Fabric Art

I recently got my hands on some cute liberty fabric samples and tried to come up with a fun way to use them. I thought framing the fabric would be nice! I first wanted to make something that appeared well-coordinated but at the same time exciting. Just framing the samples without modifying them created a crazy and busy piece. So I tried using my imagination (in the form of scissors) in the hopes of adding life to one piece of fabric using a unique piece of a pattern from another piece of fabric. This is what I came up with:

I tried to create a beautiful plant rising out of a field of flowers during sunset. My imagination really ran wild for this piece ;)

I continued cutting holes and cutting out patterns to come up with these two:

They look great on display too!

This is an easy project that can be done with any patterned fabric, not just liberty.

Liberty also feels amazing (and is super costly), so if I were to buy liberty fabric, I would go all out and make myself a nice shirt or something (I don't have a sewing machine, but oh if that day comes!). 

Anyway, happy crafting friends! Have you made any fun projects with leftover fabric? 

DIY Sharpie Mugs

I found the infamous DIY sharpie mugs on Pinterest a few months back and thought it would make for a perfect birthday present for my artistic friend. Along with creating a totally awesome crafty yarn robot for part of his birthday card, I gave him plain dollar store dishes and a whole lot of sharpies so the two of us could put our creativeness to good use!

This is what we came up with:


His mug is on the left, mine is on the right.

Now the tricky part: finding a way to keep the design on the mug! Apparently, just baking the mug at 350 degrees for 25 minutes is not the safest way to protect our fabulous masterpieces (evidence here and here). These sources suggested to instead use pebeo markers or oil-based sharpie paint pens. However!! One of the commenters recommended using clear nail polish to seal the deal. She claims this method has helped maintain her mug for at least 6 months despite every day washing. I am very curious to try this out, especially since I have plenty of top coat and bottom coat polish stashed away in my bathroom cabinet.

I want to try out the nail polish idea as soon as possible. Once I do this I will update this post!

Toodles friends!

Crafty Yarn Robot

I briefly mentioned my crafty birthday card that I made for my friend in this post. I put a bunch of random things in his card including this adorable picture:
This was a successful project due to having a nice selection of yarn in my stash. I only spent a couple of hours making this robot and I reallllly like the way yarnbot came out. It looks like the front is legitimately illuminated by yarnbot's belly furnace and that yarnbot is actually looking down at the mouse. I am pretty dang proud of myself.

I was inspired by his drawing:

Mental note: make more yarn pictures. this activity is too fun haha.

DIY Bubble Bath

I wanted to have a relaxing Friday afternoon and thought of sinking into a nice hot bath with The Trial by Kafka.

I didn't have any store-bought bubble bath available, so I decided to make my own!


I used unscented dish soap from a natural food store and a couple of essential oils. I added a small squeeze of dish soap, 5 drops of lavender, and 2 drops of tea tree oil and soon I was relaxing my body in the most pleasant aroma of lavender. It was a wonderful experience!

Happy Friday everyone!

DIY Savvy Jewelry Hanger

I don't know about you, but I've seen the tens of many different ideas to hang your jewelry on Pinterest. These designs are visually appealing, but can be costly.

I propose a savvy way to hang your jewelry:

Exhibit A: Bulletin Board Jewelry Hanger

This jewelry hanger has been happily hanging my jewelry for the last year. The best part? It was free to make! Even more, I made this from items found around my desk.

Want your own? All you need:

• Paper Clips
• Thumb Tacks
• Alligator Clips
• Bulletin Board (repurposed OR new)
• Slip Joint Pliers
• Whatever means you wish to use the background

Use the pliers to unfold the paperclips:




Use thumb tacks to stick the paper clips to the board (make sure the paper clip rests on top of the tack's metal):

Use thumb tacks to support the alligator clips or have the tacks chill all by their lonesome to hang your fabulous jewelry:

That's it friends! Enjoy your new jewelry hanger!

DIY Patio Shelves

Last year I graduated college and have since lived in a small apartment with a really small patio. Now, I don't have all the money in the world, but I still think even the smallest of spaces needs a little TLC. So I wanted to turn my bland, tiny patio into a bountiful garden and decided cheap, durable DIY shelves were the way to go! I began researching how I could make my own shelves and stumbled upon the ever-purposeful PVC pipe. A few things I considered before I began my adventure: I had to make sure the shelves would give enough room for my plants to grow so I had to buy long enough pipes that I could later cut. I went to Home Depot and thus began my quest for my own patio shelves. 

I had the option to buy pre-cut PVC pipes, but found that it was cheaper to buy a large PVC pipe and had an employee cut it into equal parts. Same for the pieces of wood, I found a large piece and had an employee saw it into four equal parts. I came home with the following:

 

• 15 1 in. x 2 ft. PVC pipes (cut from 3 10 ft. PVC pipes) = $9.66
• 4 11&1/2 in. x 2 ft. pieces of plywood (larger piece cut into 4 equal sections) = $2.98
• PVC pipe cutters = $12.98
• 4 PVC elbows = $2.32
• 12 PVC Tees = $7.56
• measuring tape = used my own

TOTAL COST = $35.50

 This is what I decided:

Shelf Length PVC pipes cut to 18 in. --- Shelf Width PVC pipes cut to 11 1/2 in.

Use the elbow pipes for the base. Alternate connecting the tee pipes lengthwise and widthwise. This helps makes the frame more stable. As for the height of your shelves, it's up to you to decide how much room you want to leave for your plants or anything else you might want to store on these surprisingly stable shelves!