PRETTY ME UP//DIY BLOTTING TISSUES+BOBBY PIN HOLDER (ALWAYS FLAUNT A FRESH LOOK!)

This was more of a trial and error routine to get the easiest homemade version of...face blotting tissues! Now if you have a slick nose like mine where you may probably have the reflection of the opposite person casting on it, or slick anything really, these are your saviors!

This is a total travel accessory! Holds bobby pins/little baubles.perfume samples etc. in one compartment and heart-shaped blotting tissues in the other and bang, you're ready to head out! I just used my empty powder compact for this but you can use anything (I just wanted to use those old empty compacts piling up). Plus, it has a mirror, since in historical times it was a makeup accessory. That kills three birds in one stone, doesn't it? I adore DIYs like this!

You'll need:

1. A sturdy empty box (consider mint tins, old jewelry boxes, or even anything from the dollar store that is about palm-size)
2. Fabric/paper scraps (I used pretty vintage-style fabric scraps from my pretty DIY storage project!)
3. Scissors, modpodge (any PVA glue) and a marker
4. Filler paper (the ones you find in shoe boxes/or filled in new bags to puff them up and keep shape) or Normal tissue paper thinned down into very flimsy layers or if you're an architecture student like me, low-quality butter paper is gauzy enough for the purpose!
5. Pretty labels (You can use the free label I made for you!)

How-to:

1.Start by cleaning the compartment of your compact (if you're using a compact that is). I cleaned mine and there was still a lot of pigment embedded in (which wouldn't disappear even with cleaning chemicals), so if yours doesn't - don't fret!

2. Roughly cut your fabric scrap to size the compartment.Apply some modpodge onto the wrong side of the fabric and fit it into the compartment. Smooth out any bubbles, wait for a couple of minutes and then apply another layer on top. Let dry for 3-4 hours.

3. Meanwhile, cut a long strip of the tissue/filler/butter paper and fold it until it's the size of a square that will fit your compartment (kinda like accordion style)

4. Fold it in half again and then draw half a heart (don't heart hearts? Leave as is, or do any other shape! I typically favor hearts/flowers for cutouts :) )

5. Cut out and lapse in the glory of lots of small hearts!. Store them in your compartment!

6. If you've downloaded the label I made, cut it to the size of your lid and then glue down. Apply a thin layer of either matte/gloss modpodge on top to seal everything in place.

7. Throw in some baubles in the other compartment and tuck it in your purse!

And now I face the world with a nose that doesn't bifunction as a mirror!

If you don't have a compact like mine, but one of those round ones, you can either use them for these blotting sheets or bobby pins (or make two- one for each!)

I know the part you're waiting for.....the shine test and here it is! Carefully smooth over the sheet onto the shiny areas while pressing. The picture doesn't quite pull in the actual shine here but I think you get the idea :)

If the shine is melting down your makeup, then make sure that the skin has been well exfoliated and is not bumpy. Makeup settles down in little patchy bumps in areas like such and using a blotting sheet to zap the oil will leave you with gaping huge pores exaggerated with the makeup. Big no!

In cases like these, icing the generally oily areas and then applying a primer helps a long way. (Check out my DIY face primer recipe here, it's impressive!).  Ice helps shrink pores and gives a rosy glow and you can immediately tell the difference. Finish off your makeup by some store-bought or homemade setting spray (glycerine + water or rosewater).
And lastly, a little shine is always a plus, it makes you human, and beautiful so don't go overboard!

Excited? Read this magical foundation meltdown trick with a single ingredient! You'll be surprised PLUS it was recommended by a makeup artist!
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For more DIYs, go over my DIY gallery here!

If you liked this DIY, share it with others and pin it! They'll thank you!

XOXO, Nash
(Follow me on Pinterest and Facebook, let's gawk pretty things together! *wink)

THE DECORISTA CHRONICLES//DIY 3D WALLART INSPIRED BY RIFLE CO.

Wallart again :) Aren't we always looking for some quick low-budget ways to brighten our walls that look droolworthy? Recently I've been getting floored by all the Rifle Co. mixed media art (pretty much dominating my latest likes on Pinterest!) and I think it's so utterly gorgeous! So today, let's recreate some of that on our very own walls and imagine ourselves as Miss Fancy Painting Pants!

Let's take a look at the inspiration for this DIY

I didn't want as much of a botanical overload as in the art above though. (The references to the images are in the end of the post)

Materials:

Fake flowers cut off from the stem's start/Handmade paper flowers*
Scissors, super-glue, a pencil and a ruler
Paints/Sharpies or any other markers that deliver vivid color
An empty, shallow cardboard box/A shadow box

*More on that in step 2

How-to:

1.If you're using a cardboard box like me instead of a shadow box, you'll want to deck it up a bit. I did the outside and inside edges with some mod black and white washi tape to balance all the color to come. (You can also use some metallic gold to do the edges to give more of a luxe look).

Snip off any awkward edges jutting out.

2. I wanted to give more of a handmade effect so I made handmade paper roses by using this template from The Elli Blog. It's absolutely addicting to churn out one fabulous rose after the other!(thanks Lia!)

3.Next, bring on the typography! I used my own handwriting but you can also print out your favorite quote in any font you choose (except Comic Sans, because that's just....comical) and paste it on the base of the box.
(If the base of your box is not white, you can layer it with some white paper or any other coordinating color of choice)

4.Begin playing around with the arrangement. You have two options here, either glue down the roses or draw the botanical stems first . Personally, I'd recommend doing half and half. (wait, that just made it three options.) I drew some of the stems before; this gives a raw idea of where you want the flowers and then added in more leaves like they are popping out from the roses underneath.

Make sure your roses at the base are a tad bit flattish (flat, flatty, flat-ish? Lol) so that they adhere properly. If they are not,snip off a bit of the end so that they are not so pointy, and then dab a generous amount of glue.

5. Add in a few more 2D elements like buds in the same color as that of the roses to unify the whole art. You can add more visual interest by corralling up different objects like buttons and sequins onto the art but I left mine as is since it would look too cluttered up.

And you're done! (If you're looking for even more contrast, use a chalkboard background for the artwork. Splendid any route, I say!)

I'd actually like to share a bit of a cute disaster at the project's beginning. When I was printing the paper rose template in pink, the printer ran out of ink and printed the petals in various colors of pink and of course, the roses turned out even prettier because they looked all the more natural with so many different shades! (Haha, adapting, like a boss)

The larger the surface area of the background, the greater options you have for filling in.

There ya' go. Create one and make your momma proud.(with all respect)

In hindsight, choose as sturdy of cardboard as you can to avoid the slightest of bending.

If you liked this DIY, consider sharing it on Pinterest! Meanwhile, I'm super-excited to tell you that Craft A Doodle Doo will be starting a newsletter. It'll round up on the current month's DIYs and inspiration and the most popular DIY from the previous month + other ideas and tidbits!

In the meantime, 

Surf through more DIY ideas in my gallery!

I apologize for not posting since two weeks straight since I've been literally aping around in between my exams and had to painfully push the blog on the backseat, but I'm back now and will be posting every week or so as usual and to really make it up to you I'll be posting a wonderfully simple DIY and freebies next week, so stay tuned!

And for that you can my friend,

Subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo or just follow me on Pinterest and Facebook!

Hope to see you soon,

Big, sunny smiles to everyone,

Nash

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Links to images on the Inspiration board:

1  2  3  4  5  6  7

Pretty Me up//DIY Notepads (For Stylish Doodlers!)

When I tailored my newest paper & digital crafting collection, I knew exactly what project I'd design with it: My own notepads! I can never get enough of notepaper, being both a blogger and and architecture student, my mind tends to over produce random chunks of crappy, lopsided ideas that need to be polished (preferably in journals) to make some sense and land over here on the blog. So notepads (and the cutest ones too) were such a welcome addiction addition. Besides, these make just the prettiest desk accessories I can vouch for and even prettier gifts for friends!

Here's a tiny secret I'll share today: whenever I get an idea, I make sure it's not already out there and raved about on the blogosphere. Even if it's original in my head, someone may think I ripped it off. (Has this happened to you too? :| ) When I do recraft someone else's ideas it's either because I wanted to test it out or because I loved it to the moon. (design-function wise, in which case, I provide credit). That's how this DIY really got to here, I found that most other notebook tuts were actually about customizing them rather than making them-from scratch. (which is as easy as customizing them!)

The collection is now available at my store for two bucks (really!). I used three sheets from the collection for this project.

Materials:
-A4 sized paper (18-20) sheets.
-White/cream colored cardstock
-Scissors, a ruler and a pencil
-Modpodge (matter)PVA glue
-Washi Tape (optional)
-Pretty scrapbooking paper (I printed out mine from my Candid Springs collection)

Instructions:

1. Align all the A4 sized sheets in a stack. Decide the size you want your printed decorative paper to be. I printed out mine to be 4 inches by 5.5 inches (for reference) and place one atop the stack of A4 papers.

2. Using a pencil and a ruler, mark out the boundary of the decorative paper onto the A4 stack. Since my decorative paper came to be roughly 1/4th of the A4 sheet. I divided the A4 sheet into 4 sections.

3. Use a scissors and something (like binder clips or clothespins) to temporarily keep the papers from going haywire while you cut through. Cut along the four divisions you made with the pencil so that you get four individual smaller stacks of paper each the size of your decorative paper.

4.Cut cardstock the same size as the decorative paper to act as the backing for the notepad.

(Since I used three sheets of decorative paper, I made one notepad thicker than the rest by using two of the four papers stacks combined for my thicker notepad.)

5.Align the paper stacks, the decorative paper and the cardstock (so that the paper stack is sandwiched between the deco paper and the cardstock) and along one of the shorter sides, apply a generous amount of modpodge. This is like the spine of your notepad.

6. Allow to dry. When dry, reapply a thin layer, cut washi tape to the size of the spine and apply over. Let dry again.

Finished! Now you can hopelessly romance with these pretty gifts.

If the process sounds complicated, it's actually not. I daresay it'll be done in 10-15 minutes (yes, all three of them including the drying time!). Three-gorgeous- notepads to let your creativity let lose in a jiffy! ;)

A closer look. ^ :) Here's a preview of the collection you can download the papers from at my online store.

Like it? Pin it! You can also find tons more stylish DIYs in my DIY gallery here!
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Till then, have a great weekend, hugs and ciao!
Nash

The Decorista Chronicles//DIY Ring Box!

You know those gorgeous ring boxes you see in stores? Maybe you won't be seeing them just in stores anymore....just maybe...if you're a jewelry junkie, you probably need a quick, glitzy way to organize those pretty jewels a-a-a-and.... here's the ultimate solution (and you wouldn't believe what it is) that I came up with!It fits in quite an array of rings and eartops and looks the cutest ever atop your vanity. Also a fabulous way to gift it to someone. For the full instructions, drop over at Laurel's cute craftspirational blog: A Bubbly Life to see my guest post!

Hungry for more DIY?

You can also check out my DIY Gallery here!

Take care,
XOXO, Nash

Inspiration Nation//Transfer images on fabric!

So I've been on this crazy wild chase to get the newest designs from my collection printed on fabric. All was grand and lush till I realized I've never done fabric printing before (painting, sure but printing? Whoa, hold up right there!). So here's your basic tut for printing out those cutesy images you own or have designed like me onto fabric. All you need is a glob of modpodge, wax paper (optional),foam brushes, your fabric and the printed paper the design of which you want to print on your fabric.

Easy enough? Let's get started!

MATERIALS:

Modpodge (matte and gloss)

Printed image (I used Inkjet)

Fabric (any will do. I used white cotton)

Paintbrushes/foam brushes for the modpodge

Sponge

A bowl of water

Wax Paper, optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Begin by laying out the wax paper to protect your work surface from the gooey sticky mess of the modpodge. For the first round, I'm using the matte version of modpodge. Have the image side of the paper facing you and dunk it in a whole lotta modpodge. Do nice, even strokes and you need to put a "thick" layer. When you're done, the colors of the original image should hardly peek through.

2.When you're done, gently lift the paper off the wax paper and put the image side down facing the fabric. The blank side should face you know. Leave this to dry a day.

3. 24 hours later, you should find the whole fabric-image combo stiff because the glue has dried. You'll now wet the sponge with some of the water and gently press down onto the blank side of the image which faces you. Keep dabbing on the water gently until you see the pattern and colors coming through again.

4.Slowly scrub the paper which will come off like shreds and leave a vibrant print behind. Scrape of the entire image (gentle is key, scrape too much and you'll rip off the print from the fabric too!). If you need to, dab the image with water again to make sure it is wet during the whole process.

5.This step is so important and I want you to pay extra effort and attention here. You'll want to make sure that you completely remove off all the tiny bits of paper sticking in there. Rub it all off because if you don't and it dries, it won't be a pretty sight. I overlooked this a bit while printing on mine and I was left with tiny white flecks in some part of my fabric print :(

6.Do a light layer of modpodge (gloss version) to seal it all in, bring out the vibrancy and add a pretty shine. This last step goes that extra length to perk your image up!

And that's it! You can use modpodge meant for fabric and waterproof modpodge if you wish to wash your fabric in the future.

Yes, the color did turn out that vivacious!

(PS: If you can't judge if you removed all the paper, wait until the fabric dries and if it shows off the tiny white specks, wet it again and gently rub them off. Don't apply the modpodge until you do this step because removing them after the modpodge dries clear is pretty much impossible. A lesson learnt!)

This is how it looks from the back. ^

I'll be using this fabric for a very special purpose which I'll share on the blog soon ;) You can check out Craft A Doodle Doo's new hip online shop where you purchase the entire collection of these super chic prints!

Have any queries? Drop a comment below!

In the meantime, share a lil blog love and pin/share if you liked this trick!

You can also subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo (in the sidebar) for more clever DIYs. You can find me mostly on Pinterest and occasionally on good ol' Facebook!

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I bid you goodbye for now with tons of more inspiration at my DIY gallery.

Love, Nash!