String Letters DIY

Just last week I revealed the new studio, and I already have a ton of requests for the "how to" on these awesome string letters, so here goes! I think this would be an awesome way to put up a name or monogram in a nursery or kid's room.

SUPPLIES:

Heavy duty paper

Hammer
Small brad nails (about 1 1/2" - 2" length)

Level

String

Painter's tape or masking tape

This crochet thread was just about $2.00 for each color. I HAVE ENOUGH TO LAST A LIFETIME NOW! 

Step 1. PRINT. Using the heavy weight paper, print out what you want to type in a font you like. Remember, the more curves the font has the more work you'll have, so try and choose a fairly simple, "squared off" font. As you can tell, my letters were about 8" tall.

Step 2.  TAPE UP GUIDE. Using the level to align it all, tape up the paper letters where you want them on the wall. Tape all the sides, top and bottoms (this will be important later)



Step 3. HAMMER THE NAILS IN. Hammer in along the edge of the letters. Make sure to hammer all the corners, and about 3-4 around any curves to ensure that it has an easy curve rather than a sharp corner. The stronger the curve, the more nails you'll need. (I highly suggest you hammer one letter at a time, move to step 4 and 5, then come back to step 3 for the next letter)

Step 4. PEEL THE PAPER. Pull the paper off leaving the nails in the wall.

Step 5. WRAP THE STRING. Start by tying a not around one of the nails. It doesn't really matter which nail you start on. Wrap around all the perimeter of the letters approximately 5 times to make the base. Then "fill in" the letter by randomly wrapping and criss-crossing in the middle of the letter. Once you fill it in to your satisfaction, wrap 20-30 more times around the perimeter. This will make the string about 3/4" - 1" tall. Once you're done keep the the string taught while tying another knot around a nail. Then just cut the extra string at each of the ends. 

Step 6. HAMMER THEM FLUSH. Although I wrapped 3/4"-1" tall on each letter, I had more nail hanging out. So I went back and hammered mine so they were all about the same height. Make sure to hammer them so that the nails angle out a little. This will help keep the string tight.

Smoothies and DIY

Thought I'd share a little DIY that we completed recently.  Dave, Kaleb and I drink smoothies daily.  I'm working on going vegan. My ultimate goal is to go raw vegan, but that's a little overwhelming to think of at this point. 

We were using the  magic bullet, which we liked at first, but eventually learned that it had a lot of problems. It would work sporadically,  never fully blend what we wanted it to, and the tabs on the cubs which make it work break off easily. So for Christmas, Dave's number one item on his wish list was the Ninja Blender. Which I have been happily enjoying since then! Now that we have such a fantastic blender we can add more leafy greens and healthier items to our smoothies. 

                                   

This one I made last night had the following: 

3/4 c frozen green apple

1/2 a kiwi

1 pear

1/2 c kale

apple juice just to get the mixture flowing

It was SO GOOD! 

Unfortunately, since we no longer have the magic bullet which comes with cups, we've had to figure out new smoothie cups.  We don't have a dishwasher in our current place, and my regular glasses have almost all died from bouncing around the sink while washing dishes. 

I had seen this pin  on pinterest, and knew that was our solution. Using mason jars as our everydat glasses was pure genius.  The glass is thicker than your grandma's eye glasses, and so unbreakable it's almost plastic.  We now have the option to add a lid either with a hole for a straw (see DIY instructions below) or without for storing our smoothie for later. Plus they are so inexpensive and timeless, that if they do break down the line replacing them will be easy peasy! 

Plus we have disposable straws (as pictured) that we use for smoothies since the reusable ones are so hard to clean smoothie out of, but you can also buy these starbucks replacement straws for use with water and other thinner liquids. 

We followed the instructions from the pinterest pin pretty much to a T. 

We bought 2 different sizes of mason jars, but ensured they had the same size lid to avoid any confusion.

We went to our local hardware store and bought rubber grommets. We did use ones slightly bigger than she did in the blog, because they fit our straws better. I suggest you take your straws with you when you go. 

Then we just drilled holes in about 1/2 the lids keeping some for storing or replacement later.  Put the grommets in and WA-LA!!

They are by far my favorite cups we've had.  I love that I can put a lid on Kaleb's drinks and worry less about them spilling. Dave said he loves that he can drink a smoothie on the way to work and that the cups fit in the cup holders in the car! 

DIY CHEVRON DOOR

OOOOOOOOOOOOO MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG !!!!!!!!!!

I am SO in love with this door! I don't really know where I got the idea, but really there isn't much that I don't want to paint gold these days.  I'm pretty sure that Dave's going to throw away all the gold paint in my house if I keep this up!

Here's what I did:

1.  The door was freshly painted white a few weeks ago when we redid the carpet so I got to skip this step, however I highly suggest it if it hasn't been done in awhile.

2. Lay out the tape.  I decided to do just 1 "zig" or "zag" depending on how you look at it. So I just divided the width in half. I used 2" wide blue tape and for ease I made my stripes that width.  On the first strip I measured 2" down from the top and then just used the corners of the top of the door to decide the angle. This worked well for me as the angle wasn't too sharp nor too strong, however you could easily adjust yours.  From there I measured 2" down from each of the sides and the middle.
*** Tip 1. MAKE SURE YOU ALSO MEASURE IN FROM THE SIDE EACH TIME. TO MAKE SURE IT'S EVEN.'
*** Tip 2. TAPE THE SIDES AS WELL AS THE STRIPE. I didn't do this even though I know I'm a horrible painter, and really should have. Touch up will be required on my door!
*** Tip 3. My door is pretty narrow so with a 2" stripe I didn't have to do another "zag" on each side. However with the average size door you'll either need to do a thicker strip or create another "zag" towards the edges to make the proportions right.

3. Paint! I used Martha Stewart's Golden Pearl. I am so in love with this color. It was perfect! It took 3 coats to really get it even and thick enough.
*** Tip 4.  If you are patient enough paint 1 coat of the white first and let dry.  This will create a seal at the tape edges making the edges crisper.  I of coarse did not do this! Touch up, Touch up, Touch up for me!
*** Tip 5. Pull the tape off when it's still damp. This also helps makes the lines crisp.

OH LOVE!  The jar of paint is still over 1/2 way full... I'm eying some chairs... a desk... pretty much everything that I think I might use it for! I mean it'd be such a waste if I didn't use it! ;)

DIY CLAY FEATHERS

FIRST 1/2 BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

Well last weekend and all this week Dave and I worked on the house. We have been wanting to replace the carpet for a long time, but honestly have just not had the time. It was something that would have to be done during the week, and Dave's work schedule just isn't flexible enough to get a few days off for something like that.  Luckily he had off several days during the week because of the 4th.  So we used it to accomplish this long awaited project.

Last weekend in preparation for the carpet we purged.  Took everything out of every cabinet and even every box in the attic.  We sold, gave away, and threw away a ton of stuff. I cannot tell you how much I love to purge. We live in about a 900 square foot house.  Without purging unnecessary things, it gets cramped often.

Anyways, the point of all of this is that we worked all week long (including 90% of the 4th, and missed any and all fire work displays!)  After such a long week, I had to do something special for myself in honor of my birthday.  I don't know if you can tell by my Friday Favorites but I'm really into vintage industrial style and indoor plants. I'm am super obsessed with succulents and air plants which are as easy as pie to take care of.

A few things I focused on were the mantle.  I got a surprise delivery Saturday of my new mirror bunting that I've been wanting for years! Thanks again Mom! I removed a few other things and hung the bunting. It was the final touch to the mantle that I've been missing!

I have also been really wanting to make a window shelf for my plants! It was super easy to do! I ran to the local hardware store where they have pre-cut boards which happened to be the EXACT size I needed! Must be the luck of my birthday. I also had the paint out because of the carpet I was painting trim. I gave it two quick coats of white.  I screwed in a couple of hooks at each corner and right above the window and then cut chain to length! So simple!

Saturday I did quite a bit of catch up on orders, but also spent the day doing a little antique shopping for the mantle and shelf and then went to the most amazing nursery EVER! I was on the mission to get some more air plants, but I came home with a bit more! ;)  I also had to hit up the local craft store and found some other great things including spray painting some sea shells gold! LOVE!

It's been a great birthday weekend so far! Can't wait for the rest of it!

EASTER IDEAS

Easter is almost here! Here are some inexpensive ways to make this year extra special!



DIY and Original Posts can be found on Pinterest