Friday, June 28, 2013

Make Your Own Wall Decals!

Wall decals are a hot trend, especially for renters since they are easy to install and do not damage your walls, BUT they can be expensive!! Especially if you want to customize them to include your own subject matter.

For my master bathroom I wanted to add a little whimsy but not anything permanent or expensive so I could change out different elements as I felt like it. The answer was definitely decals, but at what cost!! I shopped around at different stores as well as on Etsy and found a common theme; all the decals I liked I couldn't afford, and all of the ones I could afford I didn't like! Quite a conundrum!

So, the obvious solution was to make them!

Here's how I made mine:

What You'll Need:

1. A roll of contact paper
2. A stencil of your design
3. Xacto knife/scissors
4. double stick tape
5. black glossy spray paint




Steps:

1. First you need to make your stencil! The easiest way to do this is to do a google image search, if you are doing an animal, searching for silhouettes works well. Try to keep it simple without a lot of small or skinny sections (like antennae for example - these are very tricky to cut out). I found this image of a snail, copied and pasted it into Word and made three different sized stencils. Then Print!
2. Cut out your images with an Xacto knife/scissors. I found an Xacto knife worked well for this step.


3. Next trace around your stencils onto the backside of your contact paper. *Important: since you are tracing onto the back of the paper your decal will be the mirror image of your stencil, so trace your stencils backwards!!!
Here is my image traced out, pen works well.
4. Now cut out your image! 
:)
5. The next step is to prep your decals for paint. In order to keep my images flat I adhered them to a plain piece of printer paper with double stick tape, like so:
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for all of your desired decals (I did 5 in all, one large, two medium, two small) Then its time to paint! Spray an even coat over each decal. I used Rustoleum 2X black glossy paint to imitate vinyl.  Let dry for at least an hour. 
7. Remove your decals from the printer paper. Then simply peel off the paper backing and stick! (its not a bad idea to clean your walls first, they will stick better to a clean surface).

Here's my family of snails crawling up my bathroom window! lol


Close-up! :)

*You don't have to use black paint, try other colors like bright glossy blue or red!
*Make larger decals by breaking your design up into sections (many large decals for purchase also come in sections)
*Try speciality spray paint like chalkboard paint! (not sure if this would work but it would be fun to try!)

Stay tuned for another d.i.y. decal project I have in mind :)

-Liz :)


Wednesday, June 26, 2013

DIY Canvas Quote Tutorial





I want to share this tutorial with you for a super easy and inexpensive piece of wall art featuring your favorite quote! This is my adaptation of projects I have seen on pinterest!



Here's What You Need:

1. Chipboard or Wooden Letters
2. A Canvas
3. Glue
4. Ruler
5. Pencil
6. Spray Paint


Steps:

1. First pick your quote! (it probably should be relatively short) I chose, "Not all who wander are lost". One of my favs as I love to travel!

2. Next arrange your letters on your canvas to get the spacing right:

Sorry about the blurriness!

3. Next using a ruler and pencil make guidelines on your canvas to mark your margins. I made one line at the left hand margin and a bottom line for each row, like so:

Again sorry about the lighting! I did this on my patio around sunset :)

Don't worry about the pencil lines you are going to spray right over them!

4. Now that you have your reference lines, glue down your letters. I used regular tacky brand craft glue.
If any glue seeps out from under the letters gently wipe it off, you do want extra glue around the letters because you will see the bumps after you paint. Let dry.

5. Now paint! Spray on the color of your choice over the whole canvas using even back and forth strokes about 6-12inches above the canvas. Let dry, at least an hour. 

And Voila! Finished Canvas!:


I hung mine in my master bath below the window as shown in the first pic :) These canvases would be great in any room or would add a pop of color to a larger wall installation.

You don't have to use a quote, you could also personalize with initials, or just arrange random letters or shapes into an image like a heart or maybe something more advanced for the more artistic!!

-Liz :)






Flea Market Find!

There's nothing quite like flea market treasure hunting! Just this past weekend I celebrated my 25th birthday, and began the day at a local church antique and collectibles flea market with my mom and reluctant boyfriend in tow! So, since it was my birthday I splurged a little and got myself this:

It's a vintage sterling and enamel hand-painted ring circa 1960s. So adorable! 20$ well spent :) If you like this ring I have seen a number of them on etsy as I have been told they were all the rage in the 60s!

-Liz













Thursday, June 20, 2013

Thrifty Container Garden

I'm sure all of you have seen pictures on diy sites or pinterest of everyday objects being used as planters to create whimsical container gardens. Here's a couple good links:

http://www.diynetwork.com/outdoors/12-unusual-and-upcycled-container-gardens/pictures/index.html

http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/stunning-low-budget-container-gardens/pictures/page-6.html

I personally love this look! Way more interesting than flower pots from big box stores. And talk about conversation pieces, nothing gets the conversation flowing like peonies cascading out of a tuba! lol

So, for my small container garden I used only containers I picked up at local thrift stores (btw so much cheaper than buying brand new pots, I didn't pay anymore than $4 for any of my containers!) Here's some of my finds:

adorable purple flowers in a vintage blue and white sugar dish

small succulent in a vintage teacup with colorful bird design
vintage planters, large white elephant and small brown puppy (vintage planters are a great way to add a little whimsy to your garden, you can find them in all shapes and sizes at thrift stores and on etsy)

Lavender plant in a smal vintage basin
Large upcycled planter - I found this plastic urn shaped planted at a thrift store and after a quick spray of bright blue spray paint it looks great. The brown ceramic duck was also a thrift store find!
I also fashioned a hanging planter out of an old egg basket I found at Salvation Army. I lined the basket with a woven liner from home depot, and strung beads and crystals on invisible thread off of the triangular basket closures to add some sparkle!! The same look could easily be achieved using an old metal strainer!

I planted a white trailing flower in the basket. 
To add some elegance, I finished off my strings of beads
with some vintage chandelier crystals I bought off etsy :)
So, when your planning out your garden don't head straight for the home improvement store, try your luck at your local thrift store or even look around your own home for unlikely flower pots!

Please share pics of your own container gardens, I would love to see some more ideas!

-Liz :)




Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Wait, That's A What?

As I have already mentioned, I recently just moved into a bigger apartment so I am in the process of decorating aka many of my posts will revolve around this, including this one!

There was a space right next to our front door that I really couldn't decide what to do with, until my bf suggested an entry table (although he didn't use the exact words "entry table" more like why don't we put a table there or something? lol).

So the search was on for some sort of table/cabinet that would fill the space and maybe add a little storage. I began searching at my local thrift stores for a piece that just needed a little tlc. But everything was too big or too ornate or just plain ugly. Until...

I found this awesome little cabinet at a thrift store near by, and at a price of $45, deal! But this wasn't exactly the plain old storage cabinet I thought...


Surprise! It's a sowing machine! That definitely threw me at first and my immediate reaction was to walk away, but my mom convinced me it could be perfect with a little reinvention so we got it! (barely into my two-door Honda).

First step, was bye bye sowing machine! Its definitely a cool old sowing machine but I was not really in the market for one so I detached it:


This left me with yes a hole, but also an awesome conveyor platform thing (where the sowing machine sat) that raises when you flip the top open. I already have some ideas for this!

So, I am going to attempt to pull a "Flea Market Flip"(or in this case "thrift store flip" lol) - for any of you who don't watch that show you probably should!- and transform this old sowing machine into something totally different!

To Be Continued...

-Liz :)

Attack of the Ducklings!

Ok so I just had to share this pic! At our new apartment there is a group of adorable baby ducklings that have no problem getting near people and turning on the cuteness in hopes of food. They actually will ambush anyone they see!! hahaha So aggressive! This is my bf being chased down for some crackers we were feeding the fish and turtles with in the pond behind our apt. Probably the cutest attack in history :) 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

IKEA Repurpose!

For all who haven't already experienced the wonderful world of IKEA, here's a little taste! As everyone knows IKEA is cheap, while still decent quality furniture. And how can they charge such low prices? Well, by making YOU do all the work! lol. But thats ok, this only adds to the DIY potential. Especially, with their line of unfinished furniture that leaves the design completely up to your imagination! I decided to try my hand at this for my nightstands. I wanted nightstands with some storage but as far as the design, I wasn't 100% sure so I found these unfinished ones at IKEA...

Thats after about 2 hours of assembling :)
($39.99 each)

And then after about 3 coats of paint and some fancy pulls from Anthropologie...

Finished Product! 
I went with a dark olivey green to pop next to my blue/white chevron comforter, and black/brown stone pulls versus knobs (I think they work better to break up the large rectangular face of the drawer)!

Close-up of pulls 


Well, there's my IKEA repurpose! Hopefully, some inspiration for your next furniture project!

-Liz :)





Thursday, June 13, 2013

Easy Upcycled Garden Fountain

















My boyfriend and I recently moved into a new apartment that has a screened in patio with a semi-obstructed view out to a small lake in front (still a million times better than the parking lot/dumpster view we had from the old apartment!). Anyways seeing the water made me think how nice it would be to hear the water too, hence the idea of a fountain! 

Since fountains can get expensive quick, I began brainstorming how I could make one affordably and also simply, since I have absolutely no plumbing experience! I starting trawling the internet and I did find some tutorials but it seemed most of them were relatively complicated, so I have done a simplified version here...

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-a Reservoir - this is the creative part! - it can be anything that holds water really- I did mine with a large vintage enamel pot I found at a thrift store for only 6$, but I have also seen them done with large gardening pots, vases, etc. - Use your imagination!!
-Fountain Pump and Nozzles 
I got these from home depot. On the right is the pump itself. I got the smallest one they had ($18.99) since this is not a very big fountain. On the left is the nozzle set ($9.99) - this is the standard set for a doming fountain.

- Decorative Rocks - I used a couple bags of seaglass I had in my craft storage from Michaels.
- Lots of Water!!

STEPS:

1) Select your reservoir. Here is a better picture of the old pot I used:

Ignore the Campells cans!

2) Add your decorative rocks to the bottom. 


3) Place your pump on the bottom of your reservoir in the center. The pump I bought had suction cups to hold it in place. Then connect your nozzle pieces to the top of the filter until your nozzle is at the appropriate height. The nozzle kit I bought came with an adjustable piece of tubing, I connected this directly to the pump and then put the nozzle on top of this. I kept the tubing at the lowest height since my pot wasn't very tall. 
My nozzle is about 2 inches above the rim of my pot. 

4) Add water! I filled mine to about 2-3 below the rim. 
5) Turn on your pump and adjust the nozzle. Turning the top part of the nozzle to the right makes the dome of water bigger in diameter and vice versa. 

Here's the finished product!:

Not too bad for a rusty old pot! 

Extras:
-With a larger reservoir you could make a "mini pond" by adding some floating plants or even goldfish! 
-try adding a floating element like floating led lights or old glass fishing floats
-use unexpected reservoirs like a worn down sink or even bathtub!! 

If anyone has upcycled any interesting items into fountains please share! I would love to see some more ideas!

-Liz :)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Photo Mounting Tutorial!



Supplies:

1. Wooden block, any shape
2. Acrylic paint
3. Mod podge or spray adhesive
4. Krylon Protect It! (Clear sealant spray, specifically for use on paper/photos, can find at Michaels)
5. Laser-printed photo
6. Exacto knife/scissors

Steps:
1. Paint the sides of your wooden blocks with acrylic paint, whatever color you wish. Let dry.

2. Print photos using a laser printer. This is important, do not use an inkjet printer because the ink will most likely bleed when you seal the photo.
*Most home printers are inkjet printers, the cheapest option is to photocopy your prints at work or school, or just go to your nearest FedEx Office (aka Kinkos!)
*Also make sure your photos are slightly bigger than your wood blocks (about 1/2 inch)

3. Now you need to center the block behind the photo. What I found easiest was to hold the photo with the block behind it up to the light, so you can see through the paper. Once the block is centered, place face down and trace around the block on the back of the photo. Now you know exactly where to place your block once glued.

4. Using mod podge (I prefer this, less messy!) or spray adhesive spread a thin layer completely covering the front of your block.

5. Glue block onto back of your paper, lining up with your trace marks and press down firmly.

6. Flip it over and smooth out air bubbles with a credit card starting in the middle of the photos and moving out towards edges.

7. After the glue is dry (wait about 30mins). Cut out around the block using an exacto knife or scissors.

8. Spray with the Krylon Protect It! Sealant. I prefer this to sealing with mod podge because this method does not leave brush marks.
*do not use regular clear spray sealant, this will make the paper wet and will cause it to discolor .

9. Attach a hook to the back or use a command strip to hang.


Sorry, i forgot to take pictures of the steps as I went but here is my finished product!! I did four circles using photos I have taken on vacations.


how they look on the wall (yay blue nail polish lol)



Take it up a notch:

* Make multiple in same shape to create a unique wall installation!
* Mount photos onto other materials like glass, tile, etc. Use super inexpensive ceramic tiles from Home Depot to make personalized coasters!



Intro!

Hey everyone!

My first official blog post! This blog is something I have been thinking of starting for awhile now, as a way to share my passion for creating. For as long as I can remember I have loved crafting, and as I have gotten older that has combined with my interests in interior design, science, nature and history to influence my personal style and creative aesthetic. And that is what I want to share with through this blog! 

Right now I am envisioning D.I.Y. by L.I.Z. to be a mash-up of craft-tutorials, repurposing projects, vintage finds and design ideas. Hopefully this blog will not only be an outlet for me, but also a source of inspiration for everyone who stumbles upon it! :)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy! :)

-Liz