DIY Archives - Page 2 of 11 - Darling Darleen

Round Leather Bag Tutorial

DIY Round Leather Bag Tutorial

A recent obsession and current trend is the round leather bag clutch. It’s a modern take on the classic bag styles you would see in the 1960s. Retro vibe but it still has a simple look, the round leather bag is a fun accessory to incorporate in your summer style. Another trend is the metal round handle. I’ve been seeing many European bag with that style and it will definitely be making it’s way to the States. With all these new trends, I thought it would be a good idea to do a round leather bag tutorial that is easy and simple for a novice, which I am in the leather-making category. This round leather bag tutorial is also a quick tutorial and took me about 30 minutes to make. So if you are in the need of a new going-out bag that is budget friendly, this is the one for you!

Supplies for Round Leather Bag Tutorial

a plate or something that is round

pencil

Ruler

Scissors

Sewing Machine

Instructions for Round Leather Bag Tutorial

Roll out your leather and fold in half, putting the wrong-sides together. Place a large plate face-side down on the leather. Use it as a template to draw a circle. Then cut out the circle. You should have two circles.
Place a ruler on the upper side of the circle about two inches down from the top. With a pencil, lightly mark a line on each side and mark the middle of the ruler. The move the ruler up a little, centering the ruler on the mark lines, then do mark another line all the way across on the bag.
Pull out your sewing machine and set it up to be able to sew on leather. Make sure you have upholestrey thread. Sew the two circles together starting and ending at the short lines marked from the ruler.
Cut out two squares in the leather that are about 2.5 inches in width and height
Take your leather hole puncher and punch where you marked the center of the bag. Then using your scissors, cut where you marked the line all the way across. That will remove the excess leather, and the round circle will now be flat on top.
Take each square and fold. Using the ruler, mark the center just a few centimeters from the edge of the square. Then punch out with the leather puncher.
Grab your rivets. Place the metal ring behind the round sewn leather and take the small square and feed the rivet through and secure with the other side of the square’s hole. Hammer in place so the rivet can’t be separated.
Repeat on the other side, and then enjoy your new bag!

To go along with the round leather bag tutorial, here are some other round leather bag options:

DIY Bike Basket

DIY Bike Basket

Every beach cruiser needs a basket! I learned that last summer when I took my bike on many beach trips and had to carry all my beach items and it was quite tricky when you’ve got quite a ways to go. Last time we were in Seaside, one of the beach vendors was selling these gorgeous wicker bike baskets. They were so pretty, but so expensive. I knew that I could DIY bike basket with one of my old baskets from home. And now that spring is right around the corner, I decided I best get that project done so my bike is ready to go. So, if you have an old basket laying around and need a bike basket, this is a perfect project to tackle this spring. Reuse those old baskets in a productive way. Or you can stop by your local thrift store and find a basket for a couple buckles. Make sure the basket has structure and strength to hold many different items. You’d also want to think about the size of the basket and hold it up to your bike handles to see if it fits okay. This DIY Bike basket project works best with wicker baskets for the leather straps that can slide between the wicker. Also, get creative if you have painted Peruvian wicker baskets. That would be so pretty on a bike.

DIY Bike Basket

Supplies

old wicker basket

2 old leather belts (thrift store OR two of these leather kits–if you get these kits then you will only need rotary cutter and mallet)

Rivets

Ruler

Exacto Knife

Leather Rotary Punch

Wood Mallet or Rivet Setter

Needle-nose pliers

Nipper Tool

Directions: Take your leather belt and exacto knife. Measure about 10″ and cut with the knife. Take the buckle portion of the belt and disassemble the rivets by gently pulling apart with your needle-nose pliers. When there is an opening between the leather, then cut the connected rivet with the nipper tool. Do not cut the leather. Then reassemble the belt portion with the D-ring and the roller bucket and leather strip. Mark your new holes on the cut portion of the leather strip. Using your rotary punch to make new holes in the leather. Then take your rivets and attach and secure with a wood mallet or rivet setter. Your bike basket leather strips should be about 10″ long. Slide in between the wicker and attach to the front of your bike.

Load your DIY bike basket with flowers, blanket, picnic. Or if you have a well-behaved dog, take him for a fun ride.

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Here are some other bike-related products!

DIY Copper Round Plant Stand

DIY Copper Round Plant Stand

DIY Copper Round Plant Stand: Truth. I kill houseplants. Not by choice. I mean…I follow all the basic rules about taking care of a houseplant. But I guess I’m not the best at it, or maybe I missed a step, because in the end the houseplant dies. When it comes to outside plants, I’m pretty awesome at taking care of them…most of the time. But it comes more natural, and nature obviously helps me out. Inside houseplants not so much! So, I’m replacing my dead, wilting house plants with new live ones, and lets see if I can keep them alive at least longer than the last time. In the meantime, I needed a cute plant stand for my new house plants. I had left over copper pipes from my previous copper DIY projects so I decided to make a DIY copper round plant stand for my new plants. These copper round plant stands have a cute modern, mid-century style, and I’m loving how they look in the corner of my living room.

This DIY copper round plant stand takes about 30 minutes to put together. And then you will need to glue it and let it dry overnight so it sets and will be able to hold the planter pots. The results are a modern, mid-century plant stand that has an expensive look for the fraction of the cost.

DIY Copper Round Plant Stand Supply List

4 x Copper Tee part

Black sharpie

Tape Measure

plant pot with plant

Instructions: When making this DIY copper round plant stand, you can really get whatever diameter you’d like for the copper pipes and coil. I had left over 3/4″ and 1/2″ copper pipes and copper tees so I bought 1/2″ diameter of copper coil to fit the Tee’s and pipes that I had leftover. It was the same thing with the height of my plant stand. I just accommodated with my supplies and cut the pipes exactly in half. You can see how to cut copper on here, and you will need to take your sharpie and tape measure to when you cut pipes. You don’t want to make a mistake! Copper can get expensive quickly. My taller plant stand is 25″ tall. I cut those pipes at 24″. The smaller plant stand is 20″ tall, and I cut those pipes at 19″. But again, you can cut them at however height you’d like. If I had extra pipes, I would of made smaller plant stand for a trio look.

After you cut your pipes for the sides of the plant stand, you will need to cut the copper coil. Then measure the diameter of your pot. I used plastic pots instead of ceramic so it would conform better to the oval shape of the plant stand. If you want a more rounder plant stand, than your coil would need to be longer and pot wider, which I didn’t have at the time. I cut my coil at 16″ lengths, which worked good for my pots.

Once you have your coil cut, then you can assemble and add your Tee’s. Glue the ends together with the E6000. You may need to manipulate the coil so the shape forms together. Then you let it sit over night for the glue to set. Meantime, clean you copper plant stand with nail polish remover (to get any red ink on it) and copper cleaner. The next day, put your plant pots in it and enjoy!

DIY: Spa Kit with Recipes and Printables

DIY Spa Kit with Recipes and Printables

I love homemade bath products, and often throw together a mixture of salts and essential oils before I take a bath or when I am under the weather. So, I’ve been wanted to put together a post for a DIY spa kit with recipes and printables, and the good excuse finally came when my daughter had to donate an item for an auction. I thought this would be perfect since it had to be a donation she made or something she could complete. All the items we used to make the bath products are natural and organic. And if you make your own, I strongly encourage you to get organic and raw items. This is your body so use the best items to put on it! We also threw into our spa kit Uprooted Skincare face masks because they are simply THE best and they use the best organic, natural clay and therapeutic essential oils to make your face shine! The FREE printables are listed at the end of the post with editable labels. The recipes included in our spa kit are for bath bombs, body butter, body scrub and bath salts. My kitchen turned into a spa-making factory over the weekend while my daughter and I had so much fun putting together this DIY spa kit with recipes and printables! This is a fun craft to do with teens.

DIY Spa Kit : Bath Bombs

ALL NATURAL FLORAL BATH BOMBS

4 oz. baking soda

2 oz. citric acid

2 oz. corn starch

2 oz. Epsom salts

1 1/2 tsp of coconut oil

1 1/2 to 2 tsp of water

1 tsp or about 20-30 drops of essential oils

1 to 2 tsp of dried floral

Bath Bomb molds

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a whisk. Place all the liquid into a cup and stir until well mixed. Make sure the coconut oil is melted so it mixes well. Slowly add a little liquid to the dry ingredients while whisking. The mixture should begin to clump together when squished. Be careful not to add too much liquid or it will ruin your bath bomb. Once the wet ingredients are combined with the dry, you should be able to squeeze it together. If it’s too powdery then add a tiny bit of water and mix until it holds and sticks together. Add your dried floral and mix in. I used lavender essential oil with dried lavender. And ylang ylang essential oil with dried rose petals. Then pack your mixture into the molds and press the two sides together. Squeeze the mold to create your sphere and press firmly to prevent it from cracking. Rotate the mold and tap slightly around the mold to remove any excess moisture and to help loosen the mold. Gently remove one side of the mold and allow it to dry out for about 10 minutes. Then gently remove the other side of the mold. Place the bath bomb on wax paper on top of a fluffy towel. Let them dry for about 24 hours before you use them or pack them up.

FLORAL BATH SALTS

1 cup of epsom salts

1 cup of pink Himalayan salt rocks

10-15 drops of essential oils (I used serenity oil blend)

1 tablespoon of coconut oil (warm)

Dried floral and herbs

Optional: Add bentonite clay to the mix for added health benefits!

Mix all your ingredients in a bowl. Make sure the oil is evenly mixed through the salts. Transfer to a glass bottle and seal tightly.

Bath Salts are so easy to make and very therapeutic and beneficial to the bath when taking a bath! Sprinkle under warm running water and soak your body in it for 20 minutes.

ROSE BODY SCRUB

1/2 cup of finely ground pink Himalayan salt

1 tsp of melted coconut oil

1 tsp of Vitamin E oil

4 drops of essential oil (I like serenity oil blend or ylang ylang)

Dried rose petals

Mix these ingredients in a bowl and then transfer to a glass bottle and seal tightly. Or use it immediately and scrub your body with it!

BODY BUTTER

1 cup of organic, raw unfiltered coconut oil (solid, not liquidified)

2 tsp of vitamin E oil

10 drops of lavender essential oil

Add all the items in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixers or handheld mixer and whisk for about 5 minutes until it is light and airy. Spoon the body butter into an airtight glass jar. Apply everywhere! I even use it on my face.

After we made all the items for our DIY spa kit, we packaged it up in pretty glass container and placed them in a wooden crate. I printed up the labels on clear adhesive labels

DOWNLOAD SPA KIT PRINTABLE WITH WORDS

DOWNLOAD SPA KIT PRINTABLE EDITABLE

Hope you enjoyed this DIY spa kit with Recipes and Printables!

DIY Copper Clothing Rack

DIY Copper Clothing Rack

Lately, I’ve become a little obsessed with copper pipe projects like my recent copper blanket ladder ! Working with copper pipes is actually really fun and the results are clean and modern. I hope to bring you a few more copper pipe DIYs, but today I am showing you have to make a DIY copper clothing rack. This project is so easy and you really only need one tool. Assembling the copper pipes takes just a few minutes. I like this DIY copper clothing rack because it’s pretty enough to have it exposed in a room and could be used for a pop-up shop or coat rack. You can dissemble the DIY copper clothing rack when it is not in use and assemble in just a few minutes. All the details and instructions of the DIY copper clothing rack is listed below. Don’t forget to PIN this project! 🙂

DIY Copper Clothing Rack

Cost: $80

Time: about 30 minutes

Results: a furniture-like clothing rack

Supplies: All these supplies can be found at your local hardware store. This project is not the cheapest but cheaper than buying a copper clothing rack online or at a store. Also, if you have a copper pipe cutter than the total price will be less since I had to buy one.

2– 3/4″ x 10 feet copper pipe

1– 1/2″ x 10 feet copper pipe

6–3/4″x3/4″ 90 degree elbows

2–3/4″ copper Tee

4–3/4″x3/4″x1/2″ copper Tee

4–3/4″ end caps

copper pipe cutter

black sharpie

tape measure

E6000 glue (optional, but recommended)

nail polish remover (for cleaning the pipes)

Instructions: Don’t be intimidated to cut copper. It’s SO easy! I actually had my younger son help me out with this project. And he cut the copper! The first thing to do is clean you pipes. You probably have red ink markings on the sides. Take a rag and nail polish remover and just rub it off. Nail polish remover easily takes it off.

Now that you have clean copper pipes, take your 10 foot pipes and measure and mark what you will cut. Here is the breakdown:

Take 1 of the 3/4″ diameter copper pipe and measure and mark 5 feet so basically right in the middle of the pipe. Once it is cut you will get 2 x 5 feet 3/4″ diameter copper pipes. These will be for the sides of the clothing rack.
Next take the 1/2″ diameter 10 foot pipe. Measure and mark 41″ twice. You will need two 41″ 1/2 diameter pipes. These are the ones that run on the bottom of the clothing rack and will hold up your shoes. You will have extra 1/2″ diameter copper pipes left over. Save it for another project!
Then take your other 3/4″ diameter 10 foot copper pipe. First measure 41″ and mark. This will be the bar that goes on the top and holds the clothes. Then measure 8 x 3″ lengths and 4 x 2″ lengths.

Now it’s time to cut! It’s so easy. Take your copper pipe cutter and place over the pipe where the mark is. Tighten the cutter so it is secure. Then rotate the cutter around the pipe clockwise 3 times. Tighten cutter again. Rotates counter clockwise 3 times. Tighten the cutter again. Rotate clockwise 3 times. Tighten. Repeat until the pipe snaps. It’s that easy!

Once you are all done cutting your pipes, this is what you should have! Now you are ready to assemble.

To assemble your DIY copper clothing rack, I would start with the base. I would also take your e6000 and glue these pieces together for a more secure clothing rack. Don’t glue the top sides of the rack; that way you can dissemble the top and the sides for easy storage when it’s not in use.

Your 1/2″ diameter 41″ pipes are the two parts that run on the bottom of the rack where the shoes are placed. Take the copper Tee’s that are 3/4″ x 3/4″x 1/2″ to secure the cross bars. Take your 2″ 3/4 diameter pipes and place them on the one sides of the T. Then place the 3/4″ Tee for the other side and connect the two cross bar together with the secure of 3/4″ Tee. That Tee should be place up and will be where you will place you 5 foot copper pipes. But before you do that, take your 3″ copper pipes and place them on the other side of the Tees and connect your elbows and then finish off the feet with another set of 3″ copper pipes and then your end caps. Make sure all your pipes are secure and pushed in all the way. If you are gluing, let the glue set before you assemble the top.

I’m loving these kate spade fushcia pink heels and bow-tie heels. So fun and festive.

Once all the bottom is assembled of your DIY copper clothing rack, now take your long bar and assemble the sides and the top securing with your last two copper elbows. Grab a helper so the long pipes aren’t hitting you in the head! Add some rubber bottoms to your rack if you have hard wood floors so it doesn’t slide around or scratch the wood. Your copper clothing rack is now ready to be used!

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DIY Modern Blanket Ladder

DIY Modern Blanket Ladder

One of the ways to jump into the new year, is to tackle some DIY projects that have been lingering on that “do-be-completed” list. What better way to start off with the first DIY project of the year than with this DIY modern blanket ladder. With the cold weather and winter blankets out of the closet, this DIY modern blanket ladder is going to get quite a bit of use before the season ends. And it is a cute accent to my other home decor. This DIY modern blanket ladder project is so easy to complete. Once you get all the supplies, it really only takes about 30 minutes. And in 30 minutes, you’ll have a new furniture piece to add to your home for under $50.

First thing you want to do is head to Home Depot and pick up the following supplies. To save time, you could even saw the dowels down to size right at Home Depot before you check out.

5 wooden dowels (3/4″ x 48″)

8 Copper pressure tee (3/4″ for all openings)

tape measure

pencil

hand saw or circular saw

white spray paint

rubber circular pads

The modern blanket ladder is about 5 feet tall and 22″ across.

Step 1: Using your tape measure and pencil, cut with hand saw or circular saw the wooden dowels down to the following measurements:

4×20″, 2×18″, 6×12″ and 2×8″. You will have a few extra wooden pieces left over.

Step 2: Spray paint your dowels and let it dry completely. I choose white, but use whatever color you want. Or stain the dowels to get a weathered wood color. Or you can even just skip this step and keep it a natural color.

Step 3: Okay so the 20″ dowels are used for the steps of the ladder. The 18″ dowels are the bottom legs of the ladder. The 12″ dowels are used between each step. And the 8″ dowels are used at the top of the ladder.

Step 4: Take the copper pressure tees and then build your ladder, putting each dowel into each opening. Make sure you push to dowels down so they are secure.

Step: 5: Place your rubber pads on the bottom of the ladder. Then ENJOY!

Easiest DIY Modern blanket Ladder to make! Don’t you agree?

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DIY Fresh Magnolia Mixed Branch Wreath

DIY Fresh Magnolia Mixed Branch Wreath

Fresh Christmas wreaths are my favorite! I try to make two fresh ones every year. So last spring I had my landscaper plant two magnolia trees in my backyard since we live in the south. Every southern home should have their own magnolia tree, right? Our house definitely needed one. But really the main reasons why was so I can make magnolia wreaths and garland during Christmas. A mature magnolia tree is huge, so we ended up planting two miniature magnolia trees because we didn’t have the yard space. Since the miniatures don’t get as big, they also don’t have as large of leaves. Our magnolia trees are still babies, so I didn’t have enough leaves for full magnolia wreath. Instead, I decided to DIY fresh magnolia mixed branch wreath, using clippings from my Christmas tree and my front yard boxwoods. If you have evergreen plants in your yard, they do great with mixing in with a wreath. Also, get thrifty and use your Christmas tree clippings by making either a wreath, garland, swag or put some in a vase for a simple centerpiece.

DIY Fresh Magnolia Mixed Branch Wreath Supplies

Magnolia leaves

Fir or Cedar clippings

Boxwood or Eucalyptus clippings

floral shears

floral wire

wreath wire

There’s not a lot of supplies to make a magnolia mixed branch wreath. I reuse my wreath wire every year. Make sure you have a good pair of floral shears, so its easy to cut branches off the tree.

Magnolia leaves have such an elegant, classy appeal with their contrasting sides. It’s no wonder that store-bought magnolia wreaths are quite expensive. If you live in an area with magnolia trees, most floral nurseries have magnolia leaves in the bundles. As you can see one stem has quite a few leaves so you can really use one branch and then wire the bundle to the wreath.

Take about 3 to 4 branches of your Christmas tree clippings. Trim so they all the same height. Cut a long piece of wire and wrap tightly around the base of the clippings leaving about 2 inches of wire on both sides.
Place the tree branches on the cross wire of the wreath wire and then wrap the floral wire tightly around the thick cross wire. Secure.
Then take one magnolia branch and place a few boxwood stems behind it, then tightly wrap the base with floral wire leaving about 2 inches of wire on both sides. Place slightly offset of the tree branches then secure to the wreath with wire.
Repeat with the tree branches and then the magnolia and boxwood leaves, placing offset a few inches down the wreath.
Continue to make mixed branch sets and work around the wreath until it is completed, placing one set from the other. I worked the wreath counter-clockwise.
Once the wreath is completed, take floral wire and wire wrap all the branches together to the wreath about every 3 inches until you complete the circle. This will make the branches more secured and from flopping around.

Then enjoy your DIY fresh magnolia mixed branch wreath. Add a bow or long ribbon to the wreath to complete the look.

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Here’s are other DIY wreaths:

Mini Wreaths

Evergreen Wreath

Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project

Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project

Need some artwork to fill a wall in a room? And don’t want to pay a fortune for that artwork? Want instead an easy 5-minute watercolor paint project that is quick but makes a statement? That has been me this past week. My guest room has been majorly neglected, and now that I have family coming into town for the upcoming holiday. It’s encouraging me to address the issue. Since I’ve waited until the last minute, I don’t have much time to buy prints and artwork online. So, my next idea is to just DIY it. I’ve been so inspired by all the minimal artwork I see online and on Pinterest, like this Etsy shop was my inspiration and is so reasonably priced for real artwork. If you don’t want to DIY, just buy it! I had all the watercolor paint supplies on hand from this watercolor project and with my limited timeframe, I decided to make this easy 5-minute watercolor paint project.

Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project

Supplies:

Watercolor

Brush

Watercolor Paper

Water

Palette or Paper Plate

Instructions:

Make sure you use watercolor paper! Watercolor paper absorbs the color and moisture. Also, as your watercolor dries, the paper won’t warp if it’s watercolor paper.
Decide your paper size and whether you want the paper horizontal or portrait. Having a frame on hand, and a location of where you want to hang it already picked out helps make the process easier. I wanted to hang my artwork in my guest bedroom with the frames hanging portrait.
To keep it minimal, I stuck with black watercolor, but once I got the hang of it, I mixed in purple, pink and the blues in the black to create some really beautiful grayish tones. That is one of the great things about working with watercolor is how easy to mix colors. Having a palette is a necessary tool when working with watercolor. It makes it so you can easily mix your colors.
The more water you use to dilute your colors the lighter the watercolors will be. As you can see, I used a lot of water to make the black more of a gray tone and more faint.
It is the nature of watercolor paint to bleed if wet paint is applied too close to another color. This is a great opportunity to create beautiful visual effects.
Begin with simple shapes, swirls and loops. Overlap triangles with triangles. Square over squares. Hearts over hearts. Octagon over octagons. Sometimes simplicity makes a huge statement.
Let it dry and then frame!

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DIY Fabric Pumpkin

DIY Fabric Pumpkin with Real Stem

Eeekk! Pumpkin decor for Halloween is always a festive away to get into the spooky season. Pumpkins are also an easy way to then transition right into Thanksgiving. I keep my pumpkins up all throughout October and November. So, it’s nice to have pumpkin decor that will last, well, forever! And fabric can easily do that trick! This DIY fabric pumpkin tutorial is so, so easy! If you don’t know how to sew, there is no excuse because this is a great beginner project! Also, if you have children who want to learn how to sew, this is also a great project for them to take on. Easy like learning how to tie a shoe. This DIY fabric pumpkins are also so cute! You can really get creative on the fabric choices. I had the black and white fabric laying around so I decided to stick with those fabrics and go with a more modern approach to making the pumpkins. The pumpkins are then finished off with a real pumpkin stems so it gives it a cute creative twist and brings them more to life.

DIY Fabric Pumpkin How To

Supplies for DIY Fabric Pumpkin

fabric–cotton, velvet works great too. Not too heavy of fabric

pumpkin stems

rice or beans

fiber filler

scissors

needles

thread

hot glue

Instructions for DIY Fabric Pumpkin

Cut a 9″ or greater circle out of your choice of fabric. I used a plate for my guide. Use anything circular to trace, but I suggest not to go smaller than 9″ (unless you want a really small pumpkin). The smaller pumpkins pictured are made from a 9″ circle. The larger ones are made from a 12″ circle.
Cut a long piece of thread, then thread your needle bringing the ends together. Double knot the two ends together. This will make the stitching a stronger hold.

3. Taking your circle fabric, you will baste stitch all around the edge of the circle, making long stitches. To baste stitch, you pull the needle and thread through the fabric, so there is a knot on one side and all the thread is on the opposite side of the fabric. Then insert your needle in the fabric to the underside and then bring the needle back up to the front side, like pictured. Then pull and the thread will follow through the stitch. Repeat until you have baste stitch all around the edge of the circle.

4. Now you may see that the stitch is trying to pull. Cinch the fabric together so you get a good gathering of fabric. Keep the thread and needle attached!

5. Leave the end open and fill about 2/3 with rice or beans. With the rest of the space, fill with fiberfill until you get a good plump pumpkin.

6. Once filled, pull the thread and needle tightly together, closing up the end. Stitch the edges together, stitching back and forth until the end is tightly close. Then tight a knot in the thread, but don’t cut the thread and needle off quite yet. If you want a round, plumper pumpkin, you are pretty much done and could cut the thread and needle off. But if you want more of an oval shaped pumpkin, follow the next two steps.

7. Take the remaining attached thread and needle and push the needle from the top of the pumpkin and thread to the bottom of the center part pumpkin. Pull through tightly so there is a depression in the center.

8. Go up and down a few times until you get the desired results. Then knot the thread and cut off the last of the thread and needle.

9. Then take your hot glue and glue on the pumpkin stem in the middle, holding in place until it sticks.

You are done! See how simple and easy that is creating these cute DIY fabric pumpkin? You can make a whole little pumpkin family in just a few minutes.

Here are some other fabric and velvet pumpkins:

5 Minute DIY Flower Arrangement

5 Minute DIY Flower Arrangements

Hello Fall! Hello fall flowers too–sunflowers, daisies and mums, to name a few. With the arrival of fall and the coming cooler months, this means holiday parties and inside dinner gatherings. Decorations of all kind cover the inside and outside of the house. And with any party, tables need to be set and decorated. You can never go wrong with a pretty flower arrangement to flock a table or liven up a coffee table. Putting together an arrangement is actually really easy and fun! In the long run, it will save you money too. Preparation is the main key to a full textured flower arrangements. I am going to share a quick 5 minute DIY flower arrangement tutorial that has been a guideline for me when I put an arrangement together.

When you are at the flower market…

Know your color palette. It’s best to know what colors you want in your arrangement. What I like to do is find the main color in my large bloom and then use complementing colors in the smaller blooms.
Buy in variety of size and texture. If you are doing a simple vase, pick one large bloom as the main focal point. Whether it be roses, hydrangeas or sunflowers in my case, there are so many beautiful large blooms. If you want something more grand, then jump to three different blooms. But for a simple vase, go with one. Then buy three different smaller bud flowers that complement the main flower. I like to work in groups of odds–3’s, 5’s, etc. So then look for fillers also in groups of 3’s. In my arrangement, I used rosemary and dusty miller and blue thistle.

Once you get home…

Put your flowers in water. Don’t let them sit on your counter. Put them in warm water with flower preservative. Warm water helps blooms to open up like roses. You should also cut about an inch off of the stem. When flowers are pulled out of water, the stems close up on the bottom. You have to cut about an inch off at an angle of the stem to reopen and to allow the flower to drink water. If you don’t cut off the stem, the flower won’t last as long because its not absorbing enough water.
Prepare your vase. Make sure it is clean and filled with flower water. Get creative with your containers. Use a bowl and tape off the sections to have a shorter arrangement. Mason jars, tea cups…there are so many options.

5 minute DIY flower arrangement…

Start with the large bloom. I always start with the large bloom for best placement. Make sure to cut down the stem at an angle. Cut the stem leaving about 3-4″ from the vase rim to the bloom. Remove any leaves, greenery or stems that fall below the water line in the vase.
Small bud flower next. The small bud are really important because they fill up the empty space and provide color and variety. Small bud flowers are used as an accent with other primary flowers. They aren’t the main focal point but definitely get their sure of attention. Make sure to place the small bud flowers in between the large bloom. Cut some of the flowers longer than the large bloom and some shorter than the large bloom
Next come fillers and greenery. The fillers and greenery add texture and makes the arrangement interesting to look at. Add many of these fillers below the large bloom for full coverage. Tall stems add variety. Don’t be afraid to use herbs in your garden like rosemary or basil.

Your 5 minute DIY flower arrangement is done! Take a quick minute to examine it. Many any adjustments if needed. Place your flower arrangement away from sunlight or heating vents. Recut and add water often to help it last longer.

A New England Christmas

Outdoor Winter Birch Planters

Holiday Gift Guide For Teen Girls

Holiday Gift Guide for Teen Boys

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