Rethink textiles: Use Napkins and Other Fabrics to Make Throw Pillows.

 Think Outside the Decor Box!

Recently I have been thinking of inexpensive ways to update my basement.  It is one of the places in my home that I am not totally excited about. And, because the walls are all paneled (well one side) I decided that it would be best if I went with a rustic look since I am a fan of rustic décor.

So, I began to look at my basement again through a different lens and planned on using my leather sofa and chair as a starting point.  While brainstorming ideas, I came across an adorable living-room in a design magazine, which had the cutest burlap pillows.  I searched the internet and almost purchased some for $16.00 each.  However, something told me to wait and I did. I continued to look at throw pillows in stores like Marshalls, Home Goods, & T.J. Maxx, but even those pillows were 16.99 and up.  Then one day, I decided to walk into my local A.C. Moore to scope out some large picture frames for a large art project I am working on using shims (will post about this later), and they had burlap sacks for 2.99. Instantly, I knew I hit the jackpot.

I decided to make my own throws using the burlap sacks and tools I had at home. While my brain was stewing up how I would accomplish this, I came across some napkins/place mats and decided to hack those too and make some throws for my bed. Besides they were dirt-cheap in the clearance section of Marshall’s home décor section at 3.99. What did I have to lose?

Tools for making pillows.

Here is what I did for the burlap throws:

• 1       Gathered my tools: scissors, seam ripper, Beacon’s Fabri-Tac permanent adhesive and two large Serta Pillows (I needed pillow stuffing).

• 2    I began to cut the burlap sack into three sections.

• 3      I glued the bottom section and left the top sections open. I left a section open so that I could stuff the filler in. 

*tip: If you want the seams on your pillows to be smooth you can turn the fabric inside out to glue and then reverse to stuff. I wanted the seams ragged to add to the rustic element.

4       Fill each pillow, close top seam, let dry and voila!

      My steps for the napkin/place mat throws were almost the same except the napkin throws had to be glued around all four edges where the burlap pillows only needed to be glued on two sides (since they were already in sack form).  For these I glued section by section, which is pretty quick.

The place mats were the quickest because they were double sided and I only ripped about half the way down on one end to stuff the pillows. I then used the Fabri-Tac to close them up.

·        The great thing about using napkins/ place-mats is that they have clean edges and once bonded they create a seamless look. No one would guess that they were ever tableware.

Side seam of place-mat.

Top of Napkin.

End result!

Cost:

1 Burlap sack: $3.21

4 Pack of Napkins $4.27

2 Place-mats $3.25 each

2 pillows (used for filler) $6.49 for both.

Seam ripper, Fabri-Tac, and scissor were free as I already owned them.

                Bottom line: $20.47 for a total of 7 throw pillows.

~Change Your Light, Change Your Home Life~

I'm not sure where to begin with this one because when I think about how long I waited to change this ugly, beat-up, and broken fixture, I want to hang my head in shame. I mean, this light fixture (the old one) looks as if it should be attached to an abandoned house. Funny enough, I am not the only person who has neglected these things.. Yes, I see you-I understand your pain. Hey it is understandable and fixable. I got you!

This is how you change an exterior light fixture:

First things, first. Make sure your circuit breaker is completely shut down.

• Unscrew your old fixture.You will then see plastic caps covering your wire ends. Black wires, white wires and copper ground wires.

• Unscrew all of the plastic caps, then untwist the wires and remove the old mount.You are now going to screw on the new mount. There will be a metal piece that you will screw your fixture into it allows you to adjust your mount as needed.

• You will then begin to connect wires. Twist the ground wire with ground wire from fixture-add cap.

• Twist white wire with white wire-add cap, twist black wire with black wire-add cap.When you are twisting the wires together make sure you are twisting clockwise.

• Next, twist and tuck all of the wires neatly behind the light fixture base.

• Then, secure your base to the wall. There are two screws that come on the side.I was lucky enough to have one of mine fall into the grass…will search when I have more patience.

• Lastly, insert bulb and done.

There you have it. It really is surprisingly simple.

Add art to your home on a dime:

My basement bathroom irks me to no end. Why? It needs work. To spruce it up a bit, I figured I would add some art to the walls. However, I did not want to spend any big money, and since I am a resourceful girl I took a trip to my new favorite place, Dollar Tree! I wanted to get some frames that were solid/decent enough to spray. Typically, I would visit Home Goods or some other store, but as I mentioned I wanted to keep cost low- real low. Therefore, I purchased these babies for $1.00 each, removed the glass and backing, then sprayed them with Rust-oleaum in oil rubbed bronze. I let them dry for about 30mins. My next step was even simpler, I searched the internet for some sketches of insects. I used sketches so that they would look more art like; printed, cut to size, and voila! Total cost $3.21.