DIY Inside: A Housewarming Bouquet

Flowers are a great symbol of a new beginning. So, I like to give flowers (and receive them) as gifts. I prefer homemade arrangements vs. stylized floral shop versions. Here is a simple but beautiful yard bouquet, perfect for a housewarming gift. Since our yard has a variety of flowering plants, ornamental grasses and evergreen trees, I like to cut the arrangement from my own flowers. But, if you don't have your own flowers, purchase a loose bouquet at your local grocer and arrange them with this tutorial.

As a general rule, I like to arrange a bouquet with three elements. 

1) a greenery base 

2) focal piece 

3) accent piece

After I have collected these three elements from my yard, I then arrange them by height. 

greenery= tallest

focal pieces= medium 

accent pieces= shortest 

Choose a vase that is appropriate for the height of your arrangement.

For vases, I like to repurpose vintage glass milk bottles, wine bottles, glass soda bottles, and mason jars. The vase I used in this demonstration is a vintage glass milk bottle that I found at a thrift store for around $2.

Tools you'll need: Gloves, gardening shears or scissors, vase, (ribbon and paper optional.)

Step 1: Collect your 3 elements from your yard or grocery store bouquet.

-Greenery base (ornamental grasses, evergreen branches, or any non-flowering green plants)

-Focal pieces (these are large bright colored flowers)

-Accent pieces (smaller sized flowers, berries on vines, or interesting twigs)

Step 2: Arrange your elements from tallest to shortest. Greenery, focal, then accent pieces.

Step 3: Add a pretty ribbon to your vase and Voila! Now you have a beautiful, personal and easy housewarming (or anytime) gift for someone special.

Step 4: Add a message like "Welcome to the Neighborhood" to vase to make your gift more personal.













Happy creating!
Grace

DIY Style: T-Shirt Necklace

I found a great Pinterest tutorial on t-shirt necklaces and decided to try it myself. 
I love how it turned out! So here's how I did it. 

Step 1: Get an old t-shirt (you will be cutting it up, so the only thing that matters about the shirt is the color you want) I bought 5 tees at my neighborhood thrift store for $1 each.

Step 2: Cut Shirt width-wise, trimming off stitched edge at bottom of shirt. (You will need a sharp pair of scissors to get through t-shirt fabric!)

Step 3: After stitching is cut off, cut shirt width-wise creating a long continous ring of fabric. Each ring should be at least 1/2" in width, the wider the fabric, the thicker your necklace will be. Cut as many rings as you like. More rings will make your necklace appear larger and bolder. Fewer rings will give you a more delicate looking necklace.

Step 4: Stretch your fabric rings. Stretching will make rough scissored edges disappear!

Step 5: Gather your rings and double them over. This creates a shorter, fuller necklace. 

Or, wear this sweet necklace as long rings for a bohemian look.

Here are a few examples on how to wear your new necklace!

Happy styling,

Grace

DIY Style: T-shirt Vest

Every summer it seems I have worn out t-shirts that are destined for dustrag kingdom. But there are some t-shirts that I just don't want to get rid of! I keep tees that have an interesting design on them or are just a great color and then repurpose them as accessories. Here I have turned a great tee into a vest, complete with a pinned on flowerette made from the t-shirt's left over arm fabric. Here is how I did it:

Step 1: Lay t-shirt flat and find vertical (lengthwise) middle
Step 2: Cut lengthwise slit up t-shirt's middle front side
Step 3: Cut the arms of the shirt off.

You're Done! Now you have a cute vest to wear with a tank and a perfect pair of jeans!

Note: I angled the bottom of my vest for a more interesting look, but feel free to leave the bottom edges straight or get wild and fringe them!

 

Happy styling,

Grace

DIY Clean: Reusable Swiffer Dusters

I try to be as Earth-friendly as possible. Our household loves recycling and repurposing when we can. One of the ways I like to "recycle" is by making my own Swiffer dusting cloths. 

Here is how I did it.

Step 1: Buy a pack of microfiber cloths (6pk/$9)

Step 2: Use an old Swiffer dusting cloth as your template.
If you don't have any, just place the Swiffer deck as your template and add about 1.5" to each side to allow the cloth to be pushed into the "teeth."                                                 

Step 3: Cut your microfiber cloth to fit, snap into deck and start dusting your hardwoods or tile floors!

Now you have a reusable and washable dusting cloth that is an inexpensive and "green" way to clean.

Happy cleaning,
Grace

DIY Inside: Making Your Own Easy Artwork

When it was time to make a nursery for our second child I had a hard time finding artwork for her room. I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some art. I was inspired by the juxtaposition of bold graphic lines and the softness of florals and birds. I bought 2 large canvases and masking tape (or painters tape), a quart of white semi-gloss and a quart of black high gloss. The different glosses gave the graphic pieces an interesting textural element. So here's how I did it.

Step 1: Measure your canvas into 3 sections by drawing a pencil line.
            Each section should be the same width.
Step 2: Place one simultaneous piece of masking tape over each penciled line.
Step 3: Paint each section. (I used alternating black and white for a bold graphic pattern,
            but you can use any colors and more than 3 sections!)
Step 4: After your canvas has dried overnight, peel tape off.
            Voila! You now have a beautiful and personal piece of art for your sweet space :)

Happy creating,
Grace

DIY Inside: A Sweet Dresser Makeover

Our 4 year old was in need of a dresser to contain her ever-growing amount of clothing. I searched department stores, Target, IKEA, online stores...to find that all of the storage products were made of fiberboard and laminate. Not to mention the chests and dressers I found were all priced above $200!I thought, "There has to be an alternative to faux materials and ugly finishes!" So off to search my local flea markets and thrift shops. During one of three flea market trips, I found a chest of drawers in need of some TLC for $30.

My daughter picked out a semi-gloss color by Valspar called "Tropical Bloom". I would describe it as a blend of melon and coral.  A quart of Valspar signature color is $18.54, so I color-matched a less expensive paint brand (Olympic) at Lowe's $14.48/qt. So here's how I did it. 

Tools:

semi gloss interior paint (1 quart for small-medium sized dresser)

medium grit sandpaper

medium sized paintbrush

foam paint roller

paint pan

Step 1: I lightly sanded the entire body with medium grit paper to knock off the old stain/shellac.

Step 2: I brushed the paint on with an inexpensive medium sized paintbrush.

Step 3: I then used a foam paint roller to get a smooth finish.

Drawer pulls: I wanted a unique look for the drawer pulls so I used a light grit and sanded the metal for a gold matte texture. 

 

Dresser $30

Paint $15

Brush $4

Roller $5

Sandpaper - already had some!

Project Total: $54

Happy Makeover,

Grace