art, arts and craft, Crafts, decor, Decorating, DIY, kids art

How to Make a Mini Macrame Wall Hanging

How to Make a Mini Macrame Wall Hanging

If there’s one hobby that has become quite the obsession for me – it’s macrame! It’s really fun to create and the projects are inexpensive to complete. Right now macrame wall hangings are all the rage, and add an eclectic look to your decor. Today I’m showing you how to make a mini macrame wall hanging. So chic!

If you’ve been wanting to start macrame—but are intimidated—you’re in luck! This project is small, simple, and can be completed in about 30 minutes!

This mini macrame wall hanging is a subtle nod to bohemian decor and it will look great pretty much anywhere in your home! Hang in your bathroom on in your office. Or, include it with a grouping of gallery wall prints for a more collected feel.

Here’s how to make it …

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Macrame Cording
Dowel, stick, hanger or anything that will hold your wall hanging. (I used an old knitting needle from my late grandmother. A great nod to a family memory!)
Scissors
Wire Brush

Instructions:

Step One – Cut your Cords

Start by cutting your macrame cording. You will need 20-20 inch cords for this project. (20″ will make a mini wall hanging. After you get the hang of this, you can make your macrame art skinnier or longer. Whatever your heart desires.)

Step Two – Attach with Lark’s Head Knots

Once you have your cords cut, you want to attach the cords by creating 20 lark’s head knots. Here’s a quick video to show you how to make a lark’s head knot:

Take your cord and fold it in half. Take the loop part and fish it under your rod. Loop the ends of the cords through the cord – and pull tight! Now repeat this 19 more times with the rest of your cords.

Step Three – Make a Row of Square knots

Now that your cords are all attached, we are going to make Square Knots and Alternating Square Knots. Here’s how to make a square knot:

To make a square knot – take the first four adjacent cords and do the following:

We are going to take the outer left cord and cross it over the two middle cords. Now take the outer right cord and place it on top of the left cord and UNDER the two middle cords.
Loop it through the hole on the left side.
Now pull to tighten the knot.
Now take the outer RIGHT cord and cross it over the two middle cords.
Take the outer left cord and place it on top of the left cord and UNDER the two middle cords.
Loop it through the hole on the right side.
Now pull your cords tight.

You have completed the full square knot.

You want to keep working the next four adjacent cords to make a row all the way across of square knots.

Step Four – Make a Row of Alternating Square Knots.

Our next row is going to be alternating square knots.

To make these knots – follow the same steps as above, however skip the first two adjacent cords – start with the third cord and work the adjacent 3 cords. Continue all the way across the row!

Step Five – Make a Row of Square Knots Again

To complete our mini macrame wall hanging, our last row will be a row of square knots – so follow Step 3 again.

You should have something that looks like the photo below.

Step 6 – Cut and Fray the Ends of your Wall Hanging

Take your scissors and cut straight across to create an even line of fringe. Take each cord and unravel it with your fingers.

Now, take a wire brush and carefully brush through the unraveled cords to fray them.

All done!

Now all you have to do is hang it up and enjoy your beautiful work. Can you imagine how pretty these would be if you made a trio of mini macrame wall hangings for a cohesive collage. I really love that idea.

I hung my mini macrame over the computer for some style and texture in this little corner.

If you want some additional help and projects – go to my blog and check out my Step by Step Basic Macrame Knots Guide. And check out the cool macrame planter hanger here on Pretty Handy Girl for another cool project!

Once you learn how to make the most basic knots – you can create all kinds of cool projects for your home. Such as Macrame Pillows, Mason Jar Covers, Jar Candle Hangers, Macrame Feathers – I could go on and on!

Feel free to leave me any questions or comments below – I hope this inspired you try Macrame if you haven’t yet.

I’ll see you right here next month with another awesome project for you.

~ See More of Karen’s Tutorials ~

Hello! I’m Karen, the creator of the Home Decor and DIY Blog: Decor Hint . I’m a Native of the East Coast, but I currently live in beautiful Seattle with my hubby, our two wonderful children and our spunky wheaten terrier.

You can usually find me with some sort of craft in one hand and a coffee in the other. And I’m always rearranging furniture or moving lamps from room to room. I have a passion (read: obsession) for decorating, DIY, and gardening. In short, I love making my house into a home.

Like many, I’m inspired by what I see in home decor magazines, but I’m not so inspired by the price tags. Consequently, I love finding and creating beautiful budget-friendly home decor items. In a head to head competition, I bet you’d never know the difference between the designer items and my DIY creations! Many of my DIY projects focus on sewing, crafting, upcycling and organizing. Some of my favorite projects have been making pretty wreaths , sewing my own tassel hand towels, and crafting these trendy wood bead garlands . I can’t wait to inspire you and spark your creativity through my DIY projects.

You can always connect with me on Pinterest , Twitter or Instagram.

May 22, 2019/1 Comment/by Karen Decor Hint

arts and craft, Crafts, decor, Decorating, Trash to Treasure, Tutorial, Upcycling

31 Inspirational DIY Farmhouse Decor Ideas

DIY inspirational Farmhouse Decor Ideas - Featured Image square

Inspirational DIY Farmhouse Decor

Many of us are still in love with the farmhouse style of decorating. It’s warm, relaxing and full of character. Farmhouse style is a mixture of old and new pieces, bringing in a rustic and vintage feel, but not excluding shiny and new. Here are 31 Inspirational DIY Farmhouse Decor Ideas that you can make for your home. You will love these beautiful and affordable ideas!

rustic roman numeral DIY Clock Make this DIY Rustic Roman Numeral Clock using a wooden round and clock stencil.

how to build a modern farmhouse bench Build a Modern Farmhouse bench to go with your table or on your front porch.

Need a space for your TV? Build this Leonard Media Console for extra storage.

diy rustic caddy with branch handle Create this Rustic Caddy with a Branch Handle to hold a pretty flower display.

Create this Farmhouse Family Birthday Sign and never forget a birthday again.

Build a DIY Side Table using gray stain to give it a weathered farmhouse look.

Add some beautiful greenery to any room with this Farmhouse Style Vertical Plant Holder.

easy diy farm animal cutting board by spain hill farm Create these cute animal shaped cutting boards to decorate your farmhouse kitchen.

Cute and functional, this DIY Produce Rack is perfect for a farmhouse kitchen.

Farmhouse Cake Stand by Making it in the Mountains Make a gorgeous cake stand to display in your farmhouse dining room.

Turn a plain IKEA mirror into this beautiful Farmhouse Window Mirror.

diy window wall cabinet by timeless creations Build this DIY Window Wall Cabinet using an old farmhouse window frame.

king size headboard Create a Rustic Wood Headboard for your farmhouse styled bedroom.

farmhouse kitchen sign by michelle j designs Add a DIY Farmhouse style Farmers Market Wooden Sign to your kitchen wall.

diy flowerbox centerpiece by hazel and gold designs Add a Farmhouse Style DIY Flowerbox Centerpiece to your dining table and add flowers for greenery.

Bring the farmhouse look into your bathroom with this DIY Rustic Bathtub Tray.

Repurpose an old shutter into this amazing DIY Wood Shutter Shelf that just screams farmhouse.

Turn an old picture frame into this Modern Farmhouse Picture Frame design.

DIY Rustic media center by pinspired to diy Build this DIY Rustic Media Center to decorate beneath your wall mounted TV.

Learn how to make this DIY Rustic Clock from an electrical cable spool.

farmhouse style corbel shelf by hazel and gold designs Make a Farmhouse Style Corbel Shelf as a beautiful and functional addition to your wall.

Decorate your kitchen or dining with this beautiful Rustic Gray Cake Stand.

wire memo board by making it in the mountains Create this beautiful DIY Chicken Wire Memo Board for decorating or organizing!

diy herringbone table by our bright road A gorgeous DIY Herringbone Table is perfect for your farmhouse dining.

Love tobacco baskets but don’t love the price? Make this DIY Tobacco Basket for your mantel or shelf.

White wash an old wooden box to create this DIY Farmers Market Wooden Box for visible storage.

This DIY Farmhouse Wreath with Wooden Backing is beautiful decor for any room.

The perfect farmhouse addition is a DIY Weathered Wood Plank Wall.

Bring farmhouse into your home by creating a Fireplace and Wooden Mantel Makeover.

Cotton stems are on trend! Make your own DIY Cotton Stems for a fraction of the new price.

diy wood lantern farmhouse by hazel and gold designs DIY Wooden Lanterns give a great farmhouse feel to your indoor or outdoor spaces.

I hope you liked this collection of inspirational DIY farmhouse home decor. The greatest thing about DIY projects is being able to customize them for your space, so I hope these ideas sparked some creativity and helped you discover some ways you can bring the farmhouse style into your home. Let me know what you think!

Also, if you like these ideas, please pin this image to Pinterest to share!

Hi, I’m Sheri from Hazel + Gold Designs. Here are a few fun stats about me: I ~~like~~ love chocolate and peanut butter (together of course.) If you like stats, I have been crocheting for about 16 years, crafting for 20, and woodworking for about 4 years. I found a passion in making and being creative and began documenting my projects online at Hazel + Gold Designs.

When not working on projects, I enjoy spending time with my husband, four children, perfect dog, and ornery cat. You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Read all of Sheri’s tutorials.

~Find more of Sheri’s projects here ~

April 10, 2019/2 Comments/by Sheri

accessories, arts and craft, Crafts, decor, Decorating, DIY, Holiday decorating, Home Decor, Summer, wreath

DIY Modern Hoop Wreath for Spring

Hello! I’m so excited to be here to show you how to bring a little Spring into your home. I’m betting we all need a little Spring at this point in the year. After two back-to-back snowstorms and weeks of frigid temps here in Seattle — I’m so ready for it! A great way to bring beautiful spring vibes into your home is with this DIY modern hoop wreath.

I love creating modern hoop wreaths because they are so fun to create and one of my favorite DIY projects ever! Not only do they look beautiful – they are easy on your wallet since you don’t need much to assemble one. Hoop wreaths can be made for any season or holiday, so let your imagination run wild with ideas!

Today I’m going to show you how to make a floral version of a modern hoop wreath —perfect for Spring. Let’s get started!

Materials :

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Hoop Ring or Embroidery Hoop
Scissors
Floral Wire
Wire Cutters
Jute Twine
Faux Greenery and Flowers – I used tulips, ferns and Queen Anne’s lace (Michael’s, Target, Joann Fabrics, Amazon and Afloral.com are good sources)

How to Choose Your Faux Greens and Flowers:

Before we begin, here are a few tips for choosing greens and flowers for the wreath. Hoop wreaths are particularly beautiful if either one main floral/greenery is used or when a collection of three different flowers are used together.

For this wreath, I used the rule of threes.

Assembling Hoop Wreaths:

First add greenery as a base on the hoop. Then add a secondary green or floral. Finally add your main florals on top for the true showstoppers. For example, this is the order we’ll assemble the Modern Spring Hoop Wreath:

A base of greenery – ferns
Secondary accent of greens or flowers: Queen Anne’s Lace
Main Florals – Pink and White Tulips

I find Michael’s and Afloral.com have the best selection and most realistic looking faux flowers and greenery. However, Target is also stepping up their game lately. These faux ferns and Queen Anne’s Lace were from Target’s Hearth and Hand collection and are very pretty and semi-realistic looking. (I tend to be super picky about my faux flowers!)

Instructions :

Step 1: Cut the leaves and flowers from your faux plants (if needed).

Snip off a few pieces of fern while leaving a little stem to attach to your hoop. It’s usually easier to snip off the individual leaves which will give you the most flexibility when designing your wreath.

Step 2: Arrange your greens on the hoop until you like the layout.

Step 3: Snip off a piece of wire and use floral wire to attach your fern/greenery to the hoop.

Bend and train the greenery as you wrap it with wire. Luckily the wire is thin and can be easily hidden with the greens and/or flowers. But, you will need to wrap it fairly tight to keep the greenery from moving when the wreath is hung up.

Step 4: Repeat Steps 2-3 again, using the secondary flowers or greenery.

Tuck the Queen Anne’s lace around and on top of the ferns. It’s really coming together now!

Step 5: Add the main florals – these beautiful spring tulips!

Use your floral wire to attach the stems to the hoop wreath, and then use the greenery you attached earlier to hide the wires. It works perfectly every time. You may have to play with it a bit until the wires are hidden, but no one will notice once you do.

Step 6: Tie a little bow of jute twine around the center for a sweet rustic finishing touch.

The jute bow helped hide more of the floral wire and gives the wreath some extra holding power.

That’s all there is to it!

Tips for Hanging and Displaying your New Wreath :

Modern hoop wreaths can be hung with the flowers on the side or at the bottom. You can use a wreath hanger or a Command light clip. The light clips hold these hoops perfectly and are clear, so you can’t see them. You can also use a suction cup hook or a magnetic hook if you have a metal door. Or tie a pretty ribbon to these wreaths and hang them from the ribbon. I purchased a clear wreath hanger from Amazon that hooks over the door. These wreaths look beautiful not only on your front door but also on your interior walls, closet doors, hutches, over mirrors etc.

Feel free to get creative with placement and add some spring to all parts of your home!

When you are ready for a change, simply snip off the wire and reuse your greenery and florals for another project. These modern hook wreaths end up being a very cost effective decor project.

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial. I’m looking forward to connecting with you again next month!

In the meantime, check out these beautiful spring decor projects on Pretty Handy Girl.

~ See More of Karen’s Tutorials ~

Hello! I’m Karen, the creator of the Home Decor and DIY Blog: Decor Hint . I’m a Native of the East Coast, but I currently live in beautiful Seattle with my hubby, our two wonderful children and our spunky wheaten terrier.

You can usually find me with some sort of craft in one hand and a coffee in the other. And I’m always rearranging furniture or moving lamps from room to room. I have a passion (read: obsession) for decorating, DIY, and gardening. In short, I love making my house into a home.

Like many, I’m inspired by what I see in home decor magazines, but I’m not so inspired by the price tags. Consequently, I love finding and creating beautiful budget-friendly home decor items. In a head to head competition, I bet you’d never know the difference between the designer items and my DIY creations! Many of my DIY projects focus on sewing, crafting, upcycling and organizing. Some of my favorite projects have been making pretty wreaths , sewing my own tassel hand towels, and crafting these trendy wood bead garlands . I can’t wait to inspire you and spark your creativity through my DIY projects.

You can always connect with me on Pinterest , Twitter or Instagram.

March 27, 2019/0 Comments/by Karen Decor Hint

arts and craft, Crafts, Decorating, DIY, Upcycling

21 Ways to Reuse or Upcycle an Old Sweater

Decorating for winter doesn’t always have to mean decorating for the holidays. Have you ever thought about reusing an old sweater to make winter decorations? Sweaters represent warmth and coziness. Implementing them into your decor can bring those same attributes to your home. Here are some fantastic ideas on how to reuse or upcycle an old sweater to make something new!

Ideas:

DIY Sweater Snowman Create this adorable Snowman for your winter decorations using a sweater and bags of rice.

Give the gift of wine wrapped in an awesome upcycled sweater.

Make Your Own Fall Wreath from a goodwill sweater Create a Fall Wreath from a sweater to add a cozy feel to your decor.

Shrink a wool sweater in the dryer and use it to create felt roses.

DIY Sweater turned into a lampshade Make a gorgeous chic lampshade using an old sweater with a cool design.

10 minute tooth fairy pillow Create this 10-minute Tooth Fairy Pouch from an old piece of sweater.

create garlands out of wood sweaters Make these gorgeous wool garlands from old upcycled sweaters.

How cute is this sweater vase for a winter centerpiece on your dining table?

sweater covered pot Use a patterned sweater and repurpose it into this cute plant pot cover.

Cover lampshade with sweater cover Create some coziness in your room by covering this lampshade with a white sweater.

no sew sweater pumpkin These no-sew sweater pumpkins are quick and easy additions to your fall decor.

turn sweaters into pillow covers Create some DIY pillows using old sweaters and have endless variety of pillow designs.

ottoman from sweater Makeover a storage ottoman with a nice old sweater.

Cushion your camera strap with this upcycle sweater idea.

Here’s a tall version of sweater wrapped vases.

christmas ornaments made from sweaters Use old sweaters to make these adorable christmas ornaments.

diy felt rug from sweaters Create a psychedelic rug using sweaters cut into strips.

diy sweater sleeve into pumpkin Turn sweater sleeves into these adorable pumpkins for your fall decorations!

Or if you still want to wear that old sweater this fall and winter, here are a few creative ways to re-use them:

upcycle goodwill sweater Re-size and Dress Up a sweater from Goodwill with felt flowers.

Make leg warmers really quickly from a cute old sweater.

Turn an old sweater into a winter hat in just minutes!

I hope you enjoyed all of these ideas on how to reuse or upcycle an old sweater. They are such creative and fun ideas! Please be sure to save this post on Pinterest so you can find it easily again and share via social media if you would like. Here’s a great photo for Pinterest:

Hi, I’m Sheri from Hazel + Gold Designs. Here are a few fun stats about me: I ~~like~~ love chocolate and peanut butter (together of course.) If you like stats, I have been crocheting for about 16 years, crafting for 20, and woodworking for about 4 years. I found a passion in making and being creative and began documenting my projects online at Hazel + Gold Designs.

When not working on projects, I enjoy spending time with my husband, four children, perfect dog, and ornery cat. You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Read all of Sheri’s tutorials.

~Find more of Sheri’s projects here ~

October 31, 2018/3 Comments/by Sheri

accessories, arts and craft, Crafts, decor, garden flag, Home Decor, Landscaping

Fall Leaves Garden Flag using a Dollar Store Placemat

Make an inexpensive (but beautiful) Fall Leaves Garden Flag using a Dollar Store Placemat! Pull out your sewing machine (or skip the stitching and use your iron and some hem tape instead.) You can have a gorgeous fall garden flag in an hour or less. Plus, this is the perfect activity to do with the kids before school starts.

Sure, we’re in the thick of a heat wave here in Raleigh, NC. But luckily fall is around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about fall decorating! I like to create a beautiful garden flag for each season using a few simple supplies from the Dollar Store. Ready to make one? Great, let’s get to it.

Materials:

*Optional: hand sew or use hem tape if you don’t have a sewing machine

Instructions:

1. Fold over the top of your placemat 2 inches. Stitch across the edge. (I used a decorative stitch, but a straight stitch is fine too.)

2. Create a stencil using a Silhouette, other craft cutter, or use pre-cut letter stencils. Adhere the stencil to the placemat. (Place centers of letters if needed.)

3. Squeeze out a small amount of fabric paint onto a paper plate.

4. Pounce or use a stencil brush to dab paint over the stencil. For more colorful letters, use yellow on one side and orange on the other. Let the colors overlap in the middle.

5. Remove stencil. Allow the fabric paint to dry.

6. Arrange and pin silk leaves onto garden flag.

7. Stitch leaves onto the flag along the “veins”.

8. Trim the excess threads off the flag.

9. Lay flag out on a flat surface.

10. Paint on glittery curly trails to simulate the path of a falling leaf.

When the flag is dry, thread it onto a garden flag stand and place it by your entryway. At the end of the season, store the flag flat to keep it looking fresh for many years to come.