My Favorite Tutorials of 2012

Earlier this week I shared Mad in Crafts’ Top 10 Tutorials of 2012, according to page views.  Today I would like to show you MY favorite tutorials of the year.  Whether they were surprising successes, gratifying before-and-afters, or just plain fun to make, these 10 tutorials hold a special place in my heart this year.  It makes feel very happy that so many of my favorites were your favorites too!

10.  DIY Shoe Redo

I think I liked this tutorial so much because the entire process was SO out of my comfort zone, yet the end result was something of which I can be proud.  The mystery box challenge materials were tough, I don’t often do fashion projects, and there were feathers involved.  But, in the end, I really love the way the shoes turned out!

9.  Dr Seuss Snack

I had so much fun creating this recipe with my son.  My son enjoyed his classmates’ reactions to the snack at school.  Pinterest seemed to like the idea too.  Happiness all around.   Very Seussian, indeed.

8.  Fire & Ice Lanterns

These lanterns were a 100% shot-in-the-dark experiment.  I had no idea if they would even freeze properly, let alone look nice.  I love it when a plan comes together, don’t you?

7.  DIY Watercolor Curtains

Another no-idea-if-this-will-work-or-not project!  (I am starting to sense a theme with my favorites this year!)  I had never seen watercolors done with tie dye, so even though I am no painter, I am proud of how well the curtains for my daughter’s room turned out!

6.  Dining Room Transformation

All you need to do is look at the before and after picture to see why this project ranked in my top ten faves of the year.  Goodbye, grandma floral.  Hello, sophisticated tone-on-tone pattern!

5.  Project Runway Inspired Pegboard

Often I start a project without really knowing what my end game is.  I kind of just make it up as I go along.  For this project, however, I had a very specific picture of the finished product in my head, and I am so glad that the reality turned out as well as my imagined version!

4.  Duct Tape Dress Form

Not only do I love it when things that sound ridiculous end up being amazingly practical (see HERE, HERE, and HERE), I had a BLAST making this dress form with my cousin Mollie.  Also, purple duct tape.  Amen.

3.  Mad in Crafts Work Room

I am definitely cheating by combining a bunch of small projects into one item on my top ten list here.  My work room is full of organization and storage ideas that I love, décor that I adore, and oodles of bright, happy colors.

2.  TARDIS Closet

We hadn’t closed on our new house yet, when I had decided I would turn the closet doors in my son’s room into a TARDIS.  Most of the people with whom I shared my plans either looked at me like I was crazy or just laughed.  Well, who’s crazy and laughing now, huh?!?!!?  Wait….

1.  How to Preserve a 25-Year-Old Cheeseball in Resin

Technically, my mom did this project, but I wrote up the tutorial, so there.  This tutorial wins the number one spot for its sheer lunacy.  My family saved a cheeseball for 25 years, my mom encased it in resin, and I blogged about it.  You’re welcome, internets.