DIY Life

Sometimes I just can't help myself. I see a gorgeous fabric beckoning me from the remnants table and there is no way I can leave it there. I also buy extra material when doing a sewing project, mostly in case I mess up, but for all of those "just in cases" that speak to me as I am over-buying.

The result is an abundance of fabric at my house, usually about a yard or so of each pattern. Do you share my plight? If so, never fear; there are fabulous projects that require a yard or less of fabric. So make sure you have matching thread and get that machine ready for action!

For the kitchen / entertaining

• Make a table runner. Here's an easy pattern you can follow if you have some material for backing and some fusible fleece or interfacing.
• Create a placemat set. There are instructions to make matching placemats for your table runner, and it becomes more economical to make both when buying the other supplies you will need.
• Fashion a set of cloth napkins. If you want to make them fancy, try this pattern for cloth napkins with a binding edge. They look very high-end.
• Sew pockets into a strip of material and make a caddy to take along silverware for picnics.
• This wine bottle cover uses just under a yard and makes a beautiful presentation of your gift of wine
  

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY. Helpful recipes for your "scentual" pleasure: from essential oils, herbs, and other botanicals, to soap-making, body care products, and other useful blends.

You have soft, smooth feet from our pedicure of two weeks ago. Your face is aglow with healthy skin after last week's facial. What about the rest of you?

Get ready to pamper yourself (or a loved one) with the gift of relaxation and cared-for skin -- all over!

After the break, I'll share recipes for relaxing bath salts, a detoxifying body scrub, a gentle hand scrub, and body oil, along with packaging ideas to make lovely gifts of these homemade products.

Chemical air fresheners have come under fire in the last few years for containing chemicals called phthalates, which can affect hormones in the body, as well as other potentially dangerous components. Some have even been found to reduce lung capacity, which is one of the reasons we don't use them at our house.

But just because you've decided not to use chemical fragrances doesn't mean that you don't like things to smell pretty. I'll show you how to make a simple, natural air freshener that is chemical-free, as well as inexpensive and easy to make after the break.

Felt is so inexpensive, and fun to work with. Everyone needs accessories. I enjoy making wallets, coin purses, and the like. Finding a cheap project, that combines my love of felt and accessories was quite the win.

You won't need much to make this lovable felt monster coin purse. It really depends on whether you'd like to sew or glue your coin purse. You can glue it, but sewing it together will make it last longer. So, if you decide to sew it, you'll need a stash of colored felt, a sewing machine, scissors, thread, and velcro. You can omit the sewing machine if you're going to just use glue. You can either use wiggly eyes, or cut some out of some felt scraps.

Arrange and glue (or sew) your eyes, tongue, and teeth in a visually pleasing manner. You can add a nose if you like. Attach velcro. Sew or glue up the sides.

That is all there is to it. Now you've got yourself a sweet little monster coin purse. Rawr!

I have finally fallen victim to the cupcake craze. They are everywhere, on everything. But cupcakes don't irritate me like past crazes, like the flip-flop trend. (Which we still haven't seen the last of, it seems.) No, cupcakes don't irritate me: they make me smile.

I, and quite a few of my friends, go thrift-shopping and garage-saleing seeking out old sweaters to chop up and recycle into various things.

There are a great many things you can do with old sweaters. You can repurpose them into just about anything, like scarves, gloves, cozies, and stuffed animals. But here's another one: cupcake pincushions.

You'll need an old sweater (a striped one gives you wonderful, colorful options), a sewing machine, thread, a hand sewing needle, a scrap of felt, and glue. This project is pretty simple, especially if you are coordinated. If not, rolling the different layers up may be a bit daunting. I had a bit of trouble with it, but I was born accident-prone and uncoordinated.

Seriously, this project is really simple, involves minimal sewing, and is done in a jiffy. But I will warn you: you'll be tempted to eat up these adorable and delectable pincushions!

In this age of doing-it-yourself, handmade gifts are becoming more and more popular. The trouble with that is making sure your gifts are original and unique.

Making a spoon rest out of clay can be as one-of-a-kind as you want it to be, or you can make it simple and use a cookie cutter so your kids can help with the project. The article suggests making a heart spoon rest, but you could make anything you wanted to -- freehand, or use a cookie cutter or stencil of your choice.

You'll need air-drying clay, acrylic paint, both in colors and clear, and any tools you will want to use to work the clay. Suggestions about how to make hole to hang the spoon rest and how to make it rest on a flat surface easily are included in the instructions. You can paint it when it is dry and even put felt on the bottom for a nice base.

If your kids -- or you! -- know your way around a can of Play Doh, you can easily make a clay spoon rest as a keepsake gift for any occasion.

Attention, husbands: If you're just planning Mother's Day now, I won't scold you, but I will save you from the wrath you're about to experience if you don't get things together quickly.

Before you move on to showing her your personal appreciation, you'll want to make sure you've arranged something special from your children. If you're in a hurry, here are some quick and easy Mother's Day projects. You can also help them make this precious card, telling Mom just how much they love her.

Some suggest giving Mom a day without the kids, but personally that isn't what I would want. Mother's Day should be celebrated as a family, but once they've served her breakfast in bed, and spent the day honoring her in clever ways, the two of you can tuck in those sweet little ones and get on with some romantic appreciation.

If you're looking for a way to spoil her, follow me through the break, and we'll discuss how you can shower her with appreciation for little or no cost, and with little preparation (yes, you can pull all of these off before Sunday!).

The other day, I found an interesting and easy decorative glass vase tutorial over at CasaSugar. I thought to myself, "That's pretty cool for around the house, but I bet it would also be perfect as a wedding centerpiece." In fact, it turns out that the project originated at DIY Bride.

This is really as simple as picking up some rub-on transfers you like, along with a clear glass vase that has a smooth surface. After making sure the vase is completely clean and dry, just cut around the transfers you like, then use the burnishing stick that comes in the package to carefully rub designs onto the vase (exactly as you would if you were rubbing them onto paper).

The transfers are sold in almost any store that carries scrapbooking or other craft supplies. Thousands of designs are available, but if you can't find any rub-ons that you like in your area, the DIY Bride post has a list of online resources.

This project is as versatile and stylish as your imagination (for example, the right transfers would make it great for Mother's Day), but this is not exactly a new tip: a few months ago, this concept also ran in the Winter, 2008 issue of Somerset Life magazine, where it was used to decorate glass bottles and jars. Please join me after the break to read more about the appealing ideas that were presented there.

My hair is super straight and pretty boring. I recently bought some of those pink sponge rollers, the kind my mother used to put in my hair every night before bed. I had forgotten how incredibly uncomfortable they were. Not to mention the weird creases they left in my hair where the plastic closing piece connects.

In a search for more comfortable hair rollers, I stumbled upon this brilliant tutorial. It never occurred to me that I could just make my own.

They look really nice, and will give me the opportunity to use up some of my fabric scraps. And, they look really comfortable. No big plastic pieces!

You'll need fabric, buttons, stuffing, thread, hand sewing needle, scissors, and a sewing machine (with zipper foot if possible). If you are uncomfortable with creating button holes, you can always use Velcro. If you do use Velcro, it would probably be best and cheapest to purchase it by the yard since you'll need a lot more of the loop portion of the velcro.

I guarantee I'll have the most impressive and comfortable curlers on my block!

There are 6.1 million women in the United States ages 15 to 44 who are living with an impaired ability to have children. Chances are, you know someone who is struggling with infertility.

Why not brighten their day a bit by making them a fertility-themed bracelet?

For this project, you will need beads, bracelet elastic, charms, or any other findings you want to include.

The writer of the tutorial suggests using moonstone and rose quartz in the bracelet. Both are cost effective and promote fertility.

There are other stones that boost fertility, if you want other color options. Carnelian, coral, chrysoprase, mexican fire opal, and garnet are a few of the other stones you may want to consider.

I would include a card printed on nice cardstock that lists each stone used and their healing properties.

Sometimes it is hard to find the perfect words for a friend that is trying-to-conceive with fertility issues. Gifting this bracelet to your friend will show them how much you support them on their journey, without having to say a word.

There is nothing sweeter than a child, arms spread wide, exclaiming "I love you this much!" Sure, it's a little cliche, but it melts my heart every time. This week's Kiddie Craft captures that precious exclamation, their adorable hand-prints, and their complete admiration for Mom or Grandma.

So, skip the Mother's Day display in your local stationery store, and help your children make her a personal card. Here's what you need:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Tape or glue
• Pencil
• A large sheet of paper
• Pens, paints, stickers and other things to decorate the card

This simple Mother's Day card was easy to make, and my boys had a blast spreading their arms wide on the paper, and giggling as I traced their tiny hands. Follow me through the break for full instructions, and take a look through the gallery for your visual step-by-step.

Mother's Day is right around the corner, but if you don't have a gift yet, there's no need to panic. We've rounded up a bunch of posts to spark your creative juices and make your mom feel like a queen.

If you're planning to give mom flowers -- or if you get some yourself -- keep them looking fresh for a long time with these simple steps. Some, like changing the water daily, you might already be aware of, but did you know you should also trim a bit of stem off each day?

Looking for a perfect Mother's Day craft for little tykes? How about terracotta flower pots covered with handprints of the grandkids? Older kids can take a crack at making roses out of maple leaves or coffee filters.

Moms, if you get roses from the kids this year, keep the fallen petals as they drop and make rose petal beads. The project will take some time, but in the end you'll have a beautiful necklace that smells great and will always remind you of Mother's Day 2008.

Speaking of flowers, if your mother likes the look of fancy framed professionally photographed exotic plants, but doesn't care for the price tag, make her one yourself. You don't need to be a photgraphy expert; just use these tips to take some professional-looking pictures, get them developed and framed, then watch Mom smile.

If you're good with your hands and have some nice rocks and stones handy, consider making Mom a water feature for her yard. You can put one together in a single afternoon for about $25, but your mother will enjoy it for years to come.

Remember making a necklace out of yarn scraps and soda can tabs when you were a kid? Even though it maybe wasn't the prettiest jewelry she'd ever owned, she wore it proudly because you made it. This year, make her a necklace out of pink rhodonite. She'll wear it just as proudly, but this time she won't struggle to keep a straight face.

Serve Mom breakfast in bed in a keepsake tray she'll love. Dress up an inexpensive serving tray with pictures, handprints of the grandkids, and some pretty bows, then use it to take coffee and toast to your Queen for the Day.

If you've got a Flickr account, upload some photos you know mom will love, then make a free picture cube. Or, you could go a little more high-tech and build her a digital picture frame. To really amaze your mom with your crafty skills, give her a box of specially covered pencils that, when lined up, reveal a picture of you!

Taking Mom out to lunch? Make her the prettiest corsage she's ever worn. For a more subtle approach, or as a good craft for the kids, make flower pins from fabric, felt, or yarn instead.

For a quick list of some great gifts (including a couple of spa treaments) keep reading!

Give mom a home facial with these steps from our recurring series "The Scentual Life"

Save some money by making fabric flower cards for mom.

Make mom the perfect breakfast in bed with these tips.

Our series "Avant Yard" brings you the top 10 Mother's Day gifts for gardening.

Need a frame for photos? Make this clever fold-out album for her.

Another regular series, "Kiddie Crafts," features a variety of Mother's Day ideas that you can try.

And "The Scentual Life" brings you a how-to on a home spa, with a focus on feet-- because we know how much mom is on those!

Not too long ago I blogged about converting a onesie into a dress. This inspired me to find other things to do with onesies, things not too time consuming. Babies outgrow onesies so fast, so this a great way to recycle these little gems. (I have quite a few nieces and nephews, so lots of onesies to play with!)

One of the most unusual uses I found for onesies was reconstructing them to make a tee for your dog. This project is quick, pretty easy, and only requires a onesie, thread, scissors, and sewing machine.

Of course, being the embellishment addict that I am, there is no way I can stop there. You can add appliques, patches, ribbons, decorative buttons, embroidery, or anything else to jazz it up (Just make sure that the buttons are really secure, you don't want your pet to swallow them).

In the recent past, t-shirt reconstruction has had us scrambling about trying to find cool shirts to revamp. Don't our four-legged BFFs deserve the same DIY goodies? Run out and get those onesies out of storage, from a thrift store, or a garage sale, and make your pup a fab little shirt today.