Simple slip covers for pillows

Did I mention I've been redecorating my living room? Well, I am! I had a ton of pillows from the last color scheme, so instead of buying new pillows I just made slip covers for them! Talk about cheap- I got some of the fabric for 75 cents a yard! So, I thought some of you might want to freshen up your room with a few simple slip covers.

Just so you know, you DON'T have to sew these if you have a hot glue gun! Seriously, it works to just glue the fabric together!

Supplies- pillow

    fabric

sewing machine or hot glue gun or iron on fabric bonding strips

(for those of you using a hot glue gun- just be sure that each seam is completely cooled and secured before you move on to the next one. )

Step one- measure the fabric- you want to allow about 1 1/2 inches around the pillow for "fluff" room. Be sure to position your fabric with the design the way you like it before you cut for the front of the pillow.  Then cut two pieces of fabric for the back- you want to cut one piece about 3/4 the size of the front panel and the second piece for the back should be about 1/2 the size of the front panel. This will allow for plenty of overlap for the back section of the pillow.

Position the two pack panels next to the front panel to get an idea of overlap and the look you will have. If you are happy with it- let's move on!

Iron down the seams of the two back panels that will be overlapping for the "pocket" of the panel. First press the raw edge down about 1/4 of an inch.

Now, turn that edge over again to form a finished edge. This should also be about 1/4 inches. (if you are hot gluing or using bonding strips, you would still iron your edge first then go back and run a bead of hot glue the entire length- or place a strip of fabric bond in the seam and iron over that to melt and adhere to the fabric).

If you are sewing- turn your fabric so it is right side up and stitch a straight seam down the length of the fabric.

Once you have done both sections of the back of the cover, you are ready to fit the pieces together. Begin by laying the larger panel on top of the front cover section WITH RIGHT SIDES together- this is important- otherwise your pillow will have the back of the fabric in some spots!

Next place the smaller section on top, matching the sides and top with the fabric that will be the front of the pillow- again with RIGHT SIDES facing each other. - You should now have a layered look going with the finished seams in the middle of the back of the pillow. You can pin the sections in place to ensure you sew all the layers together. (if you are using hot glue- simply glue the larger panel to the front piece first, then the smaller one to the top of the front and the back of the larger panel so all pieces are glued together- same for heat bonding strips).

This picture just shows that I have all right sides together with the finished seams over lapping .

It should look like this from the back of the cover.

If you are sewing, just stitch a straight stitch around the entire cover, about 1/2 inch from the raw edge- making sure to keep all layers together. Once you have sewn around the cover once, it's a good idea to turn it right side out and make sure you didn't miss any fabric in the seams.

Go ahead and stitch a second straight stitch all around the edge of the cover (this is of course with the fabric turned wrong side out)- this will just give the pillow cover a little extra strength.

When you are finished you should have about a 1/4 or 1/2 inch raw edge all the way around the pillow cover.

Turn the cover right side out and stuff your pillow in there. This is how the back should look. Enough overlap that you don't see the pillow at all.

This is how the front should look- design placed nicely to the front .

Now, throw that baby in a chair or on the couch and go make about 15 more!!! Oh, is that just me?... YEAH, I DID THAT!!! I will post some pictures of all the fun pillows I made a little later.

(oh, see this cute vintage chair- it's going to be a project- I'm going to try to recover it!)

Fabric yoyo's!

I was in the craft store and I found these adorable little fabric yoyo's, they were a little spendy but I bought a pack anyway because I didn't know how to make them. Well, I got those little cuties home and started analyzing them, and in about two seconds flat my genius kicked in and I realized a kindergarten could make these! So..... I tried it, and it totally worked! Can you tell I was a little surprised? Yeah, well it always amazes me when something so simple sells for soooo much- see, ignorance is not bliss- it's stinking expensive! But, no more   I , you, WE will never have to pay for these prepackaged yoyo's again!

Start out with a circle of fabric- your yoyo will shrink by  about 1/3 the size of this when finished, so measure accordingly.

Flip that baby over and get ready to see miracles happen.

Start by folding 1/4 into the center.

Now begin pleating, simply fold the fabric over itself to form a pleat and hold in place. (I used the sewing machine for mine, but you can use a hot glue gun if you want, just put a little dot of glue under each pleat).

Continue pleating around the circle and holding in place with your finger- don't let those pleats out!

Once you reach the half-way point you are ready to stitch that half in place.

Just run a straight stitch across the center most points of the pleats to secure them.

Now, continue where you left off and pleat the other half. The very last pleat can be a little tricky, so just work with the fabric until you are happy with the last little pleat.

Stitch the other half of the pleats and your yoyo is complete! Yes, the center is kinda ugly (which might be perfected later as I continue to make these- and if so, I will update you!)

These are the little baby yoyo's I bought at the store- and I didn't want them to go to waste- so I used them to cover the center of my bigger yoyo's.

My machine has a "fix" button, it just stitches a spot in the same place a couple of time to hold something down. So, that's what I used to keep the little yoyo's attached. If your machine doesn't have this feature, you can hot glue the yoyo on top, or you can use a straight stitch and just go back and forth in a tiny spot a couple of times.

These are my big daddy yoyo's with their little baby yoyo's in the center. I also decided to cover the center of the little ones with a tiny white button- just for extra cuteness and to cover the opening- even the store bought ones have an ugly center.

This is what I did with them- made a pillow cover. The possibilities are endless- I could see these as an adorable hair clip, on  a lamp shade, added to cute towels, on the corner of a pot holder, tiny ones sewn to little girly socks..... ok, you get the idea!

If you do make some of these- post a link to your blog and let me see what you did with them!

Little knobs.... lots of charm!

So, we've been making projects around here, and this is one I just love! I got this brainiac idea and put it together, and I love it! Did I already say I love it???.... well I do!


 Oh- just so you know- in case it isn't completely obvious- I am NO professional! I try to make my posts clear and step by step... but I'm not a professional- so please read the entire post- BEFORE- you do the project. If you have any questions or comments- please feel free to leave them and I will try to help as much as I can...... you know, not being a professional and all.


Supplies you will need- large flat board (length/width and thickness is totally up to you).
                Small wood plaques in different shapes/sizes.
                Drawer pulls in your choice of color/size.
                Spray paint/primer and spray paint colors of your choice. (optional- clear coat)
                Wood glue
                Hot glue gun/glue sticks
                Drill
                Hacksaw (or other tool designed to cut metal)

Start out by primer/painting your wood board and plaques.

 This is the king of spray paint/primer combos- I LOVE this stuff1 It covers great and if you want to paint over it with another color it really helps!

These were my color choices- unfortunately I couldn't find the green in a spray- so I had to brush it on.

Paint your board and plaques in your color choices- may take two coats- finish with clear coat if you want.

Next- drill holes through plaques where you want to put your knobs- this is totally up to you depending on the look you are going for.

Then measure on your large board coordinating spots to either put the knob screw through, or if you don't want to actually use the knobs for hanging, you can counter sink a small hole so the plaque with the knob will lay flat on the board.  If you are going to do this last option, go ahead and cut the screws off even with the bolt.

This picture shows the hole cut in the larger board, filled with wood glue to let the bolt from the knob rest in it- it will also give a tiny bit of support.

This is the back of one plaque with the screw cut off even with the bolt and wood glue applied.

Because I do not have the patience of Job... who am I kidding , I have NO patience! I chose to hot glue the plaques as well as wood glue them. So just run some hot glue around the edges of the back of the plaque- but not too close because you don't want it to squish out on the back board.

Now, press the plaques into the back board being careful to line up the screw from the knob into your pre-drilled holes. (note- if you want to actually use this as a coat rack/towel rack- drill completely through the back board so the entire length of the screw will go through the board and you will attach the bolt to the back of the large board- then cut the screw off so it is flush with the bolt).

When you have everything in place, it should look something like this!

  

Seriously, could this be any cuter???? No, I didn't think so either!

Baby steps....

Ok, so as promised I am going to post some fun stuff that I've been making! I thought the logical thing to do would be to post the littlest, easiest project and then move on up to the big daddy projects! So, with that in mind, today we make felt flowers! So super easy and sooooo many places to put them. Seriously could go nuts with these flowers!

Step one- cut strips of felt/fleece in desired color.

                                                    

Step two- cut petal shapes- depending on flower size you need about 8 large, 8 medium and then 1 center circle for the middle of the flower. (I only used 10 petals total for this flower) You will also need a circle of felt to glue petals to.

Step three- two glue dots evenly spaced about 1/4 of the way in from each side.

Step four- fold exterior corners into glue dots and hold until secure. This will be the back of the petal.

Step five- flip petal over and put glue dot directly in the center.

Step six- squeeze sides together to scrunch the petal to the center.

  

Your petal should look something like this.

  

Center of the flower- step one- cut round circle and place glue dot in the center.

Step two- fold circle in half and hold until glue is secure.

Step three- place glue in center of folded circle.

Step four- fold 1/3 of flower onto glue dot and hold until secure.

Step five- place glue dot on interior edge of the fold you just made.

Step six- fold remaining 1/3 of circle into the center, hold until secure.

Your center should be an upside down triangle now, and when you look at the top it should look something like this.

Cut circle for bottom of flower- if you want a large flower cut the circle accordingly- I made a pretty small flower so this circle is about the size of the palm of my hand.

Put hot glue all over the top of the circle (note: if you are unsure about the number of petals you will need, glue them one at a time instead of how I did it with all the glue at once- that way, if you feel you need more petals, you can whip a couple out and glue them on.)

Place petals evenly around the circle to form lower layer of flower.

 Glue remaining petals to fill in gaps, leaving a small space in the center for the middle of the flower. When it is all finished it should look something like this.

Now- go stick it somewhere!!! Anywhere!!! Seriously..... go!

Just an fyi- this sweet little lamp shade will be a project in the very near future!

Oh, and here is a big one I made for a pillow- I sewed this one instead of using glue because I just knew my family would be abusing my throw pillows!

M-I-A...

So, a LOT has been happening at my house! We have been busy redecorating, making all kinds of stuff and it's been crazy! I'm going to try to start this week with the different projects we've done. Some are quick and easy and others are a little more involved- so stay tuned for some fun tutorials and some super cute crafts!

Super Smoothies!!!

I got a great deal on mangoes the other day, so we decided to make some smoothies and Popsicles with them. They were a huge hit with the kids and I snuck in a bunch of stuff that is so good for them- and they never knew it!

 I kept the smoothie to drink in the fridge, but the other half of it, we poured into little paper dixie cups and inserted Popsicle sticks and froze them. It was a sweet, healthy treat that was so good for them. The Popsicles didn't last two days!

Recipe- 2 mangoes cubed
             6-8  strawberries
             1/2 banana (or more but it can over power the other fruits)
             2 full celery stalks
             1/2 cup raw spinach
             1/4 cup apple sauce
              1 cup vanilla yogurt
Throw all ingredients in blender/food processor and mix it up until smooth- we don't like our smoothies chunky, so we really blend it up! That's it! Drink it!..... or if your kids love Popsicles they will LOVE it if you pour it into Popsicle molds or if you're cheap like me- just get some little paper cups from the dollar store and some Popsicle sticks- fill the cups, insert sticks and freeze. The nice thing about this is that you can literally just peel the paper cup off of the frozen Popsicle- so it's easy for little hands. Enjoy!!!