DIY Follow Your Dreams Wall Hanging

All it takes is 10 minutes to put this happy plate up. no messy ceramic nails and no need to worry about the ceramic plate breaking into pieces should it drop.

Materials:
A paper plate
A blob of blue tack
Markers/colour pencils/crayons whichever colouring materials you prefer

Steps:
1. Draw
2. Paste on wall
3. Done!

Weekend DIY Neon Planter

Trending now, macrame planters! They are not as daunting as they look and you can try it yourself. It took us all of 30 minutes to make this the first time round. Discover a new way to hang your plants.

What you need:
- 8 pieces of paper/cloth twine, each measuring 1m  (we bought ours from DAISO for $2; see image for reference
- 4 pieces of tape about 3 cm each (masking tape/scotchtape/MT tape; this is just to tape down the sections later)
- Scissors
- Plant Pot
- 6 - 8 Drinking Straws (any colours)
- A Plant :)

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Step 1 - Get your materials ready

Step 2: 
- Tie the 8 pieces of twine together with a simple knot, ensuring all pieces are all equal length when tied.
- At the longer ends, divide the 8 pieces of twine into sections of 2. Then tape them down lightly. (as shown).

Step 3: 
- Cut your straws about 1 inch long to form the base support for the planter
- Put the straws through each piece of twine as shown. You will end up using 8 pieces of 1 inch straws.
- Tie a simple knot for each section of 2 pieces of twine as shown
- Try to tie close to where the straws end so that the base is sturdier
- Tape down to secure sections in place cos it can get messy
- You have completed the base! Hooray!

Step 4: Section 2
- Add 8 new pieces of 1 inch straws to each piece of twine.
- We used the blue straws for illustrative purpose for Section 2. You can use any colours

Step 5: Re-section - Section 2
- Tie 1 piece of twine with dark blue straw and 1 piece of twine with light blue straw and tie a simple knot
- You will end up with a V-shape section. Total 4 sections as shown

Step 6: Section 3 - That's the end!
- Add another 8 pieces of 1 inch straws to each of the twines
- We used pink and yellow straws for illustrative purposes
- Tie each of the twines with pink and yellow straws together, creating another V-section as shown. Total 4 sections

Step 7:
- Turn the base over as shown. In case you have not noticed, we've been working the planter from the top down
- Place your pot dead center, pull all the twines up, tie a final simple knot depending on how long you want your planter to drop and you are done!

   Original Instructions adapted from Brit+Co

DIY Coasters for the Home

Make these coasters as gifts or hang it up on the walls as a decorative accent

All you need are:
- Cork coasters (IKEA Singapore has them cheap, 10 pcs at a few dollars, we bought the circular ones)
- Acrylic Paints (We bought fluorescent yellow, fluorescent pink and white. Buy whatever colour you fancy!)
- Masking Tape (Try to use the thinner ones, perhaps 0.5cm in width. These will be used for colour blocking
- Paint Brush (Any type will do)
- A water container to rinse your brush
- A paper plate/palette

Time Required: Approximately 30 minutes

Makes 5 coasters

Step 1
Mark out the areas you want the cork surface to show up. We used polka dotted tapes to illustrate this. Try to use the thinner masking tapes. We realised more colours showing up seems to be more impactful.

Step 2
Start Painting. Have fun. Explore. You may want to wait for each coat of paint to dry before painting the next coat. We realised that cork seems to absorb the acrylic paint so it may take a few coats before the paint becomes opaque and that's when the cork surface stops showing through.

Step 3
Remove the masking tape. Here comes the fun part. You are done. Some folks recommend a sealant but as long as you don't wash the coasters under running water, you should be fine!

Saving unfinished cross stitch pieces... one at a time

Here at EXCESSIVE WONDERS, we labour over cross-stitch pieces which lay unfinished for various reasons. Send your 'half-way there' or 'not even there' pieces to us and we will help you realise your work. Contact us at 92274074 (Agnes) or at excessivewonders@gmail.com for a quick quote.

DIY No. 1 :: 180114 :: Make your own tissue box cover with maps

For the longest time, we were toying with the idea of replacing our tired tissue box cover. Guess what, we finally got to it. Armed with a map, foolhardiness and a sense of adventure, we did it. Try this yourself! We guarantee instant gratification :)

Time Required: 20 - 30 minutes

Stuff You Need: Scissors, an old map, a tissue box (do base it on a size you usually purchase), tape, pencil, ruler

Step 1: Wrap the tissue box entirely, much like how you would wrap a box-shaped package. Try not to over-lap the ends of the map too much when you are closing the ends. This will make it easier to cut the bottom out so that you can fit the cover on any tissue box in future.

Step 2: Mark out the bottom of the tissue box edges on the map, using a thin line. Cut off the rectangular bottom and you get this.

Step 3: Mark out a little opening at the top of the cover using a pencil. We chose a rectangular opening. Cut out the opening according to your pencil marking.

Step 5: Carefully reinforce all edges of the cover with some tape so that it will last a while.

Step 6: Done! Step back and admire your handiwork!

Inspiration :: My Name is Simone and her lovely dolls

We were reading Simone's bio and one sentence gelled with us. 'Being adult is no fun'. And that was the premise of Simone's work, which injects a sense of colour into the typical mundane world of adults.

My Name is Simone

My Name is Simone

My Name is Simone

My Name is Simone

Inspiration :: Maud Vantours and her paper creations

A talented textiles and materials designer, Maud Vantours astounds with paper, using it pervasively in set design for the likes of Saint Laurent, Annick Goutal, editorials and 3D paper construction.

Maud Vantours US

Maud Vantours US

Maud Vantours

Maud Vantours

Origami at its 'biggest' - Sipho Mabona

Sipho Mabona, a professional origami artist, challenges the notion of the confines of a square piece of paper, and the end result is jaw-dropping. Talk about raising the bar of a childhood game of folding paper aeroplanes. Through a campaign at Indiegogo, he has raised a total of USD24000, this life-size paper elephant, made out of 125 sqm of square paper, is on show at the Art Museum in Beromunster, Switzerland.

Source: thisiscolossal

Source: thisiscolossal

Source: thisiscolossal

Source:thisiscolossal

A fun weekend project we thoroughly enjoyed

Tried our hands at using washi tape to cross-stitch a PacMan design, not too bad but perhaps darker eyes? Do use a simple design or risk a backache trying to stand and work out 2700 stitches. Google 'simple cross stitch designs' for a start and have fun! This design took us approximately 1/2 hour. Have a go and share your artwork with us at our Facebook page 

Clever ideas - Sculpture from toilet rolls

Every now and then, we come across something that surprises us, and this is one of them. Truly clever, Anastessia Elias, a French illustrator and paper artist, astounds us with her intricate dioramas, tiny neat worlds contained within the humble toilet roll. 

Source: Anastassia Elias - Diptyque

 

Source: Anastassia Elias  - Chinese Windows

Source: Anastassia Elias - Circus

Source: Anastassia Elias - Rain

Reinventing Cross Stitch - Evelin Kasikov

Another one of numerous talented designers to have emerged from the Central St. Martins College, we are so into designers bent on re-inventing cross-stitch. Evelin Kasikov proved her mettle through modernising the cross stitch, once considered as 'granny' and 'craft-like'. All her works push the boundaries of craft and design, and are thoroughly modern and ingenious.

Source: Evelin Kasikov

Source: Evelin Kasikov

Source: Evelin Kasikov

Source: Evelin Kasikov

Washi Tape Cross Stitch

Saw these wickedly clever, simple and beautiful washi tape cross stitch designs from decor4all. Can't wait to try it out this weekend. Any suggestions for motifs perhaps?

http://www.pinterest.com/caraschramm/washi-tape/

http://www.decor4all.com/cross-stitch-patterns-empty-walls-quick-colorful-wall-decorating-idea/16787/

Modern Cross-stitch Inspiration

Once in a while, things come along and you remark to yourself, 'Why didn't I think of that?' This is one of those instances.

Source: Charlotte Lancelot

Photo credit: Charlotte Lancelot

Photo credit: Decor4all