When I got my Cricut Explore Air I was so excited with all the possibilities! There were (and still are) so many things I want to make. One of the first things I knew I wanted to make was a sign for my office/ craft room. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out- especially because it ended up being one of the easiest projects ever!

I wanted the sign to reflect my personality and blog design, so that meant sticking with my color scheme of mint and navy. The sign is the highlight of the wall, but the wall also features polka dot decals, which is what made me want to make it round. In all- I really couldn’t be happier with it. I think I just have a love of customized signs ever since the ones I made for our wedding!

I played with a lot of different ideas for the sign lettering- different fonts and phrases. And Procrastination Studio seemed to be the perfect name for my workspace. If you couldn’t tell just from the name of my blog- I am a bit of a procrastination expert.

So after a big response from sharing my sign on social media I decided to finally write a post about it! Keep reading for step by step instructions on how I made this adorable and easy sign on the Cricut.

Supplies:

• A Cricut cutting machine (I use the Cricut Explore Air)
• Cricut mat
• Vinyl 
• Vinyl transfer tape
• Wood sign (I used this one)
• Craft paint
• Paint brush
• Mod Podge (optional)
• Cricut tools (optional)

Step One: Paint sign back

Pick out whatever color you want your sign back to be and paint your sign that color. I mixed a mint color with white to get a lighter color and painted my sign using a simple paint brush with craft paint. Let it dry in between coats.

I also used mod podge over the paint to give it a glossier finish, but this is totally optional.

Step Two: Design Sign

The first step is to design your sign. Decide what words you want the sign to say, and pick out fonts. You can do this on Cricut design space, or on a photo editing program. A .png file is the best format to upload to Cricut design space in my experience, because the transparent areas will be treated like empty space.

When you upload an image into cricut design space, you can “select and erase” out the white space. This will tell the machine where to cut. Don’t forget to select the spaces inside letters, like the circle inside the letter “o.”

Make sure your layer is set to cut.

(If you’re a cricut newbie and this sounds confusing to you, I previously wrote a more detailed post with pictures you can refer to).

Step Three: Cut vinyl on cricut

Once you have your design ready, you’ll want to cut your vinyl. Stick the vinyl onto your cutting mat, load the mat into the machine, and press cut!

When the vinyl is cut, you want to peel or “weed” off the excess vinyl, leaving only the letters you want to transfer. You can use the cricut weeder to get out the small pieces, like the insides of letters.

Step Four: Apply vinyl with transfer tape

I’ve given the instructions here for using transfer tape- but if you want to see step by step pictures on how to use transfer tape, I have a detailed how to you can refer to in a previous post

Peel off the back of the transfer tape, and place the sticky part on top of your design. Use a credit card or a scraper tool to scrape the design to make sure the vinyl is well-adhered to the transfer tape. Slowly peel the transfer tape up. The vinyl letters should come up, but if they don’t, just replace the tape and scrape over the top again. This may take a few tries.

When you’ve got the design on the transfer tape, align the tape onto your sign where you want it to go. Press down firmly, and you can use a credit card or scraper here again. Slowly peel away the transfer tape, and the design should stick to your sign. If it doesn’t stick down, put the tape back down and rub again.

Then your sign should be finished! I told you this was easy!

Step Five: Hang

Now your sign is ready to go! You can hang it up. I’m a huge fan of the command hanging strips, and I used those to hang this sign.

And now just step back and admire!

This was my first lettering project with the cricut, and it went really well! The sign turned out EXACTLY how I imagined. You may recognize the above photo from my about me page.

I mean seriously, who DOESN’T want a procrastination studio?

The sign is definitely the highlight of the office. I’ll be doing a full office reveal sometime soon so you get to see the whole thing! But the combination of the polka dots with my sign is by far my favorite part of the office.

Which is my favorite room of the house.

I love how it looks hanging in my office. It makes me smile every time I see it!

My office is definitely my procrastination studio- I spend most of my time in there procrastinating- making crafts, organizing, editing photos, painting watercolors… you name it.

What are you waiting for? Let me know how making your own sign on the Cricut goes for you!

Supplies used in this post

The post Easy DIY Sign Lettering: Cricut Project appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I don’t know about you, but I am terrible at organizing my necklaces. I’ve tried lots of different organizers but they always end up a jumbled tangled mess. And then I end up not wearing them because of the time it takes to get everything untangled!

I decided I needed to fall back on one of my favorite organizing tricks and use hooks. When I’m looking for an organizational solution, I always want something that is quick and easy to use. If it isn’t, I never end up putting anything away. So open hooks seemed like the perfect solution for necklaces. So I got to DIY-ing, and came up with this DIY necklace holder.

And it has been working great for me! Not only is it effective for organizing, the DIY necklace holder looks attractive and brightens up my closet. Safe to say, I’m very pleased with it. Add to it the fact that it took me about 20 minutes total to make, hang, and add all my necklaces, and I couldn’t be happier!

Tools and Supplies you will need:

• A wood backing (I used this wood canvas after it failed at another DIY project, but you could also repurpose an old drawer or wood panel)
• Craft paint
• Paintbrush
• Masking tape
• Small nails
• A hammer
• Command picture hanging strips

Step One: Paint the wood backing

I used the inside of a wood canvas for my necklace hanger. I painted the outside of it white, and let that dry for about an hour. I put masking tape over the white so that I could paint the inside a different color.

I wanted the inside to have a marbling effect. So I painted the back a light blue, and let that dry. I then added glops of pink and blue paint together and messily swirled them around so that the brush strokes were still visible. I continued this until I got a pattern and look that I liked.

Step Two: Add the nails

I started out measuring and marking out the nails at equal intervals, but I never end up liking things that are perfectly spaced, so I ended up eyeballing and estimating where to put the nails. I just nailed each one in so that it was secure, but sticking out far enough so that you could still hang a necklace on it.

Step Three: Hang! 

The last step is to hang your new organizer. I have recently discovered and fallen in love with command picture strips. I used four to hang this on our wall. They are super easy to use, and if you hang your holder crooked (which I always do on the first try) you can easily reposition and adjust it.

Then all you have to do is hang your necklaces- and you’re ready to go!

I love my new DIY necklace holder! It looks so bright and cheery. It’s already been very useful at organizing my necklaces.

The added benefit of making this necklace holder was that I had to round up and untangle all of my necklaces, which was not a short process. It’s been so long since I’ve sorted through them all that I actually forgot that I owned a few of them! That just goes to show how much I really needed to make this.

And, as organizing goes, the best solutions are always simple and easy to use. It takes absolutely no effort on my part to hang a necklace up, and definitely is easier for me to find them.

I love it when organizational solutions become part of the decor as well. This DIY necklace holder blends in seamlessly, adding both style and function.

Now that my necklaces are easier to find and access, I’m definitely wearing them more. I could not be happier with this easy DIY!

So- what do you think? Are you ready to make one yourself? Happy DIY-ing!

Supplies used in this post

The post DIY Necklace Holder appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I always see posts about ways to use washi tape. I hadn’t heard of it until maybe this year. I might be late to the bandwagon, but I’m ready to jump on. I got a few rolls and I now understand the hype. They are my new favorite craft supply.

I thought of a really cute project to try my washi tape out on. We had some leftover wood from when I made my Magnetic Chalkboard Vanity. I figured it would be cute to make it into a photo/art display. I’ve seen some projects on pinterest that use clipboards so you can easily change out art on a regular basis. Well, I figured the washi tape would work perfectly to brighten up my clipboard project.

And it turns out, I was right.

This project is super fast and easy. I’m pretty happy with the results. You just need a few things:

This project really couldn’t be any easier. And it turned out so cute! I’m a washi tape convert for sure. The washi tape was super easy to work with. Any mistakes I made were easy to fix. And it comes in so many cute patterns! This blog will certainly be including more washi tape projects in the future.

The great thing about this project is how easy it is to change out photos. Not like changing photos in frames is hard, but it is certainly harder than lifting a clip and sliding a new photo in.

If you are a parent it would also make a great way to display your childrens’ art. I personally think it’s a step up from the fridge. It’s cute and classy and easy to hang anywhere.

If you want a little more of a polished look, you could easily paint the wood as well. I like seeing the grain of the wood and I think it is a pretty backdrop for photos and artwork, but I know some people might not go for it. Just find a cute color that goes with the washi tapes you’ve picked out and it’s all good. 

Now when I work at the desk in our guest room office, I can further procrastinate by changing out the photos. I like these for now, but change is good too! (Falafel the hedgehog says hi from the farthest left photo!).

Try making your own easy photo display and let me know how it goes for you!

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Well, storage should also be functional. You don’t want to just stuff things under your bed and never see them again. Even if you use plastic storage bins, you want to be able to get them out from under your bed easily. So why not turn them into drawers?

This post is a follow up to my DIY underbed drawers post. In that post, I used a bamboo bin to turn into a drawer. There are just a few adjustments I made when I used plastic instead of bamboo. I figured that people are more likely to use plastic bins as they are usually larger and less expensive than bamboo, so here is how you make a plastic underbed drawer!

Supplies:

• Plastic bin at least 2 inches shorter than the bottom of your bed frame (I got mine on sale from my favorite store- the Container Store)
• 1 inch tall casters (I used these)
• Short screws (I used 1/2 inch)
• A drill
• Masking tape
• Wood Shims
• Hacksaw or wood saw

Optional Supplies:

• Small washers
• Cute fabric scrap
• Hot glue gun

Step One

So the first thing you want to do is saw the wood shims to the appropriate length. If you don’t care about screws sticking up in the bottom of your bin you can skip the wood shims all together. But assuming you don’t want screws sticking up in the bottom of your bin, saw the wood shims so they are longer than the length of your casters to give yourself some room.

Step Two

Next you will want to tape the wood shim into the corner where you intend to place the caster. Don’t worry about taping it perfectly, this is just so it won’t fall off when you turn the bin upside down

Step Three

Turn the bin upside down and place the caster where you intend it to be. While holding the wood shim in place, drill the screw through the plastic and wood shim. If you need to, place a washer on the screw. I had to do this because the width of the screw head was smaller than the screw holes in the casters.

Step Four

Repeat step three for all holes on the caster. Then repeat steps two and three for each corner on the plastic bin.

Step Five

Turn over, remove masking tape, and admire your awesome new underbed drawer!

Optional Step Six

If you want to add a handle, simply hot glue a scrap of fabric to the side of the bin. I did this just for show. My handle is actually made of paper and is completely decorative and non-functional.

I love our underbed drawers! We keep shoes, duffel bags, and out of season blankets under our bed. In the guest room we keep out of season clothes and craft supplies under the bed.

They are so easy to get in and out now that I added the wheels. No dragging anymore!

How cute is that handle? Yeah I’ll never use it, but cuteness is important too. 
This DIY was ridiculously easy. It only took me about 15 minutes (minus the trip to the hardware store to get the washers!). If I can do it, trust me, you can. I am definitely a DIY beginner and I did this myself. 

Try making yourself some plastic underbed drawers and let me know how it goes for you!

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If you read as many pinterest posts on the best organizing tips as me, you’ll know that one of the important things to do to keep yourself organized it to take advantage of all spaces. Even ones that don’t seem obvious.  A lot of people keep things under their beds, but if you’re anything like me you might just end up shoving things down there that you don’t use very often. Making drawers for under your bed can make your under bed storage more functional and useful. You can even use them for clothes and replace a dresser with them!

I was inspired by a tutorial from Martha Stewart. This is an awesome easy DIY that you can do in 20 minutes or less. All you need are a few simple supplies:

Get your supplies together

Supplies:

• A box or bin at least 2″ shorter than the height of the bottom of the bed frame
• appropriately sized casters (I used these 4 Pcs 1″ Plastic Wheel Rectangle Top Plate Fixed Swivel Caster Set)
• screws for the casters (the shorter the better) and a screwdriver

Directions:

• Line the wheels up in each corner
• Use the screwdriver to screw the casters in place
• Turn it over and admire your handiwork

If I’m strong enough to screw this in, you definitely are.

Now here is where I ran into a problem. I knew there would be one because the shortest screws we could find were 1/2 inch which was longer than the base of the bin. So the screws ended up sticking through the bottom of the drawer.

Slight problem

The obvious answer for this would have been to reinforce the corners with thin pieces of wood, but I didn’t have any and I wanted this to be a 20 minutes or less DIY! So I had to get resourceful. And what I did have was my trusty glue gun and an extra old tshirt that my hedgehog sometimes sleeps in.

I cut up the shirt and folded the edges under, and glued it to the bottom of the drawer. Problem solved. Now whatever I keep in the drawer won’t get snagged on the screws.

Problem solved!

Now you’ve got an awesome new storage solution you made yourself. Pretty great.

It works!

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I can guarantee you this will be an easy DIY project for you because it was the first home DIY project we undertook and our skills are not well honed. It was pretty much as simple as you can get!

We decided to build a picture ledge like this to place over our bed instead of getting a headboard. It was definitely less expensive, and a fun project!

Man, it makes sense procrastination is in the title of this blog because it took us about a total of 4 months to finish this project after buying the supplies, even though it was only about an hour total of work (including hanging).

So, here is what you will need:

• a 2×6 plank of wood cut to your desired length
• a piece of crown moulding cut to the same length
• sandpaper
• wood glue
• wood stain
• paintbrushes
• brackets
• mounting hardware for the brackets

The color of the pine boards before stain

We laid out trash bags on the floor of the garage to protect it from the stain, which ended up being a good thing because of course we spilled it later. We sanded the wood and then wiped it down before staining it. We only needed to do 2 coats of stain on the shelf, moulding, and brackets, and it dried overnight.

And they’re done!

Then, we attached the moulding to the front of the ledge using the wood glue, so that the moulding laid flat against the long 2″ side. This way, the 6″ side can rest on the brackets and has room for picture frames to lean.

Side view shows how moulding is attached to shelf

Next, all you have to do is hang it. Hanging directions will depend on the type of bracket you pick out. Pretty much just hang the brackets at the desired height and width, and then rest your finished picture ledge on them. Pretty simple, right?

The finished product:

We might still add a few accessories or frames to it, but we are pretty happy with how it turned out. A lot simpler than some crown moulding shelf tutorials I’ve seen.

How did your first DIY project go? Let me know in the comments!

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