Tuesday, April 24, 2012

DIY Frosted Glasses

I have a few too many plain glasses for martinis and other alcoholic beverages. I decided to use some supplies I already had and create these great, frosted glasses.

What You'll Need: 

  • Masking Tape
  • Plain Glasses
  • Frosted Spray Paint
All the necessary supplies
First, just start adding tape in whatever pattern/shape you want.  I love the chevron pattern so I decided to use that for the cylindrical glass.


Took me a while to get the pattern straight
Next, spray away. Try to get the spray paint even everywhere and let it dry for 20-30 minutes.  I know that it feels dry sooner, but let it dry for a long time.  As you'll see, I did the martini glass, and I'm currently drinking out of it and it smudged big time. Bummer.

I'm going to add a clear coat in a little bit and it should be good to go!

I think I might make the one above a candle holder instead of for drinks.

Tip: Do not put in the dishwasher. Hand wash. 


Final Chevron Glass/Candle Holder

As a candle holder

Martini Glass. Pre Smudge. 
What do you think? Pretty simple, huh? Are you going to try it? 


Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Frosted DIY Candle Holders

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been in the process of moving into a new apartment. I finally found where I packed all of my crafting stuff and decided to take on a simple, quick project. I made the DIY Candle-holder and it took all of 25 min (20 of which was drying time).


Supplies Needed:
  • Clear, Glass Candle-holder (whichever size & shape you want) 
  • Frosted Glass Spray paint -white (you can use other colors... the one I used was white)
  • Rubber bands... tape... anything along those lines. (i used a variety so I could have different width lines)
My cylinder candle-holder with one rubber band already on it & frosted glass spray from Michael's
  • Wrap the rubber bands, tape... whatever you're using, around the holder. Make sure it's all tightly on there so you get clear lines. 
*Hint: the masking tape was my favorite because it was easy to get off & I didn't have to wait for the spray paint to totally dry before taking it off. Yes, I am so impatient that I can’t wait 20 minutes for spray paint to dry. *

  • Spray paint the candle-holder outside. Make sure you don’t get too happy with the spray paint can because it will run and not look super even.
*Hint: I sprayed too much in one area so I wiped the running paint off with my finger and sprayed it. Now, you can’t really tell that I messed up. The very first picture in the blog shows the side with the smudge.. not super noticeable. 

Pretty and lit. I have it on
my mantle & love it. 
  • Let it dry for 20-30 minutes just to be safe. Carefully remove the rubber bands, tape, etc.  Voila! You have a fancy, expensive-looking candle holder!  (In my picture, I have a small candle in a large holder. I need to get a larger candle. That would make it look better… not quite as empty!Obviously)
Do you think you’ll try this DIY Project? If you have, let  me know how it goes! 

Picture of it without a candle lit in it.


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

DIY Sweatshirt Fix

I'm sure everyone has a sweatshirt that just doesn't fit right. Mine is in the form of a hoodie my parents got me from Hawaii. I love sweatshirts but this one fit weird. The sleeves are at least 1.5" short and the hoodie pretty much choked me out every time I'd try to wear it. So what did I do? Took scissors to it. I'm sure I could have been "fancier" or more creative but hey, I wanted to fix it.


One of my final products


What you'll need: 

  • Sweatshirt you don't mind cutting into
  • Scissors

This is literally the easiest and fastest outfit fix I've done! First, I lined up the sweatshirt so I didn't cut it unevenly. 
Sweatshirt Before (and my nosy dog)

Lining up the sweatshirt and just starting to cut away

Next, the sleeves. The super short sleeves. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. So I did what I'm good at... cutting with the scissors.  Below shows how I did it. After they were cut, i just rolled them up a little. I was going to sew them, but I decided I like them rolled.

DIY-Sweatshirt-Sleeves
I cut off a little bit of the sleeve and then just rolled it twice
I thought about cutting it shorter too on the bottom. However, I thought about the pocket and I didn't want to mess that up!  The final product is below! I'm proud of it, I'm actually going to wear this sweatshirt now! Yay! 

It's a lot cuter in person... I promise. lol Here it looks bulky, but that's just the sweatshirt itself

The neckline
Pretty easy, huh? What do you think? I did another one as well, it's the pink one on top!



Sunday, March 25, 2012

DIY Cork Chandelier

So I saw a "ball of corks" if you will, and I thought that it would be so cute with lights wrapped around it as a "cork chandelier". My first issue, there were no instructions for making this "Cork Chandelier" but hey, I can do anything I put my mind to, right?



What you'll need: 

  • Foam ball (whichever size you want, I used an 8" one from Michael's)
  • Hot glue
  • a TON of corks (if you use a larger ball.) 
  • Chain
  • Mini Christmas Lights

This is actually a really easy project, it just took a lot longer than I thought it was. I underestimated the amount of time it would take to glue on 150+ corks. 

The one thing you do need to do is cut a hole through the middle. I used a drill to drill a hole through the middle of the ball so I could hang it with a small chain... or whatever I use. (the picture below shows about how much space I left around the drilled hole) 


One issue I did come across is that I got impatient, and would rotate the ball to add more corks before other glue dried. I didn't pay attention and a few times the cork would dry crooked or tilted. So if that happens, just glue around the edges to hold it down... or (i did this a few times) gently pull the cork off of the ball, clean it off and re-glue it. Easy Fix. The picture below shows me fixing one of the corks...

To be honest, there is not a lot of skill involved in this project (if I can do this, anyone can:)... just start gluing. Mine took probably 3-4 hours for gluing. 

Partially Done 

I'm moving on Friday so as soon as I hang it and unpack some lights to wrap in it, I will take a picture and post it! ( I need to make sure I get a strong... but cute chain because this sucker is heavy!!!)

*Disclaimer: Nope, I did not drink that much wine in order to acquire that many corks! My good friend is a restaurant manager, so she brought me a box full of probably 300 corks! :)*

Currently what it looks like. I think when I get some mini lights wrapped in there (I'm going to try and find ones with dark cords) you won't see the foam as much. 

What do you think? Do you think you'll try and make one? I'd love to hear your honest thoughts on it! 

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Inexpensive DIY Candle Holders

This is a unique, cute idea (I think) for some really unique candle holders. It's simple and after I got the supplies together and ready, it took about 5-7 minutes to make. 



What You'll Need: 
  • Whatever pretty candle holder you want (i picked a short, cylindrical one) 
  • Mod Podge
  • Sponge Applicator
  • Epsom Salt
  • Clear Coat Spray
  • Paper Plate (just for pouring the Epsom salt onto) 

First, you to pour a generous amount of Epsom salt onto the paper plate. 

Then, apply a thin layer of Mod-Podge onto the entire vase/candle holder.. whatever you use. *Make sure it's even. I made the mistake of applying it thicker in one spot and it's a little noticeable. Doesn't look bad but would look better even :) 
I applied the Mod Podge while I had my hand in the vase so I didn't have to worry about getting it on my hand. 

Next,  while keeping your hand in the vase, roll it in the Epsom salt which is on the paper plate. 

Let it sit for a little bit (I waited around 10 minute) and then lightly tap the candle holder to shake off the excess Epsom salt. 

Then, spray a light layer of the clear coating on it to make sure the Epsom salt stays in place! 

Voila! You have a cute candle holder that has a gorgeous glow!!! 

 What do you think? Will you try this?