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Making Peace with My Sofa: Freshened Up for Spring

March 21, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I want new furniture.  There it’s out there, now you know.  What?  Not the first time I have mentioned it?  OK, guilty.

Here is the living room just mid January:

But what I want more than furniture is a super fun vacation with my family (more on that later).  So the funds are already being spent on something more important.  Also, you may recall frugality is seriously hip right now on Wilbur Road;  I just don’t think that the living room will see a new sofa in 2012. I am OK with that.

Truth be told, if I had found a sofa that I just LOVED, I would spend the money anyway.  But I have not found my long-lost sofa-mate.  To me, if I am going to lay down a cool grand (or more?) for a sofa I had better LOVE it.

So for now, I am making peace with my living room furniture.  Love the one(s) you’re with, right?  So I decided to whip up a few envelope pillow covers, in whimsical fabrics that just say spring to me.

I found all of the fabrics at Joann, all 9.99/yd, on sale 30% off.   These prints  remind Liz of jelly beans. They had so many adorable, whimsical, fantastic choices.  Seriously.  I was thrilled.  It is a really nice heavy canvas-y type home decor fabric.  I had to whittle my choices down to these.  My pillows are down filled from IKEA, in various sizes.  The next time I am there (about once a year) I must be reminded to purchase 4 more 20×20 down pillows.

I really like this “chevron-ish” zig-zag pattern.  After discount, I am going to guess-timate the cost of recovering this pillow to be about $6.00.  I am will to spend $6.00 and a half an hour on trendy fabric.  I am not however, willing to spend $26.  I am… cheap frugal.  And I am happy to report that I am actually pleased with how these turned out.  Which, I must say is odd for me, because I usually hate most things that I sew.   The other (blue on cream) pillow is from Target, circa 2011.

If you are looking for a tutorial on sewing envelope pillow covers, there are a few on my decorating Pinterest board here.  I am not slowing down for a tutorial right now ladies….

It feels fresh to me, and that feels good.  A bit more cheerful, with a definite air of spring.  I think I have made peace with my sofa, at least for the time being.

Happy Spring cleaning and decorating!

Jay

linking up at:

tatertots and jello

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Wake Up! A Simple Spring-time Mantel

March 20, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Happy First Day of Spring!

The daffodil fields are popping, the trees are alive with buds, and signs of growth and change surround us here on Wilbur Road.  Yes, it will rain for many more months to come here in the great Pacific Northwest, but we will choose to embrace these signs of spring and be patient for warmer days.  Either that or we will pack up the car and head to warmer climes for Spring break.

But I digress…

I felt that the mantel deserved a simple display for spring, along with a sweet, quiet message.  I had originally written “GROW” on the chalkboard.  Just a simple word of encouragement, one that could be interpreted by the reader in whichever way they chose.  “GROW little flowers”, “GROW in your spirit”, “GROW in your work”.  You get the idea.

But my dear sweet 14 year-old son was not impressed.  I am pretty sure he though it was L-A-M-E.

Buddy: “What’s that about?”

Me: “Huh? What? Grow… you know it’s spring, Grow.  It’s a simple message for Spring”

Buddy: “Really?”

Me: “What, no?”

Buddy: “No, Mom.”

Right about now I am kinda taken aback. 

I had no idea he was really paying attention to all my mantel tomfoolery. 

“Alright, what do you think it should say?”

And without hesitation he blurts out:

And he says it with conviction, which I am totally digging.  And yet again I am reminded that these kiddos of mine are smarter than me and much more clever.  I dig that even more.

So there you have it.  Two bunches of tulips, 3 bunches of daffodils, everything else was found elsewhere in the house.  No glitter, no party lights, just a simple, startling call to WAKE UP!  Love it, Buddy!

Want to see the daffodil fields in all their glory?

Visit my Scenes from the Field posts here and here.  You can see them come alive, wake up if you will.  You can even see them in the snow here. 

And my past mantels which were decidedly less SIMPLE are here (St. Pat’s), here (Mardi Gras) and here (Valentines’s Day). 

Thanks for visiting,

Jay

Linking up at:

the lettered cottage       52 mantels

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