DIY

DIY leaf mandala stained glass

June 12, 2018June 13, 2018By HannahPosted in home decor + interiors, DIY

I have a thing for stained glass. There’s just something so reverently beautiful about rays of sunlight pouring through jewel-tinted glass, casting colorful shadows on the floor. And I’ve always wanted to learn how to make stained glass… but that seems like a pretty time-consuming and expensive hobby. So that’s why I’m especially excited about this project: I’ve found a way to recreate the beauty of stained glass with leaves gathered from Joanna’s backyard! Keep scrolling to create your very own mandala-inspired, stained glass art.

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painted hanging planter DIY

May 31, 2018May 30, 2018By HannahPosted in home decor + interiors, DIY

Thanks in part to Joanna, I am slowly but surely becoming what can only be described as a crazy plant lady. What started with an impulse purchase of a braided money tree in the plant section of IKEA lead to a trip to my favorite local nursery where I procured a maidenhair fern and some ivy that I promptly killed (what can I say — I’m still learning). And then, a few weeks ago, Joanna bequeathed me a beautiful monstera plant and we got to talking about our shared obsession with bringing the outside in, especially in our small city living spaces.

After that chat, I starting thinking about a chic, yet inexpensive, way to make some beautiful hanging planters, therefore fueling my newfound plant-hoarding tendencies. I settled upon a pair of terra cotta pots painted with a cool (and easy to execute) geometric pattern, strung up with rope and finished with some really cool, chunky wooden beads. Scroll on down to get the full tutorial for our paintng hanging planter DIY!

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how to refinish an old door to look new again

May 29, 2018May 24, 2018By JoannaPosted in home decor + interiors, DIY, my tiny bungalow

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Schlage. The opinions and text are all mine.

One of the joys (and I use that in the most sarcastic way possible) of owning an old house is cleaning up other people’s messes. For example, my tiny bungalow was a rental for many years before I bought it, which essentially means that all kinds of weird stuff happened to my house. For example, before I painted the living room, I noticed that someone had written tiny bits of graffiti in pencil all over the walls and trim — but tucked away into corners and along the thin edge of window trim. It was so bizarre and none of the words made any sense. I painted over it, but I still wonder… why?? One thing that has always irritated me in our home is how sloppily it has been painted over the years. Every window sill and door is covered in gobs and gobs of dripping paint, almost like a kindergartener was let loose. Two years ago, my good friends Susan and Will Brinson taught me the most satisfying way to refinish an old door and trim, so today I partnered with Schlage to share it with you guys + talk about the new Schlage Custom™ Door Hardware collection (trust, it is so gooood).

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a simple, statement-making lilac bouquet | DIY

May 14, 2018May 11, 2018By SarahPosted in DIY, flowers

Is there anything better than lilac season? The scent is absolutely heavenly and the tiny blooms on each stem are just too darling. When Joanna asked me to create a lilac bouquet, I immediately knew the perfect companion flower: popcorn viburnum. Popcorn viburnum is a spring-blooming bush with strongly-veined green leaves and clusters of non-fragrant snowball-like white flowers. I usually strip the leaves from lilac in order to force all hydration into the flowers, so the viburnum brings a lovely source of green into a lilac arrangement. The texture of the leaves is so lovely, as well. The pops of white through the viburnum flowers provide the perfect contrast to the purple lilac and I appreciate that they don’t bring any additional fragrance in allowing the sweet scent of lilac to shine!

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A Spring Nest Centerpiece for Mother’s Day | DIY

May 1, 2018April 23, 2018By SarahPosted in DIY, flowers

What could possibly be more quintessentially spring than tulips and daffodils? These happy blooms are popping up all around for a much-needed jolt of cheerfulness after a long winter — and just in time for Mother’s Day! Yesterday, Joanna shared an eclectic tablescape for three to celebrate Mother’s Day, but let’s talk about the main star of the event: the nest centerpiece! We decided to embrace spring’s best floral offering for this month’s floral DIY with a giant bird’s nest full of tulips and daffodils — and it’s super-easy to recreate on your own.

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DIY extra-large crystal planter

April 3, 2018April 3, 2018By HannahPosted in DIY

Here’s the thing: I love decorating with crystals and plants, but that chic combination can start to get very expensive very quickly. But I couldn’t shake the idea of a huge, statement-making crystal planter that wouldn’t break my vacation-savings budget, so I set about figuring out a way to grow my very own crystal rather than buying one.

And that’s when I learned about the magical properties of Borax. That’s right—the powdered laundry detergent booster that can be purchased plentifully and cheaply from Amazon grows into stunning crystal formations with just a little bit of know-how and some science fair-style gumption. After doing a few experiments of my own (and possibly tricking my roommate into thinking I was turning our kitchen into a Breaking Bad tribute set), I’m here to share the full tutorial for how to make absolutely stunning crystal planters for the price of a single Postmates order.

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