My Fun $2 Project + a Money-Saving Tip

I'm about to give you a great tip that will save you money and hopefully inspire you to create something! It's the first thing I do everytime I visit a fabric store and I'm never disappointed. Here it is:

Always visit the clearance bin in the fabric department for discounted fabric remnants.

It's no secret that I am a big fan of the chevron print. And yes, I know they say chevron is on its way out, but I don't know who 'they' are and I'm pretty sure 'they' didn't ask me how I feel about it. However, I still like it and it will always be cute on girls clothes (and my living room curtains).

I also happen to be a fan of the aqua/turquoise/teal family. So, when I found this 1/2 yard of aqua/white chevron cotton fabric for $2, I quickly did the math in my head and knew this would make a cute skirt for my 10 yr old - without having to even make a cut. Win, win - people. It doesn't get much better than that.

I got home and got to work. Don't know how to make an elastic waist skirt? Check out this tutorial for all the juicy details.

My big girl loves her skirt and can't wait to wear it!

Do you shop the clearance bin?? Have you found any great fabrics for those quick and easy project ideas? I found more today and can't wait to show you what I make with those! Stay tuned....

I {Heart} My State Art {Tutorial}

When I started this project, I was planning to make another pillow cover like this one. However, I didn't have enough dropcloth left to make another one. I was going to use the freezer paper method and make a silhouette of my state to replace the bunny silhouette from Spring. It took me about five minutes to change my mind and I decided to make this. It will be a great addition to the living room!

 

I'm sharing this with these friends!

 

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Easy Duvet Cover {Tutorial}

As I've mentioned before, I'm in the early stages of redecorating my girls' rooms. So far I've made a few things like these silhouettes, this framed birdcage, and a few others. The big project is painting the rooms which I hope to get done in a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, I'm getting started on some of the little things since they take hardly any time to complete. The bedding is getting changed on all three beds and I'm pretty sure all three will have a white duvet on them. This project took me about 45 minutes to complete because of a few interruptions, but really the next one should only take about 30 minutes. I made my duvet out of two flat sheets. They're wide enough without having unsightly seams, the top edge is already finished and they were cheap! {$2.99 each} If you're wanting a cheap new duvet, this is it!

Now, mark each side of the top opening for your buttonholes. Be sure to line them up on each side of the opening! I made 7 on each side for my twin duvet.
Click here for the 2 step tutorial for making a faux buttonhole {no need for a special presser foot or fancy machine!}.

This was so easy! And it cost me $6 to make! {Not including the duvet itself which I already had on hand.}
I can't wait to get that room painted so I can finish the look!

I'm sharing this with some of these friends. Click to see what other people are making!

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Patriotic Decoupaged Canvas {Tutorial}

When I found this print on Pinterest, it was love at first sight. I love our country and am proud to be an American! I'm so thankful God allowed me to be born and raised in the USA. And in honor of Memorial Day and the upcoming July 4th holidays, I thought this would be fun to make and hang in my living room. In my opinion, the entire summer could be decorated with the red, white and blue and it would be very appropriate. This is my favorite and I'm sure it will be used in my house for years to come. Here's how I did it:

I'm sharing this with some of these parties!

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Chevron Canvas {Tutorial}

It's no secret that one of my favorite patterns is chevron. It comes in so many colors and widths and variations and looks great on art, clothing, home decor, etc. I've used it on curtains, throw pillows, skirts, baby items and now art. I'm planning a room redo for my 9 yr old's bedroom and she's been begging me for a Paris room. So, I'm slowy - very slowly finding things for her room and will be changing everything from the wall color to the bed skirt. The other day I came across a blank canvas at Goodwill for $1.50. I knew I'd use it for something but by the time I got home I knew its purpose. Here's how I made a personalized chevron canvas for her future Paris room.

Now, you can leave it or you can personalize it with a monogram or a picture or whatever you feel like doing! I chose to do an M for my daughter's name. After a few texts back and forth with my sister, I decided to paint the M gold. {Stay tuned for more gold painted accents for this future Paris room!}

 I had a big chipboard M laying around from Hobby Lobby so that's what I used to make this. I had also bought Antique Gold craft paint for another project so I was able to make quick work of this.

 Or if monograms aren't your thing, hot glue a smaller canvas to the center and personalize it any way you want! Decoupage a picture to the top canvas or have your child draw on it or whatever you want! Be creative! There are tons of ways to use canvases.

Check out my other chevron tutorials here.

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I'm sharing this with some these parties.

Joy to the World: Chevron Bunting {DIY}

In case you haven't noticed a trend here at my house, I have a thing for Chevron print. I've made two grey chevron skirts, chevron pillows, used chevron fabric around the bottom of my tree for a tree skirt and now I have a chevron bunting over my mantel. I think the chevron adds a vintage look to the Christmas decor and I am just loving it. I'm fully aware that it's a fad and in a couple of years I may not like it so much anymore, but right now, I adore it so bear with me.
To make the bunting:

Make a pattern for the size flags {triangles} you want. Lay them on your chosen fabric. If you're using stripes like this, you can try to center them or you can just be haphazard. I chose the latter because I wanted to conserve fabric. {I think it turned out nice!} Pin your pattern to the fabric and cut.

Pick out your ribbon, twine, jute, or whatever you want to use to hang your flags up. Measure it according to your measurements for where you are going to hang it. Be sure to add extra if you want your bunting to droop and if you want your ribbon to hang down on the sides. Then, find the center and pin your flags on, spacing them evenly.

Once pinned, I took the top edge and folded it over the back just enough to cover the ribbon. Then, I ironed it down to make it easier to sew. I tried to sew just under the ribbon, but sewed on the bottom edge of ribbon {sewing through all three layers} to hold it in place. I don't want my flags to slide.

Last, I took a big, black Sharpie and drew each letter on each flag. I used my pattern cutting board as a guide to know where to write each letter so they would all be the same size. I did mine two inches high.
Finally, just hang them up!

I am thrilled with how mine turned out! Hubs even commented on how much he likes them and he normally doesn't get all excited about buntings. :)

Stay tuned for more Christmas posts like this. And in case you missed them, check out my easy DIY Chevron Throw Pillows and my Anthro-inspired Snow Globe Mason Jars.

I'm linking this up with some of these parties.

Chevron Throw Pillows {How-To}

I've already begun decorating for Christmas around here and as I looked around my living room after the tree was up, it looked rather unbalanced. Our tree is in front of a window and directly beside our fireplace. I love how the tree looks next to a decorated mantel, but that left the rest of the room kind of plain. So, I decided it was high time to make some new pillows for the couch to match the tree skirt and try to pull the look together. If you have been wanting new throw pillows, this is a very simple and quick DIY project that anyone can do. If you can sew a straight line, you can make a pillow.

Lay your fabric right sides together. Then, place your pillow on top to measure sides (if you don't already know the measurements). I left about 1/2 inch all around to get an accurate fit for my pillow.

Try to line up your sides as close as possible. It should be pretty close.

Pin three sides of the pillow and about 2 inches in from each corner on the unpinned side. Sew with a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Be sure not to sew the opening where you will put the pillow form in.

Turn pillowcase right side out, pushing corners all the way out. Insert pillow form or polyfill and pin the opening closed. You will sew close to the edge to make the least visible as possible.

Voila! You're done. Super easy and a fun addition to my Christmas decor.

I made two of these chevron pillows and I love them! They are Merry & Bright! You can find out how to make the Monogram Pillow using this method here.

 

I'm linking up with some of these parties!