Mark Montano's Blog

Recycled Paper Jewelry DIY

I’ve always been a fan of Cristian Lacroix. Maybe it’s because he invented the pouf skirt! Seriously, how could you not be a fan of that piece of fashion history? Plus, I truly love his jewelry pieces because they are a mixture of Baroque and a dash of Tony Duquette splattered with gems and stones. What’s not to love? These jewelry pieces are made with magazine pages and some easy to find supplies, most of which I’ll bet you already have. You could use flat backed gems instead of the cabochons. It’s up to you. I have to say that lately I’ve been having a love affair with cabochons and I can’t stop using them in my projects. Try them both and see what happens. In the mean time, make sure to subscribe to my blog because I’ll be sending out some fun tidbits and very good news soon. Happy DIY’ing!

Christian Lacroix inspired Recycled Paper Jewelry

Some vintage Christian Lacroix jewelry from the 1980′s

You’ll need:

2 1/2″ wide magazine strips

White glue

E-6000

Gold Metallic Krylon spray paint

Needle nose pliers

Flat metal cuff

Clip on earring flats

Ring finding

Cabochons or flat back gems

Roll your magazine stips (at an angle) into thin straws

Secure the end with a small dab of white glue

Make a TON of these!

Grab your needles nose pliers

Starting from one end of a straw, roll it tightly around the tip of the pliers

Secure the end with a dab of white glue

For larger rolls, connect 2 or 3 straws together

See the difference?

Grab your E-6000

Using a dab of E-6000 and then a dab of hot glue, add your beads

to the cuff in a pattern you like.

The hot glue keeps it in place while the E-6000 dries

Spray your pieces (outside) with a gold Krylon metallic

You could stop here…..OR……

Glue on cabochons and or flat back gems

Make earrings using only 4 beads and gluing them together with hot glue and E-6000 for

the clip-on earring findings

The earrings…..BTW, these look great on me.

You’re done!

For over 150 more jewelry ideas, grab a copy of

The Big Ass Book of Bling!

Tagged: crafts, diy, e-6000, hot glue gun, how-to, Jewelry DIY, krylon, make your mark, mark montano, pbs, recycled, recycled paper projects, the big ass book of bling, the big ass book of crafts

0 0 18 May

Bejeweled Hand Mirror DIY

Every glamour girl I know needs a bejeweled hand mirror on her dresser. This one was super easy to make and I got most of the supplies at the dollar store. I was going to add some jewels to the handle, but I thought it might get in the way so I kept them on the upper part of the mirror. I’ll bet you have tons of broken jewelry pieces you could use for this project. If not, head the the jewelry section of the dollar store and go nuts like I did. I’m thinking this might be a perfect bridesmaid gift, too.

My mom is going to love this!

You’ll need

Hand mirror

Various jewelry pieces

Wire cutters

E-6000 glue (the best stuff)

Gather your supplies

Clip off any earring backs or pins with the wire cutters

Play with your arrangement until you’re happy with it.

Carefully glue on one piece at a time

with a generous amount of E-6000 glue

Make sure to only glue one piece on at a time!

Finish by adding pearls and gems in the open spots so that none of the

back of the mirror is exposed.

You’re done!

Tagged: crafts, E-6000 glue, fashion diy, how-to, Jewelry DIY, make your mark, mark montano, pbs, the big ass book of bling, the big ass book of crafts, The Big Ass Book of Home Decor

0 0 14 May

BIG NEWS: Make Your Mark Coming to PBS This Fall!

We’re still doing our weekly DIY videos every Saturday, but today I wanted to share some very special news with you!

Make Your Mark is coming to PBS this fall in a 1/2 hour version with FIVE projects per episode.

In addition to the weekly YouTube videos, all of the Mark Your Mark PBS episodes will also be available online at PBS.org in case you miss anything (or if you want to watch again and again). My team and I are so excited to bring you this show; it’s been a life-long dream of mine to be able to share my creativity in a bigger way.

So, let me tell you all why I am SO excited for you to see this show!

First off, we have some terrific guests lined up:

Peter Marr is an extraordinary carpenter, and all-around great guy, who will be helping to make some of the larger projects that require things like power tools and jigsaws.

Kelly Nishimoto from Something Borrowed, Something New on TLC.

Kelly is my B.F.F. and former co-host from My Celebrity Home, which aired on the Style Network.

She’s super fun to hang out with and she visited several times on-set

to help me make some beautiful fashion accessories for the show.

Kritsten Turner from the acclaimed website GlitterNGlue.com.

This girl is a blast and we have a great time creating together in the studio.

Meiko is a crazy talented musician who just released her second album, The Bright Side. She visited the set and performed a song from her latest album, and then we figured out together how to collaborate on a very special project.

Rob and Corinne from Threadbanger!

Threadbanger stopped by to say hello on the hottest day of the summer

so far, and we worked on some fabulous home decor projects together.

Kristen Turner and I posing for the camera. Snazzy!

So, make sure to put Make Your Mark in your DVR and double-check

that your local PBS station is carrying us.

Stay tuned for more updates from the set, and see you soon!

xx Mark

Tagged: e-6000, kelly nishimoto, kristen turner, krylon, make your mark, mark montano, meiko, news, pbs, peter marr, rob and corinne, the big ass book of bling, the big ass book of crafts, threadbanger

0 0 6 May

T-shirts to Hoodie D.I.Y.

I’m constantly trying to come up with new ways to use all of the free t-shirts I get at every convention and event. This stylish hoodie is an easy project to make because it only requires two stitches. One on the hood and one around the neckline. Use contrasting t-shirts for a funky look or matching tees for an understated look. I used the green for the hood so that you could actually see what I’m doing here. I tried making a video with an all black hoodie and it was a MESS! Enjoy and have fun!

Blue Steel a la Zoolander!

You’ll need:

Sewing machine

2 t-shirts

Measuring tape

Matching thread

Long shoestring

Straight pins (for sewing)

Fabric Chalk

Scissors

Here’s How:

1. Lay your t-shirt flat

2. Draw a v-neck line with fabric chalk on the front side of one t-shirt

3. Carefully cut it out on the front side ONLY. Don’t cut the v in the back!

4. Measure around all three sides of your neckline with measuring tape. My measurement was 21″.

5. Lay out your 2nd t-shirt to make the hood. You’ll be working from the hem side!

6. Add 1″ to your neckline measurement on the tape measure. So my measurement would be 22″.

7. Fold the tape measure in half from your new measurement. Continuing with my example, my tape measure now reads 11-22″.

8. Draw a fabric chalk line on the t-shirt as shown for the exact folded length

9. Continuing with the first line, draw out your hood in fabric chalk (I only used permanent marker to make it easier to see!).

10. Cut out your hood.

11. Unfold the hood (there are two pieces), and then flip inside out.

12. Use a sewing machine to stitch along the back of the hood

*It’s going to look like this. A monk wearing green!*

13. Pin the neckline of the hood to the neckline of the t-shirt starting with one pin in the center back and one pin in the center front, and pinning evenly in between.

14. Overlap the two center front parts of the hood 1/2″ and stitch.

15. Stitch around the neck.

16. On the INSIDE of the hem of the hoodie near the center front, draw two small dots. These are your holes in which you will thread the your shoestring (drawstring).

*The hem of the 2nd t-shirt (green shirt shown) is going to be your tunnel for the drawstring*

17. Cut a very very tiny hole on the inside where you drew the dots. You’ll have to separate the fabrics so that you don’t cut through both sides (VERY IMPORTANT!).

18. Thread your drawstring and you’re done!

Tagged: clothing DIY, crafty king, drawstring hoodie, easy DIY, hoodie DIY, how to make a hoodie, make your mark, mark montano, sewing DIY, sewing project, t-shirt project, the big ass book of crafts

0 0 28 Apr

Spring Flower Boutonnière D.I.Y.

I wanted something fancy to wear this spring on my cotton blazer (and to give as gifts to my friends) so I started messing around with some fake flowers and jewelry pieces I had hanging around. I love the way these turned out. These would be fun for a party, wedding or special occasion and I think they’re perfect for everyone. You probably have everything you need to make these already, and if not, make do with what you have.

Happy Spring everyone!

My trio of lapel pins for spring!

You’ll need:

E-6000

Fake flowers (I prefer silk flowers)

Ribbon

Jewelry pieces

Safety Pin backs

Hot glue gun

Wire cutters

Here’s how:

1. Trim the flowers 4″ below the flower and trim off all leaves

2. Hot glue the leaves you trimmed off around the flower as shown

3. Place a dab of hot glue to the base of the flower

4. Add your ribbon onto the dab of glue with a 4″ piece sticking off of one end

5. Wrap the ribbon down to the bottom of the stem, and then back up to the top

6. Tie a knot in the ribbon when you get back to the top

7. Create a bow from a new piece of ribbon with several loops

8. Hot glue the bow right under the flower

9. Grab your E-6000!

10. Glue your jewelry pieces over the bows

11. Let dry for 1/2 hour

12. Once dry, glue the safety pin attachment onto the stem on the back side of the pin

You’re done!

Tagged: Boutonniere DIY, bridal projects, e-6000, flowers, Jewelry DIY, make your mark, mark montano, spring accessories, Spring DIY Projects, spring lapel pin, Spring Projects, the best craft book, the big ass book of bling

0 0 17 Apr

I LIKE BIG BUTTONS D.I.Y.

When I opened my first store in NYC, way back when, I decorated the store with huge plywood cutouts of buttons, needles and spools of thread. I then took cord and wrapped the spools, threaded the wooden needles and made a criss-cross in each button…..and then spray painted the entire “wood collage” gold! It looked amazing. If I had Krylon’s Glitter Blast back then, I would have used that instead. These huge frisbee buttons would look terrific in any room in your house. Especially if you’re creative! This project brought back tons of terrific memories for me.

You’ll need:

Frisbees

Drill with large drill bit

Scrap wood piece (for drilling)

Krylon Glitter Blast

Krylon Fusion in a color that matches your Glitter Blast

Yarn

Here’s How:

1. Drill four “button holes” in your frisbee

(Make sure to do this on top of some scrap wood!)

2. Spray paint your button with the Krylon Fusion and let dry for 15 minutes

3. Coat your button with Krylon Glitter Blast and let dry for 15 minutes

4. Make your stitches using yarn in a color you like

5. Tie a knot in the back to keep the stitching in place

6. Decorate your house with your newly finished button!

Make sure to grab a Big Ass Book for more inspiration!

Click here for a list of all of my books

Tagged: 99c store crafts, diy home decor, diy projects, Dollar Store Crafts, frisbee buttons, krylon, krylon fusion, krylon glitter blast, make your mark, mark montano, the big ass book of crafts

0 0 16 Apr

How to make TINY HATS!

Not sure if you watch Saturday Night Live, but there was a skit I LOVED about tiny hats. I got to thinking and decided it was time to attempt a tiny hat DIY. I have finally found a reason to use all of the plastic lids I’ve been saving for the past 3 years. Now If I can just find an occasion to wear them!

Victorian all the way!

This is probably just a bit bigger than actual size on your computer!

You’ll need:

Krylon Fusion in Black (it works well on plastics)

Netting (Tulle)

Scissors

Cereal cardboard

Bobby pins

Plastic lids

Feathers

Small ribbon flowers

Ribbon

Hot glue gun

Here’s How:

1. Cut out circles for the brim of your hat. About 1/4″ to 3/8″ larger than the circumference of your lid.

2. Glue the lids to the center of the cardboard circles.

3. Spray paint them black and let them dry.

4. Hot glue ribbon around the base of the lids.

5. Scrunch up a small amount of netting (about a 3″ by 4″ piece) and hot glue it to the seam of the ribbon.

6. Glue a ribbon flower on top of the tulle.

7. Glue a bobby pin to the underside of the hat.

You’re done!

Tagged: how-to, Jewelry DIY, krylon, make your mark, mark montano, perfect paper projects, pulp fiction, the best craft book, the big ass book of bling, the big ass book of crafts

0 0 15 Apr

He Crafts She Crafts: Black Plate Special

We’re back with another installment of He Crafts She Crafts and I’m seriously excited about this post. There are a few things that I truly love in this world and the work of the designer Piero Fornasetti is one of them. Many of his home decor designs used images of an early 20th century opera singer named Lina Cavaliere. I think he had a “thing” for her!

I’m also madly in love with my friend Stephenie who writes this He Crafts She Crafts blog with me. For this post, we trolled the dollar store and found some amazing square black plates which I thought would be perfect for some wall decor. Stephenie turned her square black plate into a beautiful cake plate by adding a stand. Fantastic! Check out how she made hers at www.MyCraftyAdventures.com.

I gave my plate some Fornasetti images and turned it into a terrific wall hanging.
BTW, leave a comment on our blogs for a chance to win some amazing goodies!

Inexpensive plates make a great canvas:

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano

Plates are also a terrific way to decorate your home without spending a fortune!
These were one dollar each at my local 99c store.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Final

Stephenie took the same plate and created an embellished stand for it.
She has a way of making everything look effortless and beautiful.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano by Stephenie

Learn how she made this at www.MyCraftyAdventures.com

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano by Stephenie V2

What You’ll Need

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano How

Print out of Lina Cavalieri (below)
White glue
Paintbrush
Scissors
Acetate print out of butterflies (images below)
Gold Krylon Spray Paint
Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer
Small dish for your glue

Here’s How

1. Click on this image and drag it to your desktop to print on plain paper.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Lina Cavaliere

2. Images of butterflies to use. Take a print out of this to your copy shop and have them print it on a clear sheet of acetate.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Butterflies

3. Cut out your image

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 1

4. Spray paint one side of the acetate print out with the Krylon Metallic Gold and let dry. You’ll end up with wonderful metallic gold butterflies.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 2

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 3

5. Carefully cut out the butterflies.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 4

6. Spread a thin layer of glue on the back of your image of Lina.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 5

7. Carefully position her on your plate and let dry. Press out any bumps and make sure that your image is smooth.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 6

8. Add your butterflies with a thin layer of glue and let dry.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 7

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 8

9. When your images are dry, coat the entire plate with 2-3 coats of the Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer.
Wait at least 10 minutes in between coats.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 9

10. This will give it a nice finish and it will be ready to hang on your wall!

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 10

Here is a photo of the beautiful Lina Cavalieri.
She is the woman who inspired Piero Fornasetti’s work.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Step 12

The final product:

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Final Plate Design

Tagged: black plates, He Crafts, Home Decor, lina cavalieri, mark montano, mycraftyadventures, Piero Fornasetti, She Crafts, stephenie

0 0 16 Feb

Lina Cavalieri & Butterflies (Printable Images)

Make a decorative Fornasetti inspired plate in no time!

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Final Plate Design

An image of Lina Cavalieri to use for your decorative Fornasetti inspired plates.
Click and print.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Lina Cavaliere

Print these on white paper and then take to your local
copy shop to have printed on clear acetate.
Click and print.

Black Plate Special He Crafts She Crafts with Mark Montano Butterflies

Tagged: butterflies, lina cavalieri, mark montano, printable images

0 0 15 Feb

Recycled “I Heart You” Garlands

It’s true, I have a hard time tossing out old magazines. Stacks of magazines make me sad because I know that they could become everything from bowls of paper beads, a super cool collage or even a Valentine’s Day”I HEART YOU” Garland.

For my Valentine’s Day party this year, I’m decorating with tons of garlands made from magazine pages and a few pieces of red paper. Instead of buying tons of glitter hearts and pink streamers I’m going to use what I have to make the party magical. Even if you’re having a small dinner for two, these paper garlands will make the night a little more special. Just don’t get them too close to your candles. Happy Valentine’s Day!

I Heart You Valentine's Day Garlands by Mark Montano DIY Project Final