DIY Outdoor Pillows: The 15 Minute Tablecloth and Plastic Bag Method

A few weeks back I shared my ideas for a backyard patio mini makeover.  Well, I'm happy to say they're finally coming along.  I'll be sharing more on the full progress in another post, but today I want to talk about pillows and pops of color.

7 {Amazing} DIY Pillows

If you stopped by last week's Link It or Lump It link party you may have noticed couldn't miss all the amazing projects...among them were a bunch of really awesome DIY pillows.  I am a huge pillow fan (and actually sell a bunch in my Etsy Shop) so I thought it would be fun to do a quick roundup of all the great DIY pillows that were shared last week at the link party.

Be sure to click through on your favorites to read the full tutorial! 

Michelle Lea Designs gives a wonderful step-by-step tutorial on making these fun pillows for the perfect pop.  

I absolutely adore this precious pillow made by Maddie Moes.  How sweet is that?! And I love the personalization!

Seasoned Homemaker shared her lovely DIY throw pillows...along with a great tutorial on how to add pipping. That little detail really gives these pillows the professional look! 

Are you ready for some awesomeness? Look what Muslin and Merlot did with an old zip up hoody? How stinkin' genius is that?  Very impressive!

Chantilly Charm shared this beautiful bunny pillow.  That tail!!! 

The Swafty Blog linked up this DIY pillow tutorial...where the supply list includes mod podge, tape and paint! Awesome.

Keeping up with the animal theme we have going here...Alicia Never Sleeps created this really cute DIY Graphic Lamb Pillow.  It's perfect for spring.

Thanks for stopping by 2IY! If you like what you see, we'd love for you to pin it!

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How to cut burlap without fraying (and straight)

It only took me countless burlap projects and even more times emptying my burlap fuzz-filled vacuum cleaner to figure this out - but I have finally found the trick to cutting burlap without it fraying.  What's even better is this method also guarantees a straight cut on this notoriously hard-to-cut fabric.

Lay the burlap out on a flat surface and use a tape measure to determine exactly where you want to cut the burlap.

DIY Burlap Christmas Pillows

So me and burlap are like BFFs right about now.  We've been spending some major time together...most recently I created these cute burlap Christmas pillows.   They were super easy and fast to make and they're great for both indoors or outdoors.

Of course, I turned to my trusty Powerpoint to create the design. There are tons of free Christmas fonts out there on the good ol' WWW... so find your favorite, download it and install it into your font book...then get to work.  

I started with the 'Jingle' pillow inspired by Pottery Barn's jingle bell pillow.   When you're creating your design, leave a little space around the outside so you can sew it onto the pillow without stitching on the design.

When my design was ready to go, I printed it right on a piece of burlap.  If you're a loyal 2IY reader (you aren't? You totally should be!!!) you know the drill by now about how to print on burlap.  If not, it's cool I forgive you just go >> here << and learn how to print on burlap using your home printer.

DIY M&M Halloween Costume with Matching Hair Bows

A few Halloweens back my then-two year old daughter wanted to be an orange M&M. (This was a definite nod to her potty training incentive.) I whipped up a little costume for her - complete with M&M hair bows and it was adorable and very easy to make.   I'll try to explain as best as I can without my usual step-by-step photos to go along with what I'm talking about.

Supply list: 

• 2 Yards of fabric in your choice of M&M colors
• A quarter yard of white felt or two felt pieces 
• Spray adhesive (If your felt is not self-adhesive.  I recommend not using the self-adhesive felt.)
• Sewing machine
• Coordinating thread
• Fiber Stuffing

Start by cutting out four circles.  They should all be the same size.  I made mine 20" in diameter...but feel free to adjust smaller or large depending on the age and size of your child (or yourself...hehe).

Once you have all four circles cut out, cut two strips about 9" long and 2.5" wide.  These will be the shoulder straps.  Fold each strip in half longways so it's now about 1.25" wide.  Sew together the two edges and flip the strap right side out so the seam is on the inside.   Repeat on the other strap.  Leave the straps to the side for now.

15 Minute Window Valance (and DIY coordinating accessories)

You guessed it...it's another addition to the $100 bathroom makeover.   This was actually an edit that I made after being unhappy with the original stenciled drop cloth valance I made.  The drop cloth curtain didn't cost me anything because I already had the drop cloth, but this guy only cost me $4.25 (the cost of half a yard of this gorgeous HGTV/Waverly fabric between a sale and coupon).  I'm certainly glad I splurged because this little piece of fabric makes the bathroom for me!

Unfortunately, I didn't take many any pictures as I made the new valance because I was kind of just wingin' it, but since I've had a few requests for the tutorial I'll try to explain how I did it as best as I can using a few graphics. 

The curtain rod (aka dowel) was already hanging over the window so the easiest way for me to measure how wide I needed my valance was to actually mark right on the rod the inside points were the rod holders hit. My window measurement came to 27". 

A half a yard is 18 inches and the fabric comes standard 54" wide on a roll, not a bolt.  Let the graphics parade begin...