush roundup coming.

rope battle

Remember the awesome rope necklace DIY from last month... well I wanted to tackle it once more for a contrasting color and completely different look in my opinion. The white is more nautical and organic and the black is rustic and urban. Which one would you pick?

{DIY} feather hair clip

One of my favorite accessories that adds instant fun to any outfit, is a feather hair clip. I wear mine all the time and constantly get compliments so I thought I'd put together a little DIY tutorial on how to make them.

All you need is a bag of feathers, whatever your choice, felt ( I didn't have any so I used a small piece of bendable cardboard and black cotton fabric ) a goody hair clip, lots of hot glue and 30 minutes.

1. all the materials you need.

2. cut your material to desired size, I measured mine based on the size of the clip I was going to use. Also felt will make it easier so you don't have to cover the cardboard with black fabric like I did.

3. choose your feathers and play around with the options that you think will look the best.

4. I found my button collection and picked one to add a little flare at the end (and to cover the feather ends)

5. carefully glue the bottoms of the feathers onto your black fabric, make sure to start with the bottom layer first. add a button if you choose.

lastly, glue the clip on the opposite side, I figured out hot glue is not strong enough to withstand the clicking back and forth from the clip so super glue is the best. I usually let it dry for at least an hour so I know it's on there for good!

happy crafting friends.

DIY {woven chain bracelet}

I stumbled upon this great tutorial earlier in the week and fell in love. While I'm surrounded by children daily, I still frequently make friendship bracelets with yep, you guessed it, good old embroidery thread. And honestly, I found this idea really appreciable, more-so because it's basically an adult friendship bracelet, and I can't wait to make my own.

Now to just find a gold bracelet...

(photos via HWTF)

DIY {Sting Chandeliers}

Aren't these amazing?!

Remember the days of being a kid and loving getting all dirty from paper mache... well here is a project to rekindle those memories. It just takes some dedication to getting a little messy. Count me in! I am definitely going to try to incorporate them into my holiday decor this season.

(image via ruffled)

DIY {necklace holder}

As I mentioned before, I recently moved residences and am currently crafting up a ton of fun, and aesthetically pleasing projects for my new home. I am so excited to share my first project, a DIY framed jewelry holder. I got so tired of my boring wood hooks I used to have and wanted to make something new and easy. I've always loved incorporating frames with jewelry holders and this was my opportunity to do so. It was super fun and super simple. I started with some plain wood frames, painted them (my favorite fall color) mustard yellow, removed the glass, framed the fabric, added some hooks I painted black and viola! A lovely little piece to hang all my precious necklaces on.