I didn’t really feel like shelling out any moolah for this look so like any good blogger, I headed deep into the interwebs for a DIY tutorial. I found tons. Here, here, and here. Not to beat a dead horse, but here’s my take on it. I think I added a significant first step so I’m going ahead with my own mini-tutorial.

I reused these votive holders from my mantle candlescape of yore.

I peeled the fabric off and was left with a semi-sticky residue from the spray adhesive I had used on the prior project. Since I was feeling lazy I just left it on there to see what it would look like. I think the texture from the spray adhesive really gave the candle holders a more realistic look.

I brushed a metallic silver paint on the candle holders and used a little spritz of water from a travel hairspray bottle to get the mercury glass look.

How much paint and spritzing is your own preference, do what moves you. After I had let that layer of paint dry I dipped my stenciling brush into black paint and dabbed all over the candle holder. More spritzing. I also used a paper towel to dab for more texture. Dab and spritz away pals!

Let dry overnight and add candles. Cute, right? I love the texture that the 2 layers of paint plus the spray adhesive gives it.

So tell me, what have you transformed lately? Do you have a new spin on a familiar craft?

I just couldn’t part with $50 of my hard earned cash this close to the holidays. I decided to take on this project as a crafting adventure. I gathered my supplies…

$3.99 styrofoam ball from Michael’s.

$1.75 bag of Navy Beans from Albertsons

My trusty glue gun and of course beverages. This crafter needs creative fuel and the source of it is usually Miller Lite.

I just started gluing the beans all the way around the ball. It was tedious but very easy. If your glue gun has a low setting, I would recommend using it. It keeps the styrofoam burning to a minimum. I tried two different patterns. I glued the beans in the picture below in and up and down pattern.

From there, just keep gluing, just keep gluing! This is what you’ll end up with. A faux shell ball! I think it turned out pretty cute. I switched out our conch shell for this puppy. I love how it looks under the coffee table!

Another view of our sassy new accessory in the living room.

Here’s the second shell ball I made. I glued the beans on long ways (if that makes sense). I like the other pattern more but this took much less time and less beans!

So there you have it. A new use for beans! Have you crafted up anything fancy lately? Maybe used an unconventional ingredient in your latest DIY adventure? Do tell!

Our first stop was the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise store.

It was really neat and really cheap! Matt bought a $4 tie for his upcoming ULI conference. The FIDM campus is really cool. It’s like a big park right in the middle of downtown.

After the FIDM store we headed to the LA Fashion District. It’s a little overwhelming to say the least. There are tons of vendors and street stores that are overflowing with fabric and sewing notions.

Ladies, this is no JoAnn’s fabrics. Bring your cash and your bartering skills.

Our second stop was at Michael Levine. It was glorious. Everything you’ve heard is true. There was tons of great fabric and it was so organized compared to our street vendor friends.

Unfortunately, there were no deals to be had there. They had fantastic fabric though! I bought a yard of a really cute print that will be  making its way into the shop shortly.

Lastly, we made our way to Santee Alley. It reminds me a lot of NYC’s Chinatown. Tons of vendors selling everything from knock off sunglasses and jeans to handbags and jewelry.

We didn’t buy anything in the alley but had to walk through once, just to say we have! It was a definitely a fun day downtown. Have you ever been to the fashion district? Do you have a favorite fabric shop that I need to stop in to next time?

I finally got up enough gumption to find a fix. I had some left over fabric from the dining room chairs so I got to work. I just used my Ikea pillow covers as a template and whipped these babies up in about and hour. I don’t have a tutorial for you since I just kind of winged it. I didn’t have any zippers handy so I left the back open. I kind of like it and it’s super simple! Here’s a handy tutorial in case you want to whip one up yourself.

So what do you think? Do you like them more than the brown pillows? Too matchy matchy for you?

This week they are accepting submissions for furniture makeovers. So tell us if you’ll be submitting to the site anytime soon!

I simply rolled it out, used the mat as a guide and cut it out. Wha-lah!

In only 10 minutes I had a easy DIY piece of art with extra sentimental value for us. All together now, awww.

Eventually, we’ll be adding it to a collage of photos and artwork on the other side of the room.

I thought about ordering a vinyl decal with our initials on it. Again, back to that zero dollar rule I decided against it. I decided to take a non-traditional route. Instead of M & B why not You & Me? I’ve seen paintings and prints with that sentiment and I thought it was really cute and kind of romantic. Perfect for the master bedroom.

I bought textured cardstock from Michael’s for 39 cents each (on sale!) and got to work.

I just typed up You and Me using a handwriting font that I found at Fonts for Peas. I wanted it to look like I had painted it or free handed the words-since I have zero talent in that department this font fit the bill. After messing around with the font I found I liked the heart wingding more than the plus sign or an ampersand so I went with it. I printed it out on plain paper, cut it out on the cardstock and glued it to my background paper.

That’s it! Just hang up your handmade art and enjoy. I think it would be fun to switch out the background paper for different seasons or holidays. Pink or Red for Valentine’s Day, Green or Yellow for Spring, etc.

Just since I’m sure you’re all dying to know. Matt is “you” and I’m “me.” I didn’t plan it that way but those were already our respective sides of the bed. If you want to tackle this project yourself, I’ve whipped up a template using this font. Open it here.

I scooped up some scrapbooking paper at Michael’s to the tune of 59 cents. I just used regular old scotch tape to adhere it. I then used a 5×7 frame I had lying around from IKEA and popped it in place. Now it’s a cute little reminder of our first place together.

 
Have you turned any run of the mill household items into art?

So I saw this idea featured on The Nesting Place. Alisa made this great shadow box of starfish and I had to have it! Cute huh?

Well, I checked out Michael’s for starfish. $4 a pop. No thanks. I followed Alisa’s advice and went to Ebay and found a steal of a deal. 50 starfish for $22 with free shipping. Something about free shipping makes me go gaga.

I had a white shadowbox in our closet from my BFF, Mel eons ago (I believe it was from Target). I whipped that baby out and got to work.

I didn’t do anything special to the back of the shadow box. It already came lined with a linen type cloth.

I just grabbed starfish and arranged them how I liked and glued them down. Easy as that! This project took like 10 minutes. 6 of those minutes were spent waiting for the hot glue gun to warm up. For reals. Go get some starfish and do this.

So, have you found any project inspiration on the web lately?