By Liz Stanley

The party starts in a wee few hours. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care. The bruschetta is ready to roll, the votives set to light, the holiday mix ready to spin. When what to your wandering eyes shouldn’t appear? Cool overhead decor for setting party atmosphere.

On, dasher! Put these mod DIY ornaments, as seen on Design Sponge, to use. You probably have these household items tucked away in a drawer already, and you’ll still have plenty of time to kick back before guests arrive. (As if.)

Here’s what you’ll need:

Holiday colors cardstock
Ruler
Scissors
Stapler
Fishing wire
Ribbon or tinsel (optional)

1. Gather together items listed above.

2. Cut cardstock and ribbon/tinsel into four inch-wide strips: one each of 11 inches in length, 9 inches, 7 inches and 5 inches. If you’re using ribbon or tinsel, they’ll work better in the smaller sizes. Organize the strips into piles by size, with equal amounts in each pile with the exception of the 5-inch pile. You’ll only need half as many of that size.

3. Choose one strip from each pile starting with the longest strip, placing them on top of each other to form a new pile. When you get to the shortest (5-inch) strip, go back the way you came, picking a second strip from each pile, ending with the longest strip. With the ends aligned, staple that pile together.

4. Now that you’ve stapled one side, you can bring the other ends together by bending the longer strips and aligning their ends. The 5-inch strip in the middle will remain straight.

5. Carefully holding the ends, staple this side together.

6. Hang with fish wire from your tree, chandelier, doorway or ceiling for quick, easy and affordable modern festivity!

By Liz Stanley

Spotted: Vintage suitcases

Good For: Other than traveling in style, see below for new ideas for these vintage cargo.

Where: The Age Cage (2030 S. 900 East, Salt Lake City)

How Much: $15 – $50 apiece

Sidetable: Stack up a few for an eclectic sidetable topped with magazines and a lamp. Then use them to store last month’s magazines, family photos or DVDs.

Table base: If you’ve got suitcases with flat sides, stack them and place a piece of glass on top and voila! You’ve got a great coffee table or console for your entryway—just decorate with a vase and catch-all bowl. As for storage, keep them filled with items you don’t use regularly: old books for anchoring, grandma’s china, or holiday twinkle lights.

Wall display: Reinvent your train case as one for wall display. Use a screwdriver to separate the top and bottom of the suitcase and re-line the inside with a cool, bold fabric using a glue gun. Attach hanging hardware before placing it to the wall. These are fun for displaying framed photos, a single rose vase or trinkets from your latest overseas adventure.

Footstool: When you tire of your worn-out footstool, remove the legs and attach them to a colorful, round suitcase instead.

Tips: Be sure to clean the interior and exterior of each suitcase thoroughly. If the inside lining is ripped or torn, try tearing it out and lining with flannel or felt instead.

Image credits and links, clockwise: Living Etc., DIY Network and Real Simple

Since you asked, here’s how Ali covered corkboard with fabric to achieve her pretty-meets-practical faux-cubicle office walls—all with a little whimsy. It’s so cinchy, you’ll wonder why you haven’t done it yet.

If you’re not up for pulling out the saw and building a frame, the same technique can be used for making your own artsy stretched canvas: because big pieces of fabric like these, these and especially these deserve a spot on your walls. Stores like Hobby Lobby, Target, Office Max, etc. usually have a nice selection of cork boards and cork tiles under $12 apiece.

Materials needed:

• Cork board(s)
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Staple gun and staples

Here’s the how-to, though the photos are pretty self-explanatory. We recommend resourcing a little help from a buddy to keep the fabric stretched tight.

1. Select size of cork board(s) to be covered. Inspect boards for warping, denting and other damages before purchasing.
2. Select fabric of your choice. Ali used some lightweight curtains. Most fabric bolts are around 55″ wide. Make sure you buy enough in length (and width) for the fabric to cover the front of the board, with 6-7″ inch borders on all sides.
3. Steam or iron fabric to get rid of any unwanted wrinkles or creases.
4. Measure and cut fabric to desired size, keeping the above measurements in mind. Leave a border around each edge that will ensure that the fabric will wrap around and secure easily to the back of the frame.
5. Lay fabric piece out on floor and place cork board squarely on top of it, face-down.
6. Fold fabric around one side of the cork board and secure by stapling it to the back of frame with staple gun. (Watch your fingers!)
7. Do the same with the opposite side, being careful to pull neither too tight nor too loose. Then trim superfluous fabric.
8. Pull fabric over one of the two remaining edges. Fold fabric at one corner like you would a bedcorner and secure in place with staples. Continue stapling down the side until you reach opposite corner, fold it like a bedcorner and secure with staples. Repeat on the the final edge and its corners.
9. Trim superfluous fabric and hang.

If you need further inspiration, look how great Robin’s are!

Wanna make some of those amazingly fun and voluminous tissue paper pom poms you’ve seen around? The kind that are too cute even for cheerleaders? Without having to pay $20 for a kit? Well, we figured it out … and we like ‘em better this way, too. Ideal for putting a little pizazz into any party, you can do as expected and dangle them overhead, or set them on the tabletop to maximize your spread’s poof potential.

Supplies:

16-20 pieces tissue paper
Spool of ribbon
Scissors
Ruler

Instructions:

1. Stack and lay out 16 to 20 pieces of tissue paper, all cut to the same rectangular size. (We recommend 19×24 inches.)
2. Cut decorative edge into tissue on both short ends. (Zig zag or scalloped edges look cute.)
3. Put two sheets on top of one another and loosely fold together like an accordion. Do this until all sheets have been partnered and folded. (Approximately 20 folds in each pairing.)
4. Group all pieces together in your hand (like you would a bouquet), arranging colors in random order.
5. Firmly grip the center of the bundle with your hand.
5. Use ribbon to tie knot around the center, leaving a long end to be used for hanging the pom pom
6. Spread tissue paper bundles out one at a time to form pom pom and create circular shape.
7. Hang up and enjoy!

Tips:

• Use several colors including a glittered variety to give your pom poms contrast and dimension. Don’t be afraid to incorporate some of those cute tissue papers that wrap the clothes you bring home from your favorite boutique.
• You can make your pom poms any size, just make sure the sizes of paper you begin with measure equal dimensions. It’s fun to make a variety of pom pom sizes, especially when you’re going to be suspending them from a ceiling or tree branch.
• We got our tissue paper at Xpedx, which sports a pretty good selection. Here are some other online vendors to check out:

USBox.com
Nu-Era.com
FlaxArt.com
RetailShoppingBags.com

Looking for a little something to spice up your 4th of July spread, other than Aunt Marie’s tri-color, cream-injected Jell-O mold? We’ve got it:

Make it pop—or shall we say “snap”—with miniature red, white and blue-patterned banners, ready to pull cupcake duty or soar above a chocolate bundt cake. Angel food cake would work too. Or any other treat, for that matter. It might even be fun to mark your hamburger-bun pyramid with these little guys.

These flags are festive and cheap-and-easy to construct. In anticipation of what is one of the year’s best holidays, you can get the fireworks started by downloading the pattern right here.

The wheels in our heads started turning as we put together our little bridal how-to. We thought to ourselves, “We could tell brides-to-be where to go to purchase Cara’s pretty head wrap, but what would be better is if we could tell them how to make it.”

So that’s what we set out to do. Maeve figured out how to hack our own “veil headwrap” and save all of us upwards of $60. And while she was at it, she figured she could whip up her own version of the Marc Jacobs gem-encrusted mesh headwrap, too. Who says these can’t be worn every day for an extra dose of panache and fabulous flair? We say go for it.

Here’s the how-to:

You’ll need: tulle spool, elastic, needle, thread, hot glue, acrylic jewels or flower (depending on which headband captured your heart) and ribbon or felt.

1. Measure tulle around your head. Cut it where the two ends meet at the nape of your neck.

2. Fold the tulle in half to create a narrower band.

3. At one end, fold the tulle through an elastic and back over itself. Pin to secure. Do the same with the other end, so both are pulled through the same elastic and secured.

4. Pull it carefully around your head to make sure it fits snugly.

5. For extra strength, fold the tulle ends over twice and re-pin.

6. Hand or machine-stitch the tulle together on the side of the headband closest to your head to hide the seam.

7. Embellish: use a pin or hot glue gun to attach the flower. If jeweling your headband, back the jewels with ribbon or felt and then secure to tulle with hot glue gun.

Voila! Check out your tres chic headband, sure to add a dose of glam to your getup. You could also try using a silver metallic tulle or any other color. You might even try taking a Bedazzler to the headband, if you’re the lucky owner of one. Decorating the tulle with a cluster of pin brooches might also be fun. Let us know how yours turn out, too!

They’re hitting tack-, cork- and pinboards (and soon-to-be ponytails) from coast to coast—at least that’s what we figure because they’re so cute. Fabric-covered buttons are all the rage, and so fun and easy and affordable to make, that it’s seriously addictive. Better, we found that they open doors for loads of little would-be doodads for friends and coworkers.

We saw fabric-covered thumbtacks on several blogs and traced them to what we think are their origins. We took Jessica’s tutorial one step further to include larger buttons (for larger pins) and—enter genius idea, if we do say so ourselves—the cutest, fabric-covered elastics, and also, stylish magnets.

We’ll start with a tutorial on fabric-covered thumbtacks:

First, you’ll need a “Buttons To Cover” kit—usually $1-$2 at most craft stores. We spotted them at Hancock Fabrics and JoAnn’s, though the brands vary. You’ll need size “20″ buttons to cover typical, fingernail-sized thumbtacks. We also hunted down larger “Quilter’s Thumbtacks” (spied at Robert’s) to make larger, more-fun pushpins. To cover those, you will need to buy a size “30″ button kit. The quilter’s thumbtack should fit inside the button perfectly.

Using the pattern provided with the kit, trace circles onto the fabric you want to use. Be creative: We used old napkins and tablecloths from Maeve’s grandmother along with some quilting squares picked up at local fabric stores. Then cut out the circles.

You’ll also need to employ a pair of needlenose pliers to remove the loops on the backs of the button-backing pieces. If you squeeze the loop together until it folds and then twist lightly, the loop removes pretty easily.

Follow the directions on the back of the package and the image links above (from left to right) to make your own thumbtacks. It’s a cinch, and so much fun. You’ll use the tools provided with the kit to cover the buttons and secure their now-loopless backs. Then use a high-temp glue gun to attach thumbtacks to the backsides of the buttons. Ta da! A perfect gift for your cubicle-mate.

To make your own fabric-covered bobbin elastics:

To make these little sayonara-bad-hair-day elastics, you’ll follow the same instructions above, only don’t remove the loops on the button-backing pieces. You’ll need them to tie your elastics through.

Your ponytail bobbin will look best if you buy a larger button-covering kit than size 20. We used size 30. Once your buttons are covered in fabric, simply pull the elastic through the loop, and then pull the elastic through itself. You can use just one button to decorate the everyday elastic, or secure two buttons on either end of the elastic and wrap it around your ponytail like you used to when you were a wee one.

Other ideas: Secure a mini magnet to the back of the button to further personalize your fridge door, or actually use the buttons as they were intended to spiff-up a getting-old top. If you come up with any other ideas of your own, tell us about it, and send us photos. We’ll be sure to share your brilliance with everyone else. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Looking for an easier-than-pie way to craft up an Easter egg more along the lines of the Ukrainian variety? Try these Silk Tie Easter Eggs from Martha. Actually, there’s a special thanks to Jackie Manzolillo, so maybe she’s the brilliant staffer behind the idea.

You’ll need: glass or enamel pot, vinegar, twist ties (the kind you use for garbage bags), and silk ties, blouse, scarf or boxers.

1. Start by venturing into your dad’s closet or your local DI to pick out some old silk ties, boxers, blouses or scarves. (Tip: smaller patterns will show better, and reds come off the brightest.)

2. Cut silk item into a square large enough to cover a large egg completely.

3. Put the now-silk-wrapped egg in a piece of an old white sheet or pillowcase or similar, and twist-tie it securely.

4. Place the egg or eggs in an enamel or glass pot and fill with enough water to cover the eggs entirely. Then add three tablespoons of white vinegar.

5. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat, allowing the eggs to simmer for 20 minutes or longer if you plan on eating them.

6. Remove the eggs from water with tongs and let cool.

7. Remove silk piece from the cooled egg.

8. Polish the egg with a little vegetable oil for extra shine.

Thanks, Jackie! And thanks to Martha, too.

“To prepare quickly. To excite. To create. To incite. To invent. To conceive. To push. To upset. To manufacture. To provoke.”

No, this is not the mantra of a progressive DC think tank, celebrity criminal’s prolific defense team, or liberal arts-ish alternative university. Rather, it’s the definition of our favorite craft blog: WhipUp.Net, which is out to help projecteers around the world improve themselves (and their gift-giving prowess) one knitted pincushion or homemade t-shirt at a time.

Whip Up calls itself “A handcraft guide in a hectic world”—and a hectic crafting world, it is. The site, which has a handful of blogging authors, acts as a filter: it features crafts the authors deem worthy, reviews crafting magazines, and hosts its own and spreads the word about craft contests.

Stuff we found on WhipUp that has us ready to head to the local craft store, hardware store, and/or fabric store include: cards, cardholders and wallets made out of paintchips; cute fabric gift tags; and a tutorial on making your own cloth napkins.

Finally, a one-stop “shop” for all things crafty!

After a much-needed long winter’s nap (and a wedding), we’re back. Hoping all had a very merry and fabulous holiday.

The week that follows Christmas is a fun, slower-paced one—unless you work in an office where you are expected to make up for a “lost” day of work. When you tire of playing with new gadgets and planning new outfits, may we suggest a cheap and easy winter craft for your finally!-no-more-shopping-to-do downtime.

As we said earlier, there’s a cozy for everything this winter. We applaud the winter-friendly, all-soft ambience these warmers of all sorts provide.

When we saw candlestick cozies in the Anthropologie “Gift 2006” catalog early in December, we vowed to create our own. Granted, they’re probably triple-marked-down at the store right now, but ours was practically free and truly homespun—therefore, a make-yourself-proud original.

Maeve popped by the D.I. on her way home from work one afternoon, purchased a besmirched wooden candlestick and a small, striped sweater. She trimmed off the narrowest part of a sleeve, and pinned the excess portion so the cozy would be nice and snug. Using a glue gun, the sweater fabric was wrapped around and adhered to the now-pretty candlestick. She then stitched up the side, bringing the two sweater-ends together. Voila! We’re pleased with the results, but, like most things, we agree that it could use a friend.

Also recommended is a pair of crystal candlesticks covered in a thin, ivory sweater with cream sequins attached at random. Maybe next time….

There’s nothing like a good cup of holiday cheer to make you want to pull up your sleeves and expose your inner Martha.

You’ve still got twelve days to make the holidays craftily complete. We searched the world (wide web) for our list of DIY favorites. These are the projects that made the cut, so to speak.

This little knick-knack shelf from craftster.org is the answer for displaying the ambush of tidings of great joy, i.e, cheery, yearly updates from friends and family. Perfect for an entryway, and even cuter if made in duplicate and stacked.

We’ve made these danglies before, and the blogger couldn’t be more correct; these earrings are super duper easy to construct.

Put a twist on the concept by employing the same technique to create a sparkly mini garland for your mantle or shelving, or create a ring around candle groupings … any place that could use some holiday glitz. Fancy beads would also dress-up a wreath with a little holidazzle.

Though you’ll need some knitting foreknowledge (stitch one, pearl two….), these whimsical slippers would set any toes a’twinkle. We love the ballet-inspired “laces.”

A wonderfully intricate snowflake takes the typical origami project up a notch. Make three and use them as ornaments, or if you have the time and patience, make a batch of differing shapes and sizes and string them above your kitchen window (if you’re lucky enough to have one).

These little wreaths are all over online, but we love the playful, mixed-media look of this one. This post offers the most direction—and an adorable creation (and that fabric isn’t bad either).

Somehow, everything’s more fun when miniaturized, stockings included. Leave it to Martha and crew to come up with something so criminally cute.

These days, there’s a cozy for everything and anything. Even headphones. A thoughtful/kitschy offering for the friend who never leaves home sans iPod.

PS: Check out Domino’s pretty, new site. You’ll see their handful of DIY holiday gift ideas here.