Throw Pillows

 

When I moved, I left my old couch behind and bought a new one upon arrival.  I love it, but it's just a basic gray and knew it needed a pop of color.  Throw pillows were definitely needed.  I looked and looked for weeks and weeks, never quite finding pillows that suited my style and budget.  That's when I realized that making pillows was well within my skill set.  I could easily buy fabric that I loved and make my own pillows.  I used this tutorial for DIY Envelope Pillows from The Happy Housie.  So easy.  Once you have all of the fabric and pillow forms, you can really make a throw pillow in minutes!  I also kept an eye on the Joann's sales and was able to get all of my pillow forms for 40-50% off.  If you happen to live near an IKEA, you can get pillow forms there for about $5.  Since I wanted these pillows to be special and am often disappointed with the fabric selection at the big box commercial fabric stores, I ordered all fabric for these pillows from Fabric Worm.  I'm partial to their Japanese Import Fabric section.  I only used the "special" fabric for the front of the pillows and used coordinating prints that I had in my stash for the back of the pillows. In the very least, this cold weather has given me time to sew.

Valentine's Day T-Shirts for Boys??

Here's something you may not know about me. I am an excellent researcher. It's really not that hard, now that we have the internet. But it does take a little tenacity. This usually leads me to finding anything I could ever want shopping on line. It may take a while, but I can usually stumble upon it. Although, I have a stumper for you. Where can you find a Valentine's Day t-shirt for a 5 year old boy? You see, I typically send my nephew and nieces presents, especially if there is a holiday, such as Valentine's Day. I purchased the nieces little themed t-shirts at the GAP outlet last night (even found two of the same, in the same size! They are twins and you wouldn't believe how difficult it can be to find two of the same items of clothing in an actual brick and mortar store.) My nephew is 5 years old and wears a youth size small. Apparently, when you get out of the toddler sizes and you are a boy, then you don't get to be cute any more. Sad. He's still so little. There are no Valentine's themed shirts readily available over size 5T. And while he is very into fairness (and who isn't) I knew I had to remedy the problem. Good thing I can be crafty! I went shopping this afternoon, not sure what I was going to do, feeling a little desperate. My initial thought was to buy a t-shirt with a simple design (say a dog) and applique a heart somewhere on it. I headed to Target and found something I thought would work, but didn't love it. I headed to Joann's, hoping to find some inspiration. Wandering up and down the aisles, I came across the t-shirt iron on decor area. Then I spotted the Iron On Transfer printer paper. That along with a plain white t and I could design him his own holiday themed shirt. I created the design using Picnik, which is free and easy to use. But I won't go on too much about it, since it has been purchased by Google and will only be available through April. Use it while you can. To create artwork without a photo (it's intended for photo editing), go to the create a collage tab. From there you can add text and clip art. Don't forget to flip it to a reverse image before you print. I then printed the design on the iron on transfer paper. And now my nephew won't be sad for being left out of holiday themed tshirts! If interested, the artwork I created can be found below. You should be able to copy and paste it onto your desktop and print it from there. If that doesn't work, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll be happy to email it to you!

Doodle Mugs

I went overboard when I bought mugs for the monogram mug project. I really only needed one mug and I bought...four. When you're shopping at a thrift store and items are less than $1, it's easy to do. But those leftover plain white mugs were mocking me, just waiting have something done with them. While I am good at quite a few things, drawing is not one of them! Never has been. But then I came across this tutorial from an unlikely place, the Ladies' Home Journal website. I was nervous about the free hand drawing, but knew that the paint could be removed before it was heat set in the oven (I used a simple paint pen from the craft store). So, inspired by the tutorial, I tried a few free hand drawings on cardboard before I put pen to mug. I love the way they turned out! Although, I do have one little problem. Since Christmas, my mug population has risen quickly. I received 4 for Christmas, not counting the monogram mug I made myself. And I have very limited cabinet space. It may be time to thin the herd. And time to find a home for these two little puppies.

The House that Jack Built

The minute I arrived at my sister's house, for the holiday, my 4 year old nephew (who is relentless) asked if we could make a gingerbread house. So, one night after bedtime, I snuck out and bought a kit. Thanksgiving morning, Jack and I put it together. One of his twin sister's helped, the other one ate the candy.

Here's our proud home builder! I think it's a new tradition!