An American Flag Pillow

My favorite holiday is the 4th of July.  When I was a kid it used to mean fireworks and free hot dogs at the fire station.  Since then it's become a reminder of the men and women who have served our country.  I have many family members who have served in the military and who are currently serving.  I created this pillow for my friend Stacey, whose husband just returned safely from deployment.

The fabric was ordered from Ebay.

After cutting the flag out, I used hem tape to secure the fabric to the burlap.

A handmade pillow perfect for Memorial Day and July 4th!

I hope you enjoyed the patriotic twist on my burlap pillow.

I am linking this post to: 

Savvy Southern Style

By Stephanie Lynn

Embroidery Hoop- Laundry Hamper

My son is pretty good at keeping his room clean, however despite having the laundry hamper right outside his bedroom he leaves his dirty clothes all over his room and bathroom floor after he showers.  He tends to be forgetful!

So my solution was to create hanging hamper for his room.  I was inspired by this idea on Martha Stewart’s website.  I didn't have a pillowcase available, but I did have over a yard of fabric I received from Online Fabric Store in our Haven Conference- swag bags.  I started by staining my embroidery hoop; not a necessary step, I just wanted mine darker. Then with my fabric a sewed a very simple pillowcase then folded the fabric around the embroidery hoop. I wrapped some twine around the hardware to create a loop for hanging. 

A simple solution without taking up any floor space.

And now there are no more clothes on the floor!  I wonder why I didn't think of this solution sooner. 

 

Doll Bed Makeover

 I have a sweet niece who loves playing with dolls.

 So while I was in the thrift store last week, I spied a doll bed that I thought she might like to play with.

For $3.00, it was a great price, but in need of a makeover.

 I cleaned it off, then painted it white using leftover paint.

 I added beadboard wallpaper to the headboard and footboard.

I covered the bottom sides with fabric and ribbon trim for a softer look.

 I made a pillowcase with leftover fabric and ruffled trim.

I purchased a foam cushion and covered it with fabric in colors to match her room.

I hope she enjoys it!

Christmas Stockings

I hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with your families.  My family and I enjoyed a pleasant meal together.  The highlight of our night was "skyping" with my family in NJ.  Skype is the coolest thing ever!  It felt as though we were right there in NJ enjoying each others company. 

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas is only weeks away I thought I would do a little crafting and make a few stockings for my family.  I found a great tutorial online, instead of making my own template I used a leftover stocking from last year for my pattern.    

For my daughter's stocking, I kept it simple and added a flower using leftover fabric and a name tag made from muslin. I added her name using rubber stamps. 

I embellished my son's stocking with a pine cone flower as seen here.

I'm sure my husband would prefer his stocking without ruffles, but I didn't give him a choice! ; )

I added a few fabric covered buttons to my stocking and filled it with some greenery from my yard. 

Total cost $0!  I was able to make each stocking using leftover fabric and scraps from my previous projects!

PS.  You can purchase the ruffled trim at Hobby Lobby.

Pottery Barn Pillow Knockoff

I was head over heels in love with this pillow after seeing it on Pinterest, but $45 was way more than I wanted to spend.  So I decided to create my own for a lot less!

To get started I purchased a few craft supplies.

Then after cutting the fabric(muslin) to size, I ironed out all the wrinkles.

I sewed around the outline of the fabric making sure to leave a small opening so I could fill the pillow with stuffing.  Then I turned the pillow right side out.

Using a round object,

I traced the wreath shape onto the fabric.

  Using my glue gun, I added the felt leaves.  Although having the pre-cut leaves helped out tremendously this was the most time consuming part.  Listening to music while you work helps!  Keep adding leaves until your satisfied.  Then fill in some of the empty holes with the cotton ball trim.  Add stuffing and close the opening.

Here is the finished pillow!

I love my pillow and I hope you do too!  To see last year's holiday pillow click here.

*E.T.A- I received an email from Patty- an awesome reader of my blog, who inquired about the felt leaves.  After searching the internet she was able to find a couple of sources.  I just thought I'd pass the information along!
http://sugarpinkboutique.com/item_159/Snow-White-Leaf-RibbonGarland.htm
and
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57469651/butter-leaf-ribbongarland?ref=v1_other_2

**Thanks so much to Rose @ Fine Craft Guild, Beckie @ Knock Off Decor,  Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating,  Stephanie Lynn @ Under The Table and Dreaming, Amanda @ Copycat Crafts and DIY Maven @ curbly.com for featuring my pillow on their websites!


I am linking this post to:  Kelly's Korner