Pillows!!!

The greatest thing about making your own custom roman blinds is that you can make custom throw pillows that match! And the greatest thing about making custom throw pillows is that you can make them envelop style. So when grimy fingers use your pillow as a napkin, you can put the covers in the wash!

I made four covers to go over some existing pillows using the leftovers from my blind project. I then made two more "basket weave" pillows to accent with. They are so pretty! My pictures really don't do them justice. Isn't the basket weave divine?

So... do you want to make your own?

Supplies:
fabric (I got one yard to make two pillows and had some left over.)
ribbon (I used three spools of sheer ribbon per pillow but it will depend on the size of your pillow.)
pillow form
sewing notions



Step 1: Cut out a piece of fabric for the face several inches larger than your pillow form. You want to consider the fullness of your pillow and hem allowance.

Step 2: Cut out two more pieces the same width and about 3/4 of the length of your face fabric.

Step 3: Starting in one direction pin your ribbon in strips next to each other, pinning on both ends till you cover the entire piece.

Step 4: Start weaving by taking strips of ribbon and place them over, under, over, under... in the opposite direction. You will alternate every other strip. Once it is in place, tuck it next to the edge (or previous ribbon) and pin both ends. (I'm sure all of you know how to weave but I'm trying to make this thing thorough, but man its hard to explain in words!)

Step 5: Sew a top stitch as close to the edge as possible in order to hold everything in place while you work with it. Then trim around the piece. (At this point you could take some binding tape and bind the edge to make a beautiful place mat)

Step 6: Take your other fabric pieces and turn over and sew one of the edges. You may need to trim these pieces as well depending on how much you trimmed your face piece.

Step 7: Place the right sides together with the two back pieces overlapping. The turned edges should be in the center. Pin in place.

Step 8: Sew all around your pillow. Once done, clip the corners so they will be sharp when turned.

Step 9: Turn your cover right side out and stuff your pillow in. You may need to adjust the ribbon when done. And there you have it!

Note: the other pillow covers where made the using the same method as above.



Simply beautiful!

Dish towels that stay put!

I like to hang a dish towel over the handle of my oven door. When I have a dish towel out and ready, I end up using way less paper towels. This is good for the environment and good for my pocketbook. However, my 18 month old daughter WILL NOT LEAVE THEM ALONE! After picking them up for the hundredth time I decided I needed a solution. I remember my Mom having a towel with a crocheted top that buttoned to keep them in place, so I decided to make a more contemporary version of that. So, what do you think?



Want to make your own?

Supplies:

4 dish towels (one you will sacrifice for the binding and straps... I will refer to this towel as the secondary towel)
6 buttons
Sewing notions



Step 1: Fold your dish towel how you want it to hang. I folded the two sides into the middle and then the whole thing in half. Then cut out of your secondary towel a strip the width of your folded towel and about 4 to 5 inches long. Also cut out two pieces the width and length you want your straps.

Step 2: Pin your towel so that it stays in place while you work with it. Just be sure to place the pins low enough not to get in your way.

Step 3: I decided to leave my edges raw. (lazy) The edges will fray but I was okay with that. To keep them from fraying to much though, I did a zigzag stitch all around the perimeter of my pieces. If you want a cleaner look, you should cut your fabric a little larger and hem.

Step 4: Attach your straps to the back of you binding piece. I did this by sewing a square.

Step 5: Sew a button hole on the end of your strap. This was my first experience making a button hole and it was surprisingly easy.

Step 6: Align your binding with your towel. Make sure the straps are in the back and the binding is even on both sides. Pin and then sew in place by making another square around the binding.

Step 7: Hand sew on your buttons and your done!

There you have it. A dish towel that stays put!



So which one is your fave? (And no, I will not actual hang them all at once!)

Roman Blinds

We recently finished our basement and I have been slowly decorating. We have a large family room down there with two big windows. Since this is our main TV viewing area I decided to make roman blinds in a dark fabric for ultimate light control. My mom has a pair of roman blinds in her house so I studied the construction and this is what I came up with.



Not to shabby huh?



It even looks great when its folded up at the top.



When I went shopping for fabric I fell in love with the print. Of course it was a remnant and they only had about a yard and a half. So I decided to use it as an accent along the bottom and do the rest a solid color. Although I love the final outcome, it would have been much easier to use only one fabric.

So do you want to know how to make your own? Well, okay then. Here is a diagram I made that should help you understand the basic construction.


(you can click on the diagram to enlarge)

Step 1: Measure your window and determine the size you want your blind. You will want to add a couple of inches to the width for seam allowances and about 20 inches to the length. Cut your fabric. *Because I did the accent panel at the bottom I decided to make my blind two layers so there would be no raw edges in the back. I cut out two panels per window.



Step 2: Hem the sides and bottom edge. If you are doing two layers, sew the right sides together and then turn.

Step 3: Now we need to make pockets for the dowels. This is where the blind will fold when it is raised. You need to determine how many you want for your blind and space them evenly. I used five. Using the dowels as a guide, fold your fabric so that a pocket is formed on the back side of the blind, pin in place and sew.



Step 4: Next trim your dowels down. They should be about an inch shorter than the width of your blind. Put them in the pockets and hand stitch closed. (For those who read my family blog, this is what I needed a hacksaw for.) This is what the blind should look like from the front at this point.



Step 5: Hand sew three plastic rings on each dowel. One should be in the middle and the other two about 4 inches from the edge.



Step 6: You need to get a 1x3 wood board cut to the width of your blind. Measure the exact height of your window and transfer that measurement to the blind. Place the narrow edge on the fabric at the right height and than wrap the fabric around and staple.



Step 7: Screw in a eye hook even with the plastic rings and an additional one a couple of inches from the edge you want your cord. (see diagram)

Step 8: Tie a knot on the bottom ring with your cording. String the cord through the rings above it and through the eye hooks and out. Do this on all the bottom rings. You should have three cords. (once again, see diagram) Place a blind pull on the end and tie off.

Step 9: Place the blind in your window and screw into place. We used three screws and pre-drilled holes to be sure we got it just right. Than place an anchor hook on the side of your window. When you open the blinds simply wrap the cord around the hook to keep in place.



There you have it, custom roman blinds.

A Bit of Spring

The weather is starting to turn and I am so excited for spring! I decided it was high time to retire the winter wreath on the front door. I made a simple spring wreath using a vine wreath from the craft store, some artificial apple blossoms and green ribbon. It was super simple but looks so soft and pretty. Ahhh... I love you spring!



EDIT: I was asked to give more detail on how I made this wreath. It was super simple. All you need is a vine wreath, about three or four bunches of faux apple blossoms, green ribbon, and a hot glue gun. Cut the blossoms off by branch and tuck into the wreath, gluing in place where needed. Be sure to go the in the same direction. Once the wreath is covered fill in any holes by gluing down individual blossoms. Make a simple blow with your ribbon leaving the ends about 18" longs. Then make another bow but cut the ends off this one. Glue the two bows together and then glue another little piece around the bow center to give it a uniform look. Glue it to the wreath and then tuck the bow ends into the flowers, gluing where needed. Hope this helps, if anyone decided to make this I'd love to see a pic!

Princess Perfect

My baby girls nursery.

When I was pregnant with my second child and found out she was a girl, I was so excited. The main reason being that I could design her nursery! I think that doing a baby girl's room is so fun. I love all the soft colors and the whimsy you can create that wouldn't work anywhere else. I have a love for older, romantic styles and knew that was the look I was after. I saw this room done by Candice Olsen on HGTV's Divine Design and used that as my inspiration. (isn't it amazing?) This is what I came up with.



It all started with the bedding. When I design bedrooms I find that bedding is a great place to start because it is such a large element. I found the bedding online and its made by Cocalo Couture. It was the perfect combination of tradition and contemporary and in the color scheme I wanted, pink and green.

The walls we painted pink and the faux paneling was created with tape, white paint, and a very talented husband. I love the look and it was a great way to break up all those pink walls.



The dresser was actually my mom's as a child. It had been in every house I can remember growing up and was UGLY! It was painted cream, avocado green, and mustard. All it needed was a fresh coat of white paint and new knobs. I'm sure it has many, many years of life still in it. I put a cute cork board above the dresser and have cards and mementos from her birth displayed there. When I found the wire coach, I HAD to have it!







The changing table is a nursery necessity. I love having baskets with easy access to all my diapering supplies and toys. The bottom shelf is a perfect spot for extra linens. I painted a craft store shelf white and hand painted the motif from the bedding.





The letters that spell my baby's name I also painted using the bedding. It was intimidating when looking at the print as a whole, but when I broke down the elements piece by piece it was a cinch. The greatest compliment I got was when someone said "I thought it was wallpaper."




I also found some great princess art on PoshTots website. Since I couldn't afford so much as a knob from there, I decided to recreate them myself. They are simple, colored pencil drawings put in hand painted mats and white frames. I find that if your art is mediocre, a great mat and frame can make all the difference.



The window treatment really made the room come to life. I hung them floor to ceiling not only for drama, but light control. We have an arched window that streams unwanted sunlight in at the crack of dawn. The sheers behind were store bought and the green panels were made by me. They are simply constructed with the fringe attached by fabric glue.

I really wanted to put a crystal chandelier in here and this room would have been perfect for it. However, my baby was born in July and it was hot! We really try not to use the air as much as possible, so we decided a ceiling fan was a must. When I found this one at Lowe's, for under $100 no less, I felt it was the perfect compromise.



So there you have it, a nursery fit for a little princess.



Linking to:

 Poppies at Play.
The Lettered Cottage

Don't Feed The Bears!

A Big Boy Room

Before the birth my daughter, my poor son not only got kicked out of his crib in order to make room for the new baby, he got kicked out of his room. The room we use as the nursery is larger and we needed all that space for the baby furniture so he got to move to a "big boy bed" in a new "big boy room." We were determined to make his room very special in hopes that it would make the transition easier. I think it worked because he loved his new room from the start. Wanna see?



We decided to go with an outdoorsy, woodsman feel. Our little guy is quite the adventurer and as a family we love the woods, so it was an natural pick. It all started with the adorable bedding* from Target and pulled all the colors from there. We thought natural wood was perfect for the look we were after and I LOVE all the toy storage under the bed.

*As adorable as the bedding is, it washes terribly. Most the time the comforter is folded up in the closet. Luckily my son doesn't sleep in the bed anyway, but curled up with his blankie on top. (It runs in the family) The sheets are still really cute so I don't mind so much.



I also LOVE the thick, dark brown window panels. They are not only the perfect color, but provide a complete black out when closed. Perfect for a little guy that is easily distracted.

Originally I wanted to do a feature wall with log siding so the room looked like the inside of a cabin. It would have been FABULOUS but after much thought we decided it was to permanent. We would have to replace all the sheet rock on that wall if we ever decided to change it and, for resale reasons, it just wasn't worth it. (although part of me still wishes we had.) Instead we took two colors of green, picked out of the bedding, a did a simple paint treatment. We did three walls in SW Ryegrass and the feature wall in a darker SW Relentless Olive. (found on the same color card to ensure harmony between the colors)

(Hi Max!)

I than took a dresser we already had and gave it new life. We bought this dresser at Walmart for $99 several years earlier. It was a light color stain without any finish coat so it was super easy to change. I gave it a new colored stain, sanded the edges to antique it, a couple coats of poly, and new knobs.






It looks kind of orange in these pictures but it actually more of a burnt red.

I put the same knobs on the closet doors.



I than stained a shelf that I purchased at a craft store the same as the dresser. I painted on the words "Don't Feed The Bears." The snowshoes were my husbands as a kid and added the perfect touch.



We used antlers, bears, and anything with a rustic touch to accessorize with.



The teddy bear skin rug was to die for and a birthday gift from Grandma. Love You!



I found some star hooks and the perfect red star to hang behind the door. Its great to have a ready spot to hang coats and hats.



This vinyl wall quote was so perfect for my little guy that I just to find a spot for it.



What little boys room would be complete without glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling?



However, the thing I am most proud of are the letters that spell his name. I took a different plaid out of his bedding for each letter and did my best to copy it. They took HOURS but I think they are so special, even if a little imperfect.



So there you have it. The perfect room for our little man.



And because I can't resist, here is a flash back of the little man himself right around his first birthday.



What a cutie! I can't believe how much he has grown!