DIY : PHOTO MAGNETS FOR YOUR FRIDGE

If you are into this DIY home decor frenzy as I am in, you will surely love this edition. They are photo magnets for Fridge or even a bulletin board. They are magnets with pictures of your family and friends, greeting you every morning. Cool right!

Here is how I made them.

Supplies:

-Cork Tiles
-Magnets
-E6000 Glue/ Hot Glue
-Printed Photos
-Mod Podge
-Craft Paint

The first task is to print out the photos that you want to use. I used iPiccy.com which is a free website to edit pictures, to create a 4 * 4 photo collage with photos I wanted and printed them out in our HP printer ( basic one) . Then I cut them to size of the cork tiles.

I have had these cork tiles for a while from Michaels. They are available in most craft shops and even amazon. I painted the edges to prep them with craft paint and then glued the photos with Mod Podge. Then I gave another thin coating to further seal it and to get a slight sheen.

Now you are ready to glue on the magnets to the back of the tiles. Once dry they are ready and set to shine.

Simple right! Our little one makes fun shapes and clips her art works with her most favorite ones and recollects when they were taken. Definitely a win in every which way.

Did you like this? Do you have interesting ways to display your favorite memories too? Share with us.

DIY : POTS READY FOR PATIO

Is your patio/balcony/veranda whatever that you have ready for spring and summer? We have a small backyard that is just sufficient for our small family. I have one side dedicated for a vegetable garden with a raised bed. Then we have just enough space for small gatherings and sandbox playing. Though small, I love it still flourishing with colors. We dont have much space left for lots of flowering plants so I bring the color with painted pots and containers.

That is what today's DIY is about. I have once showed you my spray painted cans and pots. This time I decided to go with some stenciling which I have never done before this. So here we go.

Supplies :

1. The plain pots from Walmart.

2. Self Adhesive stencils. ( Mine is from Michaels, Martha Stewart Brand)

3. Craft Paint

4. Paint Brush

How- To :

This is fairly simple. The stencils came with adhesive backing that can be re-used. It stays on well. Just stick the patterns as you want and paint on. Remove the stickers once the paint is dry to touch. The instructions to do it right was on the package. Now you are done. Enjoy your pots.

Here is them in all their glory. I did these pots last summer, yes you heard me. Last summer, in august 2014. They have survived seasons even though I used craft paint with no sealer. Makes me believe in more and more craft paint projects - sure to appear in this space soon.

Here are the pots in our small patio shelf. I hope you have a great time painting and prepping your garden and outdoors. Here is to a memorable summer.

Have a great time and tell me all about your summer projects. Have you taken out your paint cans and spray paint kits out yet?

DIY : Paint Splattered Candle Holders

Candles and candle holders are inevitable part of life. Really? No, not really. But they definitely are good to bring an elegant ambiance to calm and collected evenings and dinner tables. You dont believe me, try lighting a candle by your table while reading or a set of candles together next time you have a family dinner, the mood, the charm is unbelievable. I am not saying this just because the craft for the day is candle holders. I truly enjoy candle lit evenings.

Anyways, this particular DIY craft we are talking about is simple and calls for only readily available supplies. Besides, it is a fun thing to do with kids, that is if you are ready for a bit of mess when they are involved. 

So here we go,

Supplies:

How-To:

This is an age old technique of creating paint splatters on any surface. I remember doing this from my childhood, my mother showing this to me. It was unbelievably exciting the first time and even now. First gather your supplies - I have used craft paint so that when I am tired of the color, I can just wash off and do a different one.

The next step is to smear the tooth brush with the paint. You have to be careful not to get excess paint on the brush which will result in drips. Only a thin layer of paint on the brush and remember to stop and wipe the brush often to avoid drips.

That's it. You have your paint splattered Candle Holder.

Here, I will leave you with a pretty picture .

Do try it this weekend and let me know your thoughts. Have you got some painting techniques that excites you? Do share so we can try too.

Anima

A Coffee Table & the Simplest of Ikea Hacks

We had a coffee table, And it was (it is still with me, just not a coffee table anymore) a great table, solid wood, rounded corners, perfect for our little girl who used to be a toddler when we got it. Only thing it lacked was any considerable storage. That combined with the beating it took from the hands of our then toddler is the only reason we had to get a new one.

I searched a lot for a perfect one, considered DIYing a simple one - but it is complicated and slightly outside my DIY skill to have one with a good amount of storage. I have collaborated the options I considered in case you are in the market too. If you want to find the details of these choices, please visit my Pinterest Board here.

Anyways, the budget, the circumstances - we chose the Ikea one. One thing that drew me to it was that it came with a clear glass top. That means easy clean up and awesome opportunity to display some snaps, Akshara's art works etc. That was the idea I used to convince Girish

This table is great as such. There is really no need to tweak this for normal people. But since I fall into the "No rest until Tweaking this" category, I gave it a small twist. It also helps the room to lighten up with all the brown pieces going on there with the sofa, TV console and the corner shelf are all brown. The room couldn't take any more brown surface.

So in comes a gift wrap I have been hoarding from HomeGoods for a while now. It has a textured surface and is much thicker than regular gift wrap. The bark like print looks organic natural to me and it matches the rest of the table so very well. Thus did this tweak come into being.

Supplies :

• Glass Topped Table
• Gift Wrap
• Scissors
• Double sided Tape

How- To:

It is fairly simple. You find a really awesome gift wrap, contact paper or any paper and cut it to size of the table top and replace the glass top. Tadaa, you have the simplest of the Ikea Hack you ever saw.

Here she/he is in all the glory.

While I love all the pretty styled coffee table I cannot afford it because of my little girl. Our living room is the only gathering place in our house so the table sees a lot of use in terms of reading, writing, games, study, crafts - anything and everything. This table is helpful to tuck away what ever we have on it underneath to clear it. The deep pockets can hold a lot of stuff including our remote  knick knacks & books to Akshara's craft caddy. It is a winner and it is here to stay for a long while.

That concludes this long "short story" of our coffee table. What do you think? Did you hack any of your furniture purchases?

If you like what you see, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest . Sharing is caring Right!

Anima

Quick Fix Art : Fabric & Frame

Before I say anything else, here is a pre-fix : Original art is always the best and invaluable. It has thoughts, sweat and love of a creative heart. So if you have means and provisions always opt for an original.

That said, original art is also expensive. Well hard-work doesn't come cheap, right! Since I am not exponentially creative as far as drawing and painting goes, fueled by my lack of any real budget I go for quick fixes. Because life without any form of art is meaningless.

So here is an easy example of how I make do with what I have in hand. The fabric is what I got from Ikea ages ago - it was in their as-is section and it is only so much as a yard. I got it anyway thinking I will use it as photo backdrop or something. But what actually happened was it stayed in a basket with many such stuff. But it came handy now, so no one loses here.

So here we go,

Supplies :

My frame used to be a well loved one, it had my husband's favorite car pictures as seen here. But the glass broke while handling recently and in our culture the broken glass pieces inside home is a taboo. So I just moved the pics and tucked them away and used the frame for this project.

The steps are fairly simple. You would need to cut down the fabric slightly larger than the frame and staple the fabric to the frame stretching as tightly as possible. The regular stapler wouldn't work, so use an upholstery stapler. The sides are straight forward. It is slightly tricky to get the corners right. You would need to carefully fold the corner as in gift wrapping. That's it.

Your colorful artwork is ready to hang.

I have hung them above TV where we used to have our car pictures. It might not be permanent since it is so easy to switch when I find a prettier more colorful fabric. But cool for a quick fix right!

Do you make quick fix art works too? What are your easy way-out art fixes?




Have a great week ahead,
Anima

Some Things, Some Thoughts

Hey All,
How was your week? Ours went smoothly with the school re-opened. There was park, parties, pizzas, shopping and crafty evenings to keep us busy and happy.

And I finished reading Remodelista  a third time. It is a book on home design with mostly neutral and monochromatic spread. Written by Julie Carlson, they have one of the most successful home design websites around - Remodelista.com . Although I prefer color happy, vibrant interiors and this one boasts of neutrals I liked the book because of some ingenious solutions for most common issues in home design . Check it out if you have a chance.

And here are a few links I loved from past week for you to devour.

Courtesy : Design Sponge 

This  home tour is seriously "wow". The colors, the character and vintage everything, I am in love.

Do you have an old candle votive laying around? May be you can up-cycle it this way.

Do you have dried flowers and branches in your yard? You can try this on them. Totally free and elegant.

I told you about my clay obsession the other day. This Incense holder is next on my list.

I don't have a bench (can an old coffee table be considered? ) or place for it right now. But if I did have the space, this is probably what I would have done.

Now here is a recipe I am trying next. I am not a "cook" as such. So these trials are pretty big deal for me.

Courtesy : Pazham Pappadam Payasam

So Happy Weekend. Enjoy.
Anima