PEACE Banner in Naturals and Blues

It may not have traditional Christmas colours, but this PEACE banner is the first thing I have made for Christmas decorating this year.





It is also the first indoor decoration we have in place. (Warning: Evening photos that are making my white living room walls look yellowy. I'll have to try again in daylight.)





I made this PEACE banner with items I already had in my craft supplies, so there was no new cost. I didn't have chipboard letters to glitter, so I used cardstock to print out large outlined letters on Microsoft Word. I cut the cardstock into squares making sure the letter was centered in each square. Using a small paintbrush I painted inside the outlined letter with white glue and poured on the Martha Stewart glitter in azure. If you miss a spot, just add more glue with the tip of the brush, and then pour on more glitter.





With blue accents in our living room, I decided on a natural and blue theme for this banner. My boys are taller than me, so they hung it up tonight, but I may adjust the height. 


I love the sparkle of the Martha Stewart azure glitter. With chipboard letters there would be more dimension and a layered look, but I'm happy with my make-do version. The loose weave burlap is cut from a roll of burlap from Michaels craft store (the same type I used on our Canadiana Christmas tree last year and our Cowboy Christmas Tree the year before.)





The little bows are a light blue sheer wire-edged ribbon.  





Wishing all my American blogging friends a Happy Thanksgiving! and PEACE! We are having a quiet weekend (our Thanksgiving here in Canada was back in October) but my sister, bil, and nieces are headed to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for a girl's hockey tournament.

I'm sharing with...
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
WOW us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Under $100 party at Beyond the Picket Fence
SNS at Funky Junk Interiors - Rustic/Natural/Burlap Christmas Decor 2011 Special
 

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PEACE Banner in Naturals and Blues

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Livestock and Farmer's Market Sign

We enjoy visiting Farmer's Markets and the livestock exchanges in both St. Jacobs and Keady, Ontario.  



I was looking for something to hang on this tall narrow wall at the cathedral end of our family room and kitchen and decided a hand painted sign would work. Simple and rustic, and reminding us of one of our favourite markets. I like how it looks with the white board and batten wall too.






I tried to make it look like an old and weathered local advertising sign, as if in it's previous life it was hanging on a building leading into Tara, Ontario. I'm happy with the results (even the crooked lettering~oops.)





The sign that inpired mine is in the great book Romantic Prairie Style by Fifi O'Neill. I painted the leftover board a slate grey colour and printed my lettering off on the computer. I traced the letters with sharp pencils to make a slight indent in the wood, and then carefully filled it in. These smaller letters were a bit more challenging. A quick sanding to distress and then a wipe on/wipe off of Minwax Special Walnut stain (if I was to do it again I would use a lighter stain on the grey paint.)





The best part is that it was made with stuff I already had on hand (leftover scrap of wood, latex and craft paints, stain, and picture hanger.)





I think it adds a bit of the rustic farmhouse feel that we love.

Linking my $0 sign with...
Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
WOW us Wednesday's at Savvy Southern Style
Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

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Livestock and Farmer's Market Sign

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Toile, Plaids and Checks for Fall

Toiles, plaids and checks in neutral tones are really appealing to me this season.




I sewed a new pillow using some toile rose fabric leftover from a friend and some strips of drop cloth (free fabric and pillow insert I had on hand, so the cost is $0.) I used the strips to surround the squares of toile and it reverses to the same pattern on the back. This pillow may appear in another room at some point because the colour and style would work in most rooms in our home, but for now it is on the rattan chair I slipcovered for in our living room.






The flannel throw is one I made two years ago (for around $25) and occasionally use as a table topper. I love the tans, greys and beiges in the plaids and checks and it is incredibly soft. Just perfect for snuggling on this cool and wet Autumn day.


I'm linking up to some of my favourite parties this weekend...
Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry
Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond The Picket Fence
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
White Wednesday at Faded Charm
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

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Toile, Plaids and Checks for Fall

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Halloween Bunting and Stepping Into Etsy

It still feels like summer, Fall is not long away and I'm already planning for Halloween.



I have been working hard on my business dreams and today I opened my Etsy shop, Blue Clear Sky Design. Exciting, scary, exciting. So far I have listed a whopping one item. I sewed this 13 1/2 foot (including ends for tying) Halloween bunting with little flags made of fun cotton Hallowe'en themed prints. It is reversible so it looks great from both sides.



Adding more items to my Etsy shop is a goal I am working on, but it is great to have the shop up and running. There is still a lot to learn but I'm feeling more confident each day. 


I go back to work later this week (our kids start back to school next week) so I really wanted to get this part of my business dream started before I did. Finishing up some diy projects is also planned this week. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Edited to add: I still have my etsy shop but it is empty right now. It proved harder than I thought to work full time outside the home and make items for sale. Hopefully I can figure this all out at a later date.


I'm linking with SNS #107 pennants/banners/buntings special at Funky Junk Interiors

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No. 8 Grainsack

While I would love some real grain sack loveliness in our home, for now I made a faux version for our living room.


My sister-in-law and I took a day trip to Ancaster, Ontario and the fabric district of Hamilton this week and we came across an antique shop with a pile of vintage grain sacks. It was lovely to actually hold a real grain sack in my hands (I was surprised by the weight), but at $95 each they were way out of my budget.



I've seen many of these on blogs and decided to make my own faux grainsack pillow using leftover drop cloth fabric, grey craft paint and textile medium, painter's tape, a fine point artist brush and a stiff stencil brush.



The No. 8 was added freehand on a whim (I'm number 7 of 8 kids) and I like the results. I might just have to make a similar table runner for our updated dining room.



A simple envelope back makes the pillow easy to slip off and launder, an important feature with boys who visit barns and a dog who visits my garden. Next time I would go a little lighter with the paint/textile medium but I think the lines will 'wear' a bit in the wash and look even better.



Lovin' our new soft and squishy pillow, made for free with items I already had!


I'm linking with


Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry


FeatheredNest Friday at French Country Cottage


Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Also linking to the 'Best DIY Project of August" at Beneath My Heart.

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Signs of Quilting

 I love quilts and have added some quilt signs to my studio/sewing room.



I shared the most recent update with lots of photos for Where Bloggers Create at My Desert Cottage, but thought I would add a few more updates as they happen. I made this little sign for a basket on the top of the metal shelving unit, using a stencil. This is a handy spot for my ufo's (unfinished objects), out of the way but not out of sight. Why oh why do builders still use popcorn ceilings?!!!



I made this sign by using acrylic craft paints to paint over a sign I didn't like.



Then I printed off my lettering of choice on the printer and added the lettering to the sign using the pencil on reverse method.

The letters are traced leaving faint pencil lines. I used a small brush and black acrylic craft paint to fill in the lines.





A bit of antique glaze wiped on and off and a light sanding to give the sign a bit of age. It hangs above the door in my studio and adds a bit of interest.






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Signs of Quilting

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Union Jack Shield Pillow

My little British Invasion table inspired my latest sewing project for our living room.



While I rarely use red in our decor, I couldn't resist this transfer from The Graphics Fairy. This is the first time I have attempted an ink jet transfer and except for the loss of a bit of red at the joint of the two images (it stuck to the iron), I think it turned out fairly well.



The pillow cover is made out of white denim and I added a down and feather pillow insert. I love how squishy it is. I chose the white denim over drop cloth for this one because the graphic has an antiqued cream in the cross of St. George and I didn't want it blending in to the drop cloth colour. The white denim also matches the chair slipcover to the left of the window and some of the stripes in my quilted pillows.



The project took about an hour from start to finish. I paid $7 for 3 transfer sheets at Michaels, and only used 2 sheets. I already had the pillow insert and the denim was leftover from my slipcovers.



Now I really need to come up with some ideas for artwork over the leather couch. I'm thinking of a gallery wall, but not just photos. Time will tell if the red stays in this room but I think it is a fun pillow and I'm enjoying it for now.


I love joining link parties because I get to see so many great ideas and find blogs I wouldn't have come across otherwise!

I'm joining transformation thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.






















I'm joining air your laundry friday at freckled laundry.























And I'm also joining Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage.




I was invited to join the Creative Bloggers Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime. If you came by from the blog hop I would love for you to follow. Let me know in the comments and I will stop by and follow yout too. So many great parties to choose from, but they are a great way to meet bloggers. 

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Union Jack Shield Pillow

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Pillows for the Porch

Sometimes pretty fabric can brighten up the dullest of days.



It is raining, pouring, and foggy here in southern Ontario. Looks like it won't let up for a few days at least. Since we won't be getting any yard work done, and I'm not up to doing too much yet, I thought I would add a bit of colour to our porch by spending half an hour at the sewing machine and stitching two new envelope back pillow slips for the porch chairs.



I picked up a yard of this fabric for about $4 last summer in the mix intended for the backyard pillows. I re-used last years pillow inserts as they give just enough back support without taking up too much seat space. No beautiful annuals or accessories yet, as it is still too early here, but I am looking forward to fussing with our outdoor areas as the weather warms up.



Not the $60-160 price tag like in the lastest issue of Country Living, but at just under $2 each, I'll keep them! What are you up to this weekend?

 I'm linking up to the parties at:



Jami's Freckled Laundry, Donna's Funky Junk SNS, and Courtney's  French Country Cottage.

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Dishmat

On the March Break we went to Mennonite country, Elmira and St. Jacobs Ontario, and I picked up some really thick white hand towels. I had a project in mind at the time.




Deb at Homespun Living shared her dishmat with a link to the tutorial and I knew I wanted to make some for both our home and my sister's home. Dish drainers are fine sometimes, but often we use tea towels on the counter when we wash large plastic containers, glass serving bowls or lunch containers -stuff that just doesn't fit well in a standard dish drainer. I used the fluffy hand towel on one side and a tea towel on the other side. It is really absorbent and super easy to throw in the wash. I love easy sew projects and plan to make more!



I'm sharing this with Air Your Laundry Friday Textile Party at Freckled Laundry.

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Dishmat

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