What a Sham

I made some pillow shams for our bed recently, and am pretty proud of how they turned out:

(please excuse the wrinkly duvet... it was just pulled out of the linen closet!)

I have the tutorial posted here, if you'd like to make your own.

I'm so glad that it's Friday! It's been one of those weeks, you know, where both of your shoe laces break? (I heard that one this week, so evidently it's been one of those weeks for other people too.)

Have a great weekend!

Business Plans

You know how somedays you're just left a little uninspired? With such a plethora of pretty rooms and information out there on all the other blogs, I sometimes feel like I'm just repeating the same things - which is boring!

So, I thought I'd share with you something I've been working on. I've been working on starting up a small home business making dog beds and dog collar covers (because, you know, I have a little knowledge about dogs). I'm nearly ready to get it up and running, so I've been thinking of packaging - tags, bags, labels and cards.



I am kind of liking kraft paper. Cardstock for notes, boxes for the collar covers...

Tags - round or square? Maybe both??

I'm still considering iron-on labels for the beds. Yes? No?? Too cheesy?



I'll share more about the beds a little later, once I have some more to photograph. But here's a preview:

Another thing I've been up to?? Setting up an awesome GIVEAWAY!

Be sure to check back Friday for all the details.

Skirted Console Tables

I love skirted console tables. They look so tailored, and they can hide a world of sins.

I finally decided to attempt my own skirt for the eye-sore in our bedroom... our TV console.


The console itself is a good size for our room, and because we don't really have the money to go out and buy a new piece of furniture to take its place, I thought a slipcover would be the easiest and best option.



Our console before:




And after:

Sooooooo much better. Soooooo much better.

I used 2 old white Ikea drapes that I had (which had shrunk too much to use as curtains anymore), utilizing the top of the drapes as my hems. It really wasn't too hard to put together, although if I were doing it over, I would underlap the side panels more than I did to eliminate that gap on the corners. And I still think I will trim it out with some ribbon. But all in all, I'm pretty pleased with it! Especially being my first time at making one of these.

If you're interested in the step-by-step instructions I came up with, they'll be coming on a post over on EAD next week.

Gummi Chandelier

Seriously?

Over the last week, I feel like I should at least have something like this to show for all the work I've done. But no. Don't you love it when you're busy, but have nothing to really show for it?

This "chandelier" must have taken days upon days to make. First question would be "Why?". Next question would be "If you leave the chandelier on for a while, will the gummies melt?".

photo from Google

Check This Table Out

Go over to This Full Life and take a look at this project. She refinished this table herself (it was painted all black)!



I think it turned out so well. And her blog deserves more visits.

Roman Shades Made Out of Mini-Blinds?

It IS possible! And you can see how I did it over at Elizabeth Anne Designs today.

Thanks to Jenny from Little Green Notebook. :-)

Weekend Project: Painting Bamboo Shades

I've been a busy girl around the house and at work this week!

One of my projects that I've been wanting to get done for a while is to paint a bamboo shade that I got when Linens N Things was going out of business. It's been sitting in the office waiting patiently on me for probably a year now, after I saw and was inspired by Eddie Ross and his dining room from the New Orleans Home & Garden Show.

This project was super easy. The hardest part is finding a place where you can unfold and lay the blind flat (the freezer in our garage worked well for me).

You'll need a bamboo shade, some paint, a brush, and a rag to wipe off the excess.

I decided I wanted to go for a whitewashed effect, so before applying the paint to the shade, I would wipe off much of the paint from my brush. If you are doing this, you don't want too much paint on your brush at all. If you're going for a more solid look, you can skip this part.

Start at one end and work your way up (or down) the shade.

All finished and drying! This only took me MAYBE 10 minutes, tops. So easy.

And, voila!

I really like how the shade looks in the bathroom, and I like the whitewashed effect. (Plus, if ever I'd like to change it, I can always paint right over it!)

Have a great weekend!!

Oh, Martha!

Martha emailed me today (personally, I'm sure) about some eco-friendly craft ideas she's had, and among the belt-buckle frames and tin-can jack-o-lanterns were these gems:

Painted recycled glass vases/jars/bottles. So pretty! And so easy!


How about a birdbath or birdfeeder out of an old basin? I really like this idea, and may use it for a replacement of our birdfeeder, since ours has seen better days.


And when you go to the beach, why not bring along your very own beach-towel bag?? There are so many cute patterened beach towels out there, and any one of them would make into a really cute and washable beach-tote!

This weekend, I have another project at home planned, and if all goes well, I'll tell you what it is and post pics. If it's a horrendous failure.... well, I'll just keep that to myself then.

Are there any cool projects out there that you're working on?

*All photos from Martha Stewart