Hand Painted Wooden Bowl Knockoff

16th May2013

Hand Painted Wooden Bowl Knockoff

by Dinah Wulf

After I painted this set of bowls the other day, I couldn’t help myself when I found this wooden bowl at the Salvation Army. I loved the shape of it so much that I decided to take it home. I decided to do a hand painted wooden bowl knockoff project on some bowls I had seen in the past. This set of bowls is one of my inspirations as well as these fun and funky various dipped wooden household items.

Here are a couple of before pictures… I love the sleek lines and sexy curves!

As with the bowls I painted last week, I used Martha Stewarts Multi Surface Acrylic Craft Paint. I used this because it is good for wood, for indoor and outdoor use, and after the project cures (which is approximately 21 days), you can wash it in the dishwasher! I would recommend hand washing it prior to then.

I decided to hand paint it rather than dip it because I would use less paint.

I ended up painting three coats.

I also added a gold trim with a metallic gold color to glam it up a bit.

Here are a couple more pictures. I love how a few simple coats of paint can make this old wooden bowl look more new and modern. I tried to be fancy and take a photo of it in a mirror so you could see it better

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Category : Crafts

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Gift Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

3 Comm

14th May2013

DIY Design How-To: Making Textile Dreams A Reality

by Dinah Wulf

Who says that DIY creativity has to stop at textiles? Bohemian and hipster fashion trends have inspired fashionistas everywhere to take their passions to the craft tables and design their own unique fabrics for clothing and home designs.

Many great fashion blogs are showcasing DIY textile projects, even students and Academy of Art fashion designers like Patrice Yagen are creating original textiles using their own unique techniques and getting notable industry acknowledgment. Be your own designer with these crafty solutions to textile design.

Spoonflower

Making fabrics is as easy as point and click with fabric design sites like Spoonflower. Upload or take an image of a fabric pattern through iPhone or camera and scan it to the site. From there you can replicate the image any way you want (horizontal, vertical etc.) creating a unique and personalized fabric pattern. Be sure to use a quality image with a high resolution—you don’t need to be a pro to get this.

According to a Wall Street Journal article about designing your own fabric, “a photo taken with an iPhone 4′s 5-megapixel camera can create a high-quality 12×17-inch pattern. (To go larger, use a higher resolution camera.) Take several photos of your pattern and select the best one. Or, if possible, scan the original image or material.”

Other points to consider are how large you want the image to be in comparison to how big or small the original image is. Also, be sure to consider what you will be using the fabric for. Upholstery? Curtains? Bags? Clothes? The possibilities are endless!

Inked Up

Use textile ink to hand design intricate geometric shape and line patterns. Use transparent contact paper to cut stencils and use a foam sponge to apply ink. Masking tape can be used to make sharp lines.

PoppyTalk is a blog on handmade items and featured a post that shows you how to make your own customizable prints on practically any fabric. This method is relatively simple and considerably less expensive and time consuming than searching for and purchasing your desired printed fabric.

Shibori and Tie-Dye

When most people think of tie-dye they think of rainbow colored fringed bohemian style but tie-dye goes far beyond that. You can also use the effect of tie-dye with bleach on darker fabrics. But be cautioned, a lot of bleach can eat through thin fabrics so apply miserly with a paint brush.

According to an article in Sewdaily.com, Shibori is “a technique in which cloth is tightly compressed by tying, clamping, folding, and stitching, so that fabric resists paint and reveals wonderful designs and patterns. The Japanese word Shibori comes from the verb root Shiboru meaning ‘to wring, squeeze, or press.’”

Shibori is essentially the Japanese version of tie-dye that uses a different technique for creating line patterns. Shibori uses a large rope or long hollow cylinder with open ends to create elongated line patters, unlike the technique of creating circular patterns in traditional tie-dye.

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Category : Crafts

Tags : Craft Ideas, Decorating Ideas

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13th May2013

DIY Rope Vase 15 Minute How To

by Dinah Wulf

I recently wrote an article for GMC Trade Secrets on Bringing the Outdoors In. In writing the article, I had so many ideas jumbled in my head. I looked around at my own home to see what I had done myself to get closer to nature. I have a lot of natural elements displayed in my home décor and one of my favorite “chores” is to cut fresh flowers from the garden. I did decide to take my own advice and make a couple new vases. Here is my DIY Rope Vase How To. The best part? It only takes about 15 minutes to make!

Materials:

Glass Vases
Rope
Scissors
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

Step One: Choose your materials.

I had a successful trip to the Salvation Army the other day and I found some nice glass vases for $2.00 each. In choosing a vase, look for the desired shape and choose a heavier more sturdy weight. Sometimes, especially while thrift store shopping, you come across light weight vases that break easily. Those are likely the vases that your flower arrangements come in and collect dust in your cabinet. I chose wide hurricane style vases.

For the rope, I went to the hardware store and found manila rope (3/8 inch X 50 feet). I chose it for the thickness and the color. There were a few options in sisal, but I wanted a darker color. Fifty feet will make at least three vases of this size. I purchased it for $8.00.

Step Two: “Measure” the desired length.

The best way to measure the amount of rope you need, wrap it around the vase without gluing it until you reach the desired height and cut it. This is easy to do with a thicker rope like the one I chose.

Step Three: Unwrap & Glue

Unwrap the “measured” rope and glue the end to avoid fraying.

Step Four: Wrap and Attach

Start wrapping and gluing as you go!

Here is the finished look.

If you are interested in reading more of my weekly articles for GMC Trade Secrets, feel free to come over and visit!

A big THANK YOU to Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts and Angie from The Country Chic Cottage for allowing me to participate in this weeks Craft Lightening 15 minute crafts Be sure to stop by their amazing blogs and say hello!

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Category : Crafts, Trash To Treasure

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Gift Ideas, Recycling Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

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10th May2013

8 Fun and Easy Ideas for Stencils

by Dinah Wulf

I must say that stenciling is one of my favorite craft projects to do. It’s a fairly simple task, especially when you know a few tips or tricks. It is also very versatile in that you can use it for small and large projects, from place mats to furniture. Here are eight fun and easy ideas for stencils I’ve done in the past. All of which have complete step by step photo tutorials. I hope you try them out!

Stenciling with Burlap

Recycled Jar Tea Light

This is a tutorial for stenciling a monogram on a lantern made from a recycled food jar. I still have this displayed in my living room today. It also makes a fun personalized handmade gift. Fill it with tea lights or candy and give it to Mom for Mother’s Day!

Stenciled Wall Art

I made this initially as a prop for my daughter’s birthday party one year, but now it hangs in her room by her bed.

Burlap Stenciled Place Mats

Also a great handmade Mother’s day gift idea, these stenciled burlap place mats are a hit every time I bring them out to use for my guests. Make a set of four to eight to give to Mom or Grandma. Consider using words that remind you of her!

Stenciled Furniture

Stenciled Dresser

This is one of my first DIY projects I posted on this blog. In hindsight I may have done it differently but you learn as you grow, right???

Upcycled TV Tray Table

One of my more recent projects, stenciling TV trays gives them a little upcycled flair.

Other fun Stenciling Projects

Stenciled School Spirit Shirts

I made these shirts with my best friend, Jenny for her daughter’s school spirit shirts. Check out the post and Jen shares how she made he own stencil!

Recycled T-Shirt Bunting

I made this for Thanksgiving last year, but it’s a great tutorial for any type of banner or bunting you need for parties or holidays. Make a “Happy Mother’s Day” one for mom!

Shoe Box Lid Wall Art

My thriftiness at its finest, I made this SUPER cheap wall art for my guest room!

I hope you try these projects! Feel free to share some of your ideas in the comments! Happy stenciling!

Ideas for stencils, easy stencil ideas, stenciled furniture, stenciling on fabric

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Category : Crafts, Holidays, Special Occasions

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, DIY Burlap Crafts, Gift Ideas, Mother's Day, Upcycling Ideas

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06th May2013

Alice in Wonderland Theme Party: Red Paper Flowers

by Dinah Wulf

My best friend is having an Alice in Wonderland theme party for my twin God daughters for their first birthday. Needless to say, I wanted to help her decorate for the festivities. The twins have two older sisters and their birthday parties were amazing. Check out this Candyland themed party and this circus themed party. So, we started brainstorming ideas. I recently made these coffee filter paper flowers (see below) and I thought they would be perfect for the painting red roses scene when Alice meets the Queen of Hearts.

Dying coffee filter paper flowers is extremely inexpensive and easy to do. Here are the materials you need:

Bowl
Red food coloring
Water
Coffee filter paper flowers
Rubber gloves
Newspaper

To make the actual paper flower, check out the tutorial here. Once your flowers are made, here are the two easy steps to dye them.

Step One: Depending on the hue of red you desire, mix several drops of food coloring and about three tablespoons of water in a bowl.

Step Two: I tried two different ways. Dipping the pre-made flower and dipping the individual filters. Wearing rubber gloves carefully dip the paper flower (or individual filters) into the color mixture and set it aside to dry on the newspaper.

Here are pictures of each. I let them dry overnight.

When they were dry, I noticed that the dipped flower had a nice deeper red color on the edges while the filters that were dipped individually were not. Here is a photo. It’s very subtle, but I like the former better.

Here is a photo of the coffee filter rose and a real rose from my garden next to one another. Not too shabby! Can you see the difference?

Here they are in the bush that we will use for the party.

Feeling inspired by Alice? Check out these posts!

Do you have any Alice in Wonderland party ideas for us? We’d love to hear them!

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Category : Crafts

Tags : Alice in Wonderland, Birthday Party Ideas, Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Jennifer Hostetler, Paper Flowers, Recycling Ideas, Repurposing Ideas, Theme Party Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

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01st May2013

Easy DIY Projects For Modern Homes

by Dinah Wulf

If you’re looking a beautiful modern home décor with just the right amount of personal customization, then easy DIY projects are perfect for you. When you make these projects yourself you’re able to not only make exactly what you want how you want it, but you’re also able to usually save a bit of money and be quite creative for a weekend or two. If you want some ideas for DIY projects that are both fun and modern, check out some of these projects.

1. Lighting: lighting is one of the easiest ways to give your house a nice upgrade without a lot of work and it can be done completely by you in most cases. One of the most popular modern looks in lighting right now is under cabinet lighting like the kind you can buy from ProLighting.

Although it’s called “under cabinet” you can actually use this lighting anywhere there’s a flat surface and a place to run the wires, so go ahead and put them under your desk or under a few shelves if you can manage it. When you replace the bulbs and place them strategically, you can achieve some really nice ambient effects.

2. DIY Glasses: it might not come to your mind immediately, but you can make your own glass designs if you don’t mind drawing a little bit on some contact paper. It’s a great and easy way to have some customized drinking glasses that you’ll be sure no one else has.

You’ll need some contact paper, glass etching mask (or cream), and something to cut the design out with. Once you’ve decided on the pattern or design you’d like, you simply cut out of the contact paper (like you would with tracing paper) and apply it to the glass, making sure it’s firmly placed. Use the etching material and layer it liberally on the design, leave it sit for a few minutes, and rinse off. You’ll have a new glass design that you won’t find anywhere else.

3. Flower Vases: indoor plants already look great on their own and can really do wonders for any space, but an awesome flower vase can do even more for your décor than the plant can. Consider making your own flowers too.

This is one of the easiest modern DIY projects you can do because all it takes is a little paint, a few hours, and a steady hand depending on what you’re doing. Choose paint colors that match your home’s décor and set to work, giving the pot a very classy design or perhaps splattering the paint on it to create an artsy effect. The nicest thing about this project is that if you decide you don’t like it, you can simply paint over it with white and start again.

4. Mason Jars: mason jars can be used for pretty much everything and although they’re typically associated with a rustic appeal, they’re creative enough that they can be made modern with the right touches.

You can use mason jars for drinking glasses, small flower pots, or even use them to store candles. If you’re the type to make your own candles, mason jars are amazing candle holders and look great.

You don’t need to sacrifice the modern décor when you choose to go the DIY route and with a little bit of out-of-the-box thinking you can create some amazing things that are both personal and chic.

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Category : Crafts

Tags : Craft Ideas

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23rd Apr2013

Two Year Blogaversary

by Dinah Wulf

Woo hoo! With well over 500 blog posts published and a community that has grown to be over fifteen thousand, I can’t believe it’s been two short years already. Last year I did a One Year Blogaversary Awards and Honorable Mentions. I thought I’d do it again combining both years. As with last year, the winners are chosen by social media shares, “likes”, email inquiries, pins, and more.

Most Popular Recycled Craft: Book Page Butterfly Wreath

I made this wreath out of items I already had (wire hanger, book pages, branches from my back yard), so I didn’t spend a dime on it. Who knew it would be so popular!

Honorable Mention Recycled Craft: Coffee Filter Flowers

Another project I made without buying any new supplies. This is probably one of the easiest crafts I’ve EVER done. They are still displayed in my living room today!

Most Popular Kid’s Stuff Post: Reading Nook for Kids

I loved this project made from a free frame and photo ledges. More importantly, it encourages my daughter to read. We have read 4-5 books every night since I put it together.

Honorable Mention Kid’s stuff Post: Repurposed Plant Hanger Toy Storage

Originally a hanging centerpiece at a garden inspired birthday party, I turned this plant hanger I found in the trash into a fun and whimsical storage bin for my daughters small stuffed animals.

Most Popular Upcycling Idea: Map Covered Drawers

By covering my craft room craft drawers with maps, it instantly transformed my otherwise boring white drawers.

Most Popular Round-Up Post: Top 15 Recycled Crafts of 2012

These are my top and favorite recycled crafts by yours truly… the best of 2012.

Most Popular Theme Party: Candy Land Theme Party

This is the most visited post to date; a fabulous candy land party by my best friend Jenny that I had to break up into two posts! Make sure you read both!

Honorable Mention Theme Party: Hello Kitty Theme Party

This is also one that I get a ton of emails about. It’s fun Hello Kitty themed party filled with ideas for games, activities, and decorations by my friend Maily.

Most Popular Halloween Post: Headless Man and Headless Woman Costume

Back again this year! I have a feeling this post will reign as the most popular Halloween post every year.

Honorable Mention Halloween Post: Hello Kitty Pumpkin

I had this pumpkin forever! Who knew that an un-carved pumpkin would last so long? I changed her hat from a Halloween witch to a pilgrim for Thanksgiving and then to Santa for Christmas.

Most Popular Kid’s Craft: Recycled Christmas Card Ornament

Need an idea for all those Christmas cards you get every year? Here it is! This is a fun craft project you can do with the kiddos at Christmas time.

Most Popular Christmas Post: Hanging Pinecones Wreath

After going on a hike and collecting the largest pinecones in the neighborhood, I made this lovely pinecone hanging wreath that I kept and will use every Christmas.

Most Popular YouTube Video: Owl Themed Party Decorations

I started a YouTube channel this year and these Owl themed decorations I made for my cousin’s birthday were my most viewed.

Honorable mention YouTube Video: DIY Address Wreath

I was honored to be a part of Joann Fabric’s Creativity Made Simple campaign. Here is a tutorial I did for making an address wreath with fabric flowers for your front door.

Recycled Kid’s Craft: Cereal Box Puzzles

by Dinah Wulf

Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share a special recycled craft I did with my daughter. She may only be two, but crafting runs through my little one’s blood! I love it! We are always trying out different kid’s crafts. Most of the time, I look for things around the house to repurpose and reuse. Today I want to share a recycled kid’s craft my daughter and I did made out of cereal boxes and the covers of her coloring books.

Materials:

Cereal boxes or old board game boxes
Coloring book covers or damaged soft book covers
Scissors
Straight edge
Craft knife
Cutting mat
Glue sticks

Like most kids, my daughter has several coloring books. Oftentimes, we tear out the pages and color and we are left with an empty spine and cover. We decided to save these to make these puzzles.

Using a cutting mat, straight edge, and craft knife, we cut the coloring book covers to our desired puzzle size. Mainly, we cut off the titles and price tags.

Next I cut the fronts and backs of the cereal boxes.

Mia glued the covers to the cereal boxes with some kid-friendly glue sticks. The cereal cardboard makes the puzzles more durable.

After the glue dried, I trimmed around the sides and cut out the puzzle in different shapes. Cut larger shapes for younger children and smaller pieces for older children. If your kids are older, they can cut out the shapes themselves.

Mia loved them! I’m guessing it’s because she helped make them. She did them over and over again, clapping as she finished each one. This was such a great kid’s craft for us to do together, and the puzzles are sturdy enough to keep and use over and over again.

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Category : Kid Stuff, Kids Craft Ideas, Trash To Treasure

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Earth Day, Recycling Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

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17th Apr2013

12 Recycled Book Page Crafts

by Dinah Wulf

Most of the 12 recycled book page crafts featured in this post all started from a book safe that I made a while ago. I tucked away all the pages I hollowed out and put them with my scrapbook paper. Every once in a while I’d get inspired and make something out of them. Here we go!

Book Page Heart Garland {Tutorial}

I made this for Valentine’s Day, however it’s a fun kid’s craft that you can do all year in any color.

DIY Recycled Craft Jars {Tutorial}

I made these out of ketchup bottles that I thought were interesting. This may be one of my favorites!

Book Folding Art Piece {Tutorial}

This was a guest post by Loren from Pandora’s Craft Box.

Book Page Napkin Rings and Name Cards

Here is an inexpensive way to add character to your table setting.

Recycled Book Page Art

Use book pages as the canvas for your paintings.

Recycled Book Page Butterfly Wreath {Tutorial}

One of my most popular tutorials, this wreath cost me nothing to make! I made it from book pages, a wire hanger, and branches from my back yard.

Phone Book Origami Flowers {Tutorial}

This is a fun photo tutorial on how to make a flower out of phone book pages.

Paper Flower Magnets {Tutorial}

Use a craft punch and bottle caps to make these sturdy paper flower magnets.

Book Page Gift Bow {Tutorial}

Make a traditional gift wrapping bow out of strips of book pages or newspaper.

Water Colored Book Page Flowers {Tutorial}

Make any color flowers simply by water coloring your book pages.

Book Page Wreath {Tutorial}

Another favorite, this was one of the first wreaths I have ever made.

How to Make a Secret Book Safe {Tutorial}

OK, so this one isn’t really book pages, but you need to start somewhere! I actually did most of the projects above with the pages I removed from this book!

Do you have a project you’d like to share? Submit your DIY Projects or crafts for a chance to be featured on DIYInspired.com!

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Category : Crafts, DIY Artwork, Trash To Treasure

Tags : Craft Ideas, paper crafts, Recycled Book Pages, Recycling Ideas, Repurposing Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

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15th Apr2013

Recycled Straw Necklace Craft for Kids

by Dinah Wulf

Lucky for me, I get to spend at least two times a week with my best friends and their kids. We try to schedule play dates every Tuesday and Thursday. Our little ones have become so close they treat each other like sisters (AKA, an occasional hit or raised voice). Often times we try to come up with a craft the girls can do together. Most recently we made these cute recycled straw necklace craft. I got this idea from Jamie over at hands on: as we grow. She is one of my main resources for the activities I do with Mia. This kid’s activity in particular is great for fine motor skills.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Yarn
Straws
Scissors
Craft Punches
Paper scraps

We chose some of our favorite colored yarn. Cut different lengths for bracelets, anklets, or necklaces. We cut them extra-long for the younger kids.

We also used various craft punches to create our own “beads” with circles and flowers from scrapbook paper scraps I had left over from other projects. Make sure the hole is large enough for little fingers to maneuver.

You can pre-cut the straws, or if your child is old enough you can allow them to do it with safety scissors.

Here are our little ones in action. Please ignore the dirt on my daughter’s face and shirt… oh and the disheveled hair…they were playing outside I swear! Ha!

The girls (ages 2-5) had a great time and were happy to take and wear them home from our play date.

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Category : Kid Stuff, Kids Craft Ideas

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Jennifer Hostetler, Recycling Ideas

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03rd Apr2013

Bethany from Whistle and Ivy

by Dinah Wulf

I am ecstatic to feature Bethany from Whistle and Ivy today! Bethany is multi-talented from her party throwing and sewing skills to her crafty know-how. On her blog you can find craft tutorials, recipes, and original sewing patterns (I’m a fan of her Barba Beanie). I personally admire her humor and photography skills.

Pink and Orange Baby Shower

Here is a baby shower for her sister with the color scheme pink and orange. She served colored deviled eggs, orange cream cupcakes and make-your-own fruit pizzas. Be sure to check out the rest of her decorations, diaper cake, and party favors.

Framed Earring Holder

She also has a tutorial for turning an old thrifted frame into a cute earring holder. With a few materials and the fabric rosettes she made to embellish the frame, Bethany made organizing quite stylish!

Upcycle T-shirt into Baby Bib

I may have saved the best for last! Bethany decided to put a pile of t-shirts destined for Goodwill to good use and started making bibs for her baby. She said that they are so fun to decorate and customize. Complete with a pattern for an owl applique, this project was a fantastic upcycle!

A big THANK YOU to Bethany for sharing her fabulous creations! You can follow her on Facebook and Google+ to see what she’s up to!

Do you have and crafts or DIY projects you would like to submit for a chance to be featured on DIY Inspired? I would love to hear from you! Just fill out this submission form.

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Category : Inspiring People

Tags : Baby Shower Ideas, Craft Ideas, Recycling Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

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25th Mar2013

Plastic Cup Garbage Can

by Dinah Wulf

My best friend Jenny had a brilliant craft idea the other day (BTW, it was recently her birthday! Happy Birthday, Best Friend!). She told me that being the busy on the go mom that she is, she always keeps a large fast food plastic cup in her car for all the litter she accrues throughout the day from having four kids. This plastic cup garbage can for her car is very handy; she admitted however her main complaint is that it’s ugly. So, together we decided to make a car garbage can by recycling large plastic fast food cups. Similar to making a recycled drink container sunglasses case or pencil holder.

Here is what you need:

Large plastic cup with a lid
Scissors
Decorative paper
Paper Cutter
Mod Podge
Paint brush
Embellishments like craft punches or stickers (optional)

Here are the cups we used. Make sure it fits in the cup holder of your car! Some are too large. It’s also best if you have a lid to hide the trash.

We picked out some of our favorite patterns and colors and using a paper cutter, cut out strips to decoupage onto the cup. The angles of your strips will vary depending on the size and circumference of your cup… this part is a bit tricky.

Using a decoupage medium, apply several layers onto the cup allowing it to dry completely in between each coat.

Embellish your cup however you’d like. We used craft punches for flowers and circles for the lid and stickers to spell out “trash”.

Allow it to dry completely… tah dah! There you have it… an aesthetically pleasing trash can for your car!

I hope you enjoyed this creative way to recycle plastic!

**Being the creative recycler that I am, I am excited to partner up with Arrowhead® 100% Mountain Spring Water’s ReBorn™ Bottle made with 50% recycled plastic! Join me and Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water in the recycling movement today! What are some creative crafty ways to recycle a plastic water bottle?** #Spon

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Category : Crafts

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Gift Ideas, Mod Podge, Recycling Ideas, Repurpose, Upcycling Ideas

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06th Mar2013

Recycled Arrowhead Water Bottle Pineapple

by Dinah Wulf

I’m excited to partner up with Arrowhead® 100% Mountain Spring Water’s ReBorn™ Bottle made with 50% recycled plastic! Recycling is one of the easiest and most beneficial ways we can all help the environment. Sadly, only about 30% of PET plastic bottles get recycled. For recycling to work, we all have to do our part. Unfortunately, not all plastic bottles are made with recycled plastic. It’s Arrowheads goal to continue increasing the use of recycled materials in their bottles, but they need everyone’s help. Currently, there isn’t enough recycled plastic available for Arrowhead to make 100% rPET bottles. Join me in the Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water in the recycling movement today! I’m also excited to share the recycled Arrowhead water bottle pineapple my daughter and I made.

Make recycling a part of your family’s routine. My daughter Mia and I not only recycle all our paper, plastic, and glass in our home, but we also recycle creatively by repurposing old or discarded things and turn them into something new and useful. Today I want to share our Recycled Plastic Water Bottle Pineapple we made to give as a gift to a family member who LOVES pineapple candy.

Here is what you’ll need:

Two Arrowhead® 100% Mountain Spring Water’s ReBorn™ Bottles
Craft knife
Green scrapbook paper
Scissors
Tape and/or glue
Yellow ribbon or adhesive ribbon
Hot glue and glue gun

First, we started with the leaves of the pineapple. Make a cone shape out of the green scrapbook paper and secure it with tape.

Cut out several triangles in varying lengths and sizes.

Tape the leaves around the cone, forming the leaves of the pineapple as shown.

Here is what the top should look like.

To make the body of the pineapple, cut two Arrowhead® 100% Mountain Spring Water’s ReBorn™ Bottles in half using a craft knife.

Fill the bottle halves with the candy of your choice. If the candy you choose is not yellow in color, you can always paint the inside of the pineapple with yellow craft paint. I used an adhesive ribbon to secure the two halves together. If you do not have adhesive ribbon, tape the halves together first and then cover the tape with yellow ribbon.

Here is what the body should look like.

Attach the leaves to the top of the pineapple with hot glue.

There you have it!

Before I leave you, here are some important facts about recycling:

1. U.S. plastic beverage bottle recycling rates are only at about 30%

2. 2.8 Billion plastic bottles ended up in California landfills in 2011

3. Even though a package says it is “100% recycleABLE”, that does not mean it is made with recyclED plastic. It just means it CAN BE recycled. In fact, most containers are not made of recycled plastic.

Recycled plastic is simply a better source of plastic. It’s part of Arrowhead’s ongoing commitment to preserving our natural springs, and ensures that every bit of Arrowhead, both inside and out, is truly Born Better. Click here to learn more!

A big THANK YOU to Arrowhead Waters for sponsoring this post!

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Category : Crafts, Kids Craft Ideas, Trash To Treasure

Tags : Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Recycling Ideas, Sponsored, Upcycling Ideas

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05th Mar2013

Easy Coffee Filter Paper Flowers

by Dinah Wulf

Ever since I purchase a reusable plastic coffee filter, I have had extra paper coffee filters in my cupboard. I took them out once before, and was inspired to make this coffee filter wreath that turned out quite nice. Since then I have search for recycled coffee filter ideas and have found quite a few. I particularly liked the coffee filter flowers so I decided to try my own version. Here is a SUPER easy coffee filter paper flowers how-to by yours truly.

Materials:

Coffee filters (4 per flower)
Small rubber bands or small hair bands
Wooden skewer or dowel
Old book pages
Scissors
Hot glue and hot glue gun

There are many tutorials on this but I found this to be the absolute easiest and quickest way to make them. I sat in my craft room for a few hours trying different ways! You can also dye them by dipping the filters in a little bit of food coloring and water and allowing them to dry on newspaper for about 30 minutes. I chose to keep mine white because I like the look of the starch white, old book pages, and green vase.

Step One:

Pinch the center of one coffee filter and bunch upwards as shown above.

Step Two:

Set the first “bunch in the center of a second coffee filter and repeat the same bunching motion.

Step Three:

Repeat Step Two until you have four coffee filters. Using a small rubber band (I used a child sized hair band) and secure the top of the paper flower “stem”. It will look like this.

Step Four:

Cut out paper flower petals out of old book pages.

Step Five:

Add a skewer or wooden dowel as a stem and hot glue on the book page petals.

Here is a picture of a smaller flower. For this one I used four coffee filters, however I cut them about a half inch shorter.

Hope you try it!

Do you have a project you’d like to share? Submit your DIY Projects or crafts for a chance to be featured on DIYInspired.com!

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Category : Crafts, Trash To Treasure

Tags : Centerpieces, Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, paper crafts, Paper Flowers, Recycled Book Pages, Recycling Ideas, Repurpose, Upcycling Ideas

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01st Mar2013

Kid’s Craft Ideas

by Dinah Wulf

Thank goodness I enjoy crafting! I say that because sometimes the trials and tribulations that come with raising a toddler seem less stressful when I can break out a craft activity for the two of us to do. I have found some fun resources for kid’s craft ideas that I want to share with you today.

hands on: as we grow

Jamie is a mom of three boys and has art projects, crafts, and activities for kids from newborn to three years old. From parenting tips to teaching phonics, Jamie’s website is full of amazing ideas for parent and child to do together. Two of my favorites are a snowman wind chime made out of tin cans and a Dinosaur Fossil Excavation that is a hands on sensory experience. You can follow Jaime on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest for more inspiration!

{Via}

Kid’s Activities Blog

Holly and Rachel are some quirky mommas who have collaborated with several creative moms to create a one stop resource for activities, crafts, and fun educational experiences for your kids. You can find indoor and outdoor games, holiday crafts, and even jokes for kids of all ages from babies to middle school aged children. A couple of my favorite posts are Homemade Toys from Your Recycle Bin and Word Family Tic-Tac-Toe reading game. You can follow Holly on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest for more inspiration!

Powerful Mothering

Last but definitely not least, Heidi and Nicci’s parenting website, not only addresses important pregnancy and birthing information, they share fun topics such as starting family traditions and Toddler friendly healthy recipes. Of course, their kid’s activities and craft and DIY section is my fave, including How to Make Shelves out of Cardboard Boxes and How to Sew a Toddler backpack. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Pinterest!

Be sure to check out these lovely ladies and their fun and useful sites! Do you have any kid’s activities you’d like to share?

Pass it on!

Category : Kid Stuff, Kids Craft Ideas

Tags : Craft Ideas

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12th Feb2013

DIY Monogram Swarovski Pearls in a Frame

by Dinah Wulf

I am so excited to have Heather guest post today from Rockstew! She is sharing her DIY Monogram Swarovski Pearls in a Frame Tutorial. Not only does Heather blog about crafty DIY, she also shares parenting tips, recipes, favorite books, and adventures in raising her daughter, Annabelle. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Here is Heather’s DIY Monogram Swarovski Pearls in a Frame Tutorial. Welcome, Heather!

I’ve been obsessed by Pinterest and also monograms for the past month. So I decided to make baby girl a lovely monogram using Swarovski pearls. I chose the pearls instead of crystals because baby girl was born in June and pearls just happen to be her birth stone.

This year, my resolution is to use only things I have in the house or material that is upcycled. Because of my jewelry company that I no longer run, I still have lots of Swarovski crystals and pearls lying in a box unused in the back of my closet.

Time: 6-7 hours

Skill: Easy to Moderate

Ingredients:

Frame (without glass)
Size: 15×13 on the outside perimeter. 9 1/2″ by 7 1/2″on the interior perimeter
I bought the above frame without glass or a back at a thrift store for $3.99
Swatch of linen
I bought a linen tablecloth at thrift store for $1.99
Transfer Paper
Purchased at Fabric Store $4.99
Swarovski Pearls
approx. 250 3mm Cream Rose Crystal Pearl
approx. 20 4mm Cream Rose Crystal Pearl
Cardboard (if the frame has no back)
Embroidery Hoop *optional
Tape

Steps

*These are the exact steps I took using the materials that I had as listed above. Please modify if needed!

Step One: The frame I purchased had no glass or back, so I improvised a backing using cardboard. I cut a piece of the cardboard to match the backing of the frame. Using the cardboard “backing” piece, I cut out a swatch of fabric that was large enough for me to fold down the edges securely in the back.

{Created a cardboard backing}

Step Two: I tea dyed the fabric by soaking the fabric overnight in 8 bags of black tea. 24 hours later, I washed and dried the fabric in the washing machines/dryer then ironed the fabric.

Step Three: On the computer, open up Paintbrush. Using the font LUKE, I selected the text tool and placed in the A. I could have measured but I eyeballed the appropriate size by holding up the frame next to the computer. It was approximately 375 pt. font.

Step Four: Place the transfer paper in your printer. Before printing, read the instructions of Transfer Paper. The directions on the package indicated to print the image in a mirror copy. I did NOT do that because I wanted the letter A to be on the back as a guide only. (If the image is on the back, it needs to be backwards so that you can trace it properly.) If you want this project to be cheaper/more environmental, I would recommend tracing the letter on the back of your fabric. Iron the letter onto your fabric.

Step Five: Next, get out the embroidery hoop and center the fabric. Be sure that the A is showing from the back of your hoop. (It’s not necessary to use an embroidery hoop, but it makes this project much easier.)

Step Six: Double thread your needle and knot it. From the back, pull your needle through the fabric. Holding the needle, drop a Swarovski pearl through the needle, and then gently pull the needle up.

{Sewing Swarovski Pearls onto linen background}

Step Seven: To secure the pearl, push the needle through the fabric in approximately the same place that you came up. The pearl will center above this entry/exit. Continue “sewing” your pearls to the fabric until you are finished. Use a variety of sizes to create a variegated look.

Step Eight: Once you are finished, loosen the fabric from the embroidery hoop. Iron the fabric where the embroidery hoop has creased the fabric.

Step Nne: Center the fabric over the cardboard and secure the edges to the back using tape.

{Taped linen to cardboard backing}

Step Ten: Place the cardboard into the frame and secure. I placed a secondary piece of cardboard over the top to hide the mess, but this is not a necessary step.

{Secondary cardboard}

{Voila! Pearl Monogram}

Pass it on!

Category : Crafts, DIY Artwork

Tags : Craft Ideas, Guest Author

1 Comm

11th Feb2013

8 DIY Girls Room Ideas

by Dinah Wulf

My daughter and I were playing in her bedroom the other day. She wanted me to lie down on the floor and tuck me in, just like Mommy and Daddy does. She brought me her pillow, her blanket, and two of her dolls. As I laid there I looked around at her room and realized that I have made a lot of the things in her room so I thought I put together a roundup of 8 DIY Girls Room Ideas and tutorials that I have done.

Stenciled Butterfly Wall Art – I made this out of an old (ugly) painting, burlap, stencils and craft butterflies.
Plant Hanger Chandelier- Every girl, especially tween girls who walk into Mia’s room LOVE this chandelier and thinks it’s so cool. To think I made it out of a plant hanger I found in a trash pile on the side of the house when we first moved in!
Butterfly Wall Art- I made these one day literally out of boredom from left overs in my craft closet.
Lampshade Update – OK, so I didn’t technically make the lamp shade but I did dress it up a bit with ribbon and a butterfly J
Ribbon Organization Board – Another recycled project, I made this out of an old painting and my daughter’s first baby blanket.
Refurbished Play Table – This was an old Disney princess table that was about to be thrown away. I picked it up and re-painted it and added cushions and fabric to the seats.
Updated Storage Bins- Thought I’d give these otherwise boring bins an inexpensive facelift.
Updated Sconces – Just add the desired paint to some thrift store sconces and voila!

There you have it! I made most of these from unwanted items and turned trash into treasure…well, at least for my daughter!

Pass it on!

Category : Kid Stuff

Tags : Craft Ideas, Decorating Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, Repurpose, Upcycling Ideas

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05th Feb2013

Shabby Chic Bedside Table Makeover

by Dinah Wulf

I am so excited to have Federica of La Cianfrusagliera join me today on a guest post and sharing her passion for design. Here is how she turned an old dresser destined for the trash and turned it into a beautiful Shabby Chic bedside table. Welcome, Federica!

Decorating never ends, Written by Federica

Decorating is my passion! It doesn’t matter if it is a dress, a piece of furniture or an accessory; when I find something with a “potential” I do not stop until I obtain the look I’ve imagined. That’s what happened with this old bedside table. My mom was throwing it in the trash bin, but I caught it on time! So I cleaned it, sanded it and colored it of a pale lilac.

But that was not enough. So I enameled the knob and painted some hearts on its front.

But that was not enough: So I added some wall paper on the front door.

But that was not enough. So I finally covered the inner drawer with wall pater too…

And that’s enough…for now.

If you like this creation of mine, maybe you want to take a look also at:

Heart Photo Wall Art

Wild Bedside Tables

Striped Diaper Holder

Yellow Dress Tutorial

Wool Sheath Dress

Federica’s Winning Design

About Federica

My name is Federica, I’m Italian but I love travelling all over the world. I’m a mother, a wife, an interpreter and I work in the fashion field. During the rare and precious free time I have, I love creating with my hands objects for the people I love. If you have the same passion I invite you following me on my blog and on Facebook.

Pass it on!

Category : Crafts, DIY Artwork, Inspiring People

Tags : Craft Ideas, Guest Author, Refurbishing Ideas, Upcycling Ideas, Valentine's Day

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04th Feb2013

Valentines Day Craft DIY Garland

by Dinah Wulf

This Valentines Day Craft DIY Garland is a fun and easy activity for kids. It’s very easy to do and involves using recycled materials. I always seem to work that in my crafty projects! This was another one of those quick crafts that I made with items I already had. My daughter and I always try to think of projects to do during the day and she had a blast helping me.

Here is what you’ll need:

Paper scraps (I used pink and red)
Old book pages
Paper cutter or scissors (preferably a paper cutter because it would be a pain to cut all those strips!)
Double sided tape
Felt (I had felt craft birds from the dollar bin at Michael’s Craft Store)
Ribbon
Hot glue

We cut several strips of paper and book pages into one inch wide strips in three different lengths with a paper cutter. OK, I completely forgot to measure the lengths but if I had to guess I would say 6”, 7” and 8”.

Fold each strip in half.

Next, using a small narrow piece of double sided tape, bend the curve of the heart in and tape the ends together.

It will naturally form the perfect heart shape.

We decided to layer the large (red) and small hearts (book pages), attaching with double sided tape. Using a hot glue gun, I glued a small felt bird with a gemstone eye to the tip of the heart. If you can’t find felt craft birds, you can always cut and make them yourself with a simple bird silhouette and felt.

We punched a hole in the last two hearts, and tied ribbon to it.

We attached the hearts together with tape and voila! You have a whimsical recycled heart Valentine’s Day banner.

Pass it on!

Category : Crafts, Holidays, Kids Craft Ideas

Tags : Bridal Shower Ideas, Craft Ideas, Dinah's Tutorials, paper crafts, Recycled Book Pages, Valentine's Day

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29th Jan2013

How To Paint Metal – From Drab To Fab

by Dinah Wulf

I am so excited to have my friend Tara from A Spectacled Owl today to share her fabulous metal owl makeover! She will show you how to paint metal and turn some candlesticks from drab to fab! Welcome Tara!

I’ve often wondered how to paint metal because I had never done it before. There have been so many times I’ve seen a little statue, candle holder or other tchotchke that is adorable but is either the wrong color for what I am looking for or just a downright ugly color altogether. Ever since I met up with Barbara from Chase The Star and she convinced me that even *I* could spray paint something, all I see are possibilities! My favorite place to look now is the clearance section! Sometimes there are some UGLY things there that just need a little love and a whole lotta paint!

For weeks, my daughter Ashlyn & I had been going into World Market (we’re a tad bit obsessed with the place!) and saw these owl taper candle holders. I loved the owls themselves but I hated the bronzy look to it and I am not a taper candle girl at all. Ashlyn and I went there a week or so ago and I realized that there were more in the clearance section now and they were 75% off! (So, instead of paying $65 for all 5, which I wouldn’t have paid, they were $15 total for all 5!) I took one and tried to see if the taper candle holder part of it was screwed on, which it was, so I knew I could take that part off. We grabbed 2 big ones (for my husband & myself) and 3 little ones (Jared, Ashlyn & Ryan). I brought them home & got to work. Hope you like what I did to them. I am beyond happy with the results!

See? Cute owls, just ugly finish & the thing on their heads had to go!

Yay! No more ugly things on their heads! After getting those off, I wiped them down with a paper towel and rubbing alcohol so they were all clean.

All lined up on plastic, ready to be primed! Yes, they all have holes in their heads now but I’m ok with that!

Before painting the metal, you want to use a good primer so that the paint will stick & not run. The woman at Home Depot recommended this primer when I went to buy some spray paint for another project. I really liked the way it came out smooth & I loved the coverage.

This is after one coat. Primer went on really well. I let it dry about 15 minutes in between coats, 3 coats total. After all the coats were on, I let the owls completely dry overnight and then went to work spray painting them. Each owl got a different color, the favorite color of the family member each represented (Flat black for my husband, a nice green for me, white for my oldest son Jared, violet for Ashlyn & yellow for Ryan). After the white owl dried, I did a coat of Krylon’s Rust Protector Gloss Enamel, a nice glossy white finish.

Ashlyn wanted hers to be a dark purple so I decided to break out the ginormous box of crafts paints I have and find a shade. I used Craft Smart Acrylic paint in Violet & added DecoArt Pearlizing Medium to give the paint some shimmer. After painting, I took this one out to the garage to dry with the rest of the owl family (I’m sorry there aren’t other pictures of my spray painting the owls. Those pictures accidentally got deleted *sniff*)

After letting all the owls dry overnight, I sprayed the green, yellow & purple owls with Ace Hardware’s Premium Enamel Gloss in Clear. I left the owl that was painted flat black because my husband really liked the look of it. After leaving the owls for a couple hours to make sure everything was dry, they were ready for their first photo shoot! I loved how these came out & can’t wait to find other ugly things to paint & make beautiful!

Follow Tara on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Pass it on!

Category : Crafts

Tags : Craft Ideas, Guest Author, Refurbishing Ideas, Upcycling Ideas

1 Comm

25th Jan2013

Budget-Friendly DIY Valentine’s Day

by Dinah Wulf

This Valentine’s Day, don’t spend money on cliche roses and boxes of chocolates. For a fraction of the price you can make your own gifts, foods and fun decor. Here are a few ideas for a Budget-Friendly DIY Valentine’s Day.

Gift Ideas

Love Coupons: You can find love coupons at the store for $12 or more. But you can make your own for a few bucks by using scrapbook paper, embellishments, stamps and markers. Take a hint from Ed Young and make a coupon to spend Valentine’s Day in bed. His book “Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with Your Spouse” details a challenge of spending a week in bed together and encourages more sex. Pastor Young said in an interview with Stephen Colbert that sex is the “Super Glue of marriage.”

Valentine-Gram: This simple and cheap Valentine’s Day gift idea turns an ordinary brown bag into a fun valentine-gram.

Directions: Take a brown paper bag and stamp or write any sentiment you wish. I prefer “Be Mine” with hearts. Once you’ve done that, fill the bag with candies, treats, lip balm or anything else you wish to put in the bag. Fold the bag so it closes and use a small hole punch to punch two holes on the middle of the fold. Use bakers twine or red ribbon to tie the bag shut.

Love Card Deck: There are a million reasons why you love your significant other, but you can express to them 52 reasons by using a deck of cards. This fun romantic gift will be a card scrapbook of sorts, and once he plays cards with his buddies he can read your reasons of love at the same time. This project is free if you already have a deck of cards!

Directions: Write 52 things you love about your man think about trips, special events, pets, favorite gifts. Use a fine tip Sharpie pen and write one reason one one card. Repeat this process until you have written on every card. For an extra personal touch print out a few small photos of you guys and tape them to the box.

Sweet Treats

ValentineS’more Bites: These little bite-size S’mores will transform the traditional campfire classic into a little piece of Valentine’s heaven. These delicious treats will have you wondering why you never made them this way before.

Recipe Courtesy of SomewhatSimple.com.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
Dipping chocolate
Heart shaped marshmallows
Heart shaped cookie cutter
Sprinkles

Directions:

Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs together. Spread them evenly onto a foil lined 9″X13″ pan, press down firmly and place into the freezer for an hour. Use a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out graham cracker hearts. Next, dip the very bottom of the marshmallows into melted dipping chocolate and place them on top of the cut-out graham cracker crusts. Once cool dip the whole thing back into the dipping chocolate, place on wax paper and top with sprinkles.

Holiday Dcor

Love Wreath: This fun and simple wreath only costs a few dollars to make and will be a fun and romantic addition to any space. All you need is a heart-shaped foam wreath (any size will do, it just depends on how big you want your wreath), a paperback book (or vintage sheet music, magazines or vintage books), glue gun and glue sticks, and some distressing ink. Idea courtesy of Makelyhome.com.

Directions: Tear out some pages and distress the edges with some distress ink. I like to use an ink with a vintage, rustic brown color but you can use any color you choose. Next, roll your paper into any method of your choosing. . . cone, ribbon, circle, or any other way you like to fold the pages (You can see paper-folding tutorials anda variety of ways to roll the paper).

After rolling the page, apply some glue at the end of the roll and glue it to the wreath, make sure all the distressed edges are facing up. Apply pages around the whole wreath in one layer. Once you’ve completed your shape, flip the wreath over. That will now become the bottom layer. Continue rolling pages for your wreath and fold a little tab on the bottom edge and apply glue to the tab. Always finish one layer before moving to the next.

Once you reach the inside of the wreath glue pages to the inside and place as many pages as you wish. Once you’re done you might need to go back and fill in some sections. Use a piece of ribbon and attach it to the back of your wreath for hanging.

Pass it on!

Category : Crafts, Holidays

Tags : Craft Ideas, Valentine's Day

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22nd Jan2013

DIY Drink Coaster Tutorial

by Dinah Wulf

I am so excited to have Heather from Setting for Four today! She is sharing one of my favorite tutorials of hers, a DIY Drink Coaster Tutorial. Also, she included a bonus of my absolute fave, her DIY Beaded Sunburst Mirror! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Please feel free to share it too. If you Pin it, I’d love it if you pinned it from her website to show her some LOVE! Welcome, Heather!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be here at DIY Inspired to guest post today!

My name is Heather and I blog at Setting for Four:

I’m a Military wife with a passion for family friendly design that won’t break the bank or sacrifice style! I am a mom of two teenagers and married to my best friend, an Infantryman, whom I am so proud of! I love to create things by hand, cook healthy meals and most of all create a comfy and cozy space for our family of four.

Here’s my DIY Drink Coaster Tutorial:

Drink Coasters are a great Do It Yourself project to make for your home or give as presents!

They are great to have in your living room, kitchen, office etc. but can be expensive to buy, so let’s make our own!

DIY Coasters:

Custom DIY Coaster Tutorial from Setting for Four #coaster #custom #diy #personalized #diy #modpodge #tutorial

Many coaster tutorials use tiles but I find them to be a bit too big .

This tutorial uses coasters I found at the Dollar Store. They are the perfect size and they are backed with cork so that step is already done!

Tile for DIY Coaster Tutorial from Setting for Four #dollar #tile #coaster #diy

Supplies:

Scrapbooking Paper – Michaels, 99 cents. This paper has the added bonus of reversing to a different pattern, so you can alternate the colors of your coasters to make a set that looks beautiful together. But for this project I just used the script side.