Rose petal chandelier

Another DIY almost faux capiz-y chandelier. Couldn't resist this one though because it requires NO CUTTING OF A ZILLION LITTLE CIRCLES.

Angie at Country Chic Cottage used dollar store rose petals (you'll need about eight packages) for this one, along with embroidery hoops and some fishing line.

There should be some sort of Nobel prize for Crafting that Avoids Tedious Manual Steps. Angie, I nominate you. And toss some rose petals your way.

Make DIY faux vintage arrows

Vintage arrows are all the decor rage right now. If you don't want to spend $50 plus on a set, you might consider the DIY options from Danielle Thompson at Thompson Family Life.

She made the arrow heads out of . . .love this . . . pencil erasers. Your kids will not shoot their eye out.

DIY birch trees three ways

Birch is big. But if you can't afford Cole & Sons Woods wallpaper, there are three DIY projects that give you a bit of birch for less.

Courtney at And Then There was Home made a freehand birch wall mural using white paint.

Elizabeth Abernathy made birch wall art out of cereal boxes. Get the project at Curbly.

Katie Steuernagle at Ohdeedoh made a faux birch log side table out of, among other things, wet toilet paper.

A word about this last project. Some of you may be thinking, why not just get a birch log instead of faking it? From personal experience, I know it can take years to find a stick let alone a log in Brooklyn.

I eventually did my own DIY birch using . . . birch. However, I got it from the trash, not the forest. The glamourous city life.

DIY Fashion Week

Me watching New York Fashion Week a few years ago: "Who would wear that?"

Me watching New York Fashion Week as an aspirational frugal DIY design blogger: "I could make that."

Get a full rundown on all the DIY possibilities for Spring 2011 at this article on examiner.com.

Image: Getty Images. Necklace and dress: Lela Rose

My DIY: Felt flowers

A quick and easy DIY for a busy week.

These flowers were so fast to make I forgot to take much in the way of photos. But the principle is the same as for my dahlia from an old shirt. These are easier though since there is no issue with fraying or general limpness.

Cut a strip of felt about two inches wide. For the dahlia, make tapered cuts. For the mum, make straight cuts. Roll the strip and glue as you go. Add a pin back to the back.

Two or three of these on a sweater or knit hat looks mighty cute if I do say so myself. Vintage insect pin optional.

My DIY: Dollar Store Abstract Expressionism

I've long been a fan of wild black and white expressionists like Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline.

This Kline painting was featured on the last page of this month's House Beautiful.

Some Franz Kline knockoffs appeared in Kevin Sharkey's vaunted NYC apartment makeover. The one above the bed is too scary to sleep under, but I liked the set in the living room.

Fake art is not a new DIY concept, but I bet this is the first abstract expressionist ripoff to rely on a tossed-out poster frame and some dollar store products.

This golf poster 'challenged' me to give it a makeover.

Take some dollar store poster board cut to fit a second-hand frame. Grab some black acrylic paint, dollar store or otherwise. Get loose. Paint.

To show I'm not a complete dilettante, note that I rejected my first painting. Not enough negative space.

Allow to dry and frame.

The Picasso is also a DIY, using the time-honored artistic technique known as "tracing."

Get some more DIY art inspiration at What the Vita.

DIYable: Hawaiian quilt wall hanging headboard

You can make a wall hanging like this using black and white felt on a black blanket. (Or throw some color in there.)

Fabric glue is very happy with felt, but if you're ambitious you could machine applique. See a similar idea here.

A Hawaiian template similar to the one in the photo is available from The Purl Bee.

Image: Real Simple

Impressive DIY beaded chandelier

Britt from A Penny Saved took Heather's Dollar Store Crafts tutorial for a beaded chandelier from a wire planter and mardi gra beads and kicked it up a notch. This one lights up and everything and saved her hundreds if not thousands of pennies.

Ultimate DIY Competition

I'm making something crazy right now.

Sign up at Cut Out + Keep.

My DIY: Make a dahlia brooch

My August inspiration was lush florals, and finally one of my inspirations has come to fruition in an actual wearable product. (Don't forget to add your inspirations, projects and pretty rooms to Inspired in August.)

Easy no-sew dahlia pin. Cut a strip (or strips) totaling 24 inches long and about two inches wide. Fold in half. Cut skinny V shapes. Roll the strips, gluing as you go. Add a pin to the back.

Or, if you can't be bothered, buy a huge one from EmersonMade for $68.

Make a DIY Colette bed

Camila at High-Heeled Foot in the Door and fellow NYC girl made her own version of Crate and Barrel's Colette bed for under $300. Just reading the post made me tired. She saved, oh, $1,300 with the help of a manly man with saw skills.

Get the full how-to from High Heeled Foot in the Door.

Make a DIY drum shade

The Keylor Family made this 23 inch drum shade out of embroidery hoops, flexible plastic and fabric for about $18.

Add a $2 DIY diffuser with Young House Love.

Sometimes I knock off Anthro, sometimes Anthro knocks off me

Above, Anthropologie's Billowed Bow Tank, brought to my attention by Christine at Down and Out Chic.

Below, my first no-sew ruffled collar, made about a year ago.

Make a fabric rose necklace with Used and Abused Vintage

A few weeks ago I posted a how-to for making fabric roses. Corinne over at Used and Abused Vintage whipped up this necklace while my roses were still rolling around on my closet floor.

Check out her fantastic results at Used and Abused Vintage along with many other DIY fashion projects.

My DIY: Anthro inspired rose tank

Last week I showed you how to make fabric roses.

This week I'll show you a few ways to use them.

One is to knock off this Anthropologie tank, shown below. It was $78 and is no longer available.

Alert readers may note that my tank does not look exactly like the Anthro tank. Funny thing. I had more roses going all the way up the straps but thought it looked like too much. I took roses off.

Then I found this image of the tank as worn by a real person at The Chloe Conspiracy and realized that "too much" is exactly the right look.

The first step is to make between 7 and 22 fabric roses in shades of one color following my fabric rose tutorial or something similar.

Pin them on to the shirt and try it on. Reposition roses as needed. Remove roses if conservative.

Sew the roses on, stitching along the outside of the center of the rose. This will help it to lay flat.

That's it. Hand wash, I'd say.

Another capiz light DIY

Capiz again. TiTi at Shoestring Pavilion made a faux capiz light out of . . . can you guess? . . . you can't possibly guess so I'll tell you . . . milk jugs.

She also ingeniously figured out a way to attach her creation to a generic ceiling fixture.

Get the details at Shoestring Pavilion.

Make rustic equestrian art

Christi from Charm Home made a DIY version of this for $35. Pottery Barn's was $200.

Get the how-to at This Photographer's Life.

Make a faux capiz chandelier

Make a faux capiz chandelier with Brenna at Design Sponge with wax paper, clothes iron and a flower basket.

If you don't care for the ribbon strands, Monica Ewing at Crafty Nest shows you how to use thread instead.

DIY Wednesday: Make fabric roses

I was hoping for a juicy home decor DIY this week, but, sorry, you're getting yet another fabric flower tutorial. I'm on a roll.

There are lots of fabric rose tutorials out there. What makes this one slightly unique is that you'll get some tips for dealing with upcycled fabric, which is to say stuff that frays all over the place or is too thick and is thus not cooperative with standard sewing machine ruffling techniques.

The shiny roses came from the remnants of a thrift store blouse. The darker ones are from a piece of thrift store fabric.

First you'll see how to machine sew a rose from fraying fabric. To start, cut strips of fabric about 12 inches long (vary the length to vary the size of your finished rose) and about 2-3 inches wide.

Fold the end of the strip under and then fold the strip in half. Put a little fold every inch or so and pin. Machine stitch a seam along the raw edge. You'll have a ruffle without fraying problems.

Trim off the seam allowance. Start rolling the strip, putting a dab of fabric glue every inch or so. When you're done, pin to hold until dry.

Your rose will look like this from the front.

Here is a variation for the problem of thicker fabric. I tried machine sewing the "pleats" but they looked too stiff. So, here is how to hand-sew. Knot your thread and run a stitch using long stitches. Pull the fabric down the thread until it is about half its original length. Knot the thread at the end. Proceed as with the first flower.

Next week hopefully we'll have some cool uses for these flowers.