Rachel's Birdie Mobile

My friend Rachel recently shared some pictures of their adorable nursery, just perfect and waiting for Baby to arrive any day now.  I think they did such a great job ~ I love that it is neutral, since they haven't found out if Baby is a He or a She....but it's neutral without being the typical yellow and green.

There are so many great things about their nursery, but what I really fell in love with was the mobile Rachel and her team of helpers came up with!  Rachel doesn't currently blog, but she gave me permission to share some pictures with you...

 

 

Isn't it amazing?!  Here's what Baby will see...

Love.it.  I can't wait to see pictures of a smiling little baby batting his or her tiny hands at the birdies!  Rachel, even without your sweet mobile-making skillz, you're gonna be one great momma!

If you'd like more information on making the mobile, Rachel's original inspiration came from here.

Think she's awesome?  Feel free to leave the momma-to-be some comment love!

Porch Progress

A few weeks ago, I posted about one of my favorite outdoor spots ~ our screened-in porch.  While there's not much that's new, there's been a teensy bit of progress, so I thought I'd share my super cheapo pillows.

They started out as four pieces....I think they were supposed to be napkins, but they are 100% polyester, so didn't seem like they'd be good for napkins....I dunno.  Maybe that's why I found them at the thrift for 40cents apiece. 

The problem was, they were all slightly different sizes, and not big enough to make my favorite super duper easy envelope style pillowcases....and my sewing skills are severely limited.  I already had pillow forms to use and didn't want to have to use stuffing, so I improvised.  (Plus since these are outside, there's a good chance they'll get dirty, so it will be simple to take out the pillow and wash the sham).  One pillow got a velcro closure....

The other didn't have enough extra fabric, so I had to sew ribbons and tie them shut.

Anyway, I'm not totally in love with the pillows, but they were uber cheap, so when I get sick of them, I won't have to feel bad about it.  And they do show a little progress!  If you remember the last time I posted about this, you remember seeing this picture....

The pillows have been added (although I'd still like a few more), so next up...the table!  We've already started working on it and I can't wait to see how it turns out!!

PS:  Don't forget today is the last day to enjoy FREE SHIPPING from KDG Design Co!!!  Just use code CELLARDOOR at checkout.

More Pillows & I'm Guest Posting...

Lately I've had this strange obsession with making pillows.  I think it's because they are one of the few things I can sew with relative success!
Here's the latest batch, made with a fun fabric and some red burlap (of course burlap!)...

My favorite part is the ruffle....I was happy with how it turned out....my first ever ruffle attempt :)

Want to know where they're going?  Well, I'll be posting about it here next week, but in the meantime, head over to Tatertots & Jello where I am guest posting today!!!  Woot woot!!  Jen's blog was one of the first crafty ones I started reading, one of the first blogs to feature a project of mine (laundry/mud room), and it is ah-may-zing.  It is an honor to be there today!  

For the Love of Burlap

My love of burlap continues.  Following the same steps I used for my last burlap & sharpie pillow, I made this one for my Mother-in-Law...

I'm still loving the look of sharpies on burlap!  Now I just need to find a stash of pillow forms on sale, because I have approximately 300 other ideas of burlap pillows to make!!

Along with some of my other favorites, I'll be linking this up to

Thanks for the feature!!

Burlap Pillow with Sharpie Decor

Earlier this week I had my first guest post over at Nicole's Thrifty Decorating.  Nikki graciously said I can re-post the project here so I can link it up to a few burlap project parties (more information on those at the end).  So here it is....my burlap pillow!

Did you ever have one of those all-of-the-sudden-ideas that you feel the need to complete say......five minutes ago?  That happened to me a few days ago.  We had about an hour or so before we needed to leave for church, but one kiddo was sleeping, and the hubby and the other kiddo were playing, so the wheels began turning.  I have this nearly unexplainable love for burlap, so I thought I would try a burlap pillow.  I am not exactly proficient at using a sewing machine, but this project was super easy.  To decorate it, I used something I would almost guarantee all of you have in your homes, crafty or not ~ a Sharpie!!

Here's the basic steps I used...
1)  Cut 3 pieces of burlap ~ we are making an easy envelope closure for this pillowcase!  My pillow form was 14x14 inches, so I kind of measured, kind of eyeballed one piece that was 15x15 inches for the front, and then 2 pieces big enough to overlap each other by a few inches for the back.  My pieces were 15 inches high and 10ish inches long.

2)  Decorate the front piece.  Make sure you put something under your burlap so the Sharpie doesn't get through, especially if you are sitting on your living room floor like I was!  Since I am trying anything possible to usher in spring, I chose to stencil the word "BLOOM."  First I outlined and then I colored in the letters.



3)  Pin the pieces together (inside out ~ so "BLOOM" was on the inside!!) and sew.  Attempt to sew straight lines.  I attempted but only slightly succeeded.  I'm not proud of this, but it just proves that anyone can do this project!

4)  Trim the excess burlap, flip right side out and put your pillow form in!  I thought mine looked a little plain, so I added some bright, springy fabric flowers (I used some of this same kind on my changeable wreath).

I'm really happy with the end result and can't wait to do some more burlap & Sharpie projects!!  The possibilities are endless!  (To see another burlap & sharpie pillow I made, click here.)

I just love anything to do with burlap and natural looking fibers like canvas and twine.  April is a great month for this in blogland, because there are 3 (that I know of) great parties especially dedicated to these great materials!  Get your great burlap projects entered ~ I can't wait to be inspired by all the new ideas!

The first is a Burlap Contest sponsored by Canvas Corp that ends April 30th ~ the prizes are burlap supplies from the Canvas Corp ~ swoon!!

The second is the linky party at The CSI Project this week ~ it's all about burlap ~ and it's being sponsored by the Canvas Corp!

Finally, as part of a 1 year anniversary celebration for The DIY Club, there will be 4 different parties beginning April 16.  The one I heart is going to be held at the DIY Show Off and is for all projects dealing with the "Earthy Essentials" ~ canvas, burlap, linen, and twine.  



Along with the burlap linky parties listed above, I may link up to a few of my other favorites!

Thanks for the feature!!!

Valentine's Craft: Stuffed Felt Hearts

I don't have many seasonal decorations, especially Valentine's Day, and wanted to come up with something easy and cheap to do to show some love for my valentines!  I had been seeing felt hearts all over blogland, so I decided to make up my own version.

Materials used:  felt (the sheets I got at Joann's were either 29cents or 39 cents apiece, I can't remember), embroidery floss and stuffing (already had those on hand).

So so simple.  I used two sizes of cookie cutters to trace the hearts, sewed them most of the way together, added some stuffing, and sewed them up the rest of the way.  The thing I loved about these was if you just use an ounce of creativity, they can all turn out so different!

You can do the layered look:

Embroider designs or words:

or add embellishments, like buttons:

Another great thing....they are so versatile!
Put a bunch of them all together...

(hmmm...this one looked better in my imagination...)

Put a magnet on the back (or a clothespin with a magnet would be even better!)...


Just sit them around in random spots...

Or, add some cute ribbon or yarn to the back and hang it somewhere...

You can barely see it, but this was more of a way to show off my cute IKEA cabinet!

(Got the oven door decorating idea from Nikki)

Mine?  Right now they are sitting in this cute metal basket....which is just waiting for warmer weather so it can be spraypainted Heirloom White!

Click here for a list of fun parties I may have linked this to!

Looking for more great Valentine's projects?  Check this out...

Sneak Peek

Here's a peek at the projects I've been working on lately for our upcoming family vacation!

Not totally frugal, because I needed to buy all of the supplies, but my friend and I made these for our girls after seeing similar ones on Etsy!

Didn't want to leave Jackson out - it was a little bit of a challenge coming up with something cute that would still be for a big boy!

This was because I was too cheap to buy an autograph book - don't know what they are at Disney, but on eBay they were going for more than I wanted to pay!

Can't wait for vacation!!!

**For those interested, the tutu is no-sew and there are MANY tutorials out there in blogland.  The shirts were simple:  I made appliques, ironed them on, and sewed around the edges to make sure they'd last.  I bought the bows already made and sewed one on the Minnie Mouse face and one on a plain headband to make the set coordinate!**