Archive for ‘DIY Projects’

June 12th, 2013

DIY natural bug spray

DIY natural bug spray | Inspired to Share for The Neighborhood

 

It’s finally starting to feel like summer around here (yay!), but I’m also a little freaked out to think we’re approaching July 4th. Isn’t that supposed to mark the middle of summer? How did that happen?

After so much rain, the bugs have come out full-force around here. I’ve always been a mosquito magnet, but sometimes those pesky guys can be such a drag on a warm summer night.

We try to do things naturally in our house, and this year it struck me that we needed to make some changes when it comes to summer care, one of those being insect repellant. (Side-note: another change is natural sunscreen. I’m excited to try Alba Botanica this year as I’ve heard great things.)

 

DIY natural bug spray | Inspired to Share for The Neighborhood

DIY natural bug spray | Inspired to Share for The Neighborhood

 

While I thought about trying to make bug spray last year, I never got around to it. But this year I gave it a try and love it so far! Not only does it smell amazing, but it’s great knowing I can layer it on without worry. Plus, it’s super cost effective.

Check out The Neighborhood for the full post and learn how to make your own DIY natural bug spray!

Happy summer. Let’s enjoy it while we can, right?

Cheers! (Take that, bugs.)

 

DIY natural bug spray | Inspired to Share for The Neighborhood

CategoryDIY Projects, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle, The Neighborhood | Comment2 Comments »

June 4th, 2013

green gifts for spring

gifts from the garden | Inspired to Share

 

How is it already June? We’ve had a slow start to spring here and it still feels like April. However, with a few nice warm days that have felt like summer, it sure is fun to see the neighborhood come alive again.

It made me think Spring is the perfect time to reconnect with neighbors…and what better way than with a gift? I think about those neighbors I’ve only ever waved to, and a new neighbor next door, a small gift is a friendly and thoughtful way to say hello.

Head on over to the Neighborhood for some simple inexpensive gift ideas to surprise both friends and neighbors, whether the gifts are plants you’ve grown yourself, or green-inspired gifts.

 

best-neighbor-gifts-gardening-neighborhood-blog

 

I hope you’re inspired to spread a little neighborly love.

Cheers to spring… and summer on its way!

xo

 

 

CategoryDIY Projects, Grow, The Neighborhood | Comment3 Comments »

May 25th, 2013

DIY portable summer herb garden

how to plant a DIY portable summer herb garden | Inspired to Share

 

Do you ever plant an herb garden in preparation for summer? It’s one of my favorite parts of the warmer months. Even though we rent, we love container gardening and plant an outdoor herb garden every year. There’s nothing better than being able to grab a pinch of fresh herbs to add flavor to a meal. This year we decided to go all out and we’re growing cilantro, basil, mint, thyme, parsley, oregano, chives, and lavender! I’m beyond excited. We admire them daily and I’ve even been catching Nick checking on the plants in the morning before work, which melts my heart.

If you’d like to learn more, I wrote all about our process for The Neighborhood. Basically, we began with little seedlings (above) and also bought little grown herb plants at the garden store. Once it was warm enough, we planted a little herb oasis in a container on our balcony. They’ve been doing so well! :)

Be sure to read more about portable herb gardening over on The Neighborhood!

Here are some photos of how it turned out…

 

DIY portable summer herb garden | Inspired to Share

DIY portable summer herb garden | Inspired to Share

basil garden marker | DIY portable summer herb garden | Inspired to Share

lavender garden marker | DIY portable summer herb garden | Inspired to Share

 

Happy gardening!

Summer is just around the corner.

xoxo

 

 

 

 

CategoryDIY Projects, Grow, The Neighborhood | Comment2 Comments »

May 13th, 2013

DIY macramé plant hanger

DIY macramé plant hanger | Inspired to Share

Things have been pretty quiet around here…and I’ve been kind of bummed about it. Life has been crazy busy. Did I mention I started a new full-time job? I’m determined to keep up with everything on the blog lately but really I’m just way behind. And just plain tired. Overall it’s been a very positive change and life is good, I’m just trying to keep up…but then again, aren’t we all? :)

This is a project I’ve been meaning to share for a month…and one that I was so excited to complete! A DIY macramé plant hanger. Have you heard of macramé? It’s basically the craft of “knotting” and while it can be complex, it can also be super simple (hello, double knot).  Macramé was really popular in the 1970′s but it seems like it’s made really made a comeback in the last couple years. It’s also widely used for jewelry.

Some of the knots in macramé are insanely complicated and cool, but I wanted to start with something manageable (aka easy). We have so many plant hooks on the ceiling of our bungalow apartment and I’m determined to use each and every one. While I’m not there yet, my new macrame plant hangers are helping me reach that goal.

To do this project, you’ll need some type of macramé cord, rope, or twine, which was surprisingly hard to find . First I tried ordering a bright colored cord, but it was far thicker than I thought it would be. I found the cord I had hoped for  in the bead section of JoAnn Fabrics (I used 3mm natural cord). You’ll also need scissors, tape measure, and wooden beads, if you’d like.

 

DIY macramé plant hanger supplies | Inspired to Share

 

I’m a visual learner, so here are the steps via photos…

 

how to make a DIY macramé plant hanger | Inspired to Share

 

Tie a knot joining 8 pieces of cord (I cut mine around 4′ long each – I would recommend overestimating according to how low you want it to hang it, as you can always cut off more later!). Separate by sets of two and begin tying square knots at about the same distance from the knot. Then connect new pieces of cord into two, around the same distance as the first set of knots. You will do this two more times until you essentially have a diamond inside of a square shape (shown above).

Once you’ve finished tying the base of knots, this is where you can get more creative. For additional flair, thread wooden beads onto your cord and tie square knots on each side of the bead(s). You could create patterns of beads with different colors, or even just do a series of intricate knots going up the cords (find ideas for more knots here). It would also be cool to paint or dye the cords ahead of time for pops of color!

Next, flip the knot of cords over so that the tassle is underneath. Place your potted plant inside the “net”. Gather all of the strings at an equal length so the plant is flat. There are many different ways to hang the top, but I chose to use a large metal key chain ring (these can be found at a hardware store). After watching tutorials, I tied a wrapped knot on the top to secure the ring for hanging. And voila! Suddenly the room feels like a tropical jungle.

It’s such an easy project with a big impact result! Again, there are so many different ways to create a macramé plant hanger, and this is just how I did it.

I hope you give this a try! Hanging plants are just so cheery, don’t you think?

xo

 

DIY macrame plant hanger | Inspired to Share

 

P.S. I’ve got some more fun garden posts coming up this month!

 

 

 (top and bottom photo via my Instagram)

CategoryDIY Projects | Comment6 Comments »

April 15th, 2013

calligraphy

wedding calligraphy | Inspired to Share

 

So I’m excited to share a little more about a new hobby I’ve been working on…calligraphy! My good friend is getting married next month and she asked me to address her invitations…I’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy but never had a reason to, I guess. This was a great excuse to learn and although I was nervous, I was also excited for the challenge. :)

I wasn’t sure what types of calligraphy pens to purchase. I went to Michael’s and probably stood in the aisle and reading product labels for 20 minutes, haha. I already had a beginner’s calligraphy kit at home (from my childhood!), but was worried the ink had dried out and I wanted to have options. After doing a little research, it turns out there are three types of calligraphy pens. If you’re hard-core, you might use a brush and quill. (Do people still do that?) There are also traditional dip pens (I used Speedball brand), or pens with ink cartridges. The easiest option would be to just purchase a felt pen with a calligraphy tip (Elegant Writer brand is common). I purchased all of the above, wanting to be prepared.

I spent lots of time googling tutorials and struggled to grasp the concepts. First, I began practicing the strokes and angle with the felt tip pen (like these), which helped a lot for practice. Then I tried the cartridge pens in the beginner set I had, only to decide I wanted the real deal. So, finally, I picked up the real ink and dip pen (using the smallest nib from this Speedball set). Once I got over the fear and tried experimenting, things really started flowing. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun.;) 

It took time and after the 5th envelope (seriously), something clicked. Suddenly I was able to manage the pressure of the nib and control my ink flow the way I wanted, while creating smooth strokes. I found the process so completely relaxing and wonderful. I was at my friend’s house for a few days, and I honestly was so happy to wake up each day and work on calligraphy. I’ve always loved playing with handwriting and type, but calligraphy feels like a completely different world, one that very much excites me with all the possibilities.

Here are a few examples from the invitations I addressed… I don’t have any formal training and I guess I just tried to create my own simple style, so here’s how they turned out.

 

wedding-calligraphy-001-roger-georgette

 

wedding-calligraphy-005-paper-stack

 

wedding calligraphy | Inspired to Share

 

I already have so many ideas involving calligraphy and I’m trying to sort through them all! For now, I do know I want to keep learning. I’m excited to possibly get some more formal training and really develop my style. We’ll see!

Oh, and just for fun, below is a photo of part of their actual invite! Clearly that is legit calligraphy (printed – I did not write it!) and while I’m not at that skill level yet, I’d love to get there! :)

 

happily ever after | calligraphy on Inspired to Share

 

Hope you have a great start to your week!

xoxo

 

 

 

CategoryDIY Projects, Paper Products, Wedding Bells | Comment9 Comments »

March 26th, 2013

DIY flower crown

DIY flower crown | Inspired to Share

 

So I’ve been wanting to make a flower crown for the longest time. I guess I just never had a justified reason. But then one of my best friends was having a bachelorette party and I thought it would be fun to create something for her to wear as a crown…a flower crown! Who doesn’t want to be a flower child princess for the night?

At first I was going to use real flowers, but who was I kidding. That would have been way hard and I wanted her to be able to keep it after the party. I went to the craft store and picked a bunch of fake flowers that I thought would look good – mostly romantic blooms in white and pinks, with a few touches of greenery, and making sure to get smaller flowers to mix in as well. I bought about 15-20 stems of various sizes.

Here are the supplies you’ll need:

fake flowers (about 15-20 stems)
thick floral wire
pliers
floral tape
thin floral wire
hot glue gun

diy flower crown supplies | Inspired to Share

diy flower crown | Inspired to Share

 

While I don’t have photos of the process, it’s really quite simple. First, cut desired length of wire (about the circumference of your head plus six to eight inches). Create a circle that lays loosely on your head (the flowers will take up some space) and wrap the excess wire tightly around the back of the crown, using a pliers.

Next, cut / separate all of the larger flowers off of their stems. Lay out your desired design and arrangement for the crown. Using a combination of floral tape, floral wire, and (mostly) hot glue, attach flowers to the wire and each other, making sure to pack them tight. Wait for glue to dry between flowers so that you can attach to the glue itself, if needed. Continue doing this until you have it just the way you’d like! The back will look like a hot glue mess but it’s perfectly fine and secure once it dries. I went over it with hot glue twice just to make sure. I liked to mix the colors and sizes throughout but it could also look cool to have some sort of fading ombre effect! There are so many options with colors and types of flowers.

My friend looked beautiful and it was such a fun handmade gift. But before I let go, of course I had to wear it around the house to feel like a princess. It may have been a day or two of this… :)

 

diy flower crown | Colleen Ludovice of Inspired to Share

 

What do you think? Would you ever make a flower crown…perhaps for spring? Plus you could definitely make it with fewer flowers for a more subtle effect. :)

xo

 

 

CategoryDIY Projects, Floral Styling | Comment8 Comments »

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