Envelope Pillow Tutorial

Baby girl had a really good nap today (aka 2 hours) so after reading lonnymag and getting a little motivation to do something I decided to make some summery pillow covers for a pair of feather pillows I found at GW awhile back.  I did a quick google search (which is how I find out anything) for easy pillow covers and came across a few but I wanted something easier than easy so I made up my own way.  I was really trying to avoid hemming because I hate it so I used a flat sheet I found at a garage sale this weekend and used the hemmed sides for the envelope edges.  Here is how I did it:

FRONT:
1. Measure pillow insert and add 1 inch to each side for seam allowance.  For example, my pillow was 22"x22" so I cut out a piece of fabric at 23"x23".
BACK:
* Pay attentions to where the hem is if your using a sheet.  Make sure it is on the shorter side (the 23" side in my case) so you can use the premade hem.
1. Add 1 inch to the pillow dimensions on one side and 5 inches to the other side.  So my 22" square pillow needed a rectangle 23"x27".
2. Cut your rectangle in half length wise.  My 23"x27" rectangle was cut in half and became 2 pieces each with the dimensions 23" by 13 1/2".
3. Pin the 2 back flaps overlapping each other to the front piece wrong sides out.

1st flap

2nd flap overlapping 1st flap

*I decided to make another pillow cover before bedtime because it was so easy, it would have taken even less time but my "helper" was having a few issues*

4. Stitch around the sides, backstitch the overlapping flaps for extra security.

5. Cut off the corners to allow for a square corner.

6. Turn your cover inside out.

Hope that made some sense, Happy Monday (almost Tuesday) everyone!!

ashley


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Potty Training

We started potty training today (Dun, Dun, Dunnnnn).  I have no idea what I'm doing but baby girl is loving sitting on this thing.  She's got the "take diaper off and sit" down but we haven't mastered going in the potty.  We've gone on the floor around the potty, many times, but not in; but hey you gotta start somewhere huh.  I don't think she wants to get the potty dirty is the thing (she is a first-born, very meticulous just like momma).  We talked about it and talked about it and I would ask every 10 minutes if she had to potty always receiving the vigorous shake of the head no and realized this is going to be a long trip.  Later, out of the corner of my eye I watched her put a dolly on the potty, pick her up, look at the booty end and said "poo poo" and put her back on the potty. I never knew such simple things like poop and where to put it would boost my confidence as a mommy 1 trillion percent! Doesn't it feel awesome when you teach your child something and you see them "getting it"!

Happy Thursday from the best seat in the house!

ashley

Happy 4th!

oh, the things you dig up in a Katrina yard

*oops, this was supposed to be posted yesterday but things got hectic with party planning!

With the long weekend comes lots of home improvement projects which lucky for me hubby enjoys doing.  If you know me or have been reading this blog for a little while you know that we moved into our newly built house in January...what home improvement projects could we possibly have you ask.  Well, our house is a Katrina house here in New Orleans, actually the levee break is about 3 houses down from us, the levee is directly in our backyard so when it broke our house was a goner.  We are lucky to say that we were not living in the house at the time so we didn't lose any personal belongings.  The house was striped down to the studs when we bought it so we had a lot of free reign in how we wanted our home to look and we love how it turned out.  The outside is a different story, the yard has been a field of weeds for sometime and so the boys got to work this weekend.  They started out by cutting down the 15 feet tall weed trees (seriously) then went on to making flower beds.  It was a TON of work made extra difficult since it is summer time here in New Orleans which means 95 degree weather, 100% humidity and random rain showers but it's almost done, we just have the pathways left to do!

digging out the grass that went to fill in bare spots in the courtyard and backyard

we used the ton (literally) of bricks left over from the house to line the planter boxes

ashley

Sweet Nothings Bench

First of all, its almost 9:30am and baby girl is still asleep....what the what? I've never been more quiet in my life but I'm sure she will be up before I finish this sentence. Nope, ok let's do this fast!  Yesterday I shared my story of finding this bench:

she's a looker, yes I know.

I sanded down the legs and gave them a coat of primer before spray painting them with Krylon Gloss Dover White (I buy mine at Kmart, it's about 2 dollars cheaper then other places).  I chose a green and white checkered fabric that was sitting in my craft closet (Joann's clearance $2/yd score, BTW check out this fabric I just got yesterday for $3/yd! I'm thinking new nursery drapes one day). 

Pulling each side taut I used a staple gun to attach the fabric onto the top, I made sure to staple into the wood for extra security.  To cover the staples I hot glued natural twisted cord to trim it out the bottom. At this point I was covered in sweat working in our 1000 degree garage and called it done and went to find some air conditioning.  The next day when I went to bring the bench inside I looked at it and it was "too perfect" so I got out the sander and went to town, I figure it's going to get beat up and busted up sooner rather than later anyways.  So here she is, the Sweet Nothings Bench:

and look whose up...

PS. We are starting potty training next week....any suggestions or helpful pointers????? Thanks for reading!

ashley

Here comes the rain

We were having one of "those" days last week.  Those days where you seriously contemplate if it is possible to lose all of your hair in a single day, those days where everything that could go awry did, those days where you HAVE to get out of the house asap.  So I packed up baby girl and headed down the street to the local thrift store.  I saw a storm rolling in and knew we had to hurry so I lugged my 50 pound diaper bag and 25 pound toddler into the store looking like a hot mess.  As we walk around, a miracle happens and she became silent and happy, I don't say anything for fear that I would jinx the peace.  I put an old school wooden puzzle into the cart that I know a Texas friend will love, and find an old globe that will go perfectly over our tv corner (I'm going for The Pleated Poppy look), a wooden tray and a terribly painted stool.  The peace is starting to wear off so out come the crackers, peace restored but the storm is getting closer and I can hear the thunder settling in.  As I head to the checkout counter I spot an old bench in the very far corner of the store; I make a beeline for the bench thinking there is no way it's sturdy and if it is then it's going to be more than I want to spend.  Very sturdy and pretty cheap! I tell the cashier I'll take and and check out.  As I pull my car around the lightning picks up and I hurry to cram this thing into my little volkswagon.  The guys helping me looked at me like I had lost my mind as we try it this way, that way, move the carseat and try this way....We finally get the dang thing in my car and we head home.  Hubby's truck is in the driveway when we get home, Yay, someone to unload this thing!  Even he was impressed by my find.  He puts it in the garage aka workshop aka mess of all messes and just as we head into the nice air conditioned house the skies open up and it begins to pour down rain.
Here she is before her makeover (yup, those are the other finds in the bottom corner).  Stay tuned tomorrow for her big reveal!

It wasn't until later that night as I'm praying with baby girl before bed that I realize how amazing the rain is; it cleans away the mud and the grime and lets things begin clean and new, just as the blood of Christ that poured down the cross washed away our sin and welcomed us into the kingdom of God. Praise God!

ashley

Dining Room Reveal

This room has been naked since we moved in and it was starting to wear on me.  I like things done, finished and homey so this was a bit of a depressing room to see everyday.  When we got back from our long vacation I couldn't take it anymore and started to put stuff up and accessorize and this is what it looks like now.

Thrifted mirrors and frames painted white with green accents fill up the large wall behind the dining table (The print is a Joann's clearance bin find) and our DIY oversized chalkboard fills the wall opposite the french doors.  These doors let in a ton of light, especially around dinner time and it gets HOT!  This curtains are actually tapestry throws I found at Target in the college dorm section on clearance years ago and have traveled with us since.  Hubby mounted the hardware so the drapes would just skim the floor, I am not patient enough nor do I have the math skills to do that so thankfully hubby's strengths are my weaknesses.

Our table was found on Craigslist and after bringing it home and doing a little research we found that it is actually a really expensive table someone put a formica top on.  The plan is to have an oval marble (loveeeeee carrara marble) made for the top so we can fit more that 4 people around it.  The gray chairs we're found at Goodwill in a horrible oak-ish finish (I say oak-ish because it wasn't oak and it wasn't paint but it was bad) and I used some paint we had on had to refinish them (the gray is the color of hubby's office/wildlife preserve).  The wood chairs were found at a hotel liquidation center, recovered in painters drop cloth and trimmed out in black ribbon.

and here's a little peak at my kitchen staff....

I would love to have a settee or bench go along the back wall to add additional seating but I don't know how practical that is with small children...here are some inspirations...any thoughts?

Victoria Neale Interiors

lonny mag

Little Green Notebook

 Have a blessed Sunday!

ashley

Bridal Shower

Hey guys! We are back home, finally!  We've been away for nearly a month seeing family in West Texas and going lots and lots of weddings.  Just about everyone we know is getting married this summer so it felt like a high school reunion each weekend.  But anyways, one of my close friends got married this past weekend and I decided to throw an impromptu bridal/bachelorette party.  

drink station

 

 pudding cups

ruffled streamers via Dana Made It

before all the food arrived, I didn't make them starve :)

On the menu:

Orzo with chicken and corn

Pasta Salad

Chips, Salsa and Queso

Pudding Cups

Margaritas

Sweet Tea

PS. here's the wedding/housewarming gift the couple recieved from us:

ashley

ps. what do you think of the new look on my blog???