DIY colorful, funky lampshade

While shopping at West Elm several years ago, I came across a capiz table lamp (see below), and thought, “I could make that.” But I didn’t want to make it exactly the same. The brown color wasn’t my favorite aspect of it. Besides, where would I get capiz […]

2021-03-05T02:44:36-08:00January 30, 2021|

Boutique hotel decor inspiration

In case you haven’t noticed, my day job has been eating up my blogging time for the last year and a half. So, I thought I’d share a little of my day job with you.

Recently, I took a business trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, and I stayed in a lovely […]

2021-03-09T22:20:39-08:00April 22, 2013|

Chandelier makeover: the tutorial

My apologies to everyone who has been waiting since last summer’s blog post for me to share this chandelier tutorial! Life got in the way and delayed my ability to pass on this information. First there was girls camp, and then I got a new job, and […]

2021-01-31T05:54:03-08:00August 6, 2012|

How to rewire a table lamp

I loved everything about an old table lamp that I bought on Craigslist except its lampshade and old brass hardware. I took care of the lampshade, so now I needed to rewire it and paint the brass base. When I found an eBay store that sells […]

2021-01-31T05:53:50-08:00March 15, 2012|

DIY painted lampshade + finial

You probably remember this lamp. Its first makeover was four years ago. Frankly, the fabric-covered lamp shade was a disappointment, and brass just wasn’t my thing. I still loved the white lamp base itself, so I decided to spray paint the brass base, rewire the lamp with nickel-plated hardware, and […]

2021-01-31T02:11:54-08:00March 15, 2012|

DIY coffee filter snowball wall light

Lately I’ve been working with wire and wire mesh. First I made jewelry holders, then a jingle bell ornament, and now this decorative light fixture. I call it the Snowball light because it reminds me of the giant snowballs that terrorize Scrat, the acorn-obsessed saber-toothed squirrel in the movie […]

2021-01-31T02:12:06-08:00January 21, 2012|

DIY bamboo orb pendant lights

Apologies for my long absence. A month ago I landed a full-time job (gotta pay the bills) along with a 3-hour round-trip commute. Ugh. It’s left little time for crafting. Not to worry, I’m still going to keep blogging, but it might be on a more infrequent basis. For now, it […]

2021-01-31T05:52:24-08:00September 25, 2011|

DIY dining room makeover: the after + a giveaway

American Express asked me to make over a social space using merchandise available through Membership Rewards points. I chose to make over my dining room. Deciding what to buy with 150,000 Membership Rewards points and dozens of fabulous merchants to choose from was a challenge. […]

2021-03-24T10:57:21-07:00June 20, 2011|

Dining room makeover: the chandelier

I am happy to report that most of the work is done on my dining room makeover that American Express generously sponsored. Unfortunately, however, I ran into a few snags. The dishes I ordered using my Membership Rewards points arrived broken, and […]

2020-09-29T07:00:24-07:00June 8, 2011|

Home decor & lighting tips

My Sylvania room makeover taught me a few things about the difficulties of turning one small room into a multi-functional space that serves as a craft room, an office, and a guest room. I wanted to share what I learned with you. Here are my top five small-space […]

2021-03-22T22:04:48-07:00April 12, 2011|

Sylvania DIY room-makeover challenge: the after

This is the first whole-room makeover I have attempted on Crafty Nest. What an undertaking! I had been planning to make over my office/guest/craft room for some time. The makeover involved a ton of DIY — which is definitely why I had procrastinated the job. Then Sylvania […]

2021-02-18T23:15:22-08:00April 11, 2011|

Sylvania DIY room makeover challenge: the before

Several weeks ago Sylvania asked me to make over one room using a $500 Lowe’s gift card and Sylvania’s new ULTRA ALine LED light bulbs. I knew which room I wanted to make over before I even said yes: my office/craft room/guest room.

I already had […]

2021-03-22T21:56:23-07:00April 1, 2011|

Spring 2011 craft workshops

I am excited to share the news that I’m teaching my first craft workshops next spring at Sharon Art Studio in San Francisco! I’ll be teaching three classes in February/March. 1) Paper Lantern Making, 2) Duct Tape Wallets, Cases, and Bags, and 3) Fabric Flower Brooches. If […]

2020-10-07T23:45:17-07:00December 16, 2010|

DIY tulle tutu pendant lamp

Ever since I spotted Swedish designer Jonas Bohlin’s tulle lamp in Gudrun Sjödén’s catalog last year (below), I’ve been dying to make my own. I finally did it! I started with Ikea’s Melodi pendant lamp, then added tulle. Never having attempted anything like […]

2021-01-31T06:00:50-08:00April 19, 2010|

More paper lanterns with flowers

Hi everyone! Bet you thought I fell into a hole somewhere. Nah, just job hunting now that I’m done with school. Anyone want to hire me? :-)

Anyway, I attended the San Francisco International Gift Fair last Saturday, and I ran across these flower-covered paper lanterns at the zappobz […]

2021-03-24T12:47:00-07:00February 8, 2010|

DIY paper lanterns: flowers or pom poms

I planned to make a flower-covered paper lantern for months. Not until I found a white poinsettia garland at a Michael’s after-Christmas clearance did it become a reality. Normally, I’m not a fan of artificial flowers, but I think this is a great way to use them. […]

2021-01-31T06:05:16-08:00January 14, 2010|

DIY rewired & painted table lamp with matching finial

My friend Julie Chai, garden editor at Sunset magazine, gave me this lamp base as a project. (Watch Julie teach you how to make your own compost bin here.) Southwest isn’t my style, plus it had rusty hardware and a tattered, taped cord. As soon […]

2021-02-17T06:36:46-08:00July 15, 2009|

Neighborhood tour of crafty stuff

In lieu of a project this week, I’m posting some photos I took during one of my walks around my neighborhood in Menlo Park, California. It was an idea inspired by sfgirlbybay. Instead of beautiful, transporting images (I’m not the photographer Victoria is), I shot items that […]

2020-11-29T23:57:21-08:00May 20, 2009|

Heika’s DIY hemp-string pendant lamps

Super talented Heika DeHart strikes again. These pendant lamps she made of hemp string are genius. Plus, don’t you love how they look with her wallpaper? Heika writes: “I fell in love with West Elm’s Abaca pendent lamps a few years ago but, as usual, my taste […]

2021-01-31T06:08:52-08:00March 25, 2009|

DIY faux-capiz-shell lampshade

Some of you may remember my first faux capiz shell lampshade that I made for Sunset magazine. It was originally inspired by West Elm’s popular capiz table lamp (below). I was going for the mod look, but multicolored just isn’t my style. […]

2021-02-17T09:03:37-08:00February 18, 2009|

Thrift-store candle sconce makeover

I admit these thrift-store plastic sconces look pretty good in the before photo. But trust me, they looked dated and icky on the wall. Plus they’re broken. Luckily the pieces were broken off symmetrically, so you can’t tell after a fresh coat of paint is applied. I’m tickled that

2021-01-31T06:10:55-08:00February 4, 2009|

Food jars = DIY hanging lanterns

Do you have a balcony or porch railing and some jam jars? This is a cheap and easy way to shed some light for trick-or-treaters, or just create a mood for nighttime porch sitting. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about the wind (or little feet) knocking them over. […]

2021-01-31T06:14:57-08:00October 22, 2008|

DIY fabric-covered lampshade & ball finial

I got this lamp for free from two sweet ladies on Craigslist. I love the base, but the shade had seen better days. I couldn’t find the perfect replacement, so I made my own. And I’ve been obsessed with round finials — which can be pricey. I […]

2021-02-16T23:31:42-08:00July 30, 2008|
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