POUF OR STOOL

Large pouf stuffed with fabric scraps

This idea comes from Maya Donenfeld's book, Reinvention. She has instructions for three sizes of poufs and recommends using scraps to stuff them.  Wanting to make one large enough for an adult, I opted to make the 24" X 12" one. Thinking that maybe putting a smaller one inside would help to keep the shape better, I made a 16" X 10" one first.

It was made from purple fabric and stuffed with just about one whole leaf bag full of scraps, then whip-stitched closed. No need to use a zipper for this one.

The purple one was stuffed inside the 24" one. This will only work if your zipper is just about as long as the diameter of the pouf. My zipper was 23", taken off a dress from the thrift shop.

After carefully centering it inside, I stuffed down scraps all around the inside pouf, packing firmly as I went.

I ran out of scraps and put some yard goods on the very bottom, which will be easy to retrieve due to the zipper. As soon as I start more projects, I will replace the yard goods with fabric scraps; might take a few months.

The 24" cover is made from wool pants and skirts. There is a handle, but as heavy as this turned out, it probably would not be wise to use it for fear of tearing the seam, although I did sew over it several times. Incorporated in a panel on the side is a small cross stitch that had been setting around for decades, probably. Using one of the underutilized embroidery designs on my sewing machine, I added a leaf design along a seam on the top of the pouf.

Slip-over Coasters for Wine Glasses

What a great idea from Half Yard Home by Debbie Shore. These will keep the condensation off your tabletop as well as provide a fun way for your guests to remember which glass is theirs, if you make them all from different fabrics. Any glass that has a wine bottom type will work.

First measure the diameter of the base. Add 1-2" to get the diameter you need to cut your circles, and find a glass or coaster that is that size to serve as a template. You may need to make one or two samples to make sure it will fit over the glass bottom.  You need two circles for the top, one for the bottom, and one of batting or felt.

Take the two top circles and press in half. If you desire to add a strip of lace or ribbon, lay on top, and sew close to the folded edge. To assemble for sewing, place felt circle down, then add bottom fabric or oilcloth right side up, and the two halves right side down on the very top. Pin together and sew completely around the outside edge of the circle. Trim to 1/8", turn, and press.

Add a button, ribbon flower, or other adornment to one side, if desired. Or before assembly, you could monogram one half circle. Have fun!

Decorative Backing for old TV Armoire

 This beautiful armoire had a gaping hole in the back to accommodate the old huge TV we used to have.  I pieced together a bunch of squares made from a skirt and a jumper found at the Salvation Army, and laid that and some batting on top of a big piece of foam core. Remember to add a couple of inches to the overall fabric piece so it will lap around the board on all sides.

To attach it to the foam core, I used office clips to hold the batting and "quilt" at the edges and took yarn threaded onto a needle and sewed back and forth across the back, catching the top and bottom edges first, then the side edges. After that was completed, I added button "tufting" at each corner of each piece, bringing the thread through the foam core and tying off the ends.

close up of fabric quilt for back of armoire

Custom Bedspread, Shams & Pillow

After seeing this fabric at Joann's Fabrics, I just had to have it for our newly painted master bedroom. It is made from two lengths that lay crosswise, and I joined them matching the patterns by meticulously pinning and hand sewing at spots to assure accuracy, then finishing on the machine. The other side is a bottom weight black cotton, and it is finished off with a black rope cording sandwiched between the two.

 On a trip to Mackinac Island, I purchased a dozen pieces of Frette linen with the Grand Hotel logo on them at a great price. Why not make shams with them? But they are stark white, so I tea dyed* two, which made them the perfect color. I added red strips of fabric to the sides to make them king size and added black braid over that seam (an idea from Eastern Accents shams). Leftover bedspread fabric was used for the back of the shams, as well as to cover cording for the edging. 

I felt it needed one more pillow, so I took an embroidered part of a blouse from Salvation Army, embellished with buttons and beads, added quilt fabric, black cording, and a ruffled edge.

*Tea dying instructions:
Boil water in a pot large enough for your fabric. For every cup of water, you will need one tea bag. Drop in tea bags; let steep for 5 minutes. Wet down your fabric (natural fabrics are best) before immersing into the tea bath. Push down on the fabric making sure it is completely covered and let it set for 10 minutes. Rinse out the tea completely and even give it a bath with a squirt of dishwashing liquid to be sure to remove the tannins. Remember it will dry a shade lighter. Repeat if necessary for a darker color. 

Flavored teas may give it a slightly different color; like, cinnamon, would be more of a red, etc. You can alway try coffee, too.

Little Girl's Pink Bedroom Makeover

Bedskirt with Pottery Barn bedspread and wall hanging

After Painting, Before Decorating

Granddaughter's Bedroom Before

There was no bedskirt on the twin bed nor were there curtains. So using my Salvation Army finds in pinks and greens and whites, I fashioned a gathered bedskirt with alternating pieces of fabric from skirts, blouses, and shirts.

The wall hanging above the bed was made with pink satin as the background, a crown cut from a skirt & pink trim from another skirt. Gathered fabric circles with buttons at the center are at each point and "Princess" is embroidered below.


The ceiling light was an old can light, so I found a small chandelier that didn't drop down very far. Electrician husband had to do a little tweaking in the old can and also had to buy a cover from Home Depot to camouflage the big hole.

Chandelier and curtains

The ruffled white curtains were a purchase from ebay.

Fabric bins and stool

The fabric bins were in one of my previous blogs, now filled with toys. The coffee table was found at an antiques consignment shop, bought with the intention of being a longtime piece that can be repurposed as my granddaughter grows and even go into a first apartment.

The stool is made of felt and filled with all  my scraps from all the projects I've worked on this past year. The instructions are in the book, Reinvention.

The lamp beside the bed has a shade I covered with fabric that has flowers made from ribbon; round swirls of ribbon.

On one of the walls, I placed a castle decal from Disney.

Pretty Curtain for Ugly Storage

Here is my back door coat rack and ugly storage.

















And here it is after adding a curtain gathered on a tension rod.

I repurposed, from Salvation Army, a pair of white linen pants and a cream linen skirt for banding at the edges. Still ugly and unorganized under there, but now everyone does not have to see it!

Free Prints from Library of Congress

This picture was downloaded from the Library of Congress website.  After seeing an idea in Martha Stewart Living's April 2013 issue, I made sure a picture could actually be printed from the website.

The magazine's idea was to have clipboards mounted on your wall to which you can display a changing display, whether it be art from a website or your children's art. They had three rows of three clipboards with black and white architectural images.  It is suggested to use cardstock; I used what I had on hand-a notebook divider.

Repurposed Dress as Curtain

Here is a dress I purchased for $1 at the Salvation Army store remade into cafe curtains for my laundry room.  All I had to do was detach the skirt from the bodice, turn under the raw edges, and voila, instant privacy. 

Skirt for Window Covering

While at the local Salvation Army store, which I seem to frequent more and more, I found this adorable skirt. I thought it would fit perfectly in my basement bathroom window, and it did!  I just took out the zipper and seam, opened it out, tacked down those 2 edges, and hung it on my Ikea wire with Ikea clips.  It was already lined with a light blue, but if it had been at a street facing window, I would have added a plain white lining.