Design Improvised

Collaborating with Kollabora

2013-05-17T05:18:00.001-07:00

I first discovered Kollabora a year ago at the Altitude Summit blogging conference. They were a budding company with a cool concept - bring together a community of makers to share their DIY projects and techniques and encourage others to start making by providing easy step-by-step instructions and supplies.

It has been fun collaborating with them over the past year - you may remember the DIY Night when we made these awesome painted bangles with supplies and instructions from Kollabora:

Then we held a DIY Night where several of us took a shot at knitting for the first time while watching Kollabora's step-by-step "newbie" videos online:

I've enjoyed submitting my own projects to Kollabora and being part of their growing community of makers. They are currently expanding beyond jewelry, knititng, and sewing to include home decor projects (yay!). Here are some recent home decor submissions by community members:

Kollabora does a great series on their site called "Meet the Makers" where they interview different members of their DIY community. I was honored to be interviewed by them this week! You can check out my interview on their blog. In addition, I plan on working more closely with Kollabora now that they are expanding into home decor. Stay tuned!

If you are a crafty person, you should definitely join the Kollabora community and submit some of your latest projects so others can make it too! You don't need to be a blogger, all you need is to provide a photo and some instructions.

Randolph Street Market Summer Opener - Ticket Giveaway!

2013-05-15T06:04:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe Memorial Weekend is only a matter of days away. Just like the last few years, you'll find me kicking off the weekend at my favorite Randolph Street Market.

This outdoor vintage flea market in Chicago is held monthly throughout the summer in the West Loop. There are over 200 vendors, good food, and live music. Never been? Well now is your chance!

Randolph St. Market are providing a pair of tickets to its May 25-26th market for one of Design Improvised's readers! Just leave a comment below to enter.

In the meantime, here are a few snapshots of treasures I've taken home from past markets:

I can't wait to find a fun place for the crazy 60's rug and these butterfly specimens in our new place.

This vintage storage box and the wicker rocking chair and stool have already been put to good use in the girls' bedroom.

This pair of funky crewel embroideries remains my favorite Randolph Street Market find of all time! They are currently displayed proudly in the playroom.

What treasure will I discover next? I can't wait to find out! Here's how you can find some treasures of your own this Memorial Weekend:

Randolph Street Market Ticket Giveaway

To enter to win a pair of tickets ($20 value) to the May 25-26th market in Chicago, just leave a comment on this post!

Contest ends 11:59 pm ET on 5/19/13. One comment per person. US entrants only please. Winner will be chosen randomly through random.org and notified by email. If the winner does not claim the prize within 72 hours of notification, a new winner will be selected.

New Home Ideas

2013-05-13T07:46:00.002-07:00

I have been ripping ideas from home magazines for as long as I can remember. Having the new home to plan for has been the perfect excuse to sort through my sea of clippings and organize them nicely in an idea book!

My favorite way to organize magazine clippings is with clear sheet protectors in a 3 ring binder. To make my idea book feel a little more special I covered an old binder in pretty paper. I also got some stick-on tabs from Martha Stewart Home Office and a Sharpie for writing notes on the clippings:

I organized the book by creating a separate tab for each room in the house:

Behind each tab, I added sheet protectors with the magazine clippings slotted in. I jotted down notes to remind me what I liked about each inspiration photo like this one for our new guest room:

These pink paint options from Better Homes and Gardens will be helpful when painting my new pink and black office!

This book of clippings may seemed a little old-fashioned in the days of Pinterest and Houzz. I plan on saving ideas on those sites too, but there is something about paging through magazine ideas that I've always found particularly inspirational and a little therapeutic too! I'm looking forward to adding to this in the coming months.

Are you a magazine clipper like me? How do you corral all the ideas you find?

We Bought a Home!

2013-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

As of May 30th, this will be our new home in San Antonio! Things are always bigger in Texas, and this is definitely bigger than our Chicago condo. It should be quite the change as we trade the city life for the suburb life. I'm just looking forward to some new rooms to decorate!

Lots more photos to come down the road - just wanted to give you a sneak peek for now.

Have a great weekend!

10 Things to Replace When You Move

2013-05-08T06:10:00.001-07:00

One nice thing about moving to a new home is that it allows you to start with a clean slate. It's a great opportunity to replace certain things I should've replaced a long time ago - like all our mismatched tupperware!

Ross and I learned our lesson when we moved from Boston to Chicago that certain things aren't worth putting on the moving truck. We ended up paying some crazy amount to have movers pack up our kitchen, including a couple boxes of canned goods that cost probably 3x the amount to pack them than they were worth. There will be no canned goods coming down with us to San Antonio!

Here are the things I hope to update with the new house:

Mismatched tupperware - our motley collection consists mostly of recycled deli meat containers these days! I'm anxious to replace them with a nice stackable set like these from Rubbermaid.
Dishtowels / dishcloths - with a new kitchen, I would like to replace our worn dishcloths with a bright new set. These brightly printed ones from Target caught my eye.
Pantry items - I assume most people clean out their kitchen items before making a big move. We'll be extra thorough this time around.
Toiletries - Same thing for toiletries. I've already cleaned out numerous bottles of stuff I haven't used in years (!). It's amazing how less cluttered my bathroom drawers are. ;)
Bathroom towels - when we got our set of towels as a wedding present they were fluffy and white. They are now just dingy. When we have guests stay with us, I find myself sorting through them to find the least dingiest to give them! They are long overdue for a replacement.
Bedroom pillows - our pillows are several years old and I haven't been great at regularly washing them. I think it would be nice to update them with new ones rather than pack them.
Clothes - There will be a lot less need for wool sweaters in San Antonio. I've been whittling down my winter clothes quite a bit.
Old DVDs - Ross might not agree with this one, but we have a cabinet full of DVDs that we brought from Boston and haven't watched in the 7 years we've lived here! I am hoping we don't need to bring those with us. ;)

Help! I realized I only made it to 8 on my "Top 10" list! What else would you add? Anything else that is better to get rid of than pack up and move across the country?

The Land of Nod's 10th Birthday Bash!

2013-05-06T05:24:00.001-07:00

When The Land of Nod throws a birthday party, you know it is going to be a good one!

The Land of Nod celebrated turning 10 years old with a big bash at its newly remodeled flagship store in Chicago this weekend. There were lots of balloons and lots and lots of color. I was like a kid in a candy shop.

The new rainbow checkout at the center of the store was the highlight for me. I think it is pure genius, from the lamps at varied heights to the blue spray painted animal backdrop:

You most likely know The Land of Nod from their website, but if you have a chance to visit one of their handful of stores they are not to be missed! They are opening up their first California store in Costa Mesa soon.

The styling is so creative throughout, such as this cute pink bookcase:

Colorful wall art surrounds the top of the store:

The Land of Nod has some of my favorite lighting options right now. I would use any of these in my home!

The new flagship store in Chicago has a section devoted to toys. Love the vintage looking sign:

The toys are smartly organized by age group:

I brought home one of these awesome big storage baskets and a pair of these silly glasses for my girls (modeled here with my friend Niki)!

Because The Land of Nod throws such awesome parties, I've asked them to help me throw a little party of my own. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks - it's going to be a lot of fun!

Design Improvised is Joining Martha's Circle!

2013-05-03T05:56:00.002-07:00

Just a quick post to share some exciting news this Friday. Design Improvised has been invited to join the Martha's Circle advertising network!

As part of Martha's Circle, Design Improvised joins a family of lifestyle and DIY blogs selected by Martha Stewart editors for their dedication to "delivering ideas that inspire, and tools to instruct".

For Design Improvised readers it means I'll occasionally be joining forces with the Martha Stewart brand and its advertising partners to bring you sponsored content about interesting products. You'll also see a couple more ads in my sidebar from companies I hope you find relevant and exciting.

I couldn't imagine a better fit for an advertising partner than Martha's Circle - I hope you agree!

Mothers Day Cake

2013-05-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Don't have anything for Mom yet for Mother's Day? No problem. All you need are a few AirHeads candies and a cake and you will be all set.

I'm excited to be partnering with AirHeads candy for this post. It turns out I have a lot of fun crafting with AirHeads - you can bend and manipulate them almost like clay.

You may remember this AirHeads friendship bracelet I made to enter their Valentine's Day crafting contest (I won 3rd place!). This time I used the same technique of cutting the AirHeads into thin strips for an entirely different outcome.

Here is all you need to make an awesome Mother's Day cake for your mom:

Frosted cake - I purchased my coconut cake at my local grocery store for $12 - it was delicious and well worth it. Of course, you could also make your own!
AirHeads candy - I used 2 cherry, 2 orange, and 2 pink lemonade to make the cake, but you can pick whatever colors or flavors you like best.
Kitchen shears - or regular scissors, but just make sure to wash them well first.

The details on this cake are so easy to make you can have it done in 15 minutes. I'm not kidding! It is easy enough for young kids to help with, especially the hearts.

I wanted the letters and the heart details on the cake to have a feminine, quilled look to them. To do so, I first started by cutting each AirHead into thin (about 1/4") strips lengthwise.

Here is how to make the first "M":

Take two AirHeads strips and pinch them together at the top. They will stay stuck together on their own. Then roll up the end of the left strip a little bit.
Bend the second strip into a U shape
Pinch on one more AirHeads strip and curl the end of that one as well
Place on the cake!

For the "O", just take a strip and pinch it into a circle. For the second "M" just make a smaller version following the instructions above!

Making the hearts is super easy:

Take a strip and pinch it in half
Roll in the left strip midways
Roll in the right strip midways until it touches the other strip
Make as many as you want to go around the base of the cake!

What do you think, would your mom like this?

This post is sponsored by AirHeads

A Perfect Mother's Day Gift - And Giveaway!

2013-04-29T05:47:00.004-07:00

What mom or grandma wouldn't love these Change of Art frames for a Mother's Day gift?

In particular, I thought these double frames would be a fun way to display your children's latest photos along with a piece of their artwork.

Change of Art is kindly giving away a pair of their double frames (an $80 value) to a Design Improvised reader - read on for details!

You may remember my earlier Change of Art post on why I think these are some of the coolest and highest quality picture frames on the market. Their paper templates and button hangers make hanging a grouping of pictures foolproof. All you do is:

Tape up the paper templates where you want them
Nail in the button where marked on the template
Tear off the paper, and then slide the frame onto the button

Another feature that I love is their storage pocket that allows you to just slide in a new picture and store older ones behind it.

This would be perfect for grandma when she receives a new photo or piece of art from her grandkids!

I know some grandmas that will be receiving these for Mother's Day (hint, hint). Enter below for a chance to win a pair of your own!

Change of Art is offering two ways to win:

1) Leave a comment below by Sunday, May 5th for a chance to win a pair of double frames in your choice of color (an $80 value).

- OR -

2) Make a purchase at Change of Art and leave a comment below saying you did so by Sunday, May 5th. If you win the giveaway, not only will you win the pair of double frames, but you will also be REFUNDED YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE (up to 12 frames)!!

Contest ends 11:59 pm ET on 5/5/13. One comment per person. US entrants only please. Winner will be chosen randomly through random.org and notified by email. If the winner does not claim the prize within 72 hours of notification, a new winner will be selected.

This post was sponsored by Change of Art

UPDATE: The giveaway has now closed. Congrats to comment #10, Katy Lewis!

How to Stage a House

2013-04-24T05:24:00.002-07:00

We hope to have our Chicago condo on the market this next week as we get ready to make the move to San Antonio. In preparation we've been doing several little things to help our home sell as quickly as possible.

Sometimes it's the little things that make the all difference. I still remember clearly the bright bowl of oranges on the dining room table and a fresh white orchid in the bathroom when we saw our condo for the first time 7 years ago. Subconsciously those small touches made by the previous owners must have had a favorable impact, as we put in offer in that day!

Here are the 10 things we're doing to stage our house:

Swapping in new doormats and accent rugs - we want potential buyers to get excited before they enter the door. We replaced our worn doormat with a fresh colorful one and paired it with a bright wreath. I also swapped out the rug at our kitchen sink with this one from Target.
Adding greenery and flowers to patios and decks - even though it is just barely warm enough to plant flowers outdoors in Chicago, I'm adding several pots of cold-tolerant flowers and greenery to our balcony off the living room and our roof top deck.
Removing family photos - this is a classic home staging tip, but it works. I took down and packed up all our family photos such as our hallway photo wall.
Decluttering closets and built-ins - I remember reading somewhere that you should take out at least 1/3 of the things in your closets. We've been going closet by closet to organize them, donate things we don't need, and move a few boxes to our offsite storage unit to make them feel roomier.
Corralling toys - having the new playroom has helped keep the toys out of the other living spaces, but there is still some work to be done to put a few of the bigger items in storage and free up space.
Removing baby-proofing gear - having a baby gate to step through when you first enter the condo isn't the best first impression, so we took it down as well as plan to remove the protective covers over the stove knobs, locks on cabinets, etc.
Fresh coat of paint in high-traffic areas - we hadn't painted our hallway and bathroom walls since we moved in 7 years ago. The wear and tear was really starting to show, especially at 3 feet above the ground where a trail of sticky finger prints and smudges winds through the house! We had painters come in and paint these areas and boy does it make a huge difference! It is worth the investment.
Cleaning out fridge and oven - some people like to open your fridge and oven as a test of whether you take good care of your home. We're going to make sure ours are sparkling!
Wash windows - We have nice big windows in our living and dining room. The view and sunlight is amazing after a fresh wash.
Fresh flowers in kitchen and bathrooms - my favorite touch. I wish I had fresh flowers in my dining room and bathrooms every day, but I'll definitely have them when our place is on the market!

What else should we do? I'd love to hear what tricks you've found helpful in selling a home!

How to Refinish a Table

2013-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here is one last project from my girls' playroom - a little play table and chair makeover:

This is what the set looked like when I found it near a dumpster awhile back (yes, a dumpster!). It wasn't in the best shape, but the table was still very sturdy and I was drawn to its little spindle legs.

I haven't done much furniture refurbishing, so I was winging it a bit on this project (please let me know if there are other tips and tricks I should know about!). Here are the supplies I used:

Supplies to Refinish a Table

Small paintbrush
150 grit sandpaper
Protective respirator mask
Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer
Interior paint in your choice of color (not shown)
Acrylic sealant (not shown)

How to Refinish a Table

1. Lightly sand all the surfaces of the table and chairs with your sand paper. It's a good idea to use your respirator mask during this part! Wipe off the dust created with a paper towel.

2. Apply a coat of primer with your paintbrush:

Here's how the chair looked after being primed:

3. Apply 1-2 coats of your paint. I tested out two wall paint colors I had on hand. I opted for the pale blue and gave the table two good coats.

4. Spray the table and chair with a protective acrylic spray. I gave the table at least 4 coats, letting it dry between coats. I didn't take a photo of this, but this step is really important to protect the surface of the table from wear and tear. When my girls get crayon marks or spill something on the table it will just wipe off with a damp cloth thanks to the sealant.

I paired the table and chair with these adorable red chairs from The Land of Nod. So far the table has been holding up pretty well thanks to the sealant, despite my girls' best efforts to mark it up!

Fellow DIYers out there, what tips do you have when it comes to refinishing furniture pieces like these?

Interview on The Road to the Good Life Blog

2013-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite parts of blogging has been the opportunity to get to know other bloggers. While at Alt Summit in January, I med Eden Hensley. She is a woman with many hats - mother to 1 year old Gates, designer, business owner, writer, and blogger to name a few!

Her blog The Road to the Good Life chronicles the ways she makes the most of everyday life. She is even in the midst of writing a children's book about The Good Life with her sister. Talk about one impressive woman!

When she asked if I would contribute to a new series she was doing on her blog by answering a few questions about my definition of The Good Life, I was honored. Having the opportunity to do these types of things, and meet interesting people like Eden is what makes blogging so fun.

You can find my interview and check out Eden's blog here! Hint - these two girls below are a big component of The Good Life for me ;)

Monogram Art

2013-04-17T05:57:00.003-07:00

Here is a simple and colorful way to make monogram wall art for your child's room:

These fluffy pom-poms bring me back to my childhood when I would glue them together into caterpillars or other little animals. Now Stella does the same! There is something about their bright colors and soft texture that makes them hard not to love.

I made an initial for each of my girls, but it would also look really neat if you spelled out a child's name on their bedroom wall!

Supplies for Pom-Pom Monogram Art

Inexpensive blank canvas (lots of sizes to choose from)
Package of pom-poms in assorted sizes and colors
Hot glue
Ruler and pencil (optional - for tracing letter)

How to Make Pom-Pom Monogram Art

1. Start by lightly drawing the letter on the canvas with a pencil and ruler. Then roughly lay out the pom-poms you want to use, varying the colors and sizes:

2. Use a dab of hot glue to secure each pom-pom in place. As you glue, you will want to position the pom-poms more closely together than when you initially laid them out. Just fill in the extra space with additional pom-poms:

3. Continue gluing on more pom-poms until you've filled out the letter, making sure to vary the sizes and colors throughout.

In less than 30 minutes and under $10 you can create a fun new piece of wall art!

What other things would you make with these colorful pom-poms?

Design Improvised is Headed to San Antonio!

2013-04-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

Time for some exciting news that I've been anxious to share - after 7 great years in Chicago the Giambalvo family is packing up and making the move south to San Antonio!

My husband got a new job there. I had never been until we made an initial house hunting trip there a week ago. As much as I love Chicago, I'm excited for what the future holds for us in Texas!

From a purely selfish standpoint, a new home (a real house, not a condo!) in San Antonio means I might actually get that craft room I've been dreaming about. It will undoubtedly mean a ton of new fun DIY projects to blog about as I work to make the new house a home! Can't wait to share the journey with you.

And yes, we did visit the Alamo ;)

Have you been to San Antonio? I would love to hear your recommendations for great places to see, eat, shop, you name it. Also, if you happen to know of any San Antonio based bloggers, send me their website!

Craft Room Design

2013-04-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I have been dreaming of having my own craft / blog room for some time now. Well, it has gotten to the point where I couldn't help but put a mood board together with my vision for this future dream space of mine!

Somewhere along the line I decided on a black and pink color palette for the room. It started with wanting to find a way to repurpose this black and white CB2 rug we had in our previous office. It has been rolled up in a closet for the past two years after the office was transitioned to a toddler room and I'm anxious to put it to use again!

Here are some more details on what I would love for the office:

Here's a little secret - this dream room might become a reality sooner than I thought! More details to come very soon. ;) In the meantime if you are interested in any of the pieces featured in the room design, click here to get their links!

DIY Canvas Art

2013-04-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Decorating your walls with art can get expensive fast. Even mass produced prints are not cheap when you add in the cost of framing them. The good news is you can make attractive wall art all by yourself. All you need are a few plain canvases. No artistic skills required!

Canvases are typically only a few dollars a piece – especially when they are 50% off (craft and art supply stores tend to have them on sale regularly). Here is my take on super easy wall art using various sized canvases painted in a complementary color palette.

I think there is a modern and fresh feel to its simplicity. The best part – it couldn’t get any easier! Here’s all you need.

Supplies for DIY Canvas Art

Plain canvases in a variety of shapes and sizes (there are different levels of quality; buy the cheapest, and try to get them on sale! The canvases I used were between $2-$5 each)
Acrylic craft paint in your choice of colors (I used a blue / green palette of Martha Stewart all-purpose craft paints)
Foam brush
Painters tape (I used ½” wide tape)

The key to a visually interesting grouping is choosing a variety of sizes and an interesting color palette. An odd number of canvases usually works best. Get creative and play around with sizes and colors that would look best in your space.

How to Make DIY Canvas Art

1. Cover the edges of the canvas with a strip of painters tape. Make sure that the tape is pressed flush to the canvas to prevent any paint from seeping underneath.

2. Use your foam brush and a small amount of craft paint to cover the entire top of the canvas. Let this first coat dry for 15 minutes and then paint 1-2 more coats.

3. Experiment with different groupings of the painted canvases by laying them out on the floor. Once you have the layout you want, hang them on the wall!

Follow Design Improvised on Bloglovin

2013-04-03T05:41:00.001-07:00

Do you subscribe to Design Improvised through Google Reader? If so, now is the time to switch your subscription to Bloglovin! Unfortunately Google Reader is going away as of July 1st.

From what I've seen, Bloglovin is the preferred alternative being encouraged by other bloggers. I use it to follow all of my favorite blogs. Plus, Bloglovin got smart quickly and made it super easy for you to import all your current subscriptions from Google Reader in one click!

To sign up, just click the button below!

Never even heard of an RSS subscription or a blog reader like Bloglovin?!

While, now might be the time to start using one! If you follow multiple blogs, they are a great way to get the content all in one place. Here is an example of my Bloglovin page. You can see all the blogs I follow in the left column. I can scroll through all their recent posts on the right:

My favorite feature of Bloglovin is the daily email it will send you with a brief summary of all the new posts that came out that day from the blogs I follow:

Drop me a note if you now follow Design Improvised on Bloglovin!

Shared Bedroom

2013-04-01T05:17:00.002-07:00

Two little sisters have been happily sharing this bedroom over the past few months!

We decided to move the girls together to the same room to transition the nursery to a playroom. I wasn't sure how it would turn out with a 3 year old and 20 month old sharing the same room, but it has gone surprisingly well! My sister and I shared a room until we were in junior high and I always enjoyed that growing up. I'm hoping our girls will want to share a room for many years to come.

We made just a few tweaks to transition Stella's big girl room to their shared bedroom.

We added a dresser to hold both of their clothes. Each of their birthday pictures sits on top!

I tried to make the best use of the space by storing small things in a few pretty boxes under the dresser and bed:

The rack on the wall now holds two backpacks!

The pile of library books has grown taller with two little readers:

I kept the rocking chair in the room, although it is awfully hard to fit both girls on my lap!

The big kraft letters over their beds were my favorite addition. I bought each of them for $10 at Joann Crafts and Stella helped me paint them with purple acrylic craft paint. I hung them up on the wall with 3M Command hooks.

We put Hazel's crib along the wall where a big toy storage unit used to be. The toys have now thankfully been moved to the playroom!

It is a little cramped and sometimes one of the sisters wakes the other one up before they're ready, but over all it has been a good move.

If you haven't already seen them, check out the photos of their new playroom!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

2013-03-29T12:39:00.001-07:00

Would you believe these pretty eggs are the work of a 3 year old and 20 month old?!

This year I've seen so many clever ways to decorate Easter eggs - marbelizing with nail polish, dip dying in gold paint, covering in washi tape, painting with chalkboard paint, embroidering the eggs - the list goes on!

But if you're like me and 1) haven't dyed any eggs with only 3 days until Easter and / or 2) have little kids at home, sometimes the good old PAAS dye kit is the way to go!

I was surprised with how pretty these turned out. Their marbelized look came from the girls continuing to move around them from color to color! For each dye tablet, I used a cup of water and a tablespoon or so of vinegar. It gave a nice soft color to the eggs without being too saturated.

While a little chaotic, egg dyeing with these guys was a ton of fun!

So don't beat yourself up if you didn't get around to any of those cool Easter egg ideas you pinned. Just head to the grocery store, buy the $2 PAAS kit, and have some fun this weekend. Happy Easter!

Learning to Knit!

2013-03-27T05:46:00.001-07:00

I've been crafting most of my life (have you seen some of my earliest works?). However, I have always shied away from sewing, crocheting, or knitting. Something about them seemed a little too daunting. So I was definitely intrigued when Kollabora asked if I would join in on their newbie knitting project. I decided I was up for the challenge!

Thanks to Kollabora, I invited over several crafty ladies who had never picked up knitting needles to a "learn to knit" party:

Kollabora supplied us with our newbie knitting kits, I supplied the bright table decor!

Remember those octagon coasters I used to make my shamrock garland? I used the rest of the pack to make this table runner (adhering them with double-sided tape onto kraft paper) and the danglers from the chandelier (I sandwiched a length of twine between two coasters using double-sided tape).

Now, onto the party! Our goal - to learn how to knit a basic headband by following Kollabora's instructional videos. Did we make a headband that night? No. Did we all catch the knitting bug? Yes!

Truth be told, it was awfully tricky to learn how to knit for the first time by watching videos. If we had one person in the room who knew how to knit that could guide us along, I think that would have helped.

Here we are, anxiously opening our knitting kits!

With a little practice, we all managed Step 1 - the basic slip knot!

However, two hours later, this is as far as I had gotten after having to start over multiple times!

Despite fumbling with the knitting needles for two hours, there was something about knitting that I found to be very therapeutic - I was determined to figure it out. I tried knitting off and on over the past couple months since the party, unraveling my stitches numerous times. Then one day it finally just clicked - and boy, did it feel good!

I decided to make a knitted cuff (a little shortcut to the headband - exact same steps, just fewer stitches!). For all you seasoned knitters out there, here are the basic steps. Newbies, head over to Kollabora to watch the step-by-step videos!

How to Make Knitted Cuff

1. Cast on 10 stitches
2. Knit every row until the cuff is long enough to wrap around your wrist snugly
3. Cast off your stitches
4. Use a darning needle to seam the ends together.
5. Add any embellishments you want!

I loved my first one so much, I whipped up a second one. Despite not being a natural, I'm so glad I didn't give up - I've definitely caught the knitting bug. Next, I'm off to tackle purple and pink knitted headbands for Stella and Hazel!

How about you? Do you knit? If you're a newbie like me, head over to the Design Improvised Facebook page to win a free Kollabora knitting kit! (Contest ends 3/31/13)

Little Girl Bedroom

2013-03-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

My latest kids room design might just be my favorite. I love working on little girls' rooms!

This time my client was a curly haired 2 year old named Sierra. With the arrival of a new baby sister, Sierra was getting a big girl bed and a new big girl room to match!

The pale pink walls and grey ceiling in Sierra's new room served as the starting point for the basic pink and grey color palette. Her mom also had a couple great pieces for the room already - the IKEA PS MASKROS pendant lamp and the modern grey rocking chair.

From there, we played around with adding an accent color. I created two designs - the above with aqua accents and this other version with red:

It is cool how you can change the feel of the room just by playing around with accent colors. Sierra is going with the teal version. Which do you like best? What other accent colors would you try?

Interested in any of the specific pieces in the mood boards above? Leave a comment below and I'll respond with the details!

March DIY Night: Cupcake Liner Crafts

2013-03-22T05:17:00.004-07:00

The cupcake liner wreath I shared on Monday, was a result of having lots of cupcake liners left over from this month's Design Improvised DIY Night!

After seeing cupcake liners being used in crafts, I thought it would be fun to buy a variety of bright colors and prints and let people get creative with them! I was particularly inspired by these simple cupcake liner flowers by The Sweetest Occasion and knew they would make for a very doable DIY night craft.

After getting our creative juices flowing with some wine and sugar cookies, we we were off and running. Soon, a rainbow of cupcake liner flowers was covering the table and floor!

I loved this color combination of pink polka dots and teal that Rachel used for some of her flowers:

Each person put their cupcake liners to use in a unique way. I love projects like these for DIY Night where each person can put their own personal spin on it. It is always so fun to see how different everyone's looks at the end of the night!

Look at how cute Rachel's garland turned out:

I also made a garland for our mantel. Just looking at it makes me happy!

Patti used her flowers to make this super colorful, bohemian looking wreath. I loved it so much, it inspired me to do my own. Check out the full tutorial for the wreath.

These cupcake flowers would make awesome party decor, whether used as a garland, wreath, or even just scattered around a dessert or drinks table - they would add such a pretty touch!

I still have some cupcake liners left over - have you seen any other cool cupcake liner crafts to try?

Cupcake Liner Wreath

2013-03-20T05:35:00.002-07:00

Spring is here! However with 20 degree temps in Chicago today it sure doesn't seem like it. If it's still cold where you are, this bright and cheery wreath might be just what the doctor ordered.

You can make this wreath for under $10 as the main supplies are inexpensive cupcake liners! Did you know that they can be used for a variety of crafting projects? Check out these pretty cupcake liner flowers from Martha Stewart and The Sweetest Occasion that inspired this wreath.

Supplies for Wreath

12" foam wreath form
100-150 regular sized cupcake liners / baking cups (Wilton makes an endless variety of colors and fun prints - the hardest part will be choosing from all of them. I purchased mine at Joann Crafts)
50-75 mini paper baking cups
Hot glue

How to Make Wreath

1. Start by making a bunch of flowers - you'll need around 50 flowers for the wreath. For each flower you'll need 2 regular sized baking cups and one mini baking cup. Flatten them down (the colored / printed side of the cup should be facing up).

2. Add a small dab of hot glue to the center of each baking cup to layer them on top of each other.

3. Grab from the bottom baking cup and pinch them all together.

4. While still pinching the bottom, fan out the top to make into an organic flower shape.

5. Once you've made plenty of flowers start gluing them onto your wreath with a dab of hot glue.

6. Continue working around the wreath. You want to avoid any of the wreath form showing through, but you also want to be careful not to crowd the flowers too close together or you'll loose their pretty floral shape.

7. Don't forget to cover the sides! You can fill in smaller gaps by scrunching up a single baking cup rather than using a full flower.

It might look time consuming, but the flowers are so simple to make that you can easily finish this project in under 2 hours.

I'm hoping if I hang the wreath on my door it will encourage spring weather to get here a little sooner. ;)

Table Setting Ideas

2013-03-18T04:44:00.002-07:00

I hope you all had a great weekend! Here a few scenes from our St. Patrick's Day meal yesterday. The good news is you don't have to wait until next year to put any of these ideas to use - you can tweak them to work for any meal.

1. Ombre Placemats

These simple placemats are actually sheets I tore from a book of 12"x12" cardstock paper. I chose 4 different shades of green. The cardstock makes for a sturdy placemat and you can throw it away afterwards.

2. Washi Tape Napkin Holder and Place Card

I wrapped a piece of gold washi tape around the napkin to hold the fork in place. No need for napkin rings! For the place cards, I used one of the green coasters left over from my shamrock garland. I added a piece of washi tape and wrote each person's initial in gold metallic pen.

3. Supermarket Bouquet

You don't need to spend a lot of money on flowers for the table. This $10 arrangement from the supermarket did the trick when put in a decorative vase. The key is cutting down the stems enough so the flowers just pop out of the top of the vase. Check out some more tips for arranging supermarket bouquets.

4. Simple Table Runner

Once again, I rolled some brown kraft paper down the center of the table to use as a runner. This is my go to for table runners. To me they are a much easier alternative to a tablecloth. My tablecloths are always full of wrinkles, and the last thing I want to do is take the time to iron them!

For the St. Patrick's Day table, I ran a small scarf down the middle of the table perpendicular to the runner. Scarves make for a great runner, so raid your closet for some creative options.

5. Yummy Food

The tablescape was nothing compared to this amazing corned beef and cabbage Ross made. It was sooooo good!

Check Out Some Changes at Design Improvised!

2013-03-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

This week I invested some time in cleaning up the blog a bit. It's something I've been wanting to do for months and haven't found the time. Well, I'm glad I did because it looks so much better! It's amazing what a little formatting can do to make a blog look a little more professional. I've been learning these tricks slowly but surely over time!

For this latest blog refresh, I tackled my pages - the different categories underneath my blog header:

I added an As Seen On page to highlight where Design Improvised projects have been featured across the web!

I also did a much needed refresh to my Projects & Crafts and Parties & Holidays pages. Now rather than having big photos for each project, I have a grid of smaller thumbnail images making it easier to scroll down through all of them.

I also organized the projects by theme, such as grouping all my wreaths together (I realized I've made a lot!):

The Parties and Holidays page has now been updated with a bunch of projects that had gotten lost within the blog archives. Check out the page for lots of Easter ideas.

If there are other ways I can improve the blog or make it easier for you to read, please do let me know.

P.S. I'm still working on trying to fix some issues people have had with the comment widget - thanks for being patient!