DIY Decor & Crafts

Fall Mantel Tutorials & Free Design

Published on September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Hey there, you! How was your weekend? We got something fun done and we can’t wait to share. Here’s a teaser until Wednesday.

Aside from warm caramel apple cider and pulling out my sweater collection, nothing gets me more in the mood for fall than decorating for the cooler season. Last week, our family room and mantel changed from summery greens to fall-ish jewel tones. And all for only a few bucks. In fact, I spent about five bucks on the mantel arrangement. Two dollars for the white acorn (Goodwill) on the left and three bucks for a bottle of Liquid Leaf.

The deer silhouette is a cut out mounted to a contrasting card stock.

If you like Buck, you can make your own using my deer silhouette print. Choose the opposite direction you want him to face, print on your colored paper, cut out, and tape to another piece of paper.

But my favorite is the gold Liquid Leaf feather painting. I already had a large piece of gray paper, but a sheet is about $2.

Before stinking up the house with Liquid Leaf, I sketched my feather design in pencil. Once happy with my design, I used a fine artist brush to cover over with metallic gold.

Wrapping anything – candles included – with embroidery floss is a cheap and easily changeable way to add color.

Start by tying a knot around your object, leaving a long loose tail and the bundle of floss attached.

Wrap the floss around, covering the tail as you go up. Don’t worry about getting each strand right next to the rest. Gently push down after several wraps.

At the top, tie a knot, using the rest of the beginning tail to keep the wrap tight.

While I loved the bright colors in the bar nook, it screamed summer.

Left over black and gold spray paint covered the green frame.

And more gold Liquid Leaf over the Eat, Drink & Be Merry print for glitz is fall perfection.

I’m working on a few more fall pillows, too. What do you do for fall? What gets you in the mood for changing seasons?

The Jewel of Fall

Published on September 26, 2013September 27, 2013 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

Generally speaking, I’m not a lover of traditional fall colors. Red rarely appears in our house, though orange is growing on me. So this year, I paired orange with some of my year round favorite colors. Teal, pink, purple, and gray. Deeper tones really set a warm, cozy feel that’s perfect for fall.

Our mantel art felt too summery, so I made a few new pieces with items I already had around the house and natural pieces.

Feathers and antlers found on my father-in-law’s ranch add a rustic element.

A cut out deer silhouette was simple. Look for more info on these art pieces next week.

For the main item, I painted a feather using Liquid Leaf and a large sheet of gray paper.

For a little height, I pulled out two glass candle sticks. Having only cream tapers on hand, I dug in my embroidery floss bin and found eggplant, magenta, and burnt orange to wrap around.

Of course the opposite side of the room has a few seasonal changes, too.

A color blocked pillow I sewed along with a burnt orange suede pillow from Sears on one end. I’m waiting on this silk and mirror pillow for the other end. I saved a couple of bucks using Coupons.com codes, too.

Accessorizing the coffee table was simple. A piece of driftwood, white faux pumpkin, the gold wishbone, and a simple pumpkin patch-inspired by Kirsten’s.

While making Ev more mini foods, I molded a few pumpkins, poked wire in the bases, baked and painted them up.

This post and the following giveaway are sponsored by Coupons.com. For more fall inspiration, stop by these participating blogs: Brave New Home, Embrace My Space, Fancy Free Me, Inside-Out Design, The Thinking Closet, Two Live Colorfully, Charming Zebra, What’s Ur Home Story, Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza, and Angie’s Roost

The Goods: One $200 Sears e-gift card provided by Coupons.com

To Enter: Follow this link to the Rafflecopter giveaway: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest Closes: 11:59 EST, Friday, October 4th, 2013.

Number of Winners: One winner will be selected from the pool of contestants across the eleven participating blogs.

Ships: US residents only.

Make a Wish

Published on September 20, 2013September 20, 2013 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

Woo hoo, it’s Friday! How about a little wishful thinking today? Well, I saw an awesome gold wishbone in Kristin’s living room, but couldn’t justify the near $50 price tag. Even if it is dipped in 24 karat gold.

But it is such a fun piece, so I figured I’d give it the ol’ DIY try using polymer clay and gold spray paint. Guess what? I got close on the second try.

If you want to make your own, get a package of polymer clay. I used half of the block. Knead until soft, then split into two even balls.

Roll those balls into long hot dogs, as Ev called them.

Pinch the ends, making a rounded, flat end. Then squish the two together, smoothing and rounding the pinched areas. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and adjust the shape until you like it. On my first try, I quit there and baked it at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes.

One of the ends flopped down during baking. Stupidly, I tried to bend it back and it snapped off. Lesson learned. The second time I placed two clay balls under to keep the shape.

After baking, I gave it two coats of Rustoleum’s gold paint and here she is, living it up on the coffee table.

I know the real version is better, but this two dollar knock off isn’t too bad in my book.

And it’s a super cute start to my fall decorating.

What do you think of the DIY version? While we’re talking wishes, I’ve got a favor to ask all of you lovelies. Can you please ‘favorite’ our guest room over at Apartment Therapy’s Room for Color contest? To thank you for your help and support, this post is also a giveaway. Win or lose, one lucky reader will get a prize. If we lose, a pair of custom Sit and Stay pillows will head over to a new home.

But if we win, the $200 Sherwin Williams gift card (a winner prize provided by Apartment Therapy) will go to one of our readers. I know we’re a long shot as there are so many great rooms, but we really appreciate your encouragement and support. So, if you want in on the prize, here’s what you need to do.

If you’ve already ‘favorited’ our room, leave a comment that you did so. If you haven’t, head over to Apartment Therapy, sign in or create an account, and favorite our Butter Yellow room. Come back here and leave another comment to get yourself in the running. That’s it. Thanks again!! Oh, selecting favorites ends next Friday, September 27th, so the giveaway will end then, too.

Wrapped Planter

Published on September 18, 2013September 18, 2013 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

Last week, while at the hardware store, I spotted a shelf of mums, ornamental kale, and cabbage. The colors of the kale were pretty, but the giant leaves on the cabbage reminded me of a fiddle leaf fig.

Based on other reports of the difficulty of caring for fiddle leaf figs, I know I shouldn’t even try it. Though I’ve been tempted, I’m sure it’d die within a month. Instead, this three buck cabbage will add some greenery without bruising my ego if it dies. Problem was, all my cute planters were too small to hold it. Then I remembered a stack of orange plastic pots we found in the attic. Perfect size with a built-in saucer, but perfectly ugly. Using a sharp utility knife, I cut the rounded plastic top off and warmed up my glue gun.

A roll of wood veneer (left over from this pendant) worked perfectly to hide the plastic planter. I wrapped the roll around the planter to determine the length needed, cut with scissors, then hot glued the ends in place. As I neared the slightly wider top, I added more glue in the middle.

It’s a fun and quick cover up for a plastic pot.

While I had the veneer out, I also made a few small decorative spheres.

I wish I had a stash of chunky rope, because these sisal planters and this rope pot are equally good-looking and simple.

Speaking of adorable planters, how sweet are these tiny cork succulent holders?

Do you have a cute planter idea? Or a house plant even a black thumb gardener like me can’t kill? Have you kept a cabbage indoors?

P.S. We’d really, really appreciate your vote over at Apartment Therapy. If you haven’t already, could you please take a minute to sign in or create an account to favorite our guest room? Big thanks to those who already have, too!!

Initial Impression

Published on September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

Ben ran out of gin, so I took that opportunity to add labels to the most frequently used alcohol. Insipired by this tutorial, I bought a pack of stickers for $1.50 to get started. A silver oil based Sharpie I had worked perfectly for this.

To get a general idea of the shape, I made dots on the outer edges, then filled in with close dots around the letter.

Super simple, and now three of our bottles have labels. G for gin, b for brandy, and v for vodka.

These labels coördinate perfectly with the other sprayed silver ombre bottles.

I’m happy with a super simple label that isn’t an ugly brand sticker. I’ve heard plain Sharpies on ceramic don’t hold up well, so I’ll let you know how these do after some use.