"hidden storage" books

We have a lot of books - many of which we haven't read. We collected a lot of pretty hard cover books for the wedding (we used them with our center pieces) and they have been sitting on our open shelving for the past 10 months. I figured it was time to either do something with them...or donate them. I decided I'd make a little hidden storage with a handful of them.

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Here is what you'll need to make your own:

hardcover books

a small wooden crate//box

hot glue gun

exacto knife

scissors

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[STEP 1] Using the exacto blade, start by disassembling the books. You'll want to remove all of the pages and just leave the "shell." A lot of times you can get the pages out in tact. If you have a hard time "destroying" books, make a new cover for the pages with fabric or decorated cardboard :)

[STEP 2] Next, you'll assemble your spines. Figure out which books you're putting on either end and set them aside for later. Take your first spine and cut off the front and back cover (leaving a little bit of one cover so it can be folded over and glued together).

 [3] Repeat the above steps with your end books - except leave either the front or back cover to hide the side of your crate.  Fold over and glue together.

[4] Glue your "books" to the crate. I didn't do a very good job of measuring, so I had to add some spacers between my book end and the crate. I used the left over book covers to fill the space and covered it so it wouldn't be seen.

[5] Now you have some "books" to add to your shelf that will serve as hidden storage!

Cute & functional.

[this may be linked up to any number of these blogs]

topple pots

I don't believe "topple pots" is a technical term for these, but it's what my husband and I have been calling them since we made this next to our back patio:

me: "hey, did you water the topple pots today?"

adam: "No... I thought you did"

(for the record...Adam does most of the watering...I have a black thumb. whomp whomp)

After seeing this idea a few places online, I thought it would be the perfect thing for our newly mulched backyard (woohoo - another thing off our Spring(Summer?) to-do list). One evening after work, we took a trip to Lowe's and purchased our materials:

[1] a piece of rebar

[2] various sizes of teracotta pots

(we went with the "chocolate brown" color because we liked them better)

$20 later we were on our way home with the goods.

All this took was hammering the rebar into the ground and stacking & staggering the pots until we got a configuration that we liked. 

Here are a few helpful hints:

1. Coat your rebar with a clear acrylic to keep it from rusting.

2. If you want to "topple" your bottom pot, prop one side of the bottom with rocks and cover the rocks with mulch.

3. Buy plants after it's fully assembled so you can see what size/colors your want.

It definitely gives the backyard some character:

gift tags ::part 2::

Here we are: part 2 of gift tags (if you missed part 1, check it out here). I was pleasantly surprised with how part 1 gift tags turned out, so I decided to take them to the next level. Fabric tags! I bought a few yards of linen for a future project and stole a few small scraps to make these:

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Here's what you'll need to make your own:

small scraps of linen

gift tag template

letter stencil

fabric marker

scissors

sewing machine (optional)

rubber stamps & ink (optional)

twine

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doily votives ::guest blogger::

Dana from Let's Meet For Lunch is back today to share another cool diy project. Remember the flower picture she shared last time? Really fun and versatile. This project is just as fun and can be used for a variety of spaces and occasions.

Hey Sewing Barefoot readers! I’m so excited to be here today with a pretty cool idea for doily votives that could be used as a cute decoration around the house, or even for something more special - like wedding centerpieces. Sheesh, if I had known about Pinterest when I got married, you better believe that I would have done way more cool things... So here I am thinking of you in case you’re getting ready to tie the knot!