DIY STRIPED NOTEBOOK

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This DIY is ridiculously easy and you could do a LOT of things with it. I plan on making one for Elliott with horses all over it as well as a gold one with a geometric pattern of sorts for me. The possibilities are endless! But for the most part, these directions should be sufficient for you to be able to make your own notebook, whether striped or not!
The all purposeful washi tape made it's appearance. What can't this tape do? I also used acrylic paints and mixed a few with white to get the exact shades I wanted. I got the notebooks in a local shop, but you can get similar ones here.
See? Super easy. And now, I have a fun notebook for my random thoughts, ideas and rants.

p.s. These would make great gifts!

DIY shadow puppet party

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I've always thought it would be tough to have a birthday so close to Halloween or any other holiday for that matter. But leave it to Merrilee to make a her kiddo's just before Halloween birthday party awesome! Mix and match the body parts to create your own shadow puppet monster. Genius! It's the perfect Halloween-y party and it looks like the kids had an absolute blast.

DIY watercolor lamp shade

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After a long search for the perfect (and affordable) lamp shade for my gorgeous new lamp, I decided I should make one! Since I am enamored with the whole watercolor trend, I thought that would be the perfect look to go with for my new shade. It was ridiculously easy. Brace yourself!
 What you'll need:
  - Lamp shade (white or other pale color)
  - Tie dye kit(s) the more color options the better!
  - Wax paper
  - Tape
  - Paint brush
According to the tie dye instructions, prep the dye. It is a huge help to write the colors with permanent marker on the bottles. Some of the colors look identical and it'd be a shame to put on green when you were hoping for purple!
Using the wax paper and tape, prepare the space by placing the wax paper on the table to protect it. Also, lightly wipe down your lamp shade to make sure it's dust/spot free and ready for dying! 
Paint your shade! You could use different techniques (i.e. spray bottles, sponge brushes, etc.) to get different effects. I wanted the "watercolor" look so I stuck with the paint brushes. 

When you are thrilled with how your shade looks, stop! Let it dry, and place it on your lovely lamp.
And that's it! This was such a fun project and the end result was perfect for my beautiful new lamp.

DIY ANIMAL TWINE HOLDERS

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We all know and love bakers twine and it's endless uses. I don't know about you, but my twine ends up everywhere. The spools fall over and the twine gets tangled and well, it's a hot mess. SO, I decided to make my own twine holders! It's pretty easy and I love the result! Ok, here we go!
- A drill
- Largish plastic animals - preferably hallow
- Dowel rods
- Strong glue
- Spray paint

I show here two kinds of paint as well as some primer. I thought I would need the primer, but it turns out, I didn't! As for the blue paint, well...I just decided these little guys would look so cute if they were both gold :)
Find a balanced center on your animal and drill just a little at a time, taking time to make sure that the hole doesn't get too big for your dowel rod.
Break your dowel rod (if it's long) in half. You can cut the end to make a cleaner edge or just leave it jagged (like I did). Once the hole is drilled and the dowel is fitting oh so perfectly...
 Take the strong glue and secure the dowel rod into the hole.
 Let the glue dry really well securing the dowels. Then comes my favorite part.
Painting! I like to use a cardboard box because it helps to keep all of the paint (and a lot of the fumes) inside the box. It's also a good way to make sure your items stay protected from falling leaves etc. After two or three coats and making sure to get every nook and cranny, let them dry completely. 

After waiting ever so patiently...your little guys should look something like this!
I seriously love my new twine holders. I think I might have to make a whole stampede of them and line them up along my desk!