decorative

DIY Tassel Napkin Rings

Confession: I hate napkin rings.

No, really. It’s hard to hate something like a napkin ring, but I do, I really do. So imagine the surprise I felt when I was setting the table and a wave of inferiority rushed over me. I NEED POMPOMS. I NEED POMPOMS. I NEED POMPOM NAPKIN RINGS!

…and thus, a new chapter began. Much like the last chapter, it was filled with pompoms and tassels and yarns of yore.

And by yore, I mean the largest yarn stash ever known to someone who does not knit.

I have been on a tassel making kick for months, making small batches at night in front of the TV. They pile up in plastic bags in my craft room waiting for the day (probably any day now) when I turn them into knob bobbles. If you don’t know how to make yarn tassels, check in over there first. Get your tassel on!

The keys here is to leave the hanging strings long enough to tie them together (I also tied on a couple extra long strands for good measure). Then I braided the strands together and tied it off in a loop. It’s a little messy, but really, who is counting on neatness here?!

Confession: Those aren’t even real napkins. I just buy a yard of 100% cotton fabric, rip it in quarters, wash in hot water with baking soda and towels (puffs up the fibers), and let the edges fray. Nice thing about napkin rings is you don’t have to iron. Hayo!

Another confession: These babies stopped being napkin rings 20 minutes after these photos were taken and are now hanging on a Christmas tree. More on that next week!

Painted Chargers for a Holiday Feast

by aunt peaches 12 Comments

I have been toying with the idea for painted holiday plates for a while, but I’m not patchouli enough to hang out at the local pottery shop wearing Tevas and tube socks. Since Thanksgiving is upon us, I decided to do a little experiment with painting chargers. Neither chargers nor placemats have been of interest to me in the past, as it seems like just one more thing to have on the table. BUT. In this case, when you pair a painted charger with a glass plate, it’s like having mini art pieces on the table.

Lookit!

Wouldn’t mashed potatoes look really good on that?

Yeah. I know.

Want to make some? It’s crazy easy. It’s just layers of splotches in a circle-ish pattern around the plate. Let each layer of paint dry before you move on to the next. Or not. Maybe you want them to blend. You do that. You be in charge. Get it girl!

Materials
Gold Chargers $1.50 each
Martha Stewart craft paint, Satin finish $1.99 each (colors used here, bottom to top: Wild Blueberry, Granny Smith, Wedding Cake, Beach Glass, Habanero)

PS: You’ll find everything here at Michaels craft store. Yes, I am a Michael’s Maker. No, They aren’t sponsoring this. It’s just handy when you can find everything in one place.

Won’t the paint wash off?
I can’t speak for every acrylic paint on the market, but I really like this Martha Stewart paint in the satin finish (mixed review on the others). `The label reads:
“Use on Wood, glass, metal and fabric. Indoor/Outdoor Water based. Non-toxic. Weather resistant. Shake. Dry 1 hour between coats. For glass: Clean surface with alcohol. Cure 21 days. Top-rack dish wash.”
Because the charger here is probably plastic coated, and acrylic will never stick to plastic as well as other surfaces, I would probably not put it in the dishwasher. And I would never soak it in a sink like regular china. But a soapy rinse and wipe down? Sure thing. These haven’t even cured 48 hours and I can testify to them surviving a good rinse and dry in my kitchen, no special sealer or anything. And I’m not eating on them directly, so really, I’m not that worried. Worst case, if some of the paint did come up, it would just mean more of the gold underside showing through, and I like that. Problem solved. Boom.

You gotta love fancy china, but there is something awesome about clear glass plates. Especially since you can find them at most any thrift store or Dollar Tree. Inexpensive, all occasions, and you can add to your collection at any time.

And…while we are chillin here before dinner, did you see my centerpiece?

A cluster of glittery gold candle sticks, also from the thrift store (all five for sunder $10, btw)….but using my not-so-secret method for making no-shed glitter objects. Because nobody needs glitter in their cranberry sauce.

Or do they?

You can get the deets over at ILovetoCreate.com.

I’ll admit, I made these chargers just for the fun of it. I’m not doing a big Thanksgiving feast, butttt, if I was, I would go back and make these in autumn colors on this metallic brown base. Or for Christmas or Channukah, maybe a selection of blues in navy, white and periwinkle on these silver chargers. Or maybe just buy some blanks and let the munchkins go wild. Is that a family art project I hear coming down the tracks?

Toot toot!

Welp. That’s it. Your place is set. Who is coming over for dinner?!

Decorative Trays From Duct Tape and Box Lids

by aunt peaches 10 Comments

I don’t know that there isn’t a problem that a good accent tray can’t fix.

Got a jumble of crap on your nightstand? Put it in a tray.
Crap on your dining table makes your place look perpetually messy? Let a tray take care of it.
Conflict in the Middle East got you scared? Nope. Trays can’t help with that.

But they try real hard!

Things is, even for hard-core thrifters like me, trays can get limited and/or pricey. Sometimes you gotta get creative. Duct tape goes a long way, especially now that it comes in every color and pattern under the sun.

Here I used a cardboard cat food tray, but you can use the lid from a file box, show box…just about anything. Heck, you could make your own. Custom size. After all, it’s duct tape!

Tip 1: Stick to patterned duct tape. I love mixing solid color stripes on other projects, but wrinkles and lumps are pretty inevitable on this particular project, and the patterns will cover the flaws beautifully.

Tip 2: Duck brand duct tape is my favorite, but there are some other good generic brands. There also some bad ones (read: I’m not a fan of Scotch brand duct tape. No offense Scotch, you make amazing colored masking tape, but your duct tape formula is no good). Anyway. Just make sure, whatever you choose, it’s super sticky. Usually I can tell by rolling back a piece slowly and you can see the adhesive fibers stretching and pulling, that’s a good sign. It should take effort. If it comes off the roll too easily, you can bet it’ll fall off your box in a few weeks.

They come together real quick. Last August I was using my friend’s house to photograph these paint chip art pieces for the Queen Latifah show. Their place looks great, but the coffee table was lacking something…something, like…a tray!

Doesn’t that look better? Yeah. Told you. It’s all about the tray.

So that is what I know about that. It’s take you five minutes and cost the roll of tape. Are you on it yet? Get going!

Feel inspired? Here are some other terrific and inexpensive ideas I have found around the web this week…

Apple votives (perfect for Thanksgiving!)

Sugar Skull Caramel Apples

Hexagon wall art

Leaf garland from plastic bags

Cheap and easy ribbon organizer

Hand stamped pendants

Storybook owl necklace

10 Minute Drum Shades

by aunt peaches 5 Comments

It appears that I’m going through an anti-curtain phase. A year ago I thought extra tall patterned curtains were the best thing on the planet, but now I’d be happy to live curtain free the rest of my life. That’s me. Fickle, fickle, fickle. I worry I’ll exhaust my options and a year from now I’ll go head-on into a vicious passion for vertical blinds. Won’t that be fun!

Welp. The dining room curtains came down for painting the walls this summer, and the moment they were off, I realized how much more spacious and bright the room felt without them. So they stayed off long after the paint dried. Me likey. Isn’t it funny how painting a room has a domino effect on everything else?

If I didn’t live so close to neighbors, I’d probably live curtain-free altogether, but as privacy is an issue, I need something. A little something. Café curtains would have fit the bill, but I wanted a cleaner look. I measured the panel the exact width of the window, and stitched two channels along the top and bottom hem, then slipped in the tension rods and BAM. Tight as a drum.

The bottom half of the window is covered, but light can still get in, and the fabric panel is shown off to its best advantage. Plus, I can still open the window whenever I want – I just nudge up the bottom tension rod and the fabric folds over nicely. Nifty huh?

You could do this in any room of the house with less than a yard of fabric, and very little sewing skills. In fact, you could probably skip the sewing and use a roll of iron-on stitch witchery, or fabric glue instead. I’d still use an iron to get the crisp edges, but other than that, it doesn’t take much. Just a little fabric and tension rods. Shazam!

PS: I bought this Marimeko fabric for $5.95 a yard at the Crate and Barrel Factory Outlet in Naperville. Marimekko normally sells between $50 and $100 a yard, so I stocked up good. If you in the area, you have got to get out there. They just put out the Christmas goodies and the getting’ is good!

Five Minute Tassel Necklaces

by aunt peaches 17 Comments

Ways in Which Tassels are Rad by Aunt Peaches.

Tassels are rad because of lots of the following reasons. Ahem:

1. Tassels look very cool.
2. Your cat will think they are toys.
3. Tassels make your outfit look ethnic and bohemian enough to be interesting, but not so ethnic and bohemian you look like you work at the Renaissance Faire.
4. Tassles are Pom-Pom’s big sister, so that’s pretty neat.
5. Tassels look good on doorknobs.
6. Tassels are easy to make. Even for kids. Or people who say they are “all thumbs.” Because people with hands full of thumbs deserve cute jewelry too.

The End.

….actually, not the end. Actually there is a lot more. This is a huge post. Keep going!
That thing took five minutes to make. No, really. Five.

This one took a bit longer. Maybe 20 minutes. Half an episode of True Blood. That means I got a cool necklace in half the time it took to kill a vampire. Epic winning.

When Blitsy contacted me about making something featuring their awesome craft supplies, I thought this one was a no-brainer. Literally, you don’t have to think about it. You just get some embroidery floss and go to town.

The secret here is the embroidery floss. You buy it in these teensy candy colored bundles. Or, if you are like me, you buy it in a not-so-teensy jumbo pack and supply yourself for a year of tassel making (listen, I don’t mess around. Christmas is coming and the tassel situation is about to get real).

I’m going to split the instructions on this depending of how custom you want to make it.
Let’s start with level one; a jumbo two tone tassel of goodness.

What do you need?
Two loops of embroidery floss and a plain bead necklace (salvaged from the back of your jewelry box, or make one custom), and your sharpest pair of scissors. Now let’s get started!

How do you make it?
Tie the two floss loops of floss together in the exact center. Fold over, then use the knot strings to attach it to the necklace with another knot. Bring those knot strings back into the rest of the floss, and use a new 6″ piece of floss to wrap around the entire bundle tightly. Tie a double knot, then trim off the bottom as long or as short as you see fit. Presto!

Here is another version in green. I cut it a little shorter to keep it nice and neat. It goes with everything. Jeans. Pajamas. Ballgowns. Hospital robes. Everything.

And here is a version using super small tassels attached to a ready made yellow necklace. I hadn’t worn that thing in ages, now I’v worn it twice this week. That’s the power of tassels!

Speaking of tiny tassels…want to make something a little more high end? No problem. It’s easy to make and you can get all the supplies from Blitsy.

What will you need?
Embroidery floss (one loop will make two small tassels), jewelry quality twine, large wooden beads, small metallic beads, O rings.

How do you make two tassels out of one loop of embroidery floss?
Thread a 6″ piece of floss to the middle of an O ring and tie in the center. Use the knot strings to poke through a loop of embroidery floss and tie at one end. Repeat this process at the other end of the floss loop. Use another 6″ piece of embroidery floss to tie off the bundle of thread 1/2 from the end. Repeat on the other side, then snip in the middle

How do you make a necklace?
Slide the following onto an 18″ length of jewelry quality twine (BB = Big Bead, SB = Small Bead, T=Tassel)

1 BB | 3 SB | 1 BB | 3 SB | 2BB | 1T| 2BB | 1T| 2BB | 1T| 2BB | 1T| 2BB | 3SB | 1BB | 3SB | 1BB

…then fill up the reminder of your strand with small beads and tie a secure knot. This is why I like making jewelry with twine – simple knots. No need to worry about fasteners or findings. Only thing you have to be careful about is that the hole in your small beads is large enough to thread twine. I’m crazy about the contrast between small metallic beads and big chunky wooden beads, but you can do all sorts of nifty things with just about any combination.

I’m thinking about revisiting this project with a whole hodgepodge of beads and tassel of varying sizes (stay tuned!) but I like the look of this one, especially paired next to a bold pattern fabric. Very Anthropologie.

This post is sponsored by Blitsy, an awesome source for online jewelry making materials, as well a host of other craft supplies at discount prices (seriously y’all, they have some good deals). Drop by their website, or connect with them online: Facebook and Pinterest and Twitter.

Thanks, Blitsy!

DIY Paint Chip Statement Art

by aunt peaches 3 Comments

Raise your hand if you can’t cross a hardware store without picking up a paint chip.

I see you.

After years of letting them pile up in a baggie, I decided it was time to break them out and make some art. I have done something similar a few times in the past, but never had a chance to photograph it step-by-step.

Until now…

Today you can see the full tutorial over at QueenLatifah.com! Hop on over and check it out.

Many thanks to my pals John and Noeleen for offering their living room for this project. It’s great to have friends with blank wall space and an open mind 🙂

Main navigation

decorative