Decorated Wine Bottles

Click below for the YouTube video (in Malayalam)

Supplies:
Empty wine bottles (preferably tinted bottles)
Glass marbles and beads
Floral wire
Leaves
Hot glue gun/ industrial grade glue (E 6000)

Tutorial:
Clean up wine bottles and remove labels. (Soak in dish soap and scrub to remove the labels or stick them into the dishwasher)

Using a pen/pencil make a coil with floral wire.



Using hot glue or  E 6000 attach the leaves, glass marbles, and coiled floral wire onto the bottle to make a grape cluster. Embellish the bottle neck with some beads and coils.

Fall Burlap Wreath with Faux Maple Leaves: Tutorial

Supplies Needed:
Styrofoam sheet, at least 2" thick (or use wreath form)
Burlap ribbon- 9 yards
White fabrics strip-  9 yards long and 3 inch wide
Orange fabric- a small piece
Faux maple leaves
Glue
Utility knife
Sewing machine
Matching thread
Velcro

Tutorial:
1. Lay the styrofoam sheet flat on a surface and draw two concentric circles with 15" and 18" diameter. Cut along the lines to make the wreath form.

2. Coil the white fabric strip around the styrofoam wreath form and glue the ends together. This step will take care of any imperfections in cutting and also prevent any small styrofoam pieces falling off later. (Omit steps 1 and 2 if you are using a store bought styrofoam wreath form)



3. Loop the burlap ribbon around the wreath form and make sure to maintain the same the distance and angle between the burlap edges in each turn. Glue the ends together.



4. Cut a piece of orange/red color fabric just to cover around 1/3 of the foam surface. This fabric strip is to attach/sew the leaves. To create volume and fluffiness, slightly fold the leaves along the center and sew onto the fabric. Start sewing leaves at one end of the fabric, sew a leaf, then two leaves in the next row, and keep on increasing the number of leaves to 3 or 4 as you approach the center. Once you reach the center, then start sewing the leaves at the other end, and continue to the center. 



5. Attach the fabric with the leaves onto the wreath using glue/Velcro.

Slinky Pumpkins-Fall Decor

Supplies:
Jumbo Slinky (orange color)
Pipe cleaner (green color)
Glue (I used E6000)
Acrylic colors-green and black
Paint brush
Yarn (orange color)
Twigs

Tutorial:
As the slinky I used was too large, I broke it to make two pumpkins. Glue the ends of the slinky together, then tie a knot using an orange color yarn in the center.

Paint the twigs for the stem and use a coiled pipe cleaner as the squiggly. Glue the twig and pipe cleaner on the top center of the pumpkin. Allow the glue to dry. (You may also add a fake leaf) That's it!!

How to Build a Modern Rustic End Table

Materials and Tools:

2 X 4 cut at 15": 4 , for the legs

2 X 4  cut at 16.5": 2, for the bottom 

2 X 6 cut at 16": 3, for the top

Wooden dowels, 1.5"  -8

Wood screws, 3" - 16

Wood glue

Drill and drill bits

Hand saw (or get the lumber cut according to the measurements from the store)

Electric sander 

Sand paper 120 grit 

Stain

Tape measure

Pencil

Tutorial:

1) Cutting lumber: Using a hand saw or power saw cut the lumber. Make the following cuts according to the table below:

# of Pieces	Lumber size	Length	Purpose
4	2 x 4	15"	Legs
2	2 x 4	16.5"	Bottom
3	2 x 6	16"	Top

2) Sanding and Staining: Sand each of the wood pieces using 120 grit paper and stain (For staining I used Minwax polyshades-stain & polyurethane in 1step in expresso gloss finish) 

3)  Assembling side legs and the bottom pieces: Lay one of the  bottom piece (2 x 4 with 16.5" ) with its one of the long 2" side facing down. Place the two leg pieces ( 2 x 4 with 15 ") on its two ends of the bottom piece. Be sure to place them perpendicular to the bottom piece. Predrill 2 screw holes on the ends of the bottom piece to attach the legs. A total of 4 screws are required, two at each ends. Similarly assemble the other side.  

Attach the bottom piece to two side legs

4) Assembling top: If you have pocket hole Kreg  jig, you can connect the top three pieces without much difficulty.  I used wood dowels to connect the three pieces for the end table top (I do not have Kreg jig).  

Lay out the three pieces for the top (2 x 6 with 16"), side by side with their broad side facing down. Align the boards to be mated and mark the positions of the dowels with a pencil. Choose the middle piece and predrill four holes for the wooden dowels on the center of its two sides. The depth of the holes should be approximately half of the length of a dowel. Similarly, choose the first and third piece and predrill holes for the dowels in the center of only one side of each piece. 

Relative positions of dowel holes:Four dowel holes on both sides of the middle piece and four holes on only one side of first and third piece

To install the dowels in the dowel hole place a small amount of glue into each predrilled holes in one board, insert dowel into the glued hole, slightly hammer on the other side of the dowel to tighten the dowels in the holes. Then position the next board to be mated onto the corresponding dowels with its side with holes. Fill dowel holes with glue and apply generous amount of glue on both surfaces to be joined. Inset the dowel into the the holes with glue. Slightly hammer the other side the board to make sure the dowels are properly fit in between the boards. Once the glue has dried, attach third board following the same procedure. You may use a strong strap around the three boards to tighten the joints.

5) Assembling the legs to the top:

Get the two sides that have been assembled in step 3, with its free ends of the legs sticking up. Place the assembled top on the legs, predrill screw holes, and screw in place. Eight screws are used, 2 for each legs.  

6) Getting the rustic finish: You can basically do anything to imitate the natural wear and tear to get a rustic/distressed/vintage look to the furniture. Here I am using sandpapers to sand off the stain especially from the edges of the end table. A few nails, screws and hammer are used to make some dents and a steel wool to make scratches on the top. Wipe of the dust and make sure to sand the rough edges and apply a coat of clear sealant once finished.

Car Back Seat Organizer Made from an Old Jacket

Supplies:
A Jacket (the fabric should be thick, you can also use any upholstery fabric instead)
Bias tapes, or regular tapes (for finishing off the raw edges)
Sewing supplies

Tutorial:
Take the measurement of the back side of the front car seat. (Height 24" and width 17")  Place the jacket on a flat surface and cut one piece that equals to the measurement of the back side of the seat. This is going to be the main panel of the organizer and you also need several medium and small pieces for making pockets. I used the backside of the jacket as the main panel. Three medium size rectangle pieces (referred to as pocket #1) and several other small size rectangle pieces (referred to as pocket #2) are cut from the same jacket fabric.

You also need regular or bias tapes to finish off the sides. See my previous tutorial if you want to make your own bias tapes.

How to make regular tapes and how to attach them?

Cut a rectangle strip anywhere from the fabric (a contrasting color printed fabric is used in the project)

I used 0.5 " wide strip for finishing off the edges. If you want to make a tape of 0.5" wide, you should start from a 2" wide strip. Decide the length of the strip depending on the requirement.

Place one 2" wide strip, with the wrong side facing up. Bring the two long raw edges of the strip to the center to make two folds and nicely iron.  Then make one more fold, length wise, along the center and iron. At this stage you can call it as a regular tape.

Attaching regular tapes: Place your fabric with right side facing up. Bring in the regular tape and sandwich the raw edge of the fabric in between the folds of the bias tape. Pin in place (you may also flip the fabric and make sure the pin has secured the back side of the bias tape). Sew along the folded edge of the tape to finish off the raw edge.

Attaching pocket #2 to pocket #1 
Get the small rectangles pieces cut for pocket #2 and and finish off their top raw edge with a regular or a bias tape. Then, place and pin pocket #2 onto pocket #1.

Sew along the remaining three edges of pocket #2. I used a straight stitch followed by zig-zag stitch to secure pocket #2 onto pocket #1.

Similarly, prepare the rest of the pocket #1.

Attaching pocket #1 to main panel
Finish off the top raw edge of all pocket #1 with regular tapes. Arrange all three pocket #1 prepared on the main panel.

Then, pin them in place.

Sew along the remaining three edges of pocket #1. I used a straight stitch followed by zig-zag stitch. You can also compartmentalize the pocket #1 to smaller pockets by making a straight stitch on the top of pocket #1. Finish off all the four edges of the main panel with regular tape or bias tape.

Attaching handle and fasteners
I am going to hang the organizer to the two rods that is in between the head rest and the car seat. Also, need two fasteners to secure the lower side of the organizer to the seat.

Decide length of the handle required and cut two strips of 1" wide from the same fabric. Attach them together by straight stitches along all four raw edges. Finish off the raw edge by regular or bias tapes. Attach the ends of the handle to the back side of the main panel.

To make the fasteners, a regular tape of 0.5" wide, is used. Sew along the folded edge to make fasteners.  Attach the fasteners to the lower backside of the main panel. 
To hang the organizer, slide out  the the head rest from the car seat and place the handle. Then, slide in and snap the the head rest. Tie the ends of the two fasteners on the lower back side of the car seat.

Organize cell phone, tablet, sticky notes, travel games, head phones, pen/pencil etc. in different pockets of the organizer.
 

Cardboard Storage Bins

This is a very simple DIY project to upcycle unused cardboard boxes into storage bins.

You need:
Cardboard boxes
Old/new fabric to wrap up the sides of the cardboard box (I used a cotton bed sheet)
Spray adhesive (or any glue/mod podge would work)
Scissors

Pick a few cardboard boxes. Cut out all four flaps from the cardboard box. Also, cut out a small rectangle from the opposite sides of the box to make small slits as handles.
Spray adhesive over the sides of the cardboard and wrap fabric all the way around the box. Tuck in and glue any hanging fabric to the inside or to the bottom of the box. Let it dry and use it as storage cubes. (You can also glue fabric to the inside of the cardboard to make it extra neat)

Cardboard Photo Frame: A DIY Upcycling Project

 

This is a DIY upcycling project using cardboard to showcase three portraits. It would be a perfect decor for small and narrow walls.

Supplies:
Cardboard pieces (one 19 " x 7 "+ four small strips)
Mod podge
3 Portraits
Strips of cotton fabric (different colors preferred)
Foam paint brush
Scissors

1.Cut one 19 " x 7 " cardboard (as shown in picture A). Apply an even coat of mod podge to the smooth side of the cardboard using a foam brush. Select three portraits and press each of them onto the mod podged surface of the cardboard. Smooth out the surface and make sure there are no bubbles trapped. Trim any overhanging sides of the photos. Then apply a layer of mod podge over the portraits. Let it dry. This is going to be the main frame.

 

2. Cut four cardboard strips (as shown in picture B), which are going to be the four sides  of the frame. Take one strip, apply a thick coat of mod podge, and découpage with a colorful cotton fabric. Tuck in one end of the fabric (the places you may need to tuck in the fabric is shown as green solid line in picture B)  to the wrong side ("wrong" side implies the side to be not seen)  of the cardboard strip. You may leave the other end of the fabric hanging (the places you may leave the fabric hanging is shown as red solid line in picture B). Repeat the same to the rest of the cardboard strips.

3. The next step is to glue the four découpaged strips to the main frame. Apply a coat of the mod podge to the wrong side of the strips to and press them onto the four sides. Using mod podge glue the extra fabric which is hanging from the strips to the back side of the main frame.

4. Apply one more coat of mod podge over the entire project and let it dry for an overnight. 

5. I have also attached a small fabric piece using mod podge and stapled to the back side of the main frame for hanging it to the wall.

( I left the back side of my project as the way it is. You may decoupage another fabric to make it extra neat and professional.)