THURSDIY: Canvas Art!

Our living room walls were looking pretty scarce for awhile and we finally got our acts together and decorated them! We went through several ideas for the walls. At one point we wanted to put up posters that represented us, but it just didn't work out. We finally decided making custom canvas art. My idea was the quote painted over newspaper while Phaedra's idea was the melted crayon art. So, in a way we ended up doing exactly what we hoped to do with the space. Creating both are super simple there are millions of tutorials about them online.

All it requires to make this is a canvas, newspaper, some sort of adhesive (hot glue or mod podge work best), and paint. The hardest part of this was choosing neutral newspaper clippings to use for the background, but I managed. I snagged this idea from one of my favorite blogs A Beautiful Mess. I chose the sentence "Revel in it" partly because "revel" is my favorite word and partly because the phrase promotes just being foot loose and fancy free, two things I don't do enough of.

Crayon canvas art is so much fun and so easy to make. All you need is a pack of crayons (Note they have to be crayola and we suggest getting the 64 pac) hair dryer, and a canvas. First you you hot glue the crayons on the canvas in whichever way you want, some people get fancy and glue them in shapes. Let the the crayons dry you take your hair dryer and hold it over your crayons until they start to melt. Some girls bleed faster than others, your reds will go pretty quickly. If that happens just move the blow dryer over the areas that aren't going as quickly. You can blow the melting wax around to blend colors and create a pattern. Be careful not hold it under the blow dryer for too long or else some of your colors will start thin out or blend into brown. 

Our living room feels so much more complete now! Happy creating :)

~Turtle & Bunny

THURSDIY: Tea Dying

Tea - Dying!

The school years approaching which means it's time to get my little craft shop off of the ground. For years now I've been crocheting by commission or for birthday gifts, but I've been inspired to create my own shop to sell my crocheted and knitted goods. More to come on that later!  For this DIY I decided to tea-dye tags which I will be using to label the items in my shop, it's super easy, but takes some time!

Supplies

Tags (or paper)
Black tea
Small pot
Water

Step 1:

Take a pot and fill it with water.

Step 2:

First bring pot to a boil and put back on low heat.

Pick any black tea. I'm using Irish Breakfast Tea (Which is my favorite, but I accidentally got the decaffeinated kind, so I've got tea bags to spare!) 

Step 3:

Add the tags (or paper) to the pot. I put a fork over top of the tags so they would stay submerged in the tea and gain more color. Leave in the pot for about 20 mins.

TIP: Check back frequently to see the development. If you don't want your tags to turn out too dark, simply take it out sooner. If you want your tags to be dark, let them sit for longer.

 

Step 4:

When your tags are the desired cover, set them out to try. It takes a few hours for the tags to get completely dry.

  And you're done! The tag on the left is the finished product while the tag on the right is the original tag. I wanted the tags to only be slightly stained to give each tag an individual vintage look. Since all of my crafts are one of a kind and handmade, I believe I should also take the time to create one of a kind hand made tags. This DIY is super simple!

~ Bunny

THURSDIY: Pillow Bow

THURSDIY: Pillow Bows/ Pillow Accents

This is a fun, easy and relatively fast way to bring some color to basic pillows, and to bring color to any room.

Supplies

1. Scissors
2. Fleece (or any fabric of your choice)
3. Safety Pins (two per bow)

Step 1

Cut the fabric into two large rectangles and two skinnier rectangles. The exact size does not matter, as long as they look relatively the same. See picture below for example.

Step 2

Take one of the larger rectangles and fold the longer edge inwards. This helps to hide the cut and uneven edges of your bow. When using fleece, just press down on the sides of the fabric and it should stay down.

Step 3

This time, take the two shorter edges and fold them inwards so they will fold on top of the longer side edges. 

Step 4

Now just squeeze the middle of the fabric so that it starts to get its bow shape. If any of the creases come undone, just refold them.

Step 5

Take each corner of the bow and fold them towards the middle of the bow that you created. Again, press down on the fabric to that it maintains its shape and that the edges stay in place.

Step 6

Now just take the thinner piece of fabric and place it under the bow shape that you have created.

Step Seven

My favorite part! Take the thinner piece of fabric and tie it around the bow shape so that all corners are tucked inside the knot. Remember to pull tightly so that the fabric is secure, but if it comes undone it's very easy to just stick the corners inside of the knot.

Step 8

Using the safety pins, place them wherever you want on the side of the bow that will not be seen. From my experience, it helps to have both safety pins on the outside of the knot on each side. This helps to keep the bow secure wherever you decide to place it.

All done!

Place the bow wherever you would like. I decided to put it on my pillows because they were just so...plain to me. Plus, I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on getting new pillow shams or pillows when I had fabric available. I'd love to see where you place your bows!

~ Bunny

THURSDIY: Upcycled Memory Box

Have any scraps of wrapping paper never used? Empty shoeboxes? What about cut up pieces of origami paper? Colorful newspaper? This project is for you. We'll be upcycling all of these items to create a memory box for anything you want!

This project is great for creative, colorful storage ideas and is a fun way to pass the time while watching the Olympics or one of your favorite films.

 Supplies

Shoebox (old or new)
Scraps of wrapping/origami paper

ModPodge

Scissors

Paintbrush
Newspaper

Clear Tape

Packaging Tape (optional)

Business Cars, String (optional)

 Step One: Cut the newspaper into four different sections, it really helps if you cut using the folds (sizing is the most appropriate).

 Step Two: Size the newspaper for the shoebox you're using and with modpodge, carefully brush on the glue and place the newspaper inside of the shoebox so that the edges are tight. Continue to add newspaper until all of the sides are covered.

If you want a more glossy, durable inside, after lining the inside of the shoebox, carefully pull long strips of packaging tape to cover the inside of the box. Don't worry about the tape showing on the outside because we'll be covering it up!

NOTE: This step is optional.

 Step Three: Adding the scraps of origami/wrapping paper. Starting with the lid, cover the sides of the shoebox first, make sure the strips you are using are long enough to wrap around the lip of the box and tape (or mod podge) the strips around the box.

NOTE: When covering the body of the box, you'll want to use the same method. Make long enough strips so that the paper can comfortably go around the lip of the box and on the bottom of the box. Be sure to keep the paper tight so that the box will be able to close.

 Step Four: Cover the top lid of the box with one large strip, make sure to pull tight to make a glossy, simple look.

 Step Five: Refer to Step Three in order to cover the body of the box.

For the box in the picture, I decided to create triangles on the side of the box to give it a different look from the lid. I ended up really liking the results!

The Finished Project. This is a fun and easy DIY that gives a little fun to your small storage collection. Ideally, this would be perfect for small yarn storage, letters, or small books, photographs and news articles, but of course you can put in whatever you'd like!

THURSDIY: Rabbit Condo

Since we're moving to a new apartment, it's only fitting that the rabbits get a brand new condo also! So here's a tutorial for any rabbit owner who wants to change or create an appropriately sized rabbit cage. This design is based off of Budget Bunny's design but modified to suit my bonded rabbits and their needs.

Building a rabbit condo is MUCH more cost efficient than buying a cage that is most likely too small for them. No matter how large your cage is, your bunnies should always have plenty of time out of their cage, but for those days when you'll be gone for extended periods of time, large cages are MUCH better. 

Just a few general notes before the tutorial, rabbits should NOT be housed outside and this tutorial is for indoor use. In addition, a rabbit's cage should be large enough for them to hop at least three times from one end to another and for your rabbit to stand up on it's hind legs. If you have multiple rabbits, they should be able to both stand on their hind legs and hop three times simultaneously.

This tutorial will explain how to make a condo that is three grids wide and two grids long and five stories high. 

Supplies

 Wood Base & Linoleum Flooring

To start off, I just bought a large $8 piece of wood that I knew would fit the dimensions of the cage. To give an idea, each grid is 14in x 14in, so I measured out the size that I needed per floor (read full tutorial and it will make sense) and had the store cut them for me. Lowes has a free cutting service for people who buy wood.

 In addition to the base, I also got siding for the cage to reduce the mess that would usually fall out (my first condo did not have it, but it makes a huge difference as far as mess is concerned). With the size of my cage I only needed four two inch thick wood pieces (I think they were each 16inches long and only $2 each) to cover the outside of my cage. 

NOTE: As you can see in the picture, the siding is screwed into the wood, but the grids will be attached to the OUTSIDE of the base. You will also need to screw wholes into the siding (before or after attachment to the base, whatever works for you!) 

At Lowes, I also bought linoleum flooring tiles with a stick on feature so that you do not need paste to attach the tiles, only to remove the sticky part. I've noticed when adding the flooring, it's best to put the floor in and let it sit overnight so that they'll stay stuck. I bought a pack of 45 tiles for only 17$.

TOTAL INVESTMENT SO FAR: $33

 Shelving Grids

Shelving Grids can be easily found at Target and bought for about $16 dollars. Each box comes with 20 grids, and for this particular design I will be using 56 grids (I always put a roof on mine because Oscar WILL jump out) but I've seen plenty of cages without roofs. In total will need about 3 boxes, even if you don't use them for the structure you can always use them for ramps inside of your cage (my cage does not have ramps because my rabbits prefer jumping, when they did have ramps they didn't use them.) 

This is a one-time investment because I've had my grids for about three years and they have yet to brake or become unusable.

TOTAL INVESTMENT SO FAR: $33 + $48

 Zip Ties &Wire Cutters

Most people usually have a pair of wire cutters or even pliers around their house but if you don't you can pick one up for usually under $5. This is a VERY great investment because it saves a bunch of time and stress when it comes to cutting the tails of the zip ties off of the cage. Scissors make cutting the zip ties very difficult and time consuming. Believe me, I know from experience.

Zip ties are a must, and for this design you'll need between 250 - 300 (you may make mistakes and have to re-do sections and floors) so invest in getting the biggest bag you can find. I recommend the 8inch sized zip ties, the smaller ones, although cheaper, will NOT hold nearly as well and you'll have to use significantly more in the long run. 

I personally have yet to find packs of zip ties larger than 100 cables, and the ones I get run about $7 dollars each, so about $21 for three packs. It's good to have these around for any repairs you might have, and this can be a one time investment, but if you move somewhere with your rabbits, you'll have to get brand new zip ties to hold together the condo.

TOTAL INVESTMENT IN CAGE SUPPLIES: $33 + $48 + $26 = $107

All of the items aside from the zip ties are a one time investment. 

Now let's start building!

 Line up the grids next to each other.

 Zip tie the grids together at the top and bottom of the grids for extra security.

 Pictured above is a basic layout of one wall that I will create.
I find it eaiser to create the two walls closet to the wall first (my cage is going in a corner)

This way I can just attach those two sides and begin to add the base with extra security.

 For when four grids meet together, I double zip tie it in a diagonal.
This improves the strength of the wall significantly.
Once the two side walls are completed, I place them against the corner of my room and add the base.

 In this picture you can see the base that I have added and the second floor.
The base is attached by zip ties to the grids (I drilled holes in the siding so it'd be much easier)
When I added the ground floor, I then attached the grids to the other two sides so that I could add the second floor.

Repeat this process until you get the desired floor count you like. 

Tip: I make every other floor a third of the base floor so that the rabbits will have the majority of the space to stand on their hind legs if they want to.

 A view of the cage from the side.

To add doors, simply cut zip ties off of one side of one grid in various locations around the cage.

To put it back together, simply put binder clips in replacement of the zip ties.

It's enough space for me to get the litter box out and to clean each of the floors.

 Ta-daa!! You've done it!

Only for $107 dollars.

( Here are some links )

so you can see prices of rabbit cages compared to what you spend building your own condo.
These are just some examples, and clearly, building your own produces a MUCH larger and appropriate home for your rabbits.

Now just add bunnies!

- Bunny