Pottery Barn Look-Alike

Maybe you noticed all of the lanterns in one of the latest Pottery Barn catalogues.  They filled them with candles and seashells.  I have wanted something to use as a centerpiece for my patio table and thought this would be perfect.  I live on the gulf coast.  I need a few seashells in my decor. So, did I order a $50-$80 lantern from Pottery Barn.....NOPE!  I took my 40% coupon to Michael's Craft Store (after looking a few other places first) and bought a beautiful lantern for about $15 (regularly $24.99)!  I bought a $3.00 candle, and the shells were free from my mother-in-law.  I tried to collect my own shells while at the beach last week, but I didn't find any that were big enough.  FYI: You can buy a package of beautiful shells at Hobby Lobby....maybe they have them at Michael's. I don't know, I didn't look.  I still want to buy a starfish to prop up against my candle.

You can check out their versions here.

Here is my version:

Christmas Decor 2009

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Ev'rywhere you go; 

Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Toys in ev'ry store

But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be

On your own front door. 

Merry Christmas!  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Check out other homes decked for Christmas at Southern Hospitality.

Refurbished Picture Frame

This frame was a previous gift from a family member.....sorry! I think it was given to me when I still lived at my parents' house during college. It didn't match my current decor so it had been stored away. I got the idea to paint it and add a flower like I saw on the blog, My Mama Made It. So I did it. I just painted several coats of off-white craft paint on the frame. Then, I took a scrap of brown linen to cut my petals. I simply cut a strip of fabric that was about 30"x7" and folded it in half. Then, I cut petals with the fabric still folded. Don't bother with a pattern. As you cut the petals, decrease their size a little. I ended up with 15 petals. Start layering the petals, spiraling as you go. Start with the largest petals on bottom and end with the smallest. Next, thread a needle and sew an x in the center to hold the petals in place. Fold the group of petals in half and run your needle through. Fold it in half the other way, and run your needle through again. I did this a few times. Finally, secure the thread with a knot on the back. I used a hot glue gun to attach the flower to the frame. VOILA!

Before:

After:

Check out other DIY projects at A Soft Place to Land.

Decorative Pillows

I got an amazing deal on an antique sofa about a month ago. I wanted to add some pillows to pull the colors in my drapes onto the sofa. So, I went to a local fabric store, Cotton Capers, and bought some beautiful fringe, cord, fabric, and down pillow forms. My wonderfully talented grandma (AKA: Granny or GiGi) came over to give me some guidance. Here is how they turned out. I LOVE THEM...especially the ones with the fringe.

The pillows with the fringe are 18" pillows with 20" down-filled pillow forms inside. The red pillow with cording are 16" pillows with 18" down-filled pillow forms inside. For the gold pillow with fringe, you simply cut out an 18" square and sewed the fringe to the right side of the fabric. I used my zipper foot and set my needle to the far left so that I could sew as close to it as possible. The fringe can be manipulated around the corners as shown below.

Slightly overlap the ends of the fringe. You will not be able to tell where the fringe started and stopped once the pillow is turned right side out. I did not cut the fringe until I was finished sewing it on the pillow front.

For the back side of the pillow, I cut two pieces. One piece was 11"x18" and the second was 13"x18". I folded over one of the long edges about 1/4" and then about 3/4" and pinned it in place. I did this on both of the back pieces.

Then, sew as shown.

Next, lay the back flaps on top of the front piece-right sides together. Lay the smaller piece down first. Then, lay the bigger piece. The bigger piece will overlap the smaller piece by a couple of inches. This will all be a little awkward due to the fringe in between. Try your best to pin this together. You are going to sew around all of the edges following the stitch line that was created when you sewed on the fringe.

Turn the case right side out and insert the pillow. Remove the temporary string along the edge of the trim. You can slip stitch the back pieces together. VOILA!

Fall, fall, fall

I am NOT ashamed to say that I started decorating for fall on September 19th. I tried to at least wait until the 22nd-The First Day of Fall, but my little girl had spent the night with her grandmother, so I seized the opportunity. I still have to add pumpkins, but otherwise it is done. Our local pumpkin patch opened yesterday. We will make a visit soon for pumpkins and pictures.

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!