DIY Urchin

Have you guys joined the urchin craze?  I have been seeing these cute DIY urchins all over the internet and after staring at one at Target for about 10 minutes, I decided to just make my own.  What you will need:

Skewers, Foam balls, Gold Spray paint, Hot glue gun (not pictured)

First I broke all of my skewers in half.  It's okay if your ends are frayed, just make sure and stick that end into the foam.  Also, no need to be perfect and measure here.  It looks good if they are all a little bit different in length.

Next, get a dot of hot glue onto the end of your skewer and just shove it in.  I started with the bottom half and worked my way up.  That way I knew it would sit flat on my surface.

Close up detail

Continue doing this until your urchin is as full as you can make it.

Next I took it outside and gave it a few good coats of spray paint.  This is where you could do any color you would like, I chose gold (obviously). Make sure and hit your urchin from every angle to ensure full coverage and then turn it upside down and give it another good coat.

And here it is on my little end table!

What do you guys think? Easy enough?  It think over all this cost about 5 dollars (and I have enough supplies to make several more)

Thanks for reading!! If you make one of these, we'd love to see it! Instagram it with #stellalanedesigns!

xoxo Bre

DIY curtain rod

I have had some issues finding a curtain rod big enough for my bedroom window. We found one a while ago, hung it.. major jimmy rig style and it literally fell down like a couple weeks later. So i let it go for a while and then the other day i was brainstorming about different options and i came up with the perfect solution. 

 I decided i would make a rod out of steel piping so i measured the size i wanted which was 147", went to a plumbing store and had them cut it for me. Side note: I seriously walked in this manly man plumbing store and felt so dumb. I don't know the first thing about plumbing. I was hoping they wouldn't ask me what I was doing with this extremely long pipe, and  was considering making up some sort of really dumb answer like "yea I'm just re-piping my toilets" but that wouldn't help my situation ever, so I said umm I'm making a curtain rod.. haha I know they were all rolling their eyes at me. Anyway they were nice and helped me put it in my car, you should have seen me driving around with this gigantic pipe hanging out of my car, it was seriously almost as long as my car. 

Before I embarrassed myself at the plumbing store I went to hobby lobby and got a couple of decorative drawer pulls to put on the end of my rod, as well as some cork bottle caps (Ill explain later). I got everything home and started spray painting my rod gold. I did prime it before which I highly recommend. I also Painted brackets I already had from my previous curtain rod. Then I carefully brought this huge rod into my room trying not to ding up any walls along the way… I can't say I was completely successful but nothing a little paint can't fix right…

Hanging the rod was tricky and I'm not the best at math so yes i did make a couple mistakes the first time. But putty and paint are my best friends. You need to make sure you put your brackets a couple inches into your rod. I didn't really think that through the first time… duh. 

I wanted to hang my rod as high and wide as I could. Hanging your curtains higher and wider makes your room feel bigger and taller. Make sure you know how tall your curtains are, depending on the look you are going for you can either have the curtains brush or "puddle" the floor for a more formal look or for a more casual look you can go up about 1" or so from the floor so they don't brush the floor. If you open and close your curtains a lot I would suggest not having them puddle on the floor too much since the bottoms will get dirty quickly. I actually went about 1-2" up from my molding. I didn't want my dogs to rub all over the bottom of my curtains which they most definitely would do.

After I got it all hung I was trying to figure out how to attach the knobs to the ends. I should have waited and done this step before I hung it up but I get a little impatient and I couldn't wait to see what It was going to look like. I got some cork bottle cap things from hobby lobby and decided I would just screw my knobs into the cork and then just wedge it into the pipe. It did work but the pipe hole was a lot smaller then the cork so I had to cut it. I actually drilled a hole in the cork before, and then I twisted my knob into the cork, this way made it easier for the knob to twist in. I then cut the sides of my cork to fit into the hole. This way worked for me but I'm sure there are many ways you could attach your knob. 

Overall I am so happy with how it turned out, I had a couple hiccups but this was seriously so easy.  

My Supplies: spray paint, primer, decorative knobs, cork, screws and drywall anchors, 1/2" galvanized steel pipe ( decide what size in diameter pipe you need / want depending on your curtains and brackets.) curtains, measuring tape, drill & knife to cut cork. 

 TIPS:

1. Make sure you measure your window and how wide you want your curtains to hang beyond your window before you go pick up your rod. Also know what curtains you want to use before you get your rod, depending on how your curtains are hung will determine the size of rod you need.

2. If you don't have all the supplies you need get them before you go to the plumbing store, trust me you don't want to have to go anywhere but home after you get that dang rod. 

3. Have some way to prop up your pipe so it can dry evenly. I proped mine up with a pice of wood on each side. It was a windy day so I found some rocks in my yard to hold it in place so it didn't roll around. 

4. Know exactly how you want your rod to be hung it might even help to draw it out with measurements so you don't have to patch & paint later like i did.. ( still have to do ) I hung my brackets so that there was about 3 to 4 inches left on either side, also make sure you measure the length of your curtains and decide how close to the ground you want them to hang. 

If you look closely you can see Penelope and Stella, I still need to iron my curtains and don't mind my bed spread I actually just ordered a new one from west elm and I can't wait for it to arrive!!. West elm is having a great sale right now on bedding check it out Here  but i love the finished product. It makes the room feel so much cozier, and will be so nice to block the sun in the morning. 

here are some other details of my bedroom 

Thanks for reading! let me know if you have any questions in the comments below! 

xox - Ash

Gallery wall love

In my entryway i had the perfect awkward space for a gallery wall. Gallery walls are something you need to think about for awhile don't think you can just whip it up in an hour. Start collecting items when you are at target, thrift shops craft stores etc. I had been thinking about my gallery wall for awhile till i found the perfect items i wanted to use. Between Ikea, Hobby Lobby, Bijou Market and random things i had around the house i was able to pull it all together. All the frames with glass i got at Ikea, Ikea has great frames that are simple and clean. It is important to stay consistent with your frames, I stuck with silver and black three silver and three black varying in different sizes. Adding the silver & wood clocks, wooden frames, and artwork added layers that makes it more interesting to look at. The big center picture is from Ikea, Right above that the small black one of the tree i made my husband draw with a little quote that we love. Above that the silver one, i just put a piece of fabric i had around the house to add some texture. To the left of those is a print i found at my favorite Bijou Market as well as the leaf print and the "I'll love you forever and always" print AND the wooden clock (Bijou market is April 11th & 12th in Provo UT you gotta go, the best local vendors!!). The wooden frame i hung with some hemp and a knob i found at hobby lobby. I added a photo of me and my guy and there you have it. I figured out my design on the floor before i hung it, which i would highly suggest. Also having an idea in your head about what kind of design you want would help in finding the perfect things for your gallery wall. Let me know what you think in the comments below!!

- xox Ash