Bohemian Headboard DIY

My assistant Danielle wanted a new headboard for her room that reflected her bohemian personality, so we put our heads together and came up with something absolutely NUTS!  We used unexpected materials and lots of color.  My friend Vicki O'Dell inspired me to use joiner biscuits from the hardware store which worked perfectly for our vines and wooden clothespins made the perfect trim!

Danielle styling her outdoor boho bedroom

Ready for an outdoor nap!

Watch the video tutorial here!

YOU'LL NEED

4'x6' piece of 1/2" thick plywood

400 wooden clothespins

2 jars of 150 joiner biscuits

Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Innocence Pink and Serene Blue

Rit Dye in Sunshine Orange, Apple Green and Golden Yellow

Sanding block or sander

Jigsaw

E-6000 or Wood glue

Paintbrush

Unwrap your clothespins

Pull off the spring in the center of each one

Prepare your Sunshine Orange Rit Liquid Dye in a large bowl with hot water

Soak 300 clothespins in the Sunshine Orange Dye for about 30 minutes

 Dye the other 100 clothespins in Golden Yellow Rit Liquid Dye

Place the clothespins on newspaper to dry after 30 minutes

Dye all of the 300 joiner biscuits in Apple Green Rit Liquid Dye

Let them set for 30 minutes and then dry them on newspaper

 Mark the center of your plywood on the 6" wide side

Create the shape of the headboard with large sheets of newspaper

Cut and trace it on the plywood

Carefully cut out the headboard shape and sand the edges 

Paint the headboard in the colors you chose  

*We used Serene Blue for the top and Innocence Pink for the center on this design 

Arrange your dyed clothespins and joiner biscuits in your design

*Play around with them until you get it just right

Carefully glue each piece down with either E-6000 Glue OR wood glue and let dry

Summer Fruit Trays DIY

Need some fun summer trays for your outdoor dining?  These couldn't be easier to make!  Standard 18" table rounds and thin metal spoons for handles and you're halfway there.  I dyed the wood with RIT Liquid Dye which works wonderfully as a wood stain.  Make sure to check out the RIT studio for tons of other ways to use RIT!  

Watch how I made them here!

YOU'LL NEED

Two 1" x 18" table rounds

Thin metal spoons *make sure you can bend them

Rit Liquid Dye in Sunshine Orange and Scarlet

Americana Multi Surface Paints 

Drill

1" screws 

Paintbrushes

Pencil

Stain one table round with the RIT liquid dye in Sunshine Orange to create the orange tray

Draw a line 1 1/2" from the edge of the tray

Fill in the line with Cotton Ball Multi Surface Paint to create the rhine

With a ruler, draw your orange sections

 Paint over the lines 

Fill in the center and paint on the seeds

Paint the edge with Orange Sherbert

Let dry for an hour

Paint the second table round with Scarlet to create the watermelon tray

Draw a line 1" from the edge and fill in with Cotton Ball

Paint the edges with Turf Green

Add some Cotton Ball to the Turf Green for a lighter shade to create the stripes on the edge 

Coat both trays with Minwax Polycrylic

Mark each end of the spoon

Drill holes in each end of the spoons

Bend into a handle shape and screw into the sides of the trays

Full Length Dress/Beach Cover Up DIY

Summer is finally here and so are long days at the beach.  If you're needing a comfortable beach cover up OR something that you can toss on over your bathing suit and head to dinner in, well then look no more!  This full length dress/beach cover up is just what you need.  I took 4 dingy t-shirts and sewed them together for this dress and the Rit Liquid Dye was perfect for giving the fabric a new life.  Think twice before you toss out those old t-shirts, because it's RIT TO THE RESCUE!  

Danielle in her new summer dress

Directions for her necklace are in The Big Ass Book of Bling 

               

See the video tutorial

You'll need

Sewing machine

4 t-shirts

Rit Liquid Dye in Navy Blue

Rubber bands

Scissors

 Cut off the bottom hem and sleeve hems of shirt 1.

Fold shirt 2 in half down the center and place the sleeve of shirt on the fold just below the neckline

Trace a sleeve extension from the cut sleeve down to the hem of shirt 2  as shown

Cut along your lines

Cut across the chest of shirt 3 right under the sleeves

Also cut off the hem of shirt 3

This will be the mid-section of the dress

 Cut across the chest of shirt 4, right under the arms.  Do not cut off the hem.  The hem of this shirt will be the hem of the dress

Time to stitch the sleeves together

 Fold your sleeves right sides together and stitch the edges together using 1/2" seam allowance

Putting right sides together, match the seams and the raw edges and stitch them together. 

 Stitch shirt 3 to the bottom of shirt 1

Stitch the raw edge of shirt for to the bottom of shirt 3

Pick your dye color

Tie rubber bands around the dress

Dye and rinse until the water runs clear

Wash and dry your new dress

Boho Rit Dyed and Painted Lace Lampshades

A few weeks ago I started experimenting with Rit Liquid Dye and now I'm completely hooked!  I've dyed everything in my house that can possibly be dyed and I'm still looking for more.  This week I tackled some lampshades for my patio chandelier.  I know!  Doesn't everyone have a chandelier on their patio?  It couldn't have been easier, too.  Another thing I learned is that you can paint lace metallic gold with DecoArt's Dazzling Metallics and it looks amazing.  Make sure to use the E-6000 Fabri-Fuse to glue on the lace because hot glue will melt if it's too close to the lightbulbs.  Check out the video tutorial below and leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you.

My boho lampshades

A view to my backyard

Watch the video tutorial here

YOU'LL NEED

Rit Liquid Dye in Tangerine & Golden Yellow

Dazzling Metallics in gold

Lampshades

Cotton Lace

E-6000 Fabri-Fuse

Pie plate

Spray bottle

 1.  Wet your lampshade with a spray bottle (or put it under the sink)

2.  Fill a pie plate about 1/2" with hot water and add 2 cupfuls of Rit Liquid Dye in Golden Yellow

3.  Stir thoroughly and then rest the base of the lampshade in the dye for about five minutes.

 4. Fill your pie plate with hot water and 2 cupfuls of Tangerine Rit Liquid Dye.

5.  Stir and then dip the top of your lampshade in the dye for about 5 minutes.  

*Let it bleed upward to give an ombre effect.

6.  Cut your lace in different sized pieces.

7. Paint them with Dazzling Metallic Paint in Glorious Gold

8.  When they're dry, glue the lace to the lamp shade with E-6000 Fabri-Fuse and tape the pieces in place until they dry.