Reap What you Sew

I completed a sewing project about a year or so ago that I am pretty darn proud of, considering that I haven't touched a sewing machine in over 20 years!  I desperately wanted a slipcovered white couch ever since I laid eyes on Rachel Ashwell's beautiful Shabby Chic couches.  Unfortunately, they have been waaaaay out of my price range for quite some time.  It has only been recently that I have started to feel that the eight plus years I spent in higher education WILL actually pay off.  For at least a decade of my life however, the shabby chic look fit perfectly with my low budget lifestyle because you can find such great items to decorate with for a very inexpensive price.  LOVE IT!  Anyway, I thought since I couldn't afford to buy the couch I wanted, maybe I could make my own slipcovers.  When I began to price fabric I  realized that even making it would cost a pretty penny.  I began to research and found a woman online who had made slipcovers out of white cotton sheets.  I thought it was worth a try so off I went to Target to buy my supplies.  I believe it took about three queen sheets to complete the project at about $15.00 each.  Not too bad huh?  I also found a tutorial video online that showed how to make slipcovers step by step.  Want to see the finished product?  Here she is:

They may not be perfect but overall, I am happy with the results.  They are great too because you can bleach them when they become heavily soiled or stained.  They have stood up to it very well. 

That comes in real handy seeing that my four legged children seem to think it makes a perfect doggy bed.  I promised myself when my Yorkies were puppies that I was going to train them to stay off of the couch.  But come on, look at that face?  Could you resist it? 

     One day, I WILL have my dream couch with washable slipcovers.  But for now, this one will work just fine.  Amazing what you can come up with when you put your mind to it!

Check out more great creations bloggers have made to save a penny at: http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/

I am in the process of putting my townhouse together since my husband and I recently moved into it.  Believe it or not, we had just moved into a townhouse about four months ago and then the landlord informed us it was being forclosed on.  I hope that this will be that last move for awhile as I am definately all moved out!  We have finally broken down most of the boxes lying around and now it is time to focus on decorating the place.  I'm excited about a find I discovered in a drawer today that I totally forgot I had.  I found it at a thrift shop awhile back and I thought it would make a great curtain for the living room window. 

It's lace, white, and cotton.  For me, it doesn't get much better than this!  I am always amazed at the great fabrics I have found at thrift stores to decorate my home with.  This one is actually already a curtain so that means less work for me. Yeah! 

The walls in the living room are still looking pretty white and bland and the only other thing that I have attempted to decorate in the area so far is a small table at the foot of the stairs.  It was also bought when my budget was very small.  It was actually a sewing machine table at one time.  

I love the look of candles in a room.  Can't get enough of them!  At times, some of the rooms in my home look a bit more like midnight mass than a home living area.  What can I say?  To me, they make a space feel so serene and calming.  I decided to top this small table with a potted bunch of branches that sport a small string of white lights.  I saw this idea in a magazine awhile back and I was hooked!  I think it adds a romantic bit of flair to a room.   

I will leave you with some pics of a few new finds I recently posted in my Etsy shop. 

Old Tobacco bags at $2.99 each.  I love the aged look of the fabric!

Shabby Ice Bucket, $20.95

Chicken Feeder, $11.95.  These things are so great to hold

various things in any room in the house!

Vintage Large Wooden Beads, $6.95 for 6. SOLD  Great for

mixed media/altered art projects.  Did you see what I recently

created with one of them?  Check out last post.

Vintage Green Flower Frog, $9.95

Vintage Train Case, $17.95.  These things are so great to use as

storage for supplies in your craft studio.

It's getting late so I am off to bed.  Have a great week guys (all two of you who follow this blog.  hee hee).    -Angie