Homemade Decorative Items

1.Handmade Children’s Hanger-Tree

Tree-hanger

It is not so easy to make such a hanger. But if there is a man in the house and tools for precise cutting of wood (jigsaw or compact saw), than it is quite real to make such an original children’s hanger.

Besides substantial savings (compared to the finished product and the time to find it), your efforts will be rewarded with a child’s delight: he will have a practical and unusual detail of the interior, which will be a source of pride in the eyes of his friends.

“Summer tree”

Materials and tools:

-          2 plywood boards of 45×20 inches and a thickness of 0.3 inches;

-          wrapping paper (for a template) of 45×20 inches;

-          4 metal brackets and screws to them;

-          several wooden handles with fastening;

-          jigsaw;

-          paint and brush;

-          screwdriver;

-          scissors;

-          pencil;

-          sandpaper.

How to make:

Draw a pattern of a tree (crown, branches, base) on the wrapping paper so that both sides were roughly symmetrical to each other, and all the lines were rounded. Mark the center line in the middle with a width of 0.3 inches. Cut out the template and draw the pattern on the plywood using the template as a stencil.

Saw 2 identical elements of both plates, and then make a slit of 0.3 inches on one of them – cut a  portion of the central line from the top to the middle (where the “branches” begin). Clean the edges with sandpaper to a perfectly flat surface and then paint, for example, in 2 shades of the same color.

Install the prefabricated components of the “tree” on the floor and put one element into another through the slot. Initial resistance of the hanger will be achieved. For optimal results fasten the metal corners on each side, where both elements are connected.

Cut little flowers or leaves from the remnants of plywood, paint them in bright color, connect to the handle and attach to the “crown” of the “tree”. The hanger-tree is ready!

2.Fantasy World in Broken Flower Pot

No Limits for Imagination

Wonderful miniature landscapes can be seen all over the net especially the DIY boards. Whole fairy tale scenes can be created in old broken flower pots that have been unlucky to finish their service on a hard floor among their own pitiful remnants. It appears that the largest broken part of a pot can serve as a set for a for fairy tale scene.

Creators of these beautiful fantasy pots decided not to get rid of the plants. They were the main characters in these flower pots before. Now they serves as background for upcoming changes. Moreover, several more plants are added. The magical forest can’t consist of just of one kind of trees, can it?

Creating a Fairy Tale

As any forest it has got plenty of different cute inhabitants. Small toys come here to live, discussing their animal matters and curiously sneaking out of tree branches. They go on about their day and forest life is actively going on, attracting many looks from the outside real world.

Using tiny pieces of timber or carton you can build a small world. Here lives a family of owls, and this is a house of seven dwarves with a lovely meadow in front of it. What is really tempting about this work – you can use all those tiny things out of boxes that you considered useless like buttons, brooches without precious stones or pins, lovely ribbons and rocks and stones you always collect during vacation only to bring them home and put away somewhere because they are too cute to trash.

Call your kids for assistance. It is pretty easy to perform even for them. And children would be delighted to create a fairy tale story that will serve as something really important for their parents.

3.Six Ideas for DIY Planters

Spring Bulbs in IKEA Mugs

Old kettles could be used as flower pots. Different colors and shapes of the kettles will bring sunny mood into your house.

Kettle-flowerpots

Plants that need lots of light could be put under the lamp.

Vase for a light-loving plants

Not only pictures and bookshelves can decorate the boring white walls the plants in a frame on the wall could make a cabinet at home or a reception hall look livelier.

Plants in a frame

Small fruit trees in pots or in buckets on a table will create summer mood in a dining room.

Fruit tree in a bucket

The tea tin box will look perfect in the kitchen. Especially if you are growing greens and salads and using them as planters.

Teabag tin

Put some decorative stones or colorful trinkets into a bowl with your homeplant to help it hold in the middle of the vase.

Decorative stones

Colorful trinkets

4.DIY Recycling: Plastic Bottles

Plastic Bottle Terrarium

Planters

One of the obvious ways to recycle old plastic bottles is to make planters out of them by cutting off their tops. You can paint the pots or cut them to give them interesting edging. You can also use the bottle horizontally cutting out an opening at the side to have more space for the plant.

Hanging them up on a rope is the easiest and less consuming way to create a vertical garden. Stacking the bottles will also make a vertical garden system, plants will just need a few openings to breathe.

Cutting off the top of the plastic bottle can make a great protective cap for small seedlings that need warmth to grow. Placing a cap on the planter will make it a terrarium.

Curtains

Curtain by Michelle Brand

Cutting off the bottle’ flower-shaped bottoms and hanging them on a string can make for great outdoor or indoor curtains. Designer Michelle Brand is making her sustainable designs out of plastic bottles, which include these beautiful curtains, lights and chandeliers.

Solar Heater

Solar water heater by Jose Alano

A solar heater is a great way to bring more warmth to the house without paying extensive bills. The author of the invention Jose Alano used 60 two litre plastic bottles, 50 pieces of carton and some other materials to build his own solar water heater back in 2002 and now still shares the information on how to build it. There is a leaflet with pictures and instructions in Portuguese, but you can find instructions in English on the net.

Just like tin cans plastic bottles can be turned into bird feeders or desk organizers. With a bit of skill and inspiration you can also make various decorations out of plastic bottles.

5.Repurposing Old Drawers

Accessory storage by Hey We Made It, Drawer coffee table at home of the artist Courtney Wotherspoon via DesignSponge

There are a few ways of repurposing old drawers. THe first one is to use them as frames or shelves for small things. It’s very convenient for hallways as you can keep the keys, gloves, and a shoehorn there. You can also make artwork frames out of them.

A drawer or two can become a base for a coffee table. You might need a couple of caster wheels, a glass tabletop, and a coat of new paint for the conversion but in the end you might end up having a nice handmade storage-friendly coffee table.

A number of old drawers can be turned into a bookcase or fill up the old dresser. The latter can be filled with different drawers for a colorful unusual look.

Old drawers can be used separately or in a chest for planting herbs, flowers, and various other plants. They work great especially around the house or on a porch as they are both furnishings and planters. You can also bring them out into the garden if you wish to decorate it.

A drawer can also serve as a tray, a pet bed, a console table, and a chalkboard. Finally drawers can be used as storage units they are even out of chest. You can put them under the bed or wardrobe and pull them out whenever you need them.