Place Mat Outdoor Throw Pillow

When we moved into this house, we were so excited that there was a little front porch. We have lived in our house almost four years.  First off let me just say that I can't believe we have lived here that long. Technically we have lived here long enough now that this is our second set of cushions/pillows for our white outdoor chairs (from Target).

Previously our chair cushions were gray and the pillows were coral and white. I bought them when those colors were super popular. After some wear and tear, I needed something new. When I was looking at what to get now, I decided to look at not just what was popular color wise, but to also look at what I knew I loved and would always love. That meant blue people.

I am sure you are shocked. Blue and white. I am nothing if not consistent.

I went back and forth on what to do for the throw pillows. Then I remembered a set of gray place mats I had laying around. I had originally bought them for another project, but I changed my mind. I have had them for like two years just waiting to fulfill their design purpose.

That is how the Place Mat Outdoor Throw Pillow was born. Two place mats plus some stuffing equals two perfect lumbar throw pillows for our porch chairs.

I have made throw pillows from place mats before. They are one of the easiest throw pillows you will ever make.

You just need--

a place mat (one that is layered like a quilt, basically not just one piece of fabric)
stuffing
needle/thread

On one of the short sides of the place mat, in the middle, pick the seam and create a 4-5 inch opening.

Stuff, stuff, stuff away. Make sure to really cram it full and get the stuffing into all the corners.

Hand stitch up the opening.

BAM! Done.

The throw pillows were not the only new addition this year. I got this bird cage for 60% off at JoAnn's. I then filled it with an IKEA plant and container that we already had. The wind blows something fierce around here, so something heavy has to anchor it down.

I really, really love IKEA's faux plants. If you were to walk around my house, you would find a lot of them.

Now we have the perfect place to sit and enjoy the delights of Summer. I always like coming home, but driving up to my house and seeing this little porch set up really brings a smile to my face.

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Sticker Decal Art

 

One of my boys' rooms is a Star Wars themed room. This room has literally been a work in progress since we moved here over three years ago. A big reason for that is the photo wall. My vision was to have a wall full of frames and different kinds of art that were eclectic yet fit into a more big boy Star Wars room. 

I have had THE hardest time finding things I like (that I can afford of course). I have searched. Slowly I am finding things I like. I also find myself thinking outside the box. 

Like this art for instance. 

I was walking around the aisles of The Mart seeking some creative revelation. I do that sometimes. Just walk around a store seeing what screams at me and what project is just waiting to be discovered.  Anyway, I was walking the party aisle and this sticker practically jumped into my cart.

Right away I saw a framed piece of wall art that could be added to the Star Wars photo wall.

I bought the sticker. I scrounged up a frame I had at home and I grabbed a black piece of paper.

How cool is this sticker?! Guys, this was just a couple of bucks. That is crazy.

In less than five minutes I put the whole thing together. After centering the sticker onto black paper, I cut the paper to fit the frame and mat.

Bam. Done. I love how it looks on the wall. I LOVE how easy it was to make.

The key to all of this...think outside the box when it comes to decorating. Who would have thought that a two dollar sticker would look so fabulous in a frame? This gal. Ha!

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Flour Sack Towel Euro Sham Covers

First off, please excuse that really ugly golden tan wall. In a stupid and vain moment I almost didn't share these adorable Flour Sack Towel Euro Shams all because the color of my room is not my favorite. Basically my room is a constant work in progress and part of me didn't want to share any little project until the whole room is done.

Well, that could take years. I didn't want to wait that long to show you these Euro Shams. They are delightful. I love them and they were so easy to make. So I decided to stop being a cry baby pride bucket and just share this Flour Sack Towel Euro Shams DIY.

I have wanted Euro Shams for awhile. I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted a vintagey striped pillow. I wanted it white with blue stripes, because I love all things blue. Eh...but...uh...these pillows are red and white.

Yes, well do you see that sweet red lamp in the photo above. That is Hubby's lamp. When we first bought it on clearance we were going to spray paint it. As time went on Hubby decided he wanted it to stay red. I tried to convince him otherwise, but as he pointed out, he probably should get a say from time to time. Haha!

So due to the lamp, a pop of vintage red needed to be added to the room. I searched and searched for the shams I had envisioned. Alas, they were no where to be found.

So when you can't find what you are looking for, you make it baby.

When I found these 28x28 flour sack towels at JoAnn's, I knew I had my answer.
 

Flour sack towels are inexpensive. They are perfectly vintage looking right out of the package. There are two in each pack, so I only had to buy two to make two shams.

Since I wanted my color to be muted and worn looking, I used regular craft acrylic paint. Normally you do not use acrylic paint on fabric without a fabric medium because when you wash it the color fades. Since I wanted my color faded I used acrylic.

I taped of the lines I wanted. I started in the middle and measure out equal distances. I used a wide tape for the first white stripe. Then I taped of another smaller area for the small red stripe. Tape off two of the towels for the two pillow fronts.

With cardboard beneath the towel, start painting with a foam brush. I roughly painted. Basically I didn't want to saturate the fabric. I let it look worn. Once you are done, wait a couple of minutes and then carefully peel back the tape. Allow to dry. Wash and dry each sham front. This will make the painted fabric softer and it will give it the faded worn look perfect for a vintage looking pillow.

I chose to make my shams close with a zipper. You could also hand sew them closed. I used a 24" white zipper. First attach one side of the zipper to the front of one towel, with the zipper tab down.

Then I did the same thing with the other side of the zipper and the back piece of the sham. After the zipper was attached to both sides, sew around the other edges of the towels (right sides facing) to create the pillow sham.

Clip corners. Turn out the sham. Iron. Insert a euro sham insert. I got mine at Ross for really cheap.

I really love the pop of red and I love the look of these Flour Sack Towel Euro Shams. Thanks Hubby for insisting we keep the red lamp.

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Pretty Pantry Makeover

Finally! It is time to share my Pretty Pantry Makeover. Can you see me doing a little jig? You are missing out.

I have given quite a few sneak peeks of my pantry redo on Instagram over the last month or so (follow me @larissa_another day, you know you want to).

Now the time has come for the reveal. Eek. I love reveals.

Our pantry door is actually a glass door. It had a frosted window design that had the word Pantry on it, among other designs. I was not a fan since we moved it.

I got the notion to make it a chalkboard. I was a little worried about painting over the glass with chalkboard paint. However, I used Rustoleum Chalkboard paint and it covered like a dream. DREAM. I followed the waiting and curing time to the letter. Then I actually waited like another week just to make sure.

Once the door was seasoned, I sharpened my piece of chalk and did my best first-time-chalkboard-writing.

The door just gets you ready for the organizational glory within.

I also just want to state that I have kept the inside this organized and pretty for over a month.

With that being said, on to the reveal of the inside.

I organized the inside with baskets, jars, crates, tubs, and trays. Some I had, some I purchased.

I also have a shelf just for pretty things, like my cake plate, a few of my many white bowls, and these delightful little crystal dessert bowls that I got at Ikea.

These are baskets I have had for years. They are on the top and hold treats, cake decorating supplies, and snacks.

For the bottles of oil, vinegar, and boxes of partially eaten pasta I used these crates that I painted white.

I have a whole shelf dedicated to baking supplies. Tins for some things like vanilla, cocoa, and powdered sugar. Then jars for the things like sugar, flour, and oatmeal.

I also have my Breakfast Central tray setting on one shelf.

These new plastic buckets are my favorites. I found them at Target in the bathroom organization section. Yup you heard me, bathroom. They hole school lunch makings.

In order to have a place for jars and cans, I put a small crate in there.

One more shot of the jars, which can be found at The Mart and Target.

Just to end this little reveal here is another shot or two of my new chalkboard pantry door.

Clipboard Love Note and Temple Silhouette Art

Clipboards are one of my favorite decorating secret weapons. Clipboards are easy to find and they are really cheap. You can paint them. You can add a simple photograph. They can hang on the wall. They can sit on a shelf.

Seriously, clipboards are the best. They aren't just for taking notes anymore.

They are for leaving notes too. Love notes to be exact.

Love notes quoting the ever-dreamy Mr. Darcy to be more exact.

Just the best love note ever. This love note is simply clipped onto the clipboard. The great thing about this love note is that it is actually a photograph.

I made this love note photograph using PicMonkey. I scanned a piece of regular notebook paper into my computer. Then I opened it up in PicMonkey and used one of my favorite handwriting fonts to "write" up one of my favorite romantic lines ever. Then I just printed if off at a photo center as an 8x10.

right click on the image and save to your computer

The smaller sized clipboards are so cute. I just had to create something with one of them too.

The Hubs and I got married in the Salt Lake City Temple. I thought it would be nice to add a silhouette image of the the Salt Lake City Temple to a clipboard.

I cut out a stencil of the silhouette of the Salt Lake City Temple using my Silhouette machine. I stuck the vinyl stencil on to the clipboard. Then I used painters tape to cover all the parts of the clipboard I didn't want painted. I left a small boarder around the edge.

Then I spray-painted until the coverage was how I wanted. The last thing you need to do is let it dry for a bit and then slowly remove the painters tape and vinyl stencil.

With my clipboard art in hand, I can start decorating with it.

So much love and cuteness in the air I can barely stand it.

These clipboards would also look super cute in a wall collage...which just might be where they end up...hint, hint. Coming soon.

Now off I go to watch Pride and Prejudice for the 1,000th time.

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