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Loopy Mango Cowl

Got An Hour? Knit A Loopy Mango Scarf!

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Super chunky yarn + giant knitting needles = the coolest handmade neck warmers on the planet

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EASY & QUICK | Got and hour? Why not make yourself (or someone you love) an arresting hand-knit cowl with gargantuan yarn from Loopy Mango. Clueless when it comes to knitting? No worries. Loopy Mango’s merino wool kits for infinity and super long scarves come complete with monster-loop yarn, giant birch wood knitting needles and instructions so explicit rank beginners will be churning out neck-wraps in no time.

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Beadboard wallpaper Graham & Brown

Get The Beadboard Look For Less

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How to get a fantastic beadboard look for your walls without hard labour or a super high price.

Beadboard wallpaper Graham & Brown

 

THE LOOK FOR LESS | As much as I try to squeeze it in, my sunny dream cottage by the sea just won’t fit my budget.  But the fresh, cottagelike look of a bright wainscoted room can be achieved without using high-end, labour-intensive classic tongue and groove boards. Read more

Plant Props - H. Ross

How To Make This Curly Garden Stake

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Why settle for pedestrian plant supports when these fanciful ones are super easy to make.

Plant Props - H. Ross

 

CREATIVE SOLUTION | This curlicue cousin of the commercially available metal plant stake is made with 12-gauge T-bar ceiling hanger wire, which comes in a bundle of precut lengths that are perfect for supporting garden smaller plants. Read more

Stylish Oil Lamps Are Super Simple To Make

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Here’s how to burn the midnight oil with a gorgeous lamp that’s super simple to make.

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DO IT YOURSELF | Oil lamps are probably never going to replace candles as a readily available ambient light source, but they are a viable and attractive alternative. The oil lamps you see these days, like the stylish ones by the German company Radius Design pictured above, are essentially just a wick threaded through a bead that sits on top of a bottle filled with lamp oil. This kind of decorative oil lamp is very easy to make. Read more

Back Painted Glass Vases - John Sinal

Use Marine Paint To Make Old Vases New

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Add rich colour to plain, old clear glass vases by using this simple painting technique.

Vases - John sinal

 

DO IT YOURSELF | Clear glass vases are the classic and obvious choice for displaying flowers and branches, which is why most of us have probably collected a few extra ones over the years. Many of these are no doubt tucked away in the dark reaches of rarely opened cupboards. Why not bring these dusty specimens back into the light and turn them into something different and original by painting their insides with coloured enamel.

This technique has been a design trick for years on sheet glass (to create lustrous walls) or as ornamental glass insets in furniture. Read more

Chalkboard clock - Clinton Hussey

How To Make A Chalkboard Wall Clock

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So much to do, so little time. Get organized with a clock that is also a blackboard.

 

Chalkboard clock - Clinton HusseyDO IT YOURSELF | When schedules clash and you just can’t connect, timing is everything. Leaving notes has become part of our regular routine. This make-it-yourself message board is one place you are bound to look. Read more

How To Make Designer Votive Holders (VIDEO)

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These designer votive candle holders are surprisingly simple to make. Brendan Power shows you how. (VIDEO)

Brendan-Powers-Votive-Candle-Holders-Paul-JosephTHE CREATIVE SOLUTION | These decorative votive candleholders are an easy-to-make, inexpensive Christmas gift that is both beautiful and useful. Brendan Power, our D.I.Y. columnist, got the idea after he saw something similar in a high-end gift shop. “The patterns on the votive holders I saw were probably either applied as decals or printed directly onto the glass,” he says. “My adaptation is made with photocopy paper, but the look and the translucence is no different from the original.”  Read more

Marmoleum Placemats - John Sinal

How To Make Marmoleum Placemats And Coasters

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This tough, classic linoleum that resists grease, acid and heat takes its place at the table.

Marmoleum Placemats - John Sinal

 

CREATIVE SOLUTION  | Eco-friendly Marmoleum is a fashionable finishing material that doesn’t end up only on the floor. I’ve seen innovative applications on kitchen countertops and work surfaces such as desks and coffee tables. It’s extremely durable, non allergenic and comes in every colour imaginable. Here I’ve used it for placemats in simple patterns. Read more

Chinese Lanterns On Mini'lights - Martin Tessler

Make A Lantern Plant & Mini-Light Display

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Harvest Chinese lantern plant pods to create the perfect, illuminated holiday display.

Chinese Lanterns On Mini'lights - Martin Tessler

 

CREATIVE SOLUTION | I first spotted brilliant orange Chinese lanterns fitted over mini-lights on an organically decorated Christmas tree. This is one way to use them for sure, though I like them better when they are used to create an original Thanksgiving or Halloween display. I love them threaded through a tangle of branches on the front porch or on top of the mantel or on a dinner table. I also love mini-lanterns strung around doorways for a punch of spot-on seasonal colour. Read more

Metal Gift Wrap-Martin Tessler

Make Bedazzling Window Screen Wrap

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Knock your present out of the park with pedestrian materials from ye olde hardware store.

Metal Gift Wrap-Martin Tessler

 

CREATIVE SOLUTION | If you’re looking for an easy, dramatic and glamorous way to wrap a very special gift, nothing has the power to bedazzle like ordinary window screen and wire. Read more