DIY Artwork

This DIY project was really quick and easy once I created the stencils.  Even the stencils were fairly easy to create since they are all symmetrical.  These were cheap artwork pieces that were really outdated so I did not hesitate to paint over them to create a new artwork project.

DIY Roman Shade from Cheap Blinds

I was browsing pinterest and found this DIY Roman Shade project which is made from cheap blinds so I decided to try it myself.  The actual project did not take much time, but I find cutting and hemming fabric evenly to be extremely difficult.  I included a few tips that helped me with this issue.

I found a detailed tutorial from the little house big plans blog but I will also include my directions.  I started by cutting the ladder cord off the blind.  This particular blind had three ladder cords and then two pull cords.  Make sure that you don't cut the pull cord (there should be two pull cords).  After cutting the ladder cords, remove them completely from the blind.  Then you can take the caps off the bottom of the blind and untie the knot.  Once this is done you can slide the bottom panel off, along with unwanted slats.  

I began by cutting the fabric to the size of the blind and add a 1" for the hem to all sides.  I used a few of the slates to help make sure that I measured and cut correctly.  Once I cut the fabric, I taped the portion of the fabric that would be the front of the blind.  This made it easy to fold the outer edges to iron and glue the hem.  I simply added the fabric glue and ironed over it again to make sure that it held.  

The next step is to measure out the slats for the blind that will later be attached to the fabric.  I measure my slates 20" (including the top panel), then 9 ", 12", then the bottom panel which I measured by folding the fabric beside the blinds.  I used a black sharpie to mark the bottom of the string and then glued the fabric to the slats.  Make sure that you do not use glue near the pull cord or it will not work properly.  I double checked each slat before gluing to make sure that they were even on both sides.  Attach the bottom panel by tying the knot and putting the caps back on.  Then I glued the fabric to the side of the bottom panel.  Below is a picture of the back of the blind which shows the spacing of the slats.  Please feel free to comment or ask questions about this project!

DIY Studded Box

This was an easy, but time consuming diy project.  I was inspired by the Jonathan Adler charade square studded box (Pictured Below) which is gorgeous but expensive!  I used white high gloss spray paint and added a clear gloss over the top.  The box and studs were purchased from hobby lobby and cost less than $10.

Wooden Globes

I really needed a few more objects to decorate my plumbing pipe shelving unit and I thought that these would look great on them.  I found this tutorial on the Objective:Home blog and I love it because it was easy and cheap!  The only supplies needed is embroidery hoops and a few thumbtacks and stain.

Redecorating Shelving Unit Including DIY Projects

I recently redecorated my DIY plumbing pipe shelving unit and decided to post a new picture.  I like it much better than before, but it still isn't exactly where I want it to be.  Styling this bookshelf has been more difficult than building it!  Below are some of the DIY projects and links to their original post.  A couple of them have not been posted yet.  Please comment if you would like me to post any of my projects sooner!

  1. Plumbing Pipe Shelving Unit

  2. Wooden Globes

  3. Bowl to Basket Project

  4. DIY Canvas Picture (Simply used black and white on canvas)

  5. DIY Nail and String Art (Posting Soon)

  6. Fabric Box

More pictures posted below...

Boring Bowl to Decorative Basket

My next project was redoing a wooden bowl that I had sitting in a closet.  I love decorative baskets so I decided to use this rope that I purchased from Restore, which is associated with Habitat for Humanity. This was fairly quick and easy. I am still debating if I should add paint or not.

DIY Canvas Art Using Lines

My next post is another DIY canvas art project that is very easy.  I started this project using oil pastels choosing the main colors that I wanted in the picture (blue-gray, green, and yellow) and added a few lines of purple and navy in the mix to break up the main colors.  The oil pastels turned out way too light so I went over the oil pastels with paint.  It would definitely work just using paint instead of oil pastels.  Just start creating the lines and that's it!

IKEA Rast Makeover

Here is my DIY makeover of an IKEA Rast dresser which I purchased for under $40.00.  I found this idea on this blog forme-foryou and it was really easy since all of IKEA's furniture is flat-packed and needs assembled.  It made the process of painting and staining very easy, which is much appreciated.

Paper Mache Rhino Head

My latest project was this papier mache rhino head.  I had to put quite a bit of time into this project but considering they usually cost over $100 and this cost me about $5.00 I can deal with it.  Plus, it also gave me an opportunity to use some recycled materials which I always appreciate!

Upholstered Bed w Nailhead Trim

My upholstered bed is finally complete (minus the comforter and pillows) and I am pretty pleased with the results.  It was a relatively easy project except for my insistence of completing an upholstered bed utilizing my old bed parts and making it detachable.  If someone wanted to alter this project to only create an upholstered nailhead trim headboard it would be an easy DIY project.

Update Boring Fabric Boxes with Fabric Marker

This was such an easy and inexpensive project and I really love how it looks on my industrial pipe shelving unit.  I used two gray fabric pens that I purchased from hobby lobby for about $1.50 each. I copied an ikat pattern with one simple stencil that I created and was done in less than 30 minutes. Stripes or another simple pattern would also look great!

Easy Canvas Painting by Adding Water

This project is a canvas painting that I created by painting a layer of color and then simply adding layers of color and then water.  I used a damp dish sponge to help hide the brush strokes.  After the paint dried, I added a layer of varnish to achieve a glossy look.

DIY Task Lamp Sconces- No Additional Electrical Wiring Necessary

I really wanted to add two wall sconces in my bedroom but did not want to deal with adding electrical wires in the wall.  I would love to do that one day but for right now I just needed to figure out a way to solve this issue with a simple DIY.  The most expensive part of this project was the two Edison light bulbs which were around $8 each at 1000bulbs.com.  I created the wooden bracket from a 2x2 piece of wood which is explained in more detail below.