Friday, February 5, 2010

You can do this too!

I've recently seen a lot of blog articles on how to make things in Pottery Barn catalogs. Just about every woman has a built in love for all thing Pottery Barn but almost no one has the budget to sustain such a passion. I scored through their sites and found products I thought were easily hackable. Here are some suggestions for doing them yourself. Now, if I could only find time to do them myself. Maybe after our house remodel... H'mmm, don't think that'll happen anytime soon.



I love the milk jug one and I bet if you are an antique/thirft store shopper you can find glass milk jugs to replicate this.

These are all floral related ideas. The topiary isn't difficult. Just get a styrofoam cone and use hot glue to bond moss and hollow craft eggs on it. Place it into your pot of choice.


The artwork is a little more tricky but if you are handy with a stencil, you can make it work. Paint a canvas in your color of choice. Use the stencil to sponge in the flower using a different color for each part. Pick a good color scheme using coordinating colors to the room it will be displayed in and alternate those colors between the canvases.


Their pictures were actually done with fabric. That might work if you are a sewer or quilter and have lots of leftover scraps. It much more labor intensive though, but it would be more whimsical. A good fabric stiffener and glue would be important.










See how to do this with a denim or any other shirt on Martha Stewart.
















For the experienced sewer (so not me), an old or thrift sweater can be repropused by using this idea also from Martha. I also found a great blog article on how to do this.


Ideas for using frames:




This can be done by finding a frame you like on the cheap (spray painting and glazing if if necessary).






Remove all the backing/glass and use a staple gun to put wire on the back. Hang and display your beautiful pieces of jewelry like artwork.






For this one, lightweight wood frames can be glued together to acheive this affect. I love how they can be grouped together or shown in different orientations as in these pictures for a different effect.























And finally a couple of artwork ideas...


I love love love this one :) Find a cute platter and get some chalkboard paint. Paint the surface and don't forget to 'cure' it by rubbing it all over with chalk before use. Plus you can make it BETTER by using your own paint colors and making chalkboard paint using the tips here.



The second picture is actually pieced and painted wood, but the idea would work great for leftover pieces of paper from scrapbooking.