5 Incredibly Clever DIYs That You’ll Actually Want To Try

Lovely things to make in the late summer.

Zoe Burnett / BuzzFeed

1. Cover a plain white plate with chalkboard paint, then use it to serve various cheese, crackers, fruit, and whatever else you want to label.

witandwhistle.com

It's the perfect way to make sure everyone knows what's what at family gatherings and other parties. To get straight and even lines like in the photo above, tape off the edges of the plate with masking tape before painting. While many chalkboard paints are non-toxic when dry, you can always buy an eco-friendly paint like this one, starting at $9.95.

Here's the tutorial.

2. Assemble colorful flowers out of raffia and beads, then glue them to a clip so you can wear them on any pair of shoes you'd like.

damasklove.com

Wear 'em on any pair they'll clip to! Don't skip the step where you glue a little circle of leather to the center of the raffia flower, because otherwise it might disintegrate as you wear it.

Here's the tutorial.

3. Use felt glue to attach simple craft store pom poms to a basic pillow cover.

almostmakesperfect.com

almostmakesperfect.com

To get super neat spacing and lines, use a pencil to sketch out your shapes or pattern before you start gluing. And take the cover off of the pillow before gluing, so you're not trying to glue around a cushy curve. If you're worried about pom poms falling off, you can secure them with a single small stitch.

Here's the tutorial.

4. Use 2'' letter stickers to paste your favorite funny laundry quote on your laundry hamper.

studiodiy.com

If you're headed off to college, your hamper definitely won't get mixed up with everyone else's store-bought ones!

To make sure your letters go on straight, use masking tape to secure either end of a piece of string into a guide for the bottom of each of the words, then remove after you're done. Here's the tutorial.

5. ModPodge your favorite fabric onto a circle (or square, or heart, etc.) of cork to customize a mousepad to your tastes.

thecraftedlife.com

Pick a fabric that's thick enough that the glue won't bleed through too much. A good rule is to stay away from anything too sheer, although you could probably make it work. (It would just be extra sticky.)

Here's the tutorial.