DIY Tips & Tricks: The endless vacation

Leaving a great vacation is always hard to do. There are some great ways to preserve the memories so you can revisit them whenever you want. Beyond framing a favorite vacation pic or creating an album, here is a great idea for displaying several vacation memories in a fun way. SHADOW BOX! Yes, I think of shoe box diarammas from elementary school, but leave it to Martha Stewart to take it up a notch.

Check out this step-by-step to creating your own vacation shadow box!

DIY Tips and tricks: Key to what?

Is collecting vintage keys your new hobby? Well if it is, or if you just have a key fetish, here is a fun way to display them! All you need are some keys and a shadow box. Pick how many you want to show case and pin them to the back. Easy breezy DIY project!

Check out Centsational Girl for some ideas!

Go with the one key approach and hang in a sequence.


Or go with multiples (on a key ring splayed out or individually lined up in the design of your choice).


Need keys? Don't want to do the leg work? Pottery Barn has them, don't fret!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ White Pumpkin Centerpieces

Here are some centerpiece ideas for your holiday table using the very chic, the very elegant...white pumpkin!

*Cluster small white pumpkins on a silver platter or in a clear bowl

*Place small white pumpkins on candle pedestals of varying heights (hollow out the center if you want to add a candle)

*Use small pumpkins for table cards (write the name on them with a sharpe or attach a name card to a ribbon)

*Place a medium to large white pumpkin in the center of the table and hollow it out for a tall pillar candle to sit in it.

Some inspiration...

{Image from Country Living}


{Image from Factory Direct Craft}


{Image from A Holiday Haven}


{Image from TinyPrints}

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Bottle Pockets

Shelve your wine in a mailing-tube rack! Very cool, instructions on how to make it over here at Readymade.

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Reusable Bag Placemat

Really fun idea and directions on how to make a reusable bag placemat over at Readymade, get creative for your holiday decor!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Repurposing a Rug

If you guys watched this season of HGTV's Design Star like I did, you know the contestant's came up with some pretty unique designs and DIY furniture.

Inspired by Casey's rug-turned-ottoman (right side of photograph above), head over to DIY Life for instructions into how to DIY it.

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Secret Storage Books

I came across this great DIY solution over at Design Sponge from Brenna of paper + ink. I surely have a ton of craft/art/design supplies all over the place, and her storage boxes disguised as books is not only creative, but a really pretty space saver!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Make A Rustic Bench

I constantly see old furniture being left outside near the garbage when people move down here in Miami. This article over at Readymade about how to make an old rustic bench out of found wood (possibly an old coffee table someone has left out in the rain) is really inspiring, and seems very easy on your eyes and on your wallet!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Make A Mural

Here is a great way to add some pizzaz to a boring wall in your office or guest bedroom from Readymade. They give you directions on doing the whole wall in posters which is super easy and fun!

But if you don't want to do the whole wall, a really interesting thing to do in a guest bedroom could be to paste the posters and artwork up behind a bed in a rectangle and make it into a fun "headboard." It's a grown up version of the wall you had plastered with posters in high school. The possibilities are endless, get creative!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Switchplate Planter

What started off as a joke between friends is actually a pretty fun idea on how to give old switch plates new life ~ read about it and watch a video tutorial here at Readymade.

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Make your own bench

Saw this in an antique store in Leesburg, VA. A homemade bench using an old twin headboard and footboard. An easy to construct piece of unique furniture that will invite people to sit!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Staggering Pictures

Staggering pictures is a creative way to show some originality and character in your home. Arranging them is half the battle, so instead of putting many holes in your wall, here is a great strategy for laying them out. For the step by step click here.

Use paper cut outs to arrange before committing! Love this idea, so simple.

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Give Vintage Furniture a New Life!

I've been having a great time decorating my cute Miami studio with a beachy, laid back vibe. I have some new furniture and some old furniture, and nothing says they can't be mixed together for a vibrant look.

I have a stool that was my grandmothers from the 1970's. It's in great condition, but the blue round pillow cover is a bit worn and out of date. So I went to a local fabric store down here and bought the most amazing fabric, it was on sale and I got a few yards of it for only $15.00!!!

So for now I have placed the new fabric (shown in the after photo) over the cushion to see what it will look like, and man does it look pretty great! I am unfortunately not the best at sewing, so I am going to get my friend's grandmother down here in Miami to make me a cover with the fabric.

Grab an old piece of furniture, grab some new fabric, and grab the nearest grandmother to give a great new look to a vintage piece of furniture!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Multitiered Magazine Rack

You don't even understand how PERFECT this idea is for my new home in Miami! I have so many magazines that I need to organize, this multitiered magazine rack over at Readymade is a great idea if you have a home office. First I need to buy some tools for my new home...and find a handyman...and find the Ikea around here since I just moved...but otherwise I'm loving this! ;)

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Recycled Wood Dining Table

We all know handymen (or women!) in our lives, be it dad, mom, husband, wife or friend! Grab them and get to making your own Recycled Wood Dining Table (shown above). This is such a fun, rustic idea ~ instructions are here at our fav DIY site Readymade.

DiY Tips & Tricks ~ Tiny Terrariums

This Tiny Terrarium tutorial (try saying that 3x!) over at Readymade is such a fun idea for an inexpensive housewarming gift, or something fun on a Saturday to do with your kids. You don't really need to look much further than your own backyard!

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Scandy Pillow

Make your own Scandinavian-style pillow ~ directions are here

at Readymade, such a fun budget friendly idea.

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Wine Crate Kitchen Cabinets

Ohhhh, check out this FUN eco-friendly project over at Readymade. The article is about a couple in Barcelona that made their kitchen cabinets out of wine crates!

DIY Tips & Tricks: Herbal Remedies

The season for planting has arrived! An herb garden is a great DIY project to beautify your outdoor space and bring some fresh ingredients into your kitchen.
Need some pointers? Here are some good resources for getting your garden cultivated!

~The Herb Society of America has a beginner's herb garden guide.

~How to grow an herb garden from How Stuff Works.

And to get you motivated, here is a refreshing herbal drink recipe from The New Homemaker

Pink Lavender Drink
6-8 servings

2 ½ c Water
1 ½ c Sugar
½ c Frozen or fresh, hulled strawberries
¼ c Fresh Lavender flowers chopped
2 ¼ c Fresh Lemon juice
2 ½ c Water
½ c Sugar

In a saucepan, blend 2 ½ cups water, sugar and strawberries.
Bring to boiling mark, stir to dissolve sugar.
Lower heat.
Simmer 5 minutes to extract pink from strawberries.
Remove from oven.
Stir in lavender flowers.
Cover and cool.
Strain cooled liquid into large pitcher, gently pressing juice from strawberries.
Add remaining 2 ½ cups water and lemon juice.
Stir well.
Add ½ cup of sugar.
Add ice cubes.
Garnish with lavender flowers.

If you want alcohol try to add Vodka!

DIY Tips and tricks:Create a One of a Kind Work Space

Create a personalized workspace just for you! Check out how at ReadyMade