X, Y, Zipper

Zippers scare the he** out of this amatuer sewer (maybe seamstress would be less of a stink?) but I finally put the fear aside and whipped up (and when I say “whipped up” I mean turtled through because it took me a few hours more than I had over a couple of days) a couple of pillow covers for the pillows on our porch that were in dire need of clean ones.  Plus, I found this amazing outdoor fabric at JoAnn’s and had to have it so have it I do. (Stolen from our Instagram feed)

I’m not here to give a full tutorial however, after a little more pillow practice maybe I’ll type out all the teethy ‘tails but if you’re hankerin’ to make your own zippered covers, I recommend this tutorial.  It got me through and has really good visual aids and my resulting pillow covers are functional and not falling apart (yet).  There are a few spots where I could’ve used a little more explaining but, like I said, it got me through. 

(Our wicker is in obvious need of repair and our porch in obvious need of a sweep but let that glorious geometric take you to better thoughts.)

I’m a sucker for being able to change my mind on a whim so of course one side is one fabric and the other, the other.  They’re not the most coordinating when it comes to the relative science of fabric marriage but they’re both super-cool, geometric, and invisible when the other shines.  Today it’s the navy, yesterday was the yellow, tomorrow?  Well, let’s just hope this pattern doesn’t continue because the girls scream and cry when I walk out the front door and I really don’t want kids with PTSD so…

What’s your fave side?

Anyway, like I mentioned above, the fabric is from JoAnn’s.  I happened upon it during a 50% off outdoor fabric sale with an extra 10% coupon in my hand so when all was said and done I walked out the door with two half-yards of each for a total of 10 beans.  The zippers cost me $1.50 at Wal-Mart bringing my grand total to $13.  Just like I like it…small and virtually unnoticeable to the budget nazi, me.  I love that the covers can easily be removed, washed, and replaced.  My relationship with zippers is still “complicated” moving towards “like” but you know I’ll keep you updated on that one.  It’ll be better than the Bachelorette right now, I can tell you that much.



So, about pesky zippers.  What’s your relationship status?  Do you prefer them only pre-inserted and from stores, is your fear holding you back, or have you mastered them?  If you’re a zipper master, what’s your fave tutorial or are you one of those greats that just figured them out all by your lonesome?  Let me in on it and then go out and have a great weekend! 

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P.S.  I’m still planning on pounding out a whole series on twins and how we’ve survived along with a few other things (beware or come read and have fun) – a day in the life, cloth diapering, you know, I’ve mentioned it before – so if you’re up for that sort of thing, stay tuned.  :)

Adios Christmas

I may not have changed out of the yoga pants I wore to bed last night, but I fed both girls (six times each), changed 2,483 cloth diapers, ate too many cookies, indulged in my daily cup ‘o joe and a coke, and made this:

Which means that, up until this afternoon, our front door looked like this:
 
Yes, we are those neighbors that keep our Christmas decorations up alllll year long…nope, just kidding.  Just this year…

While perusing the endless abyss you all know as Pinterest, I stumbled upon the prettiest tulip wreath from Etsy.  Needless to say, as much as I wish I had 48 bucks to spend on a wreath, I knew I could do it myself.  And so can you.  It’s easy peasy.  In case you’d like to, here’s what you’ll need:

I bought everything at Hobby Lobby yesterday because they were having a 50% all their floral.  The sale ends this Saturday, fyi.  (Michaels is having the same sale, however I really wanted magenta tulips and they only sell light pink and red in that color fam.)

First, bend each stem down at the base… 

and, using a wire cutter (mine is on the handle end of our needle-nose pliers), cut…

until all stems are separate.

Then, starting on the inside, place individual tulips around the entire wreath by sticking the ends amidst the branches.  Make sure you don’t stick them all the way in; you want a few inches of the stem showing.

Once you’ve done the inside, stick some tulips around the outside of the wreath.  They should stick out a few inches from the outer circumference of the wreath.  Also, make sure that your stems point out at an angle, they don’t have to follow the direction of the wreath exactly.  And don’t worry if the tulips aren’t evenly spaced or sticking out the exact same length, imperfection is pretty in this case.  :)

When you’re done placing tulips, carefully turn your wreath over and use a hot glue gun to glue each stem to the closest branch.

And that’s it!  You’ve got yourself a brand new wreath that will usher in spring faster than you can say “groundhog”! 
Cost:
Tulips:  $12 (50% off sale)
Grapevine Wreath:  $4 (with a 40% off coupon)
Hot glue and gun:  already had
Trip to the attic to stow Christmas wreath:  50 calories
Total:  $16
(Side note:  I wanted a big ‘ole wreath at 24 inches, but you can also get smaller sizes which means you won’t need as many tulips, which means less moolah, which means…well, you know.)

 

 

P.S.  It’s party time!!!  Linking up with Gingerly Made!  See lots more craftiness over yonder!

Porched Pillows

Yay for you-tube how-to's, home decorators sewing books, and sewing machines...especially mine!  With those things I recently created my first-ever, 'real' pillow cover!  By 'real', I mean normal/sewn/minus bonding tape/like-the-kind-you'd-find-in-a-store pillow covers unlike the ones I've made in the past that you can see here and here.  

I would write up a tutorial but one - I don't have enough time at the moment, and two - I'm pretty sure I made up my own sewing rules during the process.  But they turned out AWESOME and they were so easy to make!  If I had my way, and enough pillows (and time) at my disposal, I'd probably make at least one day!

So anyway, as you all probably know by now, our dining area doubles as a workstation:

It's complete with iTunes and my beloved Bernina - the sewing machine given to me by a friend who didn't have a need for her anymore.  As far as worldly gifts go, she's probably the best thing I've ever received! 

So back to the topic at hand, you can see the two measured and cut-out squares of fabric waiting to be sewn to two other squares which had yet to be cut out.  (And yes, that long, yellow thing is Anthony's drywall square that I used to make sure I had some perfect squares...I have yet to go get an actual sewer's square...like I've said before, you use what you got, right?)  As fabric goes, I used a half-yard of the floral fabric ($5 at JoAnn's) for the front side and for the back side, I used a Target tablecloth I found for $4.  All in all, (considering I used about 1/4 of the tablecloth) these pillow covers cost me around $7.  I already had thread and Scotch-Guard, which I sprayed 'em down with since their perch would be our porch.  :)

So, after threading, cutting, ironing seams, and sewing, this is what they looked like (inside-out) when I was finished:

I know they look a little 'un-square' in the picture because of wrinkles but in real life they're almost perfect!  It wasn't until I turned them right-side-out that I started jumping for joy and letting my happiness be known through screams of delight.  Then, after my happy tantrum I ran outside with Scotch-Guard and covers in hand, sprayed 'em down, let 'em dry (5 minutes), grabbed my yard sale pillows, stuffed 'em inside, and ran outside to adorn our free, made-over wicker chairs.  (P.S.  I'm not exaggerating when say write "ran"...I was way too excited to leisurely stroll.)

Here are my accomplishments:

How cute are they?  My heart melts every time I look at them.  :)

So, for fun, I thought I'd give the grand finale in porch pictures, showing how far it's come in the past 1.5 years.

Here's the "ewwww" it looked like from move-in day to almost 9 months later:

 Here's after we painted it and the rest of the exterior of our house last year:

And here it is today - always waiting for a couple of coffee mugs (or sweet teas) and some relaxed rears to make themselves comfortable:

Now that's what we call 'Southern Comfort'.  :)

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By the way, I'm itchin' to paint the porch ceiling a pale blue so we can become true southerners and also to bring the sky a little closer...I just haven't told Anthony my idea yet.  What do you think?  Do it or don't?