DIY: Dream Catcher Garland

So, earlier this year, I discovered one of the coolest sites: U lala. They're an incredible blogging site for college-age girls, and they focus on a message of "style, substance and spirit", providing a more positive, creative media platform for a demographic almost constantly bombarded by little other than celebrity gossip and negativity.

I fell in love with their site, and immediately applied to write for them, becoming the first international/non-US blogger on the site. For my first post, I put together a tutorial on how to make your own dream catcher garland, using some basic supplies and recycling some old bangles. Keep reading below to see how. (Note: post is image heavy, but super descriptive!)

DIY: Recycled Book Planters

This tutorial came complete with a mild existential crisis. I've wanted to make a craft project with books for ages now, however the thought of slicing up a tiny universe for my own selfish needs has always been too traumatic for me to bear. I eventually convinced myself that my charity shop book discoveries were only going to sit on a shelf until someone else threw them away if I didn't buy them and use them, so why not turn them into something beautiful?

What you'll need:

• Old books (preferably hard cover)
• Wood glue
• A piece of a plastic bag (like a zip-lock bag)
• A craft knife

1. Start by smearing wood glue along the sides of the book, to secure the pages together. If you plan on using more than one book for the planter, glue them together without putting glue in the area you intend to cut, as this will make it more difficult to cut through.
   
2. Mark the area you intend to cut out, where your plant will go.
   
3. Use a craft knife to cut out the marked area. It may be hard to cut through the cover of the book initially, but just keep going - it'll slice through eventually. :)
   
4. Once the area is as deep as you want it to be, glue the piece of plastic bag into the cut area, and trim the edges to be level with the cover of the book. This will stop water and dirt leaking into the book once your plant is inside.
   
5. Put your plant into the book, and look after it as your new pot plant.
   

Do you have any indoor plants? Let me know. I'm fairly obsessed with having tiny succulents on my windowsill at the moment.

LDP

DIY: Doctor Who Tardis Sneakers

I remember never understanding the Doctor Who obsession so many seemed to harbour. I remember being unphased by blue Police telephone boxes and not knowing why bowties were cool. I remember being able to walk past statues without casting a second glance, as opposed to carefully staring at them, reluctant to blink.
That was before I actually got around to watching Doctor Who.

At some point during the course of last year, I ended up binge-watching the entirety of the new Doctor Who (I admit that classic Who remains too vast for me to watch all of it). After watching the series, I was besotted, and I am now eagerly anticipation the release of season 8. To celebrate my new-found addiction, I made myself a pair of Ten-esque Chucks, decorating the sides with tiny painted Tardises.

What you'll need to make your own:

• A pair of Converse (or the cheaper, knock-off kind, like I used)
• Small scraps of leather or leather-look vinyl 
• Acrylic paints
• Podge
• Some fabric glue (I use Tacky Glue) and thread for attaching the Tardises to the sneakers

1. Cut out your basic Tardis shape from your leather/imitation leather
2. If your leather is a dark colour, start by painting a light colour as a base coat. 
3. Build up various shades of blue until you are happy with the colour of your Tardis.
4. Using a darker blue, paint on a grid to show the panels of the Tardis door, and use black to paint a rectangle at the top to create the "Police Box" sign.
5. Use white paint to create tiny blocks in the top two panels of the door, on both visible sides, as well as the notice on the door, and the words "Police Box". I used a toothpick and pin to do this painting.
6. Use a layer Podge to seal and protect the paint.
7. Glue the tiny Tardises onto the sneakers using fabric glue, and then stitch around the edges to secure them.

I also added the words "Don't Blink" at the back, using acrylic paint, however this started chipping off of the rubber soles - though it still looked cool for a while. :)

Do you watch Doctor Who? Are you as obsessed with the show as I now am? Who was your favourite Doctor? I'm very excited to see what Capaldi brings in August!

Thanks for reading,

LDP