Showing posts with label Fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fabric. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The No-Cost Cat Bed

This was a fantastically productive weekend. We ran a ton of much-needed errands, and then came home and tackled some major projects. First, we cleared out our entire pantry, added new shelving, and put it all back in. It looks better than I could have imagined!

Then, we attacked our bedroom. We completely shuffled everything in the room around, including the outrageously heavy armoire that we were actually incapable of lifting to move. It was an impressive series of lifting and falling and lifting and bouncing the top off the bed to get it to the other side of the room, but now we're completely maximizing the space and it looks awesome.

And since we were on a roll, we decided to make Simon a little cat bed. He always sleeps on the top of our bookcase in the living room, but it's so hard and he has a tendency to nearly fall off when he's in deep sleep.

With the intention of using only scraps and other things we had lying around, we got to work on the new no-cost cat bed.

First, we needed a frame for the shape of the bed. Luckily, when we cleared out the pantry, we found ourselves the proud owners of some useless wood doors.

IMG_1800


Conveniently, they were exactly the width of the bookcase!

So I employed my very handy husband to cut a base and four sides out of the scrap door.

IMG_1802


(please ignore the tears in the screen... courtesy of Simon trying to claw through to get at the birds... wait, why did we make him a custom bed?)

Anyway, back to the project. I added some leftover batting from when I made my new comforter to the base.

box in progress


I then cut apart a soft old blanket for the base, and used trusty Sheila the staple gun to staple down the fabric. I used leftover fabric from my new pillows to then cover the sides so that it would fit in in the living room. Finally, I nailed the sides on and it was done!

edited finished box


It looks great on our bookcase, and ties in so nicely with the pillows. And not to mention, Simon loves it!

edited box on bookcase

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

New Pillows

I feel like a home is never finished, and I always find new ways to put my stamp on each room. Especially since we currently rent our place, decorating can be a little limited. Without the ability to paint or change the hideous light fixture hanging above the kitchen table, I have to rely on changes that I do have control over!

We recently got new couches from West Elm, and I absolutely love them. Gray microfiber, classic look, I know we'll enjoy them for a very long time.

The only thing is that they didn't come with pillows. But you know me, I had no problem with that since of course I had some fabulous fabric in the back of my mind that I wanted to use!

Every time I walk into The Needle Shop in Bucktown, I find more and more amazing fabrics that I just adore. I also love that they have an Etsy store, so I can peruse even before walking into the store!

Anyway, back to my pillows. I got my fabulous fabric this past weekend, and came home to whip up my pillows. I just love how they turned out!

New pillows 1


New pillows 2


I love how they go so well with the gray couches but also bring a wonderful pop of color and whimsy!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Fall Leaves Table Mat

The weather is turning, the leaves are falling...

It must be time to decorate my house in autumn decor!

I made a few autumny decorations last year, but not nearly enough. Luckily, every crafty blogger out there is whipping out their best fall crafts, so I have been filing some projects away.

This project is just such a project!

Inspired by the Autumn Table Runner at Make It and Love It, I decided to make a leaf-bordered cover for my wine barrel top lazy susan!

I started by going to Joann's for some fall leaves. I kind of expected to be able to find a bag of them, but to no avail, so I bought the ones attached to stems and peeled them all off.

edited Fall Lazy Susan Cover (1)


I then cut a circle of brown fabric to be just smaller than the lazy susan.

Next, I began pinning on my leaves.

edited Fall Lazy Susan Cover (2)


I went around the circle first with some leaves sporadically placed, and then filled in the holes. I didn't want them to look like they had a specific order, so I made sure to mix up the sizes and layers.

edited Fall Lazy Susan Cover (4)

edited Fall Lazy Susan Cover (5)


Once it was all pinned, I just ran it through the sewing machine to sew all the leaves down!

It was so easy to do, and looks great on my table!

edited Fall Lazy Susan Cover (6)

edited Fall Lazy Susan Cover (8)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Pom Pom Fabric Flowers

Pom pom 4


I've been seeing these cute flowers all over blogland/DIYland/Etsy lately. They're so fun and full, and I was dying to find out how to make them!

Then I stumbled upon the Pom Pom Flower Tutorial at A Glimpse Inside, and I could hardly wait to make one myself!

The best part of these flowers is that they are the perfect use for scrap fabric! You just need a long strip, that's all! I highly recommend you hop over to A Glimpse Inside for the full step-by-step instructions.

Pom pom 1
Pom pom 2Pom pom 3