DIY Valentine's Day Subway Art Banner

Have you been decorating for Valentine's Day?  I have a few pops of red and pink around the house and earlier this week I added this cute little DIY Valentine's Day subway art banner.  It didn't take me long to make since I used my Silhouette to cut a subway art freezer paper stencil (for the tutorial and designs I used, head over to Silhouette School).  If you don't have a Silhouette cutting machine you can always make the banner with a few different Valentine's-themed stamps, by cutting your own stencil by creating the design in Powerpoint and then cutting it out using an exact knife, or buy purchasing some heavy paper or plastic stencils.

However, you make your design, that's the fun and creative part.  But before we get to that let's talk about the actual banner.  I posted a sneak peek of this on Facebook a few days ago and someone asked where I got the scroll.  The answer is - I made it using a small piece of dropcloth and a dowel.

My flag is about 12" x 10".  To make the same size, you'll want to cut a piece of drop cloth 15" x 11".  Fold the two sides and the bottom over half an inch each and press with a hot iron.  Sew a straight stitch across these three sides.

{More} Tips to Empty a Yankee Candle Jar (Pt 2)

Wow! So um...apparently I'm not the only thrifty chick trying to reuse and empty Yankee Candle jars.  The response to my original post on how to empty the candle jars was (and continues to be) overwhelming.  Many of you left tips, tricks, suggestions and even warnings of your own. 

The one suggestion I heard over and over again was to stick the Yankee Candle Jar - with the last bit of wax - in the freezer for a few hours and the wax would easily pop out in one chunk.   Well, why didn't anyone tell me?  Here I am cutting the wax into pie pieces with a knife to remove it. 

So I tried the popular freezer method and here's my take - it definitely worked, but...yes, there's a but.  After about 3 hours in the freezer, the wax at the bottom of the jar was easily able to pop off the bottom of the candle jar in one piece with a little nudge of a butter knife. The problem is many Yankee Candle jars are larger at the bottom than they are at the top.  So while the wax pops off the bottom easily in one chunk it can't fit through the smaller opening at the top.  I ended up breaking the wax up anyway.   My feeling is it's six of one half dozen of the other - unless you have a jar that's the same diameter top to bottom then go with the freezer method.

Several readers suggested putting the nearly empty Yankee Candle jar in the microwave to melt the remaining wax so it can simply be poured out.  I do not suggest this.   The bottom of the wick is attached to a small metal piece that I don't believe would be safe in the microwave.

8 DIY Drop Cloth Projects

I just got paid the biggest compliment.  A Two It Yourself reader left a comment on my Pottery Barn-inspired DIY Monogrammed Wine Bags saying she thought my version was actually the Pottery Barn bag.   Wow! Amazing...and to think I made my wine bags with a....drop cloth.

DIY Monogrammed Wine Bottle Bag (Pottery Barn-Inspired)

I think I like wine accessories more than I actually like wine.  Take for example, Pottery Barn's textured linen wine bags = LOVE! I loved them so much I knocked them off....cause, you know, I love Pottery Barn...oh and they're no longer available so I basically had no choice, but to DIY. 
The PB version (on the right above) has a linen look so I used my go-to linen impersonator: drop cloth. 

DIY curtain rods on the cheap

Curtain rods are something I hate spending money on...and let's face it, attractive ones rarely come cheap.   That's why I was so excited when I discovered just how easy and cheap it is to to make my own DIY curtain rods -- plus they're fully customizable.

Everything from the size and color of the curtain rod and to the curtain rod ends can be made specifically to your liking and to fit your window perfectly.  All you need for this project is a dowel, a couple of cabinet door knobs or curtain rod finials, paint or stain, and curtain rod brackets.

DIY Stenciled Drop Cloth Curtains

I was on a drop cloth kick a few months back, having made an upholstered headboard out of a drop cloth, a Pottery Barn-inspired bed skirt, drop cloth covered boxes, and drop cloth curtains.  The first three have been some of my most popular posts...the curtains, however, I've been reluctant to put on the blog because there was just something about them, that just wasn't exactly working for me.  They were just too plain...that is, until now.

Here's what you'll need: (By now, hopefully you know the drill, I list all the supplies, then I gather them into an Amazon shopping cart for you so you can order them all or just what you need...easy peesy).

• Canvas Drop cloth 
• 2 Small Containers of Acrylic Craft Paint
• Stencil  (preferably plastic, but paper would work)
• Foam Paint Brush
• Round Foam pouncers (optional)

So, let me start from the beginning...to explain how I made these drop cloth curtains. First, I measured my window, including the trim, to see how wide I would need the curtain to be.   Then I laid the drop cloth out to cut out my curtain.   TIP: If possible use two of the finished edges...this way you will only have to finish off one other one edge.  The top you will fold over and make into a pocket for the curtain rod. 

Turn boxes into pretty storage for pennies

With the master bedroom makeover nearly complete I've now turned my attention to the guest room which will soon be the guest room/craft room.   If ever there was a room in need of a do-over....I'll let the picture speak for itself.

I've never had a designated craft room so I'm super excited.  I've got big plans for this room and I'm sooooo anxious to start revealing them to you.  The big project is the office desk which I'm turning into a craft table by taking off the hutch and using the parts to create shelving for the room.

The shelves will be a big part of my storage space so, of course, I need storage boxes.  But do you think this thrifty sister is spending my money on boxes to store paint - ain't no way!  Next best thing - make boxes. 

Ikea hack: Ektorp chair gets an easy makeover

Call me crazy but I recently took both my kids (4.5 and nearly 2) to Ikea by.my.self.   Did I mention it's an hour away?  Yeah okay...obviously, I was pretty desperate and of course impatient about getting this Ektorp Tullsta  chair I had my eye on for the corner of our master bedroom.

The chair is small so it doesn't take up much space (the main reason I like it!), makes a statement, and the off white material was a pretty close match to the drop cloth headboard I recently finished.  (Here's the tutorial for the DIY upholstered headboard.) At just $99 I decided I'd rather just buy it than get an old chair at a thrift store and go through the trouble of reupholstering it.  Sometimes it's just easier (and nearly as cheap) to start with something new and hack it...in this case it's a classic Ikea hack.

Construction Birthday Party Ideas: DIY Tool Aprons as favors

For my truck and tool obsessed two year old son, we're having a construction themed birthday party.  Because I'm knee deep in drop cloth projects - hello upholstered headboard, no sew bed skirt, and window treatment - I came up with the idea to make little tool aprons for all the guests as party favors.  You know the kind all the Home Depot workers wear....they actually sell them there, but why not make your own?


They are really easy to make especially if you can use one of the hemmed edges of drop cloth.

Here's what you'll need to make DIY Tool Aprons:

• Drop Cloth
• Sewing Machine 
• Twine, hemp rope or some kind of string/yarn

Now, I apologize for not having exact dimensions for these aprons, but when you're making 20 of them, you just kind of eyeball it.  Plus, I have kids ranging from 2-6 years old at the party so I figured having aprons of different sizes would be a good thing.  So no worries if they're not all exact.

DIY tutorial: Transfer Ink to Wood or Fabric using wax paper and an inkjet printer

I'm getting a little out of control with the 2 year old birthday party preps for my son.  Let's just say I'm making drop cloth tool aprons for about 20 kids as party favors and I've decided it MUST have a Home Depot-like logo.  Why do I get these ideas in my head??? They won't stop nagging me until I finally get.it.right.

So...thank me now, or thank me later, (you're welcome) - I have finally figured out how to transfer ink to fabric (or wood) without buying expensive transfer paper.

No Sew Drop Cloth Bed Skirt (perhaps the easiest DIY project out there)

If you've been following along you know I'm in the middle of a master bedroom makeover.  As DIYers 2IYers, Stephanie and I made the upholstered headboard and covered it with a drop cloth.  We used a 12x15 size and had half of it leftover.  I am planning to also make a bench for the end of the bed and cover it with the drop cloth and upholster it with the same nail head trim to pull the look altogether.   In the meantime, I've been looking at the bed -- which I mostly love -- and trying to figure out just what's missing.  Turns out it's the bed skirt.

Pottery Barn Linen Bed Skirt for $209

That's when it dawned on me to just use the very same drop cloth.  A drop cloth is perfect because it's large, inexpensive, and it gives you the linen/canvas look without the price of actual linen.

I might add --  Pottery Barn's King Linen Bed Skirt sells for
$209! That's $50 more than it cost me to make the headboard and the bed skirt.

My no sew drop cloth bed skirt was so easy it was almost stupid.  Here's how I quickly made it (I'm not very good at explaining this because I feel like I'm over complicating it, so I hope the pictures help):

DIY Drop Cloth Headboard with Front Nail Head Trim (tutorial)

It's only been a few weeks and I (Melissa) am happy to say that our master bedroom makeover is moving ahead full steam.  The biggest project -- and most rewarding -- has been making the upholstered headboard complete with nail head trim

Stephanie agreed to tackle the job with me and when my new Sleep Number bed was delivered we finally got the complete look.  Both of us were thrilled with our efforts especially after seeing how the look all came together.

I needed a new headboard because we were up-sizing from a queen to a king size bed. With a bedroom set already, I was trying to avoid having to match wood colors on a new headboard so decided going with the upholstered look would accomplish that.  While searching Pinterest for ideas for upholstered headboards, I came across this awesome drop cloth headboard by Tenth Avenue South.

DIY Dropcloth Headboard by Tenth Avenue South

It was practically an exact copy of the Pottery Barn Raleigh headboard that sells for about $1500 for the King size, which is what I needed.  The DIY version seemed easy enough -- and as it turned out -- it was.  We made the entire thing in the span of about five hours.

Pottery Barn Camelback Raleigh Headboard