section: diy 
today’s first diy project comes from art buyer sabrina bajaj in los angeles. sabrina is sharing a diy project that will turn leftover cans of paint into a quick and easy planter for your favorite succulents and household plants. our tiny utility closet is overflowing with half-empty cans of paint so i’m going to find a way to dispose of the leftover paint safely and then clean them out and try this project. thanks to sabrina for sharing!
CLICK HERE for the full project instructions after the jump! read more … August 12th, 2009 - 10:00am 
Wow, I’m truly overwhelmed at the response to my first stab at my living in: column yesterday. When I hatched the idea to do roundups based on books and movies, I just thought it would be a fun way to find stuff online. I didn’t really comprehend that it would open a whole world of inspiration for all of us! I am SO excited to go through each and every suggestion and start some good old fashioned movie watching. That is, after I run to the corner store to pick up some more popcorn, of course. I digress.
Wednesdays here on D*S I’m going to be cooking up fresh DIY projects (called “Made with Love”) in my Brooklyn apartment to share with you. Yep, every week without fail, almost like the US Postal Service. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays this do-it-yourselfer from the swift completion of her handmade projects. Creating a collection of madcap botanical specimens is about as easy as it gets. You get to heavily rely on mother nature to do the leg work and poof, you get to look like a genius scientist (and decorator) in the process. I’ve used old kraft paper to make a Darwinian display, but a graphic or feminine background using wallpaper or fabric could ratchet up the modern factor and create something really show stopping. -Amy CLICK HERE for the full post (with instructions and additional images) after the jump! read more … August 5th, 2009 - 01:00pm 
when i was at home in virginia the other weekend i was walking around the house noticing all the little craft projects my mom has done to make things look nice. one exceptionally easy project she uses caught my eye because it solves a problem i’ve been having for years- wet, pulpy labels on dish soap containers.
i use, and love, my seventh generation dish soap, but i don’t love the packaging- and love the label even less. not because it’s particularly unattractive, but because it’s always getting wet and then tearing and turning into a mushy, pulpy mess on the counter (yes, i’m a somewhat messy dish-washer). so i’ve been wanting to find a way to swap out the container and keep the eco-friendly soap. inspired by my mom’s dish soap dispenser, i decided to find a new use for some vintage bottles i had lying around the house. one was an old olive oil bottle, the others were small bits and bobs i’ve picked up during travels. the process is incredible easy but i’ve written out the steps below the jump just to be super clear. if you’re looking for a super simple way to customize the way you use soap around the house, this is a fun and affordable project. thanks mom, for the inspiration! CLICK HERE for the full project after the the jump! read more … August 5th, 2009 - 12:00pm 
i was helping a friend redecorate her apartment recently and it required an extensive online (and on foot) shopping trip for pretty home textiles on a very tight budget. as it turns out there are some achingly beautiful linens, pillows, and bedspreads out there, but the prices are still restrictive for a lot of us. so i decided to dedicate the august diy theme to customizing (aka beautifying) very inexpensive textiles. the first project is a way to take pillow covers from their rather plain natural state to one of a kind treasures. using a little leftover felt i created a soft sculptural blossom pillow, and with some tape and a tube of fabric paint i made an abstract graphic rose pattern on a printed pillowcase. these are both washable, cost less than ten dollars each, and were made in under 30 minutes. have fun!! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project instructions after the jump! read more … August 5th, 2009 - 11:00am 
today’s first diy project comes from kat geiger of design spunk and green under glass. having “always had a difficulty admiring family photos in general”, kat was longing for a way to showcase her family photos that would “capture the soul” of her family. “plastered smiles, perfect hair, they simply aren’t us” she explained.
for the past several years, kat has been working with mixed media collage, and thought it would be fun to incorporate real people she knew into her work. then it dawned on her- this would be a great way to solve her family photo dilemma. while cleaning out her grandmother’s house, kat found an old thesaurus she used during college and decided to incorporated it into her new ‘family photo’. 
using glue, a paint brush, her old encyclopedia and some household crafting materials, kat created this updated spin on a family photo. i love the final result and think it’s such a fun and clever way to showcase your family photos without falling prey to the “plastered smiles and perfect hair” that sometimes plague traditional portraits.
CLICK HERE for kat’s full project instructions and to create your own modern family photo! read more … August 5th, 2009 - 10:00am 
hi, my name is amy azzarito. i’m excited to be joining d*s to share a new column called “past and present“. in each past and present post, i’ll explain the history of an object, leave you with some quick facts (to hone those trivia skills) and give you some great take-away tips for incorporating the object or concept in your own home. i’m a librarian at the new york public library (i co-produced design by the book with grace) and love research; i just completed a master’s degree in the history of decorative arts and design from parsons (graduated in may!), and during the course of that program, i had the opportunity to spend a lot of time studying objects. we started with the renaissance and progressed right on through to the present. no matter the era, i loved learning about how different types of furniture were developed to accommodate fashionable clothing or how the arrangement of rooms in the home evolved or what was considered new and fashionable. in this column, i hope to to reintroduce you to the things you see everyday in an effort understand more about the objects that surround us. i’m so excited for this opportunity to continue learning about the objects in our homes past and present. (thanks, grace!)
[image above: amy's chandelier diy project- full instructions after the jump!]
CLICK HERE for the full chandelier post and diy project after the jump! read more … August 4th, 2009 - 01:00pm 
i’m so sad to say goodbye to laura normandin today- she has been an amazing guest blogger and i have gotten so spoiled by her daily diy project on the guest blog. today she’s leaving us with two great diy projects: recycled paper birthday cards + garland. each one is a great way to reuse paper scraps and create something lovely with only a few spare minutes. click here to check out the full project instructions. thanks to laura for all of her hard work this week- you can visit her at wren handmade right here.
 July 31st, 2009 - 08:00am | 
