DIY Fabric Wrap Bracelets

by Jill St. George on Mar 6, 2012

Yet another discovery on Pinterest. I love this project, because its simple, inexpensive, and instantly transforms an old or unattractive bracelet.

I’ve had a couple of old plastic bracelets stuffed in the back of my jewelry armoire for years, so when I saw this project on Pinterest, it was kind of a no-brainer. I picked out some fabric and quickly made myself some new jewelry. Like really quickly. Quite simply cut your fabric in a long strip, glue the start of the fabric to the back of the bracelet, wrap, and then glue the end of the fabric to the back…and wah-lah.

Stacking bracelets is pretty trendy right now too, so I paired them with one of my wood bracelets. I love how they turned out. And don’t worry so much about fraying, because it just adds character.

Happy crafting!

Add a dab of glue to the fabric and then place on the back of the bracelet at an angle. Wrap, and then finish with a dab of glue.

They look great stacked upon one another.

A Touch of Whimsy

by Jill St. George on Feb 28, 2012

Lately we’ve been loving scrapbook paper and its many uses. It’s hard to believe paper can come in so many beautiful colors and patterns, but it does indeed.

Several years ago, I inherited an old dingy bookshelf that needed to come to life. It was scratched and had water stains, so I sanded, primed and painted it black. But it needed something more. So I headed to the craft store for some ideas and stumbled upon scrapbook paper in the most darling whimsical patterns and colors. And since Mod Podge (a glue-like substance) and I are like best friends, I grabbed a foam brush and got to gluing.

I left it empty, so you could see how it turned out, but I love seeing it filled with books too.

Cut scrapbook paper to size, and then adhere with Mod Podge.

Trash to Treasure.

by Jill St. George on Feb 21, 2012

If  something is tucked away I tend to forget about it – as is the case with my jewelry. So I end up wearing the same pair of earrings five days a week – mostly out of convenience.

As I was pondering ways to display them, I remembered an show on HGTV where they used an old window screen to hang and display earrings. Brilliant!…except where do I find the screen?

Well, when I moved into my new (but old) house, I discovered a pile of old windows and screens leaning against a wall in the garage. And then suddenly that episode of HGTV came back to me. So I pulled out the screen, cleaned it up, and now it nicely display my earrings. I couldn’t be happier with it.

Put a cast on it.

by Jill St. George on Feb 13, 2012

I’ve been toting this old wood box around for most of my adult life. I bought it years ago at an antique shop, but to be quite honest, it usually ends up in the garage because I can’t find a use for it.

Lately, I’ve been very inspired by all of the furniture with caster wheels, so I decided to add them to the box. There are many casters to choose from, but I like the industrial look of the metal wheels. The ones I chose are $4 each at Home Depot. Using a hand-drill, I screwed the wheels into place.

I use it to store firewood. And when it’s empty, I simply roll it to the back door and fill it back up. I love the way it turned out – it’s functional and decorative.

Caster wheels before being screwed to the box.

Caster wheel screwed to the box.

Finished product!

I heart garland!

by Jill St. George on Jan 25, 2012

Since Valentine’s Day has taken over the holiday section of our stores, I figured I’d give it a go on our little blog here too.

In the Nov/Dec 2011 edition of our magazine we featured Jane Milford’s amazingly styled rustic romantic home. In an attempt to similarly decorate my house, I tried my hand at some projects that Jane might approve of. Well, I’m at it again. 

DIY Citrus Body Scrub

by Jill St. George on Jan 23, 2012

These cold winter months often lead to dry, itchy skin, so when I stumbled upon this DIY citrus body scrub, I thought I’d give it a try. Aside from the sea salt, I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. The orange zest is optional, but I wanted to  give it some color, so I added it. Not only does it look great, it feels amazing. It actually reminds me of a sea salt scrub that I used to buy from Arbonne for $24.

This little ditty took about five minutes to whip up and cost about $2 to make. And like the Arbonne product, it’s made with all-natural ingredients.