Category Archives: DIY

DIY

Felt Tic Tac Toe

February 2, 2015

We always need less TV in this house.  Games are a great alternative, and nothing’s simpler then good old tic tac toe.  I made a little felt game board and pieces this week for my kids.  Olivia is not quite old enough to really get the concept, but it’s good for the big kids to patiently play with her and teach her the rules.  
All you need is a little felt, some scissors and you can either sew the game board pieces together, or just glue them with felt glue.  I cut two squares of felt. The bottom white piece is 16×16″ and the top black piece is 14×14″.  And I also cut 5 each of the Xs and Os out of the white felt (I’ve got a printable template for the those HERE).  
To make the grid on the board, I sewed back and forth with my machine in pink thread.  You don’t even have to sew in a straight line.  I like the imperfection of the overlapping stitches.  And if you don’t want to sew at all, glue is always an option, but you’ll need to glue some strips of felt for a grid as well.

I also stitched on a piece of ribbon to one side of the board, so that the board could be rolled up for storage.  Because all the pieces are felt, they stick together well.  Just place all the X’s and O’s on the board before you roll it up and they will stay put.

Wouldn’t this make a great non-candy Valentine’s gift for some kiddos in your life?

I hope your Monday is off to a great start.  We had a fun weekend together as a family.  Saturday, we spent the day in Ojai.  It was fantastic, I’ll share more about our day here soon.  And on Sunday, we went to church and then we just chilled at home, ate snacks and watched the game (actually I really only watched the half time show).

DIY

Painted Cross Stitch Heart Dish Towel

January 29, 2015

If you saw my napkins, then you know that I’m continuing with my cross stitch heart theme, but this time there is no sewing necessary.  Using the check or large gingham as my grid, I painted on my X’s.  I decided to use the ombre effect again to make it a little more interesting.  You always need dish towels (or tea towels as I call them), and if they are cute, even better.

I used Martha Stewart’s craft paints in Pink Flamingo, Wedding Cake and Pink Carnation. The darkest color is the Pink Flamingo, the middle tone is Pink Carnation mixed with a little Pink Flamingo and the lightest color is Wedding Cake mixed with a little Pink Carnation.  Using a this detail paint brush, I started in the middle of the towel and painted the bottom X first.  My lines are far from perfect, but if you’ve ever painted on fabric, you know how tough this can be.  But, I really don’t mind the imperfections, it’s what makes this look handmade.  Some things you just don’t want to look like a machine created it. I think the charm is in the uneven brush strokes.

I actually bought 2/3 of a yard of fabric and hemmed the fabric to make two towels, but you can also find cute pre-made gingham and check towels online, like these ones.

If you are in the LA area and would love to get your craft on with me, I’m hosting a Craft Workshop on Feb. 8th at the West Elm Los Angeles.  Get your ticket soon, there is limited space.  I’m making yummy treats for us to snack on and I’ve got some great goody/sway bags for all the guests.  I’d love to see you there.

DIY

Craft Workshop at West Elm

January 26, 2015

I’m excited to be hosting a fun craft workshop February 8th at the Los Angeles West Elm.  Join me for a morning of crafting.  We will be making cute Valentine’s Day Felt Pendants in O+P’s unique retro meets modern style. All the supplies will be provided, along with fancy drinks and yummy treats.  Each guest will take home their own pendant and a goody bag filled with unique finds. 
Tickets are limited, so please sign up right away.  If you are in the LA area, I hope you can make it. Click here to get your ticket.

DIY

XOXO Wall Heart

January 20, 2015

I love a big heart on my wall (like this one and this one), so I had to come up with a new one for Vday 2015. This XOXO Heart is pretty fun. Playing with the modern shape of the very popular Swiss Cross, this heart is fun and graphic. And I love the combination of gold, white and grey.

I used my Cricut Explore machine to cut out these X and Os in no time at all.  Then using a little blue painters tape to keep the shapes in rows and evenly spaced, I stuck them to the wall. It’s a big statement, but so easy to remove when you want a change.  Vinyl is really a fun material to work with.

Well, I’m finally packed and off for SLC to attend Alt Summit. I’m excited to learn more and connect with other creative folks.

DIY

Cross Stitch Heart Napkins

January 16, 2015

Ok, I’m ready to host a Valentine’s Day dinner party. The table is set and I have some really cute napkins for my guests.

I am loving blush and paired with black and white, it’s looking pretty sharp.  Last year I used this simple cross stitch heart a couple times (on my wall, in a frame and on a piece of wood).  So, this year I thought I’d play with this cross stitch pattern a little more.

Black and white plaid or gingham is perfect for cross stitch, with squares already marked out, all you need is a needle and some embroidery thread.

Here’s what you’ll need:
embroidery floss in 3 shades of pink or blush
a needle
a small embroidery hoop
plaid or gingham hemmed into square napkins (mine are 18″ square)
I started by cutting 20″ squares of cotton gingham plaid fabric and then simply turned under the sides twice and hemmed them to make 18″ napkins.  
Attach the embroidery hoop to the corner of napkin.  Count out your squares so that the heart will be equal distance from the side and bottom of the napkin.  I stitched two rows of each shade of pink to create an ombre.  
I love these napkins with my vintage frosted pastel pink plates.  I have a set of 8 that I got for $15, there are two of each color – pink, blue, lavender, and mint.  And the little depression class candy dish that is serves as the vase for the succulent was Lonnie’s Grandma’s. 

DIY

Gem Boxes

January 13, 2015

You guys, that Target dollar spot gets me every time.  Last week I came across these cute faceted boxes for just $3 each. I decided they needed a little customizing and they’d be perfect for Valentine gifts for special folks in my life. 

Keeping with the gem like shape of the containers, I added “You’re a Gem” and “Shine Bright” in gold vinyl letters to the lids of these cute boxes.

There’s a lot of fun things you could do with these boxes. I cut my letters with my Cricut Explore machine, but it would be easy and cute to add a message just using metallic sharpies as well. And maybe you don’t want a message, but a pattern would be really cute as well.  I’m thinking a bunch of stars or hearts could be really fun. 
Have you come across any great Target dollar section or just dollar store finds lately.

DIY / etc.

A New Year and A New Closet

January 5, 2015

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Newell Rubbermaid, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #HomeFreeLowes http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
Now that’s how you start the new year, A SUPER ORGANIZED closet!!!  Living in a small 1920’s bungalow, maximizing your storage spaces is a MUST. The tiny closet in Dylan’s room is home to a whole bunch of Lego, Dylan’s clothes and my sewing machine and sewing stuff.  I was so tired of temporary plastic storage drawers and having to dig my sewing machine out of a corner on the floor of the closet.  I’ve had those custom closet companies come out and give me an estimate on how much it would be to add shelving to this closet.  The last quote I got was over $900 – ouch.  But, can you believe that I (all by myself, me!) installed this amazing Rubbermaid HomeFree Closet System in just a few hours and for about $200?  
I fit everything back in this closet and more.  And now we can actually get to all the stuff. This closet might just be my new favorite room in the house. 

This is so embarrassing. I can’t believe I’m showing you my mess. But, this is an really what my son’s closet looked like just a couple days ago. Yikes!  Our house has small closets with regular doors on them, so a lot of the usable space is tucked into the two sides of the closet. The original shelves and hanging rails were just not providing enough storage. I had purchased many plastic drawer thingys trying to help the issue, but you just couldn’t easily access everything in that tiny closet.

Before I could install the Rubbermaid HomeFree Closet System, I needed to remove the existing shelves and patch a few holes. I bought a little jar of spackle thinking I would just need to cover a few screw and nail holes. Nope, I had to go back to Lowes for 3/8″ dry wall, mud and tape. After a day of patching, mudding sanding, repeating, and then finally painting the closet at 11pm, I was finally ready to install the new Rubbermaid HomeFree series.

Now, if you know anything about the lath and plaster walls that come with an almost 100 year old house, then you know that they are a huge pain in the rear. These houses don’t have the usual studs that are found in newer homes, so attaching the rail system to old house’s walls can be a bit tricky. You are going to need different anchors then the ones provided with the kit.  Other then that, everything you need is in the kit.

This HomeFree system is so easy to install, once you attach the top rail to the wall, you simply hang the vertical rails from the top rail and then secure them to the wall.

There is NO cutting of any of the rails, shelves, or rods. You can fit this closet system in any odd shaped closet, like mine, with ease. All the pieces overlap to give you a perfect, 100% customizable fit.

Once the rails are in place, you simply clip in all the brackets and shelves.  I added some extra pieces to the 6 Foot Adjustable Mount Wire Shelving Kit, like these White Wood 3 Shelf Units, Upright Extensions, and a couple extra shelves. I wanted to use every inch of this tiny closet.

The shelves all lock into place with a simple flip of a button. 

 And now to fill the closet!

Everything has a home and a specific place.  I even added hooks for hats and school backpacks to get things up off the floor.

I shopped at Lowes for everyday low pricing on Rubbermaid and home solutions including the HomeFree Closet System. For more information about these products be sure to check them out on Facebook. 
Do you have a problem area in your home that needs tackling? Maybe a closet or laundry room that needs to organizational help. If this closet system can work in our tiny, old closets, I guarantee they’ll work in yours.  

DIY / etc.

Decorate a Christmas Tree for Just $10

December 20, 2014

Yep! I decorated this whole tree for just $10! I made 3 different ornaments and even a topper for just a few bucks and I think this tree looks pretty great.  You don’t have to go into debt just to have a nicely decorated tree in your home.  
I kept with my Swedish inspired Christmas and made more salt dough dala horses and painted them metallic gold.  I whole batch of salt dough costs less then $2 to make.  I also made simple white paper stars.  Just cut out a classic star shape and then crease the star from the center of each point to create a 3Dish look.  And the final ornament was just a piece of cute gingham ribbon cut in a V at the bottom and hot glued down at the top for a string.  A hung all the ornaments from the same fun black and white baker’s twine.  The star topper is just a larger version of the star ornaments.  I used a 12×12″ piece of glittery gold scrapbook paper for this.  
Your Christmas tree should reflect your personality and taste, so customize your look by cutting salt dough ornaments in shapes that mean something to you and add a splash of color and pattern with any 2″ wide ribbon.
  
Here’s what I spent:
$2 – Salt Dough
$2.50 Spool of Ribbon
$1 – Glittery Gold Scrapbook Paper
$1 – 4 Sheets White Card Stock
$2 – Black and White Baker’s Twine
$1.50 – 1/2 yard of Fabric
Total = $10

This cute No. 2 Pencil Christmas Tree from Treetopia is the perfect tree for a small space. I’m telling you guys, for a fake tree, this one is really good. The branches are full and life like with lots of texture and color variation.  This is an unlit version.  I decided I liked the look of no lights on this tree.  It allowed the ornaments to stand out and not be cluttered with bulbs.  Next year I may add a few strings of lights, but for now I’m happy with it the way it is.
And I tree isn’t fully decorated without a tree skirt, I made a baby one for this skinny tree out of a 1/2 yard of fabric I had.  I’m pretty “mad for plaid” lately.  I can’t get enough of buffalo check and ginghams. 

Thank you Treetopia for providing the tree.  And thank you to my readers for supporting the companies that make this blog possible. 

DIY

Dala Horse Salt Dough Ornaments

December 16, 2014

I just can’t get enough of Swedish Dala Horses.  I’ve shared before, but my Grandpa was Swedish and last year we had the privilege of getting to go to Sweden and meet some of our extended family. Christmas seems like a good excuse to bring out as many Dala Horses as possible. 
I love to find ways to make inexpensive decorations and ornaments.  Salt Dough is about as cheap as you can get.  Years ago, I made salt dough ornaments and even posted a DIY video. I decided to see if I could paint salt dough in rich colors and metallics.  I think the results look almost like ceramics, it’s hard to tell that this is just salt, flour and water.  
Now that Pantone has released 2015’s Color of the Year – Marsala, I’m ready to embrace it. Last year’s color was honestly not my favorite (Radiant Orchid), but this rich burgundy-ish color is right up my alley.  
Using my favorite spray paints, Design Master, I created a ombre-like, metallic version of Marsala with Burgundy and Rose Gold.
Here’s how to make these painted salt dough ornaments:
  1. First follow the Salt Dough recipe linked above to create the shapes you want for your ornaments. I used a Dala Horse cookie cutter that we picked up in Sweden. Follow the directions for drying them thoroughly before you paint them. If the edges are a little rough, you can take a little sand paper and smooth them out.  
  2. Start with the solid burgundy color. Paint the back of the ornament first.  You will need to paint 2-3 coats to get a nice dark color.  Design Master paints are perfect for layering and you need only 5 minutes for drying between coats.
  3. Apply the Metallic Rose Gold paint to just the bottom half of the Dala Horse.  This will give the effect of ombre or metallic dipped. Spray a light coat across the bottom of the ornament. Go back and layer one more coat of the rose gold on just the feet of the Dala Horse. 
  4. When the ornaments are completely dry, thread twine or string through the hole and decorate!
The possibilities are endless. You can cut and create any shape ornament for your tree, as long as you have a cookie cutter. It’s such an inexpensive way to make custom ornaments for you tree.
Be sure to check out the some of the other fun DIYs of created using Design Master Spray Paint – DIY Faux Copper Vase, DIY Ombre Give Thanks Banner, Metallic Dipped Taper Candles, and the Gold Dipped Yarn Hanging. 
I buy my Design Master paints and my local Michaels and Joann Fabrics. Design Master paints can paint the most delicate of surfaces, such as silk and fresh flowers, fabric, ribbon, tulle, lace, paper, foam board and Stryrofoam TO the sturdy hard surfaces such as wood, metal, masonry, terra cotta, ceramics and plaster. Design Master is a great resource for products and ideas.  Be sure to check out all the craft and project ideas on their blog.  

This post is sponsored by Design Master. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.