DIY Envelope Style Pillow (again)

Several months ago Kathryn bought a town house on Davis Island in Tampa.  Since then Darin and her have been busy fixing it up.  Kathryn’s on a budget and pretty frugal so a lot of her purchases are at garage sales and flea markets and even a few dumpster dives. Darin rescued an Ikea coffee table that was missing a leg and had numerous dents and dings.  Terry replaced all the legs,  I filled in the dents, painted it and then made a cushion.   Now they have a bench in their bedroom.  I had some of that fabric left and I’m trying to use up the old stuff before I buy anything new. Time for the bench to get a matching pillow!

Former coffee table turned into bench with cushion.
Here’s the bench from back in May.
ikea hack coffee table to bench with boxed cushion.
And here’s the bench now!
DIY Envelope-style Pilllow
Left over fabric plus a pillow that Kathryn wanted recovered.

Envelope-style pillows are incredibly easy.  Especially if you don’t use piping.  I typically do but I wanted to give this to Kathryn ASAP.  If you can sew a straight seam, you can make a pillow cover!

It turned out very nice, even sans piping.

DIY Envelope-style Pilllow

DIY Envelope-style Pilllow
This is the back, the “envelope flap” keeps the pillow closed but no zipper nor hand sewing any seams.  I hate hand sewing.
DIY Envelope-style Pilllow
Maggie wanted to keep her new pillow. No, no Maggie.
DIY Envelope-style pillow,
And here’s the pillow at Kathryn and Darin’s place now that Maggie gave it up!

 

DIY Envelope-style Pilllow
And look how happy Darin and Kathryn are with their new pillow!

I’ve posted the instructions for the “envelope-style” pillow before, but just in case you don’t have it bookmarked, here’s a PDF:

Envelope-style pillow cover

DIY Expedit Box — Part II

If you don’t know what an Ikea Expedit shelf is, just go out to the web or pinterest and do a search.  Apartment Therapy even calls it the Worlds Most Popular Bookcase.  It’s quite popular in our house.  We have five plus the desk attachment.  Cheap, versatile, and worth the drive to Tampa to buy them.

I’ve purchased a few Expedit storage boxes and they are relatively cheap.  But there’s always the challenge of making my own that match the room’s décor.  So I made a few for the guest room but wasn’t really happy with them.  While the boxes matched the rest of the room, the Peltex Interfacing was expensive and the boxes were a bit floppy.  Okay since I only store sheets and the grandkids’ clothes in them.  But I wanted better.  I wanted to use plastic canvas which is sturdy and less expensive.

DIY Expedit Box Part 2
This is Plastic Canvas. I use this for the bottom of my totes. You can get this size at Jo-annes.

I also wanted to use up some extra fabric from the sunroom update.

DIY Expedit Box Part 2

And I think the color combinations go really well with these storage containers that I purchased at Home Goods and are in my laundry room.

DIY Expedit Box-- Part 2
My laundry room is still a work-in-progress. I want to do something fun with these cabinets. Another DIY project!

And here they are:

DIY Expedit Box-- Part 2
Three Boxes for the Expedit Shelf

 

DIY Expedit Box-- Part 2
Have to say that I stole the insert idea from Michelle! She showed up one day with a tote that I made her and she had put inserts into it so she could safely carry homemade strawberry jam. These will be great to store candles and other breakable items.I just reused inserts from liquor boxes.  Perhaps having so many liquor boxes around could be a sign of a problem?

And I totally cheated on this storage box.  I had an almost perfect-sized liquor box and just enough fabric to cover the front.  I used modge podge to glue the fabric but I probably could have used spray adhesive.  I did sew the handle but that could just be a cut out for a hand-hold.

DIY Expedit Boxes - Part 2
No-sew version for Michelle!

These are the two Expedit shelves in the laundry room.  They are on 6″legs which you can also get from Ikea.

DIY Expedit Box Part 2
Two Expedit Shelves on legs.  There are two white storage boxes from Ikea on there, too.
DIY Expedit Box Part 2
Just another view.  Magazine holders are from Ikea, too.  I should own stock!

Okay, I cheated on the one storage box, but for the other two I followed the instructions from the blog Make It & Love It.  This was just what I needed but the fabric storage boxes from the tutorial were too small.  Just 9.5″ tall by 11″ wide by 8.5″ deep.  Basically, she uses fusible interfacing to make the fabric stiff then makes pockets for the plastic canvas on all sides and boxes the bottom.  Very clever.

So I got my thinking cap on and figured out a formula to use her instructions and create Expedit-size boxes.  13″ tall by 12″ wide by 13″ deep.  I did not use seam binding on the top of the boxes, I just turned them under 1/2″.  The first box I used plastic canvas for the inserts but on the second I used cardboard that I cut out of liquor boxes.  I actually liked the cardboard better–and it’s free.  I also tried two different fusible interfacings–one that was midweight and the other was craft.  I probably liked the midweight better but the craft was cheaper.  So you know I’m going with the frugal version in the future.

This is not an easy DIY because making the boxed bottoms is confusing and sewing the top edge is awkward since the inserts are already in them.  If you are interested in making your own Expedit boxes, I’ve created a PDF which you can click on below.

BOX FOR EXPEDIT PART 2

Any questions, let me know!  I might be able to answer them!

 

 

 

 

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

I’m sure there’s an ‘Ugliest Bathroom’ competition coming up and boy have I got an entry! Problem is,…I couldn’t wait…so I started to give it a facelift. Mind you I have NO budget for this project. (hmmm, that’s a reoccurring theme here) Seeing as the next stop for everything in this bathroom is the dumpster, I figured I could experiment a bit. This bath is 20 year old ‘builder grade’ stuff and it’s literally coming apart at the seams. One day the glass globe on the light fixture stared flaking paint (and I thought it was colored glass – duh) and it needed replaced. I thought that I’d paint the fixture while I was at it. Seeing as everything metal, that I’m too cheap to replace, gets a coat of Rustoleum. This was a perfect victim. A little rough surface spray paint in a nickel/steel and we’re good to go. It’s not an attractive fixture, but not horrible either, and beside this is the pool bath. The poor pool bath gets beat up and abused all summer and then forgotten…it sometimes even gets forgotten in the summer too. When we moved in I put up a funky shower curtain in the window and a couple of matching rugs. Along with a dozen ‘pool towels’, that was it. I didn’t even take down the clips on the wall where the previous owners had the rattan butterflies hung …. Yes, I said rattan butterflies…did I mention they were painted peach. (OMG!) So I asked my husband to take down the light. Then he handed it to me and didn’t have to say a word, just looked at the creamy paint under it and the peachy ring it left and knew this was just the beginning. He also knew I hadn’t the capital for a gut-job, only a facelift, which I’ve become pretty good at. Come and see what I did with less than $40.00. That’s an approximate, because I really only bought a $12 curtain, and 3 bags of glass marbles at the dollar store, and a $15 magnetic curtain rod for the door, and 2-light globe replacement at $3 each. Everything else was stock and leftovers…this is why you never throw stuff away!

Here’s my Butt-Ugly Bath… yes, that peach formica (that’s flaking off on the underside) and oak wood pulls. At least I can stain those. The floor is old linoleum and the toilet is original…and almond (cause that goes so well with peach) This is where you have to be careful of the ‘haircut scenario’…once you start it just goes from one thing to the next. Take out the floor, ok then the vanity has to go,… and the toilet…and so on. So, I started with just a paint job – which oddly turned out to be just like the creamy off-white the builder had originally put in. It’s a really small room, so I had more than enough leftover paint in my ‘paint-locker’ to do the job. Then there’s the major eyesore – that vanity.

Ugly Pool Bath, Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Step 1: Let’s get the handles taped off and cleaned for a staining. I used the same Minwax Express Finish I used on the ‘Floating Frame’ project and a couple of others. Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Step 2: Just wipe it on and let it dry. – That’s it. Doesn’t get any easier.

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Step 3: Tape off the sink…OMG that color I can’t believe I’ve looked at it for so long!

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Step 4: Well, this is what I used for step 4. It’s pretty self explanatory. I used the sanding sponge to scuff the surface and give it a ‘tooth’ for the paint to adhere to. Then I coated it with The Gripper. After that was done I had every intention of covering it with another color…except that I just really liked that weird grey. I know – crazy. So after I thought about it, the next day I coated it with my favorite Polycrylic top coat. If I was a patient woman…which I’m not, I would’ve taken the time to be creative with the brush strokes as you can see them slightly in the glare. But never mind that, I was ecstatic that I could actually cover Formica!! And, yes, the kids were happy to test it for me with the filling of water balloons and leaving wet suits and sunglasses strewn about…it still looks great.

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Step 5: Ooo,.. There is no Step 5. I guess that would be the curtain. I picked up a set of these at Ikea for $25, and only used one panel . As with all their drapes, they were super long. That’s great because the extra I cut off was used to cover the window on the door. It’s a steel door with a plastic trimmed window insert. Speaking of that window. If you have one, I’m sure your plastic moulding turned yellow years ago. I just happen to have some of that Universal Rustoleum in Antique White. A little coat made it look like new! On the other wall, I replaced the 3″wide balloon valance rod (yes, it originally held a peach chintz number straight from 1986) with a leftover rod insert and center brackets from another window project. See, I keep everything.

The mirror is actually quite large and the edges are peeling. Meaning the silver coat on the back is beginning to give way. Normally, my answer is a trip to the trim section at H/D and just mount a frame around it, but that takes money….and I’m feeling really cheap these days. Besides, I’d been out with my Mom and went somewhere I don’t frequent – the dollar store – and bought 3 bags of those colorful flat glass marbles because I just knew I needed them right? Turns out, I did need them.

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

With my trusty glue gun in hand I put a tiny dab on each one and voila…’redneck stained glass’. Yes, it’s a bit kitschy but it really just goes along the bottom and the marbles are pretty close to the colors in the curtain. I kinda like it. But, back up a bit, I did try this before doing the whole project. I hot glued a marble to a glass plate and set it in the blazing Florida sun. It stuck! Then I tossed the plate in the freezer – same result. But when I put a putty knife and pressure to it, the marble popped right off. Bingo! I then set to work gluing and sticking. I think I spent a whopping 45 min putting them up. So easy!

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath RenoAdventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath RenoThat’s it – I’m done with this bath…well that is until there’s cash to do a real renovation. Then there’s that haircut thing. If we redo the floor in the bath, then the pool deck will need refinished, and then the old cabinets will have to go – oh, yeah and the pool needs marcite, and edge tiles, did I mention how much I dislike the old pvc-pipe patio furniture…..

Adventures with DIY with Michelle, Pool Bath Reno

Michelle