no sew pillow covers.

so i bought the most beautiful fabric this summer on sale at joanns and i've been so excited to make covers for some old pillows we've had for a while.

isn't it so pretty? (if you're interested, it's called pom pom play spa by waverly and it's actually upholstery fabric) it incorporates all of the colors i have in my living room from the yellow dresser our tv sits on, to the robin-egg-blue walls, to green frames i have in a small collage, to my newest color obsession: turquoise. i couldn't wait to make my new pillows from this *perfect* fabric. however, i've never attempted that type of project before so being a little intimidated by it as well as pregnant and zapped of all energy, it took me a few months to get around to making them.

but i'm so glad i did.

and surprisingly, they were pretty simple to make. i've posted before about my new bff; stitch witchery. amazing stuff. seriously. i found this no sew tutorial on pinterest and went to town. it was a great tutorial which i highly recommend. aaaand since the instructions are written out so wonderfully, i'm not going to try to replicate them. i'm one of the worst take-pictures-of-the-process bloggers there is, and have no pictures to show you of what i did except the before and after of my pillows. sorry about that. i just got concentrating on my work, was a little nervous that they weren't going to turn out, and i just didn't have the where-with-all to snap pictures along the way.

have i sufficiently apologized? i'm honestly trying to get better. i promise.

here's my couch before:

i loved these pillows when i first bought them at target a few years ago... they were actually on the couch i had in my old counseling office. my first real job. but they're just too masculine and plain for my taste in our home. i couldn't wait to get something different!

and here's my couch now:

much prettier. i love the colors incorporated in the fabric i used, and the fun, whimsical pattern. (the other turquoise throw pillow is courtesy of urban outfitters)

have any pillows laying around that you are tired of? i highly recommend this simple project. just a little work and you will have new, beautiful accents to any room in your home. it's been about a month and i'm still pretty excited about my new pillows, i'm not going to lie. it may change your life... or at least make your home a little bit lovelier ;)

no sew valance from fabric scraps.

aaaaaand here's my first attempt at a "sewing" tutorial. i'm *really* bad at taking pictures as i go along in craft projects. like, really bad. i just get going and have to concentrate so hard that throwing a camera into the mix is just too much sometimes.

but today, for you my lovely readers, i tried really hard.

i have a new best friend. it's called stitch witchery. and it's amazing. i have a lovely sewing machine that my husband's grandmother gave all of us granddaughters, but it was right before i gave birth to bella and just haven't had the time to learn how to use it. i feel hopeless in the arena of sewing unless i do it by hand, which is really annoying.

i bought this beautiful fabric on sale at joann's this summer. i used it to make no sew pillow covers for our couch last sunday (sunday during bella's naps have become my crafting day)... i will post that tutorial soon. but i've been wanting to use the leftover scraps to create a valance for our bare kitchen window.

i started by measuring the length i would need to fit our window (plus some extra to allow for hems) and realized i didn't have a long enough piece left from my scraps. so... i found some other scraps of fabric i bought a few years ago with a friend in dallas. it's plain off-white with a beautiful embroidered pattern of branches and leaves in the fabric. i love it. i knew i could piece it together with my other fabric to create my valance. perfect match.

i began by ironing my fabric so that i could accurately measure it without wrinkles. then, i laid out my scraps and measured each the length and width that i would need. after cutting them, i lined them up and began my plan of attack.

aaaaand... begin tutorial; bear with me, i'm going to try really hard to explain what i did!

no sew valance

materials:
* fabric (you may have enough to use just one strip of fabric, but i had to use three, so that's what this tutorial will be based on)
* pen
* ruler
* tape measurer
* fabric scissors
* stitch witchery (or other iron fabric adhesive)
* iron/ironing board

- i loosely followed this tutorial i found on pinterest. when i say "loosely" i mean that i looked at it last week and then just made up what i did today as i went along.

- begin with your pre-ironed, pre-measured fabric scraps and lay them all out on a flat surface. plan your hems.

- you'll need to hem your center piece first on the outer edges. follow instructions on your adhesive packaging, but for stitch witchery, set iron onto "cotton" setting; i also made sure my steam setting was on max. using your iron and stitch witchery, fold hem over just to cover the adhesive, hold iron on each section for about 10 seconds; check to make sure it adhered to the fabric. repeat until hem is completed.

- line one end of your additional piece of fabric (wrong side up) up to your hem, using stitch witchery overlap the hem with your fabric piece, and iron to secure.

- repeat with your third strip of fabric on the opposite end. now, you should have your three pieces of fabric all attached neatly.

- hem either end of the valance, as well as the bottom with same method. note: i made the mistake of not measuring as i went along the bottom... which resulted in a very crooked curtain. i had to cut, measure, and hem again. the more you measure as you go along to keep everything even, the better success you'll have and you won't need to redo it like i did!

- finally, using your curtain rod as a guide, fold the top part of your valance over to create a long pocket along the top to slide through your rod. iron the stitch witchery along the bottom edge to hem, leaving ample space to insert your curtain rod.

- to create your ties, choose an alternating piece of fabric (i chose burlap i had on hand) and cut two long strips that are more than double in the length of your valance (example: my valance was 14 inches in width, so i measured 38 inches of burlap to give me enough to loop around my curtain and tie in a knot).

- fold material in half, and adhere using stitch witchery.

- insert your curtain rod through the pocket at the top of your valance and lay on a flat surface. take your ties and loop around your curtain, securing with a knot or a bow on the front.
- now, you're ready to hang your valance! step back, breathe a sigh of relief and admire your handiwork :)

(please ignore all the oak... by the end of the summer with a little elbow grease they will be a lovely antique white!)

hopefully that all made sense... i was very surprised at how easy this project was. sewing (or no-sew) projects can be intimidating to me, but i'm learning that they are very easy to accomplish. just takes a little time and thought.

thank goodness for sundays, for having nick home to help me in case bella's nap ends abruptly, and for my new bff: stitch witchery.