DIY Paper Lantern Embellishments

Posted February 2, 2010 by erin under DIY

At CHA last week Deb and I saw some amazing things!  I have tons of pictures of cute booths, exhibits, and projects.  This project was at the Hambly Screen Prints booth:

Want to know how to make it?  Buy a paper lantern from any local store.  You can probably find these at a party store, IKEA, or a World Market type store.  Purchase your favorite clear overlay sheets (they are hand screened transparencies) and cut to fit each side of the light.  Adhere the top with a clear adhesive and you’re good to go!  How easy is that?  I think it would be fun and easy to change out for different seasons as well.  Imagine a spiderweb overlay for Halloween, or a different pattern for the holidays.

*If you don’t have room for a full sized hanging lantern, try this desktop one from World Market:

Tags: DIY, lamp, lantern, Tutorial

Tutorial: Modern Accent Pillow

Posted September 2, 2009 by erin under Tutorial

I’ve been envisioning this project for a while and finally had a chance to make it!  I wanted another accent pillow and wanted to use a reverse applique technique with a little hand stitching detail.  Here’s how it turned out!

You can make one too if you want.  It was super easy to do!

What you’ll need:

1/2 yard solid fabric for front cut into an 18″ square (Or I used a dinner napkin)

1/2 yard fabric for back cut into an 18″ square

1/4 yard patterned fabric for reverse applique

1 skein coordinating embroidery floss

needle, scissors, freezer paper

1. Cut out circle from freezer paper in the size you’d like your applique to be.  These are 4 1/2″ in diameter.  Iron onto your fabric where you’d like the cutouts to be.  (I’d also keep your pattern about 2 1/2″ from either side as the sides of the pillow will shrink a little bit when it’s stuffed and we don’t want your applique on the side.)
2. Trim around your freezer paper pattern to cut out the circles from the main piece.  Pin your fabric underneath and line up how you’d like it to show.  Hand stitch a running stitch around the applique circles to hold the fabric in place.
3. Place your finished pillow front, and back of pillow together with the right sides facing each other.  Stitch around the edge using 1/4″ seams and don’t forget to leave a 4″ opening along the bottom to turn and stuff.
4. Stuff with my favorite stuffing: Cluster Stuff from Wal-Mart.  One bag of this will stuff 3-4 pillows!  (Don’t forget to clip the edges before your turn right side out to stuff.)  After you’ve got it all stuffed, hand stitch the bottom closed and place in your favorite spot.

(For this Pillow I used fabric from the City Blooms Collection from Benartex)

Tags: accent, DIY, pillow, Tutorial

Make Your Own Canvas Rug

Posted May 28, 2009 by erin under DIY

This is a project that I’ve had on my to-do list for a while!  Try making your own canvas rug!  I think my next place with all hardwood floors will be the perfect place to try it out.

See the full set of supplies and instructions from Martha Stewart.

Tags: DIY, DIY design, How to, paint, Painted, painting, rug, Tutorial

Spray Painting a Wooden Chair

Posted May 14, 2009 by deb under DIY

I’ve been very busy around the house with spray paint.  Everything that is wood, or metal, or ceramic has taken a hiding place in the corner for fear of getting a new color.  We just announced our 2nd design challenge and this is where some of the inspiration came from.

This project was very simple.  I sanded the entire chair down with a 100 grit sandpaper and then used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Wood spray paint {in cherry red}.  Make sure to do this outdoors on a good day with no wind, away from the house {the smallest wind can pick up the spray paint and start decorating for you- not good}.  This paint dries in about 10 minutes so I applied a couple coats back to back.  After I let it sit overnight, I sanded it down with 320 grit sandpaper, and applied a Lacquer gloss spray paint to the chair.  I also did a couple coats of this.

Don’t you think it adds a nice color pop to the room?

Go here for more details and to enter the design challenge for a chance to win a toddler bed.  For this challenge, you can change the color of anything in your house, using whatever you want.  Paint a wall, change out your pillows, hang a new picture, or frames so it adds a different feel to your room.  If you have any questions, be sure to let us know.

Tags: chair, child, children, DIY, kid, paint, red, spray, Tutorial, wooden

How to Make it Yourself

Posted April 15, 2009 by deb under Design Elements, Pretty Stuff

Have you been over to visit Craftynest? This site offers so many wonderful ideas and DIY design for your home.  I noticed these hemp pendant fixtures with a how to tutorial by Heika Dehart.  Are they wonderful?  I wish I had an excuse to make some of these right now.

{all images via Craftynest}

The site also showcases a recently refurbished trolley cart using wallpaper and sprucing up some ordinary ikea tables.  An inspiring site that makes me want to go out and find something old and make it new to fit my home.

Tags: DIY, furniture, How to, ikea, pendant, Tutorial