See What I Mean???

This is my "craft room"

Somehow I have to serve dinner on this table tonight, then drag all this junk back out and repeat the process again tomorrow and maybe again the next day. Do you see why I don't sew or "craft" very often?

I might as well show you what I've been working on....new covers for the throw pillows on our couch. I found this fabric on the remnant table at my favorite fabric store here in Mobile, Five Gold Monkeys. I must admit, it's not the prettiest fabric in the world, but it matched our color scheme and it was marked down to $5/yd when the original price was $26.95/yd. Can't beat that! I've never made these covers before so I figured it would be a good practice fabric.

I've been wanting to make new covers for a while, since we've had our others for quite a while. I normally buy covers from Pottery Barn, but they are EXPENSIVE! Usually anywhere from $30-$50 per cover and I need at least 6 of them for our couch. The total for this one was about $6. Also I always want to buy "seasonal" covers for Christmas/Fall/Spring/Summer to change the feel of the room. But, HELLO, we're not rich! Now I can make as many as I want. They are very easy to make also. The hardest part is measuring and cutting out the fabric. You can find the tutorial I used here.

I was so proud of myself for not screwing up the velcro! Now I can remove them to be washed or just change them up whenever.

I only made this one last night, because I started pretty late. I'm going to try and finish two more tonight. Then I'll start shopping for some prettier fabric ~ maybe something Christmasy!

The Sewing Marathon is Complete!

I actually got everything finished last week, but due to my laziness, I'm just now getting around to posting this.

Here is the completed valance and drapery panels.

 

And with the drapes closed...

Showing you the blackout liner that hangs on the 2nd rod....

And an up close shot of the bottom...

Now let me show you some of my shortcuts and "mistakes"

First of all I didn't even bother hanging the valance on a rod...I just used the Nester's trick of using upholstery tacks and tacked it above the window.

I also didn't even bother hemming the blackout liner. The fabric feels similar to a vinyl tablecloth and is in no danger of fraying, therefore I wasn't going to waste my precious time hemming it. Another great reason for doing this is that I can now very easily reuse the liner when we move for another window. If you look really close at the bottom edge you can even see the blue marker that I used when tracing where I would cut...

Now, would you look at this mess! Look at all those threads popping out everywhere and uneven seams! But you know what? I don't care! No one will ever see this because #1 it's on the backside & #2 the blackout liner hangs behind the drapes, so no one will be able to see it from outside the window...besides if someone is inspecting my sewing from OUTSIDE the window, they've got issues. 

I even ran out of thread mid hem and had to switch not only to a different weight thread, but also to a different color! Who cares!

Lastly, the adorable pom pom trim separating the two fabrics that I attached using my handy HOT GLUE GUN....gasp! I bet ya couldn't even tell!

I should also note that the panels and blackout liner are hung using the drapery rings with clips - this made it much easier for me because I didn't have to sew a "pocket" for the drapes to slide on to the poles - just hemmed 'em and clipped 'em on!

Now for the most exciting part of this post....how much $$ I spent (and saved) making these (and the crib skirt myself)

Fabric for the crib skirt  & main drapery panels = 48.14

Velcro                                                                          = 6.99

Fabric for Valance & Bottom of Drapes                = 25.00

Pom Pom Trim                                                          =7.50

Blackout liner                                                            =23.96

TOTAL                                                                        = 111.59

I can't give you an exact figure of how much $$ I saved by making everything myself compared to my original plan of having them made by Javis Davis (see a few posts below - the one with the fabric swatches)  because the window treatments would have been a "custom design" and I have no idea how much they would have charged for labor. However, for the fabric alone the drapes + valance would have cost $133 - and this doesn't include the blackout liner or the funky pom pom trim. The crib skirt in the fabric I wanted (including labor) was going to cost $180!!! (I only spent about $24 making mine). I'd say I saved us a fair amount of $$ - and I had fun doing it!

I'm currently working on some other "projects" for wall art in the nursery including painting a barn star (did this today...pics to come later) and I'm about to head to Hobby Lobby to buy some letters to decoupage....very similar to what Jessica did to her little boy's nursery in this post. Of course I won't be able to show you pics of these till the babe is born (I'm mean and won't even let you know his initials!)

More Randomness

Last time I tried sewing something was about 3 years ago. I made an apron, and was so tired and frustrated by the time I was done, I swore off the hobby completely. However, I decided to dust off my old machine one more time in hopes of customizing our baby's nursery and making it unique. Normally my perfectionism would get the best of me and I would have given up before even starting such a daunting project. I discovered the Nester a while ago, who's blog is so inspirational.  She "mistreats" her windows which all turn out beautifully. So I decided to give it a try as well. Not only did I decide to "mistreat" the nursery window, but also the crib skirt. But I must warn you...the window is far from being done. I have the valance done, but I am still working on the drapery panels which will hang in front. The Nester's philosophy is "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" which I kept repeating to myself every time I would make a sewing mistake.

Notice the valance is not on a rod...I used the Nester's trick of just tacking it up above the window with upholstery tacks. I plan on using some safety pins to pin down the "folds" a little better. 

Sitting on the glider over there in the corner is the beginning of one of the drapery panels...........What's that you say? You want to see our new glider? OK, let me go clean it off..................Here she is. I so desperately wanted it in a tan fabric that had little raised polka dots all over it, but Rob wouldn't go for it...bah humbug, so I had to settle for this lovely poop color. But it is definitely very comfortable. 

Here's the crib skirt I half-way "mistreated". I just took my fabric, pressed the top edge 1/2in. under, hand basted it so I could "scrunch" it together, then sewed a piece of velcro to the back of each piece ( I stuck the other piece to the metal mattress frame ). I also only made a "skirt" for 3 of the sides....who will ever notice the back piece is missing anyway? I do have to admit that I didn't totally "mistreat" it...I did take the time to hem the sides and bottom of each piece. Also, it hangs about 2 inches above the ground. I would have preferred to have it touch the ground, however, the mattress is currently on its highest setting. As we lower it to accommodate the growing baby, it will eventually hit the ground. 

And an up close shot. Ignore the stark white mattress and all the stuffed animals...I still need to add the crib sheet and finish organizing!

Also, here's a picture of le bebe's closet. Rob worked very hard installing new shelving and I patched and painted all the old holes from the old & disfunctional shelving. BTW the baby has a TON more clothes than this...I just ran out of hangers!

I still have a lot more to write about, but it will have to wait. I have some "homework" still to do before we meet the doula tomorrow and I need to get my beauty rest! If I haven't posted anything new in the next few days, someone please email me and tell me to get with it! I don't want to be a blogging failure anymore!