Quick DIY Breakfast Tray Project

Thinking of making breakfast in bed for a loved one on Valentine's Day, but don't have the perfect tray? You can make your own in an afternoon, and customize it with your favorite colors and patterns.

You'll need a basic wooden tray, stain or paint, brushes, patterned paper, scissors, glue, and an old credit card or gift card.

If you don't like the finish or color of your tray, or it's scuffed up, give it a quick sanding and a wipe with a damp cloth, and then stain or paint it. I used a nice dark walnut. Let dry.

Next, find a patterned paper you like. I chose a dark purple and white passionflower - a symbol of love - pattern from a local stationery store.


To size it, I just placed it inside the tray, placing one corner of the paper in a corner of the tray, and then I used an old credit card to smooth it and crease where it met the sides. Then I removed it and cut it a few millimeters smaller than the outline. You could also trace around the bottom of the tray, and then cut it smaller (measure the thickness of the edge and subtract it).

Brush ModgePodge or another craft glue on the bottom of the tray, insert your paper carefully, and then use the credit or gift card to smooth out bubbles before the glue dries. It helps to start in the middle and push the air out to the edges.

Let the glue dry, and then apply a few coats to the top for protection. If you're planning on serving drinks, use a stronger sealant or have your local hardware store cut a piece of glass or plastic to fit.


The finished product, ready for plates of homemade French toast or pancakes, accented with a strawberry heart or two! Wash strawberries, pull the leaves off but don't cut the top, slice almost down to the top but not all the way through, and then gently push the two halves past each other so there's about 45 degrees between them to form a heart shape.

DIY Fabric Yo Yo Projects

Every year, I forget how busy the shop gets during the holiday season - and how much time I need to recuperate afterwards! The time off, however, gives me the freedom to create again purely for fun.

Lately, I've been experimenting with fabric yo yos. I first encountered yo yos while perched on my parents' bed, running my fingers over the ancient yo yo quilt that adorned it. It had been lovingly hand-sewn by my great-grandmother, an immigrant to this country who had a large family and not much money. Nothing went to waste. I'd stare at the quilt for hours on rainy afternoons, wondering where each scrap of fabric had come from and what it had been before - a shirt, curtains, a dress?

I never did find out, but I remember the vivid colors of that quilt to this day. (And one day, I vow to make my own version!)


It's very easy to make yo yos. Pick a round object to trace around - a spool of ribbon, a glass, a plate - and cut circles out of the fabric of your choice. The completed yo yo will be much smaller than the stencil you use, so don't go too small. For these small ones, I used spools of ribbons and thread.

I like to use a doubled length of thread for strength, but you can use a single one if you'd like. Thread through a needle, knot the end, and then go around the outside of your circle using a running stitch. Keep your stitches even, and fairly close to the edge (about a 1/4" from it).

When you get all the way around, pull your thread tight to gather the fabric. Stitch through the nearest folds and knot to secure. Cut your thread as close as you can to the knot, and hide any ends by tucking them into the middle.



If you use cotton, your yo yo will look like this - very flat and thin and even.


If you use silk, it won't be quite so even or round on the outer edges, but it will have more free-form charm and seem a bit more rustic.


Make yo yos of various sizes, and then stitch them together to create pendants or bracelets. You can use different colored thread - like I used red here - to add a bit of contrast, or match your thread to the predominant fabric color to hide it.

Three yo yos like this would make a great bib necklace - just attach chain or ribbon on either side so you can tie it around your neck!


Yo yos also make great snowmen adornments for decorating your home in winter.


Use three different sizes, each slightly larger than the last. Make your yo yos. Now it's time to stitch on a face and other details!


I used seed beads for the eye and mouth, embroidery thread for the carrot nose, and festive red pearls for the buttons.

For hanging, attach a loop of ribbon or thread to the top of the back of his head.


Yo yos also make lovely flower rings. I used silk for these, in yellow and scarlet.


I made a leaf out of a triangle of velvet - use a running stitch across the longest side, and pull tight to gather. Knot, and trim the ends.



Attach the leaf using fabric glue, and then use jeweler's epoxy or another strong glue to attach the flower to the ring base.

These would make great gifts for your friends for Valentine's Day, or for bridesmaids!

DIY Ceramic Goods with Pebeo Porcelaine

I discovered Pebeo Porcelaine paints about a year ago, and since then I've discovered so many easy, impressive uses for them!


They come in two versions - pens, and paint pots. The pens you can just use as is, but for the pots you'll need a brush or two. I only have the colors shown above so far, but they are available in every hue! You can also mix colors to get just the shade you want.


I originally bought these to play around with making pendants. The paints are for ceramic surfaces, so make sure you only use unglazed materials.

You just apply the paint, let it dry for 24 hours, and then either apply another color on top, or bake them in a conventional oven. If you use another color, make sure you DON'T bake in-between or the second color will not stick - I learned this the hard way!


You can paint on initials and other details like the pendants shown in previous photos, or you can keep it simple-but-still-classy with single-colored ones like these. String several on the same cord or chain for a boho, breezy look.


You can also use the paints on other surfaces to give them a ceramic finish. Here I thoroughly washed and dried scallop shells and then applied various colors to only the inner surface. I then baked them according to the directions.


They make great trinket or jewelry dishes! Match the colors to your decor while preserving the memories of your trip to the beach with your favorite people.


Here I glazed the outside of the shell instead. I'm going to drill holes in the tops of these and use them as earrings or pendants.


Same thing here - I used a mussel shell and did just the outside.


I've had some old skeleton keys sitting around, but they seemed too plain to turn into pendants as is. So, I dipped them in the white paint and then hung them over a pan to drip dry. Very vintage-meets-mod! This will look great hanging from some dark, thin leather cording - use an 18" length so it has some movement and a more modern look.

I hope these ideas spark some of your own! The paints are so versatile. Let me know what you come up with!

Fresh=Picked Mistletoe

Just in time for the holidays, fresh-picked mistletoe! Dilly Brand's store sells mistletoe harvested only hours before. I've actually never seen sprigs of this with the berries still on - they're so pearly and lovely.

If you have small children or animals, however, I'd advise removing them as they're poisonous. You can wire on faux pearls, white poms poms, or tiny silver ornaments instead to replace them.

See more from Dilly Brand's shop here.

Holiday Paper Flowers for Sephora

These white gardenias, poinsettias, holly leaves, and snowflakes created by Antlre Inc. for installation in Sephora stores are seriously inspiring me this holiday season!

I'm itching to create my own poinsettias, mistletoe balls, and icicles out of white or iridiscent paper and deck the halls (and every other surface) with them.

See more from their install here.

How are you decorating for the holidays?

DIY Silver Spool Knit Necklace

I discovered spool knitting last year, and I've become addicted to it! It may look complicated initially, but it's actually really simple to create the knitted hollow tube once you get the hang of it and the end results look elegant and modern.

I made the flapper necklace shown above by spool knitting, and I'll show you how to make your own necklace below!



For tools, you'll need an old wooden spool, a crochet hook, 5 tacks or nails, and string. I used thick vintage silver metallic thread. If you can't find an old wooden spool, they do sell newer plastic contraptions that you can spool knit on.


Try to evenly space the tacks around the hole in the middle, and hammer them down about 1/3 to 1/2 of their length. Don't worry about it being perfect - you can see my spacing is just a little bit off, but the necklace still turned out well!


Take the end of your thread, and feed it down the hole from top to bottom.

Working counterclockwise around the hole, loop the string at the top of the hole clockwise around each tack/nail. Your string's tail should still be sticking out of the bottom of your spool.

Go around one more time, counterclockwise around the hole but clockwise around the pegs.


Now take the end of your string that's hanging out of the bottom of your spool, and hook it around your pinky. Then feed it back up the hole from bottom to top.


Hook the tail under the two rounds and then over them. Feed the tail back down the hole again from top to bottom. Remove your pinky when the tube is longer (hanging out the bottom) and pull the end so that the loop over the rounds is tight. This locks the thread around the bottom of the knitted tube so that pulling the tube down as you go along to make room for new rounds is easier.


To knit, use the crochet hook to pull the bottom loop on each peg over the top loop and off the nail. Go around each peg (5 total). Then loop your string around again, counterclockwise around the hole and clockwise around each peg.

Repeat until your tube is the length you would like! It really is that easy.


Here's what the tube looks like when it comes out the bottom of the spool. When your tube is the desired length, cut the silver thread you've been looping around, leaving a generous tail (6"). Leave only one round of loops on the nail. Thread the tail through one loop, and then pull the loop off the nail. Do this with all remaining 4 loops, and then pull the tail tight to finish! You may pull it through the last loop again and knot it at this point, just to be extra-secure.



I decided to make my knitted tube about 75 inches long, so I could comfortably loop it around my neck three times. I tied the tails of the ends together, and trimmed them so they wouldn't show to make one big loop. You can cut the tails to 1/4" to 1/2" if you like and weave them in with the crochet hook to hide them.



You can also knit three shorter tubes of the same length, and then braid them together to make a bracelet. Here, I mixed two silver tubes with one gold one. I think metallic accessories are perfect for the holidays - they go perfectly with red and green, and gleam against the soft whites of freshly-fallen snow and candlelight!

To create the flapper-style necklace shown in the first photo with your tube, loop the tube around your neck twice. Pull on the bottom loop so that the top loop is close to your neck (as you can see in the photo) and the bottom loop hangs very low over your stomach. Take the bottom loop, and treating it like one big piece of string, tie it into a knot. Gently adjust so that the knot is where you want it to be along the tube, and then tighten the knot.

You can vary this project in lots of different ways, however - larger spools, smaller ones, yarn instead of silver thread, and colored thread instead of silver! You could even spool knit with leather cord instead of string. Use whatever you have, or just whatever you like!

Life Magazine's Penguins Around the World

Life Magazine has wonderful slideshows on their website featuring the kinds of photos they're known for - memorable photos that put a smile on your face and become instant favorites.

These are from their "Penguins Around the World" slideshow. It combines modern photos like the last one shown above with vintage snaps like the black and white ones I've selected.

I can't tell which I like the best - I love old photos but the vibrant shades in the color ones shown just jump right out at you. I love the mossy green on the mountainside, and the bright red pop of the penguin's Santa suit. Which do you like the best?

See more of Life Magazine's amazing photos here.