M A K E | ukulele (featuring UncommonGoods)

Ever since I first heard the sweet songs of Ingrid Michaelson, I've envisioned myself as one day owning and play sweet tunes on a ukulele of my own. I am happy to share that I can now say that the owning part is taken care of; now onto learning how to play it!

But first, I wanted to share with you how I created this beauty! First off, I found this awesome Ukulele DIY kit at UncommonGoods. The shop itself is filled with super cute and unique Gifts for Kids, Gifts for Boyfriend, and way more. I actually got this cute cat pillow for my stepmom and this waterbottle has been by my side everyday since Christmas - another post for another time!

Alright, let's get on to the ukulele making!

| S U P P L I E S | 

ukulele making kit 

Wood glue

Screwdriver

Sandpaper

Paint

Step 1 | You'll want to begin by attaching the neck to the body. I had to sand down the connecting piece quite a bit because it didn't fit in just right, but after I did that I used some glue to keep it in place.

Step 2 | Paint! The kit instructions suggest you do this later, but I didn't want to get any paint on the other parts, so I got it out of the way early on. You can be as creative as you want here! I went with a fun floral pattern.

Step 3 | You'll want to lay down and glue your fret board and your bridge. The kit gives exact measurements, so I won't go into that. Once you glue, use a clamp or rubber bands to help the pieces set.

Step 4 | Following the kit instructions, and maybe a helpful Youtube video, you'll string your uke after you've placed your tuners! These strings were a bit more plastic(y) than I had hoped, which made it a bit difficult to tune, so I may buy additional strings. Now you're ready to play!

I think this is a great starter uke, or just really cute decor - ha! This would make a sweet gift for a kid or a friend. Hope you'll try it out and let me know what you think! I know I'm going to hang on to mine for a long while, and hopefully pass it down to my someday daughter! Happy Crafting!

xo. melisa

This post is in partnership with UncommonGoods.

Hand Lettered Envelopes | featuring Tiny Prints

I loooove sending mail, and I especially love sending mail when it contains our Christmas Cards! This year we ordered our Christmas Cards from Tiny Prints and I could not be more in love with how they turned out. They have a cute gold foil trim and I think it's the perfect detail. 

As I'm sure many of you will be sending out your Christmas Cards, I wanted to share some fun ways to hand-letter your envelopes!

Option one is done in watercolor! This is more of a classic Christmas look with green and red colors. I love the little touches of color that the garland design adds to the envelope. I think this would also be really pretty with gold paint on a red envelope!

Option two is more of a minimalist look with both watercolor and pen. I think this design is closest to what I would normally do for our personal cards. I love the simplicity of it!

Option three is even more minimalist and done with a sharpie pen, so anyone can do it! I think this is by far the easiest design, and if you have a lot of cards to mail out, it's perfect for saving time! 

Option four is probably my favorite! I used a gold Sharpie pen to create the branches on the sides and watercolor for the design in the middle. I love all things gold, so this trim was perfection to me! I also loved how well it matched the Gold Foil on our Christmas Card. 

Option five is another watercolor option, but with a fun pop of color! I used a deep red, but it would be fun to use different colors for each person, based on their personality! I loved how these came out - how special would you feel if this was in your mailbox!?

Tiny Prints offers the option of having your return address printed on the back of the envelope, which is just perfect for using up the whole front of the envelope for design! We also got our fun personalized postage here, and opted for the tree pattern for the lining of our envelopes.

I hope these ideas inspire you to hand-letter your envelopes! I'd love to see what you come up with - if you share on social media tag me @pienthesky! 

Happy Lettering!
Mel

This post is in partnership with Tiny Prints.

M A K E | passport cover

S U P P L I E S | leather, scissors, sewing machine, paint/india ink

1 | begin by laying your passport on the leather to get the right width. you'll want to cut about half an inch around on the bottom and top. To the left and right, you will want to cut two inches away from the edge of the passport - these will turn into the flaps that keep your passport cozy in your case.

2 | sew. fold the side flaps down and sew all the way around.

3 | paint. you can be as creative as you'd like now! choose some fun words to express  your adventure.

Now I have an itch to travel! We just came back from Louisiana for a work trip and we'll be going home to New Mexico for the holidays, but I am trying to convince Elisha that we need to go on a cruise. So I've been checking out a ton of different trips. Those of you who have done a cruise, what was your experience and who did you do it through? 

Happy Travels! Mel

F E A T U R E D | tiny prints

The other day I was featured on the Tiny Prints Blog! I shared a fun wrapping paper DIY that I used for my friend Kalli! Check it out and let me know if you decide to do something similar; I'd love to check it out!

xo. Mel

M A K E :: cord planter

It's no secret that I love plants. In fact my instagram is primarily a feed of Gretchen, plants and nice words. I got this plant a few weeks ago and decided to make my pot, instead of buying a new one. This diy is definitely budget friendly and pretty dang easy if I do say so myself. 

S U P P L I E S :: rope/chord , hot glue gun , planter

1 / Start by gluing down one end of your chord to the bottom edge of your planter. 

2) Continue to wrap your chord all the way around the planter. you can use the same chord or alternate colors, by cutting smaller lengths of another color chord. Be sure to glue down as you wrap and snip any loose edges. If it frays, it's okay, it'll add character!

Yes, it is just that easy! I love how it adds a different texture to our living room. If you decide to do this diy, as always, leave a link below for us all to see how it turned out! 

xo mel

M A K E :: clay magnets

One of my favorite things to do in the morning is leave little notes for Elisha to read when he wakes up. We've started to collect our little love notes and I wanted to come up with a creative way to display them. I thought our fridge was the perfect canvas! Here's a super quick way to dress up that empty space in your kitchen, with fun magnets!

 

S U P P L I E S :: clay / paint / self adhesive magnets / brushes

1) Pinch a small piece of clay from your block and use your hands to make a small ball. Use a rolling pin or something similar, to roll your ball out so that it is flat. It does not have to make a perfect circle; I like that mine were a bit oblong - it gave them character!

 

2) Follow the instruction for your clay, and bake them for the appropriate time. Be sure to use a dish that is safe and wash thoroughly once the clay has been removed, as some of it may stick. 

3) Paint! Get creative with designs, patterns and colors! Since our notes have so much writing already, I knew I wanted simple designs that wouldn't distract. Have fun!

 

4) Peel the backing on your magnet, so the adhesive is visible. Place the adhesive facedown onto your magnet and press gently. Complete this with your remaining clay circles.All done!

This project didn't take more than an hour and it was relaxing to be able to paint for fun! I love how much it brightened up an otherwise boring space. Get creative with your shapes and colors - I'd love to see what you come up with! Happy Crafting!

xo. mel

**To view more MAKE posts, click here!

M A K E :: Wall Hanging II

Well I had so much fun making the copper wall hangings that I had to make one more variation! This time I opted for a different shape and color, but I love the result. This project is budget friendly and can be completed by anyone with even the slightest crafting ability. Like, it's real easy y'all.

S U P P L I E S :: hoops (local craft store), yarn, wire, scissors, beads

 

1) Begin by cutting your yarn into 24 inch strands. 

2) Using this technique, attach each of your strands to the hoop.

3) As you continue to add them move them towards the center, so they're nice and compact. They should cover the entire bottom half..

4) Attach your beads to the smaller hoop by using your wire, or any other jewelry finding. I used jump rings to allow them to dangle a bit.

5) Attach the rings together using the remaining gold wire. Wrap the wire around both hoops until it feels secure, and then cut off. Ensure that no wire is poking out, by sliding the excess in between the wire you wrapped.

It's a really simple piece, but I think that's why I love it so much! You can have fun mixing colors or styles of yarn and beads too! As always, if you decide to try this out, leave us a link with a photo - I love seeing what you all come up with! 

Happy Weekend! Mel

*for additional MAKE projects, visit this archive