True Blue Me & You: I'll Try Not to Waste Our Time

truebluemeandyou: Anthro Inner Circle Necklace. Reblogging because this uses the same technique of wrapping beads as the DIY Anthro Inspired “Perched Harmonies” NecklaceI just posted here.

“Inspired by” Anthropologie Inner Circle Necklace (Original on left for $118). Original Anthropologie necklace here. Tutorial from One Artsy Mama here. This is one of the those big bang for your bucks (and time) tutorial I keep talking about! And this one is so easy…

truebluemeandyou: Not scrabble magnets. Practical and easy and not your average DIY. Still love the color palette.

Key of Keyboards Magnets. But not just boring magnets, awesome magnets (not saying anything bad about scrabble tiles as magnets - but getting over plain scrabble tiles). Love the mixture of types and colors. I have several crappy keyboards in different colors that I could take apart to do this. 

DIY Tribal Necklace Tutorial at Dismount Creative here. Rolled paper beads (not too many, and I love the finished necklace), and a source list that tells you what brand of silver beads they used to the type of chain. It’s a very specific, very detailed, easy tutorial. Love what they come up with. Again, high at neck and tribal. Very very on trend.

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Large Painting Full of Text on Canvas. Found at Alisa Burke here. Why is this a great project? Does it meet my “is this worth it” criteria? Big Bang for your buck - YES. Can I make it for much less than in the stores - YES. Can I make it my own - YES. Is this unique enough to spend my time on - YES. And this is why I like her tutorial so much because who knew you could use shoe polish like this?

I used raw and unstretched canvas that I first primed with white house paint (I often use this in place of gesso). I let it dry and then went to town writing out the poem- and believe or not I used black shoe polish to write with- one of my favorite supplies when working and writing on canvas to get nice lettering.

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Tiny Gnome :) by Anna Hrachovec. Mochimochi Land. Tiny Gnome is in her new book, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi. You can pre-order it on Amazon and the Barnes & Noble website.  

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DIY Heart Button Pillow tutorial found at allaboutyou here. Mother-of-pearl buttons with one red button. This could be done on felt, in other colors. I’ve always liked the idea of one thing being different in a field of sameness.

DIY Silhouette Charm Necklace (on the RIGHT). Super easy clear tutorial at Less than Perfect Life of Bliss here. I love this project (as some know I have made silhouettes of my cats and cockatoo parrot)! I have never posted Etsy and non Etsy items side by side but I posted the Etsy silhouette charms on the left back in June but didn’t realize then they came from an Etsy store - and neither did the numerous blogs that posted them also without a source. When I found the source in a magazine it was so vague as to what the necklace actually cost (did it really come with all those charms? Of course not!). So, for 3 custom silhouettes on a medium size necklace, it will cost $267.00 at luckymebeads’s Etsy Store here. No doubt the Etsy necklace is absolutely gorgeous, but I’d like to give the other a try first.

truebluemeandyou: Reblogging because I know someone else will post this. How could they not? The tip about getting a B&W 24”x36” for $2.99 is worth reading the post!!!!!

DIY Subway Art. Great tutorial at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. Find it here. She has detailed instructions and I love it when I find out something I didn’t know before, like how do I get a 24”x36” black and white print super cheap? Her advice: 

Next, you print it at Staples as an “engineer blueprint.”  This is important.  Why?  Because it will only cost you $2.99 to print it this way. 

 This is major because this is SO CHEAP for a 24”x36” print, even if it’s in black and white (I usually wait for a sale at adorama and I’m paying a lot more than $2.99). And the whole tutorial is written with kind of into. That’s why I love it.

DIY White Painted Bottles Decorated with Sharpies. From Creative Jewish Mother here. Cheap, simple and creative. That should be my mantra.

truebluemeandyou: Reblogging because there are some projects that I can’t let go of that are so easy, so cheap, you can color on these with sharpie paint pens, and they are great gifts.

DIY $0.16 Coasters. I recently posted a tutorial on Home Depot’s $.16 tiles using alcohol ink here. I found another great cheap gift project at Light Refreshments Served here. So simple. You probably have most of the stuff needed to make these. Great instructions and what I like best: a source list and photos of exactly what products were used in making these.

DIY Button-Down Vase. Cute idea, can arrange them anyway you want, good centerpiece. Tutorial at Family Chic here. At first I thought, oh no, I’d have to make buttonholes, but then I read the instructions again and:

The front center placket on a menswear shirt (where the shirt sides join to be buttoned) was cut off the shirt and buttoned together to hold small glass votives in place for a simple centerpiece.

Now I get it! This now turns into a simple, great project where I can go to goodwill or use an old, outdated shirt here, and do this project. SO EASY and clever.

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DIY $.16 Coasters. I recently posted a tutorial on Home Depot’s $.16 tiles using alcohol ink here. I found another great cheap gift project at Light Refreshments Served here. So simple. You probably have most of the stuff needed to make these. Great instructions and what I like best: a source list and photos of exactly what products were used in making these.

truebluemeandyou: Reblogging because this is one of the best makeovers I’ve seen of a tank or t-shirt. No sewing, no ripping, no braiding. Just making a cheap shirt look much more expensive. I like silver so I’d probably go with silver grommets.

DIY Grommet Top Inspired by Michael Kors.  I Spy DIY is a fabulous site with other “inspired by” tutorials. The top Tutorial is here. You will need a grommet kit and that costs about $10 and you find a million uses for grommets! They come in gold and silver and different sizes. Then you need a black tank top. Tutorial is excellent, tells you wear to get practice shirts (if you’re nervous). I’ve used grommets on bags, shower curtains, curtains, etc…