Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Woven Bamboo Fibers Placemat Box

Did you know that bamboo is grass - not wood? I'm sure many of you have used bamboo placemats in your home - I'm talking about the ones with thin rounded bamboo sticks held together with thread. But have you seen the ones made from thin, soft bamboo fibers or threads that eliminate the rigid wooden sticks - offering a cloth feel without any hard slats? Well, that's what I'll be using to make a woven bamboo fibers placemat box! And in a purple hue, too, lol!!!

But before I get started with my tutorial, it's time for our monthly Creative Craft Hop! WELCOME! The hop is co-hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather and Donna @Modern on Monticello who take turns every other month! The lovely and talented Donna is our host for this month! I'm so glad you're here checking out our creative projects for the month of August! If you're coming over from Sara's - wasn't her polymer clay waffle amazing! Sara is so creative and inspiring! And at the very end of my tutorial, I'll be directing you to the next amazing creative crafter on this hop.

As I mentioned earlier, this box is made from placemats that are tightly hand woven bamboo made from thin, soft bamboo fibers (threads) like the ones shown below:

Looks interesting, doesn't it! So let's get started!

Materials:

Bamboo placemats
Ruler/pencil/scissors
Unfinished wood blocks - 5"x3"
Super Fabri-Tac glue
Mod Podge/paint brush
Flower petal paper template/quarter/decorative button
Magnetic snap/clip

How To:

Let's start with measuring the wood blocks (5" wide) I'll be using to cut a strip of placemat material to cover the sides of the blocks and . . .

cut out!

Add Super Fabri-Tac glue to the five inch smooth side of the wood pieces and . . .

lay directly onto the cutout strip of placemat, smoothing it out, and let dry.

Once dry, apply glue to both of one of the narrow ends of the wood blocks and place on the side ends of the placemat just above the folded end.

Continue adding glue to all three sides of the wood . . .

making sure to leave the fourth (wider) side for the lid bare(which is not glued).

Then standing the wood blocks and placemat up to add glue to the shorter ends.

Once that's done, pulling the placemat over the third (smaller) sides of the wood to seal and let dry.

And finally, all three sides (check marked) are glued and sealed in place!

For the outside front flap, make a decorative flower out of placemat scraps that were left over from the first cutting to cover the wood blocks. Do this by decoupaging (to seal the fibers together) a scrap piece of placemat (I forgot to take a picture of applying the Mod Podge to the placemat scrap), let dry and then make a 1" paper petal template to cut out six petals.

Use a quarter to cut out the center piece to attach the petals to.

Then glue on each petal to the center piece . . .

until all six petals are . . .

glued in place. Let dry.

Then glue on a decorative button for the center. How adorable does this look!

And finally, add a magnetic snap to the front flap and bottom front to keep the box closed!

Once the magnetic snaps are in place, glue on the decorative flower on the front where the prongs are showing . . .

holding in place with a clip until the glue is dry.

Now, stand back and admire your creation!

A stylish and functional storage solution for organizing just about anything - keepsakes, jewelry, household items - even some of your craft supplies!

Up next is Donna, one of our co-hosts, sharing her very adorable and cool macrame butterfly bag charms! And be sure to check out Donna's and all of the creative craft projects listed below for this month:

Crochet a Cozy Chenille Steering Wheel Cover

DIY Decorative Tray: An Easy Wrapping Paper Project

Sassy Polymer Clay Waffle

Woven Bamboo Fibers Placemat Box

DIY Macrame Butterfly Bag Charms for Kids

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Outdoor CD Mobile Suncatcher DIY

7:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me CD Mobile Suncatcher, Do It Over Designers Blog Hop, Recycle/Upcycle Crafts 17 comments

Right now, I am slowly trying to declutter some of the stuff (junk) my hubby and I have in our home! You know that's difficult for me to do since I'm a crafter! But I recently came across a box of old CDs we use to play in our cars! Looking through the titles brought back wonderful memories and I was very hesitant to throw them out! So I grabbed the box and put them aside to decide what I wanted to do with them!

But before we get started with the "what happened next," Welcome to this month's "Do It Over Designers" blog hop! In case you've forgotten, the Do It Over Designers is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, that's hosted by Ann @The Apple Street Cottage. It happens the 4th Saturday of every other month and it's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new.

Continuing on about the CDs, there are so many crafts you can make with old CDs! Imagine repurposing those old CDs collecting dust into something beautiful! Breathing new life into otherwise discarded materials by making an outdoor CD mobile suncatcher - especially this time of year! The CD's reflective surface is perfect for catching light! It's a great way to let your outdoor space sparkle by harnessing the power of sunlight and breeze to create a mesmerizing atmosphere with a CD mobile suncatcher!

Materials:

Old CDs
Utility knife
Heavy duty packaging tape
Ruler/marker
Hole puncher
Prism Rainbow Decal Clings
Fishing line or clear nylon thread
Sparkling prisms/crystal beads/rhinestones
Bead glue
Swivel hook

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! Plus Google Adsense provides a platform for me to monetize my content by hosting ads from Google's network of advertisers. The money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How To:

First, I selected this old CD to use for my mobile suncatcher:

It looks like something my hubby might have put together! But then again, some of these songs are not his type, lol!

Anyway to get started, you will want to remove the printed side of the CD. Do this by making a small scratch mark using a utility knife on the printed side of the CD.

Then cover the scratch mark and the entire area of the printed side with packaging tape. Rub down the tape all over the CD - especially where you made the scratch mark.

Then quickly peel the tape off, starting at the scratch mark. The label should lift right up.

If not, repeat as needed, adding tape, smoothing it out and quickly removing it until . . .

all of the label is gone, leaving you with a completely clear, transparent disc.

Next, mark evenly spaced spots (8) like that of a clock using a marker around the edge of the disc.

Then make punch holes with a hole puncher over the spots where the fishing lines will be attached.

Once finished with punching holes around the CD, I found a non-adhesive decal (used for windows) in my stash that can be smooth on without using glue. It's a lovely prism rainbow design that reflects sunlight, adding a decorative touch to the CD disc.

I like using this better than trying to paint a design on the CD.

Once that's applied, measure eight separate fishing lines - about 36 inches long to start. Begin by attaching a large sparkling prism to each one to basically hold the fishing line down.

I tied extra large prism beads topped with smaller ones to each of the eight cords and hung them on the back of a chair to add more crystals and beads to each one.