Tag: DIY

Easy DIY Christmas Decors for the Non-Crafters

Hey guys! We have like 22 days before Christmas! Isn’t that exciting? Are you as excited as I am? Because I am! Have you added little Christmas decors in your rooms already?

Me, I’m working on it. And I’m DIY-ing them.

Because maybe it’s just me, but don’t you think the Christmas decors available in malls are a little more like… *ehem* for your grandma’s generation? Or maybe that’s just the malls here in my country.

But anyway. It’s still fun to make the Christmas decors yourself, right?

So whether it’s any of the reasons above or something else entirely, if your room is in need of some DIY Christmas decors that are easy enough for non-crafters such as myself, don’t worry.

I gotcha covered.

I sought help from Auntie Pinterest and gathered these 5 really cool Christmas decors that a non-crafting unicorn can create.

And create beautifully, I tell you.

So don’t you dare scoff at the monitor and doubt yourself even for a second because I have faith in your novice crafting skills and you can do this!

(Sorry I’m just so pumped up for Christmas haha)

Yarn Christmas Tree

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I’m telling you now, this is the hardest one in this list and really, what’s making it so hard is the DIY hardening solution used in the tutorial above. I looked it up on Big Ole’ Google and you can try to use equal parts glue and water. Refer to this article too for more ways to stiffen the yarn.

Dixie Cups Christmas Lights

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You’ll basically just need dixie cups, a cutter or a knife (although a scissor is fine too) and a string of Christmas lights, or as you lot call it “fairy lights”. Still is a string of Christmas lights to me.

Oh and a friendly reminder: be careful in using the cutter or knife or scissor. I’ve been in too many crafty attempts to know that my frustration could lead up to me slicing my hand. Thank God, the wounds weren’t too deep and I didn’t amputate myself.

The lesson here? Don’t be like me.

Music Sheet Christmas Tree

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The moment I saw this I fell in love. It looked super cool and since the instructions were in Swedish, I had to be–well, crafty and figure out how I could come up with something similar. I decided I’ll need a paper and a stick, obvs. But for the stand, I was thinking of cutting a tiny piece of styrofoam and either wrap or paint it.

So you can do that or simply copy the instructions and paste it on Google Translate.

Washi Tape Wall Decor

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This is the high moment when my two-year Spanish elective stint in high school…didn’t help. So I could only understand bits but a picture says a thousand words, right? And this one’s pure brilliance, honestly. All you need is a washi tape of your choice, no cutting or gluing requied. And you can start getting creative with your Christmas DIY wall décor.

DIY Glitter Candles

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While this does not require any use of cutting tools, it will involve with a good amount or glue. And glitters. So if you don’t want to get glitters all over your body, I suggest being extremely careful in this. You also want to use some sort of cover to achieve that half-glittered look above. I find that using a piece of paper wrapped really tight and secured with a tape will do the trick but you can also follow what they did.

Ooh! And speaking of getting crafty, I also have a collaboration with my awesome unicorn friend, Kiya of Flawed Silence, this month in time for Blogmas. You’ll probably see it in her blog in a few days. And while you’re over there, say hi to Kiya for me and check out the rest of what her blog has to offer.

Spoiler alert: So much inspiring goodness, let me tell ya!

Have you put up Christmas decorations already? Will you? Is there another December holiday you’ll be celebrating perhaps? Share it in the comments, yo! I’m seriously curious of other cultures and traditions happening this month 😉

Happy creating, awesome peeps! 🎄

December 3, 2016 5 Comments

Create with Me: 3D Letter Typography

Hey all! I’m back again with another Create with Me post.

For those who don’t know, Create with Me is a relatively new feature here in my blog. It’s kinda like Get Ready with Me for style bloggers but for my first- or second-attempt creative experiments.

The aim of this feature is just to experiment on different creative things. This is one of my little ways to feed my creativity with something new and unfamiliar.

Today, I’m showing you what happened to my first ever try at making 3D letter typography.

I’ve always wanted one so bad but I couldn’t find them anywhere so I thought, “Hey, I’ll just make myself one!” Which was crazy of me considering I’m worse at crafts than with watercolors.

So that idea went to the back of my mind for a long time until I was on the school supplies store to buy myself a new notebook. I saw this rolled up cardboard that’s white on one side and brown on the other. And reminded by my idea to create a 3D letter typography, I grabbed for it.

Lesson #1: Embrace the spontaneity!

I didn’t plan for anything at all. The closest to a plan that I did was this tiny doodle in my notebook on how I’m forming the letter K. Plus I didn’t think about what materials I’ll use thoroughly. (See: cardboard impulsive-buying above) And that’s cool and all.

At first.

So I went on to follow that messy doodle I won’t even call a “guide” and arrived with this.

Please note that perfectionist Kate took the reins at this point, and sloppy Kate was cast aside, which is why the letter K looked so good.

I cut out two of these using a cutter and a ruler because, like I said earlier, I suck at precision cutting with scissors. And I used masking tape to make the little strips that connect these two 2D K’s and make it one 3D K.

And that’s when I realized: the cardboard is too thin to hold itself. *cue The Scream face*

Lesson #2: Spontaneity is good—at small enough doses. But always have a plan when doing crafts or DIY.

I don’t have a picture of it but when I tried to make place it upright, it bent and wobbled. As did my hopeful heart.

Then my aunt saw me and was like, “Why don’t you put sticks inside?”

And my heart soared like a kid in Halloween.

Lesson #3: When things get sucky, improvise and be resourceful.

We have unused barbecue sticks so I used those and picked thicker ones. I cut them to fit inside the letter K without it looking distorted.

And it stood proudly like the Statue of Liberty!

After that, it was just a matter of buying a wrapping paper to cover it.

I would have liked paint but A) we don’t have any, B) I don’t want to waste money buying a can for a first-time project I’m not even sure I could do right, and C) I wanted to cover the sticks.

So wrapping paper it was.

Patterned wrapping paper - 3D Letter Typography

I believe it was fate that this was the only non-holiday kind available.

And this is the finished look! Plus flowers as props for Insta.

I still don’t know where I’m putting this so it’ll be kept in the cabinet temporarily. But with this, I’m now a wee bit confident at making other letters—using thicker board this time.

So the life lesson I got here is this: there will be moments when you can’t support your own so don’t be afraid to rely on others and ask for help. 😊

Also: avoid winging craft projects. Seriously.

Did you create or do something new recently? Were you spontaneous about it or did you plan every step? I’d love to hear your stories!

Happy creating, awesome peeps! 🎨

November 19, 2016 2 Comments