3 Affordable Home Decor DIYs
Welcome back! Brace yourself for a LONG post. Over the last few weeks I have completed 3 projects, but felt they were too simple to make a post for each one, so this posts has 3 projects in it.
2) Rug Decor
3) Macrame Wall Hanging
Project #1- Boho Pendant Light
When making this Pendant light, I am not gonna lie, I was uneasy the whole way. I had a lamp shade sitting around that I planned to make into a hanging pendant light. The shade already had a crack in it, and stains on the fabric. So, I cut the shade off of the frame. I know, I cut it. This part had me so uneasy the whole time because I felt like I was committing a crime by taking it apart. But hey, that's what it's like being a DIYer. You find a new purpose for something. Which is exactly what I had done.
After I removed the fabric shade from the frame, I was left with two metal rings. I wrapped both rings in some twine with some hot glue. This step is entirely optional, but in the end I am glad I did it, because it looks much more finished than it would without it.
If you remember in my last project with the desk makeover, I had two packs of some wooden dowels that I hadn't been able to use. They were definitely used up in this project. In fact, I had the EXACT amount I needed to glue all the way around the shade. This was definitely the hard part.
To start I had to use hot glue and glue random dowels opposite from each other in order to hold the two rings together standing up so I could add more. Once I had the two standing, I added more dowels all the way around making sure to keep equal space in between them. I tried to glue with E600 glue, however it wasn't going to dry fast enough to hold while I continued along. I stuck with just hot glue, and this still worked out great. It was enough time for me to stick it to the top ring, and then glue it to the bottom. Some of the dowels unfortunately were not perfectly straight but I think it added to the look and I am still in love with it.
After all the dowels were on, I then added some twine and weaved it through them on both the top and bottom. Again, this is completely optional, but I do love the look in the end. Adding the twine makes it look more expensive and finished off.
After the shade was done, I just had to add the actual pendant light. This part was a bit tricky because at the top of the shade, the hole was not big enough to fit the cord through. To fix this, I used a wooden ring and some more twine to attach it and still make sure that when it hung, that it hung level.
For hanging it, since I live in an apartment, I didn't really want put holes in my ceiling, so I found some invisible hooks on Amazon instead. These are almost like command hooks. I just peeled off the backing and stuck it to the ceiling and hung my light. They blended perfectly in. That's it!
Project #2- Rug Decor
Yes, you read that right, I did use a rug. When we first moved into our apartment I had discovered this amazing store (but also bad for spending) called "5 Below". Literally everything is under $5. It's a step up from a Dollar Store. They had this cute little rug that I got for our front door, but I have recently invested in a nicer rug, so this one has just been sitting around begging to be transformed into something.
SO, the "Thrifter" in me thought about how I could make it into decor. I had a long wooden rod sitting around from a project that I made years ago that no longer fit my style. I cut the dowel down using my miter saw box leaving about 3 inches on both sides of the rug. Once I had my desired length cut, I sanded down the ends and hot glued the rug to it. To do this, I laid the rug with the front side faced down and then folded about 3 inches of the rug over the dowel and then glued it down with some hot glue. I used the stitching on the rug to make sure that I was gluing it evenly so when it hung, it would hang level.
I had some cream colored yarn leftover from a previous project and I started to make many many tassels out of it. There is no specific number of tassels to make, as this would depend on the style or the layout of your rug. I wanted mine to be pretty simple so opted for 2 mountain type shapes.
Once I had all my tassels made, I laid them out to play around with the look and to make sure I had enough. To attach them, I used a crochet hook to pull the top of the tassel through the weaves of the rug and knotted it. After I had all my tassels attached, I pulled the excess from the top of the tassels through to the back of the rug with my crochet hook. On the back side I just knotted them again and cut off the excess. After this I added some twine around the dowel to hang it up, and it was done!
Project #3- Macrame Wall Hanging
This was my very first Macrame project, and I won't lie, I got pretty frustrated with it and had to walk away from it for a day. But the next day it was working PERFECTLY for me and I love how it turned out.
Originally I was following a YouTube video done by "Soulful Notions" because I had never done Macrame before and had no idea how to start. I followed her video and cut 14 cords at the following lengths-
2x60 in
2x75 in
2x90 in
2x105 in
2x130 in
2x145 in
After getting them all cut, I used a "Lark Head's Knot" to attach them with the short cords on the outside and the two longest ones in the center. Basically to make them make a "v" shape. The nice thing about her project is that you only need to know two knots- the Lark Head and the Square knots. Both are very easy knots to get the hang of. What made this project hard for me is that she uses 4.5 mm cord, and I only had 3mm on hand.
For her project she does ONE square knot in a row, but to make mine thicker and fuller, I did TWO square knots. After you have all your cords hung with a larks head knot, you start with the first four cords and make a square knot (I did two) then repeat all the way across.
On the NEXT row, take two cords away from the left and right side and repeat it across. Each row you take away two cords from each side and it will make an upside-down triangle shape. When you get to the final row, you will have four cords left to make just one square knot (again, I did two).
You should now have an upside-down triangle. For the next part, I had to do this a few times because it can be hard to understand. Basically you do the same process, but you are ADDING two cords rather than taking them away. This will make a right side up triangle shape. For me, following her video made it harder on me, I found it easiest to just eyeball it and see what I should do.
Once you have your triangle, then you do the SAME process done at the very begging to take away two cords on both sides. Then you have a diamond shape in the end. If you make your cords longer, you could make this piece much longer too. For me, since my cords were 3 mm and I was doing TWO square knots at a time, my piece didn't come out as long as hers did, but I still love it.
To finish it off, I trimmed the remaining at the bottom and used a comb to comb them out and make it fluffier. Add the twine to hang, and you're done!
And those are my projects I have done recently! I love how they turned out, and I might get the courage to try some more macramé in the future! The rug decor looks perfect hiding my electrical box in my apartment, and my new light brings SO much light into my living room.
Stay tuned for more to come!
Stay Thrifty! :)
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