DIY TRIANGLE SHELVES

I'm so excited to share with you our DIY triangle shelves inspired by A Beautiful Mess! 

The triangles are hanging above our little one's crib and make the perfect statement as you walk in the room. The husband and I went back and forth as to what colors to paint or stain them - here are the final results and we couldn't be happier how they tie the room together! We chose white and a metallic gold and copper.

With these shelves done Project Shared Room is pretty much complete - except for a few finishing touches that probably won't happen until after our little guys arrival. Keep an eye out for a post on the whole room. I can't wait to share it all with you!

Supplies Needed:
Wood (see instructions for amount)
Miter Saw
Tool to measure angles
Hammer/Nails
Paint

Instructions:
1. Purchase wood - This varies depending on the size, amount and depth you want your triangles. We wanted three triangles measuring about 20inches per side - so we purchased 180 inches of 1x2inch boards.
2. Figure out angles to cut corners - Ours are 60 degree triangles so we had to make 30 degree cuts in the wood.
3. Using a miter saw cut the wood - for each piece of wood the angles on each end should be opposite. We used the wider of the two ends to measure the length of 19.5inches - when we put all the pieces together each side would measure 20 inches. Hold wood slats up to each other to make sure they are the same length.
4. Once all pieces are cut,  begin nailing pieces together.
5. Paint your triangles - ours needed 2-3 coats each
6. Hang on the wall and enjoy!

And to top things off, The Husband and I couldn't believe how cheap this project was. We only spent $5 on wood and $10 on paint - making our project cost a total of $15!

DIY FLORAL CROWN

Anyone else in love with the whimsy a floral crown adds? I've been hoping to create one for a session and when little Brooklyn was born I knew she would wear a crown perfectly. Thus began my adventure in creating a floral crown. 

I read a lot of tutorials on how to make a one and as always, I have intentions of following the directions but at some point in the process I go rouge and do my own thing. So, my tutorial is pretty simple, as are most of my DIY's. . .

Supplies Needed:
Fake flowers - make sure they have wire stems
Jewelry wire
Scissors
Wire Cutters

*If you want to wear this for more than a photo-shoot purchase these items

Elastic
Hot glue/gun
Needle & thread

Instructions:
1. Purchasing the right mix of flowers is essential - it is very easy to make a fake looking/lets be honest "off looking - almost cute, but something isn't quite right" floral crown. Take your time moseying the store and dreaming up what would look good together. Because mine is for a newborn I knew I wanted it to be simple and organic looking and a few touches of color. I also knew it was only going to be about 13inches around so I had very little space to work with. 
2. Make sure the elastic and jewelry wire match your color scheme as well.
3. Start the floral arranging process. I cut a few pieces of flowers and moss and off, leaving about two inches of stem on each so I could wrap it together. 
4. I began wrapping the wire of the moss together leaving space in-between so I could add flowers to it later.
5. Once the moss was wrapped/wire twisted together and the correct length, I used jewelry wire to add in the flowers and little white fillers. Once it was all secure I twisted the wire in the back together to close it. 

*To make this into a longer-term wearable headband...

6. Once your crown is the proper size, take wire crown and hot glue it to elastic. You may choose to add a few flowers/fillers to cover the elastic. Make sure to leave a space of elastic blank in the back so it can stretch to fit your head. I would leave at lease two inches of bare elastic. 
7. Sew ends of elastic together and there you have it! A pretty floral crown.

DIY COASTERS

We finally found the perfect dresser for our shared room! And for the first time I felt a sense of responsibility to keep the surface of my furniture protected. So, I decided I need to make a set of coasters. If you DIY a lot, you probably have a stash of left over fabrics waiting to be used like me. I decided to use the scrap fabric from my moccasin revamp since the aztec vibe goes with our room decor.

Supplies Needed:

Scrap Fabric (I chose a scrap fabric that was a bit thicker/sturdier)

Scissors

Measuring Tape

Marker (I need help cutting straight lines)

Instructions - Probably the easiest project you'll ever do...

1. Depending on your fabric you may choose to cut a specific part, I chose to keep the pattern centered. Once you've decided on that, use your marker and measuring tape to draw out a square of 4.25in x 4.25 in. 

2. Cut along the line

3. Pour yourself a refreshing beverage and enjoy your new coasters!

If you try this simple DIY post a link to it in the comments, I'd love to see it!

Happy Friday!

Joanna

FREE PRINTABLES

1. Be Still  >>  2. I Love Us  >>  3. Dr. Suess  >>  4. Luke 24  >>  5. The World Smiled  >>  6. ABC 

Free printables are the perfect way to spice up your decor for the summer. Just follow the links to their original source, download and print. These are a few of my favorites floating around. Enjoy!

And if you are looking for more options...Every Wednesday this blogger posts a free printable! I currently have one hanging on my wall.

Joanna

DIY STRING LETTERS

I love making old things new. 

The husband was out of town for two days this weekend and I decided to spend my night/day home alone revamping a number of items. I'm attempting to bring more color into our front room and this pretty M was the perfect place to start. 

Supplies Needed:

1. A 3D letter 

2. Colored String (I scored all that string at the thrift store for $5!)

3. A good TV Show

4. A hot glue gun and sticks

Instructions:

*This may vary depending on what letter you are wrapping

1. Once you've decided what colors, find a place to begin wrapping the string. I started at the base of my M.

2. I held the edge of the string with my finger and began wrapping the string around and around. This should hold the edge in place, but for extra security you can add a dab of hot glue to the edge.

3. Continue wrapping horizontally and diagonally. I wanted mine to have a crazy, playful look so you can see the string wrapping has no particular pattern.

4. Keep moving your way up/around the letter. Try and keep the amount of string equal throughout. 

5. Repeat this process using different color string until your letter is covered with minimal holes. 

6. The hot glue gun and your patience will come in handy when trying to do edges, like the V shape in the center of the M. Use the glue gun to hold string in place that wants to slip. 

*I knew the back side of my M was not going to be seen so I chose to put dots of hot glue on the back rather than on the front or sides.

7. Once you are happy with the color and pattern of your string, use hot glue to secure the string ends and enjoy your DIY String Letter.

Other variations of this might include an ombre effect, using one solid color, painting the letter before wrapping in string, or using a different material to wrap.

Post a link in the comments to your blog if you attempt a DIY string letter. I'd love to see it!

Joanna

DIY EARRINGS

With the warm weather finally hitting the midwest, I was inspired to create a fresh pair of earrings. They are extremely simple to make. Once you've gathered your supplies, follow the instructions and let me know how they turn out! And I've included a 26 week bump picture for history's sake :)

Supplies:

1. Piece of Leather

2. Cording

3. Suede strands

4. Wire

5. Earring hooks

6. Scissors

7. Wire cutter

8. Iron

*I purchased all these items from Michaels/Joann Fabrics

Instructions:

1. Once you've gathered all your supplies, begin by cutting three thin strands of leather, four pieces of suede and one piece of cording. I cut each of mine about 4 inches long. 

2. If your suede looks like mine pictured above, you will need to iron the strands before moving to the next step.

3. Take all the strands and arrange them together in a bunch. 

4. Cut 4-5 inches of wire and wrap tightly around top of strands. Once they are secure, cut another couple inches of wire and wrap again, but this time twist the wire so it ends up in the center of the strands. 

5. Weave wire through earring hook and twist to secure. Make sure sharp edge of wire is inside the earring.

Joanna

DIY LACE COLLAR

Have any extra doilies and string laying around? Here is a simple way to turn those extras into a little pop in your wardrobe. 

1. Find doily and decide how big you want your collar to be. Try tucking it into they neck of your shirt to see what effect you would like. This will help you know what kind of doily to use and how you should be cutting in the next steps.
2. Start by cutting doily in half.
3. Fold the amount of collar you want showing over and secure with bobby pin. Than cut a rounded shape to remove execs, that way you don't have a lumpy chest, haha.
4. Place the two halves together, collar facing up, so the edges you want meeting at the center of your collar are touching.
5. Take string, or your choice of ribbon, and cut a real long piece. Tie a pretty little bow to link the halves. I made two bows so it was secure.
6. Doing one side at a time, weave string through the doily so it creates a permanent fold. Once I get to the edges I looped it through a couple of times and did some sort of knot. I wish I was a not expert to tell you what I did. My advice is just make sure its secure without creating a big not.

And then you just tuck it into your shirt or dress and wal-la you have a cute lace collar.

Joanna

MEAL PLANNING

Once upon a time, I was at the grocery store everyday just to buy one or two items. My food budget was hardly ever achieved and cooking was becoming stressful.

Then I discovered meal planning. Now I go to the grocery store once a week, I never have to frantically decided what to have for dinner and my food budget actually is achievable!

There area lots of different methods you can use to do meal planning. I won't go into detail on those. 
But I do think you should give meal planning a try if you sound like my once upon a time scenario. And to help you get started you can download my meal planning template. I don't know about you, but if something is cute and functional I will use it.

What are your thoughts on meal planning?

Click here to download the free template

Thanks for stopping by!

Joanna

REVAMP YOUR MOCCASINS

My moccasins were starting to look pretty sad and all the ones in the store were looking so cute. Normally, I'd just buy a newer cuter pair, but we are on a tighter budget now a days so I decided to revamp mine and I only spent $5 to do it!

You will need:

1. A pair of moccasins

2. Cute, durable fabric (mine is suede and I only needed about a foot of it)

3. New leather or suede string to go with your fabric

4. Scissors, paper and marker

5. Rubber cement or fabric glue

Once you have your supplies I'd suggest cleaning your moccasins with some vinegar to freshen them up. Here is how I went about this project...

1. Begin by tracing on paper the shape of the lip of your mocs, cut shape out.

2. Use paper stencil to cut fabric to shape. Flip the stencil over to use for other shoe. Place cut fabric on shoe and try your best to make it as accurate as possible. This took me a bit of time. My right shoe looks better than my left :)

3. Re-lace your moccasins. Cut strings to desired length. Then match up and cut holes in fabric so strings can go through.

4. Glue the fabric down. I used a thick coat of rubber cement. The first time I think the mocs absorbed all of it, because they didn't stick. I did a second coat and it seemed to work. If I did this again I might try fabric glue instead. Press edges down it all the right crevasses and let em dry.

I just love how they turned out!

Joanna

COUNT DOWN TO BABY

14 WEEKS

14 WEEKS

I love lists and I love countdowns. So, with the anticipation of Baby Meyer's arrival I needed some sort of visual countdown that I could cross off as time went on. I grabbed an old frame I spray painted green a while back, my never-ending supply of twine, baby clothes pins and then went to Target and purchased 16 packs of $1.00 newborn socks and purchased some fabric paint and scrapbook paper from Michaels. Pictured above is what I came up with. Each week I get to giddily cross off a week. I've since crossed off 31-28 and in two days I'll cross of 27!

I was tempted to make some sort of giant daily countdown, but I stopped myself because that might be a little overboard. 

Do you love lists and countdowns, too? 

Joanna

P.S. I'm still in love with black and white stripes and recently became fond of these burgundy leg warmers. I might be guilty of wearing them everyday. Have you been rocking the black and white stripes lately? 

VALENTINE'S DAY GARLAND

I'm not one to decorate for holidays. (this year I didn't even put up a Christmas tree...shhh) But I got the itch to make something simple and sweet for Valentine's Day. So, I grabbed an old book, my scissors, twine and my glue gun and went at at. 

1. Figure out where you want to put your heart garland. Then, measure and cut the length of twine you need. You may choose to string them along something horizontally or hang them vertically from the light above your table or something.

2. Tear out pages from your old book, and cut the pages in half and then fold them in half and draw half a heart and cut along the line. (like pictured above) This way you get perfect little hearts. I made hearts of all different sizes, I recommend at least three.

3. Lay out your pattern and start hot gluing them to the twine. If you will be able to see both sides, than hot glue another heart to the back so the twine doesn't show.

4. Hang them up and admire your pretties

How are you decorating for Valentines Day?

Joanna

CLOTH CHANDELIER

I was inspired by one of my favorite blogs to attempt this cloth chandelier. And I must say, it is my favorite DIY project I've ever done, so thanks Elise + Emma from A Beautiful Mess for this idea! You can find their tutorial here. A few things I did differently...

1. Instead of a cookie rack, I used this decoration hanging up in my friend's (Michelle, aka twinner) kitchen. I liked that it was big and oval...and free!

2. One trick about fabric is you don't have to cut all those strips by hand! If you just put a small cut at one end, you can tear it all the way down, saving you lots of jagged edged cuts and hours of frustration.

3. I'm not the biggest fan of sewing, so I decided to just tie the fabric in knots around the bars and it worked! 

4. I used the cheapest white fabric I could for the bulk of it, with a coupon I think it was 75 cents a yard. I bought some nice creamy fabric and a few yards of chunky lace for the outer edges to keep it soft. I wanted the chenille they used but I couldn't find it in any fabric stores! Sad day.

5. I cut all my strips the same length and waited until they were all on to add or remove strips. Most importantly, I waited till the end to shape it to look like a chandelier.

Lessons learned: 

1. DO NOT buy LED lights, this beautiful chandelier went from elegant to a scary halloween decoration in a second, haha.

2. Don't hang this yourself if you are not 100% confident. We have cement ceilings, so I asked my handy father-in-law and the husband to take care of that part of the project. 

Let me know if you attempt this project. I highly recommend it if you need something to take your space up to the next level but don't want to spend a lot of money. I also think this would be cute if you dyed the fabric giving it an ombre effect. 

Joanna

*I was asked about the lighting situation...It is lit up by white Christmas lights strung throughout the cloth. Also, I tested the lights for multiple hours and they never got hot, so no fire hazard :)