Cleaning Out!!

One of the most annoying things for me is clutter, but with seven people in this house you can not avoid it. So my solution is to keep it under control, but how do you do that??

Clean it out!! Attack clutter zones (places in your home that tend to accumulate more stuff than others). This is one of the bad ones in my house, the closet in the laundry room. It just seems like everything gets thrown in there. Well, the other day I simply could not stand it any longer.

This is the before picture, I know it is terrible, but this is how it looked. The trash bag does not have trash in it, it had clothes that I need to get ready for a consignment sale.

So, I took everything out and sorted it. Laundry supplies together, cleaning supplies together, craft supplies together, that sort of thing.

I dusted the shelves, and swept the bottom, and then placed everything back inside neatly.

This is the end result. Tons better than the before picture.

So, how do you keep a handle on clutter??

Pillowcase Dress Tutorial!!

I wanted to share this tutorial with you all. I love making little Pillowcase dresses for my girls. I think they are so cute, and they are super simple. Trust me, when I started making them I had NO sewing experience. Now it takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish to make one of the super cute dresses.

Okay, to start you will need the material that you like. If you want something a little more unique, buy two materials that complement each other and use one as a border around the bottom of the dress.

Next, you need to figure out your measurements. The dress that I am making today will be for a size 3T, and the measurements that work for my little one are as follows:
Base material: 19 inches long
Border material: 5 inches long

When I buy my material, I use the width that comes off of the bolt, and cut the length.

So, I will try not to be confusing with this part. I love using this method to add the border, because it looks neater to me. Once you have measured and cut your material, you want to take the base material and roll it up from top to bottom. Then you want to take the border material and lay it flat with the right side of the material facing you. Place the rolled up piece of material on top of the border material and then fold it over. You should have a layer of border, one layer of base material, and then another layer of border material. Pin this all the way down.

Sew all the way across. Next you are going to turn it right side out.

Next press your material.

The next step is to add a seam to the dress so you end up with a tube.

Turn your material right side out and press.

Now, for the arm holes. For a size 3T I measure down 6.5 inches from the top of the dress and mark. Fold over the dress, so you can cut both sides at the same time.

Once you arms are cut, you need to make your bias tape. You can use the kind that you purchase, but I like to take some of the extra material and make my own. It really is very simple. Cut a strip of material that will be long enough to go around the entire arm hole. Next, fold each side in, and then fold in half and press. Place on the raw edge of the arm holes and sew on.

The next step is the top of the dress. Fold the top over once and press, then fold it over again and press. You are making a casing for the ribbon. Make sure your casing is big enough to fit the ribbon through.

Sew across.

Next find ribbon that matches your dress. I take the ribbon and lay it across the top of the dress (the neck) and make it three times that length. That always ensures that I will have enough ribbon to make pretty bows. Place a safety pin in one end of the ribbon and use the pin to thread the ribbon through the casing.

Tie your bows, and ta-da you are done.

Show and Tell












Tales from Bloggeritaville
The Shabby Nest.

Shutter Headboard = $8.00!!

I have been posting a lot of home improvement projects lately. Since moving we have remodeled a bathroom, refinished the floors, and today I am going to share how I made a headboard out of old shutters.

Shutters are easy to find, you can usually find old ones at yard sales, or thrift stores. I found mine in the basement of our new house, so they were FREE!! I love FREE!!

So, the first thing you need to do is measure your bed, to find out how long your head board needs to be.

Next, find some old shutters. I used old wooden shutters, but if you have a different kind, they would work as well.

This is what I started out with.

Next you need to decide what color you want to paint your headboard.  I went with green.

The next step is to remove all of the hardware.  I took the hinges off of my shutters, but left the knobs and hooks.

I sprayed a couple of coats on the shutters and allowed them to dry completely.

Next you will need some scrap wood.  We had some left over from other projects, so we cut it to fit the length of the shutters and attached it to the back using screws.  I also added a small 2*2 near the top to sturdy it up, and allow for a place to insert hooks.

At the top of my headboard I added a piece of molding, this was also left over from a different project.  I attached it with small finishing nails.

Then I applied my final coat of paint.

This is a picture of the finished product hanging in my bedroom.  I know the comforter does not match, but I am still looking for a new one.

So these are my expenses the headboard project:
Shutters = FREE
Molding = FREE
Nails = Left over from another project
Screws = Left over from another project
Paint = (2) cans of Valspar spray paint around $4.00 each

Total = $8.00 for a new headboard!! I personally love the way it turned out.  It looks unique and original, and it definitely has character.

Do you have a creative headboard?  If so leave a comment or link and share it.