10 DIY ideas anybody can make while in lockdown

Do you ever find yourself looking at Pinterest tutorials and feeling discouraged because you'd need to make a few trips to shop all the different supplies? At Life of Colour we want to make art and creativity something anybody can do!

These ideas from our community are fantastic for any beginner DIYer because they involve things you will definitely have at home and colourful art you can be inspired by!

All you will need is used items from your home and art tools... and we ship directly to your home if you don't already have a fantastic Life of Colour collection.

Pasta tic-tac-toe

This might be the cutest idea ever... and the best part is you can open the pantry and keep the kids entertained and off screens for a long while!

Make your own fantastic pasta tic-tac-toe, idea created by Clare from Curious Columbus, a toy maker from Tasmania that loves to create colourful and bright games for children.

Collection of movie inspired rocks

Any Disney, superhero, Pokemon fans in your home? Why not make a fantastic set of rocks inspired by their favourite characters!? The world of rock painting is awaiting, all you need is to gather rocks from your surroundings or purchase some in a landscape shop. 

Frozen, Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast and Star Wars rocks by @ruthless_artist

Our paint pens are perfect for rock painting and you can even mix the colours to make new ones.

Recreate your favourite piece of art from your home

Do you have a great piece of artwork in your living room you just *loooove*... you can practice your drawing, painting and observation skills by recreating it in your style.

Sit in the couch with your favourite portable art supplies and a warm cup of coffee and make your own version of your favourite art! You can try again in a couple of months and see if you spot any differences between your pieces.

Make awesome wood slices decorations

Make a easy drawer hanger by combining your wood slices and stencils, we have hundreds of designs combined into different sets for those days when you want to be creative and not think about drawing something from scratch.

This cute drawer decor piece was made by Jaz (13 years old).

Refresh a plain picture frame

It’s the oldest DIY trick in the book - restyling picture frames! Find a frame you're sick of seeing, and turn it into a nice piece of decor using your Life of Colour paint pens. Acrylic paint pens are water-based art pens filled with acrylic paint, for use on any surface so you'll be using them for a myriad of projects: fabric, textile, canvas, metal, pottery, treated wood, plastic, stone, terra-cotta, polymer clay, rock & more.

Choose natural colours to create your beach scene. The bottom of the frame is sandy with a few scattered shells which then extends into the blue shades with wispy clouds above.

Take a family painting workshop

If you need some time to unwind, relax and connect with your family, then taking a painting workshop together can be a perfect activity to do at home.

We ship the supplies to your home if you don't already have them, and provide you with a fantastic video masterclass intended for all ages. Pick your favourite online workshop: lavender fields, abstract rose, cherry blossom tree or protea in 3D - or get all four of them.

Paint on your old phone case

If your case has seen better days, you can make sure it gets a second life! First of all, clean your case using a soft cloth and a soapy water. Dry. If it's glossy or already painted on, be sure to prime the case before painting. Next take out your trusty Life of Colour paint pens and start making art!

These are some amazing ideas by our resident artist Ella Hore:

This dreamy beach scene with black silhouettes painted by Samantha Dorahy. She used the 3mm pens to make the gradient background, adding a touch of glitter pink to make it sparkle!

To finish off your new case, and make sure its protected, use your sealant of choice. We always recommend matte finish so it looks silky and smooth!

Make your own mug

Decorate any plain white mugs laying around with these super easy designs and make coffee time look a little bit more fun!

A quick dotted rainbow is a great idea to make with the kids, you can give each children a mug and they decorate it however they desire!

This retro design also allows for you to change up the colours and shapes, but this can always be a reference to get you started! It’s also really unique with the quote “coffee time” lettered on the front. 

Use a clear acrylic spray to seal the mug.

Revamp your clothes and bring art into your outfits

Painting on clothes is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your artwork while wearing it. It doesn't have to be a statement piece, you can start with adding pops of colour to your shoes, a scarf or a tote bag.

This painted jacket was made by Jen Hall and it's an amazing inspiration to keep putting your art to the test with new mediums, you can find her on Facebook as Painty Hands.

Turn any gift box into decor

It's very easy to DIY craft boxes with cool designs. Little heart boxes like these are a perfect size to do some detailed patterns or simple landscape designs like these. Whether it’s a circle, triangle or square they would work perfectly for a small DIY project like this!

These boxes had already been painted before, so giving them a coat of white before starting makes coverage a lot easier. For a simple design like these, sketch out some outlines and colour in the block areas with paint pen colours of your choice. Outline the shapes with a black fine tip paint pen and colour the “rim” with a colour you have used.