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For all my fabric lovers out there - it is time to come clean.  We've all done it.  You walk by "those fabrics".  You know the ones on the little hangers ... the "special" order fabrics.  The ones that have price tags that make me cringe inside and know I could get two pairs of shoes at Target for one yard.  We've all touched them.  Loved them.  And then we sigh - get real and walk away. 

However, on Saturday - I came across a pile of these lovely fabrics at a yard sale!  And there they were - in a dusty garage - and I was drawn to them.  Me and like six other women, circling a table like sharks with a pile of fabric where each exquisite little piece was on sale for a quarter.  I have seen them on sale and clearance on JoAnn's for $2.00 but this was intense!  We were all "Oh - excuse me!  So sorry!" which was code for "I want that one - BACK off!"  It was a little crazy!  But I made it out alive and with my beauties!  I picked out a bunch - shown below - and knew what I wanted to make out of them.   

Pillows - yeah I know right so original.  But stay with me for a second.  If you have been following for awhile you know that I got the couch and chair in our Living Room free when we moved.  The chair didn't come with any pillows and the ones on the couch just blend right into it.  See below. (The fuzzy thing in the middle of the couch is a cat!  And yes that coffee table is still there and killing me - no decisions yet on a finish.)

So I have been wanting some pillows with some pop and I thought blue would be a great color.  The fabric samples I got were 17x17 square so I made some regular 16x16 square pillows and some 12x16 accent pillows.  I will have a total of eight when I get finished.

Here are my tips for doing this yourself without any sewing! I am going to step you through the making the accent pillow but I think you will get the gist if you want to make the larger pillow.  First, you need a neutral shade for the backing that matches the print of the pillow and some Stich Witchery to do this project.  I found a beautiful gold burlap like linen and a gold matelasse fabric in the remnants bin at Joann's (50% off the already marked down price).  You just need to make sure the remnant is at least 17 inches wide (or the width of your sample).

To start, you need to cut out a piece of your remnant to be 11 inches long and 17 inches wide.  Fold down one edge and make a seam and iron it down with a little bit of the Stitch Witchery.  Then line up the un-seamed edge of your back fabric with your fabric swatch and add a little Stitch Witchery around the side and top edges.  Iron this, let cool, and then run your finger around the edge to make sure it is all sealed. 
 
 
Next, you just flip up the bottom and add some of the Stitch Witchery to the sides.  Again let cool and check to ensure you have a full seal on each edge.
 
Flip the pillow inside out and add your pillow form!  Ta-da! Pillow!  To make the 16x16 you basically follow the same steps except cut a 11 inch long and a 10 inch long piece and double those up to make your back.  See below.
 
Here are the ones I have finished.  I still have a couple to go.  Can't wait to show you the whole picture with them on the couch! 
So have you ever done anything with these fabric samples?  Have you ever lusted over one that you just adored?  Let me know!
 
Linking this up with

Also linking this up to the CSI Project's Pillow Project.


Visit thecsiproject.com

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Well - I accomplished my goal of a pretty lazy weekend. But I did roll out mid morning on Saturday (while braving the heat - it was already over 95 at 10 am) and hit up some yard sales. We have a couple nice golf courses around the lake up here and I noticed on my way home Friday there were already signs up at one of the advertising some sales. I thought those neighborhoods might put up some good finds and I was right! Here is what I found.

My first stop yielded this beautiful vase for $7 which still had a $25 sticker from Pier 1 on the bottom! I had gotten some bamboo at a yard sale back at the beginning of May and now I have something to them put in!

Next couple of stops really didn't have much but then I hit the motherload!  So first, I found this adorable print for 50 cents that I ended up getting for just a quarter! Love the colors.  Want to see it in it's new frame?

But the pickup of the day were these Duralee fabric samples for 25 cents a piece!  The lady selling them must have had over a hundred!  Here are the ones I picked out.  I got all of those for $2.25!  Want to see what they were made into?  I will give you a hit - it involved no sewing

So those were my weekend finds!  Did you find anything fun?  If not, do you have any guesses on what I am going to do with the fabric? 



Linking this up to Thrifty Treasures with Rhoda @ Southern HospitalityHead over to check out the rest of everyone's weekend finds!

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I am sure you were all wondering where I have been!  Whew!  Well since I do most of my writing and blog work on the weekends - our weekend trip put a cramp in blog posting this week.  Work was insane and I was there late most nights.  I had planned to write and get this post up on Thursday night.  But at five minutes to five - one of my coworkers came down and offered us two tickets to the CMA Festival opening that night!  Well, there was no way I was saying no to Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood - so off we went!   And I forgot my camera so here is a shot from the CMT website of what I left you guys for.... I am sure you will all forgive me!
Photo credit Ed Rode - Go to CMT.com for more pictures!

Anyways - I am just dead tired and plan on keeping it pretty low key this weekend.  I just want to lay around and be lazy!  And when I start thinking about that - I can't help but start thinking about chaises.  I am obsessed with chaises and have been for years.  I am sure you will see them pop up now and then in rooms I love and I am hopefully that in our next move we will have space for me to have one that is all my own.  So enough of my babbling - please enjoy these comfy places to curl up and relax!













sitting room modern living room





Shoshana contemporary living room





Valerie Wills Interiors eclectic living room





Robin Muto traditional bedroom





Amoroso Design contemporary living room





Gleichers Eco-Friendly Townhouse contemporary bedroom





Goldberg Downey Architects traditional living room





Shoshana Gosselin  living room





2009 Designer Showhouse for the Arts eclectic bedroom


Here's hoping your weekend is super relaxing. Are you chaise obsessed like me?  Do you have a favorite place to relax in your home?


Edit: I love Melissa's Inspired By Parties and did link this up to her latest.  So along with checking out the other links, I would like to ask you to please take a second to say a prayer for her mother who had to be rushed to the hospital on Friday. 



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