MAKE IT/ YARN WRAPPED LAMP SHADE

lighting fixtures really make a room come together but they can also be quite expensive. we wanted to create something unique and special for our office space without breaking the bank. this modified lamp shade diy is quick and easy and requires just a few inexpensive supplies. it’s a total win, win. we saw this one and figured we would try to DIY it!

supplies:

• large lamp shade, we used this one
• oversized yarn in two colors
• tacky glue
• foam brush (not pictured)

start by measuring the circumference of the bottom of your lamp shade with yarn, add a few extra inches and fold that amount over itself to double the thickness. using the contrasting colored yarn tie a knot at the end. pull out the yarn about an inch and tie another loop, continue this until you have a long enough piece to wrap around the bottom of the shade.

using the tacky glue adhere the two tone portion of your yarn to the bottom of the lampshade. the nice thing about tacky glue is that it doesn’t dry too quickly so you have time to get the yarn perfectly in place. after your first layer dries you can use a foam brush to apply wider areas of glue and simply continue to wrap the yarn around the shade.

continue until you have made your way to the top of your shade and add a little extra dab of glue to the end for good measure and to keep the tail end of the yarn from fraying.

we added an optional macrame element to the exposed portion of the lamp chord. for directions on how to wrap something with a macrame knot see our COOLer cooler video here.

project by: natalie for designlovefest
photos by: ivan solis

WOODEN BEAD GARLAND DIY

after that floral tree you might have thought we were done with our holiday decor for the year but surprise! we have one last diy to share with you, a wooden bead garland.

we searched high and low for the most beautiful unfinished wood beads and found the perfect ones here. in addition to the beads all you will need is yarn or cotton cord, a yarn needle and a pair of scissors.

the beading is relatively simple. start by stringing a long strand of beads that stretches the length of the area you are intending to decorate. when you get to the end take your needle and insert it through the bead second to the last, by doing so you will reverse the direction you are working in and create a finished end.

to create the loops continue running the yarn back through the beads you’ve strung up in a line and every so often add a stretch of new beads and then return to your original strand. the swag is created when for example you skip 6 beads on the original strand but add 10 beads to the new strand and reconnect back at the 6th bead.

we found it was helpful to plan out our pattern ahead of time and layout the beads before stringing to get an idea of how many we would need to use for each swag. it’s also fun to play around with the proportions, since the beads are so large it’s fast to string up a few to get an idea of the shape and size any certain number or shapes of beads might create. we tried a few different designs before deciding which one we wanted to commit to.

since the holes in the wooden beads are so large you can create multiple swags if you wish to create increasingly more elaborate designs.

it’s quick and easy but really makes a statement. it’s also the perfect holiday decor for those of us who might not have the space for a tree (or just didn’t manage to get one in time.) and the best part is you can leave this holiday decor up and enjoy it well into the new year.

we hope this holiday brings you lots of happiness and cheer, quality time with family and friends and a little free time to get to a few diy projects you’ve been meaning to try. please tag and share with us what you make, we love when you share your creations.

project by: natalie for designlovefest
photos by: ivan solis

DIY FLORAL TREE

this tree came from my desire to flower bomb AGAIN (remember this?!) natalie and i went through a bunch of different flower options and decided our favorite look was to wrap the flowers twirling up the tree. and while it would be amazing to have these as real flowers, then it would only last a day or two! so we decided on a wide variety of silk flowers (we got ours here) to get more bang for our buck and make it last all the way till christmas.

to make the tree, cut the stems down to about 2 or 3 inches so that the flowers can just stick right in the tree. on some of the larger flowers we wrapped them with wire so make sure they stayed secure. but it worked just great to stick them in the tree.

start with the larger flowers to determine the placement of your design and then fill in with the smaller flowers. this will help a lot! also, if you have kids or pets, you may want to wire the flowers that are in arms (or paws) length down at the bottom.

we stuck to a wide range of textures, color tones and shapes to make the tree very dynamic and have a lot of depth. i would say choose 3 or 4 colors for your color story, much more than that and the tree will start to look too busy. we set the tree up in joanie’s apartment and it looked just perfect with her neutral decor!

also, a little tip. silk flowers can be pretty pricey (luckily you can reuse them!) but to cut down on costs you don’t have to wrap the flowers all the way around the tree if it’s in the corner like this! the design gives the illusion of that, and that’s the most important. we spent about $300 on flowers and then we are going to reuse them as a permanent installation in our office during the year. you could go as lush or as sparse as you’s like though. save them in a box and decorate your tree with a different floral design next christmas!

and here’s a little note from joanie…

“we have a constant flux of guests coming over to our apartment this holiday season, so it’s nice to have some treats on hand to serve. our current rotation is Irish coffee and peanut butter kiss cookies. i wish i could say i used some famous family recipe but i didn’t. i used this one, and swapped in butter for the shortening. the trick with these cookies is to nail the ratio of dough to kiss, which is something i didn’t do very well with this batch but, they are still really delicious.”

we hope you are inspired by this floral tree and make your own this year or next! happy holidays from our little team. xo

photos by: ivan solis
styling by: natalie shriver

DIY GIFT IDEAS!

have you started holiday gift shopping yet? i love picking out items specially for each person. it makes a gift extra special when it’s handmade with love, so i handpicked some of my favorite diy’s here for you. make these fun projects and give them as gifts this holiday season!

make them here:
dip dye placemats
tapestry wall hangings
leather keychain
clay necklace
potted plant wall hanging
glitter magnets
gold foil pillow
patterned frames
face mists
camera straps
crystal mirror

DIY HOLIDAY SHOES

the holidays are officially upon us and one of the things we like best about the season is celebrating with our friends, families and coworkers at holiday parties. it gives us a chance to catch up, reflect on the year that was, sip a cocktail or two (or three) and maybe even hit the dance floor. this year we thought we’d ditch the ironic christmas sweater in favor of something a little more glamorous.

LET’S DRESS UP OUR SHOES!

we’ve spent more hours then we’d like to admit on pinterest eyeing the over the top shoe trends that have been hitting the runways as of late. which got us thinking that this would be the perfect time to create a pair of our own to hit the town in. (and that don’t cost us one million dollars)

we found a great, inexpensive pair of high heels with a nice shape here, sourced some baubles at one of our favorite places in the LA fashion district, got a tube of high quality glue and got down to business.

in no time at all we transformed a pair of simple platform heels into show stopping, party ready works of art that we might never take off our feet.

i thought it was really cool that we could find one pair of shoes that allowed us to create three totally different styles that reflected the personalities of the girls in the studio. how FUN WOULD IT BE to have a holiday shoe decorating party!? very fun indeed. snap photos of yours and tag us so we can see your masterpieces.

photos by: jesse chamberlin
see more DIY posts here