Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Pillows

I feel a nice sense of accomplishment.  Our living room had a couple pretty bad eyesores that are finally improved.  Our couch has really come a long way with a slipcover and some new pillows.  The before and after pics below say it all.  Additionally, my hubby and I slapped some black paint on the kitchen cabinets with a nice distressed flare and touched up one of the living room walls that had bits of wallpaper exposed from when we removed the built-in entertainment center cabinets.  That wall is now a solid tan color, thank goodness!  


I'm so happy I finally made these brown pillows.  I've been saving this fabric for years with the intention of making it into pillows for my bed.  But I'm happy with them living on the couch.  I'm also happy that I got to use some really special buttons.  Some were passed onto me from my husband's grandma, Grandma Jean.  I love that they are vintage buttons from her, because she is such a special lady to our family!  I also had a few vintage buttons I had ordered from Etsy and I finally found a worthwhile enough project to use them on.


I had been saving this green corduroy fabric to make braided purse straps out of.  There may still be enough left, we'll see.  I really like the combo of all the pillows together in my living room.  They add a nice variety of color and texture.


Here is the BEFORE picture.  Old sad couch and old sad pillows.


Here is the AFTER picture.  Happy couch with comfy down alternative pillows that make sitting and snuggling a more cozy thing.  The red pillows I bought with a gift card I was given on the Ellen DeGeneres 12 Days of Christmas show.  That's right!  I was on the Day 10 show and was blessed beyond measure!  Well, technically it can be measured...in dollar amounts...but you get my meaning.


A Brown Bedspread for My Love

Here is a bedspread and throw pillow I made ages ago, but never photographed.  It was a fun experience.  My friend Wendy Anne has a sewing shop and she let me have some sample fabric she didn't need.  She also let me use her wonderful industrial sewing machine to sew up this enormous king size bedspread.  Side note:  I absolutely loved using the industrial sewing machine!  I produced a higher quality product more quickly than I can on my little sewing machine at home.  It was a delightful experience!  Thanks Wendy!  I wanted to make something nice that my hubby would enjoy too.  The backing is a soft and cozy cotton fabric that enhances the snuggle factor.  I plan to add a few little fabric flowers to the pillow one of these days.



Sweater Dress Refashion

I received this cute sweater dress for Christmas, but alas, it was not flattering on me at all.


So I did what I do...


...and now I have a super cute pillow to brighten up our guest room!

Here's one side with its envelope opening to be able to take it off to wash it


and here is the other side,


and here is our little friend in action.  Yay!