Tag: DIY
Vintage Cupboard Makeover
For my new baby girl’s nursery, I used all secondhand furniture. I needed a changing table, and my dad made a generous offer: to remake a vintage, heirloom cupboard into something that could be used as a changing table. The cupboard had sentimental value to my family because it was mine as a child, and before that had been passed down to us from family friends. Affectionately known as “the Bunny Cupboard,” it had been enjoyed by multiple families since the 1960s. We loved the idea of saving the old cupboard instead of buying a new changing table, because otherwise it didn’t have much useful life left. Okay, it probably didn’t have any left – I wish I had a “before” picture. The project saved it from ending up as landfill garbage!
By 2020, it was in poor shape! The decals were almost completely rubbed off, the hinges were broken and rusty, and the faux wood veneer had seen better days. To refurbish it was quite the project, but my dad was up to the task! Using oak wood paneling, he upgraded the exterior. Carefully, he was able to save and re-attach the original bunny emblem to the new cupboard door.
Inside, he painted the drawers yellow for a finishing touch. My mom color matched acrylic paint to fix the chipped blue knobs, making them look brand new. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the finished product. It is not just a hand-me-down now, it’s a real heirloom quality piece. The drawers are perfect for storing cloth diapers and outfits. With a changing pad on top, it makes a great changing table. When she is older, it can be used alone as a dresser. Thanks to the magic of tape, the bunny emblem can even be removed for a more mature appearance.
I asked my dad about the creative process of making the cupboard. “I really enjoyed this project, more than I thought I would,” he said. He said he honored the original design of the cupboard, staying true to the lines of the mid-century piece while completely overhauling it to be better and more beautiful.
The nursery was complete just in time for baby girl’s arrival, so it was time to celebrate. By “celebrate,” I mean go to bed at 8pm, then get woken up at 11pm, 1am, 4 am and 7am. Four hours of sleep is the new eight, you know. But at least we will be sleep deprived parents with a wonderful nursery with its signature one-of-a-kind furniture piece.
Floral Arranging with Wildflowers
Using wildflowers as wedding florals
When my dear little cousin got married last year, she did a DIY farm wedding. Her florals were almost all made of wildflowers picked from the property. It was genius, and it looked so good! She saved $$$, and it fit the style of the wedding exactly. Here’s a photo recap of the wildflower wedding floral arrangements, taken by me and first published in Midwest Living.
How to make your own rustic chic wildflower wedding bouquets
Think about storage and how to keep the flowers fresh! The day before the wedding, a group of friends and family scoured the farm for the best wild blooms. After putting the cuttings in big 5-gallon buckets of water, we made bouquets and then stored them in a walk in refrigerator in the barn. Here’s what it looked like behind the scenes.
Rules of floral design
If you’re doing a DIY floral arrangement, don’t forget this rule of flower design. No matter which type of flowers you’re choosing, use a big, unique bloom as a thriller, one to create mass as a filler, and a drapey one to hang down as a spiller. Getting the style right for wildflower weddings is pretty easy if you keep this in mind.
Mix it up
In addition to farm wildflowers, the bride bought roses, lavender, eucalyptus and baby’s breath to mix into the decor. Putting them into re-used glass containers of various sizes added depth and variety to each table. This approach was thrifty and Eco-friendly but so rustic and beautiful!
Here you can see the simplicity of the idea behind the floral arrangements. The wildflowers are a seamless complement to the lavender and baby’s breath, don’t you think?
Wildflowers in floral arrangements are perfect for outdoor events. How flawless does this look on the outdoor bar?
Do it yourself floral design
This event totally changed any preconceived ideas I had about do-it-yourself flowers and wildflowers for weddings. It just looked good, and that’s all there is to it! Here’s the bride’s professional bouquet along with the bridesmaids’ wildflower bouquets.
Get a peek at the organic farm where the wedding was held, Trillium Wood Farm.
Make Your Vision Board Work for You in 2017
Vision board techniques to make THIS the year you’ve been dreaming of!
Vision board techniques to make THIS the year you’ve been dreaming of!What is your dream for this year? Maybe it’s financial stability, your dream career, a fairy tale love, or jet setting on the adventure of a lifetime around the globe. Whether your dreams are wild or mild, they can seem attainable at times. That’s where a vision board comes in to serve as a visual representation that helps you keep your eye on the prize. Here’s one of several I made this year. I chose the colors for a common aesthetic and mood:
What is a vision board and how do I make one?
A vision board is a collage made using images that represent goals that you want to manifest. It serves as a reminder throughout the year to put the work into making these dreams a reality. To make one, you’ll need a 12×12 paper or larger and magazine pictures. Take it from someone who always has leftover pictures that didn’t fit, 12×12 inches is the minimum you’ll want to use. It can include a mix of cutout pictures, cutout words, and written words.
5 Effective Vision Board Techniques to Try this Year
Make your vision board more fun and effective with these ideas. Setting goals should be fun! Don’t feel like you have to do all of these, just consider the ones that resonate with you.
1. Make it a party. It’s so much easier to get your vision board done when you have someone providing you the place, time and materials. And they will hold you accountable for finishing your board. This is vision board time!
2. Use unexpected materials. Mix it up by asking your friends for magazines that you don’t read yourself. This expands your boundaries and gives you more to work with. Incorporate colored pens, stickers and colored card stock for vibrant, creative, no-limits vision boarding. You could even end up with a picture of a Corgi, who knows!
3. Notice what’s NOT on the board. When I finished my board this year, what was most surprising was what I hadn’t made goals about. These represented activities and commitments in my life that my heart isn’t in-and are sucking energy away from what I really do want to accomplish this year. These things might need to be eliminated or downsized in 2017.
4. Bring in spirituality. If you follow a faith, consider how you want that to fit into your goals in the coming year. Including a quote from your faith can serve as a powerful reminder of what’s truly important to you. If you’re not into religion, any inspirational quote that you connect with works. I find that the poetry of Rumi resonates with many people.
5. Display it in a prominent place. Mine is over my desk right now. Refer back to it throughout the year. You can’t do that if it’s in your closet or under your bed, so make sure you can see it regularly.
Now I have questions for you! Do you create vision boards? What goals did you set for 2017?
Make a Felt Heart Envelope
I read something so inspiring yesterday on social media, a message urging people to consider Valentine’s Day as a way to spread love to people who might need it whether it’s a note, a flower or a kind word. It sounds simple, but it’s easy to get caught up in your own plans (or lack of plans) and forget that small gestures can mean so much to someone else! Today’s post is a craft tutorial that makes a perfect small gift for Valentine’s Day or any day.
After experimenting with a variety of fun ways to decorate envelopes, I made this handmade felt envelope craft to send to friends and my top blogging supporters to say Thank You. It was a little Valentine’s Day gift. Here’s how you can make your own, step by step.
Felt Handmade Envelope Coin Purse Tutorial
You’ll need: Two colors of felt, embroidery floss, scissors, needle, hot glue, buttons and thin elastic. Quick tip: instead of sewing you can use hot glue.
Step 1: Start with a diamond shape cut out of a piece of felt. The envelope can be made small or large depending on the size of your felt. The ones I made were the right size to hold a business card or some coins, and the flat edges of the diamond measured 5 1/2 inches long each.
Step 2: Fold the sides in and bottom up in preparation for sewing or gluing these edges together to form the envelope shape.
Step 3: If sewing, pin the edge you’re not working on down to hold it until you make your way back to it. Optional: carefully trim down the pointy edge to make it flat, as in the photo below.
Step 4: Add a fastener. I did this two ways. One was to hot glue a piece of velcro. The other was to sew on a button to the envelope body and add a loop of elastic to the flap. The button looks nice, but the Velcro is easier. Take your pick.
Step 5: Hot glue on a felt heart to the top of the flap. You can experiment with using different colors of felt for different looks.
And you’re done! Share what you think of this tutorial in the comments and let me know if you have any questions!
Definitely check out more envelope decorating ideas, and follow along for more craft ideas on Pinterest.
Valentine Envelopes To Make This Year
Homemade Happiness
They say happiness is homemade, and I am inclined to agree. Lately, I’ve been really into decorating envelopes. These were featured on Midwest Living along with more envelope decorating ideas, so you can see the full list there.
These can be used to hold homemade love notes or add an extra personal touch to your store bought cards (this card is simple and cute). You can use these techniques for any season, I just personalized these for Valentine’s Day. It’s coming up in less than a week! Don’t miss my cake banner tutorial for more Valentine’s craft inspiration.
Eco-friendly upcycled paper bag envelopes
To make this card, I unfolded a crumpled old envelope I didn’t need and then traced around it onto a grocery store paper bag like the one I used in the gift wrap tutorial. After cutting out the new envelope shape, fold the sides in, the bottom up and the top down and an envelope shape should appear! Glue the edges securely and it’s ready to decorate.
I used white acrylic paint and a brush to put a design on the front. White really pops against the unbleached paper, but you could also use a metallic sharpie or gel pen to make this job way easier. I would recommend this if you’re writing anything longer than someone’s name, since painting was a little tedious. Remember gel pens? They still sell them. I just discovered that now there’s Gelly Roll Glaze, which gives a raised design. I haven’t tried them but they look enticing.
Add a Valentine’s sticker or heart cutout to the back and you’re done!
Watercolor resist envelopes
The second technique I’m sharing with you is so easy that it’s popular with kids but way more impressive looking than a children’s craft. It’s a classic watercolor resist! Use a white envelope that’s on the thicker side. You can buy watercolor paper envelopes, make your own out of cardstock following the steps above, or just pick a fairly thick commercial envelope. Using a sharp white crayon or waxy colored pencil, write the name and/or address. The hardest part of this whole process is not really knowing what you’re writing! An alternative is to use a metallic silver colored pencil.
Then do a water color wash over it with 1-3 colors that blend well together. As you can see in the photo below these envelopes are artsy without being overly feminine, which is nice if the object of your affection isn’t into hearts and lace.
Whether you’re sending something to a special someone or every friend and loved one in your life, these card techniques add something extra. Let me know how you enjoyed these techniques and if you have any questions in the comment section below.
Products & Resources
Get started with some related tools referenced in this post:
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