Year: 2010

Pillows for Sale?

Published on by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

It seems last week’s herringbone pillow tutorial was a hit, so I’m back with a follow-up of, you guessed it, more pillows. 

About a year ago, I created this pillow to resemble our house.  Simple and cute, I think.  I don’t think this has popped up in any photos, either, so I thought it was time to share. 

The most difficult part was creating the siding, keeping it even and straight.   To recreate the siding, I used a linen looking cotton and folded it to create pleats.  Then I used felt and fleece to add the detail of windows, doors and plants.

Now, I know these pillows have made a brief appearance in the past, but no explanation has been given.

When we turned the nursery into a big boy room the first time, I make a V monogrammed pillow to go with the new look.  

I cut my letter out of the fabric, leaving a 1/2 inch allowance on all sides.  To get clean edges, I folded the 1/2 inch over and used hem tape to glue the edges.  I pinned the V in place and hand stitched a zigzag all around the edges using embroidery floss.  The pillow cover is an envelope closure with buttons keeping it tight.  See the little elephant pillow?  I found an outline of an elephant online, printed it to size, traced the design on my fabric and embroidered the design using a back-stitch. 

For a little more pillow talk, how about these beauties over at Urban Outfitters?

I love the texture of these!  I feel confident that I could recreate the Ruffle Maze pillow and the Tuxedo Ruffles Curved pillow, but I have no clue how to make the texture of the Hand Quilted Velvet pillow. 

Now, onto the title subject.  I have considered adding pillows to my Etsy shop, would you like to be able to buy my pillow creations?  I don’t think I can accommodate custom orders at the time, but I would like to have a nice selection available.  However, I can’t justify sewing a million pillow covers for myself, so I would love to know if people out there would like to order something.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Herringbone Pattern Pillow

Published on by Our Humble Abode43 Comments

While the boys and I were wandering the aisles of Target, I spotted this beautiful Fieldcrest pillow.

The only color Target carries is this grey, and we don’t have much, if any, grey in our house.  After inspecting it for a few minutes, I felt confident that I could create something similar.  Luckily, Joann Fabric is within walking distance of Target, so that was our next stop.  I bought a relatively thick light blue fabric on clearance, then we went home and got to work. 

To make a herring bone textured pillow, you’ll need:

Fabric, at least two and a half times as much as the pillow size you want. 

Pins

An iron

Pillow stuffing or a pillow form

Optional:

Hem tape

To make the pillow, first, cut strips of fabric into rough 4 inch wide pieces.  I made strips that were the entire length of my two yard piece.  Cut several strips, then fold in half and iron to create a nice, straight edge.  I chose to add hem tape, just to make sure things couldn’t move around when I started sewing.   

Once you have your strips pressed, cut a piece of fabric one inch larger than the desired finished pillow size; this is the backing piece you will sew your strips to.  Fold in half or measure to find the center of the fabric.  Mark with a pen or pencil. 

Now you’re ready to start cutting, pinning and sewing.  Place the first strip of fabric at a 45 degree angle from your center line.  Trim the end to match the edge of the pillow.  You don’t have to do this, but it will help keep everything straight.  Pin in place.  Place another strip over the top of the first piece, but make a 90 degree angle.  Cut the bottom piece at the end of the one on top.  You will sew over it, but you don’t want the pieces to be short. 

Keep overlapping pieces, pinning in place.  I would suggest doing a few at a time, then remove and sew into place.  Allign the edge of your presser foot with the folded edge of the strip and sew one at a time.  Make sure your pattern stays straight and your pieces are overlapping in the same order.

Repeat until you reach the other end. 

Follow this tutorial to create an envelope closure, then stuff and enjoy!

To see other pillow ideas, check out this felt circle pillow cover I recently shared or these inspiration ideas from Etsy.

Decorated Bookshelf

Published on by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

A while ago, I shared how I refinished an old, worn bookcase,  I even showed the finished bookshelf, but I realized I haven’t shared pictures of it in the space, completely decorated.  So, here it is.

The top before refinishing was shabby, and not very chic.

The sanding, staining and polyurethane fixed that problem.

It took a lot of time, but it was definitely worth the effort to revamp this passed down bookshelf.  I really love how it looks in the room, too.

P.S.  If you like the Alphabet Tree painting in the photos above, you can get a printed version for yourself.

Another Feature

Published on by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

It looks like Our Humble A{Bowe}d is getting a lot of lovin’ this week.  I’m definitely not complaining, though.  A few days ago we were featured on a few blogs, and now our dining room overhaul is featured on Remodelaholic.  While you’re over at Remodelaholic, check our all the other amazing projects.  Seriously, you won’t be disappointed by the inspiration found within.

Wall Flowers

Published on by Our Humble Abode21 Comments

Remember these beauties? 

Well, I made my version for a mere $1.99 and here’s how.

Start with polymer clay.  You can find this at any craft store for about two bucks.  I used white, but you can use a color if you’d like.  Roll into a ball. 

The size of the ball will depend on how big you want your flower to be, but you’re better off making it a little larger thank you think.  On a sheet of wax paper, use a rolling-pin to roll the clay out into a thin sheet. 

Get it as thin as you can.  Place a circular object on and cut out around it.  Use the end of a paint brush to create dots at the center.  Ben a piece of wire and press into the clay to make lines around the dots.  Place the wax paper and clay inside an oven safe bowl and play with it until you like the waves and form.  Bake, following the instructions on the clay packaging.  I baked my flowers twice as long, to make sure they are hard. 

Remove from the oven and let the flowers cool.  Paint the fronts and backs the color(s) of your choice.  I painted the entire flower white and added sun yellow to the center dots, just for a pop of color. 

Add picture hooks to the back, adhering with super glue.  I had a few left over from some IKEA frames.

Allow the glue to dry overnight and get ready to hang those puppies up.

Now, I know mine aren’t as pretty, BUT, for $198 less, I don’t think they’re too bad.  I might even have to make a few more. 

What do you think?  Does anyone have any suggestions on a different DIY technique?  Just a little note, you can get at least 3 flowers from one package of clay.