home decor projects

DIY Snowflake Window Garland

Today I am sharing with you a simple way to add some wintery snowflake decor to your house for the season! This project is super quick, easy and cheap with the right supplies. I love it with the first snowfall of the season painting the landscape beyond the window. Perfect!

SUPPLIES

White paper (I used filter paper I was given from the local recycling center)

Sizzix Snowflakes #3

Sizzix Snowflake With Texture Fade by Tim Holtz

Clear string

Hot Glue and glue gun

Sticky foam mounts or other removable tape

TUTORIAL

Die cut several snowflakes from white paper.

Add a line of hot glue to the back of the snowflakes and adhere the clear string.

Continue adding snowflakes this way until the strand is as long as you want.

I made 7 strands of snowflakes and stuck them to the window’s “ceiling” using removable foam mounting tape.

If you don’t have a die cut machine, you can make your paper snowflakes with this detailed tutorial from Instructables:

How to make Paper Snowflakes

For more Christmas inspiration, visit our 50+ Christmas Kid’s Crafts:

Make gifts for your loved ones on the cheap with our 50+ Gifts to Make for Under $10:

DIY Recycled Glass Bottle Frames

by Johnnie Collier

Display meaningful photos in a unique way while busting through your stash of vintage buttons, ribbons, fabric scraps and found objects. These little medicine bottles can be found in thrift stores, at tag sales and online for cheap. Use them for Christmas gifts, or as photo frames for yourself!

MATERIALS

-Variety of antique medicine and food bottles

-Photos sized to fit in bottles and printed in black and white or sepia tone on copy paper

-Glitter, sand or other filler

-Found objects, beads, vintage buttons, old keys and other embellishments

-Decorative ribbon, twine, lace, burlap and fabric scraps

-Corks for bottle tops

-Copper craft wire gauge 20-22

-wire cutter

-scissors

-hot glue

-Bamboo skewer or pencil

DIRECTIONS

Clean bottle and remove any labels. Let dry.

Add sand or glitter using funnel or folded paper scrap
Drop in a few beads, buttons or other small meaningful objects.

Roll the photo into a tube and insert it into the bottle. Use a skewer to unroll it and flatten it against the inner surface of the bottle.
Embellish outside of bottle with ribbon, lace, twine, vintage pearls and other scraps. Glue on buttons and found objects with hot glue.

Place cork in bottle and embellish with vintage buttons, beads or brooches. Secure with wire wrapped around cork and through button. Add a dab of hot glue at the base of the button to hold in place on top of the cork.

Upcycled Frap Bottle Frosty Heart Lanterns

by Johnnie Collier

Handmade lanterns are all the rage. With adhesive stencils and paints made just for glass, creating fun designs on bottle is easier than ever. This project involves cutting the bottles roughly in half. Frost and glitter paint are used with heart stickers in a masking technique, so that light from the candles shines through the frosty heart shapes. Create a warm glow for your Valentine’s Day dinner at home!

MATERIALS

– Frappuccino bottles

–Martha Stewart frost glass paint in white

– glitter glass paint in red and pink

– heart stickers cut from foil tape or adhesive vinyl

– cosmetic sponge

– Rubbing Alcohol

– Lint free dry cloth

– Protective gloves

– heart stickers that adhere well to glass

-Surface protector such as newspaper or craft sheet

-bottle cutting supplies (See How to Cut Glass Bottles)

DIRECTIONS

Remove labels with soapy water or Krylon Adhesive Remover. Clean and dry bottles.

Cut bottles roughly in half. You don’t have to be exact. You just want to be able to lift off the top and place a votive candle inside when you are finished.
Protect your work area with newspaper or craft sheet.

Paint bottles by dabbing thin layer of frosty glass paint in white with a cosmetic sponge. Don’t go over the same area more than once. It is best to apply several light layers, allowing 10-15 minutes of dry time between to achieve the look you want. Applying too heavily leads to streaks and splotches that you won’t like. Once you are happy with coverage (1-3 coats should do it) let dry for about 30 minutes before moving onto the next step.

Vinyl and foil tape work well for heart stickers. Cut out hearts using die cut machine, freehand or template (see Hearts page ?)
Apply Heart stickers where you want light to come through the frosty heart. I went for almost center, spanning the cut seam.

Paint one jar with glitter pink, and the other with glitter red. Several light layers with 10 minutes or more dry time in between is best.
After your final layer, remove the heart stickers with tweezers or a craft knife, being careful not to smudge adjacent paint.
Let dry overnight, with top and bottom apart so that they don’t dry stuck together.
Lift off top and place candle.
Light and enjoy!

EXTRA TIPS

￮ Masking Tips – Foil tape in the electrical section at the hardware store works great for these projects. It adheres well so that the paint doesn’t seep underneath, but doesn’t disturb any base layers of paint when removed. A large roll of it is under $8 and lasts years. Don’t leave the stickers on overnight, or the surrounding paint will peel away with them upon removal. You want to remove them soon after your last coat of paint.

DIY Wood Pallet Hanging Planters

by Johnnie Collier

Wood Pallet Project Kreg Jig K4 Pocket Hole System

I love decorating with mums in the fall, and it is well know that I am a wood pallet upcycling kind of DIY blogger. Today’s project combines the two for some easy, inexpensive wood pallet hanging planters. This is a great way to use up your scrap wood, and is a perfect project for those new to woodworking since it doesn’t require any fancy techniques. The metal chain and hardware with the wood give these planters a rustic, industrial feel that I adore. Let’s get started!

Cut List

4 – 2×2 pieces 6 inches long for the side posts

8 – 1×3 pieces 8 inches long for the side panels

1 – 1×6 piece 1o inches long for the bottom (this doesn’t have to be exact – you can use whatever scrap wood you have on hand to make the bottom)

Materials

Metal chain and eye screws

Kreg screws 1 inch and 1.25 inches

Wood Glue

Kreg jig

Instructions

I made my planter to fit the plants I had on hand. You can adjust the size to fit your plant.

*I always use wood glue!

Begin by assembling the side panels with two pocket holes (I show you how to use the Kreg Jig here). Set the depth of the jig to match with thickness of your pallet wood. My pieces were 1×3 (which is really .75 inches thick) so I set the depth to 0.75 inches. Use 2 – 1.25 inch screws to connect the sides. Drill pocket holes one both sides of each side panel for attaching to 2×2 posts later.

Next, attach the four posts to 2 of the side panels as shown. I made the posts by cutting 2×4 to 6 inch pieces, then ripping those in half, all with my mitre saw.

Attach the bottom piece to the remaining 2 side panels with 2 pocket holes in each end. Knowing what size kreg screw to use can be a process of elimination, but a general way to gauge pretty closely is to add the widths of the two pieces you are attaching and subtracting 0.25 from that to get your screw length. So in this case 0.75 for the bottom piece + 0.75 for the side panel thickness – 0.25 equals 1.25 inch screws.

Finish the planter using the side panel pocket holes you drilled for the side post to attach the three pieces you assembled.

Add eye screws into the 4 posts for chain and enjoy!

DIY Wood Pallet Coat Rack

by Johnnie Collier

My sweet friend Jordan came over to learn how to build, and we started with this simple DIY Coat Rack from Shanty 2 Chic. I love when people have an interest in learning how to work with power tools, especially women. It is so much easier than most would think, and there is not much more fulfilling than creating your own beautiful pieces from a pile of wood. We followed Ashley’s steps, substituting pallet wood everywhere except for the 4×4 and the furniture foot on top of the coat rack. That made this project super cheap, and Jordan mastered the Kreg Jig, compound mitre saw, drill and air nailer! I think she is addicted, just like I was after My First Woodworking Build.

Here are the pallet wood legs that attach perpendicular to the bottom of the 4×4.

I was so glad the Shanty 2 Chic instructions suggested to make a line around the bottom of the 4×4 using the width of 1×3 scraps attached to the underside of the legs. This made attaching the legs to the 4×4 super simple. Jordan used the Ryobi Air Strike cordless nailer to attach the pallet scrap “feet” to the underside of the legs. This tool makes building way faster and easier!

Jordan attached the legs to the 4×4 using pocket holes she created with the Kreg jig, just like Ashley did in the Shanty 2 Chic tutorial. To attach the angled supports, she used the Ryobi Nailer again.

To finish up, I cut a square from pallet wood and drilled a hole in the middle of it, using a bit just smaller than the diameter of the rebar on the furniture foot I picked up at Lowes. (Jordan had to take off for an appointment, so I finished up the project that took just a couple of hours start to finish).

I applied Minwax Wood Conditioner, followed by Rustoleum Wood Stain in Mineral Green. Since I used wood that was different to start (the purchased, unfinished 4×4 and the weathered pallet wood), the stain took differently. To unify the piece, I went over the stain in aging wax by Plaid.

Once that dried, I placed the furniture foot in place on top, and added 4 hooks purchased from Lowes.

The piece stayed at my home for a few days before I took it to Jordan. I got attached. That is why I am no building my own! It is a perk of creating with others… this isn’t a piece I would have thought of for my space, and now I must have it. Thanks Jordan!

DIY Graphic Centerpiece from Reclaimed Wood

by Johnnie Collier

Now that I have your attention with a seriously adorable puppy and his one blue eye, I would like to show you how to make this chicken wire reclaimed wood graphic centerpiece! This piece definitely evolved as it was being made. My friend came over to see if we could come up with a centerpiece for her square kitchen table, and we started at my wood pile. We ripped some chippy painted trim, and added it to some pallet wood and wire. We thought we were finished there, but had the idea to visit The Graphics Fairy where we found the perfect vintage spoon and fork images to transfer onto the pallet wood sides. The result is just what she had in mind, and now I want to make one for myself!

SUPPLIES:

Scrap wood (we used wood pallets and old trim)

Chicken Wire

Ryobi Air Nailer

1 inch brad nails

Kreg jig

1 inch Kreg Screws

Wood Glue

White Tissue Paper

Mod Podge Matte

Printer (laser jet or ink jet printer are fine)

Card stock

Painter’s Tape

Mitre Saw

Drill

Metal Snips

TUTORIAL:

We knew we wanted a square crate. Starting with the bottom, we used two 5.5 inch wide pieces of pallet wood that we cut to 11 inches long with the mitre saw.

We attached the pieces together with the Kreg Jig Pocket Hole System and 1 inch screws (I showed you how to use that here: How to Use a Kreg Jig). The blue circles show the Kreg pocket holes.

We cut two pallet wood sides to 11 inches and attached them with pocket holes and .75 inch screws since the pallet wood sides were to thin for 1 inch screws.

Next we lined up the trim pieces we had ripped and marked them, cutting them with the mitre saw to the appropriate length.

Next we cut the chicken wire with aviation snips to fit the sides of the crate. We attached the chippy painted trim piece over the chicken wire to hold it in place.

We thought we were finished, but then Victoria had the great idea of adding the chippy trim to the pallet wood sides where the arrows are in the photo.

We cut the trim to fit and nailed it into place with the Ryobi nailer. This is what we were left with at that point. I decided the wood area at the arrow and the side opposite it were perfect for graphics. We chose the vintage spoon and fork graphics linked in the first paragraph and used the tissue paper image transfer technique I showed you here: DIY Image Transfer Recycled Glass Bottles.

Not bad for a couple of hours and $0 spent!

For more inspiration, visit our 50+ Image Transfer Techniques!

How to Break Down Wood Pallets Video Tutorial

by Johnnie Collier

It is no secret that I love to create all kinds of things with wood pallets. Why wouldn’t I? They are readily available and usually one their way to landfills or bon fires by the time I get my hands on them. Lumber can be expensive, so why not use pallet wood for your projects to save some cash and help the planet in the process? I have gotten several questions on how I break down my pallets, so I made a quick video of the process to share with you.

YOU WILL NEED:

Crowbar

Hammer

Reciprocating Saw

Safety Goggles

Wood Pallet

Now that you have your pallet broken down, you are ready to build. Here are some ideas:

Wine Bottle Candle Holder Tutorial

by Johnnie Collier

Magnify and reflect candlelight in these gorgeous green wine bottle tiered holders. This project involves cutting bottles and gluing bottoms to tops, giving you luxury style on a dime in no time. Tiered candle holders make great mantle décor and centerpieces for all occasions.

I was given these beautiful Protea Wine Bottles to use. They have the coolest designs, don’t they? Sadly, I shattered one of them, but the other survived! Here is how I did it…

MATERIALS

-Bottle cutting supplies (I use Creator’s Bottle Cutter)
–E6000 Industrial Glue
-green wine bottles
-Rubbing alcohol or glass cleaner
-Paper Towels

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove labels
2. Clean glass bottles with rubbing alcohol or glass cleaner before cutting.
3. For detailed bottle cutting instructions, see How to Cut Wine Bottles. Cut wine bottles in three heights from the bottom of the bottle to the cut line. You can eyeball it, or measure with a rule and mark with a sharpie. The smallest bottle could be four inches, the middle five inches, then six to get an equal gradient in height for your final candle holders. Use the top of the wine bottle for your candle holder base, or cut beer bottle necks for the base. That is what I did for this project.

5. Gather the tops of the beer bottles and the bottoms of the wine bottles, and make sure they are clean.

6. Apply E6000 to the mouth of the beer bottle and place on flat surface.
7. Place and center cut wine bottle on top of the glue.
8. Let dry overnight.

9. Add filler and candles. Flameless LED tea lights are shown here, on top of filler sand.

DIY Shipping Pallet Dog Bed

by Johnnie Collier

What kind of DIY blogger am I, with my dogs sleeping on a pillow tossed on the floor? I know. That is why I thought a striped doggie bunk bed made from shipping pallets would be perfect for the “Get It, Got It, Go” Summer Blog Hop hosted by ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and The Home Depot! This project is a wonderful upcycle that can be color customized to fit any decor, and requires beginner woodworking skills to achieve.

MATERIALS USED

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2093EL

Behr Marquee™ Paint in Costal Storm #MQ6-20, Recycled Glass #MQ6-18 and Aquifier #MQ6-8 colors

Wooster® Shortcut 2 in. Nylon/Polyester Angle Sash Brush

Shipping pallets

1/2 inch plywood sheets

Reciprocating saw with blade for cutting metal

Kreg® jig

1 1/4 inch Kreg® screws

2 inch wood screws

drop cloth or plastic painters tarp

Wood Glue

jig saw

Drill

Hammer

Crow bar

Table saw or circular saw

TUTORIAL

The first step in this, and any pallet wood project, is breaking down the pallets. My favorite method for this is cutting through the nails holding the wooden slats to the support beams with a reciprocating saw. Sometimes it is necessary to use the crow bar and hammer to create enough space for the reciprocating saw blade, then you just cut through the nails and free one board at a time.

Here is a quick video showing the pallet breakdown process:

To build the bottom bed, I cut two 35 inch pieces and two 28 inch pieces from the pallet wood for the sides. I picked these measurements based on the dimensions of the pillow I already had on hand. Using my Kreg® pocket hole system (I showed you how to use a Kreg® jig HERE), I attached the four sides together with 1 1/4 inch screws and wood glue. For the top “bunk”, I followed the same process, cutting two sides 20 inches and two sides 18 inches long.

To create floors for the beds, I placed the bed frames on a large piece of 1/2 inch plywood and used a marker to outline the inner edges of the frame onto the plywood. I cut along these lines using my table saw, for a floor that fit right inside each frame.

To attach the floors, I placed pocket holes every 5-6 inches around all four sides and screwed the floor into the frame with 1 1/4 inch pocket hole screws/wood glue.

After building the individual beds, it was time to join them. For this, I created three 2×2 poles by ripping a 2×4 with my table saw. Two of the poles I cut to 19.5 inches and one to 15 inches in length.

I attached the three poles to the bottom bed, using the top bed to guide placement. The shorter pole goes in the back right corner of the bottom bed, and the top bed rests on top of it (which will become clear in the next step). The two longer poles will go through the floor of the top bed, nestling up against the right front corner and back left corner of it. Once they were placed in the correct location on the bottom bed to fit where they needed to on the top one, I used wood glue and 2 inch wood screws to secure them in place. I placed clamps to hold everything in place until the glue was dry.

Once that dried, it was time to secure the top bunk in place. I needed to create holes in the floor at the right front and back left corners for the poles.

To do this, I took a scrap 2×2 and traced it where I wanted the holes to be.

I drilled a hole in the middle of the square I just traced, for the jigsaw blade.

Using the jigsaw, I cut out the square for the pole.

To finish the assembly, I just placed the top bed with the poles extending up from the bottom bed in their corresponding corners. The back right corner was secured in place with a 2 inch wood screw going through the floor of the top bed, into the top of the back right pole. The other two corners where the poles extended up through the floor were secured with 2 inch wood screws though the side of the top bed, into the poles.

Finishing

Once the bed was built, I decided to paint randomly patterned stripes.

I placed the ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and began painting with the first color. The paint coverage was great! I wanted a distressed look, so I used the dry brush technique with Wooster® Shortcut Brush.

Once the first color was dry, I taped again and repeated for the 2nd and 3rd colors. It was no problem to tape over the paint, but keep in mind that Delicate Tape is the recommended tape to use on freshly painted surfaces (24hrs).The lines were perfect, and the tape didn’t remove the paint when I taped over the stripes I had already added. There was no pattern in the colors, I just painted randomly.

For the top bunk, I dry brushed the entire bed in Aquifier.

I love it, and so do my boys! Way better than the pillow on the floor, right?!

I am proud to be a 3M, Behr®, and Wooster® – sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.

Find the products used for this project, and tons more inspiration at the following links:

Wooster® Brushes Behr® Paint

The Home Depot

The Home Depot Consumer Program

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Facebook

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Twitter

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Pinterest

The Home Depot Facebook

The Home Depot Twitter

The Home Depot Pinterest

320 Sycamore: Front Porch Project

Simply Designing: DIY Board & Batten

Brooklyn Limestone: Farmer’s Market Display Stand

Fave Crafts: DIY Aztec Planters

Domestic Imperfection: Rusty Metal Shed Makeover

Studio Pebbles: Faux Frame Modern Art

Whipperberry: BBQ Tool Storage

Dukes & Duchesses: Color Block Umbrella Table

HoneyBear Lane: Patriotic Lanterns

Uncommon Designs: Striped Workbench

Better After: Geometric State Art

I Heart Nap Time: Striped Hall & Gallery Wall

The Pinning Mama: Oversized Painted Wall Frame

Love of Family & Home: Grain Sack Table

The Girl Creative: DIY Lemonade Stand

At The Picket Fence: Over-sized Outdoor Checker Board

Wood Pallet Planter DIY

by Johnnie Collier

I picked up some mums recently and decided they needed a planter. Using Ana White’s Cedar Planter For Less than $20 Free Plan, I made just a few adjustments and built this planter using pallet wood and 2×4 scraps I had on hand.

I just grabbed the cut list from Ana’s plan and hit my scrap wood pile to see if I could make things work without having to buy any wood. I happened to have 5 1/2 inch pallet wood to use in place of the 5 1/2 inch cedar planks. Perfect!

To make the 2×2 posts for the four legs, I ripped 2×4 scrap wood into 2×2 pieces. For the 1×2 horizontal supports, I had a few scraps of 1×2 on hand and ripped pallet wood for the rest.

The biggest change from Ana’s plan is that I cut the 2×2 legs to 23 inches instead of 23 3/3. I attached the legs flush with the top of each panel, and added a “frame” to the top of the planter with 1×3 scrap wood that I mitered to fit.

As for the finish, I am just going to leave as is and seal with Polyurethane. I love the various raw wood pieces.

What do you think? What are you building from pallets these days?

DIY Snowflake Window Garland

SUPPLIES

TUTORIAL

For more Christmas inspiration, visit our 50+ Christmas Kid’s Crafts:

Make gifts for your loved ones on the cheap with our 50+ Gifts to Make for Under $10:

DIY Recycled Glass Bottle Frames

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

Upcycled Frap Bottle Frosty Heart Lanterns

DIY Wood Pallet Hanging Planters

Cut List

Materials

Instructions

DIY Wood Pallet Coat Rack

DIY Graphic Centerpiece from Reclaimed Wood

SUPPLIES:

TUTORIAL:

For more inspiration, visit our 50+ Image Transfer Techniques!

How to Break Down Wood Pallets Video Tutorial

YOU WILL NEED:

Now that you have your pallet broken down, you are ready to build. Here are some ideas:

Wine Bottle Candle Holder Tutorial

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

DIY Shipping Pallet Dog Bed

MATERIALS USED

TUTORIAL

Finishing

Wood Pallet Planter DIY

Meet Johnnie

Categories

Recent Printables

50+ Roundups

SUPPLIES

TUTORIAL

For more Christmas inspiration, visit our 50+ Christmas Kid’s Crafts:

Make gifts for your loved ones on the cheap with our 50+ Gifts to Make for Under $10:

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

Cut List

Materials

Instructions

SUPPLIES:

TUTORIAL:

For more inspiration, visit our 50+ Image Transfer Techniques!

YOU WILL NEED:

Now that you have your pallet broken down, you are ready to build. Here are some ideas:

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

MATERIALS USED

TUTORIAL

Finishing

Meet Johnnie

Categories

SBLC Topics