Recycle a Sweater for Home Decor

October 27, 2020October 26, 20202 Comments

Good morning! The days and nights are getting chillier! I do like fall, but I am not looking forward to winter. I don’t like the cold, dark and dreary days and the way it get dark so early. I am looking forward to the holidays though and being with my sweet family!

Have you ever recycled a piece of worn out clothing into something for your home? Sounds kind of crazy, but I have done this a few times. Mostly to make pillows out of, but this time I did something different. This sweater had a hole in the neckline, so it wasn’t wearable, but I liked the stripes and the colors of the fabric, so I chose to make a small stuffed pumpkin pillow with it.

I found a pumpkin pattern online and printed it out. Then I traced it onto the sweater with a piece of chalk.

I cut through both layers of the fabric so I would have two identical pieces. I sewed the pieces together, leaving an one inch opening at the bottom.

I stuffed the pumpkin and then hand stitched the opening closed. I cut out a stem from felt and found some embroidery thread in the same yellow color.

This part was a little difficult, but I stitched lines through all the layers using a long stitch. It was kind of hard keeping nice stitches, but with all the puffiness, you can’t really tell. Don’t be too hard on yourself!

Whew! Made it! Now just add the stem. I glued mine, but you could stitch it on too.

Once the pumpkin was finished, I placed it on my mantle with a few other fall items.

It gives a little spot of color in an otherwise neutral mantle.

I would love to know if you have recycled any clothing to create some home decor! Let me know! Have a wonderful day!

Here are some other posts you may have missed:

Dio de la Muertos Shadowbox

September 21, 2020September 19, 2020Leave a comment

Good morning! We finally had a cool off!! The smoke is disappearing, there is a small breeze and the weather is beautiful! I’m not sure how long it will last, but I will enjoy it while I can!

Have you started thinking about fall yet? I added some neutral decor, so not too fallish yet, but I couldn’t wait to make something to add to my CoCo and Dio de la Muertos Ofrenda table.

I found this small shadowbox at a local thrift store. I originally bought it for something else, but the pieces I was going to add to it were too big. So after wandering through the 99 Cent Store, I was inspired by all the Day of the Dead decor. The first step was to paint the shadowbox black. Of course, I used spray paint. 🙂

It was difficult to find items small enough to fit into the spaces, but I was able to find a couple of skeletons, cat salt and pepper shakers, and brightly colored flowers. Then I went through my scrapbooking paper to find paper for the backgrounds.

I cut out a piece of heavy weight paper to cover the heart at the top of the house. Then I covered that paper with floral and polka-dot paper.

The skeletons were actually the little solar things you put in your window and they dance, but I cut off the bottom part and then hot glued the skeletons into the top section of the house. I also added some turquoise rhinestones.

I cut the flowers off the stems and then glued them around the top edge of the house. You can see the rest of the paper that I chose for each square too. The black and white toile paper reminds me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

I had to add a dog to the box and because he was a little bit bigger he got the middle spot. I also gave him a black velvet bow.

One of the black cats was added to a spot with a pretty pink flower on its collar.

I had this paper stamped with the lock already in my stash and then added the key and the rhinestones.

I couldn’t find another small item, so I made this little sombrero out of felt, ribbon and trim.

I found the little dollhouse chair at the Dollar Store, spray-painted it black and glued the skeleton onto the seat.

I added it to the other items I already had on my entryway table. I will be sharing the the Dio de la Muertos hanging next week.

I hope I can find more shadowboxes and create different ones for holidays and seasons. I think one with pumpkins and little trucks would be so cute!

Thank you for stopping by today! Hope you have a great week!

Happy Labor Day plus a Fall Roundup

September 7, 2020September 6, 2020Leave a comment

Happy Labor Day to all those in the U.S.! I hope you aren’t having to labor too hard! This is the unofficial start to fall for most of us, so I thought I would share some of my past posts with you. Hopefully you will find some inspiration! Just click on the picture to be taken to the original post.

Pumpkins and Peacock Feathers Tablescape

I loved this one! The colors are so pretty for fall!

Dollar Tree Fall Rake Makeover

This is a great way to recycle an old garden tool and make it something pretty for you porch or patio.

Living Room Fall Tour

This was my very first fall tour! It’s funny how many of these decor items I still use! You don’t have to buy all new items for the season. You can re-use what you have, just in different ways.

Welcome Fall!

I had forgotten about this tablescape! I love how this turned out! I have these same plates on my table today!

Bringing Fall to the Back Porch

I really enjoyed decorating the back porch. It was such a pleasure to look out the back door and seeing the pumpkins and flowers.

Thrift Store Pumpkin Makeover

I always find ‘treasures’ at the thrift store, but they don’t always look quite the way I would like. I gave this one a little makeover!

Neutral Decor Book Page Mobile

This is a cute and simple project and you could use so many different items to make the leaves. I used book pages, but you could use paper or silk leaves like I did below, or even magazine pages.

Falling Leaves Door Hanging

I had all the items I needed for this project, but you can find similar items in your yard and the Dollar Tree.

Decoupage Pumpkin with Maps

This is another quick and easy project to do this fall. Again, you can use any type of paper to cover you pumpkin and personalize it to what you like!

I hope you enjoyed this round up! Happy fall!

Bringing Fall to the Back Porch

October 7, 2019October 5, 20194 Comments

Good morning! I know I have been away for a bit and I am trying to get back in the swing of teaching and blogging. So far, teaching is winning out! 🙂 I have all sorts of projects spinning round in my head, but by the time I am done teaching, I don’t have much energy left. Thanks for sticking with me though. I will be trying to get a few more projects out to you all!

I was looking back through my posts from last year and saw this one. I liked this one so much, I thought I would share it with you again.

A few weeks ago, I bought a variety of pumpkins, both small and big. I had to buy them at the supermarket, since our pumpkin patches weren’t open yet. Lol.

I used them on my back patio. I actually see my back patio more than the front, and I wanted to be able to enjoy the fall decor all season.

I used little white pumpkins along with faux leaves and acorns in a glass container.

I added a couple more pumpkins to my potting bench too. I made my acorn garland a few years ago, using the acorns from the oak tree in our old backyard.

There are so many ways to decorate with pumpkins all over the house or outside. I like setting one on top of a terracotta pot for the different textures.

I hung up this old window from the edge of the patio. I love the chippiness and the charm it brings to my outdoor space.

A big orange striped pillow, a soft throw, and a few pumpkins make this a cozy place to hang out.

Aren’t these mugs adorable?! I found these at #HomeGoods. They had dogs on them, so I had to get them!

The dogs enjoy being out here too!

I kept things really simple. Just adding small touches here and there.

Tucking a small pumpkin into your potted plants is a great place to add fall to your decor too.

It’s so nice to look out the window and see touches of fall. Thank you again for stopping by!

Non-Carved Pumpkin Round Up

September 27, 2019September 24, 20194 Comments

Hello! How has everyone’s week been? I took a day trip up to Yosemite with a friend of mine which was super nice and fun. We had a wonderful time up in the mountains away from the heat so it was relaxing.

This week we are showing off some really cool pumpkins that don’t require any carving. These are the kind of pumpkins I like because I absolutely despise carving. I cannot stand gutting a pumpkin so I much prefer decorating them. So here are some cute ideas if you are like me and can’t stand carving. Enjoy!