This blanket is so beautiful.  It is soft warm and completely luxurious.  In addition to being luxurious, it is really easy and requires little time and minimum concentration.

The pattern is super easy. I used size 35 needles with 6 skeins of Twinkle Hand Knits Soft Chunky.  I used three skeins of Pink Champagne and three skeins of French Grey.

• Cast on till the blanket is the width you want it to be. I think I cast on between 60 and 80 stitches but I cannot remember for sure.
• Knit, Purl, Knit Purl till the end of the row
• Purl, Knit, Purl Knit till the end of row two
• Repeat rows one and two until the blanket is the size you want it to be.

I knit it for my grandma for Christmas and now I am seriously considering making one for myself.  As you can see I thoroughly enjoyed wrapping myself in this blanket!

Although Eric and I have lived in our house for nearly two years, our walls are pretty much empty.  Before we moved into this house our walls were filled with cheap mass produced IKEA prints.  Over the past two years we have been slowly collecting new bits and bobs to decorate our walls.

In the interest of saving money and exploring my artistic side I thought I would try my hand at painting and in a couple of hours after work one evening I completed my very own piece of abstract art.

While the painting turned out OK, I am not crazy about the colour scheme.  I got a little carried away and added a few too many colours.

To complete this project you will need:

• Canvas
• Acrylic Paints
• Foam Brush

Once you gather all your supplies, the painting comes together in a snap.  It is just a matter of mixing your colours and dapping on the paint.

I have never been into keeping a journal and I thought a memory jar would be a great way to remember some of the highlights to come in 2012.Instead of writing in a journal, Eric and I will be jotting down memory snippets throughout the year. Monday night we filled out our first memory card with a trip to the skating rink.  In 7 and a half years it was the first time we ever went skating together!

This project is so easy… I stenciled my vase in half an hour while watching TV.  As I worked on the project, I just kept thinking about how fun it will be to read all the cards on December 31st 2012!

Stenciled Memory Jar

Materials:

• Stencils
• Paint
• Masking tape
• Foam Brush
• Vase

Directions:

• Tape down the stencil
• Dap the stencil with paint
• Move onto the next letter
• Now have some patience and let the vase dry!

If you want to get the party started and entertain your guests for hours on end, set up an inexpensive, homemade photo booth.  This is a fun and creative activity that will add excitement to any event.

To build my photo booth, I bought three clamp lamps from IKEA, 2 upright lamps and a box of cheap accessories from the dollar store. We also used my Nikon D60, a tripod, and a camera remote.

We positioned the upright lights three feet on either side of the camera so the light hits the subject from both sides (You can only see one light in the photo, the other one is directly to the left, just around the corner in the kitchen.)  This light set-up minimizes the shadows and creates better lighting.  We also added more light by  clamping the extra IKEA lights onto the upright lamp poles and pointing them towards the center of the backdrop.

To set the mood I set the mood and create a backdrop, I threw up some doily snowflakes.

Once the lights are set up, set the camera to auto and you are good to go! The result was lots and lots of fun!!  Have a look for yourself!

For more photos check out the Big Box Detox Facebook Page and while you are at it become a fan!!

This is such an easy DIY project.  It is cheap, quick and the final result is a clean, minimalist and elegant Christmas ornament.

How to Make a Stamped Clay Christmas Ornament:

Directions

1. Roll out your air dry stone clay (I bought mine at Michael’s).  I used a glass because I did not want to contaminate my rolling pin.
2. Using your letter stamps, add a word, name or date.
3. Select a cookie cutter and cut our your ornament.  Use a straw cut out a small hole at the top of the ornament.
4. Carefully pick up your ornament and smooth its edges.  Place it in a safe spot and allow it to dry for 24 hours.

This is a nice and easy DIY project to jazz up any old (or cheap) dresser.  I recently purchased two Rast night stands from Ikea.  They are the cheapest pieces of furniture you have ever seen.  As you can see, the bottom of the drawers are that awful cheap particle board.

I had some lovely fabric left over from my $5.00 Roman Shade.  I love this fabric and thought it would be prefect for lining my Rast drawers.  I completed this project on a Sunday afternoon while catching up on America’s Next Top Model.  Yeah I know it is an awful show.

Three easy steps to pretty drawers:

1. Measure and cut your fabric to fit the drawer.  To get a clean a crisp look you should also iron the fabric.
2. Brush a thin layer of Mod Podge all over the drawer. (see below)
3. Lay your fabric down over the Mod Podged surface and smooth it out. (Yeah I just used podged as a verb)

It really is that easy!  Stay tuned for more pictures of my Rast makeover.

Last winter I took a graphic design course that piqued my interest in typography.  Without a doubt the coolest of all characters is the ampersand.  The ampersand is elegant, streamlined, stylish and interesting.  With this in mind I started thinking about how I could incorporate the ampersand into my home decor.  I came up with this easy and affordable DIY art project.

To complete this project you need a couple of hours, a steady hand, and minimal supplies.

Supplies

• an image of an ampersand (I found my model here)
• a printer
• a graphite stick or pencil
• paper
• small paint brushes
• acrylic paints

Directions

• Print out your ampersand image.  To find my ampersand I did a google image search and limited my search to “large” images.  You could also find a typeface you like and insert a massive ampersand into a word document.
• Scribble on the back of your ampersand image with a graphite stick or pencil.
• Now it’s time to transfer your image.  Tape your ampersand image (graphite side down) to your page.  See the below image!

• Trace over the ampersand to transfer the image.  You can see the trace marks in the image above. In the image below you can see the transfer result.

• With a steady hand and lots of patience, paint the ampersand background.  Let the paint dry and cut out the image.  Frame your image and admire this quick and affordable project!

Last month two of my dearest friends had a beautiful baby girl.  They named her Avery Charlotte and she is absolutely gorgeous!  I made this blanket for her.  It is really simple to make and its beauty lies in the choice of yarn.  I choose a super soft %100 merino wool.  It was totally worth the splurge, the blanket turned out beautiful!

Inspired by Purl Bee’s Super Easy Baby Blanket I give you the Avery Blanket!

Yarn: Super Soft 100% Australian Wool 100g/ 10 ply

Needles: A US #7 circular needles, 24 or 32 inches long.

Gauge

20 stitches and 20 ridges = 4 inches in garter stitch

Finished Size

Approximately 26 inches x 28 inches

Pattern

• With a US #7 needle (or size required by you to acheive the correct gauge) and the first color, loosely cast on 130 stitches.
• Knit every row until there are 24 garter stitch “ridges” (1 ridge = 2 rows).
• Switch to the second color at the beginning of the next row, and knit every row until there are 24 ridges.
• Repeat with each color, making sure to always switch colors on the same side.
• After knitting 24 ridges with the 5th and final color, repeat the pattern one more time.
• After completing the pattern a second time, loosely bind off.
• Weave in the ends.

Yesterday afternoon Eric and I came across several DIY teardrop trailers and now I’m hooked.  They are tiny trailers built for two that can be towed using any vehicle.

Teardrop trailers gained popularity in North-America during the 1930s. After the Great Depression and World War Two, the economy recovered, soldiers were home and people were looking to go on vacation with their families. This coincided with the development of America’s highway and road systems which made travel by car easier than it ever had been in the past.

Teardrop trailers were appealing during this period for the same reasons they are today. They are economical and they don’t require can be towed by any vehicle. If you had a family car, you could tow a teardrop.  Tear drop trailers were also popular with old school DIYers who found plans to build their own trailers in publications like Popular Mechanics.

Looking at vintage teardrop trailers you will notice that they often have a certain regimental or utilitarian aesthetic.  This related to the leftover, salvaged and surplus materials from the war that were often used to build these campers.

As the 1950s passed by, the popularity of teardrop campers began to dwindle. By this time, people were looking for campers that were bigger, more modern and sophisticated.

If you are fascinated by the smart and minimalist design of the teardrop camper and are interested in making your own Want to make your own, check out these plans for a Teardrop Trailer from Make.

After watching all seven Harry Potter movies I am finally finished my latest knitting project (more on that later).  Despite all the time and effort I spent on this project I was disappointed with the piece’s overall shape.  The good news: the project is salvageable thanks to blocking.

What is blocking?

Blocking is a technique used to finish off knitting projects.  This process ensures that your final project keeps the shape that it is intended to.  To block a knitting project you wet the piece, set its shape with pins and allow the knitting to dry.

Why block your projects?

When you block a knitting project it looks more polished and professional.  This technique also helps ensure that the edges of your knitting remain flat and do not curl.  Best of all, blocking adjusts the shape of your project and evens out the look of your stitch.

Five Tips for Blocking

One: Use a Spray Bottle

Using a spray bottle helps control the amount of water you are using and ensures that your piece of knitting is evenly wet.  Warning: You will use tons of water and your forearms may get sore from spraying.  Hang in there… it is totally worth it!

Two: Get Your Hands on Some Foam Mats

You know those mats that toddlers crawl around on?  I find that these make a perfect surface for blocking.  the foam tiles are firm enough to shape your project and soft enough that you can jab pins directly into the surface.  Best of all the square mats are modular and can be stored in a small space.  Since the mats are modular they can be clipped together to fit any project big or small.

Three: Use Rustproof Pins

This may seem obvious, but can you imagine how angry you would be if the knitting project you spent 25+ hours on had rust stains?  Use rustproof pins and avoid rage black-outs.

Four: Be Patient

At this point you are so close to finishing off your project but you must ensure it is 100% dry before you move it.  So be patient and  forget about it for the time being.  Give your project a minimum of 24 hours before you remove the pins.  Remember that even if your knitting feels dry to the touch, the fibres may still be wet and holding moisture.  So be patient and wait it out… it is so worth the wait!

Five: Avoid Acrylic, Polyester and  Other Synthetic Yarns

Some people say you can do it, some people say you can’t.  For a long scientific explanation of why you can’t block synthetic yarns check out this blog post. On the flip side, to read about how you may be able to block synthetic fibres check this out.  I dislike synthetic yarn and always opt for the softer, better quality natural fibres.  If I am going to spend hours on a project, I am going to do it right.