DIY Life

Here at DIY Life, posts about weddings are always popular, but often, posts about knit and crochet patterns come in a close second.

I thought it might be interesting to combine the two, by looking at a few free patterns for wedding cakes made from yarn. (Hey, they don't have to be frozen, and they never get stale!)

• Crochet Today's Crochet Confection cake pattern (PDF download) is, at 4"x8", life-sized. It's an easy, single-tier cake that you can display on a stand over a form.
• Berroco's Buttercream is also life-sized, but this one is a tiered cake with flowers; it can be used to store dishes. It's made in their Ultra Alpaca, but any other worsted-weight yarn should work just as well.
• On the miniature side, there are the Norma Lynn Cake Sachets. Several of the designs here, like the Two-Tier Cake and the Clumsy Cake, seem wedding-appropriate, though they're part of a collection of desserts. The second page of cake sachet patterns has a triple-tier wedding cake with flower toppers and ruffled trim.

Suggested uses? The sachets would make great giveaways at a bridal shower; they'd also make nice package decorations for gifts. Some of the projects might make cute gifts for attendants, in the right kind of wedding. They would be fun commemorations of a special anniversary, or whimsical decor in the right kind of room. Professional wedding planners could also probably appreciate them.

Outside of the wedding framework, you can always choose different colors, changing the "wedding cake" into a "birthday cake" -- or merely making a cute trinket for a friend who loves sweet desserts.

And if you're looking for more patterns like this, check out an older post of mine -- Amigurumi-o-rama: Crocheted Food.

OK, I usually don't go for the "household item" craft projects... oftentimes, they look just like what they are. The pasta necklaces? They're nothing but macaroni on a string.

Better Homes and Gardens has changed my mind, though, with their pasta tree centerpiece project. This fancy little number is hip and funky, and doesn't look like old pasta at all.

All you need are a few simple materials; BHG promises that the project will cost less than ten dollars.

I know, paper cups are bad, and I am bad if I use them. What if I reuse them? Can I redeem myself just a little?

If you've got paper cups kicking around, there are all sorts of ways that they can be re-purposed into cool Kiddie Crafts. Just this afternoon, I went to the pantry for some dried pasta and realized that there was only a very little bit left. I also came across some leftover party cups that I'd stashed away. What do you do with pasta and paper cups? Make maracas of course!

After the break I'll tell you how, share another paper cup craft that we tried, and point you to a few more that I think pass the kiddie craft test (simple, inexpensive, fun, and easily modified for different ages).

I saw some very nice trinket boxes at the thrift store the other day, but I let them go without a second thought. Too bad I did, because I now want to make over one for my daughter for a Christmas present, and maybe a few as gifts for other special people.

Using cleaned and broken white egg shells, decoupage and white paint, Jane Lake over on All Free Crafts, made over a plain trinket box. Jane put the eggshells into a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to crush them into fairly fine pieces. After removing the hardware, she then decoupaged the box lid, sans where the holes for the hardware were.

Jane alternated the decoupage and the broken egg shells, then allowed the box to dry overnight. After the box was dry, she used two layers of shimmery white paint, allowing one coat to dry before she applied another. She says you can apply pearl beads to the bottom of the box. Apply the hardware, and call the makeover finished!

I am in desperate need of a kitchen apron. I have been cooking since I was 8 years old, and I have always absentmindedly wiped my hands on my clothing, even though there is always a dish towel nearby. Yup, I need an apron.

DIY Maven on Curbly has written a fabulous tutorial, complete with awesome pictures, teaching us how to turn large cloth napkins into a kitchen apron using a sewing machine. You'll need several yards of ribbon for tie strings and for the apron collar, and of course, some basic sewing skills.

This apron is perfect, not just for the kitchen, but also for gardening. The pockets in the apron could hold your kitchen gadgets, or your gardening tools. Of course, I always absentmindedly wipe my dirty hands on my clothes when I am gardening too.

Check your local thrift stores for some awesome napkins. Mine always seem to have the prettiest sets of fabric napkins on hand, and for the price they sell at (6 for $1.00), there are plenty available to make as gifts for my gardening and cooking friends.

I love strawberries, both as a food and as a motif.

Recently, two separate summery strawberry stitching projects were posted over at WhipUp within a couple of days of each other: a pattern and tutorial for felt strawberries from Mr. Monkeysuit, and a felt jam-jar topper with a strawberry applique by Amy at Lucykate Crafts.

Even though they aren't by the same person, they seem like a perfect pair to me! You'll find further suggestions for this adorable project, including links to supplies, after the break.

I realize it is only July, but it is never too early to think about Christmas, or at least to get a head start on your decorating this year. If you are into recycling items some people would rather just throw away, then release the artist in you, and paint yourself some one-of-a-kind ornaments.

Since you probably throw away your old burned out light bulbs, I invite you to recycle them into handpainted Christmas ornaments, courtesy of Kraftykristen over on Craftster. Kristen cleans the bulbs with rubbing alcohol, uses acrylic paint to make a snowman, gingerbread man, or a Santa onto the bulb, and finishes up with an acrylic sealer.

Are you looking for last minute ideas for gifts, or party and wedding favors? Or perhaps you never have a piece of paper in your purse or briefcase when you need it.

Help is here, with this tutorial teaching us how to make sticky notebooks. Michelle made sticky note books for her daughter's kindergarten classmates, using 3M Post-it Notes in Ultra Colors, and scrapbook paper.

With a knitting needle, she scored the scrapbooking card stock so that it would fold where she needed it too. She placed the sticky notes on the card stock, taking off the last page so that the notes would stick to the paper. She then made circle closures for the notebook, closing the notebook with embroidery floss.

Customized to your specific needs with the appropriate paper and colored notes, these sticky notebooks could be used for grocery lists, notes to yourself (or family members), wedding and party favors, or even as gifts for the person who forgets everything. I think they would also be nice for little fingers to stay occupied on short trips.

[via: Whip Up]

Remember the super sweet personalized M&M's Francesca brought to our attention? They are the perfect gift to give when letting someone know just how much, or not so much, they mean to you. They are also great to give as a party or wedding favor.

My M&M's now has custom printed photo M&M's available. You send in a photo you took per their guidelines, and they will print the image out on the M&M's using food-grade ink. You can personalize your message relevant to the face(s) in the photo.

My baby turns 3 next month, and I think that the M&M's would be a perfect treat for her birthday party. My only problem would be keeping them out of everyone's mouth until we've sung Happy Birthday! I think the same would go for the lucky couple on their wedding day.

[via: Photojojo]

Recently, I've written about projects you can make using fabric scraps, from fabric flower cards to hair curlers. More, more, more, you say!

How about fifty more? That's how many fabric scrap projects TipNut has compiled. Is a diaper case something you've been needing? Maybe an iPod cozy or even a rag rug is more what you are looking for.

I love the trim boxes: cute fabric boxes on a small scale that you can use to store any tiny things that tend to get away from you. But the first thing I am making from this list is the fabric envelope -- no sewing and so classy!

Will you make the door draft dodger, or the layered fabric photo mats? Tell us about your favorite project using your fabric scraps.

As a matter of convenience, I don't always carry a purse. In the event I have to run an errand or go somewhere where all I need is some cash, my driver's license, and maybe my check card, I'll forgo the bulky bag and just put essential items in my pockets, clasped together with a money clip.

I didn't know that I could make the magnetic strip on my check card unreadable if I also put my cell phone in the same pocket. Rather than put everything in different pockets, I always keep them together, but now I want to keep them separated with a magnetic money clip made by Scott Amron.

For a mere $12, you can purchase a pre-made magnetic money clip, or for $9, Scott will send the materials for you to assemble your own money clip. The kit contains two circular steel plates, sealer, and a thin neodymium disc magnet.

While I think that the kit is a great way for those who have no time or patience to make their own magnetic money clip, I am sure that DIY'ers will want to gather the materials to make the easily crafted clip themselves, me included. The clip would also make a great gift!

[via: Boing Boing]

Being the mom of a toddler doesn't let me sit for extended periods of time, so I have to pick and choose DIY crafts that are not so mind intensive that I get lost in them and end up totally ignoring my child. I know that will end when she goes to preschool, and I can focus on more intricate projects.

One of the first on my list for that time will be this paper cutting tutorial. I am decent at drawing, and pretty good at sitting for a long time, when necessary. The fact is, Heather makes it very easy to fall in love with her artwork, so her "cut tut" should definitely be added to everyone's crafting "to do" list.

Heather gives instructions detailing her drawing of the design onto thin white paper, used sticky tape to adhere the white paper to a piece of black construction paper,and then sat for hours cutting out the intricate design.

This project takes extreme patience and some seriously steady hands, both of which I don't really have right now. If you happen to have that patience and steady hand, I'm sure your not so crafty friends will be amazed to receive your gorgeous gift.

[via Whip Up.]

The birds are back. I know this, because every morning at 4:30, they sing me awake. Hundreds of them. It was cute at first, but now I am thinking I really need to stop sleeping with the windows open....

I jest, because I really do enjoy having a yard full of birds. Our bird feeder is crowded daily with goldfinches, robins, sparrows, chickadees, cardinals, and other species of feathered friends. The conservation land our house borders has special houses just for the bluebirds, which are always a spectacular sight.

You can build a bird house from scrap wood for your yard, and hopefully attract some of the fascinating and colorful birds pictured in the gallery. You'll need a hammer and nails, waterproof glue, scrap 1/2-inch and 1/4-inch plywood, and some dowels.

The step-by-step instructions at All Free Crafts are very clear and there is a helpful diagram included. A good tip they mention is to think about the size of the hole you make, as that will determine what type of birds you attract.

Happy hammering!

Chances are, despite careful planning and attention to detail, there will be something that doesn't go exactly as planned at a wedding. Weddings are human events, and we humans are known for making mistakes.

At my own wedding, the photographer was nearly an hour late and my veil got stuck in my mom's bracelet after I hugged her during the ceremony, leading to a five-minute pause to detangle ourselves. Neither one derailed my day or diminished my joy, but as a bride-to-be, it's hard to remember that in the stressful days leading up to the big day.

You can help your bride-to-be or groom-to-be relax by gifting them with a wedding day emergency kit. Just knowing that someone else has the small stuff covered will give them a little breathing room to focus on the bigger picture.

After the break, I'll share a few ideas for what to put into the kits.

Nothing says 'fresh' and 'modern' like graphic artwork. It's a perfect pick-me-up to a drab decor, or it can add a funky flair to a traditional decorating scheme. However you choose to use it, graphic is "in."

You could spend a fortune and buy some canvases from a trendy artist, or you can do it yourself. I vote for me!

Plaid has a very easy tutorial showing how to create your own graphic artwork: a set of three coordinating canvases that you can make, using stencils and four colors of paint.

After painting the base color on each of the canvases, just use stencils to paint on the designs. They will have your own personal touch, you can make them to match your own decor, and they will give your room an instant face lift. They'd also make a cherished housewarming gift for a special friend.

If you fear art, as some do, and this project is more than you can handle without an accompanying Margarita, you can try framing some handmade paper instead. A block print design will give you a similar look, and you can still say that you did it.