diy

Room Deodorizer

I really dislike any kind of fragrance plug-in.  Candles are my favorite to make a room smell yummy, that and open windows and fresh cut lawn, but sometimes that's not available.

I found this super easy tutorial on Pinterest to make your own room deodorizer.  Of course the pictures on pinterest look much cuter than mine, they would choose cute printed paper or fabric as the cover and had the ring for the canning jar to hold it on, but I couldn't find either of those things in my house, so I made due with parchment paper and a rubberband (classy, I know ;)

What you need:
jar
1/2 cup baking soda
8-12 dr0ps of oil (I used just lavender in mine, but I'm thinking of adding some mint and vanilla to my next one)
a cover (fabric, paper, tin foil)
nail or sewing needle to poke holes in the top

If you need to activate the smell again, just shake the jar a bit.

Here's how mind turned out (and it made the bedroom smell lovely):

Make Your Own Printed Fabric

I love this idea.  I've been getting antsy to change the color in my living room now that the holidays are over.  All the decorations have come down and I want to change my white and green theme to white and blue.  This idea for hand-printed fabric has given me the idea to add a little blue to some couch pillows, such an easy way to update color.

This idea comes from the blog, Lime Riot.  All you need is fabric, in this case she used linen, fabric paint and a toilet paper roll.  Click here for the full instructions.

Presto Change-o
I change the artwork in my office and bedroom quite often.  I'm a photographer and love to display photos from my trips or celebrations or everyday life.  Since I have so many photos and keep taking more, I like to give each one their time on my walls.  These displays with washi tape are a fun and easy way to do it.  I'm sure you can get Washi tape from many places, one quick check on Amazon and I found quite a few.

Rolling Bookshelf for Small Spaces
I have been living in small spaces since I went to college.  After college I moved to NYC and eventually settled in to a 200 sq. ft. apartment with a roommate.  The kitchen was so narrow at points, that two people couldn't walk by the stove at the same time.  I'm now in CA, but we still have a smaller space and need to conserve space and make all the furniture in the living room moveable so it can work for many different situations.  That's where this sweet moveable bookshelf comes in.  The how-to blog uses two pieces of wood braced together, but you could also just buy one of those cheap shelves at ikea or a hardware store and only have to add the casters.  It just depends what look you're going for.

Bath Tea Soak
This was so popular when I pinned it yesterday, that I thought I should share it with you as well.  Maybe there are a lot of stressed people out there with Fall well on it's way. Make one of these and let your stress float away. From Whimsey Box.

Art of Gift Wrap
With so many holidays coming up, there will be parties and it's always nice to bring a small gift for the hostess.  I saw this diy gift wrap and thought it was so cute.  You can change it depending on the holiday.  Maybe for Halloween you make Frankenstein or Dracula.

Easy Sunday Hair Project
These look cute and simple.

Neon Baskets
I was so excited when I saw this post yesterday from ConstructDocuments.  I couldn't wait to share it with you.  I'm not a great crochet-er, but I will figure this one out.  This will hopefully make it to my Christmas Gift to-do list.  Of course if neon isn't your thing, just pick a different color, navy blue would be pretty with this brown too.

Mason Jar Centerpiece
Simple and sweet.  From the blog heartloveweddings.com.

Leaves of Beads Earrings
I am excited to give these a try for possible holiday gifts.  I probably have to start now in order to make a bunch of mistakes first.

Quick Fall Art
Just came across this tutorial from the blog Home Jelly.  If you like to switch up your artwork seasonally, this would be a fun option.

Jewelry Holder
The Elli Blog has a great tutorial for an antique frame jewelry holder.  It definitely beats my mess of necklaces hanging on nails.  Time to visit the thrift store to pick up an old frame.

Lighting- A Simple Saturday Project
I think I'd like to try this and the cost of messing it up, is relatively inexpensive.  This could also be cute for the holidays, maybe a Jack-o-lantern for Halloween or snowflakes for winter festivities?

Quick Art
Pick your favorite quote, I've added quite a few to this blog.  Paint it on canvas or wood and you've got a quick and beautiful art piece for any room in your house.

Fall Wreath
I may be in Southern CA and leaves aren't changing, but it doesn't stop the Fall feeling I get when September is well on its way.  I saw this cute tutorial on the blog Little Things Bring Smiles.  There are two links you should look at, the first is the broad directions of how she put the wreath together, the second is the instructions on how to make the flowers.  I love the wreath.

Friendly Door
I ran across this, from Design Sponge.  Such an awesome blog with tons of great ideas.  I could see this door on a cabin.

Super Sneakers
Oh my heavens, this is freaking adorable!  Someone please make these and send me a photo.  As a side note, these in no way are just for kids, adults should feel free to wear too.  From the blog: Grosgrain.

Happy Tea
This tea set is adorable.  I can't wait to make it for a gift.

Supplies -

• White dinnerware (I chose a dessert plate, two mugs and a bowl)
• Sharpie marker(s)
• Glass cleaner + a lint-free cloth
• Oven
• Wash and dry each piece and finally give them a good scrubbing with glass cleaner and a soft, lint-free cloth just to make sure they were all clean and shiny. If you mess up you can wipe off the marker with some glass cleaner and a bit of elbow grease.
• Bake them at the same time, 30 minutes at 350 degrees. To bake them, place them directly on the rack in the cool oven, then turn on the heat. After 30 minutes I turn off the oven and let it cool completely before removing the dishes.

Dress up your grocery bags
Now that people are starting to bring their own bags to the grocery store (in Santa Monica, we have to pay for paperbags if we forget our own).  Why not dress yours up.  This looks simple and cute.  You need a canvas bag, an apple that you slice in half and two different colors of fabric paint.

Add a little color
For some reason I feel cheesy posting this DIY, but I actually really like it.  I've always loved pops of color hidden in places you don't usually look, the lining in a black wool coat, or a conservative looking purse, or in this case, the bottoms of black shoes.  From the blog Fashion Lush.

Fancy Collar
Okay guys, who wants to tackle this "seemingly" easy-ish project?  I'd love to see how it turns out.  I would ignore the link that shows what blog it's from and just follow the pictures.  Pinterest says it doesn't know if the link is a good one or not, so better safe than sorry, but I really like the idea of this, could be interesting.

Organizing the Kitchen
Maybe with Fall around the corner, I'm feeling the need to freshen up the house and get organized.  Even though I've been out of school for awhile now, I still feel that "beginning of a new year" come September.  So, since I've been posting quite a few organizational DIY tutorials, why stop now?  This is from the blog, The Painted Hive.

More Organization - DIY
We've starting organizing our desk with some previous posts, we could continue with this one or move on to the bathroom or wherever you store your makeup brushes with this cute tutorial.  All you need is a drill and piece of wood.  From the blog Organized Mom.

Beautiful Necklace
I came across this tutorial today.  If you have any birthdays coming up, this would be a nice gift.  Or start crafting now to be ready for the holidays.  From the blog, TheMerryThought.

Back to School, Time to Organize
This summer my desk has become a complete disaster.  I need to take a weekend to go through all those papers, I've been neatly piling up... all over my desk.  I came across this cute idea, once I clear the papers, I can hold my paper clips here.  All it takes is some rocks, possibly from a summer trip to the shore and some magnetic paint.

Time to Organize
I've been gone for a couple weeks.  My sister, Paula, got married and we flew home to MN for the wedding and to help prepare for it.  I will be able to post pics as soon as I get them, but for now, I figured I'd get back to posting with an easy DIY to help make organizing prettier.  You don't need much a quick trip to the fabric store can't fix and of course, your shoe-boxes, possibly from "first day of school" shoes.  This tutorial comes from the blog "in my own style".

DIY Spa Time
I got these simple spa treatments as part of a card from my birthday this week, thought I would pass them on.

Watercolor your own portrait
I would love to try this, from the blog, Grow Creative.  Directions seems simple enough and the result is so sweet.  As easy as paint by number.

Bring Your Own Stencil
If I get started now, I could make all my Christmas gifts this year.  This pillow is sweet.  Grab your favorite quote, make sure your marker is a fabric marker and won't wash off and stencil away!

Update your Flats
Love this idea.  I have a few pairs that could use some updates.  From the blog The Alison Show.

Stop to smell the Paper Flowers
These are beautiful and elegant and look so simple to make. From the blog Dozi Design.

Host an end of the summer party
How pretty would this garland be hanging from a doorway?  Instructions from the sweet blog Oh Happy Day.

Another Great Tshirt
How flippin' cute and easy is this?  I can't wait to try.  From the blog The NO Drama Mama.

Candles!
Another great hostess gift for summer parties.  From the blog Something Turquoise.

Make your own soap - kind of
This site gives recipes to (kind of) make your own soap, by combining regular soap and added ingredients.  These would be cute host gifts for end of the summer parties.

Easy Bracelet
Okay, they're claiming this can be made in ten minutes.  It doesn't show how to add the hook at the end to put them together, but doing a little reading, you can buy the hooks at Michael's and just sew them on the ends or hook them around the loops.  This is from the blog A Matter of Style.  This would be fun to layer up a variety of these bracelets.

Update your old jeans
I have an old pair of jeans, I'd love to try this with.  From the blog SheKnows.

Pet Portrait Art

Here are the instructions from the blog TheCreativityExchange.

eegads, this is amazing. I need to make one of these of my little guy. 

Say Something Tee
Keep in mind, that perfection is not something I will ever or look to achieve.  With that said, here is how my "Orange in the new Orange" tee turned out. In honor of the new Netflix show, "Orange is the new black". An easy way to make your own original tee.

 You can buy stencils or use this fabric spray on stamps, or go the really cheap route like I did and make your own stencil.  I chose a bold font on my computer and cut out the letters.  I bought my fabric paint from Michael's.

10-Minute Pencil Case
I am going to test this out to see if it's accurate, maybe it only takes ten minutes for the person who knows what they're doing, we'll see how long it takes me.  This is from one of my favorite sites, craftster. I'll post my results after.  Feel free to send me your results and how long it took you, I'd love to post them!

Tinted Mason Jars
I have a cottage-y feeling bungalow.  We like to mix vintage with modern.  These tinted mason jars will be perfect for our farmers market flowers.  Instructions from the blog Momtastic.

Chevron Frame
Just stumbled on this cute blog.  The Chevron design is so popular right now, but why spend lots of dough on it, when you can DIY.  Check out Thriftspirations blog for the instructions.

Lace Pots
eegads, this is awesome.  I can't wait to try!

Pamper Yourself Organically
I found this little tidbit on Pinterest, where I find most of my DIY ideas :)

I think I'm in need of a massage, I've been googling lots of bath oils and relaxation vacations lately.

Wooden Chair Update
The chairs around my little kitchen table could use a fresh look, I came across this DIY project in the fun blog The Happy Housie.  I may just have to give this a try.

Pillow Fight
What a great idea.  I have some pillows I need to make more current as they are hiding away in a closet right now because they're too lame to put out, after this easy make-over, they'll feel so hip and trendy and I'll finally be able to coax them out.  :)  From the blog The Happy House.

Clutch it
I am going to make this for my sister's wedding this summer, how cute!  Also, it's from this awesome DIY blog.

Fold Your Shirts!
This is new to me, maybe everyone on pinterest already knows this, but I had a bunch of shirts I needed to fold and make them look nice.  I'm a terrible folder, so I used the help of a trusty magazine I had laying around.  Check it.

Getting Crafty with Permanent Marker
How cute and easy is this?  I need to file this away, could be a cute Holiday gift.

Weekend Art
I think I could handle this.  I've been looking for something light to put above the bed, at least canvas would be lighter than a framed print (light in case of a big earthquake, I don't want anything heavy above my bed).

I wish I could cut in a straight circle
This is cute, but I'm terrible with a scissors. From the blog Campclem.

Oh Martha!

Oh Martha Stewart, you have all the good ideas.  Time to hit the flea market to find some old vintage spice cans and stick magnets on them.