DIY Christmas Stockings

When Adam and I first got our own place, we went with the cheapest everything when it came to Christmas decorations. We found stocking at Walmart for $5, and a matching tree skirt to go with it, so we thought we hit the jackpot.

Fast forward a few years and those ugly stockings had to go! I was determined to make my own stockings last year, but that never happened. So here I am this year with some new stockings I made myself, finally.

Since I made green and red chevron pillows and tree skirt last year, I decided to stay with the chevron theme. I already had the fabric, so this project cost me absolutely nothing.

First, I used our old stockings to trace. I found it easiest to fold the fabric so I could cut out both pieces at once. 

Next, I cut out the fabric for the stocking. Instead of cutting right on the line, I went out about a half an inch to leave room for the seam. This worked out perfectly when it cam time to sew because I could just follow the line I traced.

Next, I sewed the outside edge of the stocking "flap" so there would be a smooth edge. 

With all fabric facing down, I then lined up the flap and stocking to sew the edges together. When you do this, be sure the pieces of your stocking are facing outward so they are correct when you fold them.

With the flap fabric lifted up, fold the stocking so it is lined up and ready for sewing. Sew ONLY the stocking together, following your trace lines. DO NOT SEW THE FLAP. 

Once the stocking portion is sewn, turn the stocking right side out. The flap should now be inside out. Sew the side edges of the flap together.

Lastly, turn the stocking inside out one last time. Attach a piece of ribbon on the top of the stocking. Consider which way you want your stockings to hang when you do this. Then turn the stocking right side out again.

You just made your very own stocking! Woo Hoo!!

My first stocking took me quite a while to make. There were so many things to think about as far as how to sew it and in want order to be able to get the flap to fold down. Confession: I even threw a half completed stocking away because I messed up so bad. 

But once I figured out the process, I whipped up the next one in about 15 minutes.  

Happy Stocking Making!

Can you believe Christmas is just 8 days away?!

Fabric Turkey Pillow Cover and a Thanksgiving Blog Hop

When I got invited to be a part of a Thanksgiving Blog Hop by Erin and Emily from Elizabeth Joan Designs, I immediately knew I wanted to attempt to create a turkey pillow! It's one of those projects that's been on my mind for quite some time now, but since I don't usually decorate specifically for Thanksgiving, I've never done it. 

The thing I loved most about this project is that it cost me next to nothing to make, and I'm sure that would be the case if any of you wanted to create one as well. The only thing I had to purchase was the Heat N Bond which cost me $2.99. 

To make the pillow cover, I used leftover drop cloth from my ruffled curtains I made a while back. You can see my tutorial on how I sewed the pillow cover here. 

Using many different fabrics, I cut out the pieces of my turkey. Then I took the lazy route and used the Heat N Bond Ultrahold to stick the turkey pieces onto the pillow. I was definitely NOT about to use the sewing machine to sew on all those tiny pieces.  In a matter of minutes, I had a new Thanksgiving inspired turkey pillow for my living room. 

He's so stinking cute I can't even handle it.

Next year, I think it would be cool to use the same idea to make a larger version and hang it above my couch to replace my rosette burlap heart. But seriously, isn't he just the cutest little guy?

Brought to you by: 
Elizabeth Joan Designs - Homemade By Carmona - Dwelling In Happiness - Melanie Gets Married- Latte Everyday - Hawthorne & Main - Bumblebreeblog - Anderson + Grant - Renovar Design - For My Love Of - Not A Trophy Wife 

(Simply click on any of the above pictures to see projects from other bloggers!)

A HUGE thank you to Emily and Erin for inviting me to be apart of this Thanksgiving Blog Hop! I hope you'll take the time to check out the rest of the bloggers projects as well!

DIY Pillow Sleeves

It seems like I change my pillow covers far too often... probably because I do. Adam has decided it's becoming a problem. I've decided I might have finally figured it out.

Ever since moving into this house, the living room has just puzzled me. I have not been able to decide colors, furniture, wall hangings, or anything. I have changed my mind more times than I can even remember, and to this day I'm not quite sure what on earth I want to do with this room. 

I finally came across these two fabric designs at hobby lobby, and decided to give them a whirl. I may even keep my coral polka dot pillows around with as a fun accent color.

In search of the perfect color combinations for the living room, I have created countless pillow covers over the past year. You would think by now I'd be an expert, but the truth is I am absolutely not. 

Almost a year ago, I shared this tutorial with you all. I have always made my pillow covers this way, but this time around, I decided to try something a bit different. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures, but I will try my best to explain it.

I purchased a yard of each fabric, and was able to make 2 pillows with each for a total of 4 pillows. The best part: the fabric only cost me $10, which means I only spent $2.50 on each one!  (see why it's so easy for me to keep changing my mind!?)

I started by ironing my fabric and cutting it to size.

To determine the height, I measured the pillow and added 1/2 an inch. To determine the width, I measured the width, multiplied by two, and added another 6 inches. 

Example: If I had a pillow that was 18inches x 18inches, I would measure the height as 18.5 inches, and the width as 42 inches (18x2=36+6=42). 

After cutting my fabric, I folded a seam along both of the shorter sides of the pillow. These will eventually be for the back flaps. 

Then, I laid the fabric out, facing right side up, and folded each side over. I pinned the sides in place to create an inside out pillow cover. Once the sides were pinned in place, I stitched the two long sides (top and bottom). 

Once the sewing was done, I flipped the pillow cover right side out and inserted my pillow.

Ta da!

I think they turned out great! They add a pop of color to my living room and really seem to brighten the place up a bit.  With that being said, these babies might be around for a while. 

And see that sunshine beaming in through the windows? Spring just may be closer than we think!

Chevron Heart Door Hanger

This project has two of my favorite things: chevron and burlap, so it's no wonder why I love it so much! Especially hanging against our teal door (which yes, badly needs a new paint job). This project was very inexpensive. I think I paid $1.50 for the heart after my 50% off coupon, and 50 cents for the ink paint. The rest of the supplies I had on hand.

in order to make this, you'll need:

wood heart, twine, burlap, paint, hot glue gun, chevron pattern, painter's tape

I first painted a few layers of white onto the heart. When that dried, I used this pattern from Billie Monster to create my chevron design. Then I used the pink paint to fill in, I did this twice to be certain the pink was bright enough. 

When the paint was dry, I peeled off the painter's tape and hot glued the burlap bow and twine to the back for hanging. 

To tie a perfect looking bow, I found this tutorial from the Southern Mess blog.

I couldn't wait to hang this on my door, so I headed out in the freezing cold temperatures in the middle of a snowstorm to hang it and take these pictures. But doesn't it look like it was a warm sunny day?

I am the last person to be complaining about the snow. I actually love that we've had snow on the ground since November, but even I'm starting to dream of warmer temperatures. Especially since our furnace died this weekend and it was a cool, crisp 57 degrees in here this morning. Yikes! 

Happy February!

Did you bust out your valentine's decorations this weekend? I had every intention but just never got around to it! 

Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

I am the kind of person who buys all kinds of unique frames. It's the first thing I look for at garage sales and thrift stores, and I've also been known to garbage pick a frame or two. I always think I will use them for something, and then I forget about them. So when cleaning out our basement, I was reminded of all the beautiful frames just collecting dust down there, and I decided to do something about it. 

I decide a fabric covered bulletin board for me to pin notes and pictures on would be very useful, so I headed to hoppy lobby to purchase some fabric.

In order to make this, you'll need:

Bulletin board (or cardboard), large frame, fabric, and a hot glue gun

1. If you would like your frame a different color, spray painting it is probably your best option ( unless you live in Michigan and temperatures are in the negatives) 

2. Simply cut the cardboard to fit nice and snug inside the frame. Then cut your fabric a little bigger than the board on all sides. Iron the piece of fabrics you are using so you're new bulletin board is not covered in wrinkles. 

3. Hot glue the fabric to the board along the back. 

4. Stick the now fabric covered board back inside the frame. Reinforce if necessary. 

5. Hang up your new fabric covered bulletin board and enjoy! 

Now I just need to find/make some fun thumbtacks to go with my board and I'll be all set!

Happy Monday Morning! 

Crayon Wreath

How cute is this crayon wreath?! Wouldn't it look great on a classroom door? My best friend is a teacher, and I have been wanting to make her one of these wreaths for a long, long time. Well, I finally did this Christmas and I'm so excited with how it turned out! And best of all, I think she liked it too!

in order to make this, you'll need:

crayons, two embroidery loops (different sizes), hot glue gun, ribbon

I wanted a bright, colorful wreath, so I chose to leave out all the neutral colors. I started by trying to lay out the crayons on the wreath before gluing. BAD IDEA. They rolled everywhere and it was a big mess. Finally, I decided to do it one color at a time. I started with the light pick color and glued all four of the crayons on to the wreath to better see that they were all evenly spaced out. I  continued around the wreath starting in the center of quadrant.  

When I finally got the crayons all glued on, I added ribbon to hang the wreath and a bow for a little extra decoration. I debated adding an apple or other school supplies for embellishment, but decided against it. I love the simplicity of the wreath with just the ribbon.

Now you can easily make this for all your teacher friends!

Ready. Set. Go!

Framed Ampersand with Dots

During a homework break this afternoon, I made this dotted ampersand. I may or may not have mentioned before that we are in the process of giving our den a makeover. I plan to put a gallery wall in there, so I picked up a plethora of white frames when we were at Ikea a few weeks ago. Now, I just need to decide what to put inside all those frames. I've had a few ideas for quite a while, including this dotted ampersand. 

Unlike the other five projects I'm working on right now, this was a very simply 30 minute project...my favorite kind!

I used my Cricut to cut out multi-colored, multi-sized circles. The sizes I chose to use were 2 inches, 1.5 inches, and 1 inch. I then penciled an ampersand on a piece of white cardstock (I cheated and traced one to make sure it was perfect). Then, I just glued a circle after circle onto the paper, varying the sizes and colors as i went. It was a completely random process, and I just kept going until I used all my cut out circles.

Once I was finished adding circles, I stuck it in a frame. Easy as pie!

Eventually we will hang our gallery wall frames, but until then my cute little ampersand is fancy-ing up my new shelves the hubs built for me, but more on those later!

Is it just me or does the weekend always FLY by? Wasn't it just Friday?

Oh well, I'll be finishing up my weekend by watching Bachelor Love Stories and eating Smart Pop. 

Thanks for stopping by!