Where can I get truly bad-ass fabric for home projects?
I’ve been super inspired by some of the DIY projects on Offbeat Home, but I have no idea where to get fabric that would make my home decor crafts really fucking awesome. When I go to Michaels or other big box fabric stores, it seems like I can never find anything that excites me.
Any suggestions for great online sources for bad-ass fabric?
Building a sofa: pros, cons, vague instructions, and valuable lessons
We needed a new couch. Wanting to build my own, I found this how-to instructional scanned from a vintage home maintenance encyclopedia. It took (a lot of) time, but the results are good! The thing looks nice, is child-jumping safe (so far) and saved us a chunk of change. Come see what I made!
Turn a crappy bi-fold door into a glowing damask enchantment
I installed this door over our laundry room after we dumpster-dove it, so I wasn’t surprised that a panel popped out before long. I took this fixit project as an opportunity to make the whole shebang a lot prettier.
We live in the future: my new touchscreen media center (+ video demo!)
We recently ran a story about getting rid of your TV, but today I’m going to talk about going the other way: after a decade of not having a screen in our living room, I finally decided I was sick of watching movies on a laptop. This is the story of how we got a TV, but how it’s a crazy futuristic touchscreen media center that cost less than many widescreen TVs.
Get hot for lighting: how to make a chandelier out of light bulbs
I’m hot for lighting.
Built-in lighting is never adequate or cozy enough for me, so there are at least two additional lamps or lanterns in every room in our apartment to add ambiance.
I don’t have much money, but I’m hoarder of unconventional items like burnt-out light bulbs, (no — really!) so I added up my scraps to make my most recent fixture: an upcycled light bulb chandelier!
How to make an animated gif party invitation
I love animated gifs! They’re like the magical photos in the Potterverse. Here’s a reason you can make one this week: PARTY TIME. Whether you’re planning a Super Bowl party, a Valentine’s Day cocktail hour, or just a mid-winter soiree, you can make an animated gif invitation in a few quick steps.
I turned a storage barrel into a magical wine table!
I’m becoming a bit of a recycling center junkie — my husband and I go for a “hot date” every week and come home with a bootload of “treasure.” These barrells are storage barrells used by a health food company to import bulk spirulina etc. and cost a whopping NZ$1 each. The paper I used also came from the center — about $2 for a huge carton of old maps, sheet music and atlases — decoupage heaven!
Get over hating Valentine’s Day, and start culture jamming
The day that everyone loves to hate is coming right up! Oh, Valentine’s Day. It’s not just the single people who hate Valentine’s Day (“the holiday designed to make me feel lonely”) — it’s the people with sweethearts, too (“the holiday designed to force me into contrived expressions of romance”).
Well, I have one thing to say about Valentine’s Day: STOP WHINING.