DIY Golden Hippo Necklace

1.2.13

I’m still happily riding the wave of tiny golden animals, so I decided to make one that I could wear! These little hippos were waiting patiently for me at my local craft store and when I saw them I wanted to adopt them all. So I did. If you want to make one of these little cuties, here’s what you’ll need:

tiny plastic animals
gold spray paint
screw eye
jump ring
24″ of chain
fine needle nose pliers

Start by spray painting your animals gold. It’ll take a few coats to make sure you get all the angles. Next, screw in a screw eye to the top of the little guy. I used the pliers to hold the screw eye in place, and turned the hippo while applying a good amount of pressure.

Use the pliers to open one link in your chain and attach it to the other end. Close the link again, ensuring that it’s secure and the adjacent links won’t slip out. (This will be a necklace that you’ll slip over your head, rather than clasp at the back.)

Finally, open a jump ring with the pliers and connect the hippo to the necklace.

Bingo! You’ve got a happy friend to wear around town. And I have some pretty exciting news — lots of Lovely Indeed’s one-of-a-kind DIY items will now be up for sale! So if you’d like to own this little guy, shoot me an email at hello{at}lovelyindeed{dot}com. xoxo

Make & Give // DIY Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup

12.20.12

We’re coming down to the gifting wire, and if you’re still looking for something to give, today’s DIY is beyond simple (and it seems so fancy!). So if there’s someone on your list who loves coffee or tea, this might just be up your alley. Today we’re doing a vanilla bean simple syrup! Grab your materials:

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean (optional)
container to give it in

Combine sugar and water in a pot over high heat. As it’s heating, split your vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the insides. Put both the scrapings and the bean pod in the pot. When all of the sugar is dissolved, lower the heat and let the pot simmer for about 10-15 minutes. When you take the pot off the heat, stir in the vanilla extract (you might want to add an extra dash if you’re not using a vanilla bean).

Let the mixture cool slightly and pour it into a container! This is another project that is so easy to make in large batches, so give it to all the folks on your list — and don’t forget to save one for yourself. Make it and give it! xoxo

Make and Give // Printable Christmas Gift Tags

12.18.12

We’re getting close to Christmas, and I’ve got some simple little gift tags for you to print in case you’re in one of those classic “Oh Shoot I Forgot to Get Gift Tags and Now I’m Home and Don’t Want to Go Back to the Store” type situations. In which I find myself just about every year.

So just download these and print them on some cardstock! Just FYI, the version I printed had a tint of color on them, but the downloadable version is just the outlines of the tags and the black lettering, so you can print them on any shade of paper you like. Cut them out and either tape them to your gifts or punch a hole and string them on some ribbon. Boom! Taken care of. (Oh, and if you want to know how to make that wrapping paper, check it out here.) Make it and give it! xoxo

make and give // diy gold nugget earrings

12.11.12

Hi guys! So are we all on the DIY holiday gift train? I’ve got another one today for your stylish sister or best friend — we’re making gold nugget earrings!

Of course, our nuggets are made out of clay and the gold is painted on, but hey — I’ll take it. Here’s what you’ll need:

sculpting clay
sculpting tool or knife
earring backs
gold paint
small paintbrush
super glue

Start by cutting off a small amount of clay with a nice flat backside (haha, I said backside). Use your tool to cut angles off of the piece of clay until you’re happy with the shape. Make two of these.

Bake the clay according to the instructions on the package. Let it cool and paint it gold.

Superglue the earring backs to the flat side of the gold nuggets. Let everything dry thoroughly.

This little project comes together really quickly, and would be so easy to make in big batches to give to lots of people! Put them on a cute little card when you give them and watch people be impressed. Make it and give it! xoxo

make and give // diy enamel tie clip

12.6.12

It’s another one for the dudes! If your guy needs a tie clip that’s a little more dressy than last week’s, this is the one for you. And it’s even easier than the last one. You’ll need:

blank tie clip (from the craft store)
Sharpie paint pens

Start by painting a base coat of black on the entire surface of the tie clip. Let it dry thoroughly and repeat the process to build up a little paint on the surface.

Using another color (I chose gold, duh), paint a pattern over the black. I did some tidy polka dots, but you could do stripes, colorblocking, or a zillion other awesome things.

Make sure you let this one dry according to the directions before you wrap or use it! Make it, give it, and love it. xoxo

make and give // diy polka dot pencils

12.4.12

I. Love. These. Pencils. I want to make them for everyone and run through the streets passing them out like candy. Seriously. They’re also pretty fun to make, so if there’s someone on your list who would love these little babies (a coworker, perhaps?), let’s get down to business. You’ll need:

plain No. 2 pencils (dollar store, yo!)
spray paint
Sharpie paint pens
Scotch Blue painter’s tape

Start by masking the eraser and metal ring at the top of your pencils.

Next, spray paint your pencils. It may take a couple of coats to cover the No. 2 stamp.

Finally, use your Sharpie paint pens to make tiny dots up and down each ridge of the pencil! It seems like it would take forever, but once you get a rhythm it goes really quickly.

Bundle them up and you’re done! Make it and give it. xoxo

make and give // diy stamped leather tie clip

11.29.12

Hey hey, holiday lovelies, we’re back with another installment of our Make and Give series, this time for the dudes! Mr. Lovely has recently introduced me to the wonderful world of tie clips, and I was kind of stoked to try making one. Apparently all the classy fellas wear ‘em.

If you want to make one of these beauts for your man friend, you’ll need:

a tiny bit of thick leather (I used my scraps from this project)
craft knife
a blank tie clip (you should be able to find them for about $1 at your craft store
strong glue
a letter and number punch set like this one
a hammer

Start by cutting your leather to the size and shape of your tie clip. Next, choose a word or phrase to stamp on your leather and stamp it in using the metal punch set and a hammer. We experimented with a few choice words.