DIY Inspiration: Fun with pom-poms

A note to newer readers (runners): les plus beauxx started as a craft blog. I lost my crafty way when my full time job became more creative and I didn't need an artsy outlet. While I'm not quite ready to get back to it, I've been hoarding a lot of DIY links to share here. 

Today, I give you easy crafts using pom-poms. Some of the following are step-by-step tutorials, but a few are links to completed projects that can serve as DIY inspiration.

Around the Web

1. Pom-pom wreath via sewyeah
2. Pom-pom and bells garland via sewyeah
3. DIY pom-pom rug via say yes 
4. Inspiration for yarn pom-pom flowers via Aesthetic Nest
5. My preferred tutorial for how to make pom-poms via Domestifluff

My own example

Crafting pom-poms provides fantastic stress relief (or at least something to do with your hands while watching Netflix). You can buy a pom maker, but when I borrowed one from my friend I found that I preferred making them following the tutorial in #5 above. 

From our wedding.

I basically ripped off example 4 for our wedding table decorations. We had clear glass wine bottles and I attached my poms to long sticks from our backyard. It was great to have table decorations sorted months before the wedding AND not have to spend extra money on more floral arrangements. Some folks took their centerpieces home, but the rest live in a mason jar on our dining room table as an impromptu floral arrangement that never needs watering.  

DIY Inspiration: 8 Paper Punch Projects

A note to newer readers (runners): les plus beauxx started as a craft blog. I lost my crafty way when my full time job became more creative and I didn't need an artsy outlet. While I'm not quite ready to get back to it, I've been hoarding a lot of DIY links and future projects. Throughout 2016 I intend to post a few of these inspirational round-ups. Let's get started.


Today, I give you easy crafts using hole punches. Some of the following are step-by-step tutorials, but a few are links to completed projects that can serve as DIY inspiration.

Around the web

1. Paper punch heart garland via DIY Crafty Projects 
2. Circle punch art via You Are My Fave
3. Heart confetti made from a romantic novel via Etsy seller ddeforest
4. Washi tape stickers via rangirangi
5. Valentine's card using flower punch via me
6. Hexagon bling art via Tara Dennis 
7. Painted circles wall art via Pretty Designs

My own examples

I wish I had better photos, but I've made several circle punch garlands for my wedding and parties. I used a large circle punch for the main circle and added two small holes on opposite sides of the circle. I then used fishing line to string my circles and create the garland. For my wedding strands I added a bead at the end to weigh them down. Here's a great tutorial from Splendry. 

Left: our wedding tent, Right: Halloween

I highly recommend paper punch projects. Not only are they foolproof, but they are mildly therapeutic and can dress up any space or party.  

Friday Five: DIY Halloween costumes

I'm linking up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney for another Friday Five. This week's theme is Free Friday, so I thought I'd share some last minute costumes I've made over the years. 

Every costume was made the day of and I've ranked them from "very easy" to "a bit of work"

VERY EASY: Skeleton
What you need: Black and white face paint. I had a skeleton tank top, but it's not necessary.
Potential con: A group of us went as skeletons. Even though it was Halloween, ICP was in town and people mistook us for juggalos.

PRETTY EASY: Harry Potter character
What you need: a white button down shirt, dress pants/skirt, and potentially a sweater. Bonus points for a wand (stick), something featuring house colors (a tie or scarf), and the appropriate color and texture of hair (in my case bushy and brown for Hermione, in Tricia's case red and sleek for Ginny).

RELATIVELY EASY, BUT MAYBE OUTDATED: Ke$ha  
What you need: fishnet tights, layers of clothing, lots of jewelry, glitter, blue lipstick, and a wig. Write PARTY on your arm for maximum effect. Unfortunately, my good wig didn't get delivered on time so I had to settle for a crappy Halloween store wig.

NOT MUCH WORK: A unicorn
What you need: The worst part of this costume is gathering supplies. You'll need a cool cosplay wig (or not), leotard, tights, tulle for around your wrists and ankles, and some paper to make a horn. I put it all together in 30 minutes or so, but it took some preparation because I ordered everything off of Amazon.

A BIT OF WORK: A bird
What you need: I followed this tutorial for the dress and this for the mask. It only took me a few hours, but it was definitely more labor intensive than the costumes above. Alex went as a bird watcher, which was much easier to put together.

What are you going to be this year?

Tutorial: The easiest holiday bunting...ever.

The spooky photo I posted on Instagram. 

Another DIY post in less than six months!! This time it's crafty.

I made this bunting as a way to use items I had on hand and to provide a little handmade flair for our upcoming Halloween party. I posted the result on a few social media sites and someone asked how I did it. It's so simple and a great project to work on while marathoning a show (I watched The Walking Dead).

Materials:

• scissors 
• stapler
• paper
• twine / yarn / string 

Step 1: Fold one sheet of paper in half (hot dog style)

You can also fold it into fourths to cut the shapes more quickly, but for most of my pennants I folded the paper in half. 

Step 2: Cut triangle or a notched banner shape

Remember to cut the sides that aren't folded. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for a variety of paper.

Steps 1 and 2

Steps 3 and 4

Step 3: Wrap paper pennant around your string and staple in place 

You could use glue, tape, or even sew the segments together, but stapling was the fastest method I could think of. Be sure to alternate colors and patterns as you assemble the bunting. 

Step 4: Tie off the ends with a simple slip knot

The knot creates a hanger for your bunting and will keep your pennants in place. 

Now it's time to enjoy your holiday bunting! The project took me about 20 or so minutes from start to finish. Unfortunately, I don't know where I'm going to hang it yet so this mirror is the temporary location.

I'll probably make a few more near Christmas. Anything to use up my overflowing shelf of craft supplies!

DIY: Paver Stone Path

A DIY POST! Can you believe it?! Neither crafty nor artsy, but it's progress. I'm starting to ease up on work a bit and with that comes more time for creativity at home. I can't pretend a paver path is extremely creative, but it involved a bit of planning and a "vision," so we'll call it a step in the right direction. 

First things first, the previous homeowners installed paver stones, but they did not lay landscaping fabric or mulch around the stones, so every spring I had to weed the same area. It didn't look very nice and the path itself was a bit wonky. The stones had mulch to the left and butted up to the grass on the right. You can see the path on a good day in this post. After a few years and a dandelion issue, we needed a long term weed solution.

I've decided to post this project because I had a hard time finding a clear, step-by-step tutorial for a paver path that met my needs. This was the best tutorial I found, but they ended with pea gravel instead of dirt and mulch.

Materials:

• shovel
• rake
• level
• landscaping fabric
• scissors
• leveling sand 
• top soil (as needed)
• mulch
• paver stones
• scrub brush

Step 1: Remove existing stones (if necessary) 
Alex pulled out the existing stones while I was at work. They were jammed in there. (He forgot to take a before photo, but took the after-stone-removal-before image featured above.)

Step 2: Dig out the target area, remove grass, and level remaining dirt
I dug out a quarter circle in front of the porch. I also pulled a ton of clover and dandelion weeds and trimmed down the rapidly spreading ivy that fills the area on the side of the porch. Before moving on to step three, I used a rake and a level to make sure the ground was even.

Step 3: Lay landscaping fabric
We bought landscaping (weed blocker) fabric at Menards. It was pretty cheap and we didn't read the label carefully: it was only rated "moderate" for blocking weeds. I decided to lay two layers and of course it was the windiest part of the day. I had to use the level and my small gardening tools to keep the fabric from blowing away.

Step 4: Leveling sand + flower break
I also used some leveling sand to hold down the blowing fabric (hence, the photo above). Alex had to help with the leveling sand because I couldn't hold up a stone while tossing sand under. I had to wait for him to get home to help and during my wait I planted flowers in our porch planters.

Step 5: Top Soil + Mulch
We covered the exposed fabric with a layer of top soil, plus some of the dirt that came out of the dug up area. Then I covered the top soil with a bag and a half of black much.

Step 6: Cleaning the stones and finishing touches
Once the mulch was in place, I dusted off the stones with a scrub brush. I decided to bring two of the pots down from the porch to add a little pizzazz. It's nice to have before and after photos to really appreciate what a mess it was in the beginning!

What's next? Home stuff is never-ending, but I think we're finally recharged and ready to make progress after taking a few years off. Alex is currently working on our bathroom. My next tasks include: repainting the iron stair railing, fixing the crack in the steps, repainting the bench on the front porch, and hanging some new address numbers. But first, we need to plant the veggie garden in the backyard before it's too late!

Jewelry Organization: A Work in Progress

I've finally sorted through most of my jewelry and made a display using items I've collected over the years.

I'm not going to lie. It doesn't look great. I think the people on Pinterest must have all matching jewelry. This looks like slightly ordered chaos to me. But it is functional and I think it will get better as I edit my collection. It's nice to have everything visible in one place (though I seem to be missing a few items...).

My two trees came from West Elm and Urban Outfitters. This little guy is great, but the tall one (top photo, left) is driving me nuts. It looks crowded. 

This tray is from West Elm and was a gift. I think it'll catch my every day earrings because there's no way I'll put them back on the fox all the time. That's another thing, what do Pinterest people do with stud earrings? Is that where the egg holders and ice cube trays come into play? 

The fox (Urban Outfitters) is cute, but it's kind of a pain to take the backs off the earrings, position them on the fox, and then affix the back. I don't see that being a viable solution for earrings I wear all the time. I've had it for a year and never replaced worn earrings. Maybe I'll fill this with special occasion earrings. (This is where my missing jewelry will go. I'm guessing it's all in a travel bag.)

Necklace and dangly earring storage is fine. We got this frame with chicken wire from our wedding florist and used it on the guestbook table. It's been lying around for a few months and finally has a home. I used mini craft clothespins to hang the necklaces. They can't handle a ton of necklaces so I would not recommend buying them for a project like this.

And finally, my rings and decorative pins are in a Kate Spade Saturday mug. The handle broke off during shipment and I was too lazy to return. I figured Alex could use it for a plant, but this is better. :)

Once I get everything into place I will revisit this display in a few months. I made a huge donation pile while preparing this and I feel so much better. I had necklaces and rings from middle school!

You can find several jewelry storage ideas on my Organization Pinterest board.

Pinterest Projects

Pinterest is great. I find a lot of stuff on there: gift ideas (for myself), outfit ideas, and some DIY inspiration. This year, I completed a few of my bookmarked projects. Here are three highlights:

(I apologize. Most of these photos are from my phone in poor lighting.)

Bookshelf to "Bar"

Pinterest link via Apartment Therapy

We have SO MUCH glassware. This is just the stuff that can't fit in the cupboards, on top of the cupboards, or in the hutch. It's ridiculous. Anyway, we also have about 2 bottles of liquor and a few fancy bottles of wine. (The other bottles never make it into the dining room because we drink them immediately.) I had an old Sauder bookshelf from my high school bedroom that was in decent shape. I thought this would be a nice corner filler in the dining room. I like the idea of installing bottle and glass holders, but I'm not sure this bookcase is sturdy enough. 

Bird Costume

Pinterest Link via A Beautiful Mess

Bird Mask

Video Tutorial

Ok, this one's kind of a lie. I actually subscribe to A Beautiful Mess, saw this there, THEN pinned it. But, whatever. 

This year, I had the itch to make a costume. I am really trying to use up my craft supplies. I have way too many. I made it the day of a friend's Halloween party, so it didn't take long. Instead of using a pillowcase, I cut out fabric a few inches wider than a favorite dress. It still fit wide/large like a pillowcase, but there was a little more shape to it. I forgot that my mom and I had swapped sewing machines and that my new Bernina is AMAZING. (I was using an in-table Singer from the 60s.) 

After the costume was complete, I had time to make a mask. I googled "make bird mask" and that video was one of the first results. If you watch it, you can tell I didn't stray much... Our friend had a black light in one room and the mask looked awesome. 

Alex went as a bird watcher. The day before the party I printed out several pages from Sibly's bird guide to make him a little booklet. I find it amusing that we took my nice camera as a prop for his costume, but didn't take a single photo... 

Chocolate dipped candy canes / pretzels 

Pinterest Link 

Tonight is my office Christmas party (way more fun than parties for other offices). This was super easy. A few of the candy canes broke while unwrapping, so I mashed them up to sprinkle on the white chocolate pretzel sticks. I have no idea what these taste like yet, but I imagine they'll be good. Made these to go along with some crockpot hot chocolate (which I will be making in about 3 hours...) 

Follow my Pinterest.

stuff i've made: earrings

Do you remember the paperclip earring DIY from a few months ago?

Well, last week while watching Terra Nova (which I give a "meh... we'll see") I made a few pairs. I did not use any adhesive, but I'm thinking I'll need to finish them off with some type of spray glue. I wore a pair last week and they seemed to hold up, but you never know...

I modified the original instructions to suit my purposed and, overall, I think they turned out pretty well.

Here's a crappy photo from my phone.

I'm hoping to get more crafty over this next month. Cold weather seems to motivate me. We'll see!

House stuff: flooring

It's been a long spring of house stuff. Mainly, ripping up carpet on the first floor. (Just so you know, these photos are from my phone.)

Eventually we'll be refinishing 3 rooms and 1 hallway on the bottom floor. I say eventually because there are some odd things with two of the 3 floors we uncovered. (The dining room was already uncovered before we moved in, so no photos of that...)

Let's start with the living room:

This was the first room I uncovered with help from my friend (Alex was gone, it was a surprise). The floor is in pretty good shape. There's some paint splattered all around, but overall the planks look nice. Unfortunately, we uncovered half a tile under the newer entryway (I'm guessing the previous owner just covered up ALL of the tiles in the entry). Additionally, there's a small trap door by the couch wall. This will probably be covered up by a large rug, but we need to do something about this for the next person who lives here.


After the living room, I ripped up the carpet in the hallway. I was so giddy about the living room looking so great because the carpet was disgusting, that I never imagined the hallway would look any different. HA! I did not expect the hallway to look like this....

Upon uncovering THIS I called my mom in hysterics (ok, not that bad. No tears). I was so upset that I scared my friend away and had to finish this late into the night.

That layer of crap confused me. I thought maybe it was water/fire damage... I ran through a huge list and resigned myself to the fact that we'd be getting carpet.

Somewhere in there I googled "layer of gunk on wood floor" or something equally creative. I found a DIY project identifying this as vinyl tile adhesive or mastic. It made sense because this crap stops at each doorway. The DIY-er said it was tough to get up (and could be dangerous if there's asbestos), so I'm getting a professional to come look at it asap.


About two weeks later, Alex and I tackled the "blue" room (our guest room). Like the living room, I had no idea what the expect. This carpet was even older and dirtier than any others around the house.

Besides some paint spots it's amazing! We could even use this without refinishing. I was so happy to uncover this. If it had been a disaster we would be getting carpet without question. There was a fine layer of "sand" (?) when we pulled up the carpet foam, but that's the extent of the "blue" room drama.


So that's what I've been doing. Getting someone out to take a look at the hallway has been a pain. My first contact is apparently busy, but doesn't want me to know (so he never shows up). I'm hoping we can get this finished soon because we just got our new couch and I'm ready to decorate!

10 diys: for you & your home

CRAFT blog has been on fire recently and I think most of these tutorials have been linked on their blog in the past few months. If you follow their feed, I hope I'm not boring you with the repetition. Let's get started...

5 fantastic accessories projects:

1. Finger knit bracelets [via V. and Co.]
2. Simple skirt (kid's pattern that can be modified) [via MADE]
3. Paperclip earrings [via evie s.]
4. Summer scarves [via mer mag]
5. Geometric Necklace [via dismount creative]

And 5 simple household accessories:

1. Mini stamp collecting book [via Book Hour Craft Projects]
2. Paint chip wall art [via Paper Crave]
3. Print your own fabric [via poppytalk]
4. Bottle cutting [via plastolux]
5. Painted brass candlesticks [via stylizimo]

Inspiration: stylizimo

I'm not sure where I've been for the past year... but I've recently discovered stylizimo and I love it!

The Norwegian based site features DIYs that are the perfect mixture of easy and stylish. I definitely want to make #1 in the photo above. (Currently trying to convince my housemate that it's worth it.)

DIY project featured above:

1. Trendy dining table
2. Framed chalkboard
3. White-topped coffee table

DIY round up: Christmas Decorations

So let's pretend you have even more time to spare before the holiday. Looking for some fun projects? Well, look no further:

In number order:

1. Twisted felt garland [via purl soho]
2. Wine bottle cozy [via design*sponge]
3. Star garland [via Creature Comforts]
4. Sugar cookie ornaments [via Creature Comforts]
5. Modern paper holiday garland [via curbly]

DIY round up: Christmas presents

Assuming you have some time, here are some excellent Christmas gifts and bags you can make for friends and family. I love how deceptively easy these projects are (minus the fox because I can't follow sewing patterns - but I'm sure you can!)

In number order:

1. Felt Christmas Tree Pin [via purl soho]
2. Wrapped Wreath [via In Color Order]
3. Heat Transfer Goody Bag [via How About Orange]
4. Simple Drawstring Bag [via whipup]
5. Electrified Fox (!!) [via matsutake]
6. Easy Baby Blankets + color ideas [via purl soho]

DIY inspiration: craft + design

Craft meets design with this cool project by Corey Holms. Read more about it at Kitsune Noir.

You could create a template for something similar in Photoshop/Gimp/Paint. Start with a stencil and fill it with a diagonal or wavy stripe pattern. Something like this:

 (I did a quick google search for "free stencil" and came across this dragonfly. I created my own diagonal line pattern in Photoshop a few years ago, but there are some free ones here.)

Print and use your newly created template to trace the pattern onto your fabric. Stich over your guide lines, erase remaining lines (or wash out), and there you have it! I think a project like this would be pretty relaxing on a fall/winter night with a good movie...

DIY: paper bag skirt

This skirt is super cute and is begging for an adult counterpart. Check out this tutorial and let me know what I need to do to make it adult sized. ;) 

Paper bag skirt - Make It and Love It

It's like a cuter version of this Urban Outfitters skirt that retails for $48.00.

Oh, and since we know I rarely get my sewing machine out (I like to hand stitch things), if someone wants to make this for me that would be cool, too. ;) 

DIY round up: Quick and Easy

Before I set off I thought I'd have at least one proper post of "quick and easy" DIY projects.

Fabric Corsage [Frenchie and Flea]

Fancy Clothespins [Creature Comforts]

Ultra Miniskirt [Tina Sparkles]

Twenty Minute Tote [purl bee]

Chalkboard Calendar - no tutorial, but a great idea! [ohdeedoh]

 Braided Headband [cakies]

Lots of great, easy projects this time. Let me know if you make anything!