Tag: home decor

DIY

Frugal-nomics DIY: Halloween Personalized Napkin Ring Holders

Growing up I progressively got more and more into setting the table for holidays like Thanksgiving — I mean I would really go all out, hand drying leaves and pine cones from outside, for a finishing touch.  So, it was a natural progression for me to create these personalized napkin ring holders to get in the mood for Halloween.  I mean I saw one cut out of a bat as inspiration, and I totally took it to a new level.  You can add as many shapes and designs that your imagination can scare up — it will be a ghoul of a time. (Corny, I know…but enjoy!) 🙂

SUPPLIES: 1/4 yard of felt, silk organza ribbon (close to a yard for each place setting), fabric paint, straight pins, scissors, and a print out of all the images you want to use (I used Google Images to find some cute ones!!!) 

HOW-TO:
1. The first step is to find silhouettes of pictures you want on Google Images, print them out the size of about 1/4 of a page or less, and then cut them all out.
2. Take your organza ribbon and cut a piece for each of your place settings (Note: be generous so you can have a nice size bow — mine were each 31 inches long).
3. Using straight pins, attach each image to your felt.
4. Go ahead and carefully cut out your images.
5. In the spot you’d like your ribbon to run through your felt “character,” make a tiny incission (about an 1/8th inch) with your scissors. 6. Take the nozzle of your fabric paint, and carefully spell each name of your guests. (Note: I would practice first to gauge how fast paint comes out when you apply pressure to the bottle, because in the event you mess up, you don’t want to have to start all over). Let dry for a few hours.
7. Slip your organza ribbon evenly through the incission you made in Step #5, and you’re all done! 

DIY

Frugal-nomics DIY: Fabric Covered Lampshade

I’m finding that creating your own personalized home decor has never been easier.  So I decided to finally do something with the blank lampshade I’ve been staring at for a couple years now.  I knew I wanted something with a splash of yellow that would compliment the throw pillows I had made a while back.  So, with less than an hour of time and a yard of fabric, I created a splashy solution that completely brightens up my space.  Tell me what you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPLIES:  lampshade, a yard of light- to medium-weight fabric, scissors, fabric glue, pencil, and spray adhesive.

1. Wrap your lampshade in your fabric, then take your pencil and mark 1.5 inches past the point where the fabric meets the other side.
2. Being conscious of where you want your pattern to lay on the shade, mark 1 inch with your pencil at what will be the top and bottom of the lampshade drum.
3. Cut out your form — it will look like this.
4. Lay out some newspaper, and spray your lampshade with the adhesive (Note: It’s best to do this outdoors; but if you must do it indoors, be sure to be in a well ventilated area).
5. In addition to the shade, spray your fabric with the adhesive, along with dotting it with the fabric glue for added security (Note: I added the fabric glue because I realized my spray adhesive was only temporary).
6. Carefully wrap your lampshade in the fabric — I started in on the seam, so I could end there as well (Note: It was immediately fast drying, so I had a few seconds to play around with it to get it right).
7. Glue along this seam that you started and stopped on, then fold back the flap so you have a neat edge — now press it into place.
8. I wanted my print to line up as best it could….here it how it looked along the seam.
9. Lastly, glue along the top and bottom edge of the drum, and then fold the fabric down, like a hem (Note: If you want it to look really neat, fold it down twice — feel free to use the iron if you need to). Voila!

DIY

DIY: Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows

Okeedoke, so I am going to let you in on a little secret of mine.  I’m the kinda girl that always experiments/injects loads of color into my wardrobe…but I must admit I’m a bit of a commitment phobe when it comes to adding splashes of color to my living space.  While out shopping for my  latest DIY, I thought throw pillows would be the answer — they’d be the perfect solution to ramp up the color factor in a way that’s changeable with the seasons.  I’ve never done these before but I gotta say, I think they turned out pretty darn good, and even have some professional finishes.  Let me know what you think in the comments below, or if you plan on trying them to give your space a little color.

 

Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 2 Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 3
SUPPLIES: fabric, straight pins, invisible zippers, needle and thread, rotary cutter, chalk, measuring tape, scissors, and a sewing machine.
Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 4
HOW-TO:
1. Cut out front and back forms.  I have 18×18 inch pillows (Note: if you’d like them nice and snug, cut them exactly 18×18 inch, but if you’d like a little room in yours like I have here, cut them 19×19 — the extra inch is for a half inch seam allowance on each side).
2. I wanted to illustrate how to cut the form if you want to use a fabric with a design that needs centering. So here I used my ikat pillow.  To center it, place a straight pin at the design’s mid point, then measure 9.5 inches to the left, and then to the right of that center point.
3. If you happen to get a zipper that’s a bit too long…no fear, I just learned a trick to shorten them.  The ones I purchased were about 25 inches, but I wanted them shorter than my pillows.  So, starting at bottom of zipper, I stuck a straight pin at 16 inches — my new desired length.
4. Next take a needle and thread and stitch around the teeth of the zipper at the 16 inch mark.
5. Once you’ve knotted the thread around the teeth, cut the remainder of the zipper about a half inch beyond this new point.
6. Then you’ll snip the fabric on either side of the zippers teeth up to the thread.
7. Hold the side flaps back and remove the excess teeth.
8. This is how is will look on both ends when you are finished.
9. Take one side of your pillow forms, facing right side up (doesn’t matter which side).  Next use your straight pins to attach face down zipper against the top raw edge. (Note: I placed pins on both side of the zipper because it tended to move around a bit).
10. Using a zipper foot, I sewed the zipper onto the fabric, with the foot getting as close to the zipper’s teeth as I could.
11. Sew right up to the head of the zipper.
12. Lift zipper foot, pull back the zipper’s head and continue to stitch, and then back stitch to fully secure the zipper to the fabric — avoiding any weird bulges in places that might have been missed had you not maneuvered the zipper head.
13. Once this is complete, take the second side of the pillow form and place right sides together.  Secure the other side of the zipper to the very top of this form with straight pins.
14. Sew the zipper on in the same way you did for the previous side.
15. You are now ready to close the pillow up. I pinned it on all sides to keep it straight. (Note: Be sure to start and end on either side of the zipper.  If you want a finished look, create a little pocket for the zipper by sewing slightly below the zipper before continuing down the pillow form sides).
16. Sew down sides.
17. Before you make this last turn right below the zipper on the opposite side, be sure to leave the zipper open a few inches (even more than I did here) so you can open it once you’ve sewn it all shut).  It will be tricky to open if you don’t.
18. Snip the bottom corners of the pillow form.
19. Flip the pillow form to the right side, and you are all set!
Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 5 Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 6