Infinity Bracelet

Recently I've been doing a lot of rock climbing, which requires learning a whole bunch of tie-in knots. My favorite one looks like a little infinity symbol, it's called the Figure 8 knot. Here's a basic diagram of how a Figure 8 is tied:

So I built on this idea and turned it into a really simple bracelet :)

The only thing you need is some chord! I've also tried using embroidery floss, twine, and hemp, which are cute variations. The embroidery floss is one of my favorites because it comes in so many colors, but it doesn't hold its shape as well as the other, stiffer strings.

Begin by doubling the string up and forming a loop with it:

Take the top of the loop in your fingers, twist it twice clockwise, and then feed the right leg of the string through the loop:

Pull tight. It should resemble an 8 or an infinity symbol:

Cute, right?! The final step is to put it around your wrist (you might need another person to help you with this step) and tie the two legs together. Cut off the excess and wear with pride.

DIY Book Wreath

In this day and age, paperback books are almost obsolete. Nearly everyone has a kindle. Newsletters are all electronic. Heck, even college textbooks have morphed into website subscriptions.

So I've found a fun idea for those old paperbacks, that is festive and perfect for this time of year! Librarians and book lovers, please avert your eyes.

It's an adorable, ruffled book wreath, that will last for many years to come. To make your own, your going to need a few supplies.

Supplies:

• 10″ foam wreath ($1 at Dollar Tree)
• Paperback novel
• Brown and/or gray craft paint
• Glue gun & glue sticks
• Small strip of ribbon
• A few paper towels

Instructions:

1. Gather your supplies, and clear a space!
2. Using the paper towels, I applied the brown paint to the edges of the book. I simply squirted some paint onto the towel and wiped it on the book. This is optional, but gives the book a vintage feel. I painted the brown first and then applied a bit of gray. To be honest, two colors aren’t completely necessary, so you can use just gray or just brown if you would like.
3.  Tear out a page of the book ROLL it up. Do not fold or crease it, roll! Next, glue it on to the foam wreath with the glue facing out.
4. You will do this layer all the way around the wreath. When you have finished the full circle, flip the wreath over. That layer will become the bottom. If it won’t lay flat, put something heavy on top of it to flatten it out for a few minutes.
5. Continue rolling pages for your wreath. You will now fold a little tab on the bottom edge and apply glue only to that tab. Work your way from the bottom of the wreath up to the top, finishing one layer before moving to the next. Continue rolling pages for your wreath. You will now fold a little tab on the bottom edge and apply glue only to that tab. Work your way from the bottom of the wreath up to the top, finishing one layer before moving to the next.
6. At this point, your wreath will be mostly done, but there will be some sections you need to fill in. It should look roughly like this.  To fill in your spaces, you’ll simply roll a page, apply glue to the ends, and just stick it in the wreath. The filler pages don’t necessarily need to touch the styrofoam wreath; they can stick to the pages already glued to the wreath if need be. Use the filler pages to fill in holes and add some height and visual interest to your wreath.
7. After you're finished filling in, flip your wreath over and glue your scrap of ribbon on the back to serve as a hanger. 
8. Let it dry fully! As an extra step, you can spray the whole wreath with hairspray, which increases the stiffness of the pages, but it's optional.

Enjoy!! :)

Christmas Nights, Christmas Lights

So we have these beautiful lights that we picked up last holiday season to hang on our front door.

They're gorgeous, but incredibly delicate. I pulled them out of a box, smushed under a hundred and one others, in the back of our storage closet. To my dismay, 3 of the glass globes had broken. I was so upset! The package came with extra replacement globes, but we had already used them -- hanging on our front door was traumatic to the lights, every time someone slammed the door too hard the globes banged against the wood and I grimaced.

Then suddenly, a light bulb went on in my head! (Pun intended)
I decided to make my own globes from more durable plastic.

This is a super simple idea that anyone can do!

You only need:

1. A string of lights
2. Ping pong balls

I picked up 30 ping pong balls at target for my string of lights. Expect to pay about 2 bucks per pack of 6. The next step is to use a drill or nail to poke a small hole in each ping pong ball. Wriggle the light light into the hole, and voila! A glowing sphere of light.

The best thing about this project is the versatility. The possibilities are endless! You can use a ping pong ball per light, but spacing them out also looks quite nice. Get festive with colored lights.

My personal favorite is blue light. I took a strand, popped some ping pong balls on them, and strung them around my room, which now looks like a gorgeous starry night.