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Link Love: Macrame Crafts Are Knot Your Average Home Decor

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I will be honest, I had never heard of macrame before. I didn’t even know how to use it in a sentence! So it came as a surprise when I typed it into Google and find that it’s just knots. (I’m sorry to those of you who already know what it is, but bear with me for a few lines.) Homemade macrame jewelry is what mostly comes up. Basically, it’s a series of knots assembled in a way to hold stuff of varying sizes. It normally uses cotton, linen, yarn, or rope—what you choose to use for macrame materials usually depends on what you’re doing with it. If you’re making macrame jewelry, then you can use a lighter string with beads. For right now, however, I wanted to explore what other options macrame crafting has to offer.

So what do I go to first? Home decor. Living in the city gives me an awesome urban background to try a hipster/urban-chic decorations. These DIY home decor ideas are a great way to bring a little Bohemian-chic into your home. They may remind you of those corner-hanging-lamps with the tassels and the psychedelic coloring, but the modern world has transformed the hipster decorating ideas. These designs call for basic knot-tying skills such as square knots and overhand knots and are an up-and-coming trend for home decor. Don’t both spending money, let alone attempting to find the exact color and fabric you want, at a store when you can use any fabric, in any color, for your own color scheme.

 

Macrame Crafts Are Knot Your Average Home Decor

 

Macrame Projects

 

Macrame Bottle Vases from Crafting Fingers

Easy DIY Plant Hanger from A Charming Project

Macrame Wheat Grass Eggs from The Merry Thought

Macrame Rope Wall-hanging from Miss Amy Phipps

Macrame Plant Holder from Classy Clutter

Macrame Yarn Garland from A Beautiful Mess

DIY Hanging Macrame Chair from Classy Clutter

Macrame Herb Hanger

 

Although most of the items that the macrame is holding are potted plants, you can use these to hold about anything. You can use a garden gazing globe and create beautiful colored light inside your home. It can be used as a hanging storage place for your child’s stuffed animals. This is a trending craft that will work for whatever setting you have in your home. Even try it outside to hang your hanging plants. Urban, Bohemian, country, rustic… These rope crafts are going to be the hottest thing to make!

 

Where and what will you use macrame for?

The Top 5 New Free Bed Quilts Patterns

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Quilt patterns come in all shapes and sizes, and new ones are being shared every day. The editors at FaveQuilts always want to make sure that the patterns we’re adding are useful to our readers. Recently, we polled our readers on Facebook to see what kinds of quilt patterns they’d like to see, and the majority all agreed that they’d like to see more bed quilt patterns. To help inspire any DIY designers out there in the quilting world, we decided to try something new and feature a week-long series of bed quilt patterns. Look below to see five new designs you can make during the week:

FaveQuilts Features Bed Quilts

Monday

Quilter in Wonderland Block PatternOn Monday, we featured the Quilter in Wonderland Block Pattern from Amy’s Creative Side. This is a versatile bed quilt pattern that you can use no matter what color your room is painted. With the square in a square quilt design, you just can’t go wrong. You can easily highlight the accents of your room with your fabric here, and the quilt blocks are easy to make in any size, so you can make a bed quilt pattern for anyone in the family.

Tuesday

Rustic Duvet Cover Keep it simple and classy with the Rustic Duvet Cover from While They Snooze. A duvet cover can be a great alternative to making a full bed quilt pattern. Bring luxury into your home for less and learn a new way to spice up your home decor. This tutorial is also really helpful when it comes to small details like adding snaps to your duvet.

 

 

Wednesday

Constellations Bed Quilt

You’re sure to have sweet dreams with a magical pattern like the Constellations Full Bed Quilt from Kitchen Table Quilting. This couldn’t come at a better time, because star quilt patterns are all the rage. You’ll be challenged to use standard shapes to create a gorgeous cascading effect that gives your star quilt patterns a whole new setting that looks just like what you see at night.

Thursday

Undersea Rainbow Summer Breeze Quilt

A pattern that family and friends of all ages are sure to adore is the Undersea Rainbow Summer Breeze Quilt from Sewing Under Rainbow. Bring a wonderful splash of color to a bedroom with a design that’s all about being creative with the patterns you already know. Kids in particular will adore the little sea creatures and other applique quilt designs you can add.

 

 

 

Friday

Penelope's Star Quilt

Lastly, we have the energetic Penelope’s Star Quilt from Stitches and Scissors. Nothing pops quite like the colorful quilt blocks used in this bed quilt pattern. Anyone who loves star quilt patterns will want to take a look at how these stunning quilt blocks were put together.

 

 

 

 

You can find all of our featured bed quilts on Facebook, and even more free bed quilt patterns on our site. Be sure to stop by our page and let us know what quilt feature you’d like to see next month!

 

What kind of quilt pattern would you like to see featured next month?

 

 

Make Over Your Headboard

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Is your bedroom lacking some color and style?  Bring your own unique twist to your decor scheme by creating your own headboard!  With the help of Making Designer Headboards, the newest giveaway from FaveCrafts.com, you can customize your own headboard and take control of your bedroom decor.

This awesome headboard kit comes with all the helpful instructions you’ll need to create your own headboard. Included are full size patterns for twin, full, queen, and king sized headboards, step by step DVD (which also includes helpful design tips for the bedroom), fabric application techniques for two styles of headboards with options for wood trim and various fabrics, and much more! All you need to bring is the fabric to fit your bedroom décor!

For the thrifty DIY enthusiast, Making Designer Headboards is a must have!  Lucky for all of you, we’re giving away one copy of this awesome DVD to one lucky winner.  All you need to do to win this DVD is head over to the giveaway page and register to win.  You can register once every day, so the more you return to the giveaway page, the greater your chances of winning this awesome DIY instructional video!

 

And why stop there?  We have lots of other great giveaways going on right now.  You can sign up for all of them by visiting our giveaway page.

How to: Revamp a Lamp

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Here’s a fun, crafty way to upcycle and makeover a room: revamp a lamp! No one ever told me how easy it is to redo a lampshade, so I’ll let you in on a little secret–It’s pretty darn easy! The amount of time and energy that goes into lampshade makeovers is pretty nominal compared to the impact a new lampshade can have on a room’s overall look. Here’s what I did in my room:

I used the “Shabby Chic Pleated Shade” tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff to make this beautiful lampshade. I started out with a plain white shade and an old pillowcase, both from the Salvation Army. I cut the pillowcase into long strips, about 1 inch wide, and pleated them with my sewing machine. Then I took a hot glue gun and attached the strips around the shade until the entire lamp shade was covered in gorgeous pleats! You don’t have to finish your edges because, after all, this is called “shabby chic.” This project is perfect for a little girl’s room or any room that is romantic and girly. I absolutely love the texture!

Here’s a tip if you’re trying this at home: Use thread that’s the same color as your fabric. Sounds obvious, right? Well, I used red thread because it’s all I had, and I thought it looked fine. But when you turn the lamp on, all I see is the read thread and it drives me nuts.

There are tons of other ways to revamp a lamp, if this one’s not your style:

    1. Lamp Shade Refashion: This beginner sewing project is easy but it will look like it was done by a professional! Refashion your lamp shade with a few easy sewing techniques and a bit of ribbon.

    1. Ruffled Lamp Shade: If you know how to sew ruffles, you know how to make this ruffled lamp shade! Use out easy, beginner sewing projects to make one for your home.

    1. Cute-as-a-Button Nightlight Shade: Make a beaded lampshade for a nightlight, without any sewing. The secret’s in the double-sided tape. By day it will look elegant and decorative, and by night it will light the way in a darkened room. This design makes a great gift, home decor, or finished product to sell at a craft fair.
    1. Scrap Ribbon Lampshade: This lamp will match any room because of all of the colorful ribbons attached to it!

    1. Bird and Branch Lampshade: Decorate a plain lamp shade for a cute accent in the baby’s room or at your own crafting table. The fabric pieces are easy to die-cut.

    1. Paper Graffiti Lamp: If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your bedroom try this tutorial for a Paper Graffiti Lamp.  Making your own graffiti is easy when you use some paint and telephone book pages.

Read more DIY Decorating ideas here! Have you ever made a small change that made a big difference to a room’s overall look?

How to: DIY Decorating

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When I moved home after college, my bedroom was a nightmare. The walls were painted in neon colors thanks to my outlandish teenage whims, and I still had a painting hanging up from when I was a baby (it involves teddy bears and balloons…). The blinds clashed with the paint (well, pretty much everything clashed with the paint, to be honest), my comforter was the same one I’d used since pre-school, and I had a T.V. from the dark ages  sitting on my dresser, complete with taped-on antennae. I’m still in the midst of fixing it up, but I thought I’d share with you some of the projects I’ve done and show you how easy it can be to transform a room on a budget. All you need is a little DIY know-how and some elbow grease.

  1. Painting: Always start with the paint. Why? Because it’s not only the cheapest way to update a room, but it also makes the largest impact. Don’t be afraid to take some risks with your paint. After all, you can always paint over your mistakes. I took the plunge and painted stripes on my walls using a chalk line and some painters tape.
    PaintPaint 2

    You can even get creative with the paint on your ceiling like this blogger did with stencils. For a completely comprehensive guide to painting a bedroom, Dana from Made has got you covered.

  2. Embellish a lampshade: I used to look at lampshades as a necessary evil; they don’t do much except take up space. Now, however, I look at them as blank canvases upon which you can leave your mark. FaveCrafts has tons of lampshade refashioning projects to get you started.  I used this project to make my lampshade, and I’m thrilled with the results. It was really easy to do, too!
    LampshadeLampshade 2
  3. Make Wall Art: Decorating your walls is as simple as grouping some framed photographs together. Check out some fun project ideas for wall decor on FaveCrafts, especially this free eBook, Great Decor in a Flash. I used a decoupage project that involved wooden plaques, paint, scrapbook paper, and Mod Podge.
    Mod PodgeWall Art
  4. Change up your bedding: Duvet covers are basically the best invention since, well, duvets. They cost much less than buying a whole new duvet and you can change them out at every whim. Or if you’re up for a challenge you can make your own! Pillows are one of the easiest things to make, especially if you’re new to sewing. I’m planning on making these two pillows from blogger Vanessa Christenson:
    Ruffle Pillow 1Ruffle Pillow 2
  5. Refashion your Furniture: I’m planning on delving into the world of furniture painting, and this tutorial has been very helpful. Of course I couldn’t neglect to mention decoupage as an option, since I’m clearly obsessed with it. If you want to turn a piece of furniture into your room’s focal point, check out these projects:
    Decoupage DresserIndia Inspired Bedside Dresser
  6. Whip up some window treatments: Right now I’m up to my elbows in ruffles as I attempt to sew my own curtains (I’ve got to cover up those clashing blinds!). I got the idea from this shower curtain project, and I actually used some tips from this T-shirt refashioning tutorial.

CurtainsCurtains 2

What DIY Decorating projects have you done for your home? Check out FaveCrafts if you’re looking for more decorating ideas!

Celebrate your Anniversary

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If you’re in a relationship you know how the whole anniversary thing works. Even if you tell your significant other not to get you anything, deep down you’re really hoping he does. This year my fiance and I will be celebrating our six year anniversary. In any case, I’m trying to figure out what to get him. We have a lot to pay for coming in the next month or so, so I don’t want to spend too much on him. Maybe I’ll make him something? It wouldn’t be the first time. I saw these really cute pillowcases that might do the trick. I love getting him something that I like too, hey, we’re going to live in the same place soon, I might as well like it. These pillowcases seem easy to make and they’re really cute. If you like those pillowcases for an anniversary gift you should check out these love letters or a kiss me pillow. You can create a whole bedroom decor. Create something special for your someone special. Happy Anniversary!

love-letters

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