DIY Throw Pillows

 Decorative Throw Pocket pillows are as handy as they are comfy: A clever catchall keeps books and glasses within reading reach.

Skill level: Beginner

Materials: Pillow forms in desired sizes; tape measure; chalk marking pencil; knit or crochet sweaters; scissors; sewing machine; matching thread; pins; hand sewing needle.

Directions for DIY craft project:
1. Measure pillow form and add 1 inch to each measurement.

2. Measure, mark and cut two pieces of sweater material to these measurements for pillow front and back.

3. Optional: Make a pocket by measuring desired size of pocket; add 1 inch to each measurement. Cut contrasting piece of sweater material to these measurements.

4. Sew zigzag stitches close to cut edges of all pieces.

5. Turn under 1/2 inch on each edge of pocket; straight-stitch close to edges to hem pocket.

6. Pin pocket to pillow front; stitch close to sides and lower edge.

7. Pin pillowcase front to back, with right sides facing and raw edges even; stitch edges in 1/2-inch seams, leaving an 8-inch opening along one edge. Turn right side out.

8. Insert pillow form into cover; slip-stitch opening closed.

Decorating Ideas

Make Spring-Inspired Home Decor from Stash Supplies

Design by Cathy Blackstone

Decoupaged office-style papers create a neutral background for Cathy's springtime canvas. She pulled paper scraps from her stash for the flower stems and used leftover gems as flower centers.

Create Wall Art from Patterned Paper and Scrapbooking Supplies

Design by Cindy Tobey

Cindy crafted a collage-style home decor item from a collection of heart shapes in her scrapbooking stash. Starting with a 9x12" sheet of plain chipboard, she added blocks of patterned paper and embellished each square of the wall art design.

Create a Baby Home Decor Accent from Chipboard

Design by Leah Fung

For this fun mobile, Leah turned to large chipboard shapes. After adhering papers to both sides of the shapes, she machine-stitched around the edges. She punched holes at the top of each shape and attached rickrack for hanging. Small bows complete the look.

Combine Scrapbooking Supplies and Picture Frames for One-Of-A-Kind Wall Art

Design by Miley Johnson

To make a personalized home decor accent, Miley adhered a couple of picture frames to a mat board covered in patterned paper. She treated the wall hanging like a large scrapbook page, embellishing with large flowers, brads, and bits of fabric and paper. Wood letters painted to match her color scheme finish the design.

DIY Artwork

Canned Art
Don't throw out cans once you've finished their contents -- instead, decorate with them. The shiny metal and ribbed pattern give these wall-mount vases a modern industrial look. Drill holes in the sides of the cans and join them together with bolts. Add a few holes in the top backs for hanging. Use these recycled cans as vases or over a desk for office supplies.

Pretty Paper

Frame scrapbooking paper, available in an array of trendy colors and patterns, for easy and inexpensive artwork. Choose papers that suit your room's color scheme and place them in matching frames for a cohesive display.

Changing Display

Black-and-white papers in exciting patterns are mounted on a narrow magnetic board or bulletin board for an inexpensive and unstudied work of art.

diy project: kate’s uncommon valentine

What You’ll Need:
1. one sheet of watercolor paper, any size you want (this is 11×15)
2. vintage jewelry pieces, knick-knacks, keys, buttons, etc.
3. paper punch (i used a butterfly punch from the martha stewart craft collection) (optional)
4. colored paper
5. hot glue gun
6. paint (i recommend spray paint)
7. frame

Instructions:
1. gather your pieces and make any paper punched shapes you want so you have all of your materials ready.
2. lay out your design on the paper. if you are not comfortable with freehand layout, sketch the shape on scrap paper and lay it down as a template. you can also trace it very lightly so you can erase it.
3. if you decide to paint everything, i recommend taking a digital photo of your layout so it will be easy to place back together.
4. paint your objects. if you use spray paint, do it outdoors on a piece of cardboard.
5. once dry, replace all your objects on the paper in your design and make sure your image is set out evenly on the paper.
6. pick up one object at a time and dab glue on the back. place back down and clean off any hot glue strands. you can also use a hairdryer to make them disappear (it works!).
7. once dry, frame your piece.
8. write a love note in the corner or on back of the piece and expect a great response for your beautiful work.

DIY photo lampshades

SUPPLIES:

* LAMPSHADE –  The simpler the shape of the lamp, the easier this project will be

* GLUE – I used a hot glue gun for the first lamp. I tried repositionable scrapbooking tape for the second, but that didn’t work as well. You could experiment with spray adhesive or other, more permanent scrapbooking type glues/tapes. If you choose to attach something to the inside of a lamp, you can just use tiny pieces of tape on the corners

* VELLUM – I buy this in packs of 20. I used clear vellum – but you could also buy tinted vellum for a different look.

* CRAFT KNIFE OR SCISSORS, PENCIL & RULER – to trim the vellum, I used a ruler and pencil to mark the cut lines & then used a craft knife and self-healing mat to cut the vellum. Scissors and a steady hand work too.

* PHOTOS

* PRINTER – I have a color inkjet printer. I believe you can also print on vellum with a laser printer.

If you are using photos – you wouldn’t have to do a collage. Next I printed the collage on the vellum.

Once the pages are trimmed, make sure they fit around the lamp the way you want them to. On the tall lamp I made, I had to tweak some of the edges because the lamp was a tiny bit bigger at the top than at the bottom.

Two important notes on the vellum (in case you’ve never worked with it before). Be careful not to bend it – because the vellum will crease & once it creases, a line will always be visible in that spot (this is the main reason I cut it with a craft knife – the less you have to handle it, the less chance of creasing it). Second thing to keep in mind – if the vellum is printed with and inkjet printer & the vellum ever gets wet – it will most likely smear.

How to make rainbow flowers

Step 1- Find some pretty white flowers.
 ( carnations work best! )

Step 2- With a sharp knife and a superhuman steady hand, split the end of the flower's stem into four sections and put each section in a different cup of colored water.

And Bam! 

You've just made some awesome rainbow flowers. 

Decorate with Paper

Romantic Roses

These whimsical paper roses adhered around the base of a simple white shade soften a geometric lamp and add a touch of charm. Sketch a circular swirl on drawing-weight paper (available at crafts stores). Cut to create a paper coil. Roll the paper tightly starting at the outside end of the coil. Release the coil slightly and hot-glue the end to retain the flower shape.

Creative Curtains

Create confetti curtains for your windows from cut paper. Cut out squares from different weights of paper with a die-cut punch or scissors. Sew the squares together, spacing regularly, to make a string as long as your window frame; tie knots at the top of each square and at the bottom of each string to secure. Hang each on a tension rod from curtain clips. These curtains are a great way to decorate a boring window without blocking out natural light. Get creative and use different colors for your garland depending on your room's color scheme or the season.

Pretty Tissue Flowers

These delicate petals create an elegant centerpiece whether scattered down the center of a table or piled on a platter. To create, cut a flower shape or 3-inch circles from eight layers of tissue paper. Place in a stack. Next, poke a hole through the stack with a pin. Pull the paper off the tip of a twist tie and insert the exposed wire through the paper layers. Twist the wire to create the flower center. Make the flower bloom by gently pulling up one layer at a time.

Lovely Lampshade Details

Exotic Oriental papers transform the neutral furnishings and blue walls of this apartment from bland to beautiful. The first project: Add glam to an inexpensive lampshade by attaching a wide band of colorful paper with glue. Smaller bands of paper around the top and bottom edges give it a finished look. Keep clicking for helpful how-tos for all the paper projects you see here.

On Paper

For a high-impact, low-cost wall art solution, frame pretty paper in simple black frames. Add interest to the display by choosing different yet coordinating paper patterns and varying the size of the picture frames

.