The way these tiny treehouses interact with houseplants is similar to the work of artist Jedediah Corwyn Voltz, who selects potted plants and bonsai with shapes that mimic real trees and builds adorable, realistic mini treehouses around them. Voltz’s work is definitely on another level, and these flat-pack kits can’t be customized to your plants in quite the same way, but you can still achieve a similar effect.

The model kits come in a range of difficulty levels, some bearing dozens of intricate pieces. The easiest models are rated 3/5 for difficulty, while the ornate six-story “Temple of Supreme Serenity” is a full-on 5/5. It takes two to four hours for the average person to assemble one miniature structure, with minimal glueing required. The styles include several beautiful temples, multi-level pagodas, a dangling lantern-style treehouse, and a more conventional rustic treehouse. Even better, more designs will be unlocked as the campaign meets future stretch goals.

Speaking of lanterns, here’s one of the coolest things about these mini flat-pack treehouse kits. Each model comes with LED lights and batteries so you can turn the tiny treehouses into softly glowing lamps, illuminating their interiors so all the details are visible in the dark. Models like “Tropical Lookout” and “Home Base” even have minuscule furniture arranged inside, including couches, dining sets, and beds small enough for ants to lounge on.

If you want to work on these models with kids without worrying about losing all the small parts, the creators just released the option of choosing larger versions of each treehouse, which makes them a lot easier to build. The regularly sized models will sell for about $45 each, and the scaled-up versions will cost an extra $14. The Kickstarter campaign ends Thursday, October 15th, and they’ll likely be available for retail sale at some point in the near future.

“Ever since I was little I loved arts and crafts, and now design has become a key tool for my self expression,” says creator Lars. “I love the problem solving, being hands on, and the way I get to manifest my own reality. My goal in life is to bring a bit of joy and happiness to the world, and to empower creativity in others. But really, I just love creating awesome stuff! Honestly, designing a product and bringing it into market has been a huge ambition of mine since I was young. If you back this project, you are helping me achieve a very big dream!”

If you love the idea of building architectural models but your tastes are more modern, there are plenty of other kits available for you, too. Just check out these mini modern “dollhouses” by toymaker BrincaDADA!

The post Build Your Own Tiny Treehouses With This DIY Model Kit first appeared on Dornob.

Secret Scratch-Off Message Card

Secret messages give this DIY project an extra dose of fun. The front of this Father’s Day card features a hand-folded bow tie, while the inside features three scratch-off circles. To create it, you start by writing your message on either a piece of clear contact paper or some packing tape. Then, mix acrylic craft paint with a drop of dish soap and paint it over the message. Get the tutorial from Delia Creates.

Building Memories With Dad

If you already have some plastic or wooden building blocks that your kids aren’t using and a spare jar, this craft will cost you zero dollars, and it’s super thoughtful, to boot. Every weekend, they can choose a few blocks to put together and complete the activities.

The Seasoned Mom writes, “The kids and I recently sat down together and brainstormed a long list of their favorite activities to do with Dad. It wasn’t hard since he keeps us constantly on the go! Plus, each child had their favorites, so our jar quickly filled up when we began writing these different adventures onto individual building blocks.”

Scribble Mug

This personalized project requires nothing but a white ceramic mug and some paint pens, and even your littlest ones can contribute. First, stick on some stickers with fun shapes, which will remain white in the final design. Then let the kids go to town with the pens. Bake the mug for 30 minutes at 350 degrees for a long-lasting result.

Printable Father’s Day Card

Need something quick and last minute? All you have to do is download a printable card and have your child answer questions like “My dad is good at…” and “My dad is special because…” Voila! You’ve got a touching gift that also demonstrates your child’s handwriting progress. Get the tutorial at The Handcrafted Story.

Personalized Spatula

A personalized spatula is a sweet way to remind a BBQ-loving dad that his kids care. You can also adapt this idea to all sorts of other tools, from hammers to gardening implements. Paint markers are an easy way to decorate the handle, but you could also use acrylic paints, permanent markers, or Mod Podge on some collaged paper elements. Get the tutorial at Skip to My Lou.

Tool Box Paper Cut-Out Card

Older kids and teens can mimic the look of this fun 3D tool box-themed card by Cat Scrapbooking by drawing and cutting out the shapes of various tools and gluing them onto a folded base. There’s no tutorial, but as you can see from the photo, the folding is pretty simple and easy to replicate.

Waxed Canvas Tool Apron

Here’s a more advanced craft that’s an appropriate gift from adults as well as kids. Whether your dad’s an artist, a cook, a woodworker, or just handy around the house, he could probably use a durable tool apron. This one from The Merrythought requires a little bit of sewing skill (and a sewing machine) and calls for DIY waxed canvas, but you could also use denim or reuse whatever you have around, as long as it’s durable enough.

The post Celebrate Dad With These 7 Easy DIY Father’s Day Gifts first appeared on Dornob.

A variety of small businesses are now offering cloth masks for sale at a range of prices, including organic cotton options, but you can also make some yourself, whether you have a sewing machine or not.

The most important considerations for a CDC-compliant face mask are breathability and washability. Cotton fabrics can help block viral aerosols without making it harder to breathe, which is especially important if you happen to be infected with COVID-19 but don’t have symptoms yet. Above all else, multiple layers of a tightly woven natural fabric like quilting cotton or cotton sheets are the most effective of DIY cloth options.

Bandana and Hair Elastic Method

First up is the easiest DIY no-sew cloth mask, which just requires a handkerchief and two hair elastics. Demonstrated on YouTube by Japanese Creations, this tutorial takes just a couple minutes of simple folding to complete.

Coffee Filter Method

A slightly more protective option adds a coffee filter in the middle of a layered bandana. First, fold your square bandana in half, cut the coffee filter horizontally across the middle, and place the wide section of the filter in the middle of the folded bandana. Then, fold the bottom third of the bandana up to the middle and the top third down, as directed in the CDC’s no-sew method. Loop a rubber band or hair tie around each end, leaving a few inches of fabric on either side to fold inward. Then loop the elastics around your ears, and viola! A perfectly usable face covering.

Pleated Fabric Method

Hospital group Kaiser Permanente offers a tutorial for pleated fabric masks using fabric ties, which are more comfortable to wear for longer periods than elastic. Plus, the pleats give the fabric room to fit the contours of your face. You’ll need one piece of fabric 15.5 inches long and 7.5 inches wide, two strips of fabric 36 inches long and 1.5 inches inches wide, a sewing machine, and thread.

If all of this sounds like too much trouble, check out these options: a pack of four organic cotton masks for $23 at Avocado Mattress; a five-pack of assorted colorful “fashion” masks from L.A.’s Sanctuary for $28; a single organic cotton face mask from Everybody.World for $10, and Buck Mason’s reusable cotton mask, which includes an anti-microbial coating on the inside, five for $20.

Remember, face masks are no substitute for physical distancing and frequent hand washing, which are among the most effective ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Stay at home except for essential trips, avoid touching your face, remain at least six feet away from other people when you’re out, and regularly disinfect frequently touched surfaces in your home. When removing your mask, grab it by the straps instead of the mouth area, and wash your hands afterward.

The post 3 Ways to Make Your Own CDC-Approved Face Masks first appeared on Dornob.

In reality, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Converting a van can be a costly process, and hiring professionals to do it for you isn’t cheap. Standard camper vans easily cost over $80,000, while luxury models can cost as much as $200,000. If you opt to go the DIY camper van conversion route, you’re looking at a ton of labor, and even doing almost everything yourself adds up fast. But if you’re determined to make it work, there are ways.

Check out this $1,000 camper van build by Grace and Marlon of “The Sweet Savory Life.” Nicknamed “Flippie,” this 2017 Ram Promster 1500 cargo van started out as bare as vans get. Now, it’s a comfortable abode, thanks almost entirely to products purchased at IKEA. And this isn’t a recreational vehicle that gets occasional weekend use and sits in a driveway the rest of the time. This is the couple’s full-time home.

Grace explains: “We had to figure out what we wanted to have in the van based on the lifestyle we plan on living. Aside from the obvious things like the kitchen and bed, we added a desk, shower, cabinets, and drawers to our must-have list. We had to assess what things we’re bringing in the van and how much storage we really needed. At this point, we had already been living minimally in our backpacks for over a year and camping out on my in-law’s couch. We needed some storage but not that much! Also, I wanted a rear kitchen (very uncommon) and a desk (considered a luxury for many van design) in the van. Trying to figure out the layout was not at all fun, poor husband! He’s the one who tirelessly took measurements and laid out our floor plan over and over again!”

“After an exhaustive few months of trying to figure out our floor plan, we figured how little we knew about how this new living situation would look like for us. The best decision we’ve made was to move in with only our backpacks and two gaming chairs that reclined flat and served as our bed. We started living in our bare cargo van part-time in the middle of winter without insulation! This really helped us finally create our final floor plan! Most especially the need to insulate! Though our floor plan was set, we still wanted our build to be open-ended! Meaning… we want to be able to easily take it apart or switch it around if needed. And this is where the versatility of our build comes to place. We can easily gut it out and take everything apart if we want a completely different layout down the road.”

That’s where IKEA comes in. While most van conversions rely heavily on custom built-in elements, Grace and Marlon didn’t have carpentry skills, didn’t want to buy tools, and had to keep their budget low. As it turns out, all of the stuff they bought was pretty easy to mount to the IKEA SKADIS pegboard walls for safety — not to mention the fact that they’re lightweight and easily replaceable. Going off of that, they chose furnishings that wouldn’t be damaged by road vibration.

The couple uses the BALKARP full-size sleeper sofa as a convertible bed, placing it just behind the cab to free up the rest of the space for a kitchen and workspace. On their blog, they lay out every single element they purchased and how much it cost (though that total does not include items like their Eco power bank station and refrigerator).

All in all, this DIY van conversion would be impressive even if the couple were only using it for fun. The fact that they’re able to live in it just shows how successful their plan turned out to be.

The post DIY Van Life: Camper Conversion Completed with IKEA Products first appeared on Dornob.

During a recession we want everything we do to be cheaper and easier – projects cannot take the place of work (or of finding a job) but no one wants to sacrifice style for convenience either. This clever do-it-yourself concrete clothing hanger is a great blend of easy-to-make, cheap materials and innovative look.

While frustrated by constantly-breaking coat hooks and simultaneously working on an unrelated project to fill light bulbs with concrete for artistic purposes, well, it is clear what happened next: the idea to fuse these two make-it-yourself projects into one cleverly functional idea.

The process and plans are pretty simple – undo the bottom of the bulb, fill it with concrete, add a lag bolt and seal it back up. After it dries, crack the glass and screw it into the wall. The result is durable and visually engaging though somewhat eccentric and industrial as well.

If you like the design but don’t want to go to the trouble of making one yourself, the project’s designer also has them available for sale online.

“Last winter after breaking out the serious cold weather gear, I found myself fighting the coat rack next to the front door. It was, to put it bluntly, failing miserably. Tipping over, breaking off, it was a mess. I swore before the next winter I would drive some serious hooks into the wall that would handle all my heavy overcoat needs. I just haven’t seen any kickass hooks yet that I liked enough to justify making serious holes in my walls.”

“I’ve been playing around, trying to make a concrete lightbulb. Why? Because I find the contrast of blending a new material like concrete in an everyday shape like a lightbulb to be a great design element. So while messing around with these guys, I realized this would be a great excuse to drive lag bolts into my wall for hooks. By embedding a lag bolt into the concrete lightbulb, I could make a wall hook that was useful enough to handle anything I wanted to hang off it. Thus this project was born.”

The post DIY Concrete Light Bulb: Make Your Own Coat Hooks first appeared on Dornob.

Who says you can’t bottle (and distribute) genius? Developed in Brazil to address under-illuminated slums, this simple design idea for a DIY solar lamp has been adopted by MIT students and expanded to other developing areas where many low-income homes lack access to either daylight or electricity.

The physics of the concept are straightforward: the bottles are placed in roofs – half outside, half inside – and their lower portions refract light like 60-Watt light bulb but without the need for a power source. A few drops of bleach serve to keep the water clear, clean and germ-free for years to come.

In total, one of these do-it-yourself lights takes maybe an hour to install, cutting an appropriate hole, inserting a bleached-water-filled bottle, and resealing around the resulting gap. Even where clean water is rare, a little can generally be spared for a half-decade of lighting.

We take for granted our electric lights, windows and skylights to access the sun’s glow, but for those living in close-together shacks with corrugated-metal roofs, a stray ray is welcome, and something that can spread light to the darkest interior corners can be a dream come true.

Want to make your own? Check out these instructions from Matter of Trust:

“A solar bottle light bulb, an innovation introduced in the Philippines by Illac Diaz of MyShelter Foundation, as a cheap alternative to other light sources. It was an ingenious invention by an engineer in Brazil. It is called “bottle bulb” because it is made of an empty 1.5 liter soda bottle and in it is a liquid bleach and purified water that can be used as an alternative electric powered light bulb. However, it is only useful during daytime but its luminance was tested and shown to produce as much light as a 50W incandescent bulb.

How to make your own Solar Bottle Light Bulb?

The materials are the following: 1.5 liter soda bottle, 1’x1’ roof sheet material, purified water, camera film dispenser, chlorine and a rubber sealant.”

Get the rest of the tutorial here.

The post Solar Bottle Lamps: Water + Bleach = Light first appeared on Dornob.

Of course, industrious #vanlifers and people who convert other vehicles (like city buses) into campers also took note. The Class 8 heavy-duty semi-trailer truck boasts an impressive range of 300 to 500 miles, and it charges in less than 30 minutes using a solar-powered “Tesla Megacharger” charging station so drivers can “fuel” up virtually anywhere. That’s not just a big perk for truckers, either — it would also make road trips a lot more convenient.

They might not have their hands on an actual Tesla Semi just yet, but the folks at Vanlifer, who produce products and information for camper van owners, are already chomping at the bit to convert one. They’ve even produced “The Case for a Tesla Semi-Home,” which is really just an illustration of how it could be adapted for use as a tiny vacation home on wheels.

“So far this is a concept, but we are working on creating an accurate 3D model which will be used for quoting to see if this is a viable project,” says Vanlifer founder Jason Hablous. “Of course, we’ll only know for sure once the Tesla Semi is launched whether it’s something that could ever go ahead — but we’re hopeful.”

Hablous laid out the reasons why the Tesla Semi would be such a great base for a camper conversion in a recent blog post. Based on the mileage of a freight truck, the Tesla Semi promises a fuel savings of $200,000 over two years, and its range means you could get through long driving days without worrying about how much fuel you’re burning or whether you’ll be able to find gas stations in remote places.

The Tesla Semi is also capable of running on just two of its four motors, so if something goes wrong with one or even two, you won’t find yourself stuck on the side of the road. Indeed, the company guarantees “a million miles” of driving before it ever breaks down. The cab is also very spacious. Vanlifer notes that at $180,000, the Semi would come in at the low end of the price scale for luxury high-end motorhomes even after conversion, and especially when you take fuel savings into account.

When the concept was first announced, experts were quick to point out that converting trucks like the Tesla Semi wouldn’t be feasible until electrical grids around the world got a major upgrade, and that connecting to them to charge vehicles still uses significant amounts of fossil fuels. But if Tesla can really pull off the kind of powerful solar charger it says it’s producing for the Semi, they might not need to connect to the grid at all.

In July, a seemingly driverless Tesla Semi was spotted on a highway in California, prompting speculation that the energy and automotive company might actually be on track to get this thing on the market by next year. Be sure to check back with us for updates on this exciting new technology.

The post Van Enthusiasts Turn the Tesla Semi-Truck Into a Camper first appeared on Dornob.

The post 2 Cheap DIY Corner Desks with Shelves first appeared on Dornob.

You can buy all kinds of bizarre things on Amazon: steaks, live bugs, rare books, life-size Tyrannosaurus rex skull replicas, camel milk, fake buckets of uranium ore, and virtually any other gag gift you can possibly imagine. The retail behemoth is the world’s largest marketplace with over 562 million products to sift through, so it’s no surprise that it has now become a place where you can also purchase entire houses with a single click.

The Allwood Solvalla is one such structure, and it costs a mere $7,250. That may be more than you pay for most of your Amazon purchases, but in terms of actual housing, it’s almost nothing, equal to the cost of just a few months of rent in many apartments. This tiny home kit can also be assembled in just eight hours by two people with no prior building experience. Measuring 172 square feet, the backyard studio is made of Nordic wood and comes with everything you need except roofing shingles and foundation materials, which add up to an additional $320.

Naturally, there’s a catch. Allwood, the manufacturer of the house, says the Solvalla is really intended for use as a home office, pool house, yoga studio, or guest room, since there’s no bathroom or kitchen included inside. There’s also no chance of ordering it with Prime and finding the kit on your doorstep within a matter of days. No, each Solvalla kit is made to order, taking at least 45 days to process and ship after you hit the “Buy Now” button.

“This timeless design is an alternative to classic log cabin-styled structures,” reads the description on Allwood’s website. “It works well in a variety of surroundings and can be a guest house, home office, granny flat, or even a retail space. The versatile Solvalla can also be set up on rooftops of multi-story buildings. Assembly of this solid wood structure takes a full day for two adults. Do-it-yourself simple step-by-step directions come with the kit and only minimal tools are needed. We may also be able to install the cabin for you.”

The Solvalla’s design is streamlined and modern, with about half of its area walled in and the other half open to the outdoors. The enclosed part of the house measures less than 100 square feet, which means there’s probably no way to shoehorn in your own bathroom or kitchenette there. Still, it’s a pretty cool (and budget-friendly) way to add more space to your pre-existing home, and its availability on a platform as popular as Amazon has gained the manufacturer a ton of attention.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of buying a tiny house at such a low price but need a bit more indoor space, Allwood has other models that could work for you, including the more traditionally styled Claudia, a 209-square-foot cabin that sells for $7,990 with free shipping. Lots of other companies offer similar kits at similar price points, too, which could be an attractive way to get started on your own low-cost tiny house project without spending thousands of hours doing all the work yourself.

The post Amazon’s New DIY Guest House Can Be Built in Just 8 Hours first appeared on Dornob.

What do you get when you add a dash of 21st-century technology to home improvement tools? Much more accurate measurements and the potential for better results, even if you’re not an experienced handy person or carpenter. Plott’s new range of tools for DIY projects and professional construction work uses augmented reality to banish all the little inaccuracies that arise during the building process, like parts that don’t line up correctly. Plus, they look like a lot of fun to use.

Based in New Jersey, Plott is a collective of engineers, designers, creatives, inventors, military veterans, ”weekend warriors,” and DIYers dedicated to producing smart technology that blends the real world with digital tools. Whether you’re designing custom shelving for your kitchen or just trying to hang some photos on the wall, Plott’s “Cubit” and “Carta” tools are guaranteed to save you time you might otherwise spend double-checking your measurements and doing math, allowing you to really focus on the finished product.

After polling a number of seasoned DIYers, Plott determined that many of them felt like the calculations required to pull off high-quality projects were simply too complex, and that what they ended up with rarely matched the ideas they had in their heads before getting started. The company’s star product, the Cubit, aims to change that by using augmented reality to virtually measure any space using lasers and a smart wheel — no guesstimating required. The accompanying Cubit app then allows you to design virtually using real-world scale and context, so you can see exactly what your project will look like when you’re done. You can also share your completed projects on the app and browse other people’s projects for inspiration.

The company calls the Cubit “a GPS for your creativity,” adding that it’s “the first tool to use AR to bring your dimensional data to your smart device and bring it back into the real world after you have manipulated it. This means that after you measure your space and arrange it to your liking in the app using Mixed Reality, Cubit will then guide you with turn-by-turn directions to make your design a reality, bringing your project to life.”

Then there’s the Carta, which allows you to map out an area by walking a smart wheel on a stick along the ground, which could really come in handy if you’re building a garden path, shed, or some other outdoor project. Just take a picture of your planned workspace and walk around the area to create an interactive digital map, adding notes and pictures as you go. It’ll also calculate distances between two points for areas you can’t traverse, like thorny brush or slopes.

“Carta enables you to create a canvas where visual references gets pooled together with dimensional data. By bringing together pictures, notes, maps, links etc., and putting it all in dimensional context. It enables you to see how your plan will look, as well as how it will fit. Once you’re done with design, Carta will help you bring that design to [fruition].”

All in all, Plott’s tools offer a cool way for the math-avoidant to pull off all sorts of DIY ideas with aplomb, and they’re an interesting example of how augmented reality can help tremendously in the process of designing and creating.

The post Plott’s Augmented Reality Tools Help You Measure with Precision first appeared on Dornob.

Finding yourself in need of a new laptop stand? You don’t have to spend any money at all. Before you go shopping for a product that’s little more than a platform to elevate your computer off your work surface, check out this simple DIY laptop stand tutorial that makes use of a common waste material.

It might not look terribly impressive at first glance, but think for a second on how functional – and cheap – this basic laptop stand design is. It is highly portable, requires nothing you do not already own and costs next to nothing to construct.

The essential steps are fairly self-explanatory: collect a pair of scissors, a used cardboard box and print out the simple shapes you will need to overlay on the cardboard in order to begin cutting out the three pieces to create the stand. Since corrugated cardboard is surprisingly strong for its weight, just two pieces will effectively do all the work to support your laptop.

Fitting together like a puzzle, the recycled cardboard pieces require no glue or fasteners, which means they can come apart as easily as they go together for maximum portability and future reuse. Just slot them together and voila, you’ve got a stand that will last you a while and didn’t cost you a cent.

If you’re not crazy about the look of this one, it would be easy to take the idea and customize it to your liking, with a different shape or size. You really don’t even have to have the pattern or print out any pieces; you might be able to eyeball the example and reproduce it on your own.

The instructions for the version pictured here can be found in greater detail at Green Upgrader, and a slightly more complex (but cooler-looking) Steampunk version can be seen at Thingiverse. 

The post How to Make a Recycled Cardboard Laptop Stand first appeared on Dornob.

The post 5 DIY Wine Bottle Lamp Projects first appeared on Dornob.

Each tire is uniquely hand-painted with a different design and has holes cut into its sides for handles. The dog’s name then gets painted on the outside of the bed for a lovable personalized touch. Of course, the beds are not just for dogs, as some of the local cats have also been using them to take naps in. Silva has also been experimenting with other ways to utilize these tires, thus far crafting a series of quirky flower beds, succulent planters, and even a tire Christmas tree! Even more recently, he created four recycling bins out of them and a set of bright cushioned futons for human use.

After acquiring the tires, Silva washes, cuts, and paints them, using spray paint and stencils to create the quirky patterns and pet names that adorn the outsides. He then uses a sewing machine to stitch together the fabrics he uses for the bedding and pillows, ensuring his furry patrons quality comfort. Unfortunately, many of the strays that Silva and his friends find are not in great health and require immediate medical attention, but the team does their best to bathe the animals and nurse them back their energetic, adorable selves.

Silva’s designs have stormed the internet in recent months, his Instagram feed filling with motivational messages and praises from the 20,000-plus people who admire his heart and imagination. He’s also taken a public stance on his desire to eradicate unnecessary violence in Brazil, captioning one of his posts: “The Brazil that I want is a Brazil with less violence and more work. I’m not making an apology for crime, quite the contrary. Do as I do. Instead of a weapon, put a tool in your hand and go fix your life. Who knows, it might even change the reality of our Brazil.”

The craftsman says that he always enjoyed DIY projects and was looking for a way to reduce waste in the streets of Brazil while simultaneously funding his own lifestyle. To this day, Silva continues to run his upcycling business from his own backyard, bringing joy to the streets of Campina Grande as much as he can. Silva hopes that his upcycled dog beds will have a fruitful future in inspiring other positive impact products that contribute to a more sustainable way of living.

What an inspiring and incredible journey!

The post Brazilian Craftsman Upcycles Old Tires into Dog Beds for Local Strays first appeared on Dornob.

The post DIY Concrete & Wood Coat Rack first appeared on Dornob.

Etsy is a creative hub for artists and crafters who design and sell their often idiosyncratic goods via individualized virtual stores. It’s the mecca for finding one-off cut stones, personalized charms, and quirky gifts. While it’s always great to support the world’s artists, navigating the vast site can be overwhelming, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight three unique and slightly unusual jewelry makers that will leave you questioning why the big guys in their field aren’t already copying them.

Danielle Rose Bean

Mother and crafter Danielle Rose Bean opened her Etsy store a little over a decade ago, and ever since, she’s been growing and developing her jewelry to reflect the unique style that her followers have come to adore her for. Utilizing stones like quartz and hand-hammering copper and gold into distressed-looking metal earrings, chains, charms, and bangles, Danielle has built quite the reputation for her quality designs inspired by celestial imagery.

Something that all visitors to Danielle’s store should check out is her uniquely-colored hammered metal hoop earrings. Danielle created these “fierce” rainbow accessories using 10 grams of solid copper, which, after being molded into circular shapes, was flame-painted with a torch and sealed with clear coat. Available in 11 different measurements, all her products are made to order out of recycled materials. These earrings are also available in a multitude of different styles, including ombre black and silver and sterling silver crystal encrusted.

Therese Kumpel

Handmade using metals and stones, Chicago-based metalsmith and sculptor Therese Kuempel’s lighter cases are so ethereal that you’ll want to stick them on a chain and wear them around your neck — which, as it turns out, is pretty much exactly what you can do with them. Her cases are all made using onyx, opal, turquoise, quartz, and druzy. A big fan of the lost-wax casting method, Kuempel also designs and creates fashionable jewelry from quality metals and adorning stones, such as these brass-painted gold stud earrings and onyx and opal rings and charm pendants.

Sivan Sova

Israel-based goldsmith Sivan Sova has been designing and creating jewelry for over 10 years now, ever since she she graduated from the Shenkar College of Design and Engineering. She began by integrating miniatures into quality metal pendants, creating tiny magical realms within the casing of her handcrafted charms. Utilizing imagery that she believes to be universal in understanding (human experiences, journeys through nature, etc.), Sivan gives her all to imbue positive messages into her work. Her main objective is to churn out unique jewelry that will be worn and adored for a lifetime.

All of the pieces in Sivan’s “Little Boxes” collection bear a hefty price tag, but seeing as she only uses completely original designs and real gold and silver, it’s safe to say that they’re all pretty worth it. One of Sivan’s most iconic pieces is a 14k gold-and-blue topaz pendant, which depicts a female character rowing a wooden boat through a tropical paradise with palm trees and coconuts all around.

The post 3 Unique Jewelry Makers to Watch on Etsy first appeared on Dornob.

Grow Your Own Garden

Using a bunch of old wood pallets, you can create a flower bed that’s large enough to sit on your porch or small enough to slot into your garden between your existing succulents, flowers, and vegetables — anything your heart desires, really. This is ideal for those people who live in apartments with balconies, as it allows them to create planters that still leave space for other outdoor activities. Grow your own basil to spruce up your evening meals, or cultivate a mini strawberry garden to grow your own dessert. It’ll help you save money on groceries and give you a healthy hobby to enjoy during the warmer months!

Headboard

Been endlessly scrolling through Pinterest looking at bedroom inspo all day? We know we certainly have, and we love that “old world” rustic aesthetic that’s currently dominating the millennial interior industry. Use the pallets as they are or give them a lick of paint to match your décor, place them behind your bed, and voila! An authentic, upcycled headboard that’ll help bring that earthy, bohemian vibe you’ve been going for to life. Just make sure to thoroughly wash them before bringing the outdoors in. After all, you don’t want any uninvited guests crawling around your mattress late at night.

Wood Pallet Radiator Cover

This one’s an especially lovely idea for those who want to keep their humble abodes cozy but don’t want unsightly heaters or radiators spoiling the aesthetic. Large wood pallets can be used to cover these heating appliances simply by being turned on their sides. When oriented as such, they also double as shelving units, allowing you to kill two birds with one stone.

Bookshelf

If you’ve already managed to bag yourself a couple wood pallets, why not get crafty with a saw and hammer and use them to design your own bookcase? Cut, carve, and slot together beams to create a statement piece for your library, living room, or office. Not only will it spark conversation among your guests, but it’ll also make for a proud and beautiful display of your hard work and ingenuity.

Sofas, Beds, and Sofa Beds

Most home DIYers who take on wood pallet projects tend to use them as foundations for homemade beds and other pieces of cushioned furniture. Because they’re so tough, using them to hold up mattresses and soft furnishings is actually a great way to save money on décor. Plus, you can always use the gaps in the slats for extra storage.

Compost Bin

If you couldn’t already tell, these multifunctional pieces of hardware can also be used for outdoor projects. It’ll take a while for them to weather, and since they’re formed from a natural material, they tend to look a lot more at home in the garden than large brightly-colored plastic containers. Simply nail five pallets together (or use zip ties) to form a compost bin that will efficiently ventilate the organic matter it holds.

Workbench

If you’re an artist, inventor, mechanic, painter, model maker, gardener, or anyone else who needs a place where they can comfortably get messy, you should definitely consider using wood pallets to make yourself the perfect workbench. Use three fair-sized pallets to form the table and add shelves wherever necessary — it’s entirely yours to customize.

All images sourced from Pinterest.com

The post 7 Fun Wood Pallet Projects to Up Your Décor first appeared on Dornob.