do you like to...do it yourself?

Here's the thing: I'm not very crafty. I try sometimes, but the small amount of perfectionist in me combined with my tendency to get really excited about a project only to forget about it a week later leads to much frustration and half-finished crafts. The only thing I've ever half-heartedly stuck with is embroidering because embroidering monkey things is wicked awesome.

However. That doesn't mean I don't like PRETENDING I'm going to start doing all sorts of crafts. My Google Reader is full of do-it-yourself subscriptions. Ikea Hacker is probably my favorite, although I usually don't even pretend I'm going to take on any of those tasks because it's hard enough to put Ikea stuff together, let alone hack it. Anyway. Here are some crafty items I've starred recently, in case you're feeling motivated and want to DIY:

1. Toothbrush Cup Nightstand, from Ikea Hacker

I moved my alarm clock across the room so it's no longer on my nightstand. I did this because I thought it would make me stop hitting snooze so much in the morning, but it didn't work. Instead, I stagger out of bed like a zombie, try not to trip over Phoebe, hit snooze, and then fall face-first back into bed. But even though I moved my alarm clock, I still have loads of crap on my nightstand. OK, not crap, just books. I think even I could handle this basket idea.

2. Paper Cake Slices, from How About Orange

Once Joe and I got engaged and threw away any plans of elopement on account of most of our family members would never talk to us again if we did that, I added a bunch of weddingy blogs to my Google Reader. I was hoping for inspiration I did not find at The Knot, which mostly just gave me a headache. One of my DIY subscriptions had this craft listed the other day, and while I probably won't end up using the idea, I do think it's cute.

3. Fabric Gift Wrapping, from Project Wedding

This isn't so much a craft, I suppose, but it is a really good way to save the environment. Plus, you get to buy fabric in all sorts of fun patterns and WHO DOESN'T LOVE PATTERNS?

4. DIY Wall Art Ideas, from How About Orange

I love buying junk to hang on the walls. Here is a list of junk you can make to hang on your walls.

5. The Cherry Blossom Lantern, from Ikea Hacker

This is just plain awesome.

6. How to Make (insanely cheap) Fabric Wall Panels, from Kyla Roma

More stuff to hang on the walls, hooray!

7. Make Your Own Happy Hour, from Tipsy Society

After you make all of these crafts, you're gonna need some refreshment, duh.


Have fun making all this stuff, Internets! And if you want to make it and just give it to me so I don't have to make it myself, that'd be cool, too. Just a suggestion!