First attempt: Pillow sham

I've been wanting a cute decorative pillow for the bed in my guest bedroom.  Hobby Lobby had some super cute Burlap Paris Themed pillows, but I didn't want to pay $30 for one.  I love the look of burlap, and it's so cheap.  

I still had some of the black and white ticking fabric left over from my headboard, so I decided to use that to keep with the theme, and add a little square of burlap on the front.  I wanted the burlap to have some sort of Paris design on it, but still simple.  So, I googled Paris Text, and found the word "Paris" written in a cute font.  I enlarged it to where I wanted it, and printed it out.  Burlap is pretty transparent, so I just laid it over the paper, and traced with a sharpie.

Here's how it turned out.  I pinned it to the fabric, and then stitched it on.

To make the sham, I took two pieces for the back side, and folded and pressed an edge on each.  

I stitched those edges.

Next, I overlapped the edges so that the front piece would be in the center.  To do this, I measured how long the piece should be.  This pillow was 18 x 18, so I needed the length here to be 19".  I made sure the front seam was at about 9".  I didn't take a picture of the next step, but I just stitched the top and bottom to make sure the pieces stayed together.

Afterwards I sewed it together like any other pillow. 

Here is the finished product:

FRONT:

BACK:

Here's how it looks with my headboard:

First projects in the new home - Tufted Headboard

After tackling the Living Room, we moved on to crafting a tufted headboard for my Guest Bedroom.  I've been wanting to do this for a while ever since I saw it on centsational girl's site.  This is really easy, and not at all pricey.  Here's our list of materials:

1 sheet of 1/2" plywood - Our's cost $17.00, and they cut it for free at Home Depot.
1-2" foam, cut to size - Bought at Hobby Lobby for $17.00
spray adhesive - Hobby Lobby - $5.00
batting - Hobby Lobby - $10.00
staple gun - You can buy them cheap, but I borrowed my Father-in-Law's until I get my own.
Darning Needle and Thread - Darning needles are just longer and easier to thread.
Button making kit - Hobby Lobby - $5.00
Drill with drill bits
D-Ring picture holders

I do regret that I didn't take step by step pictures, but if you want to know how to do it, go to centsational girl's site - but beware!  You'll get carried away!

Here's how we did it:

1. We laid out the board and measured and drilled holes for the buttons using a drill and drill bit - I don't remember what size.
2. Laid the foam  on top and cut it to size.
3. Sprayed the board with spray adhesive and applied the foam.
4. Rolled the batting  out on the floor and wrapped it around the board.  We stapled the middle sections first, making sure to pull tight.
5. Rolled the fabric over the batting and stapled to the back, middle sections first, pulled tight.

6. Made the buttons using the left over fabric.  Follow directions on the button kit.
7. Stuck needle and thread through the holes in the back, and through the button.  Pulled tight until button pulled into the foam.  Tied knots in the string, and stapled at the knot, and then pulled the string in the opposite direction, and knotting and stapling again.

8. Screw in the D-Ring Picture hangers, and hung it on the wall!

I love the way it looks, and it brings in the same ticking fabric in my quilt on the bed - that my mom made! It's coming together!