I've been MIA for a long time. Living life, stressing out over things that really aren't that important, and really not being as creative as I love to be. Well, I got my creative juices going again and I have been doing some creative things the past few months. So I will be posting some pics of what I have been up to... this afternoon. Running around a bit, but just thought I would post quickly. I've missed blogging and missed you. So I'll have some fun things to share later today.

Cya,
Deb

When I think of burlap, I've always pictured fall decorations (scarecrows, pumpkins, etc.) I never really considered it as a decorator fabric until a few years ago. A friend of mine needed a window treatment for her son's room. To go along with the fishing theme, I used burlap to cover a cornice board, then attached a fish net from HobLob and some random fish thingies from the tackle box to it. It looked great. To carry the theme in the room, I also made a burlap dust ruffle for his bed. Super, super cute!!

Fast foward to our laundry room. Our laundry room is... well large... which is nice, but the room does double duty as an exercise room, which means I had to really think about the decor in there. I had to make the room somewhat masculine since my hubby is in there so much. So I started by painting the room a medium camel color, which is sooooo much better than the dirty white that was in there before. At least now I want to do the laundry.

As for the windows, I needed to make a valance of some kind so as not to have them ripped down with the weights. BINGO!! I opted for a yard and half of burlap which set me back a whole $4.78. Wow, talk about breaking the bank. Having sewn burlap before, I didn't want to have my "mistreatment" curling up on me, so... I glued it. Have I ever mentioned that I love my glue gun.


Anyway, I folded my burlap in half ... longways, and cut at an angle to make a pointed end. Then I cut two strips of another fabric and glued it to the ends all the way around. I made a pocket at the top to slide the repurposed and newly spray painted rod through. Have I mentioned I love spray paint?

The result, a pretty, but masculine window valance that didn't break the bank.


With the extra burlap, I decided to recover a bulletin board I had made that just didn't thrill me. Then I hung it from a rod iron scroll. Love the new look of the laundry room.




I plan to make a cushion for the two boxes below the hanging rack where the girls can sit and put their shoes on. I'm still thinking I need to find something else for that though. I'm thinking maybe a narrow coffee table converted into a bench. I may have to make a trip to Salvation Army once school starts again.

I just love cheap redos.

Have a great day. Stay cool... it's HOT outside!!

*ciao*
deb

As you can see, i changed it again. I get bored and I like to change things up a bit. Anyway, I took some pictures of my try at burlap. I'll be posting them in a bit. Easy, inexpensive and fun. See you in a bit.

I'm frugal... there I've said it. I don't like to spend a lot of money on things, and I have to admit that getting things for a steal, OR being able to make something that looks great for next to no money is a tremendous high for me. Seriously, although I've never done drugs, I don't think I could get this kind of high from that. So I have been looking at pillows for my bed. Nothing too fancy, because lets face it, the fancier the more expensive the pillow. So I thought about just making them myself, but then I thought... nah! Well while strolling through Tarjet(otherwise known as Target)I found some cute, chocolate brown, basic pillow cases. I loved the design on the edge and figured they would work out quite well for a transformation.


Then I cut off the decorative end...


and moved it to the center of the pillow case.


Then I stitched into place, but feel free to use fabric glue. It's all good.


And VOILA, instant throw pillow for a fraction of the cost. And what did I use to stuff my pillows? Regular king size pillows that we recently decided not to use anymore... to flat. Frugal I'm telling you! If you try this send me a link, I'd love to see what you've done.

On another note, I recently acquired a FANTASTIC piece of art for my bedroom for $15. Are you ready..... ready..... ready...ready???? Okay....GO!




Yes you heard it right 15 smackers. My sister lives, or rather lived next to an interior decorator who was in the process of moving. She was having a fantastic garage sale and was getting rid of all kinds of treasures. So my sister calls and describes this to me, and to be totally honest I couldn't quite picture what she was saying, but I heard "really large frame" and I was in. I figured if it didn't work, I could always transform it into something that would. Well after I walked into her house, and picked my jaw up off the floor, I was super, super excited that it was going to work out PERFECTLY!! And why was it so cheap? Her hubby dropped it while unloading it from her car right after the purchase. She was never able to use it in the client's home. Score for me. There is a little crack in the glass that you really can't see, and the frame is a little separated, but hey, I can live with that. What do you think?

Okay, I'm off to go find some other things to transform in my house. I'm getting the bug again.

*ciao*
deb

Tori has a habit of asking me, "Mama, do I look FABULOUS?" She's got a whole lot of attitude in that little body of hers. So the other day, I found these denim totes at HobLob for 50% off which made them $2 each. I thought they would looks super "FABULOUS" if we just added some fun fabric to them. Luckily, I had some left over scraps from a previous project left over that would be perfect. Well as usual, my wheels start turning and I end up doing much more than I intended, but in the end... they are "FABULOUS!!!" What do you think??



So I start with this... plain Jane denim tote.



Then I found a "peace" symbol online and cut and pasted in into a Word document.




Printed it and cut it out. Then I traced it onto the fabric and cut it out...(sorry I didn't take a picture of that.)

Then I glued it (yes glued since I didn't have any of that sticky iron on stuff that you put on fabrics). But I did use fabric glue, so at least I wasn't totally off the wall with that. Anyway, back to my story, I glued and then stitched the "peace sign" on the bag.



Then because everything is so much more "FABULOUS" when it is blinged out even more, and because I just can't stop at mere cuteness, I decided to go on and do the inside too. So I measured (professional seamstresses turn away from the monitor and cover your eyes... I am about to do something that may make you spit!) This is my way of measuring... I put the bag on top of the fabric and just eyed it.



Then I added in some pockets for water bottles, crayons, stuff...



I then sewed up the side that was open and the bottom and made a little pouch, that then slips into the tote like this...



Then you pin the inside pouch to the outside tote (again, you seamstresses out there, just close your eyes and save yourself the frustration. I know, I know, just breathe in and breathe out!)



oh, and one more thing... don't forget to change out your bobbin thread (is that what the bottom circle thing is called? I forgot and had to go back and remove all the "white" thread that was showing on my denim bag... aaahhhh!!! So yeah, don't forget to do that.



Then you sew, sew, sew and in the end you have a fun tote that is lined with fun fabric...



and a little girl who thinks it looks "FABULOUS!!"



My girls like their bags so much, and Bella is even asking if she can use it as her back pack this year. Guess I saved myself some bucks with that one.

Have a great afternoon.

*ciao*
deb