By the time Memorial Day rolls around, I am ready for three things: sunshine, hot dogs, and color.

But the sun hasn’t been out to play much lately, and I don’t cook (even though hot dogs couldn’t be much easier to make), so that just leaves color for this weekend’s DIY roundup. Which is perfect because it’s hard to find craft projects revolving around the other two things. 

Let’s get to it…

1. (above) Ribbon Mobile DIY from Project Wedding (by Victoria Hudgins)

2. How to make a statement necklace from Making it Lovely (by Andrea Howe)

3. Painted Glass Table Top DIY from Kara Paslay (recently shared on Design Sponge as well)

4. Polka Dot Pincushion from Country Living (image via Susie Gushner)

5. Felted Bag from Country Living (image via John Rizzo)

6. DIY Tie Dye Shoes from Swellmayde

7. DIY Embroidered Necklace from papernstitch (by me)

8. Decorative Wall Shelves with a Shoe Box from Creme de la Craft

9. How to Dye Paper Towels from Evie S.

10. Neon Toe Shoes DIY from Green Wedding Shoes

11. Painted Necklace DIY from Orange Tree Studio

12. Colorful Mason Jar DIY from Blue Eyed Yonder

13. Paint a Confetti Dish Towel from Make and Takes (by Danyelle Mathews)

14. Neon Painted Shoes using Nail Polish from Love Maegan

15. Spray Painted Florals from papernstitch (by Jeanne and Lenna)

16. Ombre Scarf DIY from A Bit of Sunshine

17. Have a Ball Chandelier from One Charming Party (by Jenny Batt)

18. Place Setting Placemat DIY from A Beautiful Mess

19. DIY Neon Market Tote from Harper’s Bazaar (by A Pair and a Spare)

I hope you have an awesome weekend. I am going to take Monday off for Memorial Day. So I’ll see you back here on Tuesday.

Alright, I couldn’t resist the color block trend any longer. Time for a new DIY!

Here’s the story: I’ve had this yellow wallet for years, and since I bought a new one recently, old yellow is not really getting any use. So I grabbed some of my trusty textile paint and got to work. Now I am using it as a colorful clutch for lunch dates with friends. Wanna make your own? Here’s the breakdown (two ways)…

Supplies:

1. old wallet (marks and scuffs are okay)
2. textile paint (I prefer Jacquard Textile Paint)
3. paint brush
4. an old rag or paper towels

How to Make it (part I): Distressed Paint Technique

1. Clean your wallet as best you can with a little soap and water (or leather cleaner). If you used yours as much as I used mine, you need to clean it girl!

2. You can do this two ways. I’m going to show you the color blocking one last because it’s pretty straight forward. So for those that are looking for something more unique and distressed instead of bold (and beautiful).

Grab your paint brush and start with one small(ish) section at a time.

3. As the paint is drying, take your rag or paper towel and start lightly wiping the paint away. You can experiment with this technique and just have fun with. At times, I even added a little water to my rag to remove large areas of paint and then went back into it once it was dry.

4. Continue to layer your paint and then wipe off in certain areas to get that distressed look.

Here’s the finished piece…

How to Make it (part II): Color Blocking

1. Again, clean your wallet as best you can with a little soap and water (or leather cleaner).

2. Now I am going to show the color blocked version. It’s pretty simple. First, choose your color combo. I picked red-orange and fuchsia textile paint and decided at the last minute to keep a pop of the original yellow as well.

3. Next, it’s time to grab your paint brush and paint away. Pay close attention to even strokes and don’t be afraid to layer up! I ended up painting at least three coats of the red since it’s a bright color and I wanted it to really pop. Here’s an in-process shot of the layers as I was building them up…

4. Choose an area for your accent color (optional). I don’t have a picture of this part, but it is pretty self explanatory. My wallet had a natural place to add my accent color, find yours if you want it to look like you bought it that way. If you want to share your artistic side, choose a less expected area for your accent color – maybe a fun shape or stripes.

Here’s the finished piece…

I like the color blocked version better than the distressed look from part I. What do you think? Which is your favorite?

Weigh in below in the comments section.

I feel like a broken record, because it seems like I have said this a million times, but here goes 1 million and one: I am not a sewer! No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to pick this skill up, which may sound weird coming from a DIY gal, but it’s true.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t hoard stacks of fabric (vintage and new) to use and admire though. So for all those fabric admirers out there, here’s a list of shops that love fabric as much as you do – making their wares from beloved materials…

1. Sleepy King:  Savannah Carroll is the sewing master behind the adorable line of handmade plush animals, embroidered art, and accessoires you’ll find at Sleepy King. It’s clear that everything in this shop is made with love. Sleepy King Discount for you: Receive 20% off with coupon code HOORAY20 at checkout.

(above) Dachshund anyone? These guys are giving my grandma’s dachshunds a run for their money.

These plush bunnies would be perfect for a nursery (or the couch if you don’t have any little ones). I love the ones with their eyes closed especially. What about you?

Savannah’s plush creatures translated into embroidered wall art.

2. Lolos: A casual clutch shop where fabric takes the lead.

Great color and pattern on this clutch. Perfect for spring.

I could definitely see my old students toting these around. Great for teens.

And  this bright red number. I love the simple pleating on this clutch.

3. Red Seed Studio: This Aussie shop carries handcrafted accessories and clothing made of hand screen printed organic textiles.

Comfy skirts for a casual lunch in the park with friends.

Actual leaves from the Red Seed garden were used to create this printed pouch. I’d use this fo a makeup bag in a second. Love the navy.

And a few pops of brick red.

4. Simplifi Fabric: Of course, if you’re just looking for fabric to make your own handmade goodies, this shop would be a good one to check out. Cute patterns and colorful solids to choose from (along with some other available crafting supplies like snap button kits).

Modern herringbone patterns alongside quirky fabrics for kid’s projects.

Something for the woodland animal lovers.

But my favorite from Simplifi? The sailboat fabric - makes me want to float away. Paper boats are a reliable way to travel, right?

5. The Blooming Thread: This shop is most known for the vintage-inspired jewelry that Ryan Horton dreams up (the enamel lockets are really popular). But I love Ryan’s felt and fabric brooches so much, I couldn’t help but included The Blooming Thread in this one. The Blooming Thread Discount for you: Receive free shipping for the month of May. Enter the code PNSFREESHIP at checkout.

Isn’t this felt brooch awesome!? I love the colors and that print for the center.

These remind me of Sex and the City when Carrie wore those giant flower brooches. These are a bit more tame – in a good way.

And of course, I had to throw in these felt flower bobby pins. So cute.

5 Faves is a new column that I’ll be writing once per week. Want more? Read last week’s 5 Faves right here.

Yesterday I opened a few birthday presents and loved the wrapping paper. I was so impressed with the way Jeff wrapped my presents this year.  So I thought today would be the perfect time to share a project I put together for Glo.com as part of their hottest trends in DIY this year. This is a great way to customize gifts for friends, family, and special occasions.

I only shared an image of the finished piece on Glo. So it’s time for the full monty. Here’s how you can create your own custom wrapping paper…

Supplies List:

1. plain wrapping paper (Paper Source has a great selection of colors and each roll is only $5)

2. stamps

3. and a stamp pad

4. spray sealant that is okay for paper (optional)

Directions:

1. Choose your stamps and the color stamp pad you’d like to use. Ink up your stamp and you are ready to go!

2. You can choose a random pattern, an all over pattern – whatever you’d like! Here’s the all over pattern (I just staggered my stamp over the entire piece of wrapping paper, making sure to reload with ink after every stamp).

3. Wait 24 hours for the ink to dry completely before wrapping your pressies. You don’t want smudge marks do you? If you are in a hurry, you can use a spray sealant. Just make sure it is okay for use on paper.

See how I staggered the pattern? No ruler or anything – kind of free form (and easy). Just the way I like it.

Finished presents…

And here’s one with just one stamp – a little thank you gift…

What do you think? Are you ready to tackle this on your own? Let me know in the comments below.

I’ll be sharing some more projects I created for the Glo.com article in the coming weeks as well. Stay tuned for those!

All photos by Brittni Mehlhoff (that’s me)

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Luckily, I am obsessed with DIY projects and have found a bunch of handmade touches that I can whip up in no time to make our new(ish) space feel like home. Here are 16 DIY projects for the indoors and out…

Small Housewares

1. DIY Succulent Wraps from Camille Styles 2. DIY Clay Pots by Claire for Say Yes to Hoboken

3. DIY Wall Clock from Scandinavian Deko 4. Make a Chevron Pillow from Biscuits and Jam

Wall Art

5. Geometric Wall Art (yep this is a diy) from Kate for Design Sponge

6. DIY Book Frame Wall Art from Lauren Elise for Papernstitch

7. Nail and String Wall Art from Jen Loves Kev

8. Wood Pendant DIY from my buddy Chris at ManMade

Furniture

9. Create a custom Storage Ottoman from Katherine for Papernstitch 10. Make an easy cushion Ottoman from Casasugar

11. DIY Dog Crate Coffee Table from HGTV (by Erin of Design for Mankind – found via Dog Milk)

*I know this one doesn’t exactly look fast or easy, but I love it.

12. DIY Tree Stump Table from Martha Stewart

13. Upholster a Chair with DIY Printed Fabric from How About Orange

Lighting + Accessories

14. DIY Cardboard Chandelier from Kayte for Etsy’s Blog

15. Modern DIY Coatrack from Weekday Carnival

The Great Outdoors

16. Chevron Recycled Wood Planter Box from Zelo Photo  17. Color Block Terra Cotta Pots from A Beautiful Mess

18. Outdoor Kitchen DIY (free pdf instructions) from Studio Mama

19. Outdoor Lighting DIY from Lowe’s

What problems are you currently tackling with your home?

Let me know in the comments below.

P.S. If you’re looking for craft project ideas for Mother’s Day, check out this roundup of 25 projects you can finish up last minute (with the kiddos if you have any) to get you through the holiday. One of my projects made the list at #3.

April showers bring May flowers! Today I have  a little Fabric Flower Brooch DIY for you to help bring the springtime cheer to your wardrobe. Added bonus, this little project is very quick to finish and uses materials you probably already have, making it a great last minute Mother’s Day gift!

Here are the materials you’ll need:

1. Fabric with a bold floral print. You could make a mother’s day gift extra special by using a treasured piece of vintage fabric.

2. Wool Felt in a coordinating color.

3. Embroidery thread and Needle.

4. A pin back or safety pin.

Here’s how you make it:

1. Cut out your flower from the fabric. You get to decide how much or how little of the fabric’s floral print you want to feature. I chose to cut out just one large flower, but you could also add leaves or smaller flowers, maybe even layering and stitching them on top of each other.

2. Cut out your felt backing. Leave a little bit of a border to help frame your flower.

3. Stitch the flower to the felt. I used a simple running stitch along the outside, but you could use any decorative stitch. Be Creative!

4. Add your pin back. I had an extra pin back, but a safety pin could also work. Just make sure to stitch it on tight!

5. Just keep stitching! If there are certain areas of the flower you want to highlight, you can do so with more stitches. Outline one or two flowers if you are working with a small bunch, or stitch around a couple petals.

When you’re happy with how your little brooch looks, tie off your thread and you’re done!

I was able to stitch this little guy while sitting watching a movie, and it came along so quickly I think I might need to make a couple more for the dear women in my life. Hope you all have a lovely last bit of spring and a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Happy crafting!

Michael Ann is a sewer, knitter, crafter, thrifter, living a crafty life with her husband in Portland, Oregon. You can find her at her blog Michael Ann Made where she shares projects, tutorials, and bits of inspiration to help you live a crafty life too. You can also follow her adventures on twitter.

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I have a box of leather scraps and I am not afraid to use ‘em! Here are 9 clever leather craft ideas for you to try this weekend…

1. (above) How to make a leather hair bow from Calico Skies

2. Leather bracelet DIY from A Beautiful Mess

3. Leather mail basket from Matt for Design Sponge

4. Leather fold over clutch project from Say Yes to Hoboken

5. Fringe necklace DIY from In Honor of Design

6. Skinny leather belt project from A Beautiful Mess

7. Leather envelope clutch diy from Swell Mayde

8. DIY monogrammed leather key chain from Jenny for The Sweetest Occasion

9. Make a leather packaging bow from Freshly Picked

Hope your weekend is amazing! See you next week.

It is time to start saving those wine corks and maybe even grab a roll of cork from the craft store (hint you can also pick some up on Amazon) because today’s roundup is going to get you in the mood to DIY.

Here are my top 13 picks for cork craft projects to get you through the weekend…

1. Polaroid Cork DIY from  Christy Schuler (above image)

2. Uncanny Cork Vases DIY (from papernstitch- that’s me!)

3. Fruit-shaped Cork Coasters from Real Simple

 4. Cork Trivet Idea from Whole Living

5. Wine Cork Coasters Craft Poject from Mayi at Heartmade

6. Wine Cork Keychains How-To from Cleverly Inspired

7. Woven Cork Tray from Design Sponge

8. Make a Cork Clutch from What I Wore (hard to believe this is DIY, but it is!)

9. Halligan’s American Travel Map from Design Sponge

10. Cute Custom Coasters from Fellow Fellow

11. Cork Stamps from The Sweet Spot

12. Wine Cork Chandelier DIY from Mox and Fodder

13. Painted Cork Tile Pinboard from The Happy Home

That’s it for me! Have a great weekend.

This contributor post was written by Beth of Parsimonia.

A year or so ago I was walking around our neighborhood in Santa Monica when I spotted a high school girl wearing a floral print dress with spaghetti straps. I did a double-take, then carefully kept walking, making sure I hadn’t entered some weird time warp that had thrown me back into the ’90s. Turns out, I was still in post-millennium times, but the fashions of my youth were slowly creeping into it — and they haven’t stopped. Only now, it’s all about neon and, more recently, tie dye.

The latter is one I can definitely get behind, mostly because it’s something you can do yourself and modern adaptions aren’t quite as colorful. Instead of jamming six shades into one piece of cloth, crafters are keeping it simple with two-tone techniques and more subdued hues. These five DIYs are just the tip of the iceberg, too. You can take this technique and transfer it to tons of things: shorts, skirts, dresses, bags, maybe even some curtains? Go on: Grab some rubber bands and get wild!

1. (above) Tie-Dye Tissue Paper by Honest to Nod

2. Tie-Dye Jeans by Here Is Now

3. Tie-Dye Hair Ties/Bracelets by Jenny Bevlin

4. DIY Bleach Tie Dye Top by Honestly WTF

5. Tie-Dye Shoes by Julia’s Poppies Design

6. Tie Dye Denim DIY by State of Unique

7. Tie-Dye Napkins by Sun and Glory

Beth is the writer behind Parsimonia: Secondhand With Style, where she blogs about her first love (thrifting) and her second love (cooking), as well as DIY projects, sustainable style and other bits of inspiration. She lives in St. Louis with one husband, one fuzzy dog and lots of dreams, and recently launched an online vintage store.

If spring could be captured in a jar I would be so happy! Spring is my favorite season. I love all the flowers and the fresh green color. This DIY project is my attempt to celebrate the season.

Just a note – this DIY involves some patience and a bit of skill.

Here are the materials you’ll need: 1. one gallon glass jar 2. spray paint 3. three large silk flowers (about 3″ across) 4. Washi tape 5. embroidery floss 6. two small, straight sticks 7. fun fur in lime green 8. heavy duty wire 9. hot glue gun and glue sticks 9. scissors 10. wire cutters 11. wooden spoon

Here is how you make it:

1. Remove the jar lid and spray paint it in your choice of color. Be sure to work in a well ventilated area. Let it dry completely. (I painted my lid using Krylon’s Gloss Ballet Slipper.)

2. Cut three sections of the heavy duty wire for the flower stems. *NOTE: My wire is a coil of brown, bark-textured wire. I stuck my three sections into the ground outside and spray painted them using Krylon’s Gloss Ivy Leaf*.

3. Hot glue the wire stems to the bottoms of the flowers. You will have to hold each stem for a bit until the glue starts to harden and set up. (I used Prima Baroque Blooms in Deep Pink)

4. Make a mini banner from the two sticks (make sure they fit inside the jar, but keep them as tall as they can be), the embroidery floss and the Washi tape. Fold the tape pieces over the embroidery floss line and pinch closed. Trim with scissors to make pennant shapes.

5. Cut your heavy duty wire flower stems into three different lengths. Make sure they are staggered in height and will fit below the banner.

6. CAREFULLY drizzle hot glue from the glue gun to a spot on the bottom of the glass jar. Set one of the flower stems into the hot glue and hold in place until the glue starts to set up. Repeat this for the other two flower stems.

7. Things are now getting tight down inside the terrarium so you won’t be able to drizzle the hot glue like you did for the flowers. Coat the bottom of one of your banner sticks with hot glue and carefully guide it to the bottom of the jar and into place. Try not to bump the hot glue onto anything on the way down. Hold the stick in place until the hot glue starts to set up. Repeat for the other banner stick.

8. Cut lengths of the lime green fun fur yarn and guide into place on the bottom of the terrarium using a wooden spoon handle. Use enough to hide all the ‘workings’ and to give a nice covering of baby green grass.

9. Put the lid back on the jar.

Tah Dah! You now have a beautiful jar of spring goodness to display in your home!

I have my spring terrarium sitting on my living room entertainment center.

Happy spring!

About Patty: Patty Schaffer is the owner of P.S. it’s in the details, an Etsy shop where you can find creative paper things that will make you ooooo and ahhh! Her shop specializes in paper accents for scrapbooking, card making, gift giving and home decor. Patty also shares DIY and craft projects, news on upcoming shop releases and other fun things on her blog, Capture the Details.

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