Burlap Pillows

After Cory & I redid the table for our "office" I wanted to change up the look of the room. An easy and inexpensive way to do that was to change the pillows for the sofa. I have been seeing burlap pillows around for a while now and I always really like them. Neiman Marcus has some beautiful ones right now as does Restoration Hardware but unfortunately they are pretty pricey. Here are some from Restoration Hardware.

Since I didn't feel like spending a lot of money on burlap pillows I decided to make some of my own. Instead of tossing the pillows that I already have and making all new ones I chose to make pillow slipcovers.

Here's what you'll need if you would like to make one yourself:

Burlap, thread, sewing machine, iron-on transfer paper, a computer/printer, and an iron.
You'll also need a pillow that you wish to cover.

First thing you'll need to do is measure your pillow form. Now add 1 inch to that measurement and cut out a piece of fabric that size. Ex: my pillow was 18 x 18 inches so I cut a piece of fabric that was 19X19. Then you'll need to cut out 2 pieces of fabric that is your width (in my case 19 in) and the length should be half of your width plus 2.5 inches (half of 19 is 9.5 plus 2.5 equals 12) So I cut two pieces of fabric that were 19x12. I hope that makes sense.
Now I did not surge around the edges of my fabric because I'm just using them temporarily but if you have the equipment you may want to do that. Next I took my two 19x12 pieces of fabric and along one side of the 19 inches edge, I folded the fabric over about 1/4 inch and pressed with an iron. I then folded the folded part another 1/4 inch and pressed & pinned it. I then stitched down the center of the fold to create a hem. I then did this to the other 19x12 piece.
Next lay the 19x19 piece down and lay one rectangle piece on it wrong side up and pin it together. Now take the second rectangle and do the same thing.

After you've pinned the pieces together you can sew around the entire square using whatever seam allowance you wish.
Now turn your pillow cover inside out and stuff your pillow into it.
Tada! Note: this pillow's iron on didn't turn out as well.
Now, for the print for your pillow. Find some clip art that you want to have on your pillow. I searched for "french burlap pillow" and found some cool things. I also used The Graphic Fairy which had tons of pictures to choose from. Print your graphics out on some iron on transfer paper and remember to flip the image so it will iron on correctly. After you print it then you'll need to cut it out.
Next, iron it on according to the paper's package directions.
Peal it off gently. And there you have it.
For these two pillows I used muslin instead of burlap.
Here are my burlap pillows. Like I said, the larger one didn't turn out as well, but I'm ok with it.
I think the bicycle one is my favorite.
I hope my instructions were clear enough for you. These pillows were so simple to make and very inexpensive. I'm glad I can change them out when I want to.

Third Time's a Charm

Two weekends ago I had the urge to paint some furniture (weird, I know). Instead of going out and buying more furniture that we don't have room for I decided to change up a piece I already had. Cory was super sweet & helpful and joined right in.

Before we got married Cory received this table from my sister, Angie, during one of her moves. Here's a picture of it, minus the doors, right after he inherited it.

Cory & I decided to paint it his favorite color:green (a very light shade and a darker one). We were really excited because it was our first piece of furniture to paint. We even signed our names & date on the bottom of it when we were done. It made me smile to see it when we were redoing it. Here's a picture of it after the first paint job.
This time around we decided to strip the paint off of the top and stain it a darker color. We decided to paint the bottom half a creamy white. Here it is now.
Here's a close up of the new pulls. They're clear crystal looking with a stain brushed on them to look antique. I got them at Hobby Lobby for about $3.00.

I.just.can't.stop...

looking at this ADORABLE puppy. OMW (oh my word)<---I'm trying to get that phrase to catch on, haha.

Look at the little puffball. His name is Boo. I found these pictures on cuteoverload.com. Have a happy weekend & Roll Tide :)

**UPDATE** Little Boo has a facebook page. Check it.

A Whole New World

Lately I've been seeing globes in decorating magazines/design blogs and I like it. Here's a picture from Apartment Therapy that I like.

If you like the globe look too then you need to check out T.J. Maxx because they have TONS of vintage looking globes (or at least the Maxx in Tuscaloosa does). I snagged one at a reasonable price and I'm really excited about it. There were so many sizes, styles, and colors to choose from. I was torn between the golden color, the blue, and the black globes. I ended up settling on a smaller blue one.

On another note, my world is sadly changing. The "K Bug", aka my VW Beetle, is going on retirement...or at least on retirement from me. It's not as dependable as it once was and we are going to part ways. It was my dream car and I loved having it. I will miss it but I'm looking forward to having a more reliable car, one where I don't have to cross my fingers for it to start :) I hope you have a great weekend.

Buzzing Like A Bee

Today was the first day of my sewing unit with my classes. To introduce the first lesson I always have various sewing tools/equipment numbered around the room and have the students try to figure out the names of each item (of course they have a word bank). After a few minutes I will go over each item and explain its use. One item on display is a pincushion. I know that this seems very elementary, but believe me, some middle schoolers have never seen one. Now, the pincushion did not have any pins or needles in it. I try to keep those sharp objects out of reach when kids will be moving around because for some reason it is very tempting for 12-14 year olds to take a needle and poke someone or to stick it in their finger (like they're the first one to think that up.) Anyway, I had an empty pincushion for the students to see and I had another one in my hand that had a few pins, needles, and safety pins in it so I could show the differences between pins and needles when I was explaining what each item was. Well, the kids were working hard at trying to name the items while I was sitting on my seat in the front of the room monitoring them with my "loaded" pincushion in hand. During this time one student came to me needing a pass to the counselor. Since everyone was doing their work I laid the pincushion in the chair that I was sitting in and went over to my desk (on the other side of the room) to get a pass. I went back to the chair at the front of the room and sat on the edge of the seat to sign the pass. I knew the pincushion was still in the chair, but I just sat in front of it. It soon became time for me to explain all the sewing items. I grabbed my pincushion and started explaining everything. Afterwards, as I was passing out worksheets, two boys started giggling when I walked by. Now, I really don't care what middle school kids think of me but it does start to kind of freak you out when there is laughing going on. I just kept walking when one of the boys said, "Mrs. King, you have a needle on your pants." I thought they had seen a large,blue plastic needle that was in my front pocket that I had used with my 6th graders earlier and pulled it out and said, "Yeah, it looks like a clown needle". The plastic needle is rather large and goofy looking. Then the boy said, "No, for real you have a needle sticking out of your pants." I started walking away because these two boys are notorious for trying to pull things over on teachers. At least once a week they'll make up some crazy story or say "Look at (insert name). Why are they (insert action)?" only to see that person just sitting their doing what they're supposed to be doing. They're tricksters, they are. As I walked away I thought that I should nonchalantly check my pants out. That's when I discovered a rather large needle sticking out from the center of my butt. It couldn't have been placed more perfectly if I had tried. I turned around and laughed and said thanks. Although I was kind of bothered by the fact that they were looking at my rear end. I'm glad they told me before I sat down because it would have hurt and been more embarrassing. The other students swore they didn't see it, but I wouldn't put it past them for letting it slide so I would sit on it. I probably looked like a bee walking around with a little stinger. It was pretty funny and it made it even funnier that the two "tricksters" were the ones who clued me in.

Sorry that was rather long. I'm trying to cheer myself up from watching Hoarders. Did you see it tonight? All I'll say about it is, "poor kittens". :(

I hope you have a great week. Cory & I are working on two crafty projects now so I'll post them soon. :)

Hip Hip Hooray!

Today we found out that Cory, my brother-in-law, Benjamin, and our law school friends passed the Bar exam. I'm beyond thrilled for all of them. It is such a nice feeling to know that all their hard work paid off and that they are now officially lawyers.

Fortunately Cory got to come to Tuscaloosa last night so we got to celebrate the good news together tonight. We went out for a celebratory steak and some Yogurt Mountain goodness. We got to eat yogurt with Rachelle, who was the sweet friend who let us know the results were posted this morning. She's awesome. :)

I hope everyone has a happy weekend. :)

Cute Video

Have you seen the new OK Go video? I can't stop watching it.

OK Go is the band that made a music video with treadmill choreography a few years ago. I posted it below as well. Check both videos out & be impressed.

By the way, can you tell I'm living alone now? haha. I've been posting more the past few weeks than I had in the last two months combined!