Obsession Confession Sunday: Internet Made Me Do It

5 Things I'm currently obsessed with, the internet made me do it DIY edition:

This week, I'm obsessed with blogger DIYs. I had planned to make all of these things over the weekend and show you my finished products but, alas, I did not have time for various reasons. Most of those reasons might involve the word lazy. 

1. Horse Pillows - I love these quirky horse pillows that Emma made over on A Beautiful Mess. They will be making an appearance in my house soon. Mine will probably be neon. 
2. Colored Mason Jars - How can mason jars get any better? By dying them, as seen on Chickens in the Road. 
3. Wallflower fragrance - Holy Crickey shows you how to refill your plugins. Bonus: no more toxins! (I did find 2 minutes to complete this DIY...it works great!)
4. Faux Porcelain Bowl - I can't wait to make these bowls featured on Curbly. I hope they are as gorgeous to look at and easy to make as they appear in this tutorial. 
5. Stamps - I have mad love for stamps. With Creature Comforts as my guide, I'll soon be making my own.

How about you? Seen/completed any great DIYs lately?

DIY Screen Printing 3 Ways - Part 1

Know what I'm not a fan of? Paying $25 for a graphic tee. I'd much prefer to use that money for supplies. Supplies to screen print multiple shirts, bags, hand towels, and whatever else pops up in my brain pan. 

For part 1, we're going to screen print using two simple methods: stencil and trace. Part 2 will be more of a hold on to your hat situation involving light sensitive chemicals! Let's get this party started.

Gather materials: item to print on, organza (or similar sheer fabric), embroidery hoops, a stencil, an image, fabric paint, gesso (or modge podge), paint brush, putty knife, pencil, tape, and cardboard.

Step 1: Cut a piece of organza a bit larger than your embroidery hoop. Insert the organza. Pull it tight!

Step 2 [Stencil]: Tape your stencil to the organza. (Hint: taping both sides help the tape stick better.)
Step 2 [Trace]: Place your image beneath your hoop and use a pencil to trace the image directly onto the organza. (Hint: Make sure the lip of the hoop is facing up. This keeps you from needing to reverse the image.)

Step 3 [Stencil]: Skip ahead! 

Step 3 [Trace]: Paint around your traced image with gesso. This will block the fabric paint from transferring to your finished project. Let it dry completely.

Step 4: Place a bit of cardboard between layers of your finished project. Example: If printing a tee shirt, place cardboard between the front and back. This keeps paint from bleeding to areas you did not intend to print.

Step 5: Place a line of fabric paint above the stencil/image. You don’t need as much as you think.

Step 6: Use the putty knife to draw the paint down over the stencil/image. Apply some pressure to make sure the paint pushes through the organza but doesn’t bleed. Be sure to hold on to your hoop – you don’t want it sliding around.

Step 7: Carefully lift the hoop off your finished project.

Step 8 [Trace]: Wash out your screen and use it over and over again!

P.S. This is not an announcement. The baby items are for a baby growing in someone else’s belly.

DIY: Unicorn Hospital

It will happen sooner or later. You will come across a fantastic mythical creature in a thrift shop that you simply cannot live without. And this creature will be <gulp> missing an appendage. This will most often be something like a horn or part of a leg or a tomahawk handle. Why? They are usually thin and fragile - easy to break. That's like physics. Or something.

Don't fret. Fix it.

Use a bit of gesso to form the missing appendage. For this example, I formed new unicorn horns. (Hint: let the gesso dry out a little first - it'll be easier to mold.) 

Attach the appendage. You may need to form it around the missing area or use a bit of wet gesso to create a glue. Let it dry!

If needed, sand the appendage a bit. Next paint it.

Finally, sit back and admire your handiwork.

DIY: It's Gettin' Adler Up In Here

Get ready for the easiest DIY of your life. It has two (2!) steps...

I love Jonathan Adler's designs. Unfortunately, working for a state university does not leave me with the kind of bones that people who can afford $50 ceramic bananas have. That's why I Adlerize.

Adlerizing includes two simple steps:

1. Find weird stuff.

2. Paint it white.

I found the creepy monkey above (that looks suspiciously like it broke off a really ugly lamp) and the sweet duck baskets below at the thrift store for fifty cents each. For a buck fifty and maybe thirty cents worth of cheap acrylic paint, I have three great Adleresque pieces. $1.80 is totally within my budget. Sorry Jon.

P.S. All this Adler talk reminds me of the time I shot a fake deer with an Atlatl at the Florida Archaeology Month kick-off. I was quite a good shot. Lesson: be nice to me around ancient hunting weapons.

Off-topic Thursday: DIY for your face!

Winter blues? Dry skin? Give your face a super refreshing treat: kiwi scrub.

1. Gather ingredients: 1 kiwi, 1 tbsp plain yogurt, 1 tbsp orange juice, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp olive oil. 1.a Optional: essential oil.

2. Puree the kiwi. Add in yogurt, orange juice, honey and olive oil. Process until well blended. Optional: add 1-2 drops essential oil after processing.

3. Slather the mixture on your face and neck. Rinse. 

Valentine DIY

Love is in the air! Or maybe that's just pollen. Either way, here's a quick Valentine's Day DIY.

Gather a few materials: a heart of your choice (I found one online), cardboard, newspaper, paint, paint brushes, clothespins, glue, water, twine, a ruler and a pair of scissors. Cut the cardboard to your desired size (x4). I made 5x7 panels.

1. Mix up some glue, a little bit of water and a drop of paint. The paint will tint your newspaper. I chose copper for a touch of shine. Don't add too much water or it won't stick!

2. Cover one sheet of cardboard with the glue mixture.

3. Cover the gluey cardboard with newspaper. Cover again with the glue mixture.  Repeat for all four sheets of cardboard.

4. Go through the same process with each of the four clothespins. 

5. Cover the back of your heart with the glue mixture and stick it to one of your newspaper panels. Spread a bit more of the glue mixture on top of the heart. Allow your panels and clothespins to dry.

6. Paint L,V, and E on the remaining newspaper panels. Tip: use a piece of the scrap cardboard as a straight edge.