DIY HOLIDAY: GOLD JEWELRY DISHES

Here's the deal:

Everyone has those friends that you're not quite sure what to buy for them- because they have a great job and buy everything they need.

Most people also has those office Secret Santas that you're not quite sure what to buy for them- because they don't really share their likes other than post-it note color preference.

So, insert this DIY Holiday gift. 

Cost: Under $2. Insanely easy. Personalizeable. 

I give you: DIY Gold Jewelry Dishes!

Step 1: Find yourself some cheap ceramic trays! I found mine for $1 in the Target Dollar Spot- but I know Michael's has some options too!

Step 2: Do what's best for them- Spray them gold! It took me 3 light coats of this Krylon to get the look I was going for- but the shine is perfect!

Step 3: Paint it! I used basic black acrylic paint for this- making a polka dotted one, and a monogram one! For the monogram, simple stick on some vinyl or thin stickers, paint over them, wait to dry, and then peel them off! 

Step 4: Seal with Mod Podge, and gift away! 

Clearly you could paint these any colors, and personalize however you know the person would like... oh, and for under $2, you could make one of these for everyone on your list!

What is one of your cheap, go-to holiday gifts?

For more holiday inspiration, go here!

xo, lp

DIY HOLIDAY: WASHI TAPE CARDS

 WAIT.

Before you go all "LAURA IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING WHY ARE YOU DOING HOLIDAY CARDS!?"

1. I said HOLIDAY, not Christmas

2. Hanukkah is in a week, and that is one of these cards.

Thus, I bring to you, washi tape holiday cards!

For your tree cards:

Step 1:  Bust out all your washi tape. Most of mine is from Loollipop, but I have some rolls from Coscto & Target too!

Step 2: Layer different patterns & colors of green washi tape & cut into triangles

Step 3: Layer on your card, and write a cheery greeting!

Get creative with your cards! I made sure to cover Hanukkah, Christmas, aaaand New Years. I may have gone a little washi crazy and made a few too many. Oops.

The best part about washi tape is that is peels right back off of the cards- so if you screw up or don't love your design- you change it!

Have you made any great holiday crafts yet?

Share a link in the comments- I'd love to see them!

xo, lp

DIY HOLIDAY: Chalkboard Wine Glasses

This holiday season (yes, I can say that, since Hanukkah is 3 weeks away) is upon us, and this year on the blog I'll be giving some ideas for DIY gifts to give!

The first gift idea is an easy one- Chalkboard Wine Glasses:

Now, truth be told I actually made these a while ago as a housewarming gift for our friends, but they would serve equally well for a holiday gift! They're not only affordable, but they're also a useful gift to give!

What you'll need to make it happen:

- 4 wine glasses (you can get them at a dollar store or Target!)

- Chalkboard Spray Paint 

- Painter's Tape

-Chalk

How to Make it Happen:

Step 1: Make sure your glass bases are fully clean. Any dirt or dust will show up as nasty bumps on your glasses!

Step 2: Tape the entire stem of the glasses, starting about half an inch up from the bottom. 

Step 3: Spray from about 8 inches away the base of your glasses, careful not to get any on the rest of the glass.

Step 4: WAIT FOR IT TO DRY. Don't skip this step!

Step 5: Spray with a second coat, and let dry again.

Step 6: Remove the tape and allow to fully dry overnight

Step 6: Wrap up with a bottle of wine & some chalk, and you've got a great DIY gift!

They're a fun, practical gift to give- that your friends/family can use again and again! 

Have any great DIY gift ideas?

Make sure to share in the comments, I'm always looking for a new project to try!

xo, lp

4 RED WHITE & BLUE WASHI IDEAS!

I'm slowly but surely starting a washi collection...so I decided to put some of the red & blue to good use!

Yesterday The Washi Blog featured my 4th of July washi straws- and I figured I should share a few more super easy red/white/blue crafts :)

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The 4 super easy crafts are as follows:

1. Patriotic Planner

2. 4th of July straws

3. Cupcake party flags

4. USA cups

#1: Patriotic Planner:

I am a planner hoarder, and the one I got from Target a little while back had its gold stripes wearing off. I figured and little makeover was in order with a few strips of red and blue washi:

#2: 4th of July straws:

Paper straws are cute enough already, but adding these little flags makes them even better! Just fold over, cut out a triangle, and you're good to go.

#3: Cupcake Party Flags:

These are the easiest ever. I mean, just little triangles on toothpicks? Definitely going to be making these for every holiday there is!

#4: USA Party Cups:

The possibilities are endless here, but I went with a simple USA flag and some fun fireworks! If you're having a small get together, making a different design for each guest could be a great way to differentiate whose glass is whose!

If you're looking for more fun washi ideas, you have to check out The Washi Blog!

Have any fun 4th of July decorating tips?

Feel free to share my friends!

xo, lp 

#nomnom PLATES.

 Alright.

Before you go all "Hey Laura, 2008 called and wants its catchphrase back" ... let me just say...well...okay fine. You're right. Go ahead and say it. Nevertheless, I still am amused if I see a meme with a tiny rabbit eating a huge carrot or something like this:

(source)

Yup, still gets me. As if I'm still living in the "Ihazcheezburger", I use the word "nom" all the time. So when I was bored one afternoon with some plates from Goodwill and a Porcelain pen- what did I do?
I made some #nom  plates.

This project cost me grand total of $1.38. Crate & Barrel plates for $0.69 each from Goodwill, and the Porcelaine pen from my friend Lindsay. Bam. I just scrubbed the plates, dried them, and started writing!

Once baked in the oven- the Porcelaine pens are food safe, so head to your local craft store to find one.

The finished products!

They fit perfectly together. Now I just have to find the right friend to give them to...

Anyone else made any quirky crafts lately?

...or know anyone that would like these #nom plates?

xo, lp

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*also:

My original intent was to create a .gif. 

Problem 1: I have no idea how to do that.

Problem 2: I don't have Photoshop or a Mac, which is what Google says you need to make one. 

So, for fun Pinterest purposes, I give you this:

(PR)INSTAGRAM STICKER DIY TRAY

Alright.

There are a few ways I thought about beginning this post:

1. I LOVE INSTAGRAM AND PRINSTAGRAM!

2. HEY SO I'M A BOBBY PIN HOARDER!

3. STICKERS ARE JUST AS COOL NOW AS WHEN WE WERE 5!

And since I couldn't decide, I went with all 3. Are you following me yet with what this post will be about? I gave it away in the title, so unless you're really daft you clearly do. Dang. Too late to go back and change it now, I'm on a roll!

So to break these titles down:

1. You all know I love Instagram. I've done post about my collections here and here. I've also done a post on Social Print Studio and Prinstagrams, and my undying groupie love for their products.

2. If you gave Michael a dime for every bobby pin he found in random places in our apartment he would have enough money to buy us a nicer apartment. Fun fact: once got into the apt in summer and realized I had a bobby pin stuck to my leg- no idea when/how it got there. #facepalm

3. I had a massive sticker collection as a kid. My dad used to work for Lisa Frank- so that should give you a hint at my obsession. Social Print Studio turns your Instagram shots into stickers...is this all coming together yet?

Here, I'll just let you at it:

What I used:

Ugly tin trays for $0.49 from Goodwill  //  Black spray paint  // Instagram stickers from Printstagram  // Mod Podge

Before:

During:

After:

Couldn't have been easier- just picked out my 48 favorite images, stuck them on, and sealed with a layer of Mod Podge so it would be water resistant. Boom. 

So these are the pretty little things. You get 252 of them for $10. YEAH. TEN DOLLARS. Whaaaaat! 

**Update: Social PS might take this product away. WAH. I'm totally going to beg and plead that they keep them foreva. If you want some too email them or place an order ASAP!!  **

I made two trays- one to keep little jewelry and trinkets on ....

...and one for the ridiculous amount of bobby pins I own. No, the amount shown below is not realistic. If you scrubbed our apartment this tray would be so full you wouldn't be able to see an inch of the pictures. For real.

So there you have it! Pretty, colorful, happy trays. Besides being useful, they're also fun to look at because the pictures are from adventures all over the USA! 

Instagram lover too?

Find me: @lpodlich & leave your handle in the comments!

xo, lp

** NO this post was not paid for or sponsored by Social PS! I paid for everything on my own. I just love a good Instagram project and a good DIY! **

$4 DIY JEWELRY HANGER!

I think if I had a dollar for every blog post I've done mentioning jewelry I'd have enough money...to..well... buy myself some more jewelry. 

Last year when we lived in Virginia we had the perfect wall to create a jewelry tree for all of my necklaces. And by we I mean while Michael was at work I painted a tree and banged about 40 nails on the wall. Without telling him.

Woops.

He even spackled every one of the holes when we moved out. What a guy!

Well, I decided to not be a jerk and do that to him again, so this time around I created a jewelry display that only required two holes in the wall. Amazing! 

This project is really simple, and really cheap.

You'll need:

- Level

- Hammer

- Gold Spray Paint

- 2 basic nails

- 1/2 x 48 dowel

- 2 gold cup hooks (  5/8 or 3/4 inch )

All of these can be found at your local hardware store! Dowels run under $1.00, cup hooks around about $0.50 each. The spray paint was about $2, making this whole project around $4. Amazing!

 Here's how to make it happen:

 Easy, right?

Honestly, the only thing that took a long time in this project was hanging up all the necklaces. Yup.

Quick, cheap, and awesome.

 A few things I will say about this project:

1. Don't go thinner than a 1/2 inch dowel. It'll bend like crazy. Mine bends slightly in the middle-but not to the point it's going to break. 

2. If you DO get a bigger dowel, remember to get bigger cup hooks & ones that stick out further from the wall! Otherwise you won't be able to hang your necklaces up because the dowel will be too close to the wall.

 Oh, and keep your most worn necklaces on the ends!
*** Update: I should specify- for the necklaces in the middle you just open the clasp to get them off! - Although it doesn't look like it, there is space between the dowel and the wall- you don't need to remove the dowel from the hooks every time you need a necklace in the middle!!! ****

There you have it!

Although it may not be as creative as the jewelry tree, it is super functional and will a lot easier to clean up come moving time!

How do you store/display your jewelry?

I might have to take your ideas for next time :)

xo, lp


For more B&B-find me on instagram! @lpodlich

10 MINUTE DIY HEART ART!

Last year I was all about decorating for Valentine's Day. I had flowers and garlands and tacky candles galore.

This year? Well, this is about all I came up with. I could pretend it was some super fancy process that takes skill, but let's be real. It took about 10 minutes and could probably be done by a kid.

Eh, I love it anyway.

Try it, friends:

All you need:

- Contact paper

- Red acrylic paint

- Sponge brush

- Scissors

- Thick cardstock or painters paper

- Vinyl letters (I used 2" Helvetica from Office Depot)

Make it happen:

I don't think a step by step is needed here, right?

Just one tip: Contact paper doesn't always stick suuuper well, so paint going from the outside of the heart into the center to keep a crisp outline!

There she is. Framed in all her glory. 

 (yup, those are a couple of the flowers from the V-day tradition I shared last year)

How are you decorating for Valentine's?

Don't have any ideas or any time? Try this 10 minute DIY!

xo, lp 

TALE OF TWO (LAZY) PUMPKINS

There are a lot of creative people sharing cool things on the internet. 

Wow, vague statement of the year, no?

Where I was trying to go with that useless sentence was that while cruising through Pinterest I saw some majorly cool pumpkin ideas that other bloggers had come up with, and got all inspired.

So I went out, bought some mini pumpkins, and settled in to be oh-so creative and let that inspiration just go crazy. Wellllll I think sometimes when you try too hard to be creative-you just get stuck in trying to decide what to do to top what you've seen. 

So rather than get to wild and crazy, I stuck to some simple basics, monogram & dots. 

(we all know I've done both of those... here and here):

All you'll need is:

Black puffy paint

Gold Acrylic paint

Gold glitter

Foam brush

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The first one is simple. Do you know the first letter of your first or last name? Did you learn cursive in 2nd grade? Well, then you can make this happen. I just drew out an L in pen and traced it out with black puffy paint. Stay with me here folks, I know you're blown away. In the end, you'll get this:

The second one might be even easier. I included a foam brush on you "need" list, but imma level with you, I finger painted this pumpkin. Like I said, why go complicated when you can go so simple? I highlighted a few dots with gold glitter and bam. Done. Kate Spade-esque, right?

Here they are together on our shelves. Please note that I have a Shel Silverstein book there. Yup.

Just for good measure, let me share some cool ideas I saw out there:

1.  Ashley's gold dot pumpkins.

2. Erika's edgy chic pumpkins.

3. Aimee's washi tape pumpkins.

4. Shannon's gold thumbtack pumpkins.

How did you decorate your pumpkins this year?

Please tell me someone else finger painted. Please.

xo, lp

DIY Ombre Tray

As you all saw yesterday, LPF Mag is now live! Lauren was sweet enough to let me contribute an article, and it wasn't hard to choose the topic I wanted to focus on. In case you haven't gathered by previous projects like my Kate Spade Gold Dotted Tray or Kelly Green Bookends, I love me some good old fashioned thriftin'. Yep, I'm glamorous like that. 

I won't go into too much detail about the project- I'll let ya check out LPF Mag for that, but I will say that I fully support checking out your local thrift stores for possible DIY projects!

Here's what I started out with: 

 And here's what I ended up with:

 This tray is perfect for a coffee table tray, or for displaying jewelry!!

What great thrift store DIYs have you done?

Make sure you check out LPF mag to see more on the tray!

xo, lp