Showing posts with label Do It Over Designers Blog Hop. Show all posts

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Lotus Flower Style Veneer Lamp

7:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me Do It Over Designers Blog Hop, remote control lighting, wood veneer edging craft 22 comments

Hello and Welcome to the 'Do It Over' Designers Blog Hop!! In case you haven't heard, the "Do It Over Designers" is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, hosted by Anne @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. Once in a while, Anne will choose a theme for us to do over. This month it's Lighting! Thanks Anne for hosting this wonderful blog hop!

Wood veneer edge banding is usually used as an edge wood trim to cover exposed edges of furniture, cabinet doors, drawer fronts, shelves, etc. But the fun part for this 'Do It Over' project is using a very unconventional color style of the wood veneer edge band strips - one with a rainbow color painting on the band instead of the usual wood tones. So for this month's 'Do Over' I'm going to shape the colorful wood veneer strips into a lotus flower style and add a light source in the middle for the lamp! Sounds cool doesn't it? I'm really excited about making the edging into a light source instead of using it to cover furniture edges!

So let's get started!

Supplies:

Wood Veneer edge band strips in rainbow color painting
Wood circle disc 4"
Quick Hold glue/Hot glue
Puck light w/remote
Vase base light w/remote
Ruler, pencil, scissors

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:

There are two parts to my lotus flower style veneer lamp - a small flower with 6 1/2" long veneer strips and a larger flower with 8 1/2" strips. Both sizes will be using a wood circle disc about four inches in diameter for the center.

First, to help keep the veneer strips placement as even as possible, using a ruler and pencil, divide the wood circle into four sections. Starting at the 12 o'clock position, draw a line down to the 6 o'clock position. Then draw another line from the 9 o'clock position over to the 3 o'clock position.

Next, cut out sixteen, 8 1/2" long strips of colorful wood veneer. There is a right side that shows the colorful wood design. And a wrong side which is rough and actually has glue embedded on it.

After cutting out the sixteen strips, using a ruler and pencil, measure 1/2" from the end of each strip and draw a line. Then turn the strip over to the wrong side and on the opposite end draw another line at the 1/2" mark.

Begin gluing on each strip using the lines on the wood circle and the right side line on each strip as a placement guide on the . . .

12 to 6, and the 9 to 3 lines.

and then, glue on three strips in between each one the same way.

Continue gluing on the strips, matching the lines of the strips to the circle edge.

Once all the strips are glued on, turn the wood disc over and . . .

take a strip in one hand and count three strips over and glue that strip together on the end with the strip in your hand. This will be your first "petal".

From the left strip that has been glued together, take the strip to the right of it and glue this strip together with the third strip on the left.

Continue gluing the strips together on the left - from the glued together left strip, take the strip to the right of it and glue this strip together with the third strip on the left. Continue going around the disc until all the strips are glued together as petals forming a lotus flower shape.

The petals are arranged in a symmetrical, overlapping pattern, creating a full, elegant lotus flower style.

The wood circle disc needs to be covered with strips of veneer to enhance the total look! *In hindsight, I should have covered the opposite side of the round disc with veneer strips before gluing on the sixteen strips. It would have been easier to trim and so much neater, too.

Once the strips are glued onto the wood circle, cut off the excess strips around the wood circle edge . . .

The wood circle disc looks so much better covered in veneer!

For the smaller flower, veneer strips were glued on first to the wood disc (not shown) and then the excess overhang was cut off following the circle edge.

Then the 6 1/2" veneer strips were glued on, like before, and shaped into a lotus flower.

The two finished lotus flowers - side by side:

Add glue to the disc in the center of the larger lotus flower, and then placing the smaller lotus flower inside the larger flower - making sure to stagger the petals between the larger and smaller flower.

And finally, place the LED light in the center and . . .

enjoy the different lighting colors using the remote . . .

to set your decorative mood!

I hope you enjoyed my "Do Over" veneer strips lighting project!

Before you leave, don't forget this is a blog hop and the team has some amazing upcycle/recycle/do-it-over Lighting projects to share with you.

Be sure to visit all of this month's creative projects by the "Do It Over Designers" listed below:

Unique Creations by Anita

Sum of Their Stories

Vintage Style Gal

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Textured Flowers Vase DIY

7:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me Do It Over Designers Blog Hop, Textured Flowers, vase 17 comments

For this "Do Over" project I'm going to upcycle a Lysol Wipes container into an adorable textured flowers vase using caulk. It's a fun way to add texture, depth and dimension to outlined or sketched flowers! And you won't believe how easy it is to add character, and interest to those types of flowers giving off a three dimensional appearance.

Welcome to our "Do It Over Designers" Blog Hop! In case you haven't heard, the "Do It Over Designers" is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, hosted by Anne @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. Thanks Anne for hosting this wonderful blog hop!

So let's get started by gathering the . . .

Supplies:

Lysol Wipes container (empty)
Box cutter knife
Flower image
Pen marker
Caulk tubes (Dollar Tree)
Scissors
Tools to create texture - (palette knife, spoons, small handles, brushes, etc.)
Paint/Sealant
Paint brush

As an Amazon Associate, and partner with other brands, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I receive commissions for purchases made through those links at no cost to you.

How to:

First, use a box cutter knife to remove the top of an empty Lysol container.

Then make sure the container is clean inside and out - removing the label and glue residue from the outside and rinsing out the inside.

Since I can't draw a lick, I found a flower image online and . . .

sized it in two different shapes to draw all over the plastic container.

I have to say that I found it difficult to outline the flowers on the plastic. I tried a pencil and a regular pen but those didn't work. And the magic markers I have had very thick tips which I didn't want to use, so I ended up using a rollerball pen. I was able to draw fine lines but it was prone to smudging, as you can see.

And instead of mixing paste into a piping bag to use like most textured flowers are made from - I'm using caulk tubes from the Dollar Tree to outline, sculpt and fill-in the flower petals - creating a unique floral design using different types of tools.

It's truly a very inexpensive and easy way to add three-dimensional detail to craft projects!

Once happy with the design, wait for the caulk to dry - from a few hours to overnight.

Then have fun adding color (paint) to finish the flowers! Paint can also be used as a sealant for the caulk, too! I'm using paint I had on hand called Light Plum which is an outdoor gloss acrylic paint by FolkArt.

I didn't realize the paint was a gloss finish until after it dried. And that turned out to be great for a glossy look!

I love how the gloss paint enhances the lines and shape of the caulk!

Continue painting all of the caulk flowers . . .

until they're all painted!

Once the paint is dry, the pen smudges can be cleaned up with a damp paper towel or wipe.

Then have fun adding flowers of your choice into this unique

textured floral design vase.

I hope you enjoyed how I created my textured flowers vase! But don't stop here or forget that this is a blog hop!

Be sure to visit all of this month's creative projects by the "Do It Over Designers" listed below:

The Apple Street Cottage

Pandora’s Box

Little Vintage Cottage

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Kenya Snack Souvenir Zipper Pouch

7:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me DIY Zipper Pouch, Do It Over Designers Blog Hop, paper 18 comments

First off, I apologize for this lengthy post! Not to worry, though, I'm only sharing a portion of our trip! We recently got back from an almost month long cruise that started in Doha, Qatar after we spent a few days in Dubai before sailing. From there we cruised to Abu Dhabi and back to Dubai. After Dubai we spent four days at sea on our way to Port Victoria and La Digue, Seychelles where we spent a couple of days before heading to Mombasa, Kenya! It took us two days at sea to reach Kenya! Getting off the ship we were greeted by Kenya dancers which was quite exciting to see and hear!

I thought I had hit video to show a bit more, along with the music, but apparently I didn't. Anyway, what a fun way to be greeted! We were scheduled to go on an almost ten hour long safari in Kenya! The ship arrived at 7am and was suppose to leave Kenya at 7pm.

But those of us on the safari enjoyed it very much! I think there were at lease ten trucks (going in different directions)!

We got to see lots of elephants, rhinoceros, zebras, giraffes, and a variety of birds - but no lions. At one point, our truck was charged by an elephant and the driver quickly stepped on the gas! I guess we were too close to her baby. There were also lots of fascinating termite hills along the way . . . I had never seen or heard of termite hills before, but take a look at this one:

They are supposed to be great for the ecosystem in Kenya - supporting plant and animal life there!

We realized later in the day we were not going to make it back to the ship by seven! Notice the expression on my face! Yep, that's me wondering where our driver was!

All the trucks were to meet at a diner along the safari route to make sure we were together and have a caravan of trucks back to the ship. Here's a pic of some of the trucks and our driver! LMAO!!!!

It was cool to see the caravan and be apart of that! And you know the ship was not going to leave without us, lol! It was a fun time with lots of new memories added to our bucket list!

Going to Kenya and being on a safari was a dream come true for my hubby, Gerald. As a young teenager, he and a group of friends made a pact back then that whoever became a millionaire would take all of them to Africa. Needless to say, no one became millionaires and unfortunately, most of his friends who made the pact are no longer living or in good health. But I did correspond with the wife of one of Gerald's childhood friends and asked her to check with her husband to see if he remembered the pact and he said he did! We are going to have them over soon to share our photos and experiences with them!

Anyway, getting back to my "Do Over" souvenir project that I created from a potato chip bag. While on the safari, we stopped a couple of times for refreshments and restroom breaks. While there, I got a couple of bagged snacks, potato chips and a bag of cashew nuts. Of course I had to read the bag labels to make sure I could eat what I was buying. I have to tell you I was truly impressed with what was stated on the back of the bags:

The manufacturers seemed quite concerned with the sustainability and quality of their product. And impressively, they were all made in Kenya! Also, satisfaction and allergen advice was also listed - something that I could not find on any of the Fritos Lays snack variety bags we have here in the states.

We bought the usual souvenirs like t-shirts and a few handmade trinkets, but I decided to make a Kenya Snack Souvenir Zipper Pouch with the potato chips bag I had. To me, the bag was something really authentic from Kenya! I also kept a cashew bag, but I tore the opening at an angle when I opened it and haven't quite figured out how to make something out of it.

I know we've all seen pouches made out of chip bags. There are lots of DIYs online - but I had never made one. So here goes!

I just needed a few supplies in addition to the chip bag:

Scissors
Wipes and Paper towels
Duct Tape
Zipper
Stapler & staples

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! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How to:
Fortunately, I did manage to open the top of this bag without tearing.

Then I took a sharp pair of scissors and cut straight down the middle of the bag on the backside until I reached the sealed bottom portion . . .

where I was able to gently cut through the sealed portion.

Then I took my time trying to separate the sealed bottom edge.

Thank goodness I was able to neatly open the bottom of the bag to reveal chip crumbs inside. Naturally!

I used a Lysol wipe to remove the crumbs followed by a . . .

paper towel to dry the inside foil.

Then, I began applying duct tape in strips over the foil lining of the bag. Don't you just love the color and pattern design of the duct tape! It really matches the outside colors of the chip bag!

Adding one strip at a time to cover . . .

all of the foil lining.

Then turning the bag over and cutting off all the exposed overlapping duct tape.

It was really hard at times to not get the chip bag wrinkled from the stickiness of the duct tape.

Next, lay a zipper right side down on the edge of the right side of the chip bag. Be sure to line up the zipper evenly to the edge of the chip bag. and begin stapling about midway on the zipper to the chip bag . . .