Easy Pillow Covers

I decided to make some new toss pillows as part of a mini spring bedroom makeover (pics of the whole room coming soon).  I am by no means an expert sewer, but I have a super easy way to make pillow covers in about a half hour.

I bought a yard of some leafy fabric on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  I cut the fabric into two rectangles large enough to wrap around each of the two pillows (about an inch or two wider than and long enough to overlap about four or five inches in the center).  Almost like wrapping a present...

Fabric cut.

Just the right size.

I folded over each end about 3/4 of an inch and pinned them in place before sewing them down.  This is going to become the finished flap on the back of the cover where you can easily insert/remove the pillow.

Ends finished.

I folded the fabric over into my final desired width (about 17" for these pillows), making sure the fabric had at least three inches of overlap in the center.  I pinned the top and bottom edges in place.

Checking the width.

Then I simply sewed both ends up.  I decided to do two rows of stitches on each of these ends because the fabric easily frayed in this direction.

Just about done!

The central flap is only attached at the top and bottom, allowing you to reach inside and turn the cover right side out.  This also allows you to slip the pillow inside.

Back of pillow showing flap.

I wasn't worried about the pattern matching up on the back of the pillow because this side should never really be showing.

I simply repeated the process for the second pillow and they're done!  No zippers, no buttons, no hassle!

Finished!

Pillow covers are a great project for a beginning sewer.  They're so forgiving.  It doesn't matter if they're perfectly square or just the right size.  As long as the pillow fits inside, you're good to go.

I can't wait to show you how these look with my duvet cover in my springtime bedroom look!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!  Back to posting next Sunday...

Burlap is Beautiful

Burlap is everywhere right now!  I've been trying to resist this trend, as I thought it was too rustic for my style, but I've found myself starting to give in.  This rough fabric can be surprisingly beautiful.  It can be used for practically anything from curtains to tablecloths to pillows to artwork.  I created this inspiration board of some of my favorite images of burlap decor.

I've already bought a burlap lampshade for a lamp in my living room.  Do you have any burlap decor in your own home?

Coffee Table Makeover

I need money to buy a dress to go to a wedding in June, so I need to sell another piece of furniture.  Nothing like making money doing what I love!  My husband found this coffee table on the side of the road and brought it home for me.  How romantic!  Lol.  

Before.

The table had some surface scratches and had some candle wax dripped on it, but other than that it was in great shape and has great lines.  I used a putty knife to scrape off the wax and gave the whole table a light sanding to minimize the scratches and dull the shiny finish so paint would stick.  A damp paper towel wiped up the dust from sanding.

I gave the table a couple coats of black paint, but realized that it was lacking interest.  I decided to play up the inset area of the top of the table using a stencil and some white paint.

Stenciling.

I centered the stencil from left to right as well as from back to front on the top of the table.  I used painters tape to keep the stencil in place while painting.  I thought it would look better if I just outlined the stencil instead of filling in the entire shape with white paint.

One down, several to go...

After completing the first stencil grouping, I let the paint dry completely before re-positioning the stencil for the next group.  I ended up tracing the stencil three times.  To complete the look, I outlined the inset area with a thin line of white paint.  And here's how it turned out...

After!