57 Craftastic Home Decor Projects You Can Make in No Time

Brighten up your space and add some rustic charm with these handmade lights. Drill a hole in the center, and if desired, around the exterior of the galvanized tin; thread the plug end of a pendant light cord set through the bottom, and hang.

SHOP LIGHT CORD KITS

Stencils are making a comeback, and you can embrace the trend by featuring a series of designs on your headboard. Use a pencil to outline an arched shape as shown and paint within the space. Add a thin border, then stencil your chosen design in the center.

SHOP STENCILS

Cook up some charming dish towels for your kitchen by securing a strip of rick rack with Stitch Witchery. You can also use it to spruce up simple drapes or canning jars as shown.

SHOP RICK RACK

Turn a salvaged wooden ladder into a hanging station for your laundry room. It'll serve double-duty as a shelf and a drying rack.

SHOP LADDERS

Assorted widths of rick rack give a plain lampshade some graphic punch. Get the look by affixing several strips (each about one yard) to a plain white 11-inch lampshade.

To create the tassel, cut an 8-inch length from a package of baby rick rack. Wrap remaining material around four fingers to create a loop; slide off fingers. Use the 8-inch piece to tie together one end of the loop. Tie a contrasting piece about 1/2 inch below the tie. Snip loops on other end. Tie around lamp neck.

SHOP RICK RACK

Turn an old sign into a memo board to display cards, notes, photographs, and more. Most vintage signs are magnetic, so use the real (metal) deal, not a repro.

SHOP METAL SIGNS

Transform a globe stand into a paper towel holder by securing twine to the bottom of the stand with a knot, and then slipping the twine through the paper towel roll. Secure it all with a slip knot at the top of the stand.

SHOP TWINE

Design a Pinterest-worthy pin board by wrapping a Homasote board with beige linen fabric. Cut lengths of rick rack as desired and attach with decorative embroidery nails. (If you want to slot papers and memos behind the rick rack as shown, the less slack there is, the better.)

SHOP BOARDS

Give your knives a secure and stylish home with this easy craft. Tie a vintage batch of cookbooks tightly together with twine and insert knives between the pages. Note: Never put wet knives away—allow them to dry before slipping into books.

SHOP VINTAGE BOOKS

Make your porch pop with this colorful license plate birdhouse that also pays homage to your home state. Craft it at home by attaching a tag to the roof with hot glue or screws.

SHOP BIRDHOUSE KITS

An old hanging scale can carry of bushel of blooms and makes for a pretty, porch-friendly alternative to a hanging basket. You can also use it to display fruits and veggies in your kitchen, or other fun finds throughout your house.

SHOP SCALES

Reward a great quote (we cribbed from The Wizard of Oz) with the gallery treatment, courtesy of this project adapted from Meg Mateo Ilasco's Crafting a Meaningful Home.

Step 1: Lay a piece of poster board on a flat surface. Use letter stencils to spell out the phrase of your choice on the board, experimenting until you find a placement you like. (Use a ruler and pencil to mark horizontal lines for guidance.)

Step 2: Spell out the phrase backward, then flip the stencils over (you'll be turning the board over when you're done, and the words will then read correctly). Trace the letters onto the board with a pencil.

Step 3: Carefully cut out the letters with an X-Acto knife, then use hem tape to affix a patterned piece of fabric to the poster board. Flip the poster board over to reveal the finished artwork, then frame.

SHOP LETTER STENCILS

Repurpose the classic Mason jar as a soap or lotion dispenser in your bathroom.

Step 1: First, measure and mark the center of the jar's lid.

Step 2: Using a 1/2" high-speed steel drill bit, drill a hole to fit the width of a soap dispenser pump. We used pumps from old lotion bottles.

Step 3: Fill the jar with liquid soap, screw the lid back on, and insert the pump. You may need to trim the bottom of the pump to fit your jar.

SHOP MASON JARS

Capture a Victorian cabinet-of-curiosities vibe—minus all the hunting and gathering—with faux butterflies. To create the vignette shown here, we applied a technique featured in the book Design*Sponge at Home to a graceful glass dome. Using a serrated knife, cut a one-inch thick circle piece of Styrofoam into a five-inch circle. Next, cut a nine-inch circle from black velvet. Pull the fabric over the Styrofoam until taut and affix underneath with straight pins.

Using our photo as a guide, cut pieces of 22-gauge wire to various heights that fit within the dome. Place a dot of superglue on one wire end before sliding it into a butterfly's body; hold in place until dry. Repeat for each butterfly. Finally, insert the wires into the Styrofoam base, then top with the glass.

SHOP CLOCHES

Turn a thrifted piece of art into a useful storage space.

Get the tutorial.

What truly elevates this idea from contributing editor Cathe Holden is the 3-D stitching that makes these graphics pop. (Just check out the close-up at right.) Create a masterpiece from your own sack, or nab a vintage one from eBay for about $10.

Step 1: Use a seam ripper to open the bag along the seams, so you're left with a flat piece of fabric. Hand-wash, and press with an iron.

Step 2: Embroider the words and images as desired, matching your embroidery floss to the bag's colors.

Step 3: Center your bag on a blank canvas board—choose a board that allows for at least two inches of the bag's fabric to wrap around all sides. Apply Shurtape double-sided carpet tape to the board's side and back edges.

Step 4: Tightly wrap the bag around the board, pressing it firmly against the tape; then trim away any excess fabric along the back. Add picture-hanging hardware to the back of the board (if desired) and display.

We're positively glowing over this new use for an old globe, devised by contributing editor Andrea Greco. To create your own pendant, you'll need a 12-inch-diameter cardboard globe (as little as $15 on Etsy or eBay), plus a pendant light cord kit.

First, remove your globe from its base, if necessary. With a utility knife, carefully make a 3½-inch-diameter opening at the bottom of your globe, using its latitude lines as a guide (convenient, right?). Then, holding the light cord's socket at the top of the globe, trace around it with a pencil, and cut out the resulting circle.

Using a drill fitted with a ⅛ -inch bit, pierce small holes around the outline of each continent, leaving a quarter inch between holes. Insert the socket at the top, following the kit's instructions; then screw in a 15-watt CFL bulb from the bottom, and hang.

Upcycle shredded paper into a set of gilded decorative bowls. First, choose a bowl (or multiple different-size bowls) to use as a mold. For each container you plan to create, follow these steps:

Step 1: Tightly cover the outside of your bowl with plastic wrap, securing it on the inside with painter's tape, and turn upside down. In another bowl, mix equal parts Elmer's white school glue and water. Dip shredded paper into the mixture, evenly coating each piece; then lay the strips atop the plastic-wrapped bowl so they overlap, until the bowl's exterior is completely covered. Let dry for three hours.

Step 2: Flip the bowl right side up and trim away any excess paper along the rim with scissors. Then, loosen and separate your paper bowl from the plastic-wrapped bowl.

Step 3: Paint the interior of your paper bowl with white acrylic paint and let it dry for one hour; then paint the exterior and let it dry for an hour.

Step 4: Cover the outside of your paper bowl with wax paper, securing it to the bowl's outer rim with painter's tape. Next, apply gold leaf to the bowl's interior using our Artisans Collection Holiday Gilding Kit. Follow the package instructions, and let set overnight.

Step 5: Apply neutral-toned Liberon Wax to the interior of the bowl with a soft cloth. Allow the wax to set for an hour, then gently buff to a shine with a clean soft cloth. Finally, remove the tape and wax paper, and display a few treasures in your lustrous vessel.

Patterned paper is all you need to overhaul a wall clock. This man-in-the-moon clip art is free from thegraphicsfairy.com—just download, resize as necessary, and print. We also put wallpaper samples to work.

Use a screwdriver to pop off the clock's backing and battery, then lift out the face. Gently remove the hands, nut, and washer with pliers. Set aside all parts, noting their order for reassembly. Trace the shape of the clock face onto your wallpaper or printed art, then cut out the circle. Center the paper atop the face, patterned side facing out, and secure with double-sided tape. Use a T-pin to poke a hole through the paper for the clock hands; reassemble all parts and hang.