Upcycled

Chatty got our old (as in previous) white bed skirt when we got our king-sized bed a couple of years ago. She's the only kid with a queen bed and the bed skirt has a scalloped trim, so it fits for her.

Then we have a single panel floor length drapery that the girls had when they shared a room back in Illinois. They had a walk-in closet, and we removed their closet door because they were able to have their dolls and toys in there and play with them there. It was a pretty big closet. We hung the panel on a simple spring-rod at the top of the door frame so you couldn't see into the closet and then it added a little cuteness to the room.

We haven't been able to use that drapery panel again, but it's moved with us. I almost got rid of it as well as the bed skirt. Then I saw an idea in a catalog or magazine using a white bedskirt with different colors of ribbon attached all the way around it. I decided I could use the sheer colored strips from the panel that had flowers attached to them, cut them into the lengths I needed, and then attach them to the bed skirt.

My favorite way to attach stuff when I can is hot glue. I used low-melt so I could touch it. I think hot glue guns are the girl version of guys and their duct tape.

When the cord reached, I put the glue directly on the bed skirt.

When the cord didn't reach I just put the glue on the strip and then stuck it on.

I pressed each one down.

Lots of cuteness.


I actually had the bed skirt out in my garage sale last year and it didn't sell. I kept it out when I took things to the Salvation Army a few months ago knowing I planned to do this. I'm so glad it didn't sell. And I usually don't say that after a garage sale.

Hiding Places

The school room, which has now become a school room/sewing room, is more often than not an eyesore.

When you walk in the front door, it is immediately to the left. No door. Just a lovely opening to greet you.

No matter how picked up the rest of the house was, this room was the first room anybody saw when they walked in my house. It's never completely picked up right now. More often than not it's a bit of a mess.

People don't come to visit when it's dark outside and you can't see the mess. So I needed to come up with a way to hide it.

Hubby was not in any way, shape, or form convinced that this was a good idea. He only likes it because I love it.

I found some tone-on-tone neutral fabric on clearance at JoAnn's. It's the 54" wide stuff for decorating. I can't come up with what it's called right now. I think it has a special name.

We have 9' ceilings on the first floor, so I had them cut 6 yards of fabric. When I got home I cut it into two panels.

I hemmed the bottom of both, folded under the top a couple of times to make it the length I wanted, and used black clip hooks on a regular drapery rod.

I tucked the sides in before I folded the top under twice. That's because I decided not to finish off the edges.

At least for now. I might have to go back and do a straight stitch down the sides to keep the pinned down. I'm going to live with it a couple of weeks first and see if I can deal with it.

I'm linking up with Metamorphosis Monday at Naps on the Porch.

WFMW — Pillowcases That Fit

Hubby and I both have a special pillow for our necks. They are the memory foam, a strange shape (ours aren't even the same shape!), and regular pillowcases don't fit.

Since we have a king-sized bed, when we buy a sheet set it will include king-sized pillowcases. They are both too long and too wide. But we do use those pillowcases because we usually have our arms thrown over a pillow, which is king-sized, both because of proportion for the bed and because we had the pillowcases that fit.

If I want to buy a nice high-quality pillowcase (at a good price), Marshall's only sells pillowcases in a set of two in either a king-size or standard size.

Standard size is smaller than queen and not long enough. Even if they had queen, they would be too wide.

So the other day at Marshall's I purchased a set of two 600 thread count white pillowcases for $9.99 in the king size. My intent was to make them fit our two pillows.

Here is one of the king-sized pillowcases haphazardly thrown across my pillow before I started so you can see how long it is.

First I put the pillow in the pillowcase to get an idea how much I wanted off the ends and sides. I didn't cut anything off, I just sewed a new seam first along the bottom.

Then I cut off the almost 8 inches of extra fabric and used the closest stitch I had to serging along the edge. I did not do any hemming since I did not do any cutting to start.

Then I did the same thing for the side. It wasn't 8 inches though. It was only about 4 inches.

Here they are on the bed. You almost can't tell they are weird-shaped pillows.

Mine is even bigger at the bottom than the top.

When I pull out the polka-dot flannel next winter (from the first picture), I'm going to do the same thing to them. We've just been tucking the end and side underneath all year. I finally realized there had to be something better, and it was so easy!

For more WFMW, visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family.

Packages

Don't you love getting packages in the mail? I do.

I love getting them when I know they're coming, even if I don't know exactly when they're coming.

About a week and a half ago I got a package. I'd actually kind of forgotten I'd be expecting one.

Maybe about six weeks before I'd sent my mom an email with a link. The email was pretty much begging her to make me what was in the link.

Because I can't knit, I can only crochet.

She called me from the yarn store in her home town a couple of days later asking me to pick my yarn color from the three choices. Of course I picked blue.

Here's what she made me.

Of course it was also frigid Michigan weather when I begged her, and today it was 60.

The frogs in the empty lot next door are even thawed out and croaking. Croaking all day and night.

They will for weeks. Weeks.

My mom had never knit in a circle before. I think she did an excellent job.

I got to wear them around the house a couple of times and I wore them out once last week when I knew I'd be sitting somewhere and be chilly otherwise. Then it warmed up this week.

The original link with the pattern can be found here. I love this site!

I'm working on a project...

I can't wait to show you the finished project!

Projects

I've been working on a few projects this last week.

The first one many of you have probably seen or done yourselves — fleece tie blankets.

I'd made these for all my kids when we lived in Illinois. They were all at least five years old, not so soft anymore, and a little short for kids that had grown. I made them all a new one.

I used two and a half yards each for all three of the older kids and two yards for Caboose. I wash and dry both pieces first, lay them out flat on the ground wrong sides together, and cut four-inch strips all the way around about an inch or so apart. I eyeball it.

I cut four-inch squares out of each of the four corners.

Then I start tying them together in knots top to bottom like a crazy person until I've done it all the way around.


And yes, Betsy, I tie every single one the same direction every single time.


Then I made these handy-dandy chair bags.

I first saw the idea over at Organizing Junkie. Mine look so plain next to the fancied up ones showcased over there, but they serve their purpose. Here are the tools I used to make these:




All of these things are on sale this week (except for the Wal-Mart velcro) at Hobby Lobby this week.

First I cut off both handles where they met the top of the bag.


Cut little pieces of the velcro and sew it to opposite sides of the handles (so they meet when you loop them over the chair frame...I goofed the first time). I folded down the edge of the handle strip a little when I sewed on the velcro strip to give it a fake seam and to keep it from fraying. I also sewed each velcro piece on at both the top and the bottom and not just across the middle of it.



I covered a composition notebook for myself with scrapbook paper and Mod Podge thanks to Lora's tutorial. Again, hers were a little fancier and cuter because she added stickers, but I just really wanted one and I knew I wouldn't do it if I waited to do stickers.


I'm not sure what I'll use it for since I don't journal, but I'm thinking really hard about it! It's cute!

Then the other project required some outside help. I took my Motivated Mom's Planner to Kinko's and had them spiral bind it rather than put it in a three-ring binder myself.

The benefits are the ability for it be flat

or folded back.

Since we don't tear the pages out of Caboose's math book, the book is thick, and it's hard to write on the pages unless you put something under one side to hold it up, I decided it might be a good thing for that book too.

Did you know they can cut the binding off of a book? It's one of the greatest things since sliced bread.

So now his book can be flat

and fold under.

Now Buddy wants his done too.

This post is linked to Show and Tell Friday hosted by Cindy at My Romantic Home.