This past summer Robert and I went on a weekend trip to the Lake of the Ozarks with friends for some boating fun. We took our pillows with us. And silly me completely forgot to bring the pillows with us. So the motel got a much needed set of very nice pillows….along with my really nice pillowcases!

So this weekend I finally got around to just making me up a set of new ones. I don’t know about you but nice bed linens are really expensive.  Pretty easy and fast to throw together. Used contrasting fabric that has been sitting on my shelf since last spring. The white cotton muslin I also had on hand.

Do you have some spare fabric laying around that is collecting dust? There are great tutorials out there on making pillowcases. Lazy Girl has written a basic pillowcase tutorial that is very similar to the one I made. Lazy Girl Pillowcase Tutorial

And for the more advanced seamstress, here is a fancy, cuter than ever shabby chic pillowcase: The Lazy Organizer Pillowcase Tutorial. I think these are more for looking pretty than sleeping on

I was invited to participate at Fave Crafts in their presentation of sewing tutorials for the holiday.

I took an apron already in my supply of inventory and here is the result.  Click on the link to view:

http://www.favecrafts.com/Holiday-Sewing/Holiday-Apron-Tutorial

I am going to take some time this week to keep my promise to show you the process of making my small apartment home.  I completed the kitchen and showed you that now it is time to focus on the living room that adjoins the kitchen area.  The room measures 12‘.6” long by 10‘.6” wide. Here was how it looked before I started.  As you can see the kitchen and the living area adjoin very typical for an apartment.

Now here is the finished picture!

I already had all of the furniture so the new additions to the room were limited to a new area rug and lamp and of course a beautiful white hen and rooster.

I absolutely love it and think my basic pieces are great but the warmth of the room came when I added the area rug and curtains. Those items gave the classy, casual and cozy, look I enjoy. More photos up close.

A few details you might want to know.  I made the curtain topper  from 3 yards of black silk that was 60” wide, folded in half lengthwise I then created a rod pocket, added fringe, rings and cording every 24 inches and very simply had elegant yet casual looking curtain treatments over my JC Penny sheers.  The silk fabric was $7.99 a yard and the fringe was $15.99 a yard.  Purchasing both of them on sale at 50% off gave me a tremendous savings for a final cost of $36.00. If I had purchased anything similar in the stores my cost would have been 4 to 5 times more at least.  Curtains are so easy and I continue to urge you to give it a try next time you do your windows.

Area rugs are one of the cheapest ways we have to warm up a room.  This 9 x 11 rug was purchased at a discount upholstery and rug shop in Overland Park for slightly less than $150.00 but worth every penny for the comfort, cozy look and the quietness it brings to the room from the noises below me.  Always look for area rugs at discount prices otherwise they are not affordable additions; at least not on my budget.

Well long blog but hope when you drop by for coffee and cheesecake you will find this room inviting for chit chat about the latest in blog world, USA.

Hey girlfriends! Mom and I made a fall wreath this week as part of our “make time for retirement” project. Meaning we need to make time to enjoy the little things we love to do and not be so busy we forget to spend time together. I’m sure many of you know exactly what I mean.

So this week we decided to make a fall wreath, because I wanted one for my barren front door. Mom picked up several fall floral picks from her favorite shop for $21.00. It doesn’t take much to fill in a wreath. You don’t want it to look overdone. I picked up a wispy grapevine wreath at Hobby Lobby for less than $6.00.

We went into my own garden and snipped some bittersweet berries – price free! And I love that it has something from my very own garden tucked in.

Now all we need is a little creative spirit, along with the magical hot glue gun, and we’re in business. We finished this up in less than an hour and had lots of fun getting to create it ourselves. See what you think!

A warm and inviting welcome to my guests and visitors, don’t you think?

I made this bit of wall art a few years ago when I redecorated my home office. I wanted something that represented how I feel when I’m in this room.

I purchased the wood letters from Hobby Lobby for $1.00 each. Then I picked up a package of coordinating scrapbook craft paper. I took each letter and placed it on the paper and drew around the letter with a pencil, then cut the letter out using the drawn lines.

Next step was to use craft glue to adhere the paper to the wood letters. I placed a towel over the letters to press the paper down firmly to make sure it adhered well. There were a few spots where a little paper was hanging over. Using an exacto knife I was easily able to trim up the excess edges. They are hung on the wall using finishing nails. Easy project with big impact.

Step 1:  Sew the seam with the wrong sides of the fabric together. Press the seam to the back not open.

Step 2:  Trim the back seam allowance to ¼“ being careful to cut only the front section. Press the seam allowance to the back side.

I use my cutting guide to lay over the seam to ensure I am getting the 1/4″ and a straight line!

Step 3:  Press the larger seam allowance over the trimmed seam allowance, completely enclosing the ¼ “ seam. Press the turned under seam allowance flat since this is how the finished seam will be sewn.

Step 4:  Once you have turned and pressed the seam, you want to top stitch the pressed under seam allowance 1/8” from the folded edge or as close as possible.

Step 5:  Stitch 1/8″ in from, and parallel to, the original seam along the entire length of the flattened fold. Both finished top stitch lines can now be seen on the right side of the fabric.

Check out the finished product! You can download a PDF printable version of this tutorial by clicking the link under the Tutorials section.

I have only one potted plant this year. I skimped and didn’t make up a lot of garden pots. If you know me, I have a very green thumb in Mother Nature’s soil, not so much when it comes to potted plants, especially the indoor variety. Mostly because I am awful at remembering or taking time to water them.

Back to my one potted plant of lavender. It sits beside my Adirondack chairs on the patio. Every night when we cook dinner, I swipe my hands through it and cup my nose so I can breathe in that fresh scent. Lavender has so many uses including aromatherapy, medicines, bath and body products, teas, used in cooking, and the scent is also thought to help alleviate symptoms of depression.

I enjoy lavender so much I thought I’d do a virtual shopping spree of lavender items. And why not share my findings too! Maybe there’s something in here you’d love to have too!

Lavender Soap from TenDigitCreations. The first thing that caught my eye on this was the fascinating swirls whipped through this luscious bar of soap. Made of olive oil, coconut oil and shea butter, I bet it makes the skin soft and smooth like the skin of a baby!

Then there is the Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies from Whimsy and Spice, although they had MANY cookie flavors in their store I wanted to try out, believe me.

Organic chamomile/lavender tea, the perfect compliment to those shortbread cookies above, especially when it comes from the Looseleaf’s shop. Loose leaf tea so reminds me of my trip to England and having afternoon tea.

This beautifully embroidered lavender pillow from Shams and Coverups would hang nicely in the closet to keep your cloths smelling fresh, hang it on our bedpost by your pillow, or give as a gift. I personally LOVE the lavender embroidery detail, so pretty and feminine.

These sweet sachets from The Cottage Cupboard are smaller in size than the pillow above,  perfect for placing in your lingerie drawer or tossing into your bath water.

These lavender filled eco-friendly sachets from Refabulous– oh I so want a batch of these for myself!  The fact they are made from reclaimed fabric is just an extra bonus. Just think how wonderful they’d make your bed sheets smell.

If you’re a crafter like me and looking for bulk lavender at an affordable price, I can attest to the lavender sold by Sav-On-Crafts. As soon as I picked up my UPS box off the front step, I could smell the aroma of lavender long before I opened the package. Quality lavender with a wonderful scent. Plus they sell a variety of lavenders so there is plenty to choose from. The hard part is making a decision. PS: Be sure to check out their tutorial section including one on making lavender sachets and eye pillows.

This time of year, and especially with our very mild weather, some of my bushes and trees have grown in leaps and bounds. It is time to prune some of them back. But before you just throw all those branches away, reconsider making a beautiful floral arrangement with them.

Today I used the shrubs ninebark, variegated red twig dogwood, and pee-gee hydrangea bush. Grab a nice sized, tall vase with a smallish mouth to it. This will help hold your branches upright. This is one I picked up at Old World Pottery for $7. Fill it with cool water so it will be ready for your branches.

Pick 3 bushes in your own yard (or two bushes and one flower, or whatever combination you like). I do things in 3 because it creates visual interest. The human eye is drawn to odd numbered items. Since I’m an oddball that is easy for me to do! Strip the leaves off the bottom third of each stem.

Take the type of branches, in my case the red twig dogwood, and place in the vase keeping the tallest branches in the center. Now add the 2^nd type of branches and fill in between the first set, still keeping the taller ones to the center area. Your arrangement will look something like this.

Add the third item to the arrangement, in my case it was the pee-gee hydrangea. I cut all the blooms on the back and low side of the shrub that I can’t see and never get to really enjoy anyway. Might as well bring them in where they can be appreciated.

Clean up is in order. Take your clippings and throw them away. If they aren’t diseased at all, put them on your composte piles. Then grab your camera, step back and enjoy what an easy arrangement you just made. I plan on leaving mine on the deck to enjoy because the pee-gee hydrangeas have a tendency to make more of a a mess than I like to clean up Here are some of my finishing photos. I personally like the one that is a view through the door to my kitchen. Very inviting isn’t it. Wish you could all come over for morning coffee and enjoy it with me.

And finally, just as I was getting ready to put everything away, the morning sunshine peeked through and created such a warm backdrop to the arrangement, I couldn’t help but take ONE more picture

I hope you enjoyed our little flower arrangement tutorial. I’m not a professional gardener or florist. I just like to look at pretty things and this is a way I can enjoy a little longer some of the extras I have in my own gardens. Have your own cut floral bouquet you’d like to share with us? Drop us a note in the comments with a link to your photos. We’d love to see them!