DIY Manly Man Apron

5.21.13

Father’s Day’s a-comin’, so let’s make something manly for a change! This dude apron is perfect for your husband or dad, especially if he loves meat. It’s kind of an homage to a carnivore, if you will. It’s also an awesome sewing project because all you need is a flour sack towel and some black trim. Let’s do this.

Materials

flour sack towel, 33″x38″ (like these)
black woven trim, about 1″ wide
sewing machine
pins
scissors
freezer paper
iron
pencil
fabric paint
sponge brush

Make Time: 2 hours

Arrange the towel so that a 33″ edge is at the top and the hems are wrong-side-down. Fold in the top corners 11″ from either side, and so that they fold at an angle down about 15″ on the outsides. Pin at the corners.

Cut in horizontally on both 38″ sides to meet the fold. It should be a 5″ cut, 15″ down the side.

On the wrong side, sew a straight stitch hem where you cut in on the sides. Then sew down the diagonal folds. Trim away the excess. This will form the top portion of the apron.

For the neck strap and waist ties, your measurements may vary. I cut three pieces of black trim, each about 20″. Pin the first behind the outer edges of the top of the apron and sew both sides down with a straight stitch.

With the remaining two, sew one on each side of the waist (the area where you cut in horizontally and hemmed). Pin one end behind the apron and sew with a straight stitch. Make a quick fold-over hem on the loose end so that it doesn’t unravel.

Download and print this template. Cut it out of freezer paper. Iron the freezer paper, shiny side down, onto the chest of the apron.

Using a sponge brush, liberally but carefully paint over the stencil with fabric paint. Be careful to put something down underneath the apron in case paint seeps through.

Gently peel away the freezer paper.

Be careful to let the paint fully dry before you wrap up your apron. Since we’re using fabric paint, you may want to wash the apron once before you give it as a gift. Be sure your dude knows how much love went into this bad boy! And then let him grill away to his heart’s content. Also, a word to the wise — this isn’t a project for someone who doesn’t like wrinkles. The flour sack material tends to hang on to wrinkles like crazy! You wouldn’t believe how many times I ironed this thing. I finally decided to go with the wrinkly flow. xoxo

DIY Ikea Lack Table Upgrade

5.15.13

So I know that just about everybody in my generation, at some time or other in life, has owned an Ikea lack table. Don’t deny it. It was your coffee table in college; maybe now it’s your junk table in the garage or something weird like that. This one was holding our tool collection in a hall closet until recently. We brought it out and I decided to see if there’s anything you can do to it to hide its true identity. It may have worked. It also may not have. But either way, we tried, and so this newly fancy table is coming out to play.

Materials

Ikea lack table (or similar)
upholstery nails
stain-proof fabric (pleather works like a charm)
spray adhesive
pencil
scissors
needle nose pliers
soft mallet

Make Time: 1 hour

Cut out fabric for the top of your table. To do this, flip the table upside-down on the back side of your fabric and carefully trace the outline of the tabletop. Cut and set aside.

Add your nailhead trim. Hold an upholstery nail in place with pliers and gently hammer with mallet. Keep adding nails until you’ve covered all of the areas you’d like to trim.

Fully cover the back of the fabric with adhesive spray. Carefully align the fabric with the corners of the table and smooth it down, ensuring that the adhesive is secure.

There you go! Definitely an upgrade in my book. Put your favorite things out on your new(ish) table and enjoy. xoxo

Photobooth Factory // Post-It Pixels

5.7.13

As soon as this one started taking shape, Mr. Lovely said it looked like a 1980′s video game. And I couldn’t really disagree. But I’m deciding that I like it. Perfect for an 80′s-themed party? Or a high school reunion? You could even leave pens by the photobooth and let people write notes on the Post-its! However you want to rock it, here’s what you’ll need.

Materials

Post-its (I used this six pack and it was enough for a 5′ x 4′ area)
level
blank wall

Make Time: 2 hours

Start by getting one even row of Post-its. Use a level for each Post-it, ensuring that it each one is straight and aligned directly next to the neighboring Post-it.

Once you have a straight and level row, use it as a guide to add rows above and beneath, until you are satisfied with the size of your backdrop.

Done! The technique for this one is beyond easy, but because there are so many pieces it’s a little more time-consuming than some of our other backdrops. And I’m not really sure why, but I feel like this one goes really well with some big ol’ headphones. xoxo

DIY Mother’s Day Friendship Bracelets

5.6.13

Heads up, guys — Mother’s Day is Sunday! Moms rock, and mine is particularly awesome if you ask me. And now that my sister is a mom, too, I wanted to do something to celebrate all of the ladies in our family. So obviously I made friendship bracelets. Duh.

But not just any friendship bracelets — fancy ones with hearts! My nine-year-old self’s heart is exploding with the awesomeness of a heart friendship bracelet. If you want to make some matching ones for yourself and your mom, here’s the full how-to.

Get two colors of embroidery thread, and cut four lengths of each color, 36″ each. Tie together in a knot about 2″ from the ends. Tape or pin the ends down on a flat surface. Arrange the colors so that like colors are on the outsides, and the colors alternate inward.

Starting with the left outer string (pink), cross it over the neighboring string (green), creating a shape like the number 4. Loop the pink around the back of the green and through. Pull toward the top until you’ve created a snug knot. Repeat this knot with the same two threads (you’ll always make the same knot twice on each string).

Once you’ve knotted twice around the green string, knot twice around the following pink string, and then the next green. Your original pink string that you’ve been knotting with should now be in the center.

Now take the pink string on the far right and mirror the process. Make a backwards 4 by crossing it over the next green string, loop around, pull through, and knot twice. Repeat this on the pink, then green strings.

When the right pink string reaches the center, knot it twice around the other pink string in the center. This will complete your first row. To make your second row, start with the green strings on the outsides and repeat the process.

The third and fourth rows will have slightly different steps. Begin the third row by taking the second string in from either side and making double knots around the outer strings. In this case, the green strings will knot over the pink strings.

Next, take the pink string on the left side and make regular double knots (starting with a 4 shape) around the pink one next to it, then the green.

Repeat the process using the rightmost pink string, and mirror the knots you made on the left side (start with backwards 4 shape). When you get to the center, knot it around the other pink string.

You’ve completed row three; now repeat that row for your fourth.

Start the process over and knot rows 1 and 2. You should start to see a heart pattern emerging.

Continue with rows 3 and 4, and just keep repeating the process until your bracelet is long enough.

Finally, knot the bracelet at the end and snip the extra thread, leaving enough to tie around your wrist.

I loved these things so much I made a whole bunch! (I even made a mini one for my niece.) Then I made my mom and sister have a photo shoot with me to model them all. Aren’t they adorable? I love that my sister’s baby bump is in the photos also.

Have fun experimenting with colors, and give these to all the moms in your life with lots of love. If you end up making them, be sure to Instagram a photo so we can all see. Happy Mother’s Day! xoxo

DIY Gold-Toe Flats

4.30.13

While I was in Old Navy recently, looking at some shirts, I came across these rockin’ neon pointy-toed flats. I fell in love with the shape and the color (and the price!), and thought right away that they’d be perfect for a little golden project that I’ve been thinking of for a while now. So I snatched ‘em up.

If you want golden toes, too, here’s what you’ll need:

plain flats
gold leaf
ModPodge
two craft paintbrushes
ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape

Start by taping off the area that you’d like to gild (ScotchBlue tape has become my favorite for gold leaf projects — it makes nice, clean borders). Make sure you tape the area where the shoe meets the sole also.

Paint a liberal amount of ModPodge on the taped-off area.

Gently lay gold leaf over the ModPodge and carefully pat it down using a clean, dry paintbrush.

Let dry completely, and carefully peel off the tape. Use the dry paintbrush to brush away any excess gold leaf.

You’re ready to step out! I love how these look. It’s probably best to be a little careful with these guys (don’t wear them in the rain or to a monster truck rally or anything crazy like that). But other than that, have a ball making them and wearing them. xoxo

Photobooth Factory // Cinco de Mayo Fringe

4.29.13

There was no way this backdrop wasn’t going to happen. I mean, if Cinco de Mayo isn’t an excuse to have a photo wall full of giant fringe, I don’t know what is. So there.

This was my first project ever using the most delicious crepe paper I have ever found. It’s from Carte Fini, and it’s this amazing, heavy, delicious crepe paper that comes in a long, rolled-up sheet. (It’s about 19 inches wide and 8 feet long.) You can find it in other party stores as well; just do a search for “crepe paper rolls” and it should produce lots of options. If you want to make this backdrop, here’s the low-down:

Materials

crepe paper rolls in various colors
scissors
paper cutter, if available
masking tape

Make Time: 45 minutes

First, cut your crepe paper into strips that are 5 feet long and about 6 inches wide. It’s okay if your width isn’t exact!

Using a paper cutter or scissors, cut 1-inch-wide fringe along the strips, leaving about 2 inches intact.

Tape your fringed paper to the wall using multiple pieces of masking tape. Start at the bottom and work your way up, hiding the masking tape of the previous rows as you go.

On the top row, roll your masking tape so that it’s double-sided and hidden behind the crepe paper.

Set up your camera and snap away at your Cinco de Mayo fiesta! Mr. Lovely and I had fun messing around with this one — the ukulele even came out to play. Have fun, amigos! xoxo

DIY Floral Bangle Bracelets & Mother’s Day Gift Tag

4.24.13

I love, love, love celebrating my Mom. I hope you love celebrating yours, too, so I dreamed up a really gorgeous DIY for Mother’s Day, which is on May 12! I’m so excited about this one, because we collaborated with the lovely Lana from Lana’s Shop again. (Remember the desktop wallpaper she made for us?) It’s so inspiring to work with her, and I think we make a pretty good team! A few special words from her:

I hope you enjoy these tags to share your sentiment with all the amazing mothers and women of all forms in your life! Things are best homemade (if you ask me), and no one will appreciate it more than mom. For future custom gift ideas, take a peek at how to get started on your next project with me.

So this DIY has two parts, and the first one is Lana’s gorgeous printable gift tag. She put so much love into this project, and we both hope you download it and give it to your ever lovin’ mama! The instructions are simple. First, grab your free download here and print it out.

Cut out both pieces.

Use a glue stick to stick the two sides together, being careful to make sure that you glue the inside right-side-up. Fold in half.

Punch a small hole over the printed guide, and string it with ribbon or twine.

Isn’t it just the most lovely? I think the inside is so wonderful, and I could fill a whole book with the reasons why I love my mom. Be sure to write something awesome! Now if you want to put Lana’s gorgeous little tag on a floral bangle bracelet, like we did, read on for instructions. You’ll need:

about 20 medium-sized blooms (we used ranunculus!)
floral wire
floral tape
scissors

Start by taking the leaves and stems off of your blooms. Leave about 2-3 inches of stem.

Cut 30″ of floral wire and form it into a circle large enough to fit on your mom’s wrist like a bracelet. Wrap the wire around itself a few times to secure and strengthen the bracelet.

Begin attaching the blooms to the wire. Cut about 6″ of floral tape, hold a stem against the wire, and wrap the tape around the stem & wire, just at the base of the bloom. Continue the process around the wire, keeping the blooms close together. Trim stems if needed.

Continue the process until you’ve covered the entire bracelet.

Gently tie on Lana’s tag and present it to your mom on Mother’s Day! I think this is such a cool, modern take on a traditional corsage. I think it would also be perfect as an alternative corsage for prom, if you know any teens! And FYI, as this is a project that involves fresh flowers, be sure that you hold off making it until shortly before you intend to give or wear it. You wouldn’t want any droopy blooms!