DIY: Balloon False Ceiling

Wants and Wishes blog has a fantastic last minute idea for that New Year's Eve party!  If you've been debating how to jazz up the home for the festivities - here you go!!  Visit them for more ideas.

 

 1. Blow up all of the balloons you would like to use. I wanted a variety of colors of balloons so I used 2 different colors of purple, 3 different blues and silver. I think it turned out really well to have the mix of colors.

2. Roughly arrange the colors the way you would like them, this will help when your tying them together that you don't have all the same blues together, but a even mix of colors. (Note I used almost double the amount of silver balloons since I have different shades of blues & purple balloons).

3. Tie them together with string or curly ribbon. Don't tie them too close as they need a lithe room in between. I tie them together so you have 2 rows of balloons- one hanging on the right then one on the left.

Here is a picture with one strand hung up so you can see how full one strand can be. You can add as many strands of balloons you need to create the depth of your area.

DIY: Easy Decorative Vases

Natural Home & Garden's blog has a great way to upcycle a plain glass vase - or even one that has a design, but you are looking for something new.

These graceful vases take about 60 seconds to make: 20 seconds to cut the paper, 20 to brush it with glue and 20 to wrap it around a glass. Fill the finished vases with cut flowers, dried arrangements, maybe even celery stalks or lemongrass. If you like, place a votive candle in the bottom of the glass and watch the intricate shapes and unusual textures of these delicate vegetable (and fruit!) papers flicker to life.

Why toss old corks when you can use them to create fun wine cork crafts? Try this project for a DIY...

1. Measure and cut handmade paper (available at specialty paper and craft stores or online) to the right height for your tall, straight-sided glass with a craft blade or scissors. You can leave the top edge irregular or cut it straight.

2. Thoroughly paint the back of the paper with white glue or Mod Podge, a nontoxic acrylic découpage medium sold at craft stores. Be sure the adhesive goes all the way to the edge.

3. Smooth the paper around the glass vase. Press firmly as you go to remove air bubbles. Let dry before using.

DIY: Easy Fabric Frames

I love this easy decor idea because of how simple it is, how quickly it can be done, but also the fact that it's easily interchangable for different occasions.  You can put holiday fabric in these and make your home more festive, and then quickly change it back out once the holiday passes.  We have plenty of scrap fabric that would be ideal to upcycle into these great frames.

This DIY comes from Tea Rose Home's blog, so check them out for more!

I found this cute frame at the dollar store; what a find! I bought four of them.

First, take out the glass inside and use it as a template. I used a pop tart box to make the squares.

Second, place the glass on the wrong side of the fabrics and draw a line. You will need about 1/2" extra around the line, so you can tape the fabric to the back of the cardboard.

On the wrong side of the fabric, place the cardboard that you cut out and tape the corners. (That way the corners will be less bulky.)


Tape the sides.


Put it in to the frame without the glass. I saved all my glasses, so in the future if I change my mind I can use the frame for something else.


It took me less than 30 minute to complete the project. I love quick and easy projects like this. On top of that the whole thing cost me about 4 dollars!
I took them to Rachel's room and did this:

DIY: $12 Pendant Lamp Makeover!

We love Ikea, and we love this wonderfully done Ikea lamp makeover!  This tutorial comes to us from Apartment Therapy's blog, and we can't wait til this weekend when we can hit up Ikea and give this a shot.  This looks like a show piece - but for only $12 (including the price of lamp)!

A

Ashley let us in on a few of her secrets ....

"After some experimentation I found that the best way to attach the petals was with 'shiny' scotch tape (the type that looks like packing tape) rather than the matte scotch 'magic' tape (which gave obvious seams/shadows that looked less than stellar). The 'petals' were cut in various lengths (I would cut a sheet of wax paper and fold it over several times so I was cutting 8 petals at a time) and attached from the bottom-->up (with shorter petals at the top)...don't be discouraged if you can see a subtle shadow cast by the tape initially as lots and lots and lots of layers are key! The petals curved naturally from the wax paper coming on a roll, and I placed most of them with the curl flipping out. Also, in lieu of wax paper I might use parchment paper for the next go-round as it has a more matte appearance when the light is off."

$1.19 (wax paper)
$0.50 (tape)
$6.00 (23.5" paper lantern from IKEA)
$3.99 (electric cord form IKEA)
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$11.68