All I Wanted For My Birthday Was...

I know I'm a dork.  Really I do.  Most girls want jewelry or fine dining.  All I wanted to do for my birthday was lay in bed all day eating these cookies and drinking coffee.  But since I can't legally do that with three kids, I decided we would do something I've been wanting to do for a looooong time: visit the Fabricut outlet store about an hour from my house.   

It was high time I bought some fabric.  I used the last of my neutral fabric on my empty advent calendar...

And my neighbor had to come to the rescue when I even ran out of that.  {Thanks so much, Tammy!}

Taking three itty bitties with you fabric shopping is like signing up for a disaster, but I decided I wanted it bad enough.  So I did it.  And you know what?  God must've known it was my birthday because He put a kids' table with books and toys in that store for my hyper girls.

And they were good as gold.

And I walked out with all of this...

...for $27 and some odd cents.  I would be mad as heck if someone else posted fabric like this and said they got it for that low of a price.  But try really hard not to be mad at me...because it's my birthday. :-)

Those gingham bolts are bubbly...just the way I like it.  6 yards of it for $10!  WOOT WOOT!  They're going in Keller's "manly" nursery.  The middle fabric was $2.25!  It's going towards an upholstery project or a roman shade.  The off-white fabric is, I swear, from Pottery Barn since it's almost exactly like some I've used from there.  It's going towards another upholstered headboard project.  {That fabric was $2.50!}

 I read those prices and I basically asked the worker there if it was a joke.   I am a fabric store junkie and I've never seen fabric this cheap.  

That big, chunky, orangey fabric was just beautiful so I got a yard of it for $5.95.  

And the velvety fabric might go towards reupholstery?... still workin' on that one.  

I will be holding weekly girls' trips to Fabricut if anyone wants to join me?

Just kidding...but I'm headed back as soon as I complete these projects.  Holler if you're with me.

P.S. Any of you who are not fans of textiles just completely skimmed through that post...

...I won't fault you for it.

P.S.S. And for those of you who know me in real life, know that I'm not posting this to get comments saying "Happy Birthday!" 

I am just stoked about my birthday gifts to myself. :-)

That's my "stoked" look.

Oh, and P.S.S.S. I finally listed a couple of these on ETSY...

Check it out!

Sneak Peak

I have a trunk full of groceries and the sun hasn't come up yet.  I have a sink full of dishes and the kids aren't awake yet.  I have a couch full of laundry and my husband hasn't left for work yet.  Yet I sit here blogging.  What is wrong with me?!

But I guess I like it.  I guess I like you people.  I guess I like leaving mundane stuff behind for a few stolen minutes to type things out here and express myself through words and photography.

Is that weird?  Like nerdy?  Even if it is, I'm-a-gonna-keep-doin-it.

So, considering the fact, I need to unload groceries, fold my laundry, do the dishes, kiss my husband off to work, feed the starving children their breakfast and get everybody ready for the pumpkin patch by 9:15am, I do not have a tutorial for you today like I planned.  It's more like a sneak peak.  And the tutorial and reveal of my fireplace will come tomorrow or this afternoon...depending on how the pumpkin patch morning goes.  My kids are fickle.  And I'm fickle.

So here are the sneak peaks from the last few days of what I like to call my "nap time nesting"...

Be back tomorrow!

Slipcovered Chair: Part 2

*after*

*before*

                                                                                                    

I'm a visual learner.  I always like to see photos of others' process in getting from point A to point B with a project.  Sometimes points A all the way to Z can be a little draining, unless I need a specific tutorial because I am planning on doing it myself.

I debated on whether I would go the A-Z route with this slipcover process,
giving you an exact play-by-play of how I did it.
But uncertainty in my ability and laziness won out and I only took a few shots of the pivotal points in the process.
{How's that for alliteration?}

Upholstery has always fascinated me and if you too think it's something you want to tackle, then I hope these photos fuel that fire.

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Here's the best tip for upholstery/slip covers from one of the best Aunts {Thank you, Aunt Norene!}:  If at all possible, always, always, always, use the original upholstery for a pattern.

I just used a seam ripper and took the top part of the chair off and used it as a guide to cut my fabric.  I did not do this for the seat of the chair.  I was too afraid the stuffing would get lumpy...that's been my experience anyway.  

Pinned my pieces on just to see how they measured up...

Began making the seat piece...

Inside out version...

Right side out version when complete...

 Want to add these pleats to one of your projects?  Here's the easy peasy tutorial I followed.

I saved the original cording - so glad I did!  I've never used this "harder" plasticy kind, but it works so much better than the "softer" stuff.  Can you tell I need to brush up on my seamstress terms???

Never used cording either?
But think it would add a nice touch to your pillows, slipcovers, or upholstery?
Here's a set of great videos you can watch:

1. Cutting your fabric for piping/cording.

2. Marking your fabric for cutting.

3. Cutting the strips of fabric for cording.

4. Pinning the fabric strips together.

5. Sewing them together.

6. Inserting the piping into the fabric.

There are several, I know, but each one's pretty short and thorough.
She's pretty much my favorite I've found.

My finished product...

Not to steal McD's slogan or anything, but, I'm lovin' it. ;-)

People always ask me about reupholstering and slip covering, wanting ideas and how-tos, as if I know what I'm doing.  And I can assure you with 100% certainty that I do not.  But I'm learning.  I'm willing to make mistakes.  I'm willing to get frustrated.  I'm willing to do it till I get the hang of it.  And most importantly, I love it!

So, if you have questions, please ask away!  It is sincerely a joy for me to inspire others and to give you as much help as I can.

Oh, and one more tip...

Husbands are great sounding boards for stuff like this.  Not sure if all husbands are wired this way, but mine gives me great feedback and ideas on upholstery.  {And deserves the majority of the credit on our upholstered headboard.}  Who knew?!

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Some more of my inspiration for these chairs:

Only From Scratch - Before and After

Isabella And Max Rooms - Making a Slipcover

Slipcovered Chair

I usually take Mondays to share family life, but this Monday I'm sharing a slipcover project I got done this week.  I was just too excited to show you I couldn't wait.

My sister-in-law {hey, Kim!} gave this chair to me about 2 yrs. ago.  I am SLOW at getting around to my projects - have you noticed?

Here's the before....

And the after...

I didn't spend a stitch of money on this project.  I used a canvas drop cloth I had already in my massive fabric supply.  I used the original cording from the previous uphostery... 

And I used some linen I already had on hand to create a band for visual interest....

{Grain Sack Pillow tutorial found HERE.}

 Now I must get back to life.  Kids waiting to do a Fall craft, fussy, teething baby, breakfast cleanup still left, and laundry heaping on my couch.  Hello, real world!...Ready or not, I'm coming...

Grain Sack Pillows {Tutorial}

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If you've been reading since the beginning of this blog's conception,

you'll remember that my first antique purchase ever was a 5$ grain sack.

Well, yesterday afternoon, I put off the dishes and the laundry

and made time during nap time to get that grain sack transformed.

Take that messy house!

The above photo is a shot of the back of the pillow. This tutorial shows how to make a removable pillow cover without messing with a zipper. Everything in my house needs to be washable, so this is how I make sure my pillows can easily be taken off and thrown in the washing machine for a quick cleanup from messy fingers.

~ Grain Sack Throw Pillows ~

Supplies Needed:

Sewing Machine

Grain Sack - washed and dried

Canvas Drop Cloth - washed and dried

Pillow Form:

{small enough to be covered by the size of your grain sack}

Coordinating Thread

Scissors

Measuring Tape

Iron

Fabric Pen/Pencil {optional}

Notes: use backstitch at the beginning and end of all your seams in this tutorial.

I am still new at sewing so I doubt I used all the correct sewing terms. Don't judge me!

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Method:

I laid out my grain sack to determine how much I could get out of the fabric.

I decided I could get 2 pillows out of it by using two 20x20in. pillow forms I already had.

I then ironed it.

I then measured the space between the words to determine a good spot to cut down the middle.

I marked the middle with my fabric pencil...

Cut down the center...

Trimmed off the fraying sides...

Laid my pieces on the pillows to determine placement of the words

and to determine how much fabric to trim to fit my pillow form.

I kind of eye this measuring-and-cutting-to-fit-pillow step. GASP!!!

I find that 3 kids 3 and under will do that to you.

I made sure there was extra fabric {roughly 3/4 inch to 1 inch all the way around} to make my pillow cover a little loose and because of the 1/4 inch edging you do to give the pillow a finished look at the end.

If you don't have little ones, or if you're OCD about stuff like that, you could take the measurement of your pillow form {e.g.. 20x20 inches} and add 3/4 inch to each side when you cut.

Taking my cut grain sack piece,

I laid it down flat on top of the canvas drop cloth,

smoothing out the two fabrics.

I began cutting the canvas to match the size of my grain sack,

but added 12 inches to the bottom of my pillow square...

and marked with my fabric pencil...

It looked like this when I got done cutting it...

I took the edges of both short sides and folded them over a 1/2 inch

and pressed them down by ironing and steaming them...

Then folded and pressed them over again, but 2 inches this time...

Sewed them...

I then folded that thing in half and cut straight down the fold...

Making 2 equal pieces...

I laid my grain sack piece and the canvas pieces on top of each other - right sides together!

The canvas pieces overlap like this...

Pinned the fabrics together...

The other side looked like this after pinning...

Sewed completely around the edges with my sewing machine. {If you measured your pillow pieces with an extra 3/4 inch instead of just eyeing it, I suggest you sew 1/2 inch in all the way around the square. You'll use up that extra 1/4 inch for the edging later!}

Trim off the corners like this...

Turn the pillow inside out now.

Iron the pillow so that the edges are all even like this...

{photo taken after pillow form inserted}

Sew 1/4 inch from the edge with desired stitch.

I used the long stitch on my machine, set on medium speed.

Insert pillow form and admire!!!

And look who my little helper was...

He wants to crawl so bad, poor thing!

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