Easy $1.00 Mirror Makeover

There are so many decorating projects I would love to tackle around our house, but there just isn't a lot of time (or extra money) to get those done.  So many of the projects will have to wait, but I figure I can do a little something here and there to make myself feel a little better in our home.

We have had this mirror since before we even moved into this house.  I absolutely love the shape of it, but it really doesn't pop on our beige family room wall.  When my mom was visiting I was telling her how I wanted to do 'this and that' to our family room like bringing in some blue into our palette of beige, sage and cranberry.  I recently changed out the curtains, which have some blue in them and my mom suggested that I paint the mirror to bring out the blue from the curtains.

I head to our local Joann's a picked up a small tube of Martha Stewart Craft Paint in a Satin finish.  I thought about spray painting the mirror, but I really couldn't find anything that was just the right color.  When I saw Martha Stewart had a color called 'Blueberry', I knew that would be just right.  This paint is usually $1.99 at my Joann's, but I had a coupon, so it was only .99 cents!

Instagram Photo ~ thecottagemama

I taped off the interior of the mirror with painters tape.  Got out our art brushes and began painting.  I'm kind of glad I decided to paint the mirror rather than spraying it.  I had forgotten how soothing painting can be and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.  It took me about 1 hour to paint the mirror and I let it dry overnight.  I thought the craft paint covered surprisingly well.  I wasn't quite sure how it would do since I didn't prime the mirror at all.  The next day, after the paint was dry, I removed the painter's tape and hung the mirror on the wall.

The mirror seems to have a new life again.  A once nice, somewhat drab mirror, now pops off the wall in this deep blueberry tone.  The great thing about working with timeless shapes is that you can always incorporate them into your decor.  In our next house, the blue might not work, but then I can just paint it again!  And for .99 cents, that is no problem!

This mirror makes me (and my wallet) really happy because my favorite kind of makeovers are the ones where you take something you already own and make it new again.  

Hmmmm......what can I paint next?  

Inexpensive Wall Art ~ Decorating with Paper

I love when I find a great print that can bring an entire room together.  Usually I'm looking for it in the form of fabric, but when I can't find exactly what I want, sometimes I have to turn to other sources ~ like paper.

Several months back I was shopping at my local Home Goods store and as I was going to check out this fabulous wrapping paper caught my eye.  You know how much I love patterned fabric so it was no surprise that I was drawn into this bold wrapping paper.  I needed some wrapping paper for a wedding shower gift, so I picked it up and it said $3.99 and I said 'sold!'.  Well, I wasn't even paying much attention, but when I got it home I noticed that is was Vera Bradley wrapping paper.  No wonder I liked it, I love her designs!

I used this wrapping paper to wrap of the wedding shower gift and then had quite a bit leftover.  I noticed that it actually picked up quite a few different colors that I have going on around our house, especially in the family room.  So I pulled two frames off the wall that were needing an update, cut the wrapping paper to size and framed them. 

Instant wall art ~ how great is that?  And inexpensive, to boot!

Here is a little corner of our family room with the two framed pieces of wrapping paper.  In addition to wrapping paper, think about framing fabric, wall paper or sheet music as well.  It's an easy update that can really bring a room together.  And if you get tired of it, no biggie, just change it out and move on to something new that you love.

Above is a picture of our bedroom, where I simply framed two squares of fabric to tie the room together.  Another easy, inexpensive wall art project.  Definitely a great bang for your buck!

Circus 1st Birthday Dress from a Repurposed Bridesmaid Dress

My friend, Danica's, daughter, Aaralyn, turned one a couple weeks ago.  And for her party, I designed and sewed a dress as a gift from our family to the little princess.  Danica is a professional photographer (Flora Danica Photography), so she had definite visions for how she wanted this dress to look.  She had shown me a bunch of different ideas that she had, but she couldn't quite pin down exactly what she wanted.  You know that feeling?  Where you know what you want, but you just can't quite find a picture of what is in your head.  So with great faith, she allowed me to go to town with the design and trusted that I would come up with something that she loved.  Talk about pressure.

So here's where the tricky part came into the mix.  Danica wanted to incorporate the bridesmaid dress (the maid-of-honor's dress, to be exact) from her wedding into the design along with this adorable circus fabric she had found.  But let me tell you about this circus fabric, though the printed design is absolutely adorable.......it is upholstery fabric!  Yes, it was one of the most difficult fabrics I have ever worked with, but luckily it turned out.

 

The above pictures were taken by Danica of her little cutie patootie at the over the top girly circus party she threw.  There was a candy bar, circus food, games with prizes, and so much more.  Danica has become known in our circle of friends as throwing the best parties around!  No detail is overlooked.

As for the bodice, I used a basic peasant style silhouette.  I wanted to do puff sleeves, but I also wanted the little lady to be comfy, so I thought an elastic neck and sleeves was the best way to go.  I incorporated some trim that I had on hand into the bodice and re-used the little buttons from the back of the bridesmaid dress as well.

The pink fabric yo-yo was from a deconstructed vintage yo-yo quilt that I had picked up awhile back at a flea market.  The pink fabric just happened to match perfectly.  I covered a large button with the part of the fabric where there was a monkey since I knew Aaralyn's big brother, Roaron, loves monkeys!

I did a double layer skirt to make sure there was plenty of fullness.  The under layer is fabric from the bridesmaid dress.  I made the top layer a little shorter and left it open in the front to add a little interest.  I also added a small ruffle around the bottom.  The circus upholstery fabric was so dense and thick that I couldn't use a single straight pin constructing the dress.  Every time I went to put one in, it bent my pins in half.  For someone that pins everything, this made me really nervous.  But, by the grace of God, it all came together.

The sash on the dress is made from the bridesmaid dress.  I wanted it to have a big full bow in the back, but didn't want the sash to be too long.  You should have seen this dress after I had cut it all up........pretty sad, but it was so neat to be able to repurpose it into something new and special. 

I mean really, do we ever wear those old bridesmaid dresses again?

I gave Danica the dress the day before the party and just hoped that it fit and that she loved it.  

And thankfully, it did fit and she did love it!

I don't know if I'll be sewing with any more taffeta and upholstery fabric anytime soon, but I'm so happy that I could be part of creating this special memory and heirloom piece for Miss Aaralyn's First Birthday!

Fall Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial

Since I am taking some time off to enjoy our new baby boy, I thought I would re-post one of my favorite fall tutorials from last year.  I know a bunch of you are new to the blog (thanks so much for joining us), so you might have missed this one.  This is a really easy and inexpensive fall project, but I just love the end result!

It's really starting to feel like fall here in the Midwest.  We still have our occasional warm day, but for the most part fall is upon us.  Fall is my favorite time of year with all the fun festivals, pumpkin patches, apple orchards.......I truly value the beautiful seasons each year.

Since it finally feels like fall, I think it's time to get out some decorations for around the house.  I wanted to make something for our home that tied in with the season as well as our decor.  Though I tend to use bright colors in my clothing design, my home is decorated in more rich tones....think deep red, green, mahogany and cherry wood.  I came up with these chubby fabric pumpkins and can't wait to put them around the house.  I thought you might like to make some too.........so here's the "how to":

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial

Supplies:

Fabric pieces - variety of sizes

2 pieces of brown felt

1 piece tan felt

Fiberfill or other stuffing material

Brown embroidery floss

Thick twine

Hand-sewing needle

Sewing Machine

Decorative wire berries (optional)

Directions:

Gather your fabric.  I found these upholstery fabric samples at Joann's for $2.00 a piece.  They were discontinued special order fabrics.  I decided to use decorator fabric because I love the variation in textures and designs, but you could definitely used quilting cotton for this project if you would prefer.

Cut your fabric.  I wanted my pumpkins to be all different sizes since no two pumpkins are ever the same.  Here are some of the measurements I used:

17.5" x 10"

17.5" x 12"

12" x 6"

12.5" x 7.5"

17" x 13"

Basically you are looking to cut out a rectangle shape.

Fold your rectangle, right-sides together.  Stitch down the long-side (side to the right) with a regular straight-stitch.  Then run a gathering stitch around the top and the bottom (leaving the top and bottom OPEN).  Turn right-side out.

Pull the bobbin thread to start gathering one of the ends.  Work the gather until you have pulled it as closed as possible.  If you are using regular cotton this will be much easier.  If you are using decorator fabrics, this can take some time.  You may also consider hand-sewing a large straight stitch with embroidery floss and using that to gather instead of your machine (my thread broke on one of my pumpkins).  Either way will work. 

This is as tight as I could pull my bobbin thread with the upholstery fabric.  Tie your thread ends together and turn it in-side out again.

Place the gathered end in your sewing machine and stitch to close.  You will have to kind of jam the fabric under the foot as it is very thick, but don't worry, your machine can handle it.  You may also choose to hand-sew the opening closed with embroidery floss.

Next fill your pumpkin with fiberfill or whatever type of stuffing you have on hand.

Once you have stuffed your pumpkin, pull the bobbin thread from your other gathering stitch to begin to close the opening.

Close the opening entirely by hand-sewing.

Take your twine and wrap it around the pumpkin (very tightly).  Do this as if you were wrapping a present.  Loop it around, then cross-over, around and cross-over.  You will cross-over at the top and bottom of the pumpkin.  Go back and forth until you have 6-8 sections on each pumpkin.  Finish by simply tying in a knot.

You may need to slide the twine around until you have even look sections - just work it until you like the look.

Next you will need to make your stems and leaves.  I made each stem a different size, so just cut out whatever shape you like from your brown felt.  I also machine stitched on top of the felt to add some texture.  Place both stem pieces together (right-sides together) and stitch around the curve (leave the straight-side open).  Turn right-side out.

Suff your stem with fiberfill.

Cut out two to three leaves per pumpkin.  I did mostly brown leaves and a couple tan ones.  Again, I machine stitched veins onto the brown felt with brown thread.  This is your opportunity to be creative......cut your leaves out in any shape or size that you like.  Mine were all different.

Next hand-sew your stem and leaves to the top of each pumpkin.  There is no special technique here.  Just place the leaves where you like and stitch away.

You can certainly skip the stitching on the stem and the leaves, but I think it adds a more realistic feel to the pumpkins.

For a final finishing touch, I took a bunch of deep red and green berries and added them to the top of each pumpkin.  This was just one bunch that I purchased at Joann's.  I cut the bunch apart and wrapped two wire pieces around each stem.  To make the curls, wrap the wire around a pen or pencil.

On a couple of the tan leaves, I hand embroidered some detail.  I like the contrast between the tan leaves and the brown ones.  You could hand-embroider all of the leaves or machine-stitch all of them......again, it's up to you.

And there you have it - a family of festive fall fabric pumpkins!

They are just so cute, don't you think?  I could just squeeze them!  Well, I won't, but my daughter Savannah already did......she gave each one a hug and said, "I love you pumpkins!".

Happy Fall!