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 …

inspired by erik’s recycled wine bottle torches, lindsay and taylor from purr design decided to create these beautiful wine bottle vases in their home’s dining room. i love the way they set off the area with a painted square, and today you can learn their full how-to steps for the project! thanks so much to lindsay and taylor for sharing!

CLICK HERE for the full project steps after the jump!

read more …

today’s first diy project comes from margie of resurrection fern in ontario. she created these stunning crocheted lights using twine and a little spare time. i love the final result and the way the light glows through the fibers. CLICK HERE for the full project steps!

having grown up at the beach, i will always have a soft spot for anything water or nautical related. so when i saw brainstorm’s new print i fell for it hook, line and sinker (sorry, bad water pun not intended). you can pick up brainstorm’s new “red sky” print, along with a number of other new prints, right here for $30.

oh boy, the book rush has set in and my brain is officially starting to melt. so my apologies if my posts are a bit on the short or slightly incoherent side for the next week and a half. before we get into diy projects, i wanted to kick things off with this lovely new bespoke wallpaper from isak design and mention the great post on chicken coops that jill has over at the d*s guest blog- click here to check it out!

over the next two weeks, the d*s team and i will be working some serious overtime to finish up the text, images and details for our very first d*s book. we’re so excited to see how everything is shaping up (it. looks. SO. good! i can’t wait for you to see it!) but we may need to end the day a bit early a few times between now and november 15th to allow for extra book work. today amy merrick is taking a much needed posting break so “living in” will be taking the day off. in the meantime, you can check out her amazing archive of movie-inspired design roundups right here. i’ll be back tomorrow with a full day of posts, but in the meantime i wanted to leave you with a tiny sneak peek of one of the new homes that will be in the d*s book. this amazing door belongs to my design idol and needless to say, the rest of her home is phenomenal. oh man, wait till you see the whole thing…i can’t wait!

[photo by johnny miller]