Funky Pillows

Step number two of adding some color to the living room is some new pillows for the couch. And, bonus!, I sewed them myself. Of course pillows are easy, but I'm still pretty proud of myself. I mean, I sewed several straight lines! These pillow cases are envelope style. Maybe one day I'll be skilled enough to sew a zipper.

I currently have four pillows on the couch. I can't decide if they should be two of each pattern, four different patterns, two of one pattern and one each of two other patterns, or what. (Was that confusing?) So, for now, I have two of each.

For the record, the two smaller pillow covers-- teal with dandelions, were purchased on Etsy for $20ish each. I paid less than $20 for the two yards of fabric for the two bigger pillow covers that I sewed myself. So, boom. DIY savings.

And here's the whole living room view. Up next, I'll be turning some drawers into shelves. That's a much larger project and might take a very long time to happen. Also, now that I look at the room, I'm thinking some kind of valance and curtains may be in order. I loooove those blinds, but I'm not realizing that they're pretty cold. 

Yes, that's a wagon. And yes, it's a pretty boring room. Remember, I have a two year old. All the tchotchkes have been removed for child proofing purposes. Even our lovely coffee table has been relocated to the other side of the room so E doesn't gouge an eye out on the corner. 

I hope we'll be able to have a normal house again someday. Maybe in, what, 16 or so years?

Fabric Wrapped Lamp Shade

I'm working on adding some accents and patterns to my living room now that we got some new furniture. I'm in love with blues, greens and yellows. First up, the lamp.

We've had an Ikea lamp shade on this Target lamp for a very long time. Except, the lamp is made to attach at the top and the shade is made to attach around the light bulb. So really, the shade is just ever-so-carefully balanced on the lamp.

Time to un-ghetto-ify the lamp!

I started with a $20 plain white shade that's shorter/fatter than the Ikea shade. In the picture, it seems very similar but the simple fact that the new lamp shade actually attaches to the lamp is the biggest difference here.

Time to get super technical. Not.

To cut the fabric, I laid it on the floor and then cut about an inch from the top and bottom as I rolled it along. I did a little adjusting to get the pattern right. Still, it's a little better looking from the front than from the back, which is fine for its location.

I used spray adhesive, following the temporary bond instructions to lightly attach it. A bead of hot glue along the seam makes it look nice and neat. I also used hot glue along the top and bottom and folded the excess to the inside.

I like it. A lot. I might paint the lamp base white but I'm going to live with the black for a while before I made that decision.

Note, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that room divider that's propped up behind the lamp. It was in the opposite corner of the room, but the new sectional fills up that corner now. I still love the fabric so I might wrap some canvas with it or maybe frame it in a big white frame.

What are you fabric wrapping lately?

A Spring Wreath

I think E and I are finished dying. The doc said I had a virus. I think it was more like the flu. I've never had a virus knock me off my feet like that and for 5 full days. Anywho... 

Before the sickness, I made a spring wreath. My inspiration came from this one that I pinned. (The pin goes to a site that's not in English.)

It took me forever to take the plunge on this one. That fake fur stuff is pricey and it seemed like it would take a lot. When I saw it on sale at JoAnn's, I knew it was time. I got two balls of it for $2.99 each. Still not cheap, but better than full price which is double that. I used an 8 inch green foam wreath. The green wreath helps hide any spaces in the fur. The spool of flower "ribbon" was quite pricey, but I didn't use much of it so it'll be good for many future projects. Overall, this wasn't a cheap project, but I love it so much. So, here ya go...

It's bright, springy, happy. It makes me smile every time I pull in the driveway. Also, I got to use the fun trick of using a Command hook on the top inside of the door to hang it. I'll never go back to those dumb wreath hangers! 

Twine Wrapped Vase

Wow. It's been a crazy week. E and I have both been extremely under the weather. I've been out of work for three full days and two half days in the past 6 work days. Not good.

Last weekend, before we were all on our death beds, I got into some crafts. Mr. S got me a huge vase of lilies for our anniversary. They were beautiful but I was left with yet another plain vase to deal with. I have been seeing tons of twine wrapped things, including some vases that were mega pricey.

So... free vase + a $10 ball of chunky twine that I only used half of + some yarn that I already had + a lot of hot glue...

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I think I like it.

Felt Bunting

I don't really know where this idea came from. I'm not one to dream up things on my own, so I'm sure I saw it somewhere.

Back in November/December, I became obsessed with making some fun bunting for E's room. I got felt in bright colors that go with his room colors and got started. It was easy, but it took me a couple weekends of sewing here and there.

Each triangle in the bunting is half of a 9"x11" sheet of felt. I cut them in half long ways and then folded that in half and cut them into triangles. Something like this:

Instead of using matching thread (embroidery floss), I decided to use contrasting colors.

I did what I so technically call the outside stitch. I know that's not what it's called. What the heck is the name for it? Who cares? I left a little pocket at the top of each triangle and then strung them all on some teal yarn. I hung it with a couple small nails. It was hung with three different types of Command hooks but each one fell after some amount of time. So, alas, I had to make holes in the wall.

I love that it make's E's room look like a party. I love all the bright colors in his room. It makes me smile every time I'm in there. One day, I'll write about those super awesome stripes on the wall (that I painted while Mr. S was away on a business trip and I was uber prego) and the scrapbook paper Mod Podge'd name above the closet. 

TP Roll Art

You know you've hit a crafting rock bottom when you start doing toilet paper crafts. Don't get me wrong, some of the TP stuff on Pinterest is really cool. Regardless of their cool factor, there will always be a certain ick factor about toilet paper roll crafts... to me, at least.

I've been struggling with what to put on my living room walls for... years? I had lots of things up, then we repainted and nothing went back on the walls. I keep thinking I want to make something, but can't decide what. I'm seriously in decision paralysis... for years!

When I saw these adorable picture frames by Creative Carmella on Pinterest, I got inspired. I don't want the picture aspect of it, but I love the funky circles. So, I ran with them and added a little ombre. It's the new hotness. Everyone loves ombre, right? Ombre and chevrons-- they're the king and queen of crafts right now.

Anyway, still pretty unsure how this would all turn out, I didn't want to spend much. I got a 16"x20" canvas for less than $4 at Hobby Lobby and used some acrylic paints that I already had around. I painted the canvas white. (It was already white, but I wanted to make sure it was as white as it could be.) Then I started with my circles.

My Tools (ew)

After some TP roll diameter measuring (1.75", fyi) and some math, I decided to use three colors. I made three rows of just blue paint (I'm pretty sure the color was True Blue). Then, I added some white paint until I got a medium blue and made three rows of that. Then I added even more white paint to get a light blue and finished with three more rows.

Close up, I think it's cool. The ombre effect is very subtle, which was not what I was going for but it takes a heck of a lot of white paint to lighten that blue at all! And, of course, I didn't realize that until it was way too late.

Do you see the ombre?  Sad, sad ombre.

I put it in the coveted between-the-front-door-and-picture-window position. I don't love it. It's not interesting enough from a distance. I love, love, love bright white on my dark gray walls but the white of the door and the super bright white of the window is just too much on either side of it.

Kinda hypnotizing, yes?
(Ignore the Command hook peeping out the top-- my temporary hanging solution until I make up my mind.)

Maybe I'll downgrade it to the hallway-between-the-bathroom-and-master-bedroom position. Or maybe I'll trash it because it cost less than $5 total. Maybe I'll donate it to Goodwill and someone will think they're getting a masterpiece...and they won't know it was painted with toilet paper rolls! Yep, you know it! Someone will be in there thrift shoppin' and they'll say "This is f'n awesome!"

Check out more Pinterest Challenge projects!

A Valentine's Day Yarn Wreath

I love making them. I've made Christmas yarn wreaths and every day yarn wreaths. I'll post some of those later. But for today, how about a hot pink wreath with conversation hearts?

My bow tying skills leave a little to be desired. These are easy to make, but quite time consuming-- especially the yarn wrapping. The conversation hearts are left over wood hearts from the map magnets I made for my mom. I just painted them with some pastel acrylic craft paint and then when they dried, I used a red Sharpie to write the words on them. Honestly, I only taped them on here because I think I'm going to re-purpose this as an Easter wreath of some sort. Normally, they'd be hot glued on.

Coffee Station

After we renovated our kitchen and had about three times as much counter space, we had to make decisions about what to keep on the counter tops and what to put away. Prior to the renovation, the only things that got that precious counter space were the coffee pot, the microwave and the knife block. Even frequent use appliances, like the toaster, had to be stored in the dining room closet.

Anyway, not only did the coffee pot get to say out after the reno, but I made an entire coffee station with the grinder, filters, and a couple canisters for coffee and sugar. 

I got these canisters at Target on clearance for a couple bucks each. They're a little suction-y to make them pretty air tight. The tall one holds exactly one of the one-pound bags of coffee. Super bonus: the white lids are smooth plastic and my handy dandy wax pencil writes on them perfectly. The tray was also from Target for about $10. It's a good place to keep the coffee scoop and a sugar spoon. The tray is particularly handy because we're not so great at not spilling coffee grounds and sugar so the tray catches it all and it's super easy to rinse clean. And, you can't see them in any of these pictures (that's the point) but there's a ziplock bag full of coffee filters (the cone type) hidden behind the coffee pot so we only have to step away from the station to get water. The sink is only three steps away. 

I fancied it up with an mid-century print from Benton Park Prints and funk-a-rific blue clock from All15Designs. These are two of my favorite things in my house. 

Put it all together for the full effect, and this is what you get. Our coffee station that makes me smile every morning, snuggled right between the back door and a very large window that looks out onto the backyard. 

Air Plant Artwork

I was looking for something a little different for a collage in our kitchen. I got this white open frame at Hobby Lobby and decided it would be perfect. I Christmas-ed it up by hanging a shiny silver ornament just like this during the holiday season. When it was time to remove the ornament, I knew I wanted something similar. I found this air plant and hanging terrarium on Etsy. A little white ribbon to tie it all up and I was set.

The air plant is awesome because all you need to do is give it a little spray with water a few times a week. It needs bright light, but not direct sunlight. There's a window just to the left of this frame, but the sun never shines directly in. I think this might be a plant that I can keep alive. 

Here's a little wider view. The stand mixer, toaster and various other things live on the counter below this collage. There are also two blue pendant lights over the bar area that juts out from the wall under this collage. I adore that bacon print, but I think the colors are a little out of place there. I'm going to figure a way frame it up with magnets on the back so it can be pretty fridge art. Or maybe I'll just use some washi tape and tape it to the fridge. 

And now that I look at this shot, I know exactly what is going to take the place of the bacon print. A big S... maybe Mod Podged with some pretty scrapbook paper. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.