How To DIY: Sewing a Trellis Patterned Pillow

What You’ll Need (measurements are for a 14×14 pillow):

• 1 yard of Brown Cotton Fabric (cut into a 17×19 square – rest of the fabric will be used for the pattern)
• 1/2 yard of Cream Cotton Fabric (cut into a 17×17 square)
• Sewing machine
• Chalk
• Scissors

Steps:

1) Using chalk draw out the shape that you’ll want to sew onto your maine colored fabric. For this particular pillow I drew five shapes that were 8 inches tall and 7 inches wide. The reason you use chalk is because it will wash off easily with water, and doesn’t leave a permanent mark on the fabric.

2) Cut out the five shapes. If they aren’t completely even it’s okay, it will be fixed when you sew over the edges.

3) Map out how you want the pattern to look on the fabric:

4) Using safety pins, secure each pieces onto the larger fabric. This will ensure your pattern is easier to keep in place while you’re sewing the different pieces on. 

5) Sew all five pieces to the base fabric. You should use a tight zig zag stitch right on the edge of the brown fabric and have it overlap onto the cream fabric. Once you’ve sewn all five pieces, the reverse side should look something like this: (remember this is when your pillow is inside out).

6) Finish off the pillow by securing the back with a sleeve insert. Instructions for a sleeve pillow cover can be found here.

7) Flip the pillow right-side-out and insert your 14×14 inch pillow!

I am so excited about these throw pillows. And although they did take some time to finish, it was completely worth it! Stitching your own pattern makes the pillows look like you got them straight out of a designer store, but only costing 1/4 of the price!

Letters in the Home

In some rooms I absolutely love the idea of monogrammed letters, or spelling out a particular word, like “EAT” in the kitchen. Here are a few I found that are fun:

{Photo Sources: brunchatsaks.blogspot.com | sugarandcharmblog.com | etsy.com}

DIY Bedroom Bench from Converted Coffee Table {Part II}

Here is a pic of what I started with, and the first post is here.

What you need:

• Gray paint (or desired color)
• Sponge brush
• 4 Inch Foam that hangs about 1/2 inch over edge of coffee table (we found ours at JoAnn Fabrics)
• Desired Fabric (I purchased 1 yard for a 36×18 bench)
• Staple Gun
• All-purpose permanent hold glue

Steps:

1.) Paint the legs of the coffee table and let dry thoroughly

2.) In a well ventilated area glue the foam to the top of the table and allow to dry for at least an hour (some glues require 24 hours to dry)

3.) Cut the fabric so that there is about 1 inch that hangs over the top of the table (this is what you’ll need to staple under the lip).

4.) Pull fabric tightly at one side and staple two staples; repeat on all four sides.  This will ensure that each side stays even when you secure all of the fabric. Finish stapling all sides of the fabric to the bench.

5.) To secure the corners, fold them in a 45 degree angle under the fabric hanging over on the shorter sides of the bench. The best way to think about this is like you’re wrapping a present.

Here’s the final product! I’m so happy with the color!

And the fabric looks fab against the red chest of drawers in the room!

As an added bonus there was left over fabric and I made an accent pillow for the bed. This fabric is Robert Allen, and can be found at JoAnn Fabrics.

{I Do} It Myself Pillows!

The Brother sewing machine has come in and I’ve spent the last week going sew crazy! I’ve wanted plain tan/beige pillows but in my search they were all over priced and I knew I could do it for less. So I headed to JoAnn fabrics and purchased standard canvas cotton fabric. For the pillows I did an open sleeve. Here are some photos of the process:

For a 18×18 Pillow follow this how to:

1. Cut a 20×20 square of fabric. Then cut a 23×23

2. Cut the 23×20 piece in to 13×20 and 10×20

3. Fold one end of the the 13×20 and of 10×20 one inch down.

4. Sew the folds on each piece.

5. Match up the ends of the larger piece of fabric (9×20) with the larger 20×20 piece. Sew along the three edges to seal.

6. Repeat step 5 with the 12×20 piece, creating the sleeve.

7. Flip the pillow cover right side out and put in your pillow insert.

Finished product:

On the couch! (sorry about the terrible pic! When I was done the sun was down and natural light wasn’t an option)

Next up is the gorgeous coffee table turned bench with matching pillow!

{I Do} Autumn Decorating With Lanterns

It’s no secret that I’m a summer girl. I get it right from my mom. But what I also get from my mom is the love for Fall/Autumn decorating. When I was growing up my mom always made sure the house was decorated for Fall/Halloween. It inspired me to think about how I will do the same throughout our house as the change of season is upon us. Time to bring out the lanterns and buy some pumpkins, gourds, and colorful corn! If you’re also looking to get inspired, here are some great ways to utilize lanterns in your Autumn decor:

{Photo Credit: jengrantmorris}

{Photo Credit: Caroline Tran Photography via Style Me Pretty}

{Source: PotteryBarn.com}

{Photo Source: HGTV.com}

{I Do} Love Pillow Talk!

And by pillow talk, I mean how obsessed I am with finding the right accent pillows.

I am constantly on Etsy looking for fab deals. And lately I’ve been obsessed with finding pillows that matched our very yellow couch. I love our couch so much, but I will say that it has been a bit difficult finding things to match it. So I came across this shop on Etsy: fabricjunkie1640.

She has amazing deals on pillow covers and the quality is fantastic. When I got the package from her, the two pillow cases were wrapped perfectly (Chris even commented on how nicely wrapped they were).

Here is a pic from her store:

And then here they are on our couch. I’m still not quite sure about how they fit on the yellow couch, they may be sent over to the brown couch. We’ll see. More pillow talk to come 🙂

{I Do} Love Our Living Room Rug

All I can keep saying in my head is: “That rug really tied the room together, did it not?”

If you’ve never seen the Big Lebowski then you have no idea what I’m talking about, but for those of you that have, hopefully you got a laugh (insert sassy comment from Chris here :)).

Anyway! After months and months of searching and then finally getting our rug – here is the initial result. I also ordered those fabulous lattice yellow and brown pillow cases off Etsy. I’ll write another post on that because the seller deserves her own dedicated post! More (and better) pics of the rug/living room to come.

Just as a reminder, here’s a link to where we got the rug: Modern Trellis Rugs

Modern Trellis Beige Rug

We’ve, finally, ordered a rug for the living room. After literally searching through every site on the internet and visiting Home Goods every weekend…here is the one we settled on. We found it on rugsusa.com and they are doing free shipping and 30% off right now. Pictures to come when it arrives!

Homespun Modern Trelllis Beige Rug

{I Do} Love these Champagne Cork Candles

When Chris and I first started dating his house was lit by candles in empty wine bottles (so creative of him as a single bachelor at the time). So when I saw these awesome cork candles, I had to share — and it also brought back  memories.

CHAMPAGNE CORK CANDLES – SET OF 12 from UncommonGoods

{I Do} Home Goods Bargain #1

I made a trip to Home Goods the other day and had to share my fab finding. Home Goods is one of my favorite stores for interior design on a budget. Also, their blog is updated daily with finds and interior design ideas!

So, although I paint most of the art around our house, I found this gem or $69!

The back has a signed certificate that it’s an original oil painting. The only thing that I didn’t understand is that the artist didn’t sign it anywhere. Looks like we won’t be ending up on Antique’s Roadshow, but it looks amazing in our dining room!