Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
A pillow project with only 6 easy steps!!! A lot of "Chic" a little "Shabby"
Mindy is the mother of two children, a wife and creator of all that is beautiful~along with her business of making any piece of unloved furniture amazing, she inspires others to try their hand at adding character to their own homes. Her blog "Pretty in Paint" is a fun and inspiring look into her world.
I always walk through stores like Pier1 or even Target and all the cute pillows are like 20-30 dollars!!! Who can afford that when you know they are gonna get ruined by the kids or the dog or my husband, plus you need at least 2 and $40 is an investment!!. Recently I have converted my house into a Shabby chic kindof style. The best part of this is, it can be shabby!!! As in not perfect, a little lopsided, mix and matched!!!Which means I can sew and my lines don't have to be totally straight and it wont matter!!! How great is that. I'm a fast sewer (because I have no time or patience to take my time), I don't have time to cut straight lines or use those annoying pins.. I just wing it! I'm not kidding!! If you look really close at the lines on the pillow they are not straight. and it doesnt matter. yay! But recently after walking through Pier1 I found these napkins for $2.97 each and a bag of Polly-fill for $3.00 so for a total of about $7.00 I made this fabulous shabby white pillow. So for that price if it only lasts a few months, I'm fine with that!!
And here is how you can do it!
Step 1: Wash and dry the napkins then iron them
Step 2: Lay out the napkins good side out on both sides.
I wanted the cute trim on the outside to show,
so I sewed them on the good sides out
instead of the conventional inside out
instead of the conventional inside out
Step 3: Sew the entire 3 edges of the napkin fabric,
leaving about an inch for the trim to not be sewn
*Leave about 6 inches unsewn so you can stuff your pillow
(Let me remind you I'm not a great sewer at all!!! I have a cheap wal-mart sewing machine that I went in 1/2's with, with my mom!! So If I can do it, anyone can do it!)
Step 4: Stuff your pillow with poly-fil,
just shove fist fulls inside until its fluffy enough for you
Step 5: Hold together the 6" opening and sew it shut!
Thats it!!
And one last thing...please take a quick second and click the "about 2011" link to the right and vote for Earth Monkeys...it's easy and we need every vote! Thanks friends!!!!
Facebook Login Labels: decorating, giveaway, guest contributor, home, pretty in paint, project
Friday, December 17, 2010
DIY Framed Chalk Board: A cheap, easy to make gift idea for that annoying friend who has everything... or just spice your own walls up with it!
Mindy is a wife and mom of two, who has turned one of her passions in life into a booming business. She's currently selling her refurbished furniture pieces at two local stores and has her hands full with balancing owning a business AND running her household... like so many of us! She's an awesome mom with LOADS of style and we are so excited to welcome her as a guest contributor on EMM!
I love all things Vintage! Repurposing furniture and old funky "junk" into something i can use is so exciting! Its a fun and fairly cheap creative outlet. I decided on showing you all how to make a chalkboard. I've seen these in antique stores for upwards of 50 bucks! Once you invest in the chalkboard paint, you can make so many fun projects for next to nothing.Supplies:
-Old frame or new if you want (vintage is my fave) you can find them at yard sales for .50!
-Paint (whatever color you want to have the frame be or whatever you can find in the garage)
-Paintbrush
-1/4" plywood cut to size of frame hole (this is the chalkboard)
-Chalkboard paint ~brush on kind or spray on (Lowe's or craft store)
-Glue gun or mirror pins (mirror pins are available at Lowe's)
-Clear spray paint
-Sandpaper (optional)
1. Spray paint your frame black if you want the distressed look if not just paint it the color you pick. Lucky for me this frame was black when i got it for a dollar at a garage sale. Let it dry - around 10 minutes
-Old frame or new if you want (vintage is my fave) you can find them at yard sales for .50!
-Paint (whatever color you want to have the frame be or whatever you can find in the garage)
-Paintbrush
-1/4" plywood cut to size of frame hole (this is the chalkboard)
-Chalkboard paint ~brush on kind or spray on (Lowe's or craft store)
-Glue gun or mirror pins (mirror pins are available at Lowe's)
-Clear spray paint
-Sandpaper (optional)
1. Spray paint your frame black if you want the distressed look if not just paint it the color you pick. Lucky for me this frame was black when i got it for a dollar at a garage sale. Let it dry - around 10 minutes
2. Paint the frame what ever color you want (I chose a cranberry color to be festive... thanks Kim from Saucy Sisters for the color choice!)
3. Have your super handy husband cut your plywood to size. (the size of the inside of the frame) You can also use sheet metal if you want it to be magnetic... I usually stick with wood.
[Editor's Note: OR if you are anything like Gena or me, you will cut the board yourself even if it takes you all day, 20 sheets of plywood, a few choice words and a bottle of wine... because we are annoyingly stubborn, control freaks who want to prove we can do everything ourselves...]
4. Paint the wood with chalkboard paint, I chose black. You need at least 2 coats for this. Painting up and down first then let it dry for about 10 minutes. Then paint left to right and let dry. (You can get the chalkboard paint at craft warehouse or Lowe's, Lowe's tends to be cheaper... around 9 dollars.)
5. Now you can either sand your frame with 100 grit sand paper in random spots (distressing is easy just use a little elbow grease and sand off the top coat of paint until you see the next color) or leave it the solid color you painted it. Either way, you can clear coat it with a satin spray paint when your paint is dry to touch.
6. Attach the wood to the inside of the frame either a hot glue gun or mirror pins. (Mirror pins are available at Lowe's for about $2.00 for 50 of them) But we all have a glue gun in the drawer right?
7. Now just write something festive on it and hang it on your wall!!
After you buy the chalkboard paint, you can easily paint kids table tops for their rooms, or even the back of their bedroom doors! They love being able to draw on the table or back of the door. My daughter is an "artist", she colors and paints all day long. She loves having a chalkboard table, and both my kids love writing on the family chalkboard.
Mindy is giving one lucky Earth Monkey Moms reader this chalkboard!!! IF you share this post on your social network of choice (by clicking the share link below)... and then post a comment to let us know you did...
***If you're interested in checking out more of Mindy's work you can visit her collections at: American Mercantile and the Collectors Market on Court St. in Medford.***
Facebook Login Labels: chalkboard, crafts, DIY, furniture, guest contributor, kids, painting, project
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