Birthday Calendar

A Birthday Calendar would be a great addition to the home to make it feel more "homey" or personal. Plus, it would be an EASY way to remember birthdays! There are many different ways that this calendar can be made...

The above picture can be found on this blog. It is a crafty blog of a girl who found this idea on Pinterest. She has all the steps included that she used to make this DIY calendar.

This another example of the calendar. They both have the same idea, but are each very unique! This can be found here, along with other DIY ideas!

Materials: 

1. A piece of wood (about 24")

2. Paint

3. Mod Podge

4. Circles for the birthdays (can find at a craft or scrapbook store)

5. Drill

6. Eye hooks 

Instructions:

Click here for instructions and suggestions!

Spoon Mirror

I would have never thought of glueing spoons onto a mirror for a decoration piece. It sounds a little crazy, but it is so cool! As long as you can find a simple place to display this mirror, so it does not look cluttered, then you can pull it off!

In the picture above, from countryliving.com, they have placed the mirror in an area where it will stand out against the white accent. The great thing about this project, is that you can choose whatever color of spoons that you can find.

Materials: 

A round mirror

Colorful spoons

Hot glue gun

*Country Living says for an 18" round mirror, it will require about 105 spoons 

Instructions: 

1. Start by glueing a spoon onto the mirror by placing glue on the neck of the spoon and placing it on so that the round part of the spoon is just right on the outside of the mirror

2. For the second spoon, place glue on the neck as well, and place it so that the round part nestles right into the round part of the first spoon. 

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 until the mirror is full. It should appear to have two layers. 

Painting Dots

Painting dots on a wall may sound really time consuming. But I found this idea on Pinterest (of course) that makes it look way easy.

All you need is an old laundry basket to achieve this look! Cut up the basket so you have a flat side that you can tape on the wall. This will make the dots evenly spaced with little effort.

I would love to try this for a kids room or even in the bathroom!

Bow Pillows

These pillows are adorable and would look great in a living room or bedroom! For this to truly be a DIY project, I will have to learn how to sew! But I think it would defiantly be worth it.

Materials: 

18" pillow form
1.5 yards of fabric
hand sewing needle
straight pins
sewing machine
thread
rule/measuring tape

Instructions:

If you know how to sew or have made a pillow before, this is probably not much different. You can find the step by step instructions here, on a blog by Elizabeth. She has other great DIY projects that you can check out by clicking the MAKE link at the top of her page.

Inspiration Wall

I came across this idea and thought it was genius. An Inspiration Wall. Why not have one of these? No matter what you are interested in, you can do this.

I hope that I can have a small space, either a room or an office, where I can do something like this someday soon! I would post pictures, design ideas, letters, etc. Anything that inspires me would be on that wall!

This photo is from this blog, by Carole King. Carole is an Interior Designer and writer who has a blog about design and her ideas. Check it out!

Mod Podge Coasters

Instead of buying a random set of coasters to put in your living room, you can actually make your own! I am excited to make these to match my future living room. These would also make a great gift!

Materials:

These are the minimum materials you will need to complete a cheap, creative, coaster set of your own.

1. Tiles
2. Scrapbook paper or photos
3. Scissors or a paper cutter
4. Mod Podge
5. Paintbrush

Also recommended:

6. Felt circles for the bottom of the tile
7. Polyurethane Spray or a gloss to put on the top (some people just put Mod Podge on the top)

Instructions: 

To start your coaster set, get all of your paper or pictures to size (don't use anything from an inkjet printer). Then put a layer of Mod Podge on the tiles and center your paper/photos onto the tile. Use your fingers to make sure they go on flat and will stay secure. Allow to dry for 20 minutes.

Next, put a layer of Mod Podge over top of the photo. Allow to dry and repeat the process.

When dry, you can apply the spray or gloss coat on top and the felt circles on the bottom of the tile.


Enjoy your new coasters!

Key/Jewelry Holder

This is the latest DIY idea I pinned on Pinterest, but I am very anxious to share it. This is one of the coolest DIY key/jewelry holders I have seen in a long time! I am defiantly going to make a few of these for the bedroom, or kitchen. I always put my keys in a different spot, so this way I could hang them up by the door and easily grab them on the way out. Fabric is used to cover the wood or canvas board, so there are so many patterns or colors that could be used to make this a unique DIY project.

Instructions:

I don't have the step by step instructions for this, but it is easy to see that you could do this many different ways and it will turn out great no matter what approach you take.  This was originally found on etsy.com but is no longer available. They have a variety of other holders for sale though. 

The materials you will need are a piece of wood or canvas board to cover with fabric, hooks, and either a stapler or glue to hold the fabric in place. 

Just cover the board and make sure the fabric is secure and add the hooks to the bottom. 

If anyone makes this project or has made it before, I would love to see a picture, or feel free to comment with any tips and or suggestions! Thanks! 

Painted Mason Jar Vases

I have been wanting to try to do these painted mason jar vases for a long time. They look extremely easy to make and only call for 2 materials. These would be great for my future kitchen to use as centerpieces. Or even in the bathroom. And the great thing is: is that you can pick the colors you use on the vases and chose the flower colors as well (if you want to add flowers). All you need to make these vases are clear, empty mason jars (of any size and shape), and acrylic paint. Michael's Craft Store and Hobby Lobby have a huge selection of paint colors to chose from. 

I found the step by step instructions for these vases at http://www.littlemissmomma.com/2012/05/diy-painted-mason-jar-vases.html. Little Miss Momma provides great pictures and tips for making these vases. 

Instructions: 

All you have to do is peel off the labels so the jars are clear and clean. Next squirt paint into the bottom of the jar and slowly twirl the jar upside down so the paint can run down the sides. You may have to add more paint, so this step is be trial and error. Once the jars are completely covered, leave them sitting upside down on a thick piece of cardboard that can catch the excess paint. Move jars every 10-15 minutes to ensure that all the excess paint escapes. When all the excess paint is gone, place jars facing upright to finish drying (for a few hours or until dry). 

Pinterest

Most of my inspiration and motivation to be creative when it comes to decorating is from Pinterest! There are so many ideas on there, so I have a board titled Dream Home and one titled Arts and Crafts. That way when it is time for me to decorate my own place, I have all of my ideas right there and ready to go. And of course this blog will have my ideas as well. Check out the link to my Pinterest and feel free to follow me!

http://pinterest.com/firkinsd/

Tomorrow I will be blogging about DIY Painted Mason Jar Vases!

This is where it all begins.

Hey everyone! 

At this point forward, I will be blogging periodically about ideas I have for my 'dream home', but most importantly, ideas that you all can use as well. I am a college student interested in art so there are two things that are very important to me when it comes to decorating; 1) that it is inexpensive 2) that it is unique and creative. I love discovering new DIY ideas and I don't know how to express that enough. When it comes to decorating my home someday, I want to be able to say, "Yeah, I made that!" I enjoy having that creative edge on something whether that something is on a lamp shade, end table, drinking glasses, picture frame, etc. There are so many ways to turn everyday objects and materials into something unique and useful for your home. And that is why I am here; to find all of those ideas and put them all into one spot. When I do have my own place someday, I will be ready to make these creative, cheap, DIY projects! I hope you enjoy all of the ideas to come.