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A Craft Table and Work Space

July 7, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

I thought with the focus being on my home office lately that it would be a good time to share with you where the magic happens. At least, the majority of the magic. Obviously I wouldn’t spray paint indoors, and other rooms would be difficult to decorate from this space. But the rest of the magic, that’s been happening in this space!

In my DIY space, I’ve got two work surfaces. One is my desk (which I will talk about in my next post), and the other is one of those folding tables you normally see pulled out for birthday party food space. I freaking love this little folding table to no end, literally.

A DIY-aholic's Work Space, part of a craft room and home office tour

The main jumping off point for this whole space was the Southwestern Inspired Accent Wall. I chose bright pastel colors at my local Ace Hardware and just went for it.

pastel painted accent wall

I try to keep the work surface as clear as possible, while also working on multiple projects at once. I keep my fantastic little mid-century task light and a habitat for humanity found glass shaker (I still have the top but have it stored elsewhere while it functions as a pen holder).

the work surface

Beneath the tape is a DIY painted floor pillow to rest my feet on, a plastic chest of drawers for easy to reach craft supplies, a large basket with larger project supplies, and a paper shredder.

beneath work table comfort storage and necessity

The legs of the table were once a dark grey but I took the table out to the driveway one afternoon and spray painted them gold. It feels more like a piece of furniture and that it belongs now.

rolling plastic drawers to organize current need immediate access to crafts and DIY supplies

Don’t let the crayons fool you, they’re a very serious part of my DIY supplies. I enjoy letting bubby color and doodle while I work elsewhere in the room.

large basket for storing fabrics and larger project items

In the large basket I mostly house fabrics but I’ve also got a ukulele and wall clock awaiting a magical makeover and a few other larger pieces I’m wanting to use somewhere in my home.

necessary in any office, a shredder

I use the large basket to camouflage our shredder. No home office should be without a shredder!

h

 And that’s the finished space! I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini tour of my DIY and crafting corner. If you’ve found any part of it helpful, please share!

Filed Under: Blog

DIY Painted File Holders

July 3, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

I needed more storage for crafting and DIY supplies. I mean, don’t we all? I wanted something that would contain the mess and that I could customize to carry through the colors of my southwestern inspired accent wall. I picked up these inexpensive magazine file holders and got started making them mine.

DIY Painted File Folders to organize all those craft supplies!

 What I Used

Wide Painter’s Tape, Vinyl Letters, Wall Paint, craft knife, Foam Brush, File Holder

How Long It Takes

Less than an hour for all 10 file holders! (minus dry time, as always)

The Process

creating stencils

To create the triangle design, lay out strips of wide painters tape onto a non stick surface. I just used my work surface since I’m not bothered by getting cuts in it. Lie the file folder atop the strip of tape and mark the hole so that you can gauge where to cut the triangles. Use a craft knife to free hand cut the triangles out.

apply

You can peel the strip right up and lie it on the face of the file holder. The triangles can also be peeled up and placed on the face of the file holders too for a different look.

apply vinyl letters

For the monogrammed fronts, place the letter representing what’s in each file holder. I have !!! for miscellaneous things, S for stickers, EDU for educational material, MAG for magazines, E for envelopes , and the M for manuals.

where the paint stops

I then ran a line of tape across the face to give the paint a stopping point.

vinyl letters

I picked up my vinyl letters on clearance at a Rite Aid but these vinyl letters are very similar.

paint

Paint everything you want painted and remove any tape you can remove without distrubing the paint. Because wall paint is normally latex, I don’t recommend leaving the paint to dry before removing the tape. The faces of these file holders are glossy and the paint will peel right up with the tape.

modern monogram to identify contents

And you’re ready to file away all those crafting goodies!

DIY colorful craft room organization

I love that these hide the more unsightly craft supplies.

fun triangle magazine holders used to store ugly acrylic paint bottles

Like craft paint inside these ones! 

craft organization ideas and tutorials

bookcases filled with DIY and craft supplies

If you enjoyed how these turned out, please give them a share! Any qyestions? Leave them in a comment and I will get back with you!

Filed Under: Blog

Rolling Pallet Planter

June 23, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

 tutorial for pallet planter on wheels for mobility, move from front yard to the back!

I want to share with you the tutorial for my rolling pallet planter as part of the Perfect BBQ Blog Hop! So you’ve got delicious food, and the cutest table setting. The decorations are up and you’re taking a seat to absorb it all in. As you look around you notice your big fat air conditioning unit is right there. How can you possibly enjoy all that great food and great company with that ugly hunk of metal staring at you? Don’t let this be you.

OK, so your BBQ isn’t anywhere near your air conditioning unit. I get that. How about unsightly trash cans? There’s definitely something to be camouflaged. And it doesn’t get much better than cute camouflage on wheels!

Rolling Pallet Planter Tutorial. Awesome Tutorial!

You’ll love how this pallet planter will look in your space. In any space!

What You’ll Need

Spray Paint, Pallet, 2 locking swivel wheels, 2 swivel wheels, metal buckets, screws, scrap wood.

How Long It Takes

Less than 1 hour!

Pallet Planter On Wheels Tutorial

You’ll want to be sure you’ve got a sturdy pallet. It can be aged, I let my age outdoors for the past few months so that the paint will get chippy easy without any additional work on my part. But, the pallet itself shouldn’t wobble.

Spray your favorite color spray paint all over each visible side. It helps to lay it out onto a large drop clothe so that you don’t have to maneuver it any. With it being as hot and sunny as it is here in Virginia, the paint dried within minutes so I filled in any patches immediately.

lay out metal buckets on painted pallet

Lay out cute metal buckets. I picked up these adorable copper buckets at the dollar tree last summer, but have seen them this summer too! It’ll depend on how many planks your pallet has as to how many buckets you’ll need. I spaced mine out 1 plank in between with 3 rows. That gave me 12 buckets.

We get so hot in the summer that I intentionally opted not to drill holes into the bottoms of the buckets, but it’s something you can do if you’ll need to!

drill pots into pallet

Using my new *Ryobi Drill (the one I won in the Creating With The Stars Upcycle Link Up) I drilled screws through each bucket and into the wood behind it. I had no idea what difference it made to be using a good drill. It was butter, guys.

I had hubby cut the scrap wood with a circular saw. I estimated about 4 times the depth of the planter for the length of the pieces of wood the wheels would screw into. It needs to be longer to balance out the heavy face of the pallet once dirt and water are in those buckets.

cutting scrap wood

After a quick spritz of spray paint, I used the drill again to attach the wheels with screws.

spray paint scrap wood

Being careful, flip the pallet upside down. Drill the scrap wood to the pallet, leaving slightly more of the piece on the side with the buckets (again, to help balance out those heavy pots).

attach piece of wood with wheels attached to bottom of pallet

Don’t laugh, but I couldn’t find washers and my screw heads were too small for the holes of the casters. Those are picture hanging tabs leftover from another project. I wasn’t about to make another trip to the hardware store this week.

Flip the pallet back over and onto it’s wheels. You can put any plant that will love wherever your pallet will be housed. I found a great 12 pack of multi-hued petunias for $9.98 at my Lowes. They love lots of son!

Let’s see this bad boy in action!

ugly trash

ugly trash concealed by rolling pallet planter

And how about that air conditioning unit? Yup.. we have a BEAST.

ugly air conditioning unit

pallet planter hiding ac unit

It’s fantastic! Don’t forget to “hop” on over to the other projects to complete your Perfect BBQ!

1. Paper and Fox  2. I Want Crazy  3. Tell Love and Chocolate  4. Just a Girl and Her Blog 5. Elizabeth Joan Designs  6. Tried and True  7. Persia Lou  8. Black and White Obsession 9. Club Narwhal  10. Tutorial above!

Filed Under: Blog

Giant DIY Rustic Wall Art tutorial

June 16, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

DIY Rustic Wall Art Tutorial- southwestern inspired large scale wall art

Wall art is my favorite way to add whimsy to a space. Mixing art prints, using dimensional pieces like baskets, and a little DIY is my formula for perfect walls. I wanted a large rustic and southwestern inspired art piece to hang in between two windows in our living room a while back, so I came up with this rustic wall art piece. It’s relatively simple and requires minimal tools and skills, yet packs a powerful decorative punch!

What You’ll Need

1 x 4 x 6 #2 & Better Kiln Dried Whitewood Board S4S x 10
7/16 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. OSB Sheathing
Minwax 22240 Wood Finish Interior Wood Stain, Special Walnut, 1/2-Pint
Minwax 22718 1/2 Pint Wood Finish Interior Wood Stain, Ebony
Dirty Sock/Rag
1 1/4 long screws x 36
Wood Glue
Large D Rings x 2
World’s Strongest Picture Hanger
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

How Long It Takes

It’s a weekend project. Cutting the wood is quick, but measuring out the angles and distances was a bear. Then there’s dry time to account for with the stain.

Rustic Wall Art Tutorial

To Start, Hubby cut across the shortest length of the plywood 40 inches in then in half. We had 2 pieces that were 40 by 24 inches. This is the base in which our whitewood board will be adhered to.

I then found the center of each of the 10 boards. The top and bottom boards did not need and cuts- Yay! For 2 boards, I started from that center point, measured out 12 inches left and right and marked. Another 2 boards measured out 18 inches from the center and marked. Another 2 boards and measured out 24 inches. The last 2 boards measured out 30 inches. Hubby cut 45 degree angles at those marks (Or at least the best we could, I did use an old school protractor for this but we were working with a flaky circular saw and many cuts were not perfect).

Giant Tribal Wood Art | ForMyLoveOf.net

Next I stained the outer boards the darker stain. And the inner ones, I stained the lighter color. I then allowed them to dry. (It seemed tempting to skip the wait but I didn’t want to transfer the stain accidentally.)

Giant Tribal Wood Art | ForMyLoveOf.net

The next step was to lay the boards on a level surface and wood glue them in place. I would recommend using something to securely clamp them in place while the glue dries if you attempt this project- Not random house weights.

Giant Tribal Wood Art | ForMyLoveOf.net

Giant Tribal Wood Art | ForMyLoveOf.net

Once dried, hubby reinforced the boards with the 1 1/4 inch screws. He then attached the large D rings to the backs. We then ensured our heavy duty, ultra heavy load picture hanging hardware is installed correctly.

Giant Tribal Wood Art | ForMyLoveOf.net

I could hardly contain myself when we got it up on the wall. I had to Instagram it immediately. Ha.

Rustic Wall Art tutorial

GIANT AZTEC inspired WALL ART | ForMyLoveOf.net

So creating a rustic and massive piece of art wasn’t all that difficult. It’s way cooler than something I would’ve picked up from any store and it was fun getting it created with my husband’s help. Granted, I have since taken it down. And it sits in our garage. But, I do love it and am always looking for a new place to hang it up!

Filed Under: Blog

How To Macrame – 5 Essential Knots

June 6, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

5 essential beginners macrame knots

I wanted to share an informational post today on 5 beginner-intermediate macrame knots. I won’t be talking a whole lot, I hope you like that. Rather, I’ve taken step by step photos that I’ve compiled to show you each of the 5 knots. Each knot is very easy to get the hang of, so you shouldn’t have to practice too many times before you’re flying through them! If you want to learn how to macrame, just keep reading:

How To Macrame – 5 Essential Knots

Pretty much a staple when creating a macrame hanging is the Lark’s Head knot, it’s one of the easiest ways to get your rope around your straight object (i.e. pipe, stick, dowel rod, etc.)

larkshead

If you’re like me, you probably never knew this knot had a name. It’s really the most basic knot I can think of, and one I’ve been using namelessly for many years!

overhand

Need a knot but want something a bit more jazzed up than the overhand knot? The figure 8 is just slightly more complicated but looks so pretty when using multiple strands of rope at once!

figure8

Another staple to Macrame is the square knot. If you’ve made a hemp bracelet or two, you’ll have the muscle memory for this knot! Check out my Simple Macrame Wall Hanging Tutorial, it’s great for beginners and uses this knot repetitiously!

squareknot

And the final knot, when combined with the other 4 knots, really makes for an impressive macrame piece! Still fairly easy to master, but looks more intricate than it really is!

switchknot

Have you tried Macrame yet? Share in the comments what you’ve made, or what you want to make. These knots are the basis of most of the really cool pieces you’ll see in Etsy shops and on Instagram, so give it a go.

Filed Under: Blog

DIY Macramé Wall Hanging Tutorial

February 18, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Simple Macrame Wall Hanging Tutorial
If you enjoy a blast from the past, the fun craft of macrame is for you. I grew up making hemp jewelry, so a lot of these knots are muscle memory that have finally found a name. Those were fun, carefree times. Now, I enjoy using those techniques to make decor for my walls. A simple way to get started is through this DIY Macramé Wall Hanging Tutorial:

You’ll Need:

  • 2 Rods (Bamboo, Dowel, Plumbing Pipes all make great bases!) I’m using leftover gold painted bamboo from a previous bamboo curtain rod project.

  • Macrame Cord

  • Embellishments ( Wood beads, Large nuts, pipe couplings, etc.) I’m using 14 Copper 1/2″ couplings.

DIY Macramé Wall Hanging Tutorial

Take your Macramé Cord and cut into 16 pieces about 2 arms-lengths long/Approximately 9 feet each. Fold each length of cord in half, lay the fold underneath the rod, pull the loop end up far enough to pull the two loose ends through the loop, and pull tight. Repeat with each of the 16 other pieces of cord. This cord is a bit slippery (the more I macrame, the more I don’t recommend this particular cord. This one is fantastic), so they may slide out of their knot a bit, but will tighten once we get a couple knots going.
5 essential beginners macrame knots

Once the cords are attached to your first rod, we’ll begin square knots with groups of 4 strands of cord. Separate 4 cords starting from either end of your rod. Take the left most string and cross it overtop the middle two cords, loop the right most cord over top the left most string then behind the middle two cords, through the loop made by the left most cord, and pull tight. Alternate starting with left and right most cords to create flat knots.

There are many types of knots that are popular with Macrame Wall Hangings, but there are just a few that we’ll be using to keep things simple and easy.

When adding in embellishments, slide them over the center cords and tie your knot below to secure it in place.

 To add an addition rod, run the outer cords underneath the rod and the inner two cords over top the rod. Then tie a square knot to secure it in place.

Eventually, the outer cords will run out before the inner cords do because we’re using equal lengths of cord. Pull a large enough embellishment overtop a few knots and cut the outer cords so that they’ll be hidden within the embellishment. Then tie a simple overhand knot to hold the embellishment in place.

For reference, I’ve included a chart with the number of knots in each length. This creates a small macrame wall hanging. The perfect size to start out with.

With the extra lengths of inner cords, tie overhand knots to mimic the arrow shape the embellishments create. This can be as far down the cord as what works for the space yours will live.

I  hope you’ve enjoyed this simple macrame tutorial! Macrame is all about knots in various patterns. This simple macrame tutorial will help get your feet wet so you can go on to trying more elaborate pieces, like this one.

If you liked this tutorial, please share it with your friends!

Filed Under: Blog

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My name is Corinna and I'm a Gemini. Enamored with the architecture and textiles of South Asia. Lover of incense, the color teal and thrifting. Supporter of small businesses and fair trade. Self proclaimed crazy plant lady. Aiming to live a more natural, vegan life day by day. I read, hike and drink coffee in my spare time. I have 2 cats, a dog and a 4 year old.

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