DIY Pretty Perler Hama Bead Coaster Tutorial

Hi everyone and happy Friday! Hope you're all doing well. I have a cute and fun project for you today that took me back to my youth - how to make Perler (or hama) bead coasters. They're super simple and you don't need many supplies - just beads, a peg board and an iron. There are seriously so many things you can make with Perler beads that if you want to get inspired, search "Perler bead" or "hama bead" on Pinterest for a ton of neat ideas. I personally really like all the Mario-inspired creations. Since I'm on a kick of making things for my desk at work, I decided to make a couple coasters. One for my coffee mug and one for my water bottle.

You can find your supplies at most craft stores in the kids section or check at a nearby thrift store that carries craft supplies (that's where I found mine!). I've also heard that they carry them at Ikea but can't confirm it. There are all different shapes of peg boards but for these I used the big hexagon pictured. 

Free Printable 2015 Calendars

Though we're at the end of January, not everyone has a cute calendar to hang up on their fridge or by their desk so I thought I'd share some free and cute ones I found while looking around for my own.

The calendar shown above is from Oh The Lovely Things and was my top choice for a calendar since it's pretty and has beautiful colors and patterns. To print on a Windows machine, I downloaded the zip file and unzipped it, then opened each file in Windows Photo Viewer. I clicked to print, then picked the 5"x 7" size and unchecked Fit Picture to Frame. Then I printed, turned the paper around and printed the next. Easy!

DIY Embroidered Cat Mousepad

My husband has told me that in order to not be labeled as the crazy cat lady at work, I must limit cat items on my desk to no more than two. This is cat item number one and the second is this totally awesome cat-stronaut mug I bought on Society6. Though I really think that we crazy cat people don't care if people see us as such, so you may see more cat desk items on this blog anyway. :) Here's how you can make a cat mousepad (or a mousepad in any shape, really).

Supplies
- A piece of felt. Mine is stiff felt from the craft store. You want a piece about the size of a piece of paper
- A small piece of leather or other non-skid fabric
- Embroidery floss and needle
- Washout pen or other marker or pencil for tracing on felt
- Scissors
- Computer and printer

My First Weaving Project

Hi everyone! Happy belated new year! Ever since the craziness of the holidays, I've really been taking it easy. Nothing much creative happening and sales in the shop are down after Christmas so it's actually been a good time to think, relax and spend time with friends and family. I'm starting a new part-time office job on Wednesday, and it's got my mind buzzing about all the different DIY projects I can make to make my desk feel like home, which has gotten me looking at other projects like this one to start getting creative again.

This weaving project was the first project I've seen in a while that's piqued my creative interest since being in my lull. Now I say that this is my first project, but really it's my second ... I tried making a rug but it ended up being a scrunched up bowl-type thing so I stopped short. For this project, I followed this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess on basic weaving steps. The only supplies I used were a piece of cardboard from a box, scissors, miscellaneous yarn, a large yarn needle and a ruler. You can follow her instructions on the blog but here are a few tips from me.

1. Make sure you use cotton yarn for your warp (the foundation strings for your weaving). Acrylic or other types will be too stretchy and make your whole piece scrunch up when you cut and tie the strings at the end.

2. Be sure to not pull too tight when starting a new row. I'm sure you can see on mine that it tapers a bit and that's because the yarn started less taut then it ended. Loose is good, in my opinion.

3. Use a ruler for your shed stick to cut your weaving time in half. How it cuts time in half is explained in the tutorial. Just know you don't need anything fancy. A ruler or paint stirrer will do.
3. Use different textures of yarn. I love how this turned out with the colors and textures from acrylic, wool, cotton, hemp and chunky yarns.
4. Be creative with the finished product! I'm thinking I'll make my weaving into a zippered bag, but you can use it as a mug rug, under a table centerpiece, as a wall hanging, etc.

See the tutorial here and have fun!