DIY: Linen Memo Board & Neon Push Pins

Hi Made By Girl readers!! It's Jenny Bevlin on this Monday morning with a great DIY for your home. I'm in the middle of redoing my home office/craft room. One of the things that I really wanted for my space is a really great memo board. I don't know about you, but I love pinning items to memo boards to have around always to keep me inspired. 

I love Pinterest, but there is just something about having images (that I LOVE) around me to keep me inspired! As far as memo boards go, I knew I wanted something that was neutral in color to make the images I put on it to really pop! 
 

I did some searching on the internet & found this linen memo board. However, I feel like $149 is too much to spend on a memo board and I knew I could easily DIY it. For the push pins, I knew I wanted something fun. I love the neon and neutral trend, so I decided to make some neon push pins. These push pins are a great compliment to the neutral linen fabric. Don't you think??

   

Here's what you need to make this memo board:

• Cork Board
• Linen Fabric
• Staple Gun
• Staples (Make sure your staples are the appropriate length. Staples that are too long may poke through the other side of the board.)

 
Steps:
 

Lay the fabric out and place the cork board on top of it face down. Cut the fabric around the board leaving about 3 inches or so all the way around the board.

 

Before you staple the fabric to the board, make sure you iron the fabric so that it is crease free. Next, staple the fabric to the back of the board all the way around. Make sure that you are pulling the fabric tight around so that the fabric will be nice and tight on the front of the board.  

Leave the corners for last. For the corners, you will just fold them down and over as shown in the picture and then staple down. 

 

Here's what you need to make these neon push pins:

• Flat Head Push Pins
• Acrylic Paint
• Clear Nail Polish
• Foam Board (I used this to put the push pins in to dry)

Steps:
 

Dip the head of the push pin in the paint. I then poked my push pins into a piece of foam board so that they could stand upright while they dried. 

 

Once dry, paint the push pins with clear nail polish. 

 

The best thing about this whole project is that everything cost a total of $25! Now, what should I buy for my office with the $125 I saved?

- images and post by Jenny Bevlin

Painting A Sofa

Yup, that's right. Ever paint a sofa?!?!?

Sometimes I receive submissions for DIY projects that blow me away, this is a DIY that did just that. 

Bethy who blogs over at I Just Love Today - decided to take on a weekend project by painting a sofa she bought on Craigslist for $75!

Below, she summarizes how she did it.

I just used a generic Walmart brand of paint in a color they matched from a pricier brand. The color they matched it to is: Glidden Rainforest Fern. There are plenty of other colors but I wanted a warmer tone of green! 

If you'd like to try something like this, here's what you'll need for this entire project: 

• Latex Semi-gloss paint 
• Fabric/Textile Medium 
• Scented paint additive (Glade French Vanilla) 
• Paint brush 

 

Would you ever consider doing this type of DIY project??? Or would you rather buy a new sofa?!?

If you'd like more in depth info or have any questions, visit Bethy's blog & email her there! Hmmm I'm totally inspired now....since my sofa is WHITE!!!


 Have a lovely weekend everyone!!



-images via I Just Love Today

 

DIY: Studded Coasters

Hi again! It's Jenny Bevlin this Friday with another DIY project! When I saw the coasters in Jen's post the other day, I fell in LOVE. Stylish coasters are hard to find! I decided to DIY them and share the project. These coasters will definitely add some major style to any table. Don't you think? 

 What you need to make these coasters:

• Black Spray Paint
• Cork Coasters
• Hot Glue Gun
• Various Brads and Studded Rhinestones (You can find the brads in the scrapbook section of the craft store and the rhinestones in the t-shirt decorating section.)

Steps:  

Spray paint the coasters. You will only need to spray one side of each coaster since you will be gluing two sides of the coasters together. Once the coasters have dried, add the brads and rhinestones to the painted side of the coaster. 

You can put them in any pattern that you like. The brads on mine went all the way through to the other side of the coaster, so I pushed down the ends.  

Once you are done decorating one side of the coaster with brads and rhinestones, glue the unpainted side of another coaster to the unpainted side of the coaster you decorated.

 Lastly, add brads around the side of the coaster. 

- post and images by Jenny Bevlin

DIY: Monogrammed Wine Corks

Hello beautiful Made by Girl readers!  Jenny here from the Swede Records.  Today's DIY project is for the wine lovers out there. Over the years, I've purposely accumulated an abundance of wine corks in hopes to one day make a project out of them.  

The day finally came when I was searching for a unique piece to put above my DIY Bar Cart and I came up with the idea.  My husband & I share the same initial so it was perfect. 

All you need for this project is: 

• Wine Corks
• Thick Poster Board 
• Scissors 
• Small Paint Brush
• Hanging Brackets 
• Glue 

Start off by neatly placing all the corks on the poster board in the styled letter of your choosing.  Play around with the calligraphy but make sure to place them as close together as possible.  

When your letter is exactly arranged to your liking, take a #2 pencil and carefully trace around the entire letter.  Next, push all the corks to the side and cut out your letter. 

Once the letter is evenly cut out, use a small paint brush to whisk the tacky glue onto the poster cut out and start placing your wine corks on immediately thereafter.  Be sure to save the most appealing wine corks for the outer rim.  Wait a 2-3 hours for it to dry after all the corks have been placed.   

Then simply hang the monogrammed letter in your favorite tasting area! Such a personalized & inexpensive piece of decor for your home.  If you decide to make one on your own, make sure to share it with Made by Girl!

-post by jenny may 

How to Create a Gallery Wall....

Ever wonder how to create a gallery wall that actually looks GOOD??? 

Well.... photographer Monica Shulman from Ciao Chessa shows you how here.  She included my GOLD Love print in the mix, looks awesome don't you agree? 

-images by monica shulman

DIY: Decorative Tray

Hi Made By Girl Readers! It's Jenny Bevlin bringing you another wonderful DIY project. I love decorative trays because there are so many uses for them. You can use them to serve food (preferably breakfast in bed!) or you can put them on your bar cart or coffee table to serve cocktails. 

You can also use them to display jewelry, perfume and nail polishes. The best part about this tray is that it is made with a picture frame. This lets you switch out the design inside the frame with your changing decor. 
 

  

What you need to make this tray:

 

• Picture Frame
• Two Drawer Pulls or Handles
• Drill and Drill Bit (The drill bit should be the same size as your screws.)
• Two Screws that are a little longer than the thickness of the frame
• Measuring Tape
• Pencil for marking
• Decorative insert (You can use decorative wrapping paper, fabric etc. I designed my insert in Photoshop and had it printed at the local print shop.)

Steps: Flip the frame over and measure the length of one of the sides.  

Mark the center with your pencil.  

Measure the bottom of one of the handles to see where the holes measure. Mine measured at 0 and 3, therefore I know that I need to drill the holes 1 1/2 inch on both sides of the center of the frame. 

Mark where the holes will need to be drilled with your pencil.  

Drill the holes for one side. Repeat by measuring, marking and drilling the holes for the other side. 

Insert the screws up through the bottom of the frame and put the handles on the front of the frame. Use your drill's screw driver to screw the screws tight into the handles.

- images by Jenny Bevlin

DIY: Statement Necklace..

Hello Made By Girl readers! I'm Jenny May from the Swede Records.  
I'm so honored to be on Jen's team! I really do hope you enjoy my DIY creations & that they inspire you to try something new for yourself. 

For my first project, I decided to recreate this statement necklace that I found on Pinterest.  My jaw just about dropped to the floor when I saw this beauty.  I could not for the life of me find the necklace to purchase anywhere so I decided to give making one on my own a go... 

First, gather your teardrop pendants (I found mine at an antique store for $25).  The middle pendant should be bigger than the rest.

Be sure to test out different nail polish colors to find your desired color palette.

Start off by painting several coats of nail polish on each pendant but only paint one side of the crystals. 

Let the pendants dry, then add a clear top coat for chip protection. 

 

Next, securely place one gold brass ring in each small opening on the pendants.  
 

Finally, position and set each pendant on the gold chain.  I left about an inch of space between each crystal.  The side of the crystal that is not painted should be facing outward as the color shines through beautifully. 
 

Et voila! I was so happy with the end result.  It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought and it only took a little over an hour! 

Pair this necklace with a black dress and stilettos and you got yourself the perfect statement necklace for the Holidays! 

If any of you readers make one of your own, be sure to send Jen or myself the results so we can share them!  Happy Holidays!