Jac Crafts: December 2014

I found this fabric early this summer and kind of fell in love. I used it,..a lot. First I made a lumbar pillow then had my mother-in-law make a throw for the bed...then I made burlap stockings with ticking for trim. I made a lamp cover for my bedroom light, and I'm sure I've put it elsewhere in my home.

Well, being the Christmas season I wanted to make some Christmas covers for my pillows (my living room definitely has more of a summer, beachy feel. Let's admit basically my whole house is going by that theme). So, what did I do...I found the ticking fabric in RED!

So, I made some easy pillow covers. These are great because I can slip them on without having to unstitch anything, they are great!! I didn't follow any tutorial or pattern, I just kind of figured it out by myself, but this is basically the same as what I did. Seriously, SOOO easy (one piece of fabric, hems and two stitches and you're done!). I probably did the two in less than 30 minutes!

I threw those covers on my pillows and thought they looked good, but not finished, so I tied a red ribbon around them. There. Finished.

Now, for my lumbar pillow. I was going to do grommets (like my original lumbar pillow), but didn't have enough. So, I did a big stitch along the ends so I can uncover it easily. Again, done with the sewing, but the pillow just wasn't finished. I didn't have any more red ribbon...so I used what I loved almost as much as that ticker fabric. TWINE! Now, don't buy the expensive craft twine, head over to the hardware section of Walmart & get the twisted jute twine ...190 feet for less than $2.

Anyway, I tied some twine onto that pillow and voila, done.

Now for the stockings. I spend an bundle at Target trying to find the right stocking holders. I don't have a mantle, I have a picture shelf from Ikea. The downside is it has a lip, so no stocking holders fit. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do when I remembered how the stockings were hung at my house growing up. Eye hooks. You can get them at any hardware store for pretty cheap. Easy to put up & hardly noticeable.

I debated on how to individualize each stocking. Do I sew a letter on each? Add a letter hanging? I decided to add the letter hanging would be easiest. I bought the letter at Walmart for less that $2 each, Originally I painted them silver, but it totally clashed! So, I spray painted them white. Much better. I used my favorite twine to hang them originally, but when I had extra ticking fabric. I totally had to use it. I made these and absolutely love how they turned out. I think the stockings are my favorite part!

Next are presents. I have always loved the simple brown paper & silver bags to wrap presents. It's timeless, yet simple. Once again, my fetish with twine took over and I added it to the presents. I had this red metal star that had jingle bells on it. They were coming off and I thought, "What the heck, let's add a little embellishment." So each present got one [plus it masks the sound if anyone tries to go snooping]. I love how they turned out. When I ran out of red, I just bought some small ones at JoAnn. They were on clearance so I bought two packs.

The letters are just white vinyl. I stole this idea from a friend, you can use vinyl, cardstock, regular paper, whatever to do this. I cut them out on my Cricut, using the Classic Cricut Font. Love how they turned out.

Now for a few more decorations. I had just a bit extra of the ticking fabric, so I added some here to pull in the lamp table. I added the star to give it a little more festivity than just the monkey knots...

My rocking chair looked a little bare. It needed some red ticking fabric too...

I still think this piece needs a little something, maybe some cute red or tan buttons in the corners or a red ribbon? Not quite sure yet.

And with the little extra ...

Can't forget the door

And just for fun, the trees I spent HOURS on last year.

And you have to have a place for all those Christmas books. I am SO SO pleased with how this bookshelf turned out. My husband built it the beginning of this year & I absolutely love it. He is amazing!!!