Dec 28, 2017 | Media
Hi friends, tomorrow I’m going to be a guest on KATU’s Afternoon Live show again!
Back in February I shared a project for making your own DIY Gemstone-Topped Jewelry Boxes (for Valentine’s Day, pretty home decor, or any other special occasion!).
Tomorrow I’ll be sharing some affordable ways to creating a sparkling, crystal-inspired holiday table (for New Year’s Eve or other holidays)- this time with a number of great DIY projects that I hope we’ll have time for! Here’s a sneak preview of some of the projects I’ll be sharing (or try to, if time allows):
DIY Shooting Star Holiday Party Hats
DIY Sparkling Holiday Mocktail
DIY Sparkling Holiday Table Decor on the Cheap
If you’re in Oregon you can watch it on Channel 2 (or 16, depending on your cable provider). If you aren’t in Oregon or don’t have cable you can catch it live here:
Watch on Thursday, December 28 from 3PM-4PM PST for my 5-minute segment and see how to make your own chic sparkling holiday table! (Tune in at around 3:45PM PST or so for my segment)
xo
Carly
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Apr 3, 2017 | DIY
I was beyond thrilled to be invited back to Oregon’s KATU Afternoon Live show last month – to demonstrate how to make these beautiful DIY gemstone-topped jewelry boxes (for Valentine’s Day…or any other gift-giving occasion really!)
Watch below as I demonstrate with host Tra-Renee how to make your own to rival those $45+ boxes you see at the home decor stores!
How to DIY Your Own Gemstone- (or Agate, or Geode) Topped Jewelry Box
DIY Supplies for Making Your Own Agate Jewelry Box That I Mentioned in the Video:
Gold Calligraphy Pen: this is the type I used for painting the raw edges of the boxes; it creates a lovely metallic finish
2-Part Epoxy: you can use any kind as long as it’s clear, I used
this one and it’s never EVER coming off that box!
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (for a glossy, resin-like finish): Michael’s, Jo-Ann Crafts, or
online here
Happy DIY’ing!
xo
Carly
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Feb 8, 2017 | Media
Hi friends, tomorrow I’m going to be a guest on KATU’s Afternoon Live show with Tra-Renee again!
Back in January when I was first on the show they ended up not airing the replay online, which was a bummer. I would have posted it had they did!
So I’m going to be back tomorrow – this time demonstrating some pretty DIY crystal jewelry boxes you can make yourself. They make great gifts (and would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day gift for that special lady in your ife!)
If you’re in Oregon you can watch it on channel 2 (or 16, depending on your cable provider). If you aren’t in Oregon or don’t have cable you can catch it live here:
Watch on Thursday, February 9 from 3PM-4PM PST for my 5-minute segment with Tra-Renee and see how to make your own chic DIY Gemstone-Topped Jewelry Box!
xo
Carly
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Feb 7, 2017 | DIY
This project is in collaboration with Paper Mart. I was provided supplies to create a Valentine’s Day tutorial. All opinions are my own. My full Disclosure Policy is
here.
There’s something about a suite of matching, pretty labels on all your toiletries…something high-end and chic-looking about lovely bottles all in a row. I’m a big fan of decanting product since it creates a consistent look and feel. Yet this was the first time I was using printable clear stickers in my inkjet printer…so I had a bit of a learning curve. In collaboration with Paper Mart, here’s how to make your own pretty bath product labels (for a Valentine’s Day gift or just for yourself!) with some printable adhesive sticker paper and a printer:
How to Make Your Own Valentine’s Day Printed Toiletry Bath Product Labels
You Need:
glass bottles (these are a smaller size, good for gifts) bottle caps or dispenser pumps scissors printable clear sticker paper white eraser (not pictured) Krylon Preserve It! spray (not pictured) old newspapers or something to protect your surface (not pictured)
label template piece of plain paper (not pictured, optional) tape (not pictured, optional) rubbing alcohol and paper towels (not pictured) small funnel (not pictured)
How To:
1. Create your labels on the computer. I used these original templates from Creative Market, and customized them for this project. You can download the labels I created here – or use this version where you can type your own product names in Acrobat, Photoshop, or another graphics program.
2. Print out your labels on your inkjet printer. I found that my printer had A LOT of trouble feeding the clear sticker sheet through. I got past that by taping a piece of regular 8.5″ x 11″ printer paper to the back of the sticker sheet with a couple pieces of tape, and then the printer was able to grab it and feed it through. HOWEVER printing labels on an inkjet printer I found requires sealing the labels, or else the ink will run when it gets wet. More below. (You could also use this brand on a laser printer down at the print shop to get around this…or use this waterproof label paper here.)
3. I found that my inkjet had smeared the ink a little bit. I was able to clean that up with a white eraser, and scrubbing at the ink blots before the ink was completely dry.
4. At this point if you opted for printing in your inkjet printer, you will have to seal the labels so you can use the bottles in the bathroom (where they are bound to come in contact with moisture). Here is a tutorial for sealing with clear crayon, but I prefer to use Krylon Preserve It! spray. Lay the sticker paper, right side up, on some newspapers and give it a good spray according to the directions and allow to dry.
4. Cut out your labels, leaving a small amount of sticker sheet around the label edge.
5. Remove the sticker sheet backing. Clean the bottle surface with rubbing alcohol if you need to. Making sure your bottles are clean and dry, apply the labels to the front of the bottles.
6. If you purchase the dispenser pumps through Paper Mart, you’ll find they are a bit long for these bottles. Cut the straw shorter at a length that is long enough to touch the bottom of the bottle. (I made my straws long enough so they would be pushed up against the bottle bottom, and be slightly curved in order to fit.) Cut the straw on an angle, and round out the cut edges.
7. Pour your product into the bottles (you may need a small funnel) – and enjoy!
And that’s it!
These are super-cute as a gift (think a coordinating product suite, themed gift or spa basket, or even bottles for homemade body products!). Plus, they look great on the bathroom counter.
Oh, FYI – the rose petals are from here.
Happy DIY’ing – and Happy Valentine’s Day!
xo
Carly
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Feb 2, 2017 | DIY
This project is in collaboration with Paper Mart. I was provided supplies to create a Valentine’s Day tutorial. All opinions are my own. My full Disclosure Policy is
here.
Most of the year I have a seasonal wreath hanging on my door…but realized that for Valentine’s Day I’ve never made anything appropriate for the holiday. My initial thoughts were to just do something easy peasy (and a little cheesy 😉 : gluing foam cut-out hearts to a wreath ring and call it that. Then I decided I wanted to take things up a notch and make something sparkly, chic, and not so obviously Valentine’s Day…and Paper Mart came to my rescue. (And let me preface this by saying this project is as easy as gluing stuff onto a wreath form!!) Here’s how you can make your own bejeweled beautiful sophisticated wreath – not just for Valentine’s Day but for any day of the year:
How to Make a Jeweled Valentine’s Day Wreath
You Need:
16″ wreath frame / 1+ pack of pink round acrylic jewels / 1+ pack of 20mm crystals / 1+ pack of 12mm crystals / silver wired lame ribbon / jewel placement tool (optional) / slow-drying clear glue (recommended: Dazzle Tac) / scissors / glue gun
How To:
1. Start wrapping the end of your ribbon to the top of the frame (I didn’t even need a glue gun to secure because the wire inside of the ribbon will hold it down!).
2. Wrap ribbon around the entire frame to make a gluable ribbon base, overlapping the ribbon slightly.
3. Cut the ribbon once you meet the beginning of it again, fold over the cut edge slightly, and glue down the end to cover up the other ribbon end.
4.Now make a bow for your wreath. Here’s how:
How to Make the Perfect Bow (gluing wired ribbon)
Cut 3 pieces of ribbon. For 1.5″ wide ribbons like this, the measurements I used were:
5.Take the middle length of ribbon and hot glue the ends overlapping (about 1/2″) to make a loop.
6. Press the loop down in the middle and glue the inner center of the loop at the overlapping area to the other side of the loop on the inside. This now creates 2 loops: the loops of the bow.
7. Glue the center of the longest piece to the back of the loop you created at the overlap, right sides together.
8. Place the shortest piece on top of the bundle at the center front of the two loop piece and glue down.
9. Pull the ends of the shortest ribbon piece to the back of the bundle, scrunching in at its sides, and glue at the back, the ends slightly overlapping.
10. Fluff out your ribbon by making the loops large and round, and fold the long ribbon piece down so it’s visible behind the loops. Add some waviness to the longer ribbon ends.
11. Cut the long ribbon ends at an angle.
12. Top off your wreath by hot-gluing on a bow made from the wired ribbon.
13. Now it’s time to have some fun! Spread slow-drying glue onto the back of a large gemstone, and place onto the wreath. (I know it shows E6000 glue in the photo, but I quickly found that Dazzle Tac was much better.) I chose an evenly-spaced placement.
14. Then repeat for the medium-sized jewels (these too I opted for an evenly-spaced placement around the wreath).
15. Repeat the process for the smallest rhinestones. You could use a jewel placement tool to help place gems quickly, but you can also use tweezers or even your fingers depending on how much precision you want. It’s always helpful to take a step back and assess your work. I chose to create a cluster with the smaller pink jewels near the bottom of the wreath; you can add more or less depending on what look you like.
And that’s it!
Allow to dry, then hang on your door – or wall – or use as a centerpiece for your delicious Valentine’s Day dinner. Sparkle – ribbon – jewels – beautiful!
Happy DIY’ing!
xo
Carly
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