Style Lush

Birthday Confetti

By Janet

Today is my birthday and I can think of no better way to celebrate than by sharing some DIY confetti projects. Okay, well I can maybe think of some better ways to celebrate--ways involving chamagne and thick slices of chocolate cake--but as far as partying on the Internet goes, DIY confetti it is! 

Let's face it: confetti is about the simplest project ever. You don't have to know any fancy crafting skills. You don't have to watch a tutorial on You Tube. You simply cut up some crepe paper with scissors or you go to town with a paper punch (or, easier yet, you open up the three-hole punch at your office that hasn't been emptied in three years). Voilà! Instant party! 

Watercolor Confetti from Oh Happy Day

Bowls of Confetti for Tossing

White Chocolate Confetti Popcorn

Confetti Shooters

Friends, go spread some confetti and drink some champagne! I'm sure you have something to celebrate!

Reminder Rug

By Leah

Every time my husband leaves the house, he pats all his pockets while chanting to himself, "Keys, phone, wallet. Keys, phone, wallet."

He so needs this doormat.

Just $18 at Urban Outfitters.

Or with a $10 rug, a can of spraypaint, and some alphabet stencils, I (he) (you?) could even make (y)our own.

{Image: Damn Good Doormats on Zibbet}

Valentine's Day for pre-schoolers

by Christina

I am so super excited about Valentine's Day for my 4 year-old, it's kind of silly. I was in the valentine section of Target this past week and was wondering -- do they make the tiny cards like they used to? I didn't see any. I looked around and really didn't see anything I'd love to send to school with him for his party that wasn't candy as he goes to a  lame candy-free school. Then I remembered something I'd pinned ages ago! I know the day is a good three weeks out but since these will be cut and sewn by hand, I figured I should share them with you now.

I mean, couldn't you just die? These images are from pinterest via Katie Did- I am so glad I found this, I can't wait to send him to school with these.

How to paint old furniture

By A'Dell

I posted on my personal blog about some 70-90-year-old furniture (the age is a bit of an ongoing mystery that I'm researching) I just inherited and how I have grand plans to paint it white. Never mind that every woodworking project I've ever taken on has ended up as a complete disaster, I have decided that now is the time to learn and hone my skills on sentimental, family heirloom, walnut furniture from Arkansas. (I know. I know.)

Check out what I've got. Dark. Daaaaaaaark.

The furniture I've got in thinly veneered and isn't in the best condition. It's chipped, gouged and dinged. It is very, very dark and I would like it to be painted white so that it can live in my youngest daughter's room. I think it would be terribly cute in a little girl's room, painted white. This is going to be a long road of internet learning, but I've already found a few great tutorials.

First, a how-to from Centsational Girl details (simply!) the basics of how to refinish a piece of furniture. She goes over piece selection, removing marks and holes, sanding and the painting plus lots of other tiny details. For someone who has never, ever refinished or repainted anything with success? This was gold. I've read this post about ten times already and several people that I reached out to pointed me in the direction of this very post. If you're in my shoes? Start with that post.

Next, I have been reading about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for several months now, and we've even talked about it before at Style Lush (here). The idea behind this paint is that no prep work is required, which sounds FANTASTIC to a painting novice like myself. It sticks to anything, is highly versatile and everyone just falls all over themselves about it. The downside is that it can be a bit pricey (I think about $35/quart) but considering all of the time and other materials you'd be saving it sounds almost like a bargain to me.

Shaunna at Perfectly Imperfect has put together several videos that talk about chalk paint and they are WONDERFUL. Normally, I am not a video person but with DIY stuff like this? Oh, video is AWESOME CAKES for this kind of thing. Start here with her notes on how to distress chalk paint and click around her YouTube channel for more gems. 

What about you? Do you have any places that you go to learn about painting furniture? Please leave me your favorite links so that I can read more. I really need all the help I can get on this one. 

DIY Upholstery?

By Jessica

I'm having an issue with my living room which can be summed up in one word: brown.  We have a crazy tall accent wall that we did with wood, brown of course. We have Pergo floors, dark brown. We have an enormous leather and micro-suede sofa and it's brown (camel and chocolate brown, but still brown). The walls are all tan (GAH MORE BROWN) and we have two chairs that match the couch, still more brown!

See? BROWN.

I do have a bright coffee table,

colorful pillows, and bright prints from Etsy on the walls.

I also recently painted the fireplace

white, which helps, but I'd really like to recover the two matching chairs.

You can see them in the top picture, one flanking the fireplace and the other in front of our entertainment center. They have wood accents and are in a similar micro-suede fabric to the couch. I have no idea if I should paint out the wood in addition to changing the fabric but that'd be easy. The hard part, at least it seems hard to me, is changing out the fabric. I considered taking them somewhere to have them redone for me, but they aren't high quality furniture (they are "good enough") and it seems crazy to spend big money on them.

Have you ever tackled your own upholstery? Do you have any tips or tricks?

 

 

 

 

Leak-Proof Travel on the Cheap

By Leah

I apologize for posting this after you've completed all your holiday travel, but stick this tip in your back pocket for later, and maybe plan a trip for spring just so you can try it out:

One thing remains constant in my air-travel experience: my container of moisturizer gets jacked up on the plane. Since I pack it in my checked luggage with my other toiletries, it gets thrown around a lot between Points A and B, and whenever I take my first peek at it once I've arrived at my destination, the only unknown is which brand of jacked up it will be. Squeeze bottles explode with the change in air pressure, pumps leak, and containers with lids become covered with goo both inside and out. Just to save everything around the moisturizer, I'd taken to sealing each individual problem container in its own plastic bag so I could at least scrape out the leaked contents and use them instead of just wash them down the sink. 

Lightbulb!

Last time I flew I took a spoon to my jar of moisturizer and scooped out the perfect amount directly into a zippered baggie. Nothing leaked and it took up a fraction of the space of an entire jar.

From now on I'm doing this with moisturizer, sunscreen, and even shampoo and conditioner. I'm a changed woman. A changed woman who needs to book a flight somewhere fun.

Let's Look to January and Think About Birthday Cards

By Jennie

Right now it's probably safe to say most of us are wrapped up in the holidays and it's a wee bit overwhelming to think about January before Christmas, but it's about this time I start thinking about being better about acknowledging the birthdays of those I love in the new year. 

I recently saw this make-your-own-bunting-birthday-card tutorial over at How About Orange, and it's a great way to make a bunch of cards at one time so you can send them out as the year unfolds to everyone you really care about. 

{Photo from How About Orange}

In fact, I think I'll buy a bunch of these cards (I already have a corner rounder on hand, but you can pick one of those up, too), and a "happy birthday" stamp and I'll be nearly ready.

So, who wants to join me for a card making party one day soon?

Paper Word Garlands

By A'Dell

I made these super simple paper word garlands a few days ago, and hung them in my entryway. They're phrases from my favorite Christmas carols, but you could use any phrases and make them for any occasion. I love them and they make me ridiculously happy.

I gathered this idea from Katie Did and I made them almost exactly the same way: freehand cut the letters, tape them to baker's twine, hang. My letters range from four to six inches high and I tried to use only two or three colors/patterns to keep things from getting too busy.

I thought cutting the letters would be far more of a challenge than it actually was and I was surprised at how simple it turned out to be. Once I accepted that the letters would be irregular and some would look better than others, I flew through the task and promised myself no do-overs. Katie made far more garlands than I had patience for at the time (seriously, go look at how amazing hers are) and I might make more, but I am pretty happy with the four I've got. 

All crafted out for this year? (I don't blame you, I'm tired just thinking about all the things I have to do this week.) These word garlands would be so much fun for almost any other event or party. They're cheap, simple to make, and bring a whole lot of custom impact without busting a budget.

Paint Chip Gift Tags for Any Occasion

By Leah

My family has always been mega into wrapping gifts (often the presentation is better than the present), so growing up we always had a huge selection of paper, boxes, bags, bows, tissue paper, and gift tags to fuel our creativity. (My dad has made bows out of tape from a busted VHS cassette; my mom likes wrapping clothes in carboard tubes.)

Since moving out on my own, I've never had the space or funds to get a real wrapping station together, and although I usually manage to pull it all off, more or less, the one thing I never have on hand for Christmas is cute tags to put on the gifts. I of course only realize this at the last minute (albeit the last minute every year) and end up making tags out of scrap paper or, in a pinch, writing directly on the wrapping with Sharpie. My parents must be so disappointed.

Here's a cute idea for DIY gift tags that takes a little prep but not much, and the result is really sweet:

Liz at Say Yes to Hoboken turned these free paint chip cards into tree ornaments, but I think they'd be darling as gift tags (for any occasion, actually, depending on the shapes you cut out and the colors you pick). If you're setting the table for a big meal, paint chips could also be transformed into nice little place cards. And they're free free free!

DIY Calendar Journal

By Janet

Looking for an inexpensive DIY holiday gift to give? How about this Vintage Postcard Calendar Journal? With just a fruit box, some vintage postcards, a package of index cards and a date stamp, you can create these fun calendar journals. 

It's a gift that just keeps getting better and better as each year passes and more entries are added. 

The simple instructions can be found here. 

{Image via Design Sponge}