There are some new glitter-friendly stencils at Michaels these days, designed by my good friend (and all around really great lady) Amy from Mod Podge Rocks! They are peel and stick stencils, do you don’t have to worry about leakage under the stencil as you use them. I whipped up this polka dot notebook in no time, and I’m looking forward to gifting it to a creative friend who loves sketching as much as I love DIYing.
How-to
Rainbow Shamrocks Glass
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, but there’s still time to get your rainbowy/gold/leprechaun/shamrock crafting on! I like this project because it’s a festive craft that’s pretty easy to accomplish without investing an obscene amount of time. It’s a great way to practice your stenciling, which I find to be a pretty handy DIY skill for everything from home decor to party crafts to handmade jewelry.
DIY Comic Book Compact
Inspired by a love of action movies and lifelong wish to BE Sydney Bristow, this made-over compact makes me smile every time I reach for it in my purse. I used to carry around a vintage gold compact for powdering my nose, but the wear and tear on it was no good. Then I switched to a plastic, non-vintage compact, so it was ok when it got scratched up by keys or other purse ephemera. But it was looking pretty bad. The solution? Bust out the Mod Podge!
Pinch Me Pendant for St. Patrick’s Day
Today’s easy metal stamping DIY takes just minutes to make and is super cute. It’s also a little more subtle than a giant Kiss Me, I’m Irish button, right? :)
Hacky Sack Crochet Pattern
This week the lovely Marie from Make & Takes invited me to design & share an easy crochet pattern in her crochet-a-day series, so I went old school and put together an easy (and super addictive) crochet hacky sack pattern.
DIY FYI: Threading a Needle
When I took an etextiles workshop last week, I was reminded that not everyone in the world can easily thread a needle. There are many people in this world (myself included when I have a tendonitis flare-up) who can’t grasp something as small as a piece of thread or hold it steadily enough to get it through a needle. Or maybe there’s a vision issue at play. Physical limitations aside, sometimes you’re just working with crazy thread! Read on for my top tip for getting your needle threaded so you can get down to DIY business!
DIY Light-Up Cuff Bracelet
Etextiles are pretty cool, but somehow actually attempting an electronics project didn’t happen until this week. I’m so glad I finally took a workshop because they’re SO COOL. And not nearly as scary as I thought. Not by a long shot. Today’s tutorial covers the very basics of working with LED bulbs and creating a simple circuit with conductive thread to make a bracelet that lights up when you wear it.
All Cables Cowl Pattern
It thundersnowed in Chicago yesterday, which means winter knitting season isn’t quite over yet. Unlike my faux woven cowl from last month, today’s cowl features a series of small cabled stripes all the way around and is made with less bulky yarn. Also unlike that cowl, it breathes a little more, so it’s great for transitional weather.
Olympic Rings Sunglasses
There are SO not enough Olympic themed crafts for adults floating around the DIY blogosphere. Today, I continue my crusade to change that with some medal-worthy sunglasses for cheering on your favorite team. Made with oven bake clay and some strong glue, these sunglasses are totally going to be something I whip out for every Olympic opening ceremony party, viewing party, closing ceremony party, watch party and Olympic bar crawl for the rest of my life. I’m so pumped about them!
