DIY no-sew scalloped tablecloth

Many years ago, I bought white flannel-backed vinyl by the yard at Walmart with the intention of making a scallop-edged tablecloth for my round pedestal table. Fast forward past two moves and the sale of that table, and this fabric remained rolled up in a closet. I […]

2021-01-31T01:53:28-08:00October 12, 2020|

DIY fall pumpkin centerpiece ideas

For those of you who aren’t in a rush to decorate for Christmas, give your pumpkins one last hurrah before everything becomes tinsel and snowflakes. Remember: Fall isn’t over until December 22, and pumpkins aren’t just for Halloween.

Finish your centerpiece with a fall-colored table runner, leaves, green boughs, or more scattered […]

2021-03-05T02:34:03-08:00November 15, 2017|

DIY mitered-corner cloth napkins

When I needed cloth napkins for my Easter table setting, I couldn’t find any that looked good with the color palette. But I had the ideal fabric on hand. So I examined the perfectly mitered corners on my Williams-Sonoma napkins and figured out how to […]

2021-02-08T08:38:02-08:00May 1, 2013|

Carpet samples = DIY Easter placemats

This stack of carpet samples has been hanging around my apartment for three years. I picked them up for free on Craigslist. My original plan was to let the girls at camp paint them to make fun prayer rugs. The problem was that cheap craft paint […]

2021-01-31T02:10:13-08:00March 30, 2013|

DIY Easter tree, egg ornaments & garland

My grandmother and great-grandmother were both crafty. My great-grandmother specialized in tatting, crochet, and ribbon roses. My grandmother dabbled in many handicrafts, including painting china, sculpting clay roses, découpaging, quilling, welding, and making 3D pictures (I’ll teach you the latter someday). She even made adorable […]

2021-04-03T20:22:22-07:00April 7, 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|

Carol’s DIY decoupage plates

Last week, I blogged about Carol Endler Sterbenz’s new book Homemade: The Heart and Science of Handcrafts. This week, I’m honored to welcome Carol as a guest nester! This decoupage plate tutorial is just one of the many fabulous projects in her book. Carol writes, “Of all the […]

2021-02-25T16:31:53-08:00November 9, 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|

DIY dining room makeover: the plan

Wow. I should ask for your input more often. You gals shared some great ideas! I didn’t think it was possible, but you changed my mind about some of my original ideas for this dining room makeover sponsored by American Express. After […]

2021-03-23T20:12:19-07:00May 31, 2011|

DIY red doily matchbox

When I discovered that my matchbooks fit perfectly into this old unfinished cigar box, I knew it was a DIY matchbox in the making. I wanted to step up the fancy in a subtle way, so I could leave the dingy box out in plain site. I like showing off doilies […]

2021-01-31T05:54:43-08:00January 24, 2011|

Fabric + pom-pom trim = DIY tablecloth

I own blue and white dishes. Normally this isn’t a problem — until I try to find a cute tablecloth that looks good with my dishes. Apparently, blue as a kitchen or dining color has been out for several seasons. The market is flooded with red, green, and aqua.

Instead of waiting […]

2021-02-23T21:05:44-08:00September 29, 2010|

DIY framed silhouette words

My friend Julie inspired this idea. She framed some fall leaves in a large clear acrylic frame. I loved its simplicity. These Coach picture frames that I received as a gift years ago were perfect for spelling out a word.

I had five frames, but I was set on […]

2021-03-24T17:46:58-07:00November 11, 2009|

Maria’s DIY table, frames, vase & votives redo

Our new guest nester, Maria Romvari, transformed this corner of her house for her Hungarian blog A Hoover-gáton is túl, and she’s sharing her tutorial with us! Maria used ordinary thrift store items — side table, vase, and mismatched frames — totaling $10.67 to create this stunning vignette. […]

2021-03-26T13:13:25-07:00October 23, 2009|

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|

DIY wine cork trivet

My sister Christy came up with this super easy idea, and I love it. Even better: I had all the supplies on hand. No, I don’t drink wine, but I have plenty of friends who do. They saved their corks for a big project I have planned. I could spare a […]

2021-03-03T00:50:34-08:00July 8, 2009|

DIY mod tissue box cover

I’m fed up with ugly tissue boxes. Even the semi-cool ones never match my decor. I used to buy the white tissue boxes from Target, but they discontinued them. So I took matters into my own hands. I found this wooden tissue box cover at a thrift store for a couple […]

2021-02-08T08:41:37-08:00January 28, 2009|

Salvaged cupboard door = DIY serving tray

I noticed this stash of cupboard doors at my local salvage yard. The white one was the perfect size to make a serving tray. The old drawer pulls — also found at the salvage yard — made ideal handles. Their swirly shape gave me the inspiration for the pattern I painted. […]

2021-01-31T06:13:25-08:00December 17, 2008|

Decorating idea: grouping like objects

Sometimes the easiest decorating project can be gathering scattered items around your house that are similar and grouping them together to create a focal point. In this sparkly vignette, I mixed my mom’s antique oval mirror with a couple of large mirrors I found on Craigslist. For […]

2021-01-31T06:13:36-08:00December 10, 2008|

Repurposed dishes = DIY cake stands

This one was my friend Kristi’s idea. While window shopping one day last spring, we saw a glass cake stand in a jewelry store window. She said, “You could make one of those.” I spent the next couple weeks scouring thrift stores for plates, candlesticks, vases — anything I could find […]

2021-01-31T06:15:06-08:00October 15, 2008|
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