painted fish studio » Blog Archive » make papier-mâché bowls i’m obsessed with bowls right now. since the functional felt swap ended, i’ve knitted 3 bowls, and have more in the works. last week i posted the little bowl, made with paper and pva, and promised a tutorial if there was interest. and yay! you liked the bowl, so after the jump, how to make your own! first, i must say i love that papier-mâché is french for chewed up paper (according to wikipedia). isn’t that awesome? second, i just wanted to note that i’m using a pva/water mix, rather than flour/water. i think the pva makes for a stronger hold, but feel free to modify the mix. let’s get started! base supplies include plastic wrap & tape, pva, bowl for mixing pva & water, gel matte medium (optional): then, gather your paper materials and bowl(s): i found the above bowls at ikea. the bowl material shouldn’t matter (wood, plastic, metal), as long as the bowl that does not have a “foot”. step 1: wrap your bowl & prep your paper: step 2: mix the pva with water, add paper: step 6: let dry:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Repeat - Mason Jars Yes, they are everywhere. Yes, I have posted on them before. And yes, I am still smitten! I should note...I'm a little obsessed with how the matte black came out and have more outside drying as I type this. Then, in my Pinterest crazed obsession, I found this little DIY image. This led me to trying my own version with a milk jar, fabric marker and glue gun.... She's not perfect, but I love that about her. For all you DIYers with questions on how to or the materials used for this project...I did a follow up post that can be found here.
Vinyl Butterflies Our newest moodboard Set Free showcases our awesomely handmade vinyl butterflies. They’re relatively easy to make (relatively meaning possible), but be careful and clear your schedule for the day. Here’s how these butterflies transformed from old vinyl records. (We found our vinyls at a thrift store. We do NOT recommend using any favorites of yours/your bf’s/your parents’. ha.) Materials: Vinyl Records, White & Black Crayon, Butterfly Stencils, Scissors Center the butterfly pattern on the vinyl record. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place the record on top. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and place the cookie sheet on the top rack of the oven. Use sharp scissors to cut out the butterfly shape. You’re almost done! Now that the butterfly is completely cut out, begin to softly bend the wings upward for a 3D effect. Ta-da! If you do end up making any, huge high fives to you, and send us pictures! Check out the rest of our DIYs here! XoXo,ThreadSence P.S.
Glowing Outdoor Orbs O.K. Get ready for it … this one’s a doozy. Doozie? Doosey. It’s a humdinger. It looks high end with a side of huge impact, It costs next to nothing, And even if being “handy” to you means replacing your regular lightbulbs with eco-friendly ones … you’ll be able to do this in 3 minutes flat. Opaque glass shades found at second hand store … Mini Lights from Christmas … Glowing orbs for your garden Want more STUFF like this? Get my posts emailed to you daily. Total Cost: $3 In my attempt to make my backyard a teensy bit more contemporary than my 170 year old house I ran into a few problems. It isn’t gonna be for lighting if I can help it. So while perusing the local second hand store I came across some truly unfortunate stains on the carpet AND these ubiquitous opaque glass shades. Because as you can see, all you have to do is shove some old mini lights in em to create an outdoor light that even a magazine Editor in Chief will comment on. And here’s the best part! at night during the day p.s.
DIY Solar Lamp: Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Sun Jars | Designs &Ideas on Dornob - StumbleUpon The principle is simple and seductively clever: solar lights that store energy during the day and release light at night. These can be purchased ready-made in a variety of colors (yellow, blue and red) but they can also be built at home. A simple, less-technical approach involves buying a conventional solar-powered yard lamp and then essentially harvesting it for key pieces to put in a jar. A more electronically-savvy individual can take the more complex route and built a solar lamp from the ground up using small solar panels – though the aesthetic result may not be as impressive. Whatever route you choose to go, these are fun and sustainable gadgets that make it easy to go green, automate the process of turning on lights at night and can add some color to your porch, patio, garden or windowsill.
Do-it-Yourself DIY String Wedding Lanterns Yarn Chandeliers Jessica of Wednesday Inc shows us how to make those gorgeous twine chandeliers from the inspiration shoot she shared with us this morning. Using balloons, glue and twine, you can also make these lanterns for your wedding – and then bring it home and use it as your very own mid century lampshade. What you will need are: balloons, glue, yarn, tray for glue, corn starch 1/2 cup of Corn starch, 1/4 cup of Warm water, clear fast drying spray paint, hanging lamp cord or fishing line (depending on your desired final product), and a lighting kit if you’re looking for a fully functional lantern. Jessica recommends using a sharpie to mark on the inflated balloon how much room you need to leave for the lighting cord. She also recommends coating the balloon with vaseline prior to wrapping the yarn coated with glue so it doesn’t stick on the balloon once it’s dry. You can see all the details on Jessica’s blog. Are you getting excited to try to do this at home as much I am? Instructions: 1.
Arrow & Apple - Arrow & Apple - Photography and Design Blog - Weekend DIY! Here's a quick DIY idea that you can use for either nesting your cute house, or use as centerpieces at your reception! Either way, these bookpage jars look so charming with a candle in them at night. They're easy to make, and I can almost guarantee you already have everything to make them. Need: old bookpages, drawings, maps, woodgrain contact paper, anything paper! Step 1 - Rinse out your jars and remove labels. Step 2 - Pick out your pages and glue them with mod-podge onto the jars. Step 3 - Let your jars dry on wax paper for a few hours. Step 4 - Do extra decorating if you like - tie ribbon or string around for a little more color! Step 5 - Put candles in and you're done. Anyone else have any other DIY centerpiece ideas?
Handmade Chandelier Swarming Butterfly Chandelier Ingredients you will need: Butterfly punch, die-cut or Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter for cutting images (We used the Silhouette to cut a 2 ½” butterfly.)- this is also a QuicKutz die that can be used in your Revolution or Cuttlebug. Paper in desired colors- you will need enough paper to cut 136 images (we used white cardstock and clear vellum for our butterflies) 14” metal ring- you can use a metal wreath base or even a large embroidery hoop 15-20 yards of coordinating ribbon for tying around base Fishing Line Sturdy wire for cross hairs of chandelier Glue Dots Scissors Tulle for hanging the chandelier from ceiling Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. *Notes: This chandelier can be made with a variety of different shapes and papers to create a look that will match your room perfectly. *Look for a special Halloween Chandelier Kit coming soon on the Heartland Paper Blog
Wine Bottle Design | Recycled Wine Bottle Torch | Package Design Firm | Sustainable Packaging 08.09.09 | by Erik Anderson Whether it’s product branding, package design or projects for ourselves, we’re pleased when we find a solution that’s very effective and creative, while keeping resources to a minimum. This idea is very inexpensive idea and it’s a great way to recycle a wine bottle. See how this simple idea inspired this brand and wine bottle design. It’s been a record year for mosquitoes here in Indianapolis, Indiana and I’d been wanting to add some Tiki-esque torches to the patio to combat the little buggers, and add a little ambiance. Here’s what you’ll need. Empty Wine Bottle (Use any bottle as long as it’s glass and the neck is 1” in diameter. Helpful Tools: Channellocks, adjustable wrench, hacksaw, power screwdriver, and a funnel. Safety Note: This is for outdoor use only. Building Instructions The Hanger Decide where you want to mount your Recycled Bottle Torch. The Bottle Carefully and tightly wrap the 1/2-inch end of the Coupling with your Teflon Tape. Good Luck! -Erik
NatureMill Automatic Compost Bin | Composter | Compost | Composting | naturemill.com - StumbleUpon Holder for Charging Cell Phone (made from lotion bottle) My husband and I both have cell phones. And both of us have phone chargers. And that means lots of obnoxious cords. You never know when one of us may be moving phone cords around, to give our phones an extra charge while we’re chatting away……… or trying to charge our phones up before running errands or something. (Okay, and how about when you’re in a hotel or visiting family/friends. I was looking around on the internet for a solution and found this. It made the perfect little holder for my cell phone while it’s being charged. Holder for Charging Cell Phone And no more phone hanging down from the outlet while in this room or that room……..the cord and phone are now up off the ground, and tucked away into the little holder, while the phone drinks up a full charge. And of course I couldn’t just leave the poor little holder alone……I had to Mod Podge some fabric right onto it for some kick. If you look closely, you can see that the orange print is fabric. And turns out, it’s pretty useful.
Cutest Paw Gives You the Cutest Animal Pictures Around the World Butterfly Wreath Spring officially arrived this weekend and I be celebrating one of my favorite seasons with all kinds of projects in the weeks ahead. The first is a wreath made from recycled book pages that have been transformed into whimsical butterflies. I love butterflies they are little creatures full of the most amazing color, details and a true symbol of change. Did you know that butterfly wings are covered in tiny scales, each in a different color? Quite simply amazing if I may say so! Anyway...I digress...lets get started! Start with an old book- (I had one left over from my last event where we altered old encyclopedia pages) Draw an outline of a butterfly- this can be detailed and perfect or a simple doodle- it is up to you! Fill with paint. Create enough butterflies to fill the surface of your wreath. Cut out the butterflies, leaving a little bit of the extra page showing around the edges. Use strips of the pages to wrap around the wreath- I used tacky glue.
Climate-Friendly Sunken Pool Converts into Radiant Floor | Home Design Find - StumbleUpon Here’s a truly glamorous idea for a pool. A sinking pool! The apparently permanent stone floor in this room literally slowly drops to reveal the pool underneath. In the raised position, you can walk on the same surface radiantly warmed from beneath. And of course, having the swimming pool convert itself into a floor makes it child-friendly too: this is not a pool that a child can fall into. Once it is sunken it looks like any other indoor pool – as permanent as you could possibly want. You could design this so that it remains as just a shallow decorative pool when not in use, one that is only an inch or two deep. But the best thing about this idea is that it would also make keeping the pool warm a cinch. Radiant floors or the use of thermal mass is climate-friendly design because of the slow release of warmth – reducing energy needs for heating. The super-rich with luxury housing do the most harm to the planet with their luxury high energy use architecture.