Tag Archives: Fabric

Frugal Fabric Ideas

In my earlier article about low budget decorating: Decorating on a Penny, deedee1231 left a great comment about how she repurposes second hand sheets and large drapes to make curtains. She is currently in a dilemma, though, because her daughter’s room has five windows, and she can’t find enough fabric to make all of the curtains. She asks for ideas. Well, deedee1231, I have to applaud you for your frugality and creativity with the curtains. Here are some of the ideas that I came up with that might help you find some frugal material for your curtains. Hopefully, there are … Continue reading →

Home Décor: Summer Decorating

Bring a sense of summer into your home with these ideas: Be Transparent Clean all your window, mirrors, and any other glass items so they sparkle and shine. Clean windows let more sunshine in and placing mirrors where they will reflect more light will brighten even the darkest space. Add mirrors if needed. Clear glass decorative items will also make a room feel airier, so replace solid pieces with clear or lightly tinted glass. A clear bowl filled with summer fruit also makes a nice touch. Flowing Fabric Cover heavy pieces of furniture with light, bright fabrics. Use table runners … Continue reading →

More Stool Ideas

Make cute stools for your home. Your kids will love helping build them and they’ll also love using them. Upholstered Stool Choose one of the stools from the previous article to build. You might want to use pre-made furniture legs instead of bun feet for this style, to make it a bit more stylish. You will probably also want to make it a little larger. Before attaching the legs, simply cover the top with quilt batting, and staple it securely to the back. Next, cover with fabric. Start stapling in the middle and pull the fabric taut as you work … Continue reading →

Sparkly Princess Theme Room

Use lots of glitter and sparkle to make a room that your little princess will find truly enchanting. Start by creating a mural on the first wall that is visible as you enter the room. Don’t worry! Murals are not as difficult to create as you might think (see my article on painting murals for more information). All you have to do is find a picture of a castle. One with a simple design, such as those found in preschool level coloring books, would be perfect. Freehand it if you can, or project the image onto the wall (projectors are … Continue reading →

Build an Ottoman with Storage

Building an ottoman is as simple as building a wooden box. Cut the pieces to size or have them cut down at the home improvement center. Run a bead of wood glue down the edge of one piece and place another piece snugly against it. Nail the two pieces together. Continue until you have the frame of a box. On the inside, screw “L” brackets into each corner, top and bottom for support. Measure the top opening from the inside edges and cut a piece to fit. This will be the bottom. Cut another piece about one inch larger all … Continue reading →

My Favorite Home Accessories

Accessorizing is such fun whether it means finding the perfect accessories for a great outfit or for your home. I love accessories and here are some of my favorites: Wineglasses I collect wine glasses and have done so for quite a while. I love them. It doesn’t matter if they are for red wine, white wine, or champagne, I think they’re beautiful. I have a gorgeous set of crystal champagne glasses, some antique glasses, and even inexpensive ones that I happened to find interesting or attractive. I even have a few that don’t match. Either one was broken at some … Continue reading →

Easter Basket Filler

When I decided to discuss Easter basket fillers, I had in mind items that could be given as holiday gifts and trinkets, instead of simply filling baskets up with candy. I still plan to cover these kinds of ideas, but I also want to include “fillers” that you and your kids can make to use instead of Easter grass. One idea is to use curling ribbon. Nearly any corrugated ribbon, the kind used for wrapping packages, can be curled by scraping a pair of scissors against it. Obviously, you’ll want to use round-nosed scissors with small children and make sure … Continue reading →

Handmade Placemats

This idea was inspired by a comment made by Lisa Pietsch, on my Home and Garden Blog. She suggested having children draw plates, forks, knives, spoons, etc. on paper placemats to help teach children the proper placement of utensils in relation to other tableware. I thought it was a great idea, but I also thought it would be fun to make custom placemats, which can also help teach kids proper table setting methods. Instead of paper, foam core can be used to create these placemats. A 10″ x 16″ piece is perfect, but if you can only find foam core … Continue reading →

Reclaiming Unused Spaces: Treating Ceilings

Now that your basement or attic is free of clutter, you can begin the transformation. Start by looking up. If the ceiling is unfinished, it is probably dusty and dark. First, remove any dust. Using your vacuum is a great way to handle this problem. Next, decide if you want to cover the ceiling, or if it happens to be a rather low ceiling, if you want to leave it exposed.* Adhering Fabric Using fabric to cover unfinished ceilings instead of applying drywall will save you a lot of time, energy, and money. In fact, canvas drop cloths work great. … Continue reading →

Handmade Artwork

Adding your own touches to your decor by creating handmade artwork makes your house feel homey. These ideas work great in any space and they are easy to make. Fabric Patchwork Here is another easy fabric wall hanging, much like the one described in the previous article, Projects from Leftover Fabric. The best part is that this one is even simpler to make. Simply cut squares or rectangles from fabric and attach them in an alternating pattern as shown in the images below. The shapes can be cut from fabric you already have or you can purchase fabric remnants or … Continue reading →