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Flower walls, neon signs and more! 6 summer-inspired DIYs from blogger Joy Cho

With summer in full swing, now is the perfect time to give your space a boost of color — and we're here to help make that happen.
/ Source: TODAY

With summer in full swing, now is the perfect time to give your space a boost of color — and we're here to help make that happen.

TODAY's series "In, Out and About" is featuring some of the trendiest items you can make yourself. On Tuesday, founder of the lifestyle blog "Oh Joy!" Joy Cho shared some her favorite indoor DIYs for the summer.

Read on to see Cho's creative ideas that you can bring into your own home. She's also taking over TODAY's Pinterest account on Tuesday! You can check out her board here.

6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!'
TODAY Show: 6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!' -- July 21, 2015Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

Flower wall

Cho says she started using contact paper on my walls when she moved into her family's current home, which is a rental. She was limited on how much she could do with a place she didn’t own it, and she found that contact paper could add instant style to the walls without any permanent damage.

Whether you’re decorating for a one-day party or for the entire summer season, consider using this DIY. It's an easy way to bring instant life to any room.

Materials:

  • Flowers (paper, silk, or real)
  • Contact paper
  • Circle cutter

Method:

  1. Cut round circles from contact paper (Cho's team used the 4-inch setting here) using your cutter.
  2. Test the contact paper on the area ahead of time to make sure it won’t harm the wall. Then, use the sticky circles to adhere the blooms to the wall.
  3. Arrange however you see fit, either in even rows or scattered throughout the wall.
6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!'
TODAY Show: 6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!' -- July 21, 2015Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

Contact paper vases

The magic of contact paper continues! As it turns out, you can apply this same technique to objects as well as walls. Use it to turn a simple vase into a colorful and whimsical home décor accent.

Materials:

  • Glass cylinder vases in various sizes
  • Contact paper in your choice of colors, cut into strips of your desired width.

Method:

  1. Place your pre-cut strips directly onto the glass jars. And you're done!
6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!'
TODAY Show: 6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!' -- July 21, 2015Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

Neon sign

Cho said she came up with this fun DIY because she's always loved the look of neon signs. Here’s a way to bring the same effect in your own home and personalize it, too.

Materials:

  • Neon cord - EL Wire
  • 2-foot x 2-foot piece of birch wood
  • Painter’s tape
  • Pin nails
  • Battery panel
  • Duct tape
  • Cable wire clips

Method:

  1. Decide what word or phrase you’ll write.
  2. String the neon wire onto the wood board to spell out the text.
  3. Use painter’s tape to secure the word to the wood board, then nail pin nails along alternating sides of the letter to secure the wire onto the board. Remove the tape as you go.
  4. Drill a hole at the beginning of the word where the wire starts and another hole on the opposite end of the word where it ends.
  5. Remove the wire and string the wire through the hole from right to left starting from the back of the board and thread to recreate the word back through the nails.
  6. Secure the beginning of the wire in the hole at the beginning of the word. Be sure to drill each hole at the end of the each word, giving enough room for all the wires to connect in the back and into the battery panel.
  7. Use duct tape to tape the battery panel to the lower-middle portion of the board so you can reach it easily to turn it on and off.
  8. Secure the panel to the back of the board with duct tape. Secure the wires to the back with cable wire clips to keep them neat and secure.
6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!'
TODAY Show: 6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!' -- July 21, 2015Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

Color-blocked jars

When you move into a new home, you'll likely neglect decorating the kitchen — at least for a while. Most people do. It's a space that's already got a lot going on. But Cho's team thinks that you should reconsider your thoughts about that important space. She showed us an easy way to bring a bit more color into any kitchen, big or small.

Materials:

  • Glass jars in various sizes
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paint brush
  • Painters tape

Method:

  1. Decide how short (or tall) you want your angled color block to go and use painter’s tape to tape off the area above it so that you have a clean line for your edge below. The tape will look like it’s at an angle on each side and then come to a point where the edges meet). The higher up you place the tape, the more paint you’ll use to coat the bottom portion of the jar.
  2. Use a brush to paint the lower portion of the jar where it’s taped off. Let the paint dry.
  3. You can stop there or if you want, add another color in the opposite direction by adding a layer of tape in the opposite direction and painting on the other side. We used neon colors for the larger color block and softer pastels for the smaller color blocks. Let the 2nd layer dry.

6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!'
TODAY Show: 6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!' -- July 21, 2015Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

Typography throw pillows

Decorative pillows are one of the simplest ways to bring a bring a pop of color and pattern to your home without having to give it too much careful forethought. Here’s an inexpensive way to make some of your own decorative pillows using Cho's favorite recent trend — gorgeous typography.

Materials:

  • Canvas pillow case covers (we used 14x14)
  • Pillow inserts (14x14)
  • Fabric paint
  • Paint brush
  • 3” adhesive letters

How to:

  1. Choose a fun phrase, name, or playful word.
  2. Stick the adhesive letters of the work you’d like to spell onto the pillow case
  3. Paint over the letters with various colors of fabric paint creating whatever design or pattern you like.
  4. Once dry (about an hour) remove the adhesive letters and then wash the pillow case inside out after 72 hours. Once dry, iron the pillowcase if needed and fill the pillow.
6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!'
TODAY Show: 6 summer-inspired DIY ideas from blogger Joy Cho, of 'Oh Joy!' -- July 21, 2015Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

Sun-printed placemats

Cho loves collecting shells at the beach with my kids, and if you've got little ones at home, chances are that's something you enjoy, too. But what do you do with all those shells you have at home that are just collecting dust? Well, Cho's got an idea: Use them to decorate placemats. It's a fun way to highlight their stunning natural shape, and it'll delight your kids while still retaining a grown-up flair.

Materials:

  • Sun print fabric dye (we used Inkodye)
  • Found sea shells
  • Paint brush
  • Plain white fabric placemats

How to:

  1. Brush the sun print dye onto the placemats.
  2. Then place the sea shells where you’d like them to show up in the design of the placemat and set in the sun for 20 mins.
  3. The sun will slowly bring out the color of the dye on the placemats leaving the area where the sea shells are sitting in white.
  4. Wash the placemats in hot water to set. You’ll see the true color come out after washing.
  5. Let dry and iron the placemats if needed.