EASY WEEKEND DIY PROJECTS

Even though the weather has been totally rubbish of late, I've decided to do a little Spring-inspired Five Past Friday. When we stumble upon a new season, I always have the need to change something about my surroundings - even if it's just a change of furniture or some organisation with my brand new Marks & Spencer's stationery.

This Spring I want to update my home a little, having been in here over six months I definitely feel settled and ready to continue to make it my own. Being a renter, as many of you know, means it can be difficult to really put your stamp on things, but I've put together five easy-peasy DIY's for you to try this weekend, which will brighten your home and won't cost the earth.

First up we have some hand painted cacti pots. You can buy these white mini pots, complete with cacti for £4.50 at Ikea (for three I might add), which you can then take a Sharpie to and doodle to your heart's content. Do a polka dot design, or even get some masking tape and spray with some pastel shades for a pretty windowsill feature in the bathroom.

Now this is an easy one. Organise your closet for Spring, taking out any crap that doesn't fit you, hasn't been worn yet or has still had a label on two years later. Then buy some nice gold metal coat hangers and paint the tops in pastels. Whilst these are drying, take your old clothes to the charity shop and do your good deed for the day. This looks great, by the way, if you have an open rail of clothes in your bedroom and want to make it look slightly more presentable. I know loads of bloggers who have sample racks in their offices so this is a great idea to style it up a little.

Mason jars seem to be the in thing to buy right now and if you follow me on Pinterest, you'll know I love anything Mason related. I actually need to hunt some of these down so I can create my own utensils pot as shown above. All you need to do is buy a clear mason jar, take a small tester pot of your favourite paint and pour inside bit by bit. Take the paint and swill it around inside, until you've covered the whole thing. But do take it small bit at a time or else the paint will get everywhere.

The next two DIY's are slightly more intermediate in terms of difficulty. Instead of a doormat to your house, why not take a stencil (print off the word "welcome" in a font you love - preferably on A3 paper which you might have to do at Staples of Hobbycraft - and cut the letters out with a craft knife), and spray your doorstep with a hard-wearing paint you can pick up at your local DIY store.

Make sure you mask down the stencil very tightly and leave to dry for a couple of hours before stepping on it. I really do love this idea though and think it's perfect for a welcome which is that little bit different. 

Finally, this is a DIY which takes a little skill and an eye for a straight line. Take a spot in your house (I love this idea for the hallway with a retro console table along the side of the wall) and use masking tape to create a diamond shape. You might be better getting someone to help you with this, as I know from hanging pictures, two people are always better than one.

You'll need five colours if you want to achieve a design just like this, so pick five that compliment each other well. Start with the lighter colour first and paint the whole of the diamond shape. After waiting for this to dry completely, add masking tape again to create the shape of the yellow line above. Paint and allow to dry. Keep going until you create a piece of wall art just like this. This could actually be an amazing way to make a statement headboard in your bedroom or above a fireplace if you don't have a mirror. 

Anyway, do let me know if you try any of these easy DIY's this weekend or if you plan to, let me know which. Have a great weekend lovelies.