DIY Decor & Crafts

Merry & Bright

Published on December 13, 2013December 13, 2013 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

Wow, thank you all so, so much for your incredibly sweet comments on our Christmas home tour yesterday.

Because we had a lot of comments on the Merry & Bright art I made, I’ve decided to share a free print version.

I used Photoshop, so it’s not wonky like my hand drawn design.

Get your own Merry & Bright with black backing:

Or save yourself some ink and print the Merry & Bright with white backing:

Also, our stocking hangers are slightly unconventional, but I love them.

Last year, I bought traditional stocking hangers from Target on clearance. You know, the heavy rectangles with the little hook. They work great, but were wider than I wanted. Well, I got rail road spikes, just to use as decor. Inspired by these porcelain beauties, I sprayed two of the five matte white, then painted the ends with gold Liquid Leaf.

Then I realized, these spikes are heavy, about the same as the hooks. So I swapped them with the hooks. Bam, more decorating space and less noticeable hooks.

And, I get to use the bad boys as table decor after the holidays.

I think I’ll spray the rusted spikes with a clear matte finish, just to prevent rust getting all over. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Blogger Stylin’ Home Tour: Cozy and Colorful

Published on December 12, 2013December 11, 2013 by Our Humble Abode37 Comments

If you’re coming from Iron and Twine, welcome to the party! So many wonderful ladies have shared their fantastic tours already. Check out the first three days here:

Monday:

Lindsay – The White Buffalo Styling Co.

Roeshel – DIY Showoff

Jess and Monica – East Coast Creative

Laura – Finding Home

Jesse – Scout and Nimble

Sarah – Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

Angela – Number Fifty-three

Gwen – The Makerista

Brittany – Brittany Makes

Tuesday:

Ashley – The Handmade Home

Anneke – This, That, & Life

Gina – Shabby Creek Cottage

Cassie – Primitive & Proper

Caitlin – Desert Domicile

Jenna – Rain on a Tin Roof

Sarah – The Thriftress

Carolyn – Sweet Chaos Home

Jamie – So Much Better with Age

Shavonda – A Home Full of Color

Wednesday:

Emily – Jones Design Company

Jamie – C.R.A.F.T.

Lucy – Craftberry Bush

Michelle – Decor and the Dog

Whitney – The Curtis Casa

Kristin – Bliss at Home

Summer – Simple Stylings

Sarah – Lacquer and Linen

Danika – Gorgeous Shiny Things

Kelly – View Along the Way

With so many talented women and amazing ideas, I feel like a slacker. But, here’s our Christmas home tour. How ’bout we start in the family room. Because the fireplace is in here, it got the most attention.

Our mantel is decked out in bright colors, including a short strand of the felt garland I made. The merry & bright art is something I sketched out and painted on a piece of black foam from the Dollar Tree. For the past four years, I’ve made silhouette ornaments of each family member. And in years past, I’ve hung those ornaments on stands to place on a shelf. This year, the silhouettes mark each stocking, including a custom paint color. Our deep green chevron coffee table adds more pattern and color. When paired with red plaid scarf pillows, it’s a slight twist on traditional red and green. Original scarf tassels are a fun touch, too. Next to the fireplace is slightly less colorful and more glam. Lots of gold, white, some black, and a bit of blue. Ben’s first deer has a glitter star. You know, to girl him up a little. On the other side of the room I sewed plaid flannel pillow covers. Nothing says cozy like flannel, I always say. This buffalo check is great all year, too. In our less finished (okay, not even close) living room, I decorated the entertainment center. Though we have plans to build doors to hide the ugly electronics and cords. Gold on navy Holy Night song lyrics are Christmas-y, without screaming Christmas. Below is a wintery scene, complete with bottle brush trees, a hedgehog family, and squirrel. The dining room decor is much simpler. Our tree is in the corner. Large jingle bells hang from the chairs. And another snowy scene sits on the table. A cheap acrylic frame from Michael’s holds Epsom salt, trees, and mini birds. And a bokeh tree, because I can’t help myself. Thanks for stopping in! Pop over to Cuckoo 4 Design. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour.

Thursday:

Kennesha – Restoration House Interiors

Jenna – SAS Interiors

Chris – Just a Girl

Kelly – Eclectically Vintage

Michelle – Iron and Twine

Amanda – Our Humble Abode

Julia – Cuckoo 4 Design

Bethany – Dwellings by Devore

Lindsay – Makely Home

Jennifer – Dimples & Tangles

Friday:

Shauna – Perfectly Imperfect

Traci – Beneath My Heart

Jen – The Chronicles of Home

Jennifer – Tatertots and Jello

Kristin – Hunted Interior

Eileen – A Creative Day

Gabbi – Retro Ranch Reno

Shannon – Shannon Berry Design

Lakeitha – Lakeitha Duncan

Kristen – KFD Designs

Jessica – Dear Emmeline

Sarah – Royal Marigold

Carmel – Our Fifth House

Zippity Do Da

Published on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

I know there are a ton of tutorials all about sewing a zipper on a pillow. Most tutorials also use a special zipper foot. I don’t have one and never had, so here’s how I do it. Start with your cut piece of fabric, laid out, right side up. Then, place your zipper, right side down, and align the bottom edges. Leave the last few inches of the zipper open, like this:

Then sew, with your normal foot. I keep the edge of my foot along the outer edge of the zipper. Stop just before the zipper pull.

To finish that side, I then pull the zipper up, beyond my stopping point. I start sewing, back stitch a few, then carry on until I reach the end, back stitching again to lock the threads.

So that’s one half of a zipper.

Lay the fabric and zipper out, right sides still up. Now, place your backing fabric on top, right sides down. Pin along the edges, leaving the zipper slightly undone.

Sew along the outside edge, just as before, stopping before the zipper pull. Pull the zipper up, then start sewing again. Now, you’ve got a zipper.

But let’s finish the pillow. Align the top and sides of your fabric, pinning in place. I like to sew one side, pivot to sew the top, pivot again to sew half of the last side. While my zipper is completely closed. Keeping the zipper closed makes it easier to pin everything together where it should be.

If I sewed all three sides with the zipper closed, I’d be stuck with an inside out, unusable pillow cover. So, open the zipper, then continue sewing the rest of the way down. Because I’m lazy, I sew over the ends of my zipper with my machine about 20 times, just to lock the ends in.

Turn it right side out and put it to use.

It Felt Nice

Published on December 2, 2013December 2, 2013 by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

This Christmas, our theme is school, per V’s request. He started kindergarten this fall and absolutely loves it, so it made sense when he wanted to carry it to Christmas. Hobby Lobby had everything we needed to deck our tree. Wooden letters and colorful felt. I bought 8 different colored sheets of felt. Then, cut them in thirds, lengthwise and then into 1/2 inch ish strips.

With my sewing machine, I stitched on long chain, keeping the pieces close to centered.

When I ran out of pieces, the garland was roughly 30 feet long. Not bad for two bucks worth of felt!

We wrapped it around the tree, then hung our painted letters. A few silver ball ornaments, last year’s cubes, and all the silhouette ornaments I’ve made of the boys.

And here she is, a school themed Christmas tree.

V and I talked about our Christmas theme in October, so it was funny to see a similar tree in Martha Stewart Living this month.

Colorful, letters, and painted wooden cubes. Have you started holiday decorating? Do you have a theme each year? If so, what’s your theme this year?

Foam Plus Paint Equals Stamped Runner

Published on November 25, 2013November 25, 2013 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Part of our Thanksgiving table setting is a gold plus stamped runner. It didn’t take long to make and cost about 5 bucks.

I bought three yards of 32 inch wide white muslin, normally $1.99 per yard, but I had a 50% off coupon. Only 3 dollars for fabric. Then I folded the fabric lengthwise, right sides together and stitched along a short and long side.

Next, I flipped it right side out and ironed it flat. Once flat (with the seams pressed), I sewed all four edges, leaving a 1 inch seam. For a little detail, I made a plus sign from a foam take out container to make a stamp. Because the foam is so thin, I taped a crayon to the back to serve as a handle.

I tested out dipping and brushing paint on using a scrap of fabric. I actually preferred the brush strokes, so I stamped it on the runner. Martha Stewart craft paints also work on fabric, so it was about two bucks for the paint.

And we can use this runner year round because it isn’t a specific theme.

I love super simple holiday projects. Usually things are crazy and it’s nice to have something fun and useful. Did you make holiday decor for your table?