Saturday, 28 February 2015

Rite Aid: Deals for the week of March 1-7, 2015

Here are the best Rite Aid deals this week, with thanks to Shannon for her help in compiling them. If you are new to shopping at Rite Aid or have questions about their coupon policy, click here. Buy 1 Almay Color […]

5 Fun & Free Ways to Shake Off the Winter Blues

Guest post from Asheritah of One Thing Alone If you’re anything like me right now, you’re counting the days until the temperatures rise and all the white stuff on the ground has melted and spring has arrived. And while booking […]

Friday, 27 February 2015

Flashback Friday: DIY Photo + Clip Shelves

Since this has been a photo themed week, a flashback to one of my favorite photo related projects seemed fitting. I wanted someplace to display some baby photos without turning my whole house into a baby shrine so some custom shelving in our hallway was just the thing. I used ready made picture frames + a few pieces of wood + metal clips to make a tiny gallery.
DIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn Limestone


The best part is that because the tops of the frames are open I can switch up the photos as often as I like as she gets older without having to dismantle anything. And of course the items hanging in the clips changes week by week.
DIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn Limestone


I even have a friend that recreated these to showcase their kids artwork instead which is even better.

DIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn LimestoneDIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn Limestone
DIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn LimestoneDIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn Limestone
DIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn LimestoneDIY Photo Gallery Shelves | Brooklyn Limestone

Details of the build can be found here. If you make your own, please share - I'd love to see.

Sneak peek at my kitchen + a little interview


THIS IS MY KITCHEN! It's almost finished! Well it is finished aside from a little painting and kickboard installation. We finally - after a whole year - had a tiler come and do the splashback. I don't know why I waited so long! I had debated for a long time about doing it myself like last time but there were a few too many tricky cuts around the rangehood and the windowsill and it was all just a bit in the too-hard basket... So last week they came and made it all pretty and now it just feels so complete. And this is Annika and I in it, celebrating this fact. Well not really, but we do look happy, don't we? She wasn't at all happy for me to take this picture though, hence her being in it - she was very grizzly and in no mood to be put down. So rather than listen to all the screaming while I attempted to play model AND photographer, she joined in. It turned out rather blurry but I'm cool with that.

I'll show you more of this space later, but the reason for the picture was for a little interview I thought I'd share with you. My good friend Natalie has a relatively newish blog called The Indigo Crew where she writes about life with her three kids - crafts, adventures, books, brands and more. She has so many great ideas and a beautiful aesthetic - you should go and check it out and be inspired. Nat has recently started a couple of new series on her blog, chatting to fellow mothers and creatives she's discovered on Instagram and beyond. She kicked the series off with Courtney Adamo from Babyccino Kids and I was happy to follow (though what an act to follow!) - answering 10 questions covering my childhood, my present and the future. I talk about my teenage self's career plans to something I've learnt to something I thought I'd never do (oh that would be yelling at my kids! Eek!). You can have a little read here and be sure to check back Tuesdays to see who else she has in store - I know she has a few good ones up her sleeve! She's also started to chat to the creatives behind great brands, such as Dee Purdy behind gorgeous clothing label Une Belle Epoque - their gorgeous linen Can Can tops get a workout at our place by Imogen and Annika! I was surprised and impressed to discover the label is her side project and she has a busy career in finance - learning things like that make me want to light a fire under my butt and get myself inspired to make my dreams come true (though pinning the actual dream down is kind of difficult at the moment!). Read more about Dee and her lovely label here.

And just for fun, here are a couple more (blurry!) shots from that day... The sun was streaming through the back doors, which was lovely, but it wreaked havoc on the image of the stool legs (they're actually back!) Have a great weekend!

Thursday, 26 February 2015

Arby’s: Free Roast Beef Classic Sandwich with Drink Purchase

Head over to the Arby’s website and sign up for their email deals and you’ll get a coupon good for a free Roast Beef Classic Sandwich with the purchase of a drink. If you’d rather sign up for text alerts, […]

DIY rustic floating shelves from repurposed tap parts and a table top


After cleaning up after the big, messy bathroom renovation, I came across some tap parts that I thought looked kind of cool. I squirrelled them away thinking I might come up with some use for them and promptly forgot about them. Then about six months ago (I know. I am so slow with everything these days) Steve and I decided to turn an old tabletop we found into some floating shelves for the open part of our hallway that faces the kitchen. Our front door opens straight into the living room - and will do so even when we renovate the front - so we have no entryway as such for bags/keys/sunglasses etc. So the hallway had sort of become it - but all we had was a small table (actually Steve's grandmother's old vintage sewing machine table) and it looked a bit sad all lonesome. Some shelves were in order. But we didn't want anything too modern and we didn't want them to disappear into the wall. We thought we could make a feature out of the shelves by using some reclaimed timber and placing them off centre to each other on the wall. So we made these! I found a tutorial online from Vintage Revivals for floating shelves and showed Steve who took one brief look, ignored it and winged it. A couple of attempts later, he had built some shadow box shelves. Here they are just missing their tops.


I compared our shelves to Mandi's and realised they were close enough (high five Steve!) and that's when I noticed the bolt features at the ends of her shelves. I remembered our tap parts and suggested we drill a hole in each end and just fill it with silicone before slipping them in. They were the perfect finishing touch - has timber and brass ever been a bad combination? The unstained shelf with our tap parts - this is what they look like. The tap handles screw onto the long skinny part (I think).



I'd have happily have left them the raw grey colour of the tabletop, but because we had to cut up the panels, we had new-looking timber and old, so we stained to get a more even colour. I used a walnut stain - I painted it on, left for about half a minute then rubbed off with newspaper.


I was happy with the colour and happy with the shelves themselves. We ended up nailing them with gigantic nails into the studs and they seem to be doing ok (screws would most likely be best, but I can't remember why we didn't use them). I don't have a tutorial for you - go forth and adapt Mandi's if you like. Or wing it like we did, but here is the end result!


The wall is open to the kitchen (to the left a little hallway takes you to the bathroom and a bedroom; to the right is a longer hallway and the other two bedrooms) so there is plenty of room to walk around and luckily no heads have hit them because of this! We hung our fishbowl there and placed a few fave pieces on the shelves themselves including vintage books my Mum handed down to me that were hers as a child, Steve's cricket trophy mug from his time playing in Wales, a bowl of nature finds, a vintage clock that belonged to Steve's grandparents and a Garfish skull the kids found a few weeks ago in a tree! The table houses my daily essentials and underneath is home to the market basket I take everywhere and a hat basket.



I'd like to create some kind of proper entryway area with room for hats, bags, umbrellas etc once our home is extended and renovated, but for our tiny space now, this seems to work. And I do love the look of them. Especially when filled with some fave things...

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

Grab a free download of my Platform Conference talk!

Do you feel like you just don’t measure up? That you’re not good enough? That you wish you could be successful and fulfilled in life but you’re met with failure and discouragement at every turn? In November, I gave a […]

CVS: Huggies Pull-Ups Training Pants for $3.49!

You can get some hot deals on Pull-ups and Huggies diapers at CVS this week: Huggies Pull-Ups Training Pants – on sale for $7.99 through 2/28 Use $2/1 PULL-UPS Training Pants Stack with $2.50/1 Huggies Pull-Ups (CVS coupon) $3.49 each Huggies […]

Free March 2015 Monthly Menu Planner + 75 Weeks of Menu Plans

Download a free Monthly Menu Planner for March 2015. This free meal planner includes: Meal Planner for 3/1/15 – 3/7/15 Meal Planner for 3/8/15 – 3/14/15 Meal Planner for 3/15/15 – 3/21/15 Meal Planner for 3/22/15 – 3/28/15 Meal Planner for 3/29/15 […]

Monday, 23 February 2015

13 DIY IKEA Curtain Hacks: Window Coverings on a Budget

Window treatments can be expensive, and when we moved into our home a year ago there was not a single window covering in sight. We had to start from scratch covering each window, and our home is much larger than our old one. It wasn’t an expense we could afford to address all at once right […]

The post 13 DIY IKEA Curtain Hacks: Window Coverings on a Budget appeared first on DIY on the Cheap.

Sunday, 22 February 2015

The Top 8 Hottest Deals This Week: Free Krispy Kreme, Free Online Photography & Cake Decorating Classes, + more!

Here are some of the best deals & freebies I posted this past week that are still available: Free Krispy Kreme Doughnuts on February 24, 2015 Free Online Photography Classes Free Magazine Subscription Of Your Choice When You Take a […]

Saturday, 21 February 2015

Free one-year National Parks membership if you have a 4th grader!

If your child will be in the 4th grade next year, your family can get a free National Parks Pass to give you free entry into national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and more! Here are the details: To […]

Friday, 20 February 2015

Cents of Style: Spring Infinity Scarves for just $5.95 shipped!

Cents of Style is offering their Spring Infinity Scarves for just $5.95 when you use the coupon code SPRING at checkout. And as always, shipping is free! There are over 30 different styles and colors and some are selling out […]

Kroger Free Friday Download: One Russell Stover Easter Egg

Kroger customers, log into your Kroger account today and you can download a digital coupon good for One Russel Stover Easter Egg! This Kroger eCoupon is only available for download today, February 20, 2015, but you’ll have until March 8, 2015 to redeem it. Thanks, Freebie Finding […]

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Sign up to get free ebook updates from BookBub!

Do you love free and discounted ebooks? If so, be sure to sign up for free ebook updates from BookBub. You can choose what genres of books you are interested in and they’ll send you daily emails with free and […]

Free Printable Nursery Wall Art!

As part of the little gallery wall I created in our nursery, I designed some free nursery printable wall art, and today I am sharing 3 of them with you! (You can also find a tutorial for the hand painted art here.) One thing to note is that for some reason, the gray color printed differently on each […]

The post Free Printable Nursery Wall Art! appeared first on DIY on the Cheap.

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Walmart: Free Ambi Skincare Complexion Cleansing Bar

There’s a new $2/1 Ambi coupon available. You can use this to get a free cleansing bar at Walmart. Here’s how: Buy 1 Ambi Skincare Complexion Cleansing Bar for $1.87 Use this $2/1 any Ambi Product printable coupon Free after […]

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Free Ebooks: The Best Homemade Cleaners, DIY Household Hacks, Slow Cooker Freezer Meals, and more

Download a free copy of The Best Homemade Cleaners: Recipes To Make Your Own Cleaning Products And Save. Download a free copy of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders. Download a free copy of How to Train Up & […]

Printable Coupons: Velveeta and Ro*Tel, Kellogg’s, Clairol, and more

Here are some new printable coupons or e-coupons available today: $2.00 off 1 VELVEETA & 2 RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes $0.50 off TWO Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Bars $0.75 off ONE Vicks Product $0.50 off ONE Clairol Balsam Color Product $2.00 off ONE […]

Little Big Girl Room Inspiration: Jenny Lind Bed

The plan has always been to move Aggie from her little nursery into the guest room once she got a bit older. I had thought I'd be doing it around her second birthday but because of some good advice and general distractedness, I haven't gotten around to tackling the project. She sleeps very well in her crib (so I won't be moving her until that phase is over) but her nursery days are definitely numbered.


I'm in no rush so I hope you don't mind me blabbering on about this project for a while. I did a quick sketch about layout a few months ago but I've already changed my mind on a few of the elements - most notably I'm thinking a black + white color scheme with and hand drawn mural on the far wall would be a fun way to keep the room whimsical without going too crazy with the kid stuff.


I've gotten a little obsessed with having a Jenny Lind bed. I figured it would be easy enough to find something vintage but it turns out that all of the old turned spindle beds are no longer a standard size (requiring a custom mattress and bedding which I'm so not interested in bothering with). The only place I've spotted a new one is at Land of Nod but I'm hemming and hawing about whether its worth the splurge. Has anyone seen a cheaper version of this bed or should I just make the investment on a solid piece of furniture?

Other than that I plan on leaving some open play space and some storage/display but don't want to overwhelm the room with much else. That way it can change as she grows and has her own preferences. Any other suggestions on what I should be thinking building into a little girls room?


Monday, 16 February 2015

Free Ebooks: 100 Things to Do with Kids Inside, 7 Day Cleaning and Organizing, and more

Download a free copy of A Firm Foundation: Building a Household of Faith on the Unchanging Principles of the Word of God. Download a free copy of 100 Things to Do With Kids Inside. Download a free copy of Home […]

Target: Deals for the week of February 15-21, 2015

Here are some of the best deals at Target this week, with thanks to Marcy from Stretching a Buck for her help in compiling them: Starkist Tuna Pouch – $0.99  Buy 5, Get 1 Free Use $1/2 coupon from the 1/4 […]

Sunday, 15 February 2015

Crafting: stencilled gold leaf and glitter balloons


Erm, Happy New Year! It's probably time I got Christmas crafts off the front page, right? So lets decorate balloons! Valentine's Day has passed, but these are an any-occasion craft and seeing as we're entering one of my family's major party seasons (March to July we pretty much have a birthday a week), I thought these gold-leaf pretties might work well at my two littlest girls birthday parties - one of whom is four in a few weeks and the other who will be celebrating her very first birthday at the end of March! Already!


Customise as you see fit - a number or initial for the birthday girl or boy, spots, stripes or other patterns for other occasions. Knock yourself out! We chose hearts for Valentine's Day, because what else would you do on a holiday of the heart?! Here's how to DIY...


Your toolkit:
Balloons - we chose a few colours and had the helium added at the party shop. In my head the purple was navy but they didn't have any (how dare they ruin my plans).
Contact paper - the thinner the better. We used clear
Scissors
Gold Leaf
Sizing (glue for gold leaf. I've used regular glue with gold leaf before and it's worked fine, but I'm not sure how it would go on the balloon.)
Glitter
Paintbrush

How to:
1. Cut the stencil out of the contact paper - I cut a large heart for the clear balloon and lots of smaller hearts for the white one. Cut around the shape so you don't have a lot of excess trim - the less sticking to the balloon, the better.



2. For the glitter hearts, remove the backing and stick randomly over the balloon. For the larger heart, it's a bit trickier as the balloon is round so the contact paper won't mould to it. So, start at the bottom point and gently stick it to the balloon from the bottom up. Try and move your way up evenly on both sides. As you get to the top, you'll realise you have too much contact paper and it will bubble, so keep smoothing it out and push the "bubble" towards the middle and then pinch it at the top and centre of the heart (see second image below). It will create an even heart but slightly narrower than what you cut.



3. Paint on your sizing, being careful not to go beyond your contact paper stencil's border - just a light coat is all you need. If you're using glitter, you can sprinkle on immediately while the glue is wet. If you're using gold leaf, wait a few minutes until it is tacky before applying. Too wet and the gold leaf will just slip off the balloon. Once tacky, gently smooth over your gold leaf. You may need more than one sheet, just apply all over - it will only stick to the sizing. Smooth out any bumps and leave to dry for a few minutes.



4. Once dry, use your finger or a soft brush to brush away any excess gold leaf. I just rubbed the gold leaf all over - especially around the edge of the stencil - with my fingers. Do it bit by bit - don't rush the stencil removal as you can pop the balloon! Do it slowly and pull away from the gold leaf, not into it as it may remove some of the leaf from the heart. You can also remove the stencil before you apply the gold leaf - I tried both and they both worked. For the glitter hearts, blow or shake off excess glitter and remove the stencils, again going slowly!


5. All done! If you want a simple balloon topper too, we did this for Steve's birthday balloons: cut three different sized hearts from glitter paper and cut two slits in each heart. Then simply slide them over the string and up to the balloon - biggest to littlest.


Immy and I made up a bunch of these balloons on Valentine's Day and she decided to part with one for her little friend Kai. So we got in the car with matching blue (for him) and clear (for her) heart balloons and POP! Kai's busted. So she grabbed another one and off we went (below). When she finally got to hand it over, I was just about to say "you might want to tie it to your wrist" and .... he let it go! And boy, did it go! It was halfway to heaven in .45 seconds. That helium is fast-flying stuff! He didn't mean to and was sad to watch it fly away, but it was a sweet moment nonetheless!


And Valentine's Day or not, those girls of mine were totally obsessed with their balloons - from painting the glue and sprinkling the glitter to tying them to anything and everything and pretending to float away with them, they utilised a good majority of the 24 hours or so the helium lasted!

PS: The purple balloon was just randomly painted with sizing at the base of the balloon and then the gold leaf applied to the brushstroke, which gives it that nice painted effect.

Saturday, 14 February 2015

The 6 Most Popular Posts From This Past Week

Dear Exhausted Mom of Littles… (What I wish I could go back and tell my 23-year-old self.) 50 Shades of Frustration How to Make a Difference (no money or passport required!) We Paid Cash: New Siding for Our Home How […]

Friday, 13 February 2015

Inspired by Gemstones: Faceted Decor

I’ve been a fan of geometric shapes in interior design for a long time now, and lately I’ve noticed a newish trend that goes hand in hand with that, and it’s faceted decor. Inspired by the facets of gemstones, this trend has made its way into the realm of home decor, and I’m sharing a few […]

The post Inspired by Gemstones: Faceted Decor appeared first on DIY on the Cheap.

Thursday, 12 February 2015

How We Saved This Week: Eating leftovers for dinner

As we were eating leftovers for dinner last night, I realized that eating leftovers a few days per week for lunch and often one night for dinner is one way we save a little money almost every single week. It […]

Wednesday, 11 February 2015

How I Landed My Dream Job Working from Home

Guest post by Stephanie O’Dea In 2007, I quit my job. I was a young mom of two children, and I hated going to work. I was blessed that I taught preschool and could take the kids to work with […]

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Creative Valentine’s Day Projects + M&MJ {92}

Welcome to a fun Valentine’s Day edition of Moonlight & Mason Jars — a link party where bloggers can share their latest projects and readers can gather ideas. Each week 5 projects are featured from the previous week, and they are also pinned to our group Pinterest board. New links are added daily, so feel free […]

The post Creative Valentine’s Day Projects + M&MJ {92} appeared first on DIY on the Cheap.

A Break

You have no idea how many times I've typed and re-typed this. Nothing sounds right.

A member of my immediate family passed away this weekend. This perfunctory blog post is insufficient, but I feel like I know many of you so I wouldn't have felt right about saying nothing. We have not yet published the obituary, which is partly why I'm not sharing any details. I'm also trying to be delicate and respectful, but I quite frankly have no idea what is or isn't appropriate.

It's a heartbreaking time for my family. I just wanted you to know that I'm going to be a bit absent from the blog this week.

Monday, 9 February 2015

48-Hour Giveaway: $50 Gift Card for Divine Walls (5 winners)

Have you been trying to decide what to do with an empty space on a wall in your home? Divine Walls may just have the answer! Divine Walls crafts inspirational and faith based vinyl wall art for the home, office, […]

Sunday, 8 February 2015

CVS: Deals for the week of February 8-14, 2015

Here are the best deals at CVS this week, with a big thanks to Passionate Penny Pincher for her help in compiling them: Buy 2 Jergens Natural Glow (2 oz) at $2.99, Get $5 ECBs (Limit 1) Use $3/2 printable […]

Saturday, 7 February 2015

Brigette’s $58 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan

I usually enjoy grocery shopping (I know, I’m weird like that), but this week ended up being a less than ideal experience. Every store was completely out of the “best” deals (you know – the ones you go into the store excited […]

Free one-year subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine

Woohoo! Value Mags is offering a free subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine. There are no strings attached and you will never receive a bill. Thanks, The Freebie Blogger!

Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: Spent $2.41 for 8 items!

Target Shopping Trip 2 Jergens Lotion – $1.84 each, used $3/2 printable – $0.34 each after coupon 2 Bic Ballpoint Pens – $0.99 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 1/4 SmartSource insert – Free after coupons 2 Ziploc Bags […]

Thursday, 5 February 2015

We LOVE the LEGO Club Magazine (+ sign up for a FREE 2-year subscription!)

As I was thinking about what topic to write on for this week’s How I Saved post, I saw my kids huddled around the latest issue of LEGO Club magazine that just came in and knew I had to share […]

48-Hour Giveaway: $50 Beauty Counter Gift Certificate (5 Winners)

Do you feel like you need some sort of new skin routine and you don’t know where to start or what to use? If so, you’ll want to check out this giveaway! Mindy, a consultant with BeautyCounter, is offering five […]

DIY Ring Dish

I recently came across this online shop called Suite One Studio, and there are absolutely stunning handmade ceramic dishes and goodies available. I sent the link to my husband with a “hint hint — if you ever need a gift idea for me” message, and then I decided it might be fun to play around and […]

The post DIY Ring Dish appeared first on DIY on the Cheap.

Arby’s: Free order of Jalapeno Hushpuppies (today only!)

Print an Arby’s coupon good for a free order of Jalapenos Hushpuppies. No purchase necessary. This coupon is valid today only (February 5, 2015). Thanks, For the Mommas!

Free Zarbee’s Naturals Elderberry Immune Support (Facebook offer)

Sign up for a free sample of Zarbee’s Naturals Elderberry Immune Support. Thanks, Cha-ching on a Shoestring!

Sale, Sale, Sale!

My Mom and I have been toying with the idea of opening up a vintage pop-up shop in our city this spring - the perfect location presented itself to us, so it seems serendipitous. For this reason, we've put off having a sale in the Etsy shop (and have been slow to add more listings). It felt a little silly, though, to stockpile wares because the mission is ultimately to make sales.


We finally decided that, in the spirit of Valentine's Day and looooove, we would put some items on sale, because the motto of our shop is: "everything we hope you love". It's a stretch, I know. (Some of these sale items won't be re-listed when they expire Feb 17th, just FYI). Below you'll find photos and links to all of the items that have been reduced. On top of discounting some items, we're offering a sale code for friends and readers. Use: WINTER15 to get 15% off your entire purchase - including sale items! The sale will run until February 14th. Also, please feel free to contact me through Etsy for a customized shipping quote - I'm normally able to save folks a few more bucks! Also, I accept turquoise Pyrex as currency ;)


FIRST ROW:
Fondue Pot with Alcohol Burner and 12 Bonus Skewers ($5.00 off)
Set of 8 Culver Medallion Glasses, Mint Condition ($10 off)
Vintage Coret Handbag ($7.00)
Set of 10 Yellow Blown Glass Drinking Glasses ($5 off)
SECOND ROW:
Solid Brass and Wood MCM Tray ($10 off)
Set of 4 Glass Fish Plates and Solid Wood Bowls ($10 off)
Canape Making Widget ($3 off)
1970s Signed Pottery Piece ($4 off)
THIRD ROW:
Tundra Earthenware Set, Made in Canada ($10 off)
McCoy Plates ($10 off)
West German Vase ($3 off)
Pair of 1960s Belgian Planters ($3 off)
FOURTH ROW:
German-made Black and White Cake Stand ($5 off)
Vintage Japanese Lacquerware Serving Set, New in Box ($5 off)
Figgjo Norway Lotte Souffle Dishes ($15 off)
Figgjo Norway Lotte Platter ($13 off)


Some of my favorite items have recently gone out the door (and with each one, that internal debate: "Oooo, I liked that," "yeah, but you don't have room," "but maybe I should have kept it anyway?"), but there are still plenty of gems left. If you're feeling very meh about our current offerings, we decided to stop the madness and focus on Etsy first, pop-up shop second. With that in mind, we'll be listing brand new items mid-late February, including some very springy pieces. Expect some cheery colours to lift the winter blahs.

Before I toddle off (we're doing some very exciting bath reno recon - which is something that will be filling our calendars for months to come, I'm sure), I wanted to say "thanks". I never expect a purchase from any of my readers! I'm just so thankful you encouraged me to open a shop in the first place, and that you've all been so supportive and encouraging since. So thank you!

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Come behind-the-scenes with us on our South Africa trip!

Lisa-Jo and I worked hard the last few days to put together a fun and very personal behind-the-scenes email newsletter sharing some of our favorite pictures, special memories, and a few surprising moments both of us had on our recent trip […]

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

A Day In My Life + my #Choose30 Challenge for February

My good friend and neighbor, Tam, is running a #Choose30 Challenge on her site this month, encouraging people to choose one thing to do differently that will make an impact in their lives. I wanted to join in, but I […]

Monday, 2 February 2015

DIY Personalized Small Camera Strap

I mentioned in this post that I'm fairly enamored with my new little camera. It needed a strap so I decided to play around with some of the materials I had around. It's the kind of project you can bang out in about an hour so it would make a fun valentines gift as well.

DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com

You'll need: a scrap piece of leather at whatever length and width you would like for your camera, 2 rivets, a short length of cord (or if your camera has d rings, you can't attach the strap directly and skip the cord). You'll also need to have a hammer, a metal straight edge, a rotary cutter and letter stamping set.

DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com

Cut your leather to the desired size and sheer off a little triangle at each corner. I did this all by eye since precision isn't that important but feel free to measure.

DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.comDIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com
DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com

Dampen your leather with a little water and stamp whatever phrase or word you want to mark the strap with. The water will help make the leather pick up the impression more cleanly. I picked "click." but for valentines day I think "we just click" would be kinda perfect. (I don't have one but this leather stamping set would be have been better than the one I used since it has a thicker letter outline. It's going on my wishlist.)

DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com

Fold over a small portion of each end and attach your rivet.
DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com

Thread the cord through the looped end of each end of the strap and attach to the camera using a knot.
DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com

DIY Camera Strap for Point & Shoot and Mirrorless Cameras | www.BrooklynLimestone.com
Voila! A quick and easy way to personalize a simple camera strap for a small camera like mine.