Make Friends With Faux

For all those nights you've lain awake pondering the mysteries of life, like "Why does the bread always land jelly-side down?", or "Where do all the lost socks go when they disappear from the washer?", or "How can I use faux floral in my house without creating a major faux pas?"--- I'm happy to report I have the answer.  At least to one of the questions.  I'll keep working on the others.

I was recently scratching my head & searching my house for something nice & springy to fill a void on my console table in the family room.  I needed bulk & green & fresh & clean.  And with those four criteria in mind, it hit me that what I needed was right in my own backyard.  Literally.  So I went outside & clipped a few generous stems from my own laurel bushes & stuck them in this cute burlap-covered vase I found at Marshall's for only $9.99 (love that!).  

And the greenery itself was nice & fresh looking, but I knew it would be even better with a couple dogwood stems.  I don't have dogwood trees I could snip off, but I did have a couple of faux dogwood stems I had used last spring (only around $3 each at Hobby Lobby), and I thought:  "What if I did something really crazy & used the fresh & faux together?" And that's just what I did.

There's no special skill required for an arrangement like this, just keep the fresh greenery in water & add the faux stems.

If you choose a faux flower that looks somewhat real (in other words, don't buy the neon or zebra print flowers for an arrangement like this), and if the colors of the leaves somewhat coordinate, the fresh & faux should be able to get along just fine.  Also, remember, less is more.  Let the fresh greens make up the bulk of the arrangement & add the faux for just a pop of color.

 And the best news is, the greenery will last for weeks if you keep the water fresh.  And the faux flowers-- they're not going anywhere. 

So, don't be afraid to make friends with faux.  It may just turn out to be a beautiful arrangement!

Find Your Inner Seamstress

Those of you who have been here awhile know that I'm kinda on a crusade to persuade people to embrace their inner seamstress, throw caution to the wind, & open themselves up to a whole new world of limitless possibilities in the realms of fashion, DIY, and décor via that beautiful little piece of equipment called the sewing machine.  I know--I'm out of control.

It's true, I've shown you how to sew many things here on the blog, but, as I've always told you, I'm no expert.  I've just been through a lot of trial & error & I've gotten pretty good at knowing what not to do!


And while I plan to keep on sharing my homespun advice on sewing from time to time, I want to introduce you to a real seamstress, who also happens to be my sister.

This is Amy.  And she's as multi-talented as she is beautiful.  You may recognize her from her other blog, Living the Allergic Life, where she gives practical, true-to-life advice on living with food allergies. (I told you she was multi-talented.)

She now has a second blog called Life is Sew Daily, where she has some super-cute sewing tutorials for all seamstresses, no matter your level of expertise.  Reading her blog is like taking a free online sewing course!  She gives great instructions & is happy to answer your questions as well.

Unlike Yours Truly, Amy has actually had professional sewing classes,  and has a Bachelor's Degree in Home Economics.  So, yeah, she's real smart.


Here are just a few of the projects she's shared so far...

Kids' Ruffled Tees

Pillowcase Shirt or Dress

No-Sew Ruffled Hipster

Girl's Maxi Dress

Milkmaid Skirt

Easy Ruffled Shirt

So, add her to your reader, join her site, & sign up for her emails.  You're not going to want to miss anything.  

What I'm Working on This Week

We're right in the middle of Spring Break week here at our house.  And that means we've been working on some special projects.

Like trips to Krispy Kreme...

and late breakfasts...

and a little tv time...

and helping my son study for his driver's permit test...

(I still can't believe this is happening)

soccer practice...

and, of course, playing hard.

Hope you're enjoying your week, wherever you are.  We're working hard at enjoying ours!

**Special thanks to the sweet ladies of Faith Baptist Church for graciously hosting me last night.  It's always an honor to be invited to speak to you! **






 

How To Make a Basic Bunting

Buntings, banners, or pennants--whatever you like to call them, they're still popping up in some of the funnest places & spaces.  They're perfect for birthday parties, showers, weddings, or even in your everyday décor.  


Here's the how-to on the one I recently made for my daughter's room.  They're super-simple for any level of sewing skill you may (or may not) have.  And if you just do not sew at all, you can use a glue gun instead.  You can do this!


Start with some different fabrics of your choice & make a triangle pattern in the size that you want your pennants.  (Sorry I didn't take a pic of this step.)


Then, using your pattern, cut out your pennant on a piece of folded fabric, with the fold lined up with the top straight edge of the triangle.  It should look like this when opened up:

Then, choose a cord, jute, clothesline, or other thin rope & cut it to the length that you want your bunting to be, allowing extra length for tying it in place.  Fold the pennant over the cord & line up the sides of the fabric.

Then, just sew a straight stitch across the top of the triangle, close to the cording, but not sewing over it.  (You want to be able to slide the pennants if you need to adjust them later.)  Also, sew around the two other sides of the triangle.

Repeat the steps until you have the number of pennants you want.  That's all there is to it.

Here are a few more styles I've made with the instructions for these as well...

Union Jack Bunting

American Flag Bunting

Burlap Bunting

And just a little more bunting bliss...

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Hope these inspire you!  How have you used buntings?

 

You Must've Been a Beautiful Baby Lamp

I hope I'm not boring you to death by continuing on & on about all the projects from my daughter's recent room makeover, but I know there were at least 1 or 2 of you who wanted more info on some of the details.  So, those of you who are still awake, read on.


Today, I'm giving you the 411 on her little lamp.  I admit that even after all the lamp makeovers I've done, my first inclination was to go out & shop for a new lamp for her when I was planning her room.  But, like so many other times, I realized everything I really wanted was right under my nose.  (Sounds like a quote from a cutesy coffee mug, huh?)


But, seriously, once I imagined the possibilities of the old lamp, I realized it was going to be just perfect.

This was actually this little lamp's 2nd makeover.  I wish I had a picture of the way it looked when I first found it at an antique shop years ago, but just imagine it in a gold hue with a yellowed old shade.  So really, this before is actually an after, but for this case, it became a before again.  (Confused yet?)

I've always loved that little baby cherub's face, so I just updated it with a little color.  Rustoleum's Summer Squash, to be exact.

And here's a little tip for spray painting lamps...cover the cord & bulb socket with foil to keep them from getting painted.

As for the shade, the toile obviously had to go, so I decided to make my own version of PB Teen's Tuxedo Ruffle Shade.  It was just what I wanted, but I'm just to cheap to pay $49 for a lamp shade.

So, instead, I started with this basic drum shade from Target, which was approximately the same size for (I think) $12.

 For the ruffles, I used some plain white cotton fabric I already had on hand & cut it into 4 strips.  (I cut the fabric twice the length of the circumference of the shade to allow for gathering into a ruffle.)

Then I simply made a gathering stitch up the center of each strip, & gathered it up to make the ruffle.

I then pinned it onto my lampshade & evened out the gathers.

Working in sections, I used hot glue to attach the ruffle in place.

Then, I just repeated the rows until it was done.  I snipped off a few of the long loose threads, but the little ones just add more interest.

That's all there was to it.  It really was a cute little baby lamp, but I like her even better now!  Hope you do, too!  I'll be linking up this lamp makeover to a few of these parties.  For more lamp re-vamps, click here.