Thursday, January 17, 2013

Pillows Please :)

Who doesn't love pillows? Especially when you can make your own cute accent pillows for MUCH less than what they cost at the store!

My first pillow was made for my dorm room. Total cost: ~$4!  I found the round pillow form at a garage sale... before you say "Ew" it was still in the original packaging so I knew it was good... for $2.50 (75% off!).  Then the fabric for the cover was from a body pillow cover I got at Target for 70% off, so it was about ~$3 and I only used about half of it (plus I got a zipper out of that thing too!!! Bonus!).  So I just cut out 2 circles, slightly larger than the pillow form, and sewed them right sides together about 75% of the way.  Then I turned it right sides out and stuffed in my pillow form.  Then (while riding in the car back to school) I hand stitched the rest of the way using an invisible seam.  Tutorial here.

So here is the result!

The perfect pop of color for my polka-dotted bedspread!


Perfect for the color scheme!

Please leave a comment for me :)

Now on to pillow #2:
You are gonna LOVE this one! It literally cost me $1.30 :O (I know, I know, you're thinking "no way!" but Yes! It is true!!)

So this cover started life as a napkin, a double-sided napkin to be exact.  I got it at Dillard's (on New Year's Day - extra 50% off!) for $1.05!  What a steal!  I absolutely loved the fabric so I had to have it and was disappointed there was just one.  Now this pillow form was also a steal at $0.25 from Michael's.  It was on the $1 items row, which was all on sale, as a kid's pillow which they could color but I saw it as a cheap pillow form!  Those things are expensive at Joann's!! Up to $30!  So grab 'em whenever you see one on the cheap!

P.S. I used the zipper from the Michael's pillow to make this wristlet!

I used this Simple Pillow Cover Tutorial and luckily my napkin pieces were large enough for my 14" square pillow!  The project took only maybe 15 mins so anyone could do this and you don't even have to sew well, it's just a few straight lines!  What do you think guys?






















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Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for more posts soon because...... I just got a Cricut machine today!! :D

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:)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Dress Success!

Hey everyone!

I am excited to share with you my latest creation!

Another dress, but this one is even better than the last! I got the idea from Sweet Verbena's tutorial here.

Please let me know what you think in the comments section!

Well?!?! I like it so much and I think I may actually venture out in it at some point... if I'm brave enough!

I made a few changes from the tutorial:
1) Instead of using one solid piece of fabric I wanted a patterned skirt and plain top so before following her directions I measured my torso (~18" from shoulder to waist) and length (~45" from waist to floor, leaving a bit extra for seam allowances, hemming, and fitting).  I'm 5'-10" so your measurements may be less! Then I sewed those pieces together and continued on as if they were just one piece from the get-go.
2) I took in the sides after cutting the neck and arms and looking like I had on a bag! lol I have no idea how the one in the tutorial looks so good without any fitting! Mine was awful! I took in about 2" from each side and that was MUCH better! Still flow-y and loose fitting but at least a little more put together!



Here is Lola wearing it :) (is it weird I named my mannequin?? I think not!)

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Have a great week!!


Friday, January 4, 2013

There's a First Time for Everything!

Well, well, well... I actually did it!!  I made my first dress without any pattern or tutorial!!  Now this may not seem like much of an accomplishment for some but for me this is amazing!  The dress actually fits and looks wearable!  I am just so excited!


Please let me know what you think in the comments!!

The striped fabric used to be a body pillow cover if you can believe it, I like to buy any inexpensive fabric I can get my hands on!  For example, the body pillow cover was on clearance a Target for about $3 and I figure it was over a yard and I tore the zipper out of it to re-use!  Great deal!  Any way I used some fabric from that and then I had 1 yard of navy fabric in my stash which worked great for the skirt and there was just enough for the straps and a little bow too!

I can't wait to get more experience with clothes and finally be like a designer! 

Sorry for all the exclamation points... I'm just a little excited :)

!!!
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Thanks! Happy New Year!