DIY

The Pegboard House: Inventive Ideas on Using Pegboards Around the House

When most people think of pegboards, they will picture them being used for customized storage. But you can get creative with them, paint over them, and use them in more unique ways – such as a pegboard headboard (seen in picture (1) DIY steps here), a headboard that you can fit lights to or a book shelf.

Inventive Uses

Create a mobile wall divider and storage wall with pegboard sheets and casters (Ideas Mood Board: DIY Room Dividers) – just like the one in picture (3) which you can find the DIY for here [in Dutch]
Use a pegboard to create a holiday wall. Arrange pegs to create a Christmas tree shape for Christmas (7), a pumpkin shape for Halloween, or a star for the 4^th of July.
Keep your bedside table clutter free by having a mini pegboard wall behind the table to hang up beside items – from watches and books to charging phones and wallets (2).
Check out that 3D pegboard table runner in picture (6) – get the DIY steps here. Instead of those geometric decor pieces on the peg stands, you could create paper angels for Christmas, numbers for a birthday, or spell out someone’s name – the possibilities are endless
You can create a vertical garden by using long pegs or hooks to hang up planters above each other
Create a command center in the kitchen – hang up a clock, letter rack, paper sorters, a penholder, and a sheet of metal and use magnets to create a bulletin board.

Creative Storage Ideas

Hang a pegboard onto the back of a door – to hang up clothes, scarves, or even as a jewelry holder
Instead of creating a tile backsplash in the kitchen or bathroom, use pegboard sheets to create a customizable backsplash with storage – just like the kitchen backsplash in picture (5)
Create a coat rack in the foyer

Decorating

Here are some ways you can go about decorating and styling a pegboard:

Painting over it is the easiest option
Or how about creating a pattern (chevron) or use a stencil to paint over it
Use metal pegs – like copper.
Frame your pegboard – just like the one in the home office in picture (4)

Check out these other posts for more creative ideas:

image credits 2/4/5

April 22, 2016 in Decor, DIY

A Bootstrapping Entrepreneur: DIY Desk Ideas

There is something very entrepreneurial and boot strapping-esq about building you own desk. It is also a good idea if you have a small home office space and need a very specific sized or shaped desk. Here is a list of DIY desk ideas, divided into 2 groups: ideas for the desk top, and ideas for the legs and base of the desk.

What To Use for the Desk Top

Here is a list of ideas on what can used for the countertop part of your desk:

An old door
Hardware stores such as Home Depot will cut a sheet of plywood to the size you need it
Connect pallet boards together
A surfboard
Old or offcuts from a kitchen or bathroom countertop (how about a marble desk?)
Reclaimed wood
Making a concrete top is as easy as building a wooden frame and filling it with concrete

What To Use for the Legs and Base

Get yourself a set of hairpin legs from Amazon
IKEA sells desk legs separately
Concrete hollow blocks
A stack of magazines
Two small filing cabinets at the right height can be used to put your desk top onto – seen in picture (3)
You could always clamp a desk top to a shelf, that way your legs (human legs) can fit under
Wooden crates just like in pictures (1) and (2) can be used as a desk base
Pallets cut to the right size (7)
Two short stools – as seen below
Plumbing piping is easy to assemble and customized to create a stand for a desk (8)
Two ladders opened up can support a piece of wood across them. Or check out the simple ladder DIY concept in picture (2). You get a desk and storage space. And if you want a DIY standing desk, all you have to do is put the desk on a higher rung.
Bedside tables

DIY desk using 2 stools – by Shanty 2 Chic

Space saving folding DIY desk – by Home Story

Go without any legs and have the desk attached to the wall, and have it flip up when it is not in use.
Or if you have two sidewalls, just like in picture (9), then railings can be attached to the walls to hold up the countertop
Simple L brackets can be used to create a long shelf that can be used as a desk space (4)
The same can be done with a wall shelving kit, seen in picture (6)

Here are some other home office posts for more ideas:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

April 20, 2016 in DIY, Home Office

Inventive and Low Budget DIY Herb Container Ideas

Here are just a few creative and inventive DIY ideas for creating your own herb containers:

Vintage style teacups can be reused as decorative planters just like the herb container in picture (3)
So too can old coffee or tea cans (4)
Mason jars
Use old kettles (5), or a broken toaster (6)?
Galvanized buckets
Use a pegboard and pegs to create a vertical garden in your home (The Pegboard House: Inventive Ideas on Using Pegboards Around the House)
Plastic bottles can be cut apart and painted to create modern looking herb planters – just like the one in picture (1)
Rope can be used to create a hanging planter stand (2)
Or use cinderblocks

Here are some other posts to get creative decor ideas from:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6

April 15, 2016 in Decor, DIY

Homemade Gift Ideas: From Using a Sharpie, to Copper and Concrete DIYs

After spending some time writing a lot of posts on the best home DIY projects out there, and doing some myself, I’ve put together this huge list of easy and cheap homemade gift ideas. The ideas are grouped together based on materials (copper, concrete, air dry clay) and basic tools (using a sharpie, using a printer).

There is bound to be something in this list that you can use as an idea for a personal and memorable handmade gift. Whether it is for a friend, for mom, the men in your life, or a family member – for chirstmas, as a thank you, or a birthday.

All Things Dip Dyed

There are so many things that can be dip dyed to add some elegant handmade styling:

A beanbag cover
Pillowcases
Candles
Table cloth
A lamp shade

For pictures and more ideas visit my blog post here: All Things Dip Dyed Mood Board

Using a Sharpie

Here are some things to create using a Sharpie

Doodle on some porcelain mugs, or draw on a quote or message
Cute homemade doodled napkins
Add a handmade touch to a lamp

For more ideas and pictures on using a sharpie, have a look here: Home Decor Ideas: The Sharpie Touch

Inexpensive Handmade Ideas Using Your Printer

If you have a lazerjet printer, then you can print out images and photos that can be transferred onto wood (wooden panels, wooden crates, a stool, etc.). Or if you don’t have lazerjet printer, you can always go down to your local printer and get the photos printed there
Print out photos and mod podge them onto ceramic tiles to create custom handmade coasters
If you print on fabric transfer paper, you could make fun napkins, pillowcases, or bed sheets
Or head down to the printers to print out cheap large posters (they are called plotter/blueprint/engineer prints) that will cost $5-6. You can get inexpensive large frames from IKEA.

There are so many more inexpensive homemade gift ideas that you could do with your printer. So visit my other post to see some other ideas, links to tutorials, and pictures of them: Home Decor Ideas: Using Your Printer

Do You Have a Drill?

If you so, print out a design and grab a sheet of plywood. You can then drill the design onto the plywood, just like I did when I created this DIY project: Drill and Plywood DIY Art Board.

Creative Homemade Gifts Made Out of Air Dry Clay

Here are some ideas for using air dry clay:

You could create a faux deer bust to hang up on the wall
Make little photo stands
Craft some DIY garden markers
How about some decorative fridge magnets
Or use a doily to imprint a decorative design and make some bowls or trays.

For pictures and links to tutorials, head over to my post here: Home Decor Ideas: Using Air Dry Clay

Using Plants

Group together some vintage bottles to create a unique planter set
Use oven bake clay to make miniature planters

Elegant and Stylish Plant Decor Ideas

Using Chalkboard Paint

Grab some chalkboard paint and a plant pot to create a labeled planter. And then plant what is labeled.
The same can be done with glass jars to create labeled storage containers.

Have a look here for more ideas and some pictures: DIY Chalkboard Paint Decor Ideas for the Home

Going Vintage

Have a look my post here: Handmade: Simple DIY Vintage Decor Ideas, to see ideas ranging from DIY vintage containers, curtain tiebacks, and sewing doilies together to create a table runner.

The Glamour of Copper

Copper pipes and fittings can be used to make:

Planter stands
A hanging planter
A coat rack
Or you can get copper spray paint, and add some lux to candles, a stool, or storage containers.

Have a look at the pictures in this post to get more inspiration for using copper to make easy homemade gifts: DIY Mood Board: Playing With Copper.

Crafting Cool Homemade Gifts Out of Concrete

Here are just a few ides on what you could make out of concrete at home:

A decorative letter
A diamond paperweight
A pendant lamp
Or even a coat rack

Home Decor Ideas: Using Concrete

Or how about following along with a DIY that I did recently, where I made a concrete stool with a Koi Fish design inlayed into the seat: DIY Remix: Koi Fish $5 Buck Stool DIY

An easier DIY project would be to create concrete plaques, using any design you can print using your home printer. This is a DIY I did and posted here: DIY Experiment: Embossing Concrete Challenge

Do They Have a Pet?

Here are some crafty ideas for a creating a cat or dog bed.

For a cat lover:

A cute handmade hammock bed can be made to hang under a table
An old suitcase or a vintage one from Etsy can be crafted into a vintage cat bed
Or how about building a mini teepee bed

Making Sleeping Arrangements: Creative Ideas For Cat Beds

For a dog lover, here are some old items that can be upcycled into a custom dog bed: