home

DIY: Faux Starfish Garland

Faux starfish garland.

Not so long ago, I shared how to make faux starfish. I originally made them to decorate my son's birthday party, little accents to put on the table and on the shelves, but I ended up liking them so much that I started making other things with them. Like this new faux starfish garland!

Last year, I decided to change my living decor with each season. I've been working on different color combos and experimenting in the past year, and it will definitely evolve over time (what doesn't right?) but for this summer, as you noticed from my brushstroke wall art, I decided to go with a beach/ocean theme with peach/orange and mint/green as my accent colors. 

I really enjoy decorating and creating new pieces for my home. The process is slow because of everything else I need to do in the little time I have, but every time I sit in my living room, ideas just keep coming.

What color combo have you chosen for your living room decor? Do you go for bright colors or more neutral ones? Do you like changing things up once in a while? 

Materials

Faux starfish
Rope
Tule ribbon
Thread

When you're making the starfish for this project, make sure that you poke a hole through one of the legs of the star so you can hang them. You can do this with a toothpick.

Steps

Put the rope and the tule side by side and attach the starfish (through the hole!) at set intervals. You can measure about where you'd like the stars to be using a ruler. Then you hang it! I have little nails on my fireplace where I usually hang our Christmas stockings so I use those to attach the garland at every star, if you don't have those, you can simple add little push pins that you can remove later, or just hang it from each end (it'll give a slightly different look, but still fun!).

There you have it. I seriously love the end result.

Materials to make a decorative faux starfish garland.
(DIY) How to attach faux starfish to rope and tule to make a pretty garland.
DIY faux starfigh garland to decorate your fireplace.

DIY: Easy Brush Stroke Abstract Wall Art

Green, orange and black brushstroke abstract wall art.

Perfection. Is there even such a thing?

This weekend, I finally mustered up the courage to paint some abstract art for my living room decor. Courage you ask? Sounds silly doesn't it. The truth is, I often put projects aside because I worry it won't be "perfect" and I don't want to throw away my money making something I may not keep or love. Writing it down makes it seem pretty futile.

Ok, not wanting to waste money is pretty admirable in this day and age, but how can you learn anything, if you never try it? 

Green, orange and black brushstroke abstract wall art. More art.

Do you guys remember this wall art I made for my son's room? Oh, and this mobile? It's been a while since I tried making some fun art to decorate my home and I missed it. It's so much fun and so easy.

Materials

Acrylic paints (your choice of colors)
Brushes (different types)
Foam board
Empty palette

I chose to use a foam board because it's cheaper than buying a huge canvas. This one is 20x30 inches. Before I commit to something, I like to try it out first and this seemed like the perfect way. I got the acrylics at the dollar store a long time ago and craft wise, it was probably the best investment I made. Sure, they aren't the best, but all the projects I've made with them have lasted a long time and the colors have not faded. Plus, the sizes are relatively big, so I get to use them on a lot of projects.

Materials for brushstroke abstract wall art.

Steps

1. Select your colors and brushes.
2. Starting with the biggest brush and your main color, paint simple strokes randomly.
3. Lighten your colors and add some more strokes with the same brush. Make sure you clean your brush between each color.
4. Using a different brush, add a simple pattern in a neutral color (I chose black dots).

First steps to brushstroke abstract wall art.

And voilà! Pretty easy and it took me a whole 10 minutes to make. Not bad right?

Personally, I like to contrast colors. Blue and yellow, orange and green... you get the idea. I find it adds a fun twist to any kind of art. I chose orange and turquoise for this piece because those are the accent colors I'm hoping to use for my summer decor. I'm a bit late starting I know, with all that's been happening around here I haven't exactly been inspired to do anything, but it's ok, because there's always next year.

I'm really excited to try decorating with different color palettes for each season. That way I don't have to commit to anything and we won't get tired of seeing any particular decor. I'm keeping all my main items neutral in color, white, black, dark brown and gold, so that it's easy to dress up.

Do you have any decor tips?

Quick and easy DIY brush stroke abstract wall art.

DIY: Clay Animal Head Succulent Planter

Super cute animal (bear) head succulent planter made out of polymer clay and acrylic paints. Great for a gift for a friend or sister, or just to decorate your office. Click through for tutorial.

Ok guys. I'm so proud of myself right now it's actually kind of sad. How adorable is this animal head succulent planter I made?

DIY - Make this adorable clay animal planter for your mini succulents. Click to tweet.

Quite some time ago, I saw this super cute felt planter on Etsy and I really wanted to try making one with polymer clay. Last weekend, I finally found a plant, or succulent I should say, that resembles hair and I just knew I wanted to give the clay pot a shot.

So last night, I took out my polymer clay (which has been sitting around waiting to be used for much too long...) and made this super adorable bear head planter.

Have you ever tried making your own planter?

I also have some good news... I made my first Etsy shop sale this week! Yay! I'm so happy right now. I'm in the process of making more prints, some more elaborate than others so keep your eyes open and keep checking back. I'm really excited about this new development and it makes me want to branch out even more... so many possibilities!

Animal bear head polymer clay planter, super cute.

Materials

Polymer clay (I used Sculpey original)
A little spoon (to scoop out excess clay)
Bake & bond (clay glue)
Acrylic paint
Gloss glaze

Materials to make polymer clay animal head succulent planter with clay.

Steps

1. Warm up your clay by working it with your hands.
2. Make a large ball; slightly bigger than the pot you want to put in it.
3. Using a small spoon, lightly scoop out the excess clay from the top. I tried pressing and sculpting a hole into the ball but it got all squished and weirdly shaped. I strongly suggest scooping. Yes, it takes a bit longer, but the results are much nicer.
4. Roll a small ball of clay, flatten it and cut it in half. These pieces will be the ears of the bear.
5. Apply a bit of glue to the edge, place in on the vase and lightly scrape it in place.
6. Bake according to instructions.
7. Paint, seal with glaze and add your plant. Voila! c:

Instructions on how to make a small DIY succulent bear head planter with fimo clay. This is a really fun and quick craft. You can give it as a gift to a friend, sister, mom, daughter and you can also use it to decorate your room or office! It's supe…