There are so many reasons to have plants in your space ! Apart from the obvious aesthetic upgrade it gives, it also helps to improve the indoor air quality.

DIY bottle planter

I have a sudden obsession with plants and I’ve been experimenting a lot with them. When I first read about hydroponics, the idea of growing plants in water  and fertilizer was cool but I just didn’t think it was something I could pull off  so I never really bothered about it. A couple of weeks ago I stopped by my local plant shop and I got a pothos plant .The plan was for me to hang the plants indoors but sadly my planter was too small and I had to cut off some of the stems.Throwing it away was definitely not an option for me so I decided to put the cut off stem into a bottle of water with the roots immersed in water and to my utmost surprise I noticed that the plant was growing and thriving and I didn’t have to use fertilizer .

I would never pass up an opportunity to upcycle  so I upcycled an old wine bottle into a planter.

WHAT YOU NEED

1. Empty wine bottle
2. Mod podge or white glue
3. Plain paper
4. Glitters

STEP ONE

empty bottle

Wash your bottle thoroughly, and remove all the labels from the wine bottle. the easiest way to this is by pouring hot water into the bottle the labels would come off almost immediately and if it doesn’t, you just have to wash it with sponge and detergent.

STEP TWO

Set your bottle aside and allow it to dry then take your plain sheet of paper and draw out your preferred shape .I wanted a perfect circle so I traced out a circle on the plain paper and cut it out using a razor blade.

STEP THREE

Cover your bottle  round with your cut out paper, you can tape the two ends with a cellotape or a masking tape. Afterwards , apply your white glue to the cut out portions. I made use of top bond and it worked perfectly but the best thing to use is mod podge.

STEP FOUR

Pour your glitter on top of the glue and allow to dry for at least twenty four hours. When it is dry you can remove the paper  and then you have your decorative  bottle Planter.

It is perfect if you are like me  and you are trying out hydroponics or you want to make a unique vase for your artificial plant.

What do you think about this DIY? would you try it out?

DIY FABRIC SHOE BAG

Whenever I have to pack for travel for a trip, finding a way to pack my shoes always poses a problem, so I always fall back on the good old cellophane bags.

I recently went on one of such trips with a friend and when she was unpacking, I noticed she brought out her shoes from a fancy fabric bag.

I really loved it, so I thought to get one for myself (the DIY way) of course.

After making mine, I have to say that it was really easy to make and it was a good use of leftover fabric. It is also very functional, it can be washed, it can take more than one shoe and it would make for a nice party favor or souvenir.

What you need

1.       Fabric.

2.       Measuring tape.

3.       Sewing machine.

4.       Scissors.

5.       Matching thread.

6.       Rope or bias tape.

STEP ONE

Cut out two rectangles of equal dimension 13cm by 16cm.

STEP TWO

Lay the two rectangles on top each other with the right side of the material facing each other inwardly.

STEP THREE

With your sewing machine, sew together all the three sides of the rectangle leaving the top most side.

STEP FOUR

Fold the top hem of the two sides of the bag, sew along until it forms a tube. Turn the bag inside out and iron out all the edges.

STEP FIVE

Cut out your rope or bias tape approximately 30cm, attach the rope to a pen or a pencil and push one end of the rope through the tube on one side and move it through the other side and tie. You should be able to pull the rope to close your bag.

When you are done  you would have something like this.

I really enjoyed making this shoe bag and would definitely be making more as gifts for my friends.

How cool is this bag, and how do you pack your shoes when you travel?

Making a DIY cork mirror was literally the last thing on my DIY project  list till I saw a travel blogger showcasing her airbnb apartment and I spotted the cutest corked frame mirror. I already had a couple of wine corks saved for me by my cousins so it was perfect for me to frame my mirror with them.

I do this thing where I ask our followers on Instagram to guess what we are making.Seeing that we are one big happy  DIY loving family.

Empty cognac bottle and different wine corks

So a few days ago when  I asked  for guesses I got the most hilarious and interesting guesses. Everyone knew that the bottle  was going to be upcycled into a vase,but they couldn’t fathom what I was making with the wine corks. The guesses ranged from earrings to key holders and even table mat . I really loved the guesses as they gave me ideas of other DIYs to make with wine corks.

 Upcycled DIYs are cool because get to explore creativity and in your own way help to reduce the impact of waste on the environment.

WHAT YOU NEED

1.mirror(preferably framed)

2. wine corks(the more the merrier)

3.glue gun

4.cutter

5.news paper

6.white powder

STEP ONE

Put all your materials together,with your cutter cut your wine corks into desired shapes and sizes.

Cutting the cork with a cutter

I  wanted mine to be round and flat but you can cut any shape and size.its best to use a cutter or a knife.  P.S do not use a blade  to cut  the cork so you don’t injure yourself .

STEP TWO

After cutting all your wine corks the next thing you do is to cover  the front surface of your mirror with news paper so that the glue doesn’t adhere to the front surface of your mirror.

STEP THREE

With your glue gun, start adhering the corks to your mirror edges.Its best to use a glue gun for this DIY as other  know adhesives like the UHU would take a longer bonding  time.

STEP FOUR

When you are done with  gluing the cork to the mirror,you now remove the newspaper, pour some white powder on the mirror surface and clean with a felt cloth.

Voila! your DIY cork mirror is ready. Its so simple and easy to make.What are your thoughts?