DIY colorful, funky lampshade

While shopping at West Elm several years ago, I came across a capiz table lamp (see below), and thought, “I could make that.” But I didn’t want to make it exactly the same. The brown color wasn’t my favorite aspect of it. Besides, where would I get capiz […]

2021-03-05T02:44:36-08:00January 30, 2021|

DIY advent calendar with tins & handmade ornaments

I know, I’m late. An advent calendar on December 9? This project took way longer than I anticipated. Just drawing my designs by hand and editing them on the computer took weeks. I probably should start Christmas crafts in June next year. But I’m glad I stuck with it. My husband […]

2021-02-24T16:10:08-08:00December 10, 2020|

Crafting with the Cameo: DIY embossed numbers clock

Can you believe it? I finally took my Silhouette Cameo out of its box and fired it up last week. I seriously don’t know what took me so long. I have lots of projects I want to try, but I decided to start with this square clock […]

2021-01-31T02:11:13-08:00March 27, 2012|

DIY coffee filter snowball wall light

Lately I’ve been working with wire and wire mesh. First I made jewelry holders, then a jingle bell ornament, and now this decorative light fixture. I call it the Snowball light because it reminds me of the giant snowballs that terrorize Scrat, the acorn-obsessed saber-toothed squirrel in the movie […]

2021-01-31T02:12:06-08:00January 21, 2012|

DIY recycled Christmas card advent calendar

Remember when I told you three years ago that I was going to make an advent calendar the same way I made my hanging postcard collage? Well, I finally did it! Apologies for posting so late in the season. You probably already made or bought an advent calendar this year. […]

2021-01-31T02:12:29-08:00November 30, 2011|

Craftiness with X-Acto knives + a giveaway

I have been using standard X-Acto knives for decades, but X-Acto sent me a few of their latest craft knives, and I like them even better. Especially the fat pink Designer Series #11 craft knife in the photo above. In exchange, they asked me to […]

2021-02-22T23:39:45-08:00October 29, 2011|

Spring 2011 craft workshops

I am excited to share the news that I’m teaching my first craft workshops next spring at Sharon Art Studio in San Francisco! I’ll be teaching three classes in February/March. 1) Paper Lantern Making, 2) Duct Tape Wallets, Cases, and Bags, and 3) Fabric Flower Brooches. If […]

2020-10-07T23:45:17-07:00December 16, 2010|

DIY sheet music Christmas tree ornaments

Homemade ornaments are so much more fun, rewarding, and cheaper than buying them. Especially when they’re made of paper — in this case, sheet music. That’s why I included so many paper ornaments in my handmade holiday gift list. For this project, I made stars, but you […]

2021-01-31T05:55:05-08:00December 8, 2010|

Camp craft: DIY resin pendant necklaces

These resin pendant necklaces are the final craft that we made at girls camp last June. (I planned one more craft that we didn’t have time for in the end: yo yo headbands and pins. You can see that tutorial here.) I’d always wanted to […]

2021-02-09T09:11:28-08:00August 19, 2010|

Camp craft: DIY subway tile nameplates

All you scrapbook fanatics are going to love these. The girls at camp took this idea and ran with it. I wish I had photos of all their great plaques. These subway tile nameplates to stick on your bedroom door were inspired by a reader, Josie, who asked me for […]

2021-03-03T00:59:54-08:00August 7, 2010|

The hats of Victoria: DIY paper silhouettes

This is the third and final post in my Victoria magazine series. As I mentioned in my last post, hats were commonplace in Victoria magazine. In fact, every issue included at least one woman wearing a hat. Below are some of Victoria’s […]

2021-03-09T21:17:08-08:00May 20, 2010|

More paper lanterns with flowers

Hi everyone! Bet you thought I fell into a hole somewhere. Nah, just job hunting now that I’m done with school. Anyone want to hire me? :-)

Anyway, I attended the San Francisco International Gift Fair last Saturday, and I ran across these flower-covered paper lanterns at the zappobz […]

2021-03-24T12:47:00-07:00February 8, 2010|

DIY paper lanterns: flowers or pom poms

I planned to make a flower-covered paper lantern for months. Not until I found a white poinsettia garland at a Michael’s after-Christmas clearance did it become a reality. Normally, I’m not a fan of artificial flowers, but I think this is a great way to use them. […]

2021-01-31T06:05:16-08:00January 14, 2010|

Reusable wrapped gift canisters

Here’s a last-minute idea for us last-minute gift wrappers. I felt guilty about discarding those round, sturdy cardboard canisters that hold nuts, cocoa, and other foods. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they can be recycled (aluminum + cardboard?). But they definitely can be reused! Here, I covered […]

2020-11-29T07:37:21-08:00December 23, 2009|

DIY craft-stick Christmas tree advent calendar with “origami” boxes

I was given a box of 1,000 craft sticks, and I had no idea what to do with them. I wasn’t about to start building 1980s Popsicle stick jewelry boxes. I eventually came up with some Christmas ideas. This is my first craft stick project. Click here for my giant […]

2021-01-31T06:04:19-08:00December 1, 2009|

Window frame + free botanical illustrations = DIY art

I know: Monica, you need to get your seasons straight, right? I’m celebrating Spring in November because I couldn’t wait four months to share these beauties. Besides, red and green makes it almost Christmasy. You might recognize this window. Earlier this year, I filled each window pane with

2021-02-13T23:00:49-08:00November 20, 2009|

DIY framed silhouette words

My friend Julie inspired this idea. She framed some fall leaves in a large clear acrylic frame. I loved its simplicity. These Coach picture frames that I received as a gift years ago were perfect for spelling out a word.

I had five frames, but I was set on […]

2021-03-24T17:46:58-07:00November 11, 2009|

3 Ikea mini chests = DIY paper organizer

I told you I had a plan for the Ikea Fira mini chests that were leftover from my DIY rolling toolbox. I had a plethora of printer paper and envelopes and nowhere to store it all. The solution: stack three mini chests together, add molding, casters, and paint […]

2021-02-22T04:36:20-08:00August 7, 2009|

DIY faux-capiz-shell lampshade

Some of you may remember my first faux capiz shell lampshade that I made for Sunset magazine. It was originally inspired by West Elm’s popular capiz table lamp (below). I was going for the mod look, but multicolored just isn’t my style. […]

2021-02-17T09:03:37-08:00February 18, 2009|

Heika’s DIY paper silhouettes

My friend Heika DeHart beautifully transformed her daughter’s bedroom. One of her handmade projects in that room were these stencils. And she’s sharing how she made them. She writes, “This was a simple, inexpensive project. I thought it would be sweet to have silhouettes of my daughter hanging on her wall but […]

2021-03-12T15:15:33-08:00January 22, 2009|

Heika’s DIY little girl’s bedroom

My new friend Heika DeHart shared these images of her daughter Aspen’s adorable bedroom. Nearly every decoration in the room was created from scratch by Heika herself. My favorite project is the stunning dresser. I loved the result so much, I asked her to share her instructions with all of us. […]

2021-02-19T09:10:08-08:00January 21, 2009|

DIY mini accordion books

My first guest nesters! Jessie and Dee Lorimer gave me the instructions to make these adorable accordion-style books. They’re a little more complicated than my bound books, but they don’t require any specialized tools or supplies. They’re well worth the effort. Besides, I made a video to show you how […]

2021-03-24T10:21:19-07:00September 10, 2008|

DIY bound books

Book binding can seem intimidating because it usually requires specialized tools and costly supplies. This is an easy and inexpensive way to bind books — and it requires minimal specialized tools. Plus you can make these books any size you want. Many thanks to my friend Jessie for helping me refine […]

2021-03-24T10:21:49-07:00September 3, 2008|
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