Somebody say candy dots?! This DIY clutch is inspired not only by those color coated mounds of pure sugar, but also by this bag by designer. I saw it in a fashion post by CarrieC a couple weeks bag and fell in love. What else was I to do than try to make a spin-off? Here it is folks...fun, quick, and easy!

What you'll need:

-solid color bag/purse/clutch

-semi-circle wooden dots

-markers

-strong glue

Instructions:

1. Color your wooden dots as desired using markers. You could also spray paint them, but given that I made these while on vacation, I didn't have the option. Using a marker means essentially no drying time, but also means a less than perfect color coating.

2. Align the dots on the bag as desired. Drop a dot of glue on the base of the wooden semi-circle and press onto the surface of the bag. Hold for at least 15-20 seconds, or until glue has dried enoughto keep the wooden circle secured. 

3. Continue gluing dots to your heart's content! Let the bag sit for an hour or two to ensure the glue dries thoroughly. Then, hit the town and buy some sweets to stuff it with! :)

DIY || #27 || Weaving...Aint nobody got time for that!

Okay, so I stand corrected. Some people do have time to learn weaving and continue on to produce beautiful products. This is one I have been admiring a bunch lately, in addition to this, this, and this. For those of us who have more admiration than free time, a little shortcut doesn't sound so bad, right? I tried a couple of ways and finally settled on this tutorial to create a non-woven but still 'woven-like' trendy wall hanging. The best part is that it took an insignificant amount of time (1-2 hours), can be easily customized even after it is completed, and cost me less than $25 for all the materials. Boo yah! So let's get started...

The items you will need: yarn (variety of colors/sizes/types), stiff plastic canvas, thread (the slightly thicker the better), scissors, stick (I used an old paint roller), and leather string for hanging. Keep in mind that you can add any other type of detail to your piece such as wooden beads, fabric scraps, etc. depending on the look you are going for. I spent about $16 on yarn. $0.50 on the canvas, $4.00 on thread/leather string, and $0 on the stick = a total of $20.50!

Basic steps: First start by sketching a rough template of what the final piece will look like. It doesn't have to be exact and does not have to be followed once you get going. Just gives you a nice visual to have before getting started and to refer back to if needed. Next, start making the yarn tufts. For the longer length pieces, I wrapped the yarn around the length of my arm, tied a piece of thread to each side of the loop, and cut across the loop in the middle to yield two tufts each tied together by thread. The more you wrap the yarn around your arm, the thicker your tufts will be and the less you will have to make to go across the width of the board. For this top gray layer I made 6 tufts, each created after wrapping the yarn around my arm about 20 times. For smaller tufts, I simply wrapped the yarn around the palm of my hand. Once you have created your tufts tied to string, you can start attaching them to the plastic canvas. For the very top layer, make sure to leave the first row of boxes open so you attach the board to the stick to be hung up. So starting in the second row, simply slide the strings through the boxes in the plastic canvas and tie them together into a knot on the back of the canvas, making sure the tuft is pulled up close to the board as much as possible. Now just repeat! Space the yarn tufts out so they overlap enough not to show the canvas underneath. Once all set, trim off any excess edges or cut the yarn as desired to get the look you want.

The last step is to attach the plastic canvas to a wooden stick. I used an old paint roller we had laying our the apartment which ended up being the perfect size. First I looped leather string through a couple holes in the top corners of the canvas then loop them numerous times around the ends of the stick. Bring the two strings together at the top and tie them together with several knots. Hammer a nail into the wall and hang. All set!

Feel free to experiment with various styles/colors! At one point I wrapped yarn around the board itself rather than creating tufts. I made a cascading effect by cutting the yarn at different lengths or tying the yarn tufts in a diagonal rather than straight across the canvas. Share if you do create one - I'd love to see!

DIY || #26 || Out on a limb

Keeping with the theme of my apartment decor, such as my botanical wall and jewelry holder, I've done it again with my window treatments using the most basic materials! It is such a unique addition to the room and surprisingly only took an hour from start to finish to complete. The hardest part about this project is finding the branches, which was surprisingly a breeze for me after discovering a pile of branches in my previous apartment building's back lot. The goal is to find evenly sized-length branches if you are doing more than one window, and also that they are medium weight - not so thin they will snap but not so heavy they won't stay up. I wanted my branches to blend with my wall so I spray painted them white and let them dry overnight. Here's what you''ll need: branch(es), spray paint (if you want to color them), measuring tape, screw-in bicycle storage hooks, nail (or screwdriver), hammer, and curtains. 

Measure how high you want your branches based off the length of curtains you have, then measure perpendicularly across the window top and make two light marks with a pencil - one where each hook will be. Because I don't have a screwdriver to drill holes in the wall, I simply used a thin nail to hammer a small hole, pulled it out, then screwed in the bike hooks (using some muscle!). Once the hooks are secure simply place the branch across them and check that it is even. If your curtains have loops, you can slide them across the branches. Since mine did not, I cut small holes along the top of the curtain and tied them to the branch using twine ribbon. I found this works better because I could adjust the curtain length based off how tight or loose I tied the ribbons (this helps if the branch is curved and would result in uneven curtain length at the bottom). Alright, that's it! 

Just so you can see what it looks like before the curtains - another great idea just for general decor!

Friday Faves || #16 || From the homeland

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