Smile And Wave

Yarn Stash Pom Pom Ornaments

Note: This post was created in partnership with Voya Financial. All thoughts and fantastic pom pom making skills are my own. 

I love switching up our Christmas decor each year in some small way so I've learned to get resourceful. It allows me to respect the budget and spend that hard earned money on gifts instead! I have stashes of beautiful vintage glass ornaments from years of thrifting but our toddler has made it quite clear he is not to be trusted with breakable orbs. I realized I would either have to leave the bottom half of the tree bare or come up with an easy, inexpensive solution for adding some color to our white tree.

I started brainstorming ornament ideas after seeing some of the projects shared by the ever resourceful Holiday Hall, who has been sharing creative holiday ideas and tips over on the Voya Financial Facebook Page. My studio is full of random yarn cut offs, and leftover mini skeins from weaving workshops so I decided to put them to work. I'm not a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas colors so I gathered my favorite shades and my trusty pom pom maker and worked through two holiday movies on Netflix while cranking these out. I love the texture and color they add to the tree, but even more so, I love that it cost me NOTHING to change things up this year.

Here's what you need to make your own...

SUPPLIES

Various coordinating fibers from your stash

Clover large pom pom maker

scissors

 

Open your Clover pom pom maker and start wrapping your first color in the middle of the arm. Then wrap a different color on either side of the first color so that they are generally the same thickness. 

Add a third color almost all the way across the arm to cover the first two colors. Put the arm back in place and repeat the process on the opposite arm. 

Cut the yarn by placing you scissors under the yarn on one of the arms where there is an opening that looks like a gutter, for lack of a better term. Repeat on the other arm while holding the flat sides of the pom pom maker as shown. Then cut an 12" length of yarn and place it in the blue gutter so that it wraps all the way around and pull tight. Tie a knot, tighten it as much as you can without breaking it, and then tie another knot. 

Gently remove your pom pom maker and trim your ornament until you have a lovely round ball. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

If you have kids, this is a fun way to employ their pom pom making skills! Make plenty more and string them into a garland, top your presents, or add them to your stockings for extra texture. It's such a useful way to use up your yarn stash! Keep them for next year or repurpose these fun pom poms by adding them as tassels on a pillow or throw to give it a modern twist. Or use them to make this woven wall hanging!

Check out other ways to spend less this holiday season with Holiday Hal and learn more about Voya Financial online and through their Facebook, and Twitter.

I hope your holiday season is full of love and peace.

-Rachel

 

Weave Your First Wall Hanging on Skillshare

Weave Your First Woven Wall Hanging

An Online Skillshare Class by Rachel Denbow

I'm so thrilled to share my first video eCourse through Skillshare!

I've partnered with them to create a 45 minute video that thoroughly covers the fundamental techniques you need to know to make your first woven wall hanging. It's designed for beginners and gives instructions on how to make your own wooden loom if you don't already own one! Learn my favorite technique for choosing colors, how to warp your loom, plain weave, soumak, rya knots, and how to get everything finished and off the loom so you can enjoy your wall art. This design is exclusive to this course and hasn't been shared elsewhere. 

Skillshare hosts an incredible range of courses for those wanting to learn how to do almost anything. I first stumbled upon them when I was trying to figure out how to use SEO correctly! Their free plan gives you access to a number of helpful classes but the premium plan gives you access to every class in their site. It's such a valuable resource for those that are visual learners.

I'm celebrating the launch of my first course with a giveaway! The first 50 people that use this link get free access to my course with no obligation.  It's my way of saying thanks for all of your support on this weaving journey!

http://skl.sh/2bdcO1c

I can't wait to see what you think but head over and sign up today before all the free spots are taken! 

There's more exciting weaving news this month and if you've already pre-ordered my book, DIY Woven Art, you know it's headed to your house a little sooner than planned! Woohoo!!!

I hope your end of summer days are treating you well, friends! I'm not ready for autumn to get here just yet. I have a few more warm weather adventures to take!

-Rachel

 

My Unexpected Small Bathroom Solution

Time to play catch up and share all the projects that have been keeping me busy this summer! First up is this organizing solution to a small bathroom problem. Head over to A Beautiful Mess to see how I used this IKEA plant stand to clear up some counter space and teach my kids how to be a little more responsible. We could all use a little more counter space, right? Also, responsibility.

I'm such a fan of thinking a little outside the box because sometimes the garden section of a store has just what my bathroom needs! Do you ever give your stuff a new job just because it makes perfect sense somewhere else?

-Rachel

Top photo: Janae Hardy

Rescuing My Bookshelf from Crayons and Markers

This is sponsored post created in partnership with Glidden Paint. I received compensation for my honest review and all opinions accurately reflect my experience with this product. I'm always thankful for the support of sponsors that fit the Smile and Wave DIY brand.

I love encouraging my kids' artistic abilities and hope they learn to think outside the box in all creative ventures but, as many of you moms and dads know, that can sometimes lead to tagging the wall purple stick figures or practicing their name in sharpie on your unfinished IKEA crib. In this specific instance, it was testing out crayons and washable markers on a custom made bookshelf that I've had for a few years. It has survived three moves and been used in a variety of ways storing kids' toys, a typewriter collection, baby paraphernalia, etc. It's recently been put to use in my studio holding most of my yarn stash. It was looking a little tired before the crayon attack but once it was marked up, I decided I may as well find a way to make it even more exciting than before. 

When Glidden Paint asked if I was interested in trying out their new Glidden Complete-Stain Blocking, Paint + Primer with stain covering powers, I knew this was my chance to give my bookshelf the makeover it deserved. I cleared all of the yarn off to get a good look at the crayon and washable marker art work. You can also see the original lumber prints from the lumberyard. When the bookshelf was made, it was intended to sit horizontal on the ground so the lumber yard prints wouldn't show. Covering them up was another reason I was looking forward to hitting refresh on this storage piece. 

The crayon and washable marker weren't all over the place-just in a few key places. Both Ruby and Smith had added their contributions in the last two years. Here's a before shot of one of the areas that were marked on. 

Here's the same spot after two thin coats of Glidden Complete. You couldn't see the crayon at all after the first coat and  you can just barely see the washable marker after the second coat here.

I added a third thin coat just on that shelf and it was finally completely covered. I was impressed that such a light paint color was able to cover over the washable purple marker. I also tested a thin black sharpie in an inconspicuous spot and it was covered up after only one coat. 

This is the side of the bookshelf that had the lumber yard markings on it and they are ever so faint after one thin coat. I added a second coat for more even coverage and they are no longer visible. Woohoo! 

Once the bookshelf was done, I added some inexpensive crates that I spray painted a neon coral to add a little more fun to this space. I then added a coat of polyurethane to the crates so the spray paint wouldn't rub off on the bookshelf. I'd seen a similar peach and neon coral color combination online somewhere and knew this would be a little unexpected but also really cheerful. The peach color is really warm and happy. It's hard to do it justice in photos but I love how it looks with the coral!

For someone who enjoys a good project, I also prefer the easiest routes possible. The best part about this bookshelf makeover was not having to purchase a separate primer and knowing my paint was going to easily cover over both the darker markings and artistic markings without me having to sand them down. Two coats of paint feels pretty standard on most things when you're going for even coverage and the third coat on just one shelf to cover a tiny spot felt more like a touch up than anything. I like that the paint was thick enough to not need a lot of coats but also settled out smoothly so that I didn't have ridges everywhere. 

As always, it's a great idea to test something out in an inconspicuous spot or with a smaller paint purchase to make sure it's going to work for your project before committing your time and money to it. I've used a variety of paint brands and have enjoyed all of them but I appreciate the affordability of Glidden and the fact that this specific paint does what it claims to do.

I have a cute new bookshelf to store all of my yarn and my studio is feeling a little more exciting with these summer colors. It's amazing how a little paint job can make you feel like you have a new piece of furniture!

Because I'm sure some of you have your own summer projects you're eager to take on, I'm so thrilled to share that Glidden is offering four gallons of Glidden Complete-Stain Blocking, Paint + Primer to one lucky Smile and Wave DIY reader!

To enter to win, leave a comment below sharing what you'd do with a few gallons of Glidden Complete Paint and you could be halfway to painting your master bedroom or giving your own furniture piece a makeover!

A winner will be chosen on June 13th and announced here. 

Here's to a weekend full of fun projects!

-Rachel

 

 

Woven Leather Bench DIY for ABM

This woven leather bench will forever remain in my Top Ten Favorite DIY's list. It is one of those that worked out like a dream and could easily work in at least four rooms in our house. If you're not intimidated with purchasing and cutting up leather hide, you should add this tutorial to your list. Also, another to use your new weaving skills!

Check out the full tutorial and my best tips for choosing the perfect leather for this kind of project over at A Beautiful Mess. Also, thank you, IKEA, for having such fun plants. 

-Rachel 

 

 

Sebastian's Room Makeover

Sebastian's room makeover has been in the works since January but I finally put the finishing touches on it last week and he is one happy kid! We ended up with a slightly Star Wars themed room but I made sure the main elements that we purchased were items that will last him through any specific phase he's in and still feel cool in his teenage years. Also, I can't believe we're even close enough to the teenage years to start thinking about that!

There were four main challenges that presented themselves with this space that I kept in mind while choosing pieces for his new room. The first was making sure it was designed so that he still felt like it was an accurate reflection of his interests while also feeling like it was put together with a plan. The second was introducing pattern without going with full-on preppy stripes or woodsy plaids. The third was to use darker colors without making this already dark room feel like a cave. The fourth was finding a way to work within the limitations of a rental home. As with all of our home projects, we were working on a bit of a shoestring budget so I had to stay flexible with my design, resourceful in finding new pieces, and patient in how quickly it all came together. 

Here is a before and after of this corner of his room. It's a downstairs, L-shaped room on the dark side of the house. It has lovely high ceilings, an attached bathroom (you can see the door in the before image), and a large walk-in closet that used to be part of the porch (not shown). It was shared in the rental listing as a fourth bedroom that could also be used as another family room since it was so big. When we first moved in we used it as our master bedroom and had Smith's crib in here as well. Then we did some musical room switching and Sebastian ended up downstairs.

His original bed frame that went with the mid-century headboard lost some parts during our last move and then life got really busy really fast so we just kept his mattress and box springs on the floor with the headboard kind of propped up against the wall. With so much extra space, we would stash extra chairs or random big toys in here when company was coming over and then they'd just stay in here. We even had Christmas decoration boxes stashed in a corner for at least two months! We taped up his huge dinosaur drawing mural in one corner but there wasn't much else in this room that was done to either of our tastes. Thankfully he was patient as we came up with a plan and the time to execute it!  

Here you can see the door that leads to the downstairs bathroom. It creates an L-shaped room that can be a little awkward for furniture placement but we finally came up with something that works. 

Rearranging Basics 

This is the wall where his headboard used to rest against. It also dips down lower than the rest of the room. Old house problems! By finding a new place for his bed that would make better use of the unique shape of the room, I was able to carve out stations for lounging, homework, storage, and a gallery wall. 

This space is now a little nook where we hung shelving from IKEA and created a little homework station. He now has a place to display some of his stuff without Smith getting into it! I went with white broadcloth and sewed my own curtains for these odd-sized windows. This one looks out into the backyard and offers great morning light on sunny days. By using pattern and color in other elements, I felt good about keeping the curtains white in order to avoid darkening the room any further with colored curtain panels. 

Incorporating Pattern 

There aren't quite as many easy patterns to incorporate in a pre-teen boy's room as there are for little men or girls at any age. You can fall back on stripes and plaids but then that can feel preppy, nautical, or woodsy pretty quickly. Nothing wrong with those if that's what you're into but I wanted something a little different. I searched for a rug for weeks knowing I'd probably inspire the rest of the room and finally found this Safavieh Handmade Cambridge rug on Overstock. The pattern was perfect and I knew the rug would last forever since it was wool. It was on a great sale so I jumped! 

I then got the idea to do a similar repeat pattern on the walls with the Walls Need Love Easy Stripe. I had been overthinking what kind of wall design I wanted to add based on how easy it would be to recreate, how cost-effective it would be, and whether or not it would feel special enough to share. I thought about doing diagonal stripes across the whole wall and even entertained a repeating hashtag pattern (still love this one but I imagine it would be a LOT more work) before realizing this kind of repeating arrow pattern not only felt cool enough for a pre-teen room, it went well with whatever Star Wars vibe this room was starting to develop.

Having a pattern on the floor as well as the wall felt like a great balance to having a lot of solid colors in the bedding, curtains, chair, and other furniture items. I didn't want to go overboard but I do think patterns can make a space feel more layered. I'd like to eventually add in more pattern with a handmade quilt at the end of his bed and as many throw pillows as he'll let me get away with! 

Designing without Losing Personal Touches

I utilized storage pieces I loved that added to the design of the room in order to stash away some of the special toys and keepsakes that had made things feel cluttered. The thrifted set of lockers now hold all of the Star Wars magazine posters that Sebastian had taped to his walls. He was really attached to them so we decorated the inside of the lockers like they do in all the jr. high sitcoms. I then let him pick out these two Star Wars posters from Etsy that felt a little more artistic and fit frame sizes we already had. Here are a few more of our favorites: Here, here, here, here, here.

We rolled up the mural of dinosaur drawings and will hang it up in the huge closet in this room (not photographed yet) and then made a designated gallery wall for new artwork he and a friend had made of themselves as Star Wars characters. I used more of the red Walls Need Love Easy Stripe vinyl tape to hang everything on the wall to add another bit of red and to add some consistency to the different drawings and paintings. 

Going Vertical

This shelf unit from IKEA was in our bedroom for awhile but felt out of place so I brought it to Sebastian's room and placed it over his vintage school desk to create a homework station that can also keep some of his favorite toys out of his brother's reach.  The large acrylic letter S is vintage and has made an appearance in almost every room design we've done over the few years and the Washington license plate is from our brief but exciting time living in Seattle. Sebastian was born there but is religiously opposed to supporting the Seahawks since the Broncos are his team. It's one of those keepsakes I put out more for my own amusement than his. 

When styling this space I made sure I didn't overfill it with everything he owns so it wouldn't feel too heavy. I also staggered items according to height and bulk to make it aesthetically pleasing. It was easy to find repetition in the colors red, blue, and black since almost everything he owns falls into that color story. Thanks Marvel comics. 

Also, I'm not opposed to putting holes in the walls as long as they are secure and won't create larger holes down the road. Life is too short to have bare walls when you know you'll be in a rental for more than a year in my opinion! Learn how to patch them and enjoy the difference shelving and artwork make!

I did purchase a lounge chair at a wholesale furniture shop that I stopped by on a whim that I wouldn't necessarily have chosen for anywhere else in the house. It's not a piece of furniture that will outlast his teen years but it's comfortable and stain-resistant and a great spot for reading upside down or sideways with his legs hanging over the arms. He also has a neighborhood friend that hangs out over here after school and I wanted to provide another place to sit other than the bed or the floor. 

I also attached one of his X-Wing Starfighter toys to a string to make that corner a little more fun. It's made from foam and I think has a few missing pieces so he was fine with me suspending it in mid-air. 

This boy finally has a finished space to enjoy after such a long wait and I'm so thankful that I was able to work with Walls Need Love to make it special. Check out the tutorial for how I worked my repeating arrow magic here. If you're a renter and in need of something affordable and fun for your walls, I can't sing their praises enough. 

Now that Ruby and Sebastian's rooms have had some attention, I'm thinking it may be time to start working on our own! Keep your eyes peeled for a wish list post in the next few weeks. Thanks for coming back again and again to see what we're up to over here. Your presence is appreciated!

-Rachel

Stitched Custom Quilts: My New Favorite Kickstarter Campaign

The concept of designing a quilt for someone you love, even if you don't own a sewing machine or know your way around a fabric store, was my favorite part about the Stitched Kickstarter when I first read through their e-mail. They were offering a chance to review one of their printed quilts to help spread the word and my interest was piqued. After scrolling through their site, I realized the possibilities for designing a custom quilt were ten times what they first appeared.

I liked that they had some templates in pleasing colors but what sold me on this concept was that I could choose a traditional template and then drag and drop color options into each block to get an entirely different look. I was able to design a quilt that is really similar to some I've been wanting to make for the last two years that would've never passed through my sewing machine. It wasn't even until I came back to watch the Kickstarter video again that I realized there was a tool to customize a quilt from scratch using blocks! Talk about a fabulously versatile tool!

I got my quilt in the mail yesterday and was thrilled with the quality of the fabric and print. While it's not a hand or machine-pieced quilt, it still has the texture that comes with being quilted together with a long arm machine and the rich colors and patterns that come from factory printed fabrics. It was ALL I COULD DO to keep Smith and his applesauce-covered face from wrapping himself up in it when I pulled it out of the packaging. We cuddled on the couch as soon as I cleaned him up. We're both big fans. 

After watching their video and reading more about their purpose, my new favorite part about this campaign was their excitement to offer flexible working hours and fair wages to refugees. I can always get behind a company that cares about their employees and goes the extra mile in working with their unique needs to help them improve their lives. 

I love what Stitched is doing and I really want to see them fully funded ahead of schedule. These quilts would make the perfect gifts for new moms as they get all nesty in preparation for their new baby or for high school grads that might need a little comfort as they transition away from home. I can see some of the fun templates being popular with all of the ages in between as well! It's such a great concept for anyone who appreciates the beauty of an heirloom gift but doesn't feel like they can make one themselves. 

You can learn more about their Kickstarter campaign and become a backer here. I'm going to go snuggle under mine after I pour another cup of coffee before a certain someone wakes up from his nap!

-Rachel

P.S. This sponsored post is in collaboration with Stitched but all opinions are my own. I'm always happy to support and share about companies that are doing special things and putting more beautiful products into the hands of those that appreciate them. 

Wooden Wardrobe DIY

Need another weekend project? This open-concept wooden wardrobe is a much easier DIY than you'd think at first glance. You can purchase the wood pre-cut from Lowe's and put it together in less than two hours at home as long as you have access to a power drill and a flat surface! True story! Fitting this into our bedroom meant doing a little rearranging but the whole room feels so good now! Isn't it incredible what a little change in one corner can do? 

Head over to A Beautiful Mess for the full tutorial and supply list to get started on your own. It seemed to be a pretty popular one this week.

Here's to making time to make things!

-Rachel

Photography: Rachel Denbow and Janae Hardy. 

Woven Bath Mat DIY

 

In case you haven't already seen it over at A Beautiful Mess, I shared how you can use your weaving skills for more than just beautiful wall hangings! Grab some fabric yarn, spend some time finger-knitting a chunky garland or two (or four), and then make yourself a luxe bath mat that you'll wish covered your entire floor! It's ultra plush and textural so it's a great way to turn a boring but practical bathroom item into something beautiful. 

This mat cost about $40 to make which can be comparable to similar-sized, plush mats but I didn't have to look long and hard for the colors I wanted in the right size because I got to choose my own! One of my favorite fabric yarn resources is Gannxet. If you're looking for all of those subtle tones or even prints, they have a huge selection at reasonable prices. 

Head over to A Beautiful Mess to get the full tutorial.

If you already know how to weave, this is a great way to stretch your boundaries with a home decor project. If you've been wanting to learn, my new book DIY Woven Art is a great resource for beginners! It takes you step-by-step through the simplest of weavings and teaches new techniques and stitches with each of the 12 projects. You'll also learn about building your own affordable looms! It's available for pre-order now so be sure to grab yours before they sell out once they hit bookstores in August!

-Rachel

 

Easy Stripe DIY with Walls Need Love

You may remember the mini room makeover I worked on in January that featured Walls Need Love Design Packs. Ruby's room was so fun to work on because she's all about pink and gold and patterns and textures so I didn't have to think too hard on how to refresh her space on a budget. Well, I'm back with a second room-in-progress featuring Walls Need Love's Easy Stripes and am happy to share how their removable self-adhesive strips are taking center stage in a sea of solid colors.

Sebastian's room was probably in even more need of a little love as his space is on the main floor and was a catch-all for the random extra chairs and big toddler toys we'd toss in to hide whenever company was coming. It also housed our Christmas decoration boxes the entire month of December and well into February! Poor kid! So neglected! I finally had some time to focus on designing his space in early March and then things came together rather smoothly. I'll be sharing full details and the full room tour in a separate post as I still have some shelving to add, a bed frame to assemble, and all the styling he'll allow and then we'll be golden! Today is all about how to think outside the stripey box when it comes to using the Easy Stripe strips.

As a renter, it's almost impossible to make changes to the color or patterns on your walls unless you've got a trusting landlord or don't need that security deposit. This is the main reason we almost ALWAYS make white walls a high priority on our list after wooden floors when searching for a cute rental. Our current rental is a beautifully remodeled 100-year-old home with beautiful windows and woodwork but the paint color is a sad little shade of gray. Like the kind of light you get on a rainy, winter day. It's not the worst in the world, by far, but I regularly have to work on my good attitude about how it affects the brightness of my photos. However, I'm a firm believer in working with what you've got and enjoying it as often as you can! 

After working with Walls Need Love the first two times, I knew their product would be the perfect option for making Sebastian's room feel a little more exciting. 

I searched Pinterest to see what other people had done with washi tape or similar removable strips and got some great design inspiration. I knew I wanted something that made a statement without being a project so challenging that I gave up halfway through. After entertaining the idea of an entire wall of diagonal stripes, a repeat pattern of hand cut hashtags (still love this concept), and trying to recreate the look of flying at light speed like they do in Star Wars, I finally settled on a simple repeating arrow shape. It looked simple enough but there was still a bit of math involved.

Before ordering I had to measure out the length of the walls I wanted to cover to make sure I didn't run out or place an order a zillion times bigger than I needed. Upon arrival, I used my ladder and yardstick to make some marks to guide my design. We have an A/C duct that was retrofitted into the house on one side of the room so I was sure to take that into account. It was 17" lower than the ceiling line so I marked the corner shown below under the air duct as my highest point and then measured up 17" from the floor up to mark my lowest point. Then I found the center of the wall by the side of my window frame where the tip of the arrow would touch and made a mark there. Then I just carefully made a few dots with a pencil along my yardstick to help me visualize the line it would create from the top corner to the tip of the arrow. 

There was a little bit of trial and error in play but I also got pretty lucky with my measurements. I attached the first strip at the top of my corner and then carefully unrolled my roll so I could get down the ladder and gently place it on the center point near my window. This would've been a great project to do with an extra set of hands but my extra set of hands was keeping the smallest member of the household out of my way and off the ladder, so take heart that it's not impossible to do this all by yourself!

After placing the first strip, I finished the line of that arrow with the bottom strip. I was really happy with the size of things and then just made consistent marks for the next four arrows. I measured up 6.5" from the top of the first strip to where I wanted the bottom of my next strip along the seam of my corner. Then I'd follow the top of the first strip about halfway up the arrow and make another mark measuring up 6.5". I'd repeat that until I had three marks. I tried finding the marking place for the point of the second arrow but decided to just let the strip overlap the center line instead. Each time I stuck the next strip on I would step back to make sure it was (mostly) as straight as possible before moving on to the next strip. 

Getting a clean corner was something I was unsure about since it wasn't a right angle but it ended up being simple. 

Step One: Be sure your two strips overlap where they meet and then pull back the top strip. Trim the bottom strip with scissors so that it won't stick out from under the top strip. 

Step Two: Place your top strip back in place and be sure to double check it doesn't have the bottom strip peeking out. 

Step Three: Make a mark by folding your top strip back until it creases along the line you want to cut or mark it lightly with a pencil or chalk and then cut off your excess. 

If you cut a little too much you can easily fix the look of your line by cut another piece of Easy Stripe tape and placing it on top. It smooths down nicely without it looking like a botch job. It's pretty forgiving that way!

It also comes with a little smoothing tool to help flatten out any air bubbles on your wall. I had to completely remove two of the strips after getting distracted and mismatching my arrows and they came off without any damage to the paint on the walls. I've not had the same luck with washi tape, so this was a major relief. 

 

I am so thrilled with how much of an impact these simple little strips of red tape have in his room and I can't wait to share the rest soon! I'm sure you're already sensing a bit of a theme? I made sure Sebastian was involved in the direction his room makeover took and while it has a little more of a theme than we've ever done before, it's a theme we are both excited about and can easily adjust should he outgrow it.

Have you ever tried self-adhesive wallpaper or decals to make your space a little more special? I love how affordable this kind of option is when you don't want to make a big investment in wallpaper but still crave a little more pattern and design on your walls. Also, it always feels good to be able to knock out a project in an afternoon all by yourself! High five to all of you hard-working, creative mamas and papas out there. 

-Rachel

P.S. I worked in partnership with Walls Need Love to bring you this Easy Stripe DIY and was compensated for this post. All opinions are 100% mine and I'm proud to work with a company that makes my life better because it makes it easy to share with my fantastic readers.