It’s around this time every January that I start hoarding new houseplants. I was able to resist rex begonias for months and months, but I caved this weekend and bought a few. Now for the real problem- I’m all out of terra cotta empties and bored of just about every other option. I’ve been picking up old tin cans at thrift stores for nick-nack storage, but with a few holes popped in the bottom, they make adorable (and affordable) planters. -amy m.

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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grace mentioned to me that jewelry storage is a hot topic for a lot of readers, so i set to work brainstorming some possibilities! i realized that there are basically two camps: people who like their jewelry on display (neatly of course), and people who like to hide it away (also neatly). so i am going to do two diys for jewelry storage that can satisfy both camps. the first is an attempt at hidden storage, which in this case is a mega top-secret, ninja-spy, behind-the-painting deal. i’ve always loved the idea of secret hiding places in fat old books, under rugs, and behind old paintings. this is pretty easy to rig up, especially if you have an old painting with a nice wood frame, but really any picture with a relatively wide wood frame will do fine. if you feel like you have too much jewelry to fit, this can also be a great way to store keys and mail by the entryway. or you could pair it with a nice leather bound book with a secret cutout container. have fun! – kate

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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good morning! i thought it would be nice to kick off today with a bit of my favorite color: green. amy ruppel has a beautiful new print at the working proof called “this land is your land“. 15% of each print’s sale will be donated to american forests (which inspired the design), whose mission is to work with communities on local efforts that restore and maintain forest ecosystems. you can read more about amy’s print (in her own words) right here, and pick up a copy right here ($45)!

and, to start diy day, i wanted to share a link to this fun topiary project from abby schill at tales and trials. inspired by a ballard design, abby converted a seriously sad little 99 cent thrift store topiary into a chic little (faux) topiary for her counter. if you have a mostly black thumb like i do, this can be a fun project to tackle over the weekend. thanks, abby!

[hi guys! i'm so sorry for the delay on kate's project. my blogging schedule got all mixed up when i was in salt lake so we're going to post kate's project from last week today, as a special monday diy treat]

hey everyone! i am back with another organization helper for your kitchen (and your tummies). this one might be a little controversial (who has the time to do this?! isn’t this a little too organized?). but i must tell you from experience that when we have people over and decide to order out, they are genuinely mega-impressed with this organized little binder. plus, every time we flip through it, saving ourselves from rummaging through a drawer of papers to seek out the elusive pizza menu, our stress level decreases. trust me, it’s worth the effort to make this binder if you get take-out with any regularity. if you don’t order out very much, i salute you and your cooking skills, and i also encourage you to use this method to store online recipes or those clipped from magazines, which also have a knack for crowding our drawers, getting lost, and making us feel messy! i hope this project is of use to some of you. have fun! – kate

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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*sorry for all the downtime yesterday, guys! we’re going through some server changes. i didn’t get to post amy’s diy project yesterday so we’re starting with her column today. -grace*

AHHEM. Can everyone hear me? Pardon this brief interruption from our weekly forays into crafting while I bring you a message from…. oh.. my past life college activist inner-self.

Honestly, I’d been mulling over this project for the past week, buying supplies and thinking it through, but i still hadn’t actually sat down to my computer and donated money to a Haitian relief organization. It wasn’t until i started to sift through my photos of the buttons that I also pulled out the trusty AmEx to do what i had intended to do all along.

Sometimes you just need to clear a minute from your day and take care of business. It’s never too late! amy m.

Ways to help:

- American Red Cross
-Doctors without Borders
-UNICEF

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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If you’re anything like me, you have a hard time with business cards. I never know exactly what I want them to say, should I just use my name or put a title, too? When your career forces you to wear many hats, sometimes it’s nice to have multiple business cards that speak to each of your different jobs, but I can’t bring myself to get individual letterpress cards. This is a trick I learned at Saipua that makes amazing and special little cards, perfect for when you need them ASAP and have no particular photoshop skills, a letterpress, or a ton of money handy. One trip to your local Staples is it!

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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i love when i see something that makes me grin and think, “oh man, why didn’t i ever think to try that before?” so when i heard from graphic designer jennifer in new jersey about her snow painting project i was all smiles. jennifer explained that during the last snow storm she and her sister made a bet on whether or not you could spray paint on snow. so jennifer created a little “let it snow” design, printed it and then cut out the letters on a piece of 11×17 paper. after a little spraypaint she created the fun design above. needless to say she won the bet.

this is such a clever idea, i’d love to see it used in a really large scale. i can only imagine how cool this would look from above if you did a super-scale version in a field. this would be a great technique to use for outdoor events or even an outdoor wedding that got a little snowy. thanks so much to jennifer for sharing!

*update: if you want a more environmentally friendly version of this idea, try making your own vegetable dyes and using them in a spray bottle to get the same effect.

i’ve been wanting to learn how to properly work with waterslide decals for a while now, so i was thrilled to hear from melinda at little old hat last week. melinda posted a great how-to for working with waterslide decals and she created some pretty adorable mugs in the process. i’ve been wanting to use this process to dress up some old mugs and this makes the whole process clear and easy to follow. click here to start learning and decal-ing!

in other how-to news, april at the hipster home posted a great how-to for creating a recycled bike chain clock. normally i’m not a fan of the way recycled bike crafts look (a little too clunky for me), but this one looks seriously sleek and cool. click here for the full tutorial. [thanks, chris!]

i’m a huge fan of lindsey adelman’s work, and count myself among the group of people out there that are slowly saving up money to buy one. until that day comes, i was so thrilled to hear from kate that lindsey has posted a link to a step-by-step guide to creating your own industrial-style chandelier. this made a small run on the blog circuit last week, but i couldn’t resist re-posting because it’s such a great project (and a rarity to see a designer share how-to instructions for something similar their work). just download the instructions here, pick up some parts and create a custom piece to fit your home. awesome. thanks to kate for the tip and to lindsey for sharing.

image via morgan at the brick house

good morning! it’s pretty chilly here in brooklyn so i thought it was only fitting to start the day with our guest blogger sweet paul’s fun how-to for winter ice lanterns. if you’ve got 2 buckets, some water and a few sprigs of something green you can easily create a great homemade lantern that will melt away when the weather warms up! click here for the full post and how-to!