Tag: flower

Interior Decorating

Pillow Talk

Jessica Smith

I mentioned in my post yesterday that one of my areas of focus for my living room is adding punches of color. I have set my sights on finding the perfect pillows for my mint couch that aren’t just some shade of mint or gray. It’s been a challenge because the mint couch has a dingy gray tone to it that is incredibly noticeable when next to bright fabrics.

Pillows

I spent some time in Photoshop to try to get a better feel for how some of these pillows will actually look against the couch. Here’s what I came up with:

Option 1 pulls in some navy, green and coral. I love the poppy pillow and I think it will look really nice with the mint and teal chevron pillows I already have on the couch. I also like that the base of the pillow is white, so they are bright. I love the navy pillows, but since I am trying to brighten the space I think I’ll stay away from these for now.

Couch_Option1

Option 2 is just the poppy pillow. It pulls out the grays in my other pillows and makes the poppy pillow the true statement on the couch.

Couch_Option2

Option 3 adds in a pillow with no mint or teal at all. *Gasp* And I like it! I like that both accent pillows have flowers, but not in the same way.

Couch_Option3

Here’s a bunch of the other pillows I “tried” on the couch. I love each of them, but not on the couch (and certainly not together). The pillow in the center is the one I was originally going to purchase, but once I “tried” it on the couch, I’m not so crazy about it anymore. Glad I pillow tested.

Couch_Option4

My last option is buying two of the poppy pillow. I think I’m going to buy just one first (it comes in many different sizes from this Etsy shop) to make sure I like it in person. If that works out, I might add additional pillows.

Couch_Option5

As silly as it seems, I actually think having the coral on the couch is going to change the room a lot. If I learned anything from my class, it’s that color can make or break a room. Time to get my colors just right!

Christmas, Craft Projects, DIY GIFT GUIDE, Gift Idea, Holiday, Wine Crafts

DIY GIFT GUIDE: Eucalyptus Christmas Tree

Jessica Smith

Eucalyptus Tree Gift Guide

Today I’m sharing a Christmas decoration that would make a great gift. This project was a pain in the butt, but SO worth it. So only make it for someone you really really like :p

Supplies:

  • 1 tree form
  • Eucalyptus (you can grab this from Michaels or any craft store that sells floral stuff)
  • Staples
  • Hot Glue
  • Corks
  • Tacks
  • Ribbon
  • Teal feathers

Steps:

  1. Rip the leaves off of your eucalyptus plant.
  2. Turn your tree base upside down and start to attach the eucalyptus. I did a mixture of staples stuck into the styrofoam, hot glue and some bent wire. Really anything I had at my workbench that would make the leaves stick. Go around and around and around and around until you reach the top.Eucalyptus Tree BaseEucalyptus Tree LeavesEucalyptus Tree Leaves2
  3. Once the leaves are covering the tree, glue corks to the bottom. I chose to place mine at the outer edge of the base of the tree so no white showed. You could place yours in the middle if you wanted it to be more like a real tree.
  4. Fill in any holes/white spots using teal feathers and small dabs of hot glue.
  5. Embellish with silver tacks to look like ornaments. You can use these to strategically pin down any loose leaves, too.
  6. Wrap your ribbon around the top of the tree and secure with glue.
  7. Stick your choice of topper into the top of the tree. I used a flower I had snagged on clearance a while ago. I stuck it into the top of the three using a nail.
  8. Admire your adorable-yet-not-too-Christmasy tree!Eucalyptus TreeEucalyptus Tree2
Craft Projects

No-Sew Tablecloth

Jessica Smith

No-Sew Tablecloth

We needed a new tablecloth in the Smith household BIG TIME. I only have one tablecloth that I like, and therefore only one that I use. So I am always always always washing the darn thing. But I love it! Too bad no one sells any cute tablecloths anymore. Target let me down. Amazon let me down. WalMart let me down. Everything else is either way expensive (and still ugly) or some plain color (boring).

So my neighbor and I went fabric shopping and we found an awesome fabric that picks up the blues I love and the green in the kitchen. Perfecto!

No-Sew Tablecloth hem tape

We also found some SUPER hem tape that is able to be washed — totally necessary for a tablecloth.

Here are your directions to make your own tablecloth. Buy fabric. Buy hem tape. Iron a hem. Iron in hem tape. DONE!

Make sure you are hemming the nice part of the fabric onto the underneath of the fabric.

No-Sew Tablecloth iron

For real, it is that easy, although it does take about an hour. I got two yards of fabric that was 54″ wide — I didn’t trim any off for my rectangular tablecloth. Then, I started ironing a hem onto one edge. Don’t hate me for being the world’s best eyeballer, but I didn’t measure a single thing. I simply eyeballed all the way down the edge. It is freakishly straight.

No-Sew Tablecloth corner

The only tricky part about the tablecloth is the corner. Well, really all four of them. When you get to a corner, fold one edge over the other and cut at an angle. Put your hem tape and iron. Let it cool, then add more (if there are un-hemmed spots) and iron again.

Once your edges are all hemmed, iron the whole cloth and throw it onto your table!

No-Sew Tablecloth 1

Isn’t this fabric great?! I love how it pulls in the color of my kitchen.

No-Sew Tablecloth 2
Well, I bought four rolls of hem tape and only used one…. guess who is totally making another tablecloth…. if I can actually find another fabric I like. I am sooooo picky.

Have a great weekend!!!