Easy $1.00 Mirror Makeover

There are so many decorating projects I would love to tackle around our house, but there just isn't a lot of time (or extra money) to get those done.  So many of the projects will have to wait, but I figure I can do a little something here and there to make myself feel a little better in our home.

We have had this mirror since before we even moved into this house.  I absolutely love the shape of it, but it really doesn't pop on our beige family room wall.  When my mom was visiting I was telling her how I wanted to do 'this and that' to our family room like bringing in some blue into our palette of beige, sage and cranberry.  I recently changed out the curtains, which have some blue in them and my mom suggested that I paint the mirror to bring out the blue from the curtains.

I head to our local Joann's a picked up a small tube of Martha Stewart Craft Paint in a Satin finish.  I thought about spray painting the mirror, but I really couldn't find anything that was just the right color.  When I saw Martha Stewart had a color called 'Blueberry', I knew that would be just right.  This paint is usually $1.99 at my Joann's, but I had a coupon, so it was only .99 cents!

Instagram Photo ~ thecottagemama

I taped off the interior of the mirror with painters tape.  Got out our art brushes and began painting.  I'm kind of glad I decided to paint the mirror rather than spraying it.  I had forgotten how soothing painting can be and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.  It took me about 1 hour to paint the mirror and I let it dry overnight.  I thought the craft paint covered surprisingly well.  I wasn't quite sure how it would do since I didn't prime the mirror at all.  The next day, after the paint was dry, I removed the painter's tape and hung the mirror on the wall.

The mirror seems to have a new life again.  A once nice, somewhat drab mirror, now pops off the wall in this deep blueberry tone.  The great thing about working with timeless shapes is that you can always incorporate them into your decor.  In our next house, the blue might not work, but then I can just paint it again!  And for .99 cents, that is no problem!

This mirror makes me (and my wallet) really happy because my favorite kind of makeovers are the ones where you take something you already own and make it new again.  

Hmmmm......what can I paint next?  

Inexpensive Wall Art ~ Decorating with Paper

I love when I find a great print that can bring an entire room together.  Usually I'm looking for it in the form of fabric, but when I can't find exactly what I want, sometimes I have to turn to other sources ~ like paper.

Several months back I was shopping at my local Home Goods store and as I was going to check out this fabulous wrapping paper caught my eye.  You know how much I love patterned fabric so it was no surprise that I was drawn into this bold wrapping paper.  I needed some wrapping paper for a wedding shower gift, so I picked it up and it said $3.99 and I said 'sold!'.  Well, I wasn't even paying much attention, but when I got it home I noticed that is was Vera Bradley wrapping paper.  No wonder I liked it, I love her designs!

I used this wrapping paper to wrap of the wedding shower gift and then had quite a bit leftover.  I noticed that it actually picked up quite a few different colors that I have going on around our house, especially in the family room.  So I pulled two frames off the wall that were needing an update, cut the wrapping paper to size and framed them. 

Instant wall art ~ how great is that?  And inexpensive, to boot!

Here is a little corner of our family room with the two framed pieces of wrapping paper.  In addition to wrapping paper, think about framing fabric, wall paper or sheet music as well.  It's an easy update that can really bring a room together.  And if you get tired of it, no biggie, just change it out and move on to something new that you love.

Above is a picture of our bedroom, where I simply framed two squares of fabric to tie the room together.  Another easy, inexpensive wall art project.  Definitely a great bang for your buck!

Fall Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial

Since I am taking some time off to enjoy our new baby boy, I thought I would re-post one of my favorite fall tutorials from last year.  I know a bunch of you are new to the blog (thanks so much for joining us), so you might have missed this one.  This is a really easy and inexpensive fall project, but I just love the end result!

It's really starting to feel like fall here in the Midwest.  We still have our occasional warm day, but for the most part fall is upon us.  Fall is my favorite time of year with all the fun festivals, pumpkin patches, apple orchards.......I truly value the beautiful seasons each year.

Since it finally feels like fall, I think it's time to get out some decorations for around the house.  I wanted to make something for our home that tied in with the season as well as our decor.  Though I tend to use bright colors in my clothing design, my home is decorated in more rich tones....think deep red, green, mahogany and cherry wood.  I came up with these chubby fabric pumpkins and can't wait to put them around the house.  I thought you might like to make some too.........so here's the "how to":

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial

Supplies:

Fabric pieces - variety of sizes

2 pieces of brown felt

1 piece tan felt

Fiberfill or other stuffing material

Brown embroidery floss

Thick twine

Hand-sewing needle

Sewing Machine

Decorative wire berries (optional)

Directions:

Gather your fabric.  I found these upholstery fabric samples at Joann's for $2.00 a piece.  They were discontinued special order fabrics.  I decided to use decorator fabric because I love the variation in textures and designs, but you could definitely used quilting cotton for this project if you would prefer.

Cut your fabric.  I wanted my pumpkins to be all different sizes since no two pumpkins are ever the same.  Here are some of the measurements I used:

17.5" x 10"

17.5" x 12"

12" x 6"

12.5" x 7.5"

17" x 13"

Basically you are looking to cut out a rectangle shape.

Fold your rectangle, right-sides together.  Stitch down the long-side (side to the right) with a regular straight-stitch.  Then run a gathering stitch around the top and the bottom (leaving the top and bottom OPEN).  Turn right-side out.

Pull the bobbin thread to start gathering one of the ends.  Work the gather until you have pulled it as closed as possible.  If you are using regular cotton this will be much easier.  If you are using decorator fabrics, this can take some time.  You may also consider hand-sewing a large straight stitch with embroidery floss and using that to gather instead of your machine (my thread broke on one of my pumpkins).  Either way will work. 

This is as tight as I could pull my bobbin thread with the upholstery fabric.  Tie your thread ends together and turn it in-side out again.

Place the gathered end in your sewing machine and stitch to close.  You will have to kind of jam the fabric under the foot as it is very thick, but don't worry, your machine can handle it.  You may also choose to hand-sew the opening closed with embroidery floss.

Next fill your pumpkin with fiberfill or whatever type of stuffing you have on hand.

Once you have stuffed your pumpkin, pull the bobbin thread from your other gathering stitch to begin to close the opening.

Close the opening entirely by hand-sewing.

Take your twine and wrap it around the pumpkin (very tightly).  Do this as if you were wrapping a present.  Loop it around, then cross-over, around and cross-over.  You will cross-over at the top and bottom of the pumpkin.  Go back and forth until you have 6-8 sections on each pumpkin.  Finish by simply tying in a knot.

You may need to slide the twine around until you have even look sections - just work it until you like the look.

Next you will need to make your stems and leaves.  I made each stem a different size, so just cut out whatever shape you like from your brown felt.  I also machine stitched on top of the felt to add some texture.  Place both stem pieces together (right-sides together) and stitch around the curve (leave the straight-side open).  Turn right-side out.

Suff your stem with fiberfill.

Cut out two to three leaves per pumpkin.  I did mostly brown leaves and a couple tan ones.  Again, I machine stitched veins onto the brown felt with brown thread.  This is your opportunity to be creative......cut your leaves out in any shape or size that you like.  Mine were all different.

Next hand-sew your stem and leaves to the top of each pumpkin.  There is no special technique here.  Just place the leaves where you like and stitch away.

You can certainly skip the stitching on the stem and the leaves, but I think it adds a more realistic feel to the pumpkins.

For a final finishing touch, I took a bunch of deep red and green berries and added them to the top of each pumpkin.  This was just one bunch that I purchased at Joann's.  I cut the bunch apart and wrapped two wire pieces around each stem.  To make the curls, wrap the wire around a pen or pencil.

On a couple of the tan leaves, I hand embroidered some detail.  I like the contrast between the tan leaves and the brown ones.  You could hand-embroider all of the leaves or machine-stitch all of them......again, it's up to you.

And there you have it - a family of festive fall fabric pumpkins!

They are just so cute, don't you think?  I could just squeeze them!  Well, I won't, but my daughter Savannah already did......she gave each one a hug and said, "I love you pumpkins!".

Happy Fall!

Finny and Zook - Whimsical Nursery Art Giveaway

I am so excited about this giveaway and I hope you are too!  Remember my post a couple weeks back revealing Caspian's Nautical Nursery?  And remember the fun nursery artwork that I ordered from etsy.com for his walls?  In case you forgot, here are the prints I purchased for his room from Finny and Zook.....

I chose these three different 8 x 10 prints and then matted and framed them myself.  I was so impressed with the high quality of this art work.  I knew I wanted the Anchor, Boat and Crab because those fit with the nautical theme and I liked that is was an "A, B, C" thing going on.  I chose the prints and then let Finny and Zook know the nursery colors and she selected the perfect colors to match the nursery.  Pretty neat, right?

Well, today Finny and Zook is going to be giving away TWO 8 x 10 prints of your choice to one very lucky The Cottage Home blog reader.  Right now they are offering over 300 different prints to choose from so making your decision about which ones to choose might be a little difficult, but there is just about any print you could imagine!

Here are a bunch of my favorites from their shop........

So, as you can see, there are many different modern options.  I love the clean lines of this artwork - perfect for a nursery, playroom or kids room.  There are also many different size options to choose from, but like I said above, today's giveaway is for two 8 x 10 prints.

Here's how to enter the Finny and Zook Whimsical Nursery Art Giveaway:

Please do one or all of the following.  Leave a separate comment for each entry.
1) Visit Finny and Zook and let us know what print is your favorite (click HERE to do so).
2)  Become a fan of Finny and Zook on Facebook (click HERE to do so).

Giveaway open until Thursday, September 15, 2011 at midnight (CST). Open to US residents only.

Baby Boy's Room: A Nautical Nursery

One week and counting until our little bundle is scheduled to arrive!  I thought I would share some pictures of the nautical themed nursery that we've put together for our special little guy.

My husband, Brett, painted the room.  Surprisingly, he let both girls help for about 10 minutes.  That was enough time for them to get covered in navy blue paint from head to toe - he is a brave, brave man (and a super-wonderful daddy).  Brett had already put up the chair-rail and crown molding when we did the girls nursery, but he painted the navy blue and tan that I picked out from Home Depot.  Both paint colors are Behr and they are in satin finish.

This room has always been our nursery, but it's taken on a whole new look now.  No more pastel pink and green, we've moved onto navy blue, tan and red.  I definitely think it shouts "boy"!  All of this furniture was already in the room from the girls and I'm really happy that we went with a honey colored wood because it works just right for a boy or a girl.

We had this little round table in the nursery before, but I just changed out the overlay.  I sewed a large square of fabric from Riley Blake's "All-Star" fabric line and kept the cream colored tablecloth that was already on the table.

I've always loved our glider.  I just love rocking and gliding with little ones.  Occasionally I still take one of the girls in this room when they need some mommy cuddle time.  Both of them still love the soothing motion of the glider.  If you are debating on whether or not you might want one for your nursery, go ahead and get it, it's well worth the money.  Ours has an ottoman that glides with it as well.  We ordered this one through target.com and it has held up really well.

The pillow on the glider was sent from my mom.  As I'm sure you know by now, she's always making special, handmade things for the kids.  She made this pillow and matching quilt for baby boy's nursery.  She named the quilt "Oceans of Love". 

Here are some more pictures of the "Oceans of Love" pillow and quilt made by Grandma Jane......

I love that my mom puts a label on every quilt.  The beautiful thing about quilting is that these things can be cherished forever; therefore, a label with a date makes this a true family heirloom that can be passed down.

My mom was inspired by a quilt she had seen on "Moda Bake Shop" but she adapted it to make it her own.  I think I need to get Grandma Jane on the blog to do some quilting tutorials, what do you think?  Don't know if she'd ever do it, but you never know.....hint, hint.

I added a bunch of different nautical accessories around the room that I really think pull the theme together.  I wanted to do some accessories that were nautical, but not necessarily "baby".

This distressed wooden flag is probably my favorite piece in the room.  It is screwed into the wall above the crib so it is nice a sturdy.

The sailing ships rug was something my in-laws had in their basement that they had never used.  It even still had the tags on it.  It must have been there just waiting for us to have this little guy.

These three pillows won't stay in the bed during our little guy's first year, but we usually keep our newborn in a bassinet in our room for a little while.  So for now, they just look cute in his crib.  The polka dot sheet is from Pottery Barn Kids.

The "Welcome Aboard" steering wheel as to be another favorite of mine in this nursery.

Now this poster does not exactly go along with the "nautical" theme, but it's my husbands favorite childhood book and he really wanted it in the room.  This shelf is right above the changing table.  I think the poster looks nice and the colors match just right!

"Dream" is a word that I hope my children always keep in the forefront of their minds.  I want them to always know that anything is possible if they put their minds to it.  Life is so much more exciting when you have big dreams.  Hopefully this sign will remind our little guy of this always.

I ordered these three art prints from Finny & Zook on Etsy.  I love to support etsy sellers if I can and I fell in love with this shop when I found them through my etsy search.  They offer many, many different prints and you can choose any color you would like to match your room or nursery.  There are many different images from A through Z as well as alphabet signs and different sayings.  

I purchased these prints and then found photo mats and frames at my local Michael's craft store.  All three prints are next to the large mirror on top of the dresser (didn't get any good pictures of the dresser).

Our little baby boy should be here soon and we can't wait to meet him!  

I hope he loves his room........I think he will, don't you?