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|  | |  | section: kate pruitt 
i love the seventies feel of the colors on these giant wood beads, so i decided to embrace it and make a cozy little chandelier for over my small dining table. the softness of the yarn and the smooth beads makes this a very fun lamp, perfect for winter evenings. you could also spray paint the beads a color and go monochromatic (black perhaps?) for a more dramatic, modern look. this is a fun project to do with children as well (another good one for movie time), because it’s really just stringin’ beads! have fun! – kate
CLICK HERE for the full post after the jump! read more … November 11th, 2009 - 01:00pm 
while working on the projects for the design*sponge book, i made a lot of trips to the craft store…let’s not say a number, but too many! every visit i rushed past the rainbow haze of the kid’s section to get to the serious adult stuff like balsa wood and X-acto blades…i know, i’m super hardcore, right? but anyway, this last trip i allowed myself to browse the kid’s aisle, and let me say there are some real treasures there! so the month of november is dedicated to making modern, useful design projects out of kids’ craft supplies. this first project is made with pipe cleaners, and is inspired in a big way by tord boontje’s until dawn curtain. this would be a great holiday garland (they sell tinsel pipe cleaners!), a quickie room divider, or drape it over a hanging bulb to create a neat lamp (not touching the bulb of course). this cost five dollars and took the duration of a movie to create, so you can definitely experiment with the possibilities. have fun!! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! read more … November 4th, 2009 - 12:00pm 
i love nut season!! something about the textures and shapes of all the different shells really gets me excited for fall. i went ahead and did the entire bag of walnuts in preparation for gift wrapping, and a variation on the traditional cranberry garland for the holidays. once you start making these beware! it is very easy to get carried away and want to tie a walnut to everything! have fun! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! read more … October 28th, 2009 - 12:00pm 
i love fall wreaths, but as i was looking around at all the varieties i realized that they mostly come as circles (duh kate, that’s the definition of a wreath). not that i don’t love circular wreaths, but who says you can’t mix it up a little? while this project may not fit the literal definition of a “wreath,” it is certainly inspired by them and expands the possibilities. i made the letter “K” for my name, but i could see doing a small “hi,” or maybe even your address numbers. this would also make a very personalized, thoughtful housewarming gift, and it only takes a little bit more time than making a plain old circle. have fun! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! read more … October 21st, 2009 - 12:00pm 
since fall has officially arrived, i decided to make autumnal nature the theme for this month’s projects. sometimes i wish i could be a squirrel so i could stow away a giant collection of acorns, seeds, nuts, etc. in my little home inside a tree. when i stow a collection like that in my house it just gets kind of messy and spiders start living there, but that’s another story. ironically this week’s diy is actually sort of anti-squirrel, but they do just fine by themselves so i thought i’d give the birds some love. the wooden bowl for this feeder not only makes the perfect acorn cap, but it’s slippery so squirrels can’t hold onto it (hopefully). i wanted to put it out immediately, but unfortunately it’s pouring rain in oakland, so you have to see it in ‘faux nature’ for now. this is actually a great rainy day project though, or something fun to do with your kids.. have fun!! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! read more … October 14th, 2009 - 10:30am 
i’ve always loved seeing pictures of students using leather book straps; they are so charming and orderly. but to be honest, it is not the best way to carry heavy books around town is it? but to carry something that doesn’t move, like a table…perfect! i went to a local recycling center to pick up some extra books, built a couple small cubbies out of wood, and went to work! the rest is just gravity and organization (and a tiny bit of glue). have fun! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! read more … September 30th, 2009 - 11:00am 
i’ve been wanting to have a bedside water solution for a while now. unfortunately, my cat has decided he will only drink from human glasses, so the glass of water before bed is inevitably full of fur by the time i want to drink it. i love the look of vintage thermoses, so i decided to take some old bottles and jars i have around the house to create a thermos style carafe. i am going to answer the obvious question now, which is “why not just buy vintage thermoses?”. there are definitely a lot of cute ones out there on ebay and such, and if you want to do that, you definitely should. for me, the idea of those old plastic cups and thermoses just feels slightly unhygienic for my taste, but the main reason is cost. i wanted to use something i had around the house, and the total cost of this project was probably $8 (the mugs were $5) for both carafes, and it is a cinch to make. but it is entirely up to you! have fun! -kate
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! read more …  September 16th, 2009 - 11:00am |
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