DIY THROW PILLOWS

Remember the chevron and paisley pillows from the Cheap Bedroom Makeover post?

Here's the easy tutorial.

Materials:  1/2 yard of fabric and (2) old pillows

Turn fabric inside out. Fold and insert pillow. Pin and cut off excess fabric.

Leave 1/2 inch seam allowance. See example:

(*not my finger)

Remember, you will only sew the (2) sides.

Keep the sewing machine foot close to the cut edge of your fabric.

After sewing the 2 sides, turn right side out and insert the pillow.

Cut off excess fabric and tuck the rough edges inside and pin.

Hand sew the last opening.

Using a needle and thread, start in the corner and sew the opening close.

It took me about 10 minutes to hand stitch it.

Voila!

Repeat steps.

REPURPOSED PICTURE FRAME

Remember this post when I framed iconic designers for my dresser top?  Well, my perfume bottles are kinda just there. Not bad, but not great. I was in Unique Thrift Store and saw this gold picture frame and instantly thought perfume/vanity tray. And the best part, it was only $1.49!

At first, I took the backboard off, but the glass seemed loose, so I put it back for support.

Then, I just flipped it over and cleaned the glass.

VOILA!

What a great way to repurpose the frame into a vanity tray?

Notice the intricate filigree detail.

Recycle Reuse Reduce

CHEAP BEDROOM MAKEOVER

Remember the movie, Purple Rain? Well, I love Prince and the movie so much,
 I painted my room purple. 

I enjoyed it while it lasted, but the room appeared smaller that it actually was. The easiest and cheapest solution to begin a makeover is with paint. I purchased a gallon of primer and a gallon of Colorplace semi-gloss antique white paint from Walmart, both for under $30 and got to work.

Let me tell you, it took a couple of coats. That stubborn purple was just peeking through everywhere.

I got these mirrors from Ikea, a while ago, and painting around them was a task in itself!

And oh yeah, I chose the hottest day to paint. I was sweating like a banshee. What was I thinking?

Well, after a week of priming/painting, here is the finished product. My daughter's friend, Hope, gifted me a robin's egg blue candle and from there the color theme began. I purchased the white owl from T.J. Maxx for $9.99. The beautifully crafted wooden apple was an incredible find from Unique for only $2.49. I purchased the white sheets from Walmart for about $18.00 and the white down comforter was a steal from Target for $24.99. These beautiful pink Gerber daisies purchased from Gray's Florist added the right pop of color.

Purchased the Life is Beautiful pillow from T.J. Maxx for $12.99. Using the colors from that pillow, I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased fabrics to make these chevron and paisley throw pillows for less than $8.00 a half yard.

tutorial coming soon

         I picked up this white linen/metal basket from Unique for $2.49 and used it as a plant holder. 

Cateracterum Palm from Home Depot

  I already had purchased this area rug from Target and it added a bold graphic print to the all white room.

 This heirloom cherry blanket rack retails for $45, but I lucked up and got this one from Unique for $5.99. 

*updated w/fresh yellow flowers*

Added all up, this makeover was under $120.

But looks like a million bucks!

(at least to me it does!)

REPOST: DIY CHAIN RING BRACELETS

While shopping on vacation in Myrtle Beach, I purchased a chain ring anklet for my daughter. It retailed for $14.99. Now, she didn't try it on until we got back home, and when she did, the chain around the toe came loose. I'm thinking I wasted my money, I can't return it, I shouldn't have bought it.

After fixing it, I told her to just wear it on her hand. But it was too big , because it was meant for a foot. I go online to see what was the going rate for chain ring bracelets. I check Etsy and I saw these.

They are charging $24 to $59 for a simple design. Because I spent almost $15 for a anklet that came apart, I knew I had to try and make one.

I got my pliers, "O" rings, and two gold rings and chains from an old necklace.

I measured the lengths on my daughter's hand and then laid out the design.

I attached each chain with the "O" rings.

Make sure you measure carefully before assembling the bracelet, because the chain that connects the ring part to the bracelet was toooo long and I had to shorten it and reassemble it. After trial and error, which is the mainstay of DIY, I'm proud to present the finished product.

TUPAC IS BACK!

Have you ever ordered a shirt, paid for shipping, waited and tracked the package only for it to be too small? My son ordered this shirt online in a large, but it was too small.  Well, I have a solution. And since, Tupac's image is on the front and back of this shirt, I could make 2 shirts from 1.

I went to A.C. Moore and bought this plain black tee in large. I'm going to take off the front of the graphic shirt and take the back of the black tee and sew them together.

I turned it inside out and used a seam ripper to remove the thread.

Make sure the sleeves stay attached to the front of the shirt.

This took a while, so I suggest sitting on a comfy couch or chair, because it's very tedious.

Since the graphic shirt took so long, I used scissors to separate the black tee.

Since the tee is a large, when sewn together, you'll get that extra room to fit, and the tee has a little stretch.

I laid the smaller graphic on top, pinned the shoulders and sleeves and continued down the sides.

You can see here, that the black tee will be longer in the back.

VOILA!

The shirt fits and has room to spare.

I repeated the same steps with the back of the shirt, but this time I cut off the sleeves of the black tee to make a tank top. You can really see here the extra material you'll have.

One thing though, the black tee was long in the front. My son wasn't too beat for a tank top.

 He said, "Ma, I don't like it with Tupac on the back." So I cut the collar out and turned it around.

It's mine now with Tupac in the front.