diy Archives - Darling Darleen | A Lifestyle Design Blog

Planting Bulbs Indoor Containers

Force Bulbs Indoors in time for Holiday Flowers

Planting bulbs in indoor containers is an easy way to decorate for fall with organic natural textures but also can be enjoy through the holiday months ahead. Forcing bulbs in containers is easy and a beautiful natural centerpiece for a dining room table or end table or entry way table. Add texture with replanting orchids. || Darling Darleen #darlingdarleen

I’m in the Fall mood and have been decorating the house with cozy autumn touches. Instead of decorating the whole house with pumpkins and orange and brown, I’m going more a organic route with textures of wood, dried stems and natural materials. Usually during the holidays I like to decorate with paper whites, but I’ve never forced them inside because I usually don’t start them far in advance to do so. The bulbs need about 3-5 weeks to bloom after planting them indoors. Planting bulbs in indoor containers for holiday flowers should begin in early fall. The best bulbs to plant for the holidays are paper whites and amaryllis because they do not need to be chilled, whereas your spring bulbs need a chill period of about 3 months. Once paper whites and amaryllis are planted, they are easy growers and add so many beauty to a room, especially when the short, cold days come along. If you’d like to see how I’ve decorated my house last year, I posted all about updating my living space for fall.

Supplies for Planting Bulbs Indoor Containers

Bulbs

Soil/Dirt

glass container (wide opening)

moss

river rocks

sticks (optional–use for paper whites and if your container is low)

Paper whites and amaryllis are available at more local florist and cost about $1-$2 a bulb. Some things to keep in mind when planting the bulbs. Make sure to plant them roots down, stem up. You can plant them in soil, surrounded by rocks and moss to keep the moisture in. The bulbs stay above ground, except the roots. Make sure to keep the bulbs dry to prevent rotting and don’t put water over the bulbs, only on the roots. You can plant them in watertight containers with their roots in the water and their bodies above. Plant bulbs close tougher but with enough space between. And remember to always keep the the tips of the bulbs uncovered.

Fill your glass container with a little bit of soil them add moss and rocks to the perimeter so you can mostly see the moss through the glass container.
Before you place the bulbs on top of the soil, pour a cup of water on the soil so it is moist, but not oversaturated.
Next place the bulbs roots down, stems up. Keep them snug in the container but also a little separated between moss
If your container is low, place sticks between the bulbs so as the paper whites grows the stems will have a place to lean up against to prevent it falling over. I added moss to my sticks (found in my backyard) with spray adhesive!

For added texture, replant grocery-store orchids in fun containers and add moss and rocks.

Planting bulbs in indoor containers will be enjoyed through all the holiday months ahead!

Valentine Gift Box Ideas

Put together these items to make a Galentine Gift box for your best girlfriends for Valentine’s Day

Everyone loves fun, unexpected gifts and surprises, especially when it comes to close friends. Valentine’s Day is the perfect way to show love to your besties! This Valentine Gift box idea is such a fun one because it is inexpensive and filled with random, but fun and silly knick knacks. Of course you need to throw in gorgeous cut flowers and cinnamon candy and even chocolates. But the rest of the items that I like to fill the Valentine gift box idea are items that I usually find in the under five section of Target or the travel-size beauty section.

The Valentine Gift box idea will sure bring a smile on anyone’s face. You can tailor the gift box to guy or a child depending on what you fill it with. But I like to make sure there is always something sweet to eat, something fun to read, flowers, beauty or hygiene and then the rest random knick knacks. I try and keep the Valentine gift box idea under $20, but of course price is up to you. But keep it within a box size is what is the most important and makes it fun to throw together.

Everything I put in this Valentine Gift Box came from Target. The crate box is from Michaels. I always like to put a paper shred filler in the box. The box all together is about $25.

I love filling Valentine gift box ideas with fun silly items. They always put a smile on the face! Here are some fun random Valentine items to throw in your next Valentine gift box.

Valentine’s Honeycomb Pop-Up Cards

Valentine’s Honeycomb Pop-Up Cards

There was this little grocery store near my house growing up that sold the cutest pop-up Victorian Valentine cards. They were so beautiful and intricate, and they had the honeycomb pom pom somewhere in the design. A small memory, but a happy lasting one. These Valentine’s printable honeycomb pop-up cards may not be as intricate and completely 3-D, but they have a happy pop that will bring a smile to a friend or classmate. I teamed up again with my girl Melissa, who is amazing at graphic design, and we came up with this cute design. Remember last year’s Valentine’s cards? One of my favorites, so we really had to up it this year with another fun concept. These Valentine’s Honeycomb Pop-up cards are so easy to put together and perfect for your child to hand out at school or to give to a friend. The designs are fun even for older children. My teenage daughter is excited to give them to her friends. Using honeycomb balls to achieve the effect is so easy and time effective that you won’t have to spend a lot of time making these striking Valentines. In fact, I’m sure your child would want to get involved too.

Get the instructions and FREE printable after the jump.

Instructions for Valentine’s Honeycomb Pop-Up Cards:

Valentine’s Printable DOWNLOAD PDF

2″ Honeycomb Balls

Glue or adhesive dots (I prefer the dots)

Download the Valentine Honeycomb Pop-Up card printable (link above). Print on heavy cardstock paper. I printed mine at my local print shop so the color was bright. Cut down and then fold over with the words on the outside. The honeycomb balls will arrive flat. Unfold the ball and secure the honeycomb balls with glue or adhesive dots on the circle graphic on the printable. When delivering your card, use washi tape to secure the card to stay down and attach a fun lollipop or toy to it.

Stay tune for next week! I’ll be posting another similar Valentine’s for boys! Also head to the sidebar to see other FREE Valentine’s Printables.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Shop these other Valentine cards:

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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!

SHOP the Easy 5-minute Watercolor Paint Project:

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:

DIY Word Script Beach Hat

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DIY Word Script Beach Hat

Summer is coming to an end, but before it does I wanted to squeeze in this last summer craft project: DIY word script beach hat. I love the look of these word script beach hats, so I thought why not make a simple version of it. There are definitely more beach days in the near future for me so the phrase is perfect. Also, we live close to some of the best beaches…but still so far away so I am always yearning for the beach. This craft would be perfect to make for a girls weekend (similar beach hats for all your girlfriends) or a honeymoon (mr. and mrs. or the new last name for the bride) or a party favor for a bridal shower. I painted the words, but if you are good on the sewing machine or know how to embroidery, this would be a simple stitch project! I have a lot of old straw beach hats, so I just used an old one but I linked one below to craft it up. Also for more detail glue on a black ribbon around the hat base.

DIY Word Script Beach Hat

Plain Straw beach hat

fabric paint

pencil

paper

thin tip paintbrush

Instructions: Cover your work space. I used kraft paper for protection, which was great because I also used it to practice my font script. Figure out what phrase you want to say. I would suggest to keep it to four words or less. Practice your writing style on paper with a pencil. Think about spacing and height of the letters to the rim of the hat. Paint the letters so you can also get an idea of composition. Remember that paint will look a little more organic and raw when painted on a rough surface. I actually like that look but if you want something more even and smooth, then I would suggest using a paint pen or a thick sharpie marker (oil based). Once you are satisfied with your practice writing, then using a pencil write your phrase on the rim of the hat. As far as spacing, I used an imaginary line as the half way point to begin writing my phrase. I also used the hat stitches as my guide rule for the height of my letters. Then I painted the hat. Let it dry for 24 hours. And then enjoy! It was a quick project and I’m excited to wear it at the beach. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy it when hanging out in my backyard.

Here are some other hat options:

DIY Metal Bench Ikea Hack

DIY Metal Bench IKEA Hack

This IKEA hack is one of my favorites. I’ve been wanting a contemporary modern metal bench to go in a corner of our foyer, and haven’t been able to find one that is the right size and the right price. When friends come over usually that corner is where kids throw their shoes and bags and coats. This metal bench IKEA hack is the best because it serves as a modern storage unit and a comfortable seat. The whole piece cost me about $70, but I had fabric on hand and most supplies. But even if you had to buy a yard of fabric, you can complete this DIY metal bench IKEA hack for under $100. You might remember this DIY marble gold coffee table IKEA hack, which is very similar to this DIY hack except you add a cushion and fabric. This is really easy and you can complete this project in about 30 minutes. Of course, if you’re more handy than I am with metalwork, you might even want to buy some metal of your own from somewhere like aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk to make a bench frame that is totally unique!

DIY Metal Bench IKEA HACK

Supplies

VittsJO Nesting Tables

gold metallic spray paint

Foam Cushion–3″ you might be able to get it cheaper at a local fabric store

tacky glue spray

scissors

staple gun

1 yard of fabric. I bought my fabric here and it was leftover fabric from a previous project

Directions:

Follow the directions for putting together the Vittsjo coffee table. Once you have the coffee table frame together, spray paint it gold making sure to completely cover all leg posts. While it is drying, take the wooden rectangle board and place on top of the foam to measure. Cut the foam to the size of the wooden board. Then take the adhesive spray glue and spray one side of the board and gentle place the foam down on the board, firmly securing with the glue. This will help keep the foam from shifting on the board.

Then place the foam-side of the board on top of the wrong-side of the fabric. Cut down the fabric, leaving enough fabric to cover the sides of the board and foam and about 1 inch of the bottom board. I also folded the edges of the fabric to prevent fraying.

Take your staple gun and secure the fabric by stapling it around the board. Follow this technique to staple the corners of the board.

After completely covering the wooden board, you can gently place it on the gold bench frame. You could use the metal tabs from the frame to drill the cushion part to the frame. But I just placed mine on the frame and haven’t had any problems with it moving. Then take the glass part and place it on the bottom. It gives it a clean contemporary look, and is great to place a basket on it for storage.

Easy right?! I am so in love. What to do with the other nesting table?? Simple. Spray paint it gold too and use it as a side table. Here are some other fun DIY IKEA hacks:

10 Minute Fur Stool

Gold Marble Coffee Table

Tassel Curtains

Here are some other modern gold metal benches

Before + After: Lacquer Mid-Century Modern Credenza Makeover

Before + After: Lacquer Mid-Century Modern Credenza Makeover

I came across this mid-century modern credenza at an estate sale. It was the last day of the sale, so I bargained and paid less than $30. What really caught my attention was the brass modern round, tapered legs. The wood grain was in pretty good condition, but I knew I wanted to lacquer the outside of the frame and add brass handles to freshen it up. I have used Amy Howard at Home Lacquer spray paint before on a lamp and really liked the results, so I thought it would work perfect for this project. The piece was in overall good condition– just had some minor scratches, dried paper stuck to it and a lot of dust. Estate sales are a great place to find mid-century modern furniture pieces. I’m slightly obsessed with Worlds Away furniture and they do a lot of two-tone credenza pieces, so I knew this mid-century modern credenza makeover was a perfect project to tackle and create a copycat look.

Before picture of the mid-century credenza at the estate sale. Isn’t my baby cute in her mismatch princess shoes?!

Once I got the piece home, I pulled the sliding doors off and took the shelves out. I wanted to do a two-tone, mid-century look with a white perimeter but keep the wood-grain sliding doors the same wood stain. So I really didn’t want to take the chance of getting paint on the doors.

Using a de-greaser, like Simple Green, I cleaned the inside and outside of the furniture piece removing any dust, particles and grime.
Then I taped off the sections that I didn’t want any paint to get on.
The top was laminate, so I ripped that off and then used wood putty to fill any holes. Then sanded so the wood putty was flat. I probably didn’t have to do this since I was just spray painting the top, but I thought I would get a better result. In the end, it was a step I could of skipped and would of saved a lot of time. Make sure to remove ALL dust before going to the next step.
After, I spray painted the piece with two coats of a white furniture primer. You must prime the piece with a white primer to get the best results.

The lacquer products you will need are Amy Howard at Home White Perfection and Bright Idea lacquer spray paint. I used about two cans of the White Perfection and one of the Bright Idea. Amy’s high performance furniture lacquer is my favorite and is actual lacquer that creates a thick, rich, high-gloss finish on a piece of furniture.

5. Take the White Perfection lacquer spray paint and using horizontal swiping motions at an 8-10” distance, spray in short spurts at a time overlapping each stroke. Don’t linger too long or spray too closely. This could create drips! I spray painted back and forth, back and forth to create an even finish.

6. After it dries, lightly sand (with 400 grit sandpaper) any puddles or uneven lacquer areas on the piece. Wipe well with a tack cloth to remove any dust.

7. Apply a second coat of white perfection lacquer spray paint. Let it dry about 30 minutes. Then sand again.

8. Repeat until you get the desire finish. Once you get the desired look, you don’t have to sand. It took me about three coats of lacquer until I was satisfied.

9. To finish the project, apply Amy Howard at Home Bright Idea Clear Lacquer Spray Paint. This will give it an added protection to the lacquer and a high-gloss finish. Before I applied two coats of the Bright Idea clear spray paint, I made sure the piece was completely dried. Using the same horizontal motion, completely cover the piece of furniture. If you get any puddles, no worries! Just sand down with 400-grit paper after it dries and in between coats.

10. Before you enjoy your furniture piece or move it, make sure to let it cure about 3 days for added protection!

While the piece was curing, I cleaned the brass legs with Brasso. The brass was pretty dull and this gave it a nice polish. Then I used Goof Off pro-strength to remove any marks on the wood grain of the sliding doors. You have to be careful because this stuff is strong and will strip stain if you rub too hard. Then I went over the piece with a wood stain marker to cover any scratches.

I switched out the little finger pulls on the sliding doors with these brass hardware pulls from House of Antique Hardware , which are great for sliding cabinet doors. My only complaint about them is we had to drill a hole in the doors to make the hardware flush to the sliding doors, since the rear of the hardware is not flat but has a circular bulge for the finger pull.

I would say this mid-century modern credenza makeover was a success, and I am excited to use it and show it off! I love the Amy Howard at Home lacquer paints. They really can drastically change a piece, and give it a high-gloss finish.

LAMP | RUG | BASKET | PRINT (similar) | BOOKS

This post was sponsored by Amy Howard at Home; however the opinions are all mine.

Want to see more Amy Howard at Home projects?

Want to get the look without doing the work?

DIY Painted Ceramics

DIY Painted Ceramics

One of the DIYs I did on my Easter table was DIY painted ceramics. I painted a couple platters for my table, and the idea came after I picked up the watercolor serving bowls from Home Goods. I thought to myself how easy it would be to actually make cake platters to match. Even with just a simple brushed painted color. Using glass paints would do the trick on a white platter or cake plate. I ended up painting simple lines or a gingham style on the platters, and I think they came out quite cute. Of course these are just for decorative purposes, since they haven’t been put in a kiln! Not the every day. But it is really quite simple. You do cook the paint on the platter to create a permanent bond, but it’s in the oven.

To see the complete instructional breakdown of painting ceramics, check it out on the DIY watercolor trays tutorial . Here are the visual breakdown on the DIY painted ceramics tutorial. It’s a fun idea to use for holidays, birthdays or color-themed parties. Purchase dollar while plates and platters to keep the cost down.

Also, make sure to wait 30 minutes between paints when overlapping paint colors to avoid smearing wet paints. And washi tape works great to create straight line!

See this these platters being used on my spring Easter table!

DIY How to Make Flower Crown — One Size Fits All

DIY How to Make Flower Crown : One Size Fits ALL

Flower crowns remind me of Easter. As a child I remember my mom making flower crowns for my younger sister and I to wear with our new Easter dresses to church on Easter Sunday. I have a sweet, tender picture of my sister and I in our flower crowns and white tulle dresses with our Daddy. I remember that day like yesterday! And I so wish I still had that tulle dress for my daughters to wear. Well, the last few weeks I’ve been surrounding myself with flowers, doing different arrangements and floral projects. My house has been quite colorful! I love waking up to a table full of fresh flowers. Since Easter is right around the corner and I had all these flowers on hand, a DIY flower crown tutorial was definitely on the blogging list to be posted. This DIY flower crown is a one size fits all crown using ribbon. Or you can wear it as a headband instead of a crown. Either way, it’s easy and really cute.

Supplies for DIY How to Make Flower Crown

an assortment of flowers — I used roses, anemone and ranunculus (about 5 stems per crown).

Floral wire

thin leather cord or hemp rope

wire cutters

flat nose pliers

ribbon

rosemary or eucalyptus leaves or any other kind of leaf branch

Instructions

Take your leather rope and measure it around your head. Mark with your finger and cut the rope to size.

2. Pick out the flowers you plan to use. As you can see, I pulled flowers from an arrangement so I can get the most use out of the flowers. This is a fun idea if you have extra flowers to spare in an arrangement. You’ll be cutting down the stem.

3. Starting in the middle, take your floral wire and wrap your leafy branches to the leather rope, twisting the wire around and secure to the rope. I used rosemary because I have a huge rosemary bush in my yard. And rosemary smells so good. Once you wrap the leaves all the way to one side, make a loop with the rope and secure with the floral wire. Repeat to the other side.

4. You really can’t mess up where you place your flowers on the crown. I started in the middle because I used a large rose, but if you have smaller flowers I would start at the end.

5. Take one long floral wire and poke the end of the wire into the center base of the flower. Before securing the flower to the crown, make sure the flower stem is hidden in between the leaves. Twist the floral wire to the rope. Use the flat-nose pliers to bend the wire ends down to prevent the wires from poking out. Instead of cutting the wire, repeat with other flower.

6. Tie your ribbon to the rope loops.

Your flower crown is now ready to be worn! You can wear it as a crown, headband or let your daughter wear it. The ribbon helps to adjust the crown’s size.

There really is no wrong way to make a flower crown, so you can definitely play around with the placement of flowers and the leaves to create different looks. I like the ribbon and how it adds another element to the crown.

Don’t have time to make a flower crown? Here are some other options:

Want to see more flower DIYs?

Spring Blossoms

Floral Terrariums

Flowers Arrangements that last Forever

Halloween Makeup Ideas

Pumpkin Patch with Older Kids

DIY Basket Light Pendant

Home Trends Woven + Cane

Birthday Beach Dinner