• 4th May
    2012
  • 04

Design Sponge | Twig Push Pins

These twig push pins and wall hooks are actually pretty simple to make. And even easier to look at! 

What you need for this DIY craft: twigs, a hand saw, hammer, small t-pins for the push pin craft, small finishing nails for the wall hooks craft, hammer, superglue, needle nose pliers with a cutting end, and safety goggles of course. 

What you do: First of all, you need to cut your twigs into little nubs. For the push pin craft you’ll need half-inch nubs, for the wall hooks craft you’ll need 2-inch long nubs. Now, using your pliers, snip off the tops of your t-pins or your finishing nails. Place your pins or nails into the center of your wood and hammer them into the wood, making sure to keep the sharp points pointing towards you and not the wood. For the wall hooks, hammer the nail in and then take back out. Add a dab of the superglue in the hole and place the nail back into wood. 

And you’re finished! Use the push pins to display your things on a bulletin board, and use the wall hooks to display art work in a natural way. And if you’re feeling especially adventurous, use super glue to attach small magnets on one side of the wooden nubs to create natural-looking magnets for the fridge. 

  • 9th April
    2012
  • 09
Country Living | Flower Magnets  Instead of throwing out old/broken brooches or letting them collect dust in a jewelry box, superglue small magnets on the backs of them and display them on your refrigerator. If you have any brooches from family members, there’s no better way to show them off than with unique magnets. Display these gems in your kitchen or dorm room. 

Country Living | Flower Magnets

 Instead of throwing out old/broken brooches or letting them collect dust in a jewelry box, superglue small magnets on the backs of them and display them on your refrigerator. If you have any brooches from family members, there’s no better way to show them off than with unique magnets. Display these gems in your kitchen or dorm room. 

  • 20th March
    2012
  • 20
Better Homes & Gardens | Bottlecap Magnets For this cute DIY craft, you just need some bottle-caps, magnets, and a hot glue gun. First, gather up your bottle-caps. You can find some vintage bottle caps at flea markets and antique stores, or you can start saving some from your favorite beverages, or bottle-caps from vacation trips. Then pick up some small magnets from your local crafts store and hot glue the magnets to the bottom of the cap. And for those of you with college students in your life, beer caps work well too! 

Better Homes & Gardens | Bottlecap Magnets

For this cute DIY craft, you just need some bottle-caps, magnets, and a hot glue gun. First, gather up your bottle-caps. You can find some vintage bottle caps at flea markets and antique stores, or you can start saving some from your favorite beverages, or bottle-caps from vacation trips. Then pick up some small magnets from your local crafts store and hot glue the magnets to the bottom of the cap. And for those of you with college students in your life, beer caps work well too! 

  • 16th March
    2012
  • 16
Better Homes & Gardens | Shuterbug I don’t have to tell you all of the awesome potential that old window shutters have. Here’s yet another great way to utilize an old window shutter. Simply paint the shutter to match your décor (or leave it the way you found it to bring a nice vintage feel into your room), stress the wood with sandpaper if you’d like and hang on the wall vertically or horizontally. The slats create a great space to hold photos and postcards. 

Better Homes & Gardens | Shuterbug

I don’t have to tell you all of the awesome potential that old window shutters have. Here’s yet another great way to utilize an old window shutter. Simply paint the shutter to match your décor (or leave it the way you found it to bring a nice vintage feel into your room), stress the wood with sandpaper if you’d like and hang on the wall vertically or horizontally. The slats create a great space to hold photos and postcards. 

  • 2nd March
    2012
  • 02
Better Homes & Gardens | Bookshelf Dining Display China cabinets and wooden hutches are all well and good, but bookshelves can do the job even better! China cabinets and hutches can be beautiful and ornate, but are typically old fashioned and super expensive, not to mention they take up a lot space, can rattle around on uneven floors, and are really heavy if you move or rearrange a lot. Instead of having to deal with all of that, purchase some simple bookshelves and design your own china “cabinet” on the wall! For this particular display, 3 tall white bookshelves were used. Flip the shelves on their sides and hang one at countertop level, another at cabinet level, and slide the last one on the floor beneath. The bookshelves are long and thin, taking up minimal space and allowing the room to breathe. Not only can you utilize the openings of the bookshelves, you can also use the tops as shelves to hold your vases, dishes, table linens, and knickknacks. Paint the book shelves to match your décor if you can’t find any you like and make sure you hang them sturdy on the walls before adding heavy items. 

Better Homes & Gardens | Bookshelf Dining Display

China cabinets and wooden hutches are all well and good, but bookshelves can do the job even better! China cabinets and hutches can be beautiful and ornate, but are typically old fashioned and super expensive, not to mention they take up a lot space, can rattle around on uneven floors, and are really heavy if you move or rearrange a lot.

Instead of having to deal with all of that, purchase some simple bookshelves and design your own china “cabinet” on the wall! For this particular display, 3 tall white bookshelves were used. Flip the shelves on their sides and hang one at countertop level, another at cabinet level, and slide the last one on the floor beneath. The bookshelves are long and thin, taking up minimal space and allowing the room to breathe.

Not only can you utilize the openings of the bookshelves, you can also use the tops as shelves to hold your vases, dishes, table linens, and knickknacks. Paint the book shelves to match your décor if you can’t find any you like and make sure you hang them sturdy on the walls before adding heavy items. 

  • 25th February
    2012
  • 25
Better Homes & Gardens | Recycled Dish Drying Rack Entryways can become cluttered pretty easily. Between the giant pile of shoes you never wear, and the coat rack that’s holding well over its capacity, it’s a miracle you can walk through the door properly! Try placing an old dish drying rack (this bamboo one looks amazing and goes with most décor) near the door and out of the way. It typically holds three pairs of shoes at a time, so you’ll be forced to cut down on the number of pairs you leave out. Not to mention the added advantage that it also helps air dry your shoes after a rainy day. 

Better Homes & Gardens | Recycled Dish Drying Rack

Entryways can become cluttered pretty easily. Between the giant pile of shoes you never wear, and the coat rack that’s holding well over its capacity, it’s a miracle you can walk through the door properly! Try placing an old dish drying rack (this bamboo one looks amazing and goes with most décor) near the door and out of the way. It typically holds three pairs of shoes at a time, so you’ll be forced to cut down on the number of pairs you leave out. Not to mention the added advantage that it also helps air dry your shoes after a rainy day. 

  • 18th February
    2012
  • 18
Better Homes & Gardens | Garden Baskets Add some garden baskets, typically used for plants and flowers on porches, to your nursery or children’s room to hold toys and stuffed animals. Keeping them lower to the floor will allow easy access for tiny tots. You could leave the baskets as they are, or spray paint them to match your décor. It also works as an accessories organizer in the bedroom for scarves or baseball caps, or add a few to your classroom or home office for additional wall storage. 

Better Homes & Gardens | Garden Baskets

Add some garden baskets, typically used for plants and flowers on porches, to your nursery or children’s room to hold toys and stuffed animals. Keeping them lower to the floor will allow easy access for tiny tots. You could leave the baskets as they are, or spray paint them to match your décor. It also works as an accessories organizer in the bedroom for scarves or baseball caps, or add a few to your classroom or home office for additional wall storage. 

  • 27th January
    2012
  • 27

Better Homes & Gardens | Chicken Feed Bin Organizer

Yet another great flea market find! This used to be a chicken feed bin. You can leave it the way it is, to keep the rustic feel, or you can paint and decorate. You can use it to organize kitchen items, office supplies, perfumes and makeup, washcloths, etc. You can set it on your counter top/desktop or dresser, or even hang it on the wall for some extra vertical organization.

The longer one shown above is a slightly different kind of chicken feed bin. Use it as a table runner to add a unique centerpiece to hold decorative rocks and vases of flowers. You could also use this as a dish holder for decorative plates, mail sorter storage, or even to hold DVDs.

  • 25th January
    2012
  • 25
Better Homes & Gardens | Bird Bath Storage There are hundreds of bird bath designs out there, use some inside your home to serve as tables or storage centers. This particular one was used next to the bathtub to store bath salts, wash cloths, soap, towels, and lotions. You could also use bird baths in the bedroom for bedside organization or inside closets to hold scarves, wallets, perfumes, or odds and ends. Paint and decorate the bird baths to add a personal touch.

Better Homes & Gardens | Bird Bath Storage

There are hundreds of bird bath designs out there, use some inside your home to serve as tables or storage centers. This particular one was used next to the bathtub to store bath salts, wash cloths, soap, towels, and lotions. You could also use bird baths in the bedroom for bedside organization or inside closets to hold scarves, wallets, perfumes, or odds and ends. Paint and decorate the bird baths to add a personal touch.

  • 15th January
    2012
  • 15

Better Homes & Gardens | Wallpaper Panel

You can hide small imperfections or dents on your walls as well as create designated spaces in your home with wallpaper panels. This wallpaper shows where the desk space is in the living room while creating the appearance of a bigger space. Designate spaces in your home with different patterns of wall paper on the walls. You could use this to designate space behind your dining room table, home office, dresser space in the bedroom, or even behind your entertainment stand and television set.

You can also install small strips of wallpaper paneling to create striking designs that look great in any room. This also cuts down on the amount of wallpaper you’ll need to purchase and install, while creating interesting and great-looking décor.