Thursday, March 27, 2014

Hello, Spring!

In my neck of the woods, we had a lot of snow this year so I'm very excited that spring is finally here!  I decided to give my living room a quick refresh for spring by updating some cushion covers. 
 
 
 
First, I made new envelope pillow covers for the black & cream damask cushions on my couch.  The new fabric is called Emory Tangerine.  I bought it at my favorite local fabric store, U-Fab (they have an online store so you don't have to miss out if you're not local to Richmond).

BEFORE
AFTER
 
Next, I recovered the seat cushions of my rattan chairs in the same fabric.  I love how the tangerine breathes new life into the whole room.  If you'd like to make new covers for your seat cushions, check out this great tutorial from the Shabby Creek Cottage.
  
BEFORE

AFTER


Thursday, March 13, 2014

11 Budget Friendly Organization Ideas


1. Ikea Expedit for Toy Storage.  I covered a piece of foam core board in a cute chevron fabric and attached it to the back of the Expedit unit with screws to add a pop of color and to prevent toys from falling behind the shelves.  Then I made these matching labels using this free printable and attached them to the fabric bins with metal snaps and the plastic bins with stick on Velcro/ribbons.

2. Ikea Ribba picture ledges for children's book storage.  Books are on display, not hidden, making them more accessible to little hands.

3. DIY fabric storage bins for changing table.  I used this fantastic tutorial to make the storage bins on the changing table.  I winged the fabric inserts for the wire baskets on the wall.

4. DIY magazine files for mail sorting.  I used mod podge to cover these Ikea Flyt magazine files and I added these cute chalkboard labels that I made using this free printable



5. Store wrapping paper rolls within the brackets of existing wire shelves.  Most of us already have these hanging in closets/laundry rooms so this storage solution is completely FREE!

For dual purpose storage, hang spray cleaners from existing wire shelves. 

6. DIY fabric wall pockets.  I made these wall pockets with some leftover fabric to hold paper items in my craft cabinet.  Tutorial coming soon!

7. Store DVDs in baskets and label each basket with genre.

8. DIY Duplo table from Ikea Lack Table.  My friend gave me this great idea.  I just glued a Duplo base to the top of the Ikea Lack table and then added drawer slides from Lowes and an Ikea Trofast bin as a drawer to store the Duplos.  Total cost under $30! 


9. Shoe bags to store cleaning and personal care products.  These handy shoe bags are on the backs of all my closets doors and only one of them is actually used for shoes.  I store cleaning products, baby products, personal care items, and kids' are supplies in them.  
  
 10. Hang an outdoor wall planter beside the shower to hold washcloths.  I picked this one up at a local consignment store for under $10 and painted it with oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  It's so convenient to have the washcloths right beside the shower.
  
 11. DIY closet divider labels.  I mod podged cute patterned scrapbook papers to flat balsam wood ornaments to create these labels.  I cut the numbers out using my Cricut machine and attached them using mod podge.