Design A-Peele

How to make a fake roman shade

2014-05-07T11:12:00.002-04:00

So the last year threw us a bit of a curve ball and we find ourselves back in Atlanta, in our old house, and I couldn't be happier or more thankful about it. We dearly miss our friends and the community in Chattanooga, but God had a different story for us. So we will be where we are and praise God each and every day for the last year we have had, though it was difficult.

In Chattanooga I didn't really have the space to do projects or anything. I did the best I could with the space we had, but now that I have a garage (aka my studio as MR.P refers to it) back I am back to doing projects, projects, and more projects!! So I would love to continue showing you how to decorate on a dime...and I apologize for the long break I have taken!

Anyway, I'll start with making a fake roman shade. I have been wanting to try this out for a really really long time. With custom roman shades costing $100-$200 this tutorial is a great budget friendly choice.

Supplies you'll need:

- scissors

- plastic blinds that will fit your window (width wise...they can be too long...mine definitely were too long)

- fabric about 2 inches wider than the blinds and 2-4 inches longer than the blinds

- fabric glue

*** and seriously, a willingness to just try it out. I put this project off for years and am kicking myself for not trying it sooner.

1. Start by taking your blinds out of the box and lay them out. These blinds cost $5 at Home Depot. I had no idea they were so cheap.

2. Then find the ladder cord holding all your blinds in one spot. You are going to cut this cord. My blinds had 3 of them. Don't cut the thicker cord. That one is what pulls your blinds up and down. (please note my spray painted fingers)

3.) Then on the bottom of your blinds you are going to see 3 little button type things which you will pop off. Untie the thick cord that pulls the blinds up and down. Then take off all the blinds except for the last few. I left 5. I wish I had only left 4 because then my folds would have been much thicker. Oh well. So once I had my 5 left I put the bottom of the blinds back on. Measure your window and make sure it's exactly the same height as the bottom of your blinds.

4.) I measured then marked my fabric with a sharpie so that I put the blinds in the exact spot (7 inches apart from each one). I'll add this. I did mess up and my bottom one was not 7 inches apart from the 2nd to last one. What I should have done was take the length of my blinds and the number of folds and divided it which would have given me the perfect spacing for my folds and completely taken away one of my blinds. I'll definitely do this next time.

5.) My fabric wasn't wide enough so I knew that my blinds would need a trim to cover it all up. Anyway, you just glue yours down on the back. I've seen some people iron it all down. It's not really going to show so I wouldn't worry about it. AND if this is a roman shade for a window in the front of your house then you can get some white liner and just glue it to the back. That I would definitely iron down and make look nice so your house looks pretty from the outside. The glue takes a few hours to dry so leave it alone. And don't let your 3 year old walk all over it or anything.

6.) Then have your handsome husband and cute little stinker help put up the hardware. I really need to learn to use the drill, but I'm afraid I'm going to break the bit off in the wall. So I make MR.P do it.

Then voila!! You're all done! I'm so so glad I tried this. Our kitchen window has needed a little love and some privacy for a long time. Now it has it!! I'm sorry that my pictures aren't perfect. Life is easy with an iphone so that's what I use to capture life :)

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to answer if I can!

Lately

2013-03-15T09:40:00.000-04:00

Lately life has a little on the crazy side/not super busy. Adjusting to life on a mountain has not necessarily been as easy as I thought. Add in moving to a new city, Matt and I sharing 1 car, and a much much smaller house (850 square ft to be exact) and you've got some major transitions. We don't live close to anything...and I mean anything! Can you believe the closest Target is 45 min away?!?!? Can you even imagine? Suffice it to say, it's been an adjustment from living in Atlanta.

All that to say, we are starting to enjoy ourselves a little now! Here's what's been going on around here!

We got a membership to the TN aquarium for Smith's bday gift. It has paid for itself over and over and over. He LOVES it!!

Gigi and Big Daddy came to visit and took us on the incline railway. It goes straight up the mountain. Smith loved it and LOVED seeing his grandparents.

A few weeks later a few of Smith's cousins came to visit! His cousin Alli shares the same bday so we celebrated by having lunch and cupcakes at home then headed to the aquarium!

Cupcakes! My first attempt at making my own frosting and it worked! I'm not great in the kitchen, but trying to get better. I also bought my first set of frosting tips, which makes icing cupcakes much easier (I know, I'm the last person on the planet. oh well!)

Party favors!

At the aquarium. I love my nephews face right here. Seriously one of the cutest kids ever.

I sure hope these 2 are best friends as they grow up.

Amazed at the stingrays.

This was Smith's actual bday. Matt leaves pretty early in the mornings so we got Smith up early so he could see daddy and have bfast with him.

Birthday chocolate chip muffins. He has started picking out the "special treats" and eating them. This boy cracks me up.

Blowing out candles! He asked to blow out candles for days after this...so we did :)

Some friends came to stay with us for Smith's bday weekend! Addy and Smith after bathtime.

At the aquarium...again :)

Dads and kids with the stingrays.

The next weekend more friends!! Katie and Jack Allen. Derrick and Lucy stayed home this time, but we hope to see them soon. We went down the mountain to the aquarium again and it started snowing! The boys loved it!

Footie pajamas are just too cute!

Then we celebrated Vday. My mom always made holidays so so special so I am trying. It's actually not easy for me and I seriously lucked out that Wal-mart had some stuff in the .97 cent isle.

And lastly Smith has been sick several times this winter. Seriously NO fun. Check out those arms and that face!

I've started sewing again and have a few reupholstery projects I'm starting, which means I'm feeling settled and back to normal :)

I just added this set of pillows to my Etsy shop.

And I just 2 of these chairs from my grandmother. I LOVE them. They are going at our kitchen table.

This is the fabric I'm using to reupholster. Can't wait!

Anyway, that's what's been going on around here. Hope everyone is doing well!

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-27T16:17:00.001-05:00

Here is our Christmas card this year. Since we moved we decided to do a postcard with our new address on the back. Saved a bunch of money, so I think I'll be doing this again in the future! I had it designed by themunch on Etsy!

It didn't feel super Christmassy this year. Probably because we have been focused on getting settled into our new house. Anyway, MR.P, Smith and I celebrated together on the 22nd. We made bfast, opened stockings and our gifts from each other, and just enjoyed a slow paced day (something we haven't had in a long time).

Also, this is where Smith thought he was sleeping the night before :) Didn't want to miss out on Santa.

Enjoying some coffee together and watching Smith play with his new toys. I'm a new coffee drinker, so not sure if it counts since I put a ~~fair~~ a lot of creamer in :)

Smith with his new grocery cart. He decided to get in, which is ironic since he HATES to get into a grocery cart at the store unless it's one of those CAR ones. Silly boy.

"warming" his hands by the fire...we don't have a fireplace, so this was the next best thing.

And "cheers!" before breakfast!

Later that day we went to see Santa. This is me convincing Smith to sit on Santa's lap. It did not work. He decided a safer place was on momma's lap :)

We spent Christmas Eve with my family in Atlanta. And this little man with his bow tie stole my heart. I can't believe how big he is!!

Tough to get a good family pic where everyone is looking.

Then we spent Christmas Eve night and Christmas day with MR.P's family!

We had a great time spending time with our families. Tough not being as close to them all, but it makes visiting all the sweeter.

After Christmas was over I started to realize how unintentional Matt and I were about really sharing with Smith the real reason we celebrate Christmas. We definitely shared the story of Jesus' birth a lot, but I wasn't able to do advent with him and we forgot to read the Christmas story when we did our little family christmas a few days early. I pray that next year I'm able to do a lot with him and that he will then understand more. Thankfully there is freedom in Christ Jesus and I can share the gospel with Smith every single day of the year. Praise the Lord!

How to create a frame collage

2012-12-05T08:28:00.002-05:00

Ok, let's be honest. There are a lot of tutorials and pictures all over the internet on how to create the most amazing wall/frame collage ever. Each picture is beautiful and gets you really excited about creating your own. But once you set in motion to get it done you have no on earthy idea where to start. That was me.

Anyway, here's really how you really do one...just start nailing things up on the wall, stand back, take it down because you hate it, then start over. Repeat this process approximately 4 times over 4 days with 5,000 holes in the wall that you didn't need and voila! You'll have the perfect wall collage :)

Here's where I started.

I put frames together on the floor before I hung them on the wall...you to know, to spare holes in the wall ;)

Decided it looked good on the floor, so why wouldn't it look good on the wall, right?

Well, when they went on the wall, I hated how the color of the frames hit me in the face as I came around the corner. It was a little much for the look I'm going for. So I took it down and started over.

Once I decided to use all white and gold frames the vision started coming together a bit more easily.

I had to hide the thermostat in there somehow :) I think all things considered it came out pretty good!

There are a few special things on this wall and obviously a few spaces left for some others. One of which was an old postcard with a picture of an old service station on Lookout Mountain. It has since been turned into a starbucks, but it's still special. My mom found it in my grandparents house this past year.

Both these little chairs are pretty special too. The rocking chair was MR.P's when he was little. Smith LOVES it. The chair on the left was my grandparent's chair. I love it just the way it is. It does not even need to be reupholstered. My grandmother was an interior designer and had great taste in quality furniture that would last.

And here it is from the other corner of the house :) It's a tiny house, but we love it! It's definitely easier in some ways to decorate a smaller house. Hopefully I'll remember to blog about the rest of the house sometime soon!

New House

2012-11-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

So we are officially here in Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain to be exact! We are loving it here so far. We've visited our new church and our new community group...jumping in with both feet!

Here is the new place :)

The move went great. We left my parents house Sunday and headed out of town on our adventure.

It was a little sad since we've never moved outside of Georgia. And technically we aren't outside Georgia. Lookout Mnt is half TN and half GA. And we are on the GA side. Anyway, the drive was only 2 hours and the little man slept the whole way. He was TIRED! Matt drove the truck and I drove our car. Once we arrived my sweet friend Joy and her husband met us there to help us unpack. Thankfully they brought some more help. We had everything in the house before we knew it...thanks to their help :)

We are all settled now, though it took a few days. Thankful to have all the boxes unpacked and to not live out of a suitcase anymore. I definitely miss spending time with my mom, but I think it will make visiting all the more special.

We are moving!!!

2012-11-02T15:13:00.000-04:00

That's right, the Peele clan is moving! We are moving to Chattanooga, TN and we are so so excited. Neither MR.P or myself have lived anywhere other than GA so this is a big adventure for us (except for me when I was 3 and that doesn't count). We are going to miss our families and friends so much, but it's only 2.5 hours away from home, so we can see them often. Anyway, the move is this month on the 18th. Pray for us as we transition to our new home!

How to make double welt cording

2012-09-05T16:25:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was not our usual labor day, but it was actually nice because Smith and I have colds. This is my 3rd cold in 6 weeks so it's kind of a bummer. I think it's just the start of school and MR.P being in the schools again for work.

Anyway, with being home a bit more this weekend I was finally able to finish the chair I'm redoing. The most intimidating part was learning how to make my own double welt cording. But I overcame my fears and I did it!!! So I thought I would post a tutorial on how you can make your own too when you tackle your first reupholstery!

First, pick an amazing fabric that you are going to fall in love with every single time you walk past your chair. I chose this navy and white striped fabric from ikea. I used the navy stripes for my cording. Then I purchased single cording from hobby lobby using my 40% off coupon. Since I didn't know how many yards to get I just bought the whole spool :)

Now for the good stuff. I cut my fabric into strips about 4 inches wide. Then I sewed them together with pretty side facing each other.

Then I cut off the excess fabric.

Then turn your fabric over and put your single cording into the very center of your fabric. Like this...

Then, using your zipper foot sew straight down the side of your cording. I pinned mine on my stripe to make sure I stayed in the center. A quick tip. I went very slowly so that I could make sure the stitch was VERY tight.

This is how it should look when you're done (well, with the first part).

Then you stick the other cording into your fabric...

Then fold it UNDER your other piece and pin it down.

Then put it in with the pointy part of the pin first so you can sew right over the pin. Oh and switch back to your regular foot. Now sew straight down the middle.

Then cut the excess fabric off and you get this! Obviously this is the back of the cording. You want to cut off as much as you possibly can so it won't show when you glue it on.

And THIS is how it turned out!

I'd say it's totally worth it to make your own.

And here is the chair all finished.

It seemed like a really daunting task, but once I got into it, it really wasn't that bad. I'm so pleased with it!

Let me know if you try this...and if you do, send pics and I'll post!

Smith and his cousin/brother

2012-08-24T17:52:00.000-04:00

These two boys are best friends. Smith and his cousin, Christopher. They are 10 weeks apart.

It warms my heart to see them love each other so well. But don't be fooled...this was them last week.

and that turned to this :)

My sister found out she was pregnant with a boy a few weeks before we met Smith's birth parents. A week later we found out Smith was a boy. My sister, Dani, and I were overjoyed that our boys would have each other in a sea filled family of girls! (Smith and Christopher are #10 and #11 with 9 girl cousins ahead of them.)

So thankful they have each other. And thankful we (as well as our husbands) can raise these boys together. Yep, Chris, I just talked about you on the blog. You'll probably say, whatever, but I say whatever first :)

Melissa Button Frye Boots Look alike

2012-08-22T11:30:00.001-04:00

It has been a really really long time since I posted any potty pics. If you all know me, you know I love a good deal so I thought I'd share.

I really really like the Melissa Button Frye Boots, but $330 isn't in the budget for boots :) So I started searching for the next best thing. No one seemed to have just the simple boots that I wanted. I don't like a lot of heal or frills or anything. So I almost gave up. One day I just searched for some look alikes and I found them!! And guess who came through with them? TARGET!!!! They are $70 and I'd say that's a steal compared to $330.

Pardon my outfit...Boots and shorts aren't my thing. I was just excited that they had finally come in the mail! (If boots and shorts are your thing, I'm impressed. I'm just not that cool.)

I like them even more than I thought I would. They are the perfect color and they fit great! I hate to say it, but now I can't wait for fall!! I've been trying to stay away from wishing the summer weather away, but oh well!

I usually wear a 7-7.5. I ordered a 7 and they are perfect.

So there you go...a perfect look alike :)

I thought I'd give a few little updates as well. This chair is going in the Market as soon as I'm done with the new upholstery.

Here's it's current status :)

Stripes make me happy!

And here is a little something MR.P made for our 5 year anniversary!

I cannot even begin to express how much it meant to me that he MADE this for ME! Seriously sweet husband :) I love it!

It's at the foot of our bed and it's perfect. Be on the lookout for a special blog post from MR.P. If you missed his first one it was a hoot.

Here's the other side of the room, just for perspective :)

This is a special chair. It's my grandparent's old chair and I absolutely love it. I had plans to recover it, but once I put it in our room I realized how much I liked the fabric. It goes with our room soo well without being too matchy matchy (my biggest fear, yet what I accidentally do all the time).

So there you have it. All in a days work around here!

Oh and don't forget to enter the giveaway here!

Smith Laughing

2012-08-20T18:55:00.001-04:00

I have watched this about a million times. I cannot stop laughing!

Who knew pillows were so much fun?

Ink Obsession Designs Giveway

2012-08-20T10:16:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to get everything under Design A-Peele to look the same across the board (etsy shop, blog, etc). So, when I found Erin Bradley Designs on Etsy I was really excited! I loved Erin's designs and they were actually affordable! Win win in my book.

Anyway, I loved working with Erin so much that we decided to do a giveaway! She is graciously giving away $15 to her online store, Ink Obsession Designs.

She has the cutest printable invitations.

Her Digital Clipart is adorable! I love anything with prints, so I'm a sucker for these.

She has so many more options. So to be entered into the giveaway go check out her store and do the following:

1.) Comment and let me know your favorite design.

2.) Follow Design A-Peele (leave a comment)

3.) Blog about the giveaway (leave a comment)

4.) Facebook about the giveaway (leave a comment)

You can do 1 or all of the above, depending on how many times you want to be entered into the giveaway. Just don't forget to leave a comment telling me what you did :)

I will pick a winner August 31st! Good luck! And thanks Erin for the giveaway!

How to make a slipcover - Part 3

2012-08-18T17:25:00.000-04:00

So last time I left you with the chair halfway covered. Sorry about that. It's been a slow process. But we are almost done. We pinned everything together and sewed it all together. It was definitely not easy and of course I accidentally deleted the pictures from my phone. Boo.

Oh well. I eventually got up the nerve to sew the cushions. They turned out pretty well and I learned a ton in the process. Here is how they turned out.

They aren't perfect. The only part I really messed up on is the front cushion...of course. The fabric doesn't match up on the top left side, but it's ok. I might be able to fix it.

The next process was making the skirt. At first I wanted to do a ruffle skirt. I didn't buy enough fabric for that though, so we went with a straight skirt. My mom sweetly made the skirt though. I stapled in on though and am really pleased! The chair is ALMOST done. All we need to do is hem the actual slipcover, which is no small task. Mainly because that means we have to take it off the chair. Oh well. It will get done. So this is how the chair stands now.

This is a great slipcover though. I am not constantly fixing it because the chair and cushions are separate. With this being a chair used quite often I'd say it's turning out a success! Praise the Lord :)

5 year Anniversary Trip

2012-08-16T22:34:00.001-04:00

MR.P and I have been married for 5 years now. I cannot even believe it. We were married on July 13, 2007. It was actually a Friday. Neither of us believe in superstitions so we didn't mind it being Friday the 13th. It was supposed to be the hottest day ever with it being July, but it was perfect. It actually rained a little bit!

Anyway, we feel so blessed. We've been through a lot in the past 5 years, but we wouldn't change a bit. Every difficult moment has forced us to remember the one who loves us most. My faith has never been strengthened like it was the past two years. God is good. I feel like my words don't have as much meaning as I want them to at the moment, but that's ok. I feel incredibly blessed and that's all that matters.

For our anniversary we decided to head to our favorite place! Seaside! We left Smith with my parents and he had a marvelous time. We got picture updates that kept us from missing him too much. We stayed in Watercolor, which is now our favorite place. It was the best 4 days of our marriage. It was great to get away and spend time with just the two of us. Because we have family, we get date nights on a regular basis. For that we are SOOO grateful! But there is something about getting to spend the night out. We had a blast. I encourage every couple to get away if you can.

I thought I'd share a few pics of our getaway.

We loved the place we stayed. It was the cutest little carriage house over the sweetest family's garage in Watercolor. I feel like we made fast friends with them! Hope we can stay there again. The first day we were there we ate lunch and walked around all our favorite stores. Then the bottom dropped out and drenched us. It was pretty fun though. Not having to put Smith in his carseat while I myself am getting soaked THEN put the stroller in the back and get a little more soaked was great :) (for real, I absolutely love being a mom, but a small little break was amazing).

We went out to dinner each night, which was great. I'm not the greatest cook, so not having to stress over what to make that's healthy/easy to cook was such a blessing.

We had beach passes to the Watercolor Resort and it was amazing.

I seriously hope we get to go again. We rode bikes everywhere. To dinner. To shopping. And just for fun. I wish I lived somewhere that people rode bikes all the time. One day :) In the meantime, we love where we live. We loved our trip, but we loved coming home to our little man. We missed him so much!! Vacation is great, but home is so sweet!

This child is hilarious

2012-08-16T15:16:00.000-04:00

This is what happens on laundry day :)

Awesome and amazing chairs

2012-08-15T17:20:00.001-04:00

Can I just start out by saying that I LOVE free furniture? Yeah, it pretty much makes my day when I see a friend post about free furniture if we can pick it up :) Anyway, a few weeks ago some friends posted that these chairs were free game if someone could pick them up.

I was "sold" immediately. I love the shape and tufting. One day I will recover these, but I went with the free option for right now. My friend Joy gave me some slipcovers for some wingback chairs. I slipped those suckers on and this is what I got.

Not great, but thought maybe it looked really shabby chic? Maybe it looks like I don't care, but totally great still? Nah, not so much. My friend Katie came over and we turned the slipcovers inside out and started pinning everything a little tighter then sewed everything up.

Once we sewed everything up we cut off all the excess fabric. And this is how it turned out!

They are soo much better! And here's the back. (Love the two little people running in the background)

We are enjoying the new chairs so much! (please pardon the mess) Thankful for these chairs! One day I'll learn how to upholster this type of chair and they will look amazing. But they definitely work for now!

We've done a ton of changes to our house lately. I hope to share those very soon!

Design A-Peele Market

2012-08-09T11:18:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Design A-Peele Market. This is where I will be listing all new pieces that are available.

Navy and White Striped Chair - $185

Newly recovered and new cording as well.

If interested please email beth.peele@gmail.com. If you are local to the Atlanta area then we can work out a delivery for a small fee.

Green Rustic Chevron Chair - $50

SOLD

Light Blue Rustic Mirror - $45

New pieces coming to the Market - Foot Stool and an upholstered Chair!

Etsy Shop Update

2012-08-08T12:32:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Just thought I'd check in and say a huge thank you to everyone who has bought pillow covers from my Etsy Shop. We've been able to raise a good amount for our adoption as well as for some of our friends.

Here is the most recent addition to the Shop.

Green Bird Pillow Cover

We hope to start a home study in the next few months. But we will see. It's definitely different having a child and trying to start the process. My heart doesn't hurt anymore. By God's grace, I get to be a mom each and every single day to the sweetest little man ever. Even though I desire more children, it's definitely different this time around. I can wait more patiently on the perfect timing that God has for our second child.

Anyway, moving along. I've started redoing furniture to sell now! I've always done little pieces here and there for our house, but now I'm going to sell them! Here is the first piece.

SOLD

This green chair with a blue and cream chevron cushion is priced at $50. I hope this chair can bless another family! If you are local to the Atlanta area, MR.P and I can deliver to you! Email me at beth.peele@gmail.com if you are interested.

I'll be adding 2 more pieces to the list of furniture later this week!

And to leave you, I thought I would show you how Big Smith is :)

He is a little over 18 months now and as active as little boys can be. He is talking up a storm and keeps us on our toes. This picture was from this morning. We were playing outside and he decided to steal my water, hints the smile on his face. Such a little ham!

Risky - Taking my Cabinet Doors Off

2012-06-14T10:07:00.001-04:00

Happy Thursday morning! I am baby sitting one of the sweetest little boys today. But while he naps, I thought I would show y'all my latest project!

I was reading my Better Homes & Gardens magazine and I came across this kitchen makeover.

It's just so simple. So I decided to take off my cabinet doors. I've wanted to do this for a while, but didn't have the guts until I saw this. Paint! Of course painting the inside is the cheapest/easiest way to get the job done.

So I did it!

Here's the BEFORE:

Ok, so I got excited and had already taken off one of the doors. Oh well.

I did a little organizing to see if it would look good. Then a few weeks later I went to town on painting the inside :) Yeah, I got bored.

At this point I was thinking I think this might actually work. But painting inside here was actually tough. I couldn't sand down the cabinets because they are fake wood. So with every stroke some paint would come back off. Ugh.

The other side.

I started to realize that putting plates and such back and forth was going to scratch every single time. That was not going to do. I thought of putting contact paper down. Then MR.P took it one step further and thought of cork board! We found this cork contact paper here. I think it was a brilliant solution since it gives a bit.

And here's the AFTER:

Sorry the quality isn't great. But I'm no professional photographer.

I think I like the outcome. I'd like to make a roman shade for the kitchen window. I said I was going to do this years ago and I chickened out and made cafe drapes. But now they take up too much visual space and my eyes couldn't handle it. So I'll have to try the roman shade tutorials I've seen all over the internet. And for the counter tops the plan is still to do butcher block. Can't wait!

Oh and a little update. This past weekend we had some excitement. Smith fell and bumped his head. We had to rush to Urgent Care. I knew it was coming since Smith is so active, but we were not prepared. Matt had the car WITH the carseat and I can't drive his truck...one because it's a stick shift and two because it won't start at the moment. So I stayed as calm as I could. Called my neighbor and she and her husband ran over as fast as possible. Then called my friend and she brought over her extra carseat. Oh and I had just taken a shower and my hair was wet with no make-up on. Anyway, we were there in no time and then MR.P met us there. By this time Smith was happy again and acting like it was no big deal.

Such a tough little man.

The snacks didn't hurt.

And the after.

Glad he wasn't hurt more. Not sure I could have handled that on our first trip to Urgent Care. And even though I know this isn't our last trip there I'll say it, I hope he doesn't have to get stitches again!

Seven Slings

2012-06-08T16:19:00.002-04:00

So I got our sling in the mail and we love it! We love the color because it's great for boys and girls...just in case our next child is a girl!

This was the first time I remembered to take a picture and it was possible:) MR.P was with us so he snapped it for us. We were in the parking lot of our favorite antique place, Queen of Hearts. Such a great place. Sometimes I just go for inspiration. MR.P even enjoys this place! Although, he is a rare guy that enjoys shopping.

Anyway, I got it for free using a code. See this post if you would like one too!

How to make a slipcover - Part 2

2012-06-05T10:44:00.002-04:00

Alright, I'm back. This next part was the most fun because I saw the vision coming into view! I have never had a chair upholstered and this is the closest thing for me.

Anyway, after we made sure all the pieces were perfect, we cut out our fabric. Sorry, no pictures. I forgot. A little secret my mom taught me is to put kitchen knives on top of your template fabric (which is on top of your nice fabric) to keep it in place while you cut. It worked like a charm. She said my great grandmother used to do that. She passed away a few years ago at 108. She was an incredible lady with a lot of artistic talent. Way more than I could ever dream. She quilted, made porcelain/lace dolls, painted, and much more!

We pinned the chosen fabric back on the chair. Instead of pinning the entire thing back together, we started with the arms. They were 3 pieces each. We pinned those. Made sure they were perfect, then started sewing.

The arms all pinned and ready to sew. Do you see how it's 3 pieces? The front of the arm, the actual arm, then under the arm?

Here's my mom's sewing machine. She got it when she was 17! Still works like a charm:)

My mom :)

Smith watching all the work go down. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. He loves his Gigi.

And another just for kicks. He's just too cute.

As we were sewing the arms, my mom discovered that if we basted the difficult parts before using the sewing machine then we were more successful. So that's what we did.

That way you can take the pins out before you sew and not worry about your placement.

The first arm down! yay! Finally seeing it come together!

Smith enjoying the process. I think he likes the chair better without the essence. Friends reference...look it up :)

And both arms done! And that's where we stopped that day. It's much easier to do the chair in sections. That way all the fabric isn't pinned together and you loose your spot or feel like you have too many pins poking you :)

Until next time!

How to make a slipcover - part 1

2012-06-04T21:13:00.001-04:00

Ok, I can't tell you how excited I am that I get to share this project with you. Everyone has that ugly chair that they just can't get rid of because they know it has great potential. Enter our chair.

This chair was free people. Free, so I couldn't pass it up. MR.P's sister's roommate didn't want it. She will once she see's the after! It's been hidden in our bonus room for about 2 years. We brought it down to Smith's playroom because it was a perfect reading chair. After a few months I chose our fabric. I brought my mom into the project and bam, then we got started.

Here's what you need:

* A little more than basic sewing knowledge. If you don't have that then ask a friend and pay them in yummy snacks or diet coke in my case :) My mom and I share a love of diet coke, so I made sure I was well stocked.

* Sewing machine

* Needle and thread

* A queen size bed sheet

* Sewing/fabric scissors

We started out by fitting the sheet to each section of the chair to get our template. We didn't want to cut our nice fabric just in case we messed up.

Here are the sections we chose:

* back

* arms (3 pieces each - front, bottom, and full arm)

* bottom

* pillows

Then we labeled each piece so we knew how to put it back together.

Once we cut out each piece we started pinning everything together. This was to make sure every piece was the perfect size.

My mom helping me out :)

(We used paper for the front of the the arms to get it perfect. We felt this would give the chair an upholstered look instead of looking like a slipcover)

Make sure you pin everything together inside-out:)

And here's where I'll leave you until next time!

Etsy Shop Update

2012-06-03T21:15:00.002-04:00

Things are moving along with my Etsy Shop, which can only be a work from the Lord. I think Etsy is quite difficult to sell from, but pillows are moving on out :) I am very very thankful! Anyway, adoption has really been on our hearts lately. We have several friends who are adopting and we are praying for our own as well. After talking with MR.P about it, we decided that 100% of the profits from my etsy shop will go to helping our friends adopt as well as our own.

We aren't necessarily starting our second adoption yet, but we are praying about it and seeking wisdom from friends and family around us. And we definitely want to start saving for the second adoption.

I did do a little something crazy/awesome to help us adopt. Who knows if it will work. Here's the scoop. I emailed The Ellen Show and told her our story. We know she has a lot of resources that are directed to helping others. So we asked her to help us adopt! Who know's, God could use Ellen to help us adopt! I'm crazy enough to think that it might work. If you read this, will you send her an email or letter on our behalf. Or even tweet it (@theellenshow) or put it on her facebook page?? Hey, it wouldn't hurt, right?

Anyway, we're excited about the future and possibly seeing this little man as a big brother one day!

(at the pool today)

Oh and here are the latest things in my shop

3 flower magnets

These eclectic pillow covers

4 flower push pins

raw silk pillow covers

cream and red pillow covers

Mustard pillow covers

Large Pink Flower pin

Green pillow cover

Playroom Update

2012-05-17T10:37:00.001-04:00

A few years ago we got this SUPER/AMAZINGLY comfortable chair for free. The fabric leaves much to be desired.

We love it. It fits 2 people perfectly. We put it in our playroom so we could see what fabric we wanted to use to make a slipcover. I usually have to live with something for a while to see what I really want or like. I searched for a while. Price being quite important. But I needed quality as well since we will use this chair all the time. Plus things could get spilled on it or whatever as well.

This was the fabric we went with.

It's navy and white and was $7.40 a yard. Not bad at all. I got it from here.

My mom is going to help me make a slipcover for it. I'm pretty excited about getting it done, but nervous about executing our plan. My mom is an amazing sewer, so we should be fine. Anyway, I can't wait! I'll fill you in and show a tutorial.

Also, a few people have asked the color I used to paint the stripes. I used Behr Subtle Touch. The white stripes are just pure white. The gray is more of a blue gray just FYI. Hope this helps!

Happy Birthday MR.P

2012-05-16T16:31:00.002-04:00

So MR.P's bday was May 10th. We celebrated dad all week long with special treats. One day was starbucks when he got home. The next was dinner out at Five Guys. So for his bday we made him a special "cake".

The MR. and I don't really care for cake. His favorite treat is a double doozie, so I made my best effort at them. Oh and he loves baseball. He was surprised and felt loved, which was my mission.

That night my little sister Rachel came over to baby-sit (plus my brother Daniel) so we could go out with friends.

We headed to a new dinner and a movie theater near our house. Anna and Daniel (our wonderful friends who moved into our neighborhood) went with us.

We had SOO much fun celebrating Matt's bday. Happy 28th birthday babe! I can't believe that I get to be married to you. Each and every day you serve and love me by going to work and providing for our family. These past (almost) 5 years of marriage has taught me so much about God's love for us. Through our marriage I am getting to know the Lord so much more. Thank you for leading me and Smith. He is one blessed little boy to get to call you "daddy". I love to see how much he loves you. I love you babe.

Seven Slings - Freebie!

2012-05-15T17:10:00.002-04:00

Alright, to clarify, this is not a giveaway, but an actual free baby sling from SevenSlings that my friend came across.

They are adorable and very easy to use!

This is the one I chose.

Northern Lights

I chose this one because It's great for little boys and girls (just in case our next kid is a girl!)

Green Vibe

This is the one my friend got. I used it yesterday afternoon and Smith loved it! It goes from 0-35 lbs. Smith is 22 so it's perfect!

Caramel Latte

Black

They have several more colors to choose from. Anyway we are headed to Disney this Summer with MR.P's family and I thought it would be GREAT to have another option to carry Smith. He can get a little sad when he has to stay in his stroller for long periods of time. Plus my arm gets tired of carrying him. So this was exactly what I needed! And the free price tag didn't hurt ;) I got a size 33. which means 33 inches around. I wanted it to be a tight fit. My friend's was a size 32 and she is a size or 2 smaller than me. I think I'll be happy with the 33.

All you do is is use this code when you checkout: DFM2012

Hope you all enjoy! And I promise...it's not a gimic.