drop cloth projects | Beneath My Heart

DIY Monogram Pillow Tutorial

June 13, 2012 AT 1:49 am 10 Comments

June 13, 2012 By traci 10 Comments

Happy Wednesday, ladies!

I hope you are having a great week!

Today, I wanted to show you a little project I just complete for a friend of mine.

She needed it for the bench area of some custom cabinets that Cy built for her a few months ago.

See all those medals above the bench area? Those are all the medals her husband has earned from running marathons! She wanted to use this space as a way to display all his awards.

She gave me the striped material with which to make a bench cushion and a pillow for that space. The material matched some chairs in another part of that room.

So instead of having a striped pillow on a striped cushion, I decided to use some drop cloth material I had to make her a custom monogrammed pillow.

I used my Silhouette machine to make a stencil of the letter “B”.

Then I used a sponge brush and some brown paint to paint the letter on the drop cloth material.

The pillow form she gave me was 18 x 18 inches. So I cut the drop cloth 19 x 19 inches to allow for a 1/2 seam allowances on all four sides.

Then I laid the drop material on top of the striped material, and cut a 19 x 19 inch piece for the back of the pillow.

For the cording, I just cut and sewed together two inch strips of material. I do not measure during this step at all! I just completely eyeball it.

Then I lay the cording in the middle of the two inch strip and fold it over to sew.

I do not use pins for this step. Most professionals probably do, but I am not a professional. {wink}

You want to use the zipper foot on this step as you sew the cording.

Then I trim the cording about 1/2 inch from the seam.

Next, I pin the cording all around the 19 x 19 inch striped material. You want to put the raw edges together with the cording facing toward the middle of the material. Be sure to pin the cording to the front (right side) of your material, not the back!

After I sewed the cording to the stripped material (using my zipper foot), I then pinned that piece to the drop cloth material, right sides together.

I sewed all around the edges of the material using my zipper foot. Be careful not to sew over the cording that is sitting between these two pieces of material.

After I sewed those two pieces of material together, I turned the pillow cover inside out leaving an opening to slip the pillow form in. (I usually make sure the opening is at the bottom of the pillow to make it less noticeable when I sew it up by hand.)

Once I stuffed the pillow form in, I just slip-stitched the opening at the bottom of the pillow by hand with a needle and thread.

That’s it!

I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

I love making pillows. They are quick and simple. (Didn’t enjoy making that bench cushion quite as much.) Smile

If you are thinking about trying a sewing project for the first time, I would suggest making a pillow. I know you can do it!

pillow 018

Have you sewn anything lately?

Linking this project to…

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Porch Decor Inspiration {from a reader!}

September 6, 2011 AT 6:18 pm 16 Comments

September 6, 2011 By traci 16 Comments

I got a sweet email this week that I wanted to share with you…

Traci,

I don’t have a URL blog, so I couldn’t update to your August DIY
party. So I’m sending pictures of my side porch that was (almost..) finished
in August. I still need to highlight the raised surfaces on the coffee
table, put family snap shots on top, and cover with a piece of glass.

The inspiration was your drop cloth tutorial! I recently moved to a new house
after living in the same place for 30 years. A must for my new house was a
screened porch. I brought my rocker, porch swing, and wind chimes from the
old side porch. A friend found the wicker set in a yard sale and ‘gifted’
that and most of the cushions. I spray painted every thing… picking up odd
furniture at Goodwill and Habitat stores. The drop cloth curtain adds
privacy and blocks the sun. I trimmed the top with some fringe, and I love
it. I’m able to sit on the porch and watch the birds on the deck. My
favorite time to be on the porch is late at night or early mornings with a
cup of coffee and the newspaper.

Thanks for the inspiration. My friends love it,

Judy

Judy sent me some pictures of her new side porch, and I think it turned out lovely.

Ya’ll KNOW that I love the colors Judy used to decorate her porch. Look at those beautiful reds, blacks, tans, and greens! Perfection!

She has such a wonderful view out her side porch! It certainly is a great place for coffee and a newspaper (and to catch up on all the great posts at Beneath My Heart!) :)

I wonder where that cute little side door goes? I love the transom window over the door!

Doesn’t her porch look so cozy?! The perfect place for entertaining.

Thank you, Judy, for sharing these inspirational pictures with me, and for allowing me to share them with my readers!

I hope you have many happy memories on your porch with family and friends!

Blessings,

Traci

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Filed Under drop cloth projects, outdoor spaces, porches 16 Comments

Drop Cloth Skirted Wood Desk {a creative storage solution for my office}

August 10, 2011 AT 10:15 am 36 Comments

August 10, 2011 By traci 36 Comments

Last week, I shared my new skirted desk in my guest post over at Shanty2Chic.

I am so excited with how it turned out!

(I am going to paint the walls a different color. This is the color that was already on the walls when we bought the house two months ago. I think a lighter paint color will help the desk stand out even more!)

I love this desk/table because there is sooooo much room to work! And I love the way the drop cloth skirt hides all my “uglies”…

I bought those storage bins at Walmart, and I am going to buy two more for the other side of my desk when I have the money.

It was so much fun organizing all of my crafty stuff!

Now just in case ya’ll go thinkin’ that I’ve got it all together, and my room is so neat and organized now, here’s what the other side of my room looks like….

See why I need more storage bins?

I am DETERMINED TO GET ORGANIZED now that the boys are back in school!!

If you missed my guest post over at Shanty2Chic, and you want to know how to make this desk yourself, here is the tutorial.

(Believe me… if I can do it, you can do it too!)

I purchase three 2x10x8′s from Lowe’s and place them on our saw horses…

Then I cut each board 82 inches long. (You could cut them as long or as short as you need them.)

Then I cut 2×4′s to make a frame smaller than the top of the table.

I used PL adhesive caulk at the end of each 2×4 before I used my nail gun to nail them together.

I also used PL adhesive caulk on the frame before I nailed it to the top of the table…

I place the three 2×10′s on top of my 2×4 frame and nailed them together.

Next, I cut some 2×4′s for the legs of the table and nailed them to the frame. It didn’t matter if my table had ugly legs because I knew I would be covering them with a skirt.

I made my table 30 inches high.

Then I used a clean cloth to wipe on the stain…

It is called Provencial from Minwax.

For the skirt, I cut strips from some drop cloths 31 inches long…

I LOVE drop cloths! I especially love that they are already hemmed on one side, so I didn’t even have to break out my sewing machine for this project!

Next, I stapled the drop cloth to a 1×2 board that was cut 82 inches long (the length of the front of the table.) I gathered the material every couple of inches to create my skirt.

Then I attached the skirt to the table by screwing the 1×2 into the table top. (I used 2 inch wood screws.)

drop cloths

Then the material lays nicely between the 1×2 and the table top!

I did the same thing to the sides of the table too!

This skirt is perfect for hiding my craft supplies in my office.

I grabbed some accessories from around my house to decorate it for now. Of course, I may change it around a bit still.

But for now, I am really going to enjoy this roomy desk!

If you have any questions about my desk, just let me know! :)

And don’t forget that tickets for Haven 2012 go on sale Monday, August 15th!!

I hope to see you there!

I’m linking this project to….

Home Stories A2Z Tips and Tutorial Tuesday

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Filed Under drop cloth projects, furniture makeover, home office, organization 36 Comments

Drop Cloth Curtains for my Patio

August 9, 2010 AT 12:39 am 55 Comments

August 9, 2010 By traci 55 Comments

Ladies, I am very pleased that I have finally made some progress on my back patio!

Are you tired of hearing about it yet?

I am so laughing that it has taken me all summer to work on my back patio. Back in the “before working full time” days, I would have knocked this patio out in a couple of weeks!

But noooooo…it’s only taken me about 10 weeks to finally get ‘er done!

I have affectionately labeled this projects as, “The patio that has kicked my tail!”

I was close to raising the white flag, but I didn’t give in.

Thankfully, I am finally lovin’ the almost-finished project.

I am hoping to share the final “reveal” on Friday.

Today I am going to show you the curtains I made for my patio from drop cloths.

No, big surprise there! If you have read my blog for any time at all, you know my love affair with drop cloths. I even wrote a post about me being a “drop cloth connoisseur”.

Why do I like drop cloths? They are cheap, durable, already hemmed, and pretty!

I have drop cloth curtains in my kitchen….

drop cloth curtains

Drop cloth curtains in my den…

A chair with a drop cloth slipcover…

And now drop cloth curtains on my back patio!…

Somebody stop me! :)

To hang my curtains, I purchased 1/2 inch metal poles from Lowe’s. A five foot pole cost only about $1.37 or so. I had to buy two 10 foot poles that were less than two dollars a piece. I cut the 10 foot pieces into two 7 foot pieces for both sides of the patio.

I think it was less than 10 dollars for all 6 of these poles…

I spray painted the poles with KILZ spray primer (which is already white) and then put a final coat of white spray paint on top.

I also bought some little hooks to hold up the poles. They were .67 cents a piece. I bought 8.

My hubby helped me screw the hooks in the wood and put the poles up. I spray painted the hooks white so they wouldn’t show up as much. (Please pay no attention to the dirty spider webs.) :)

I washed and ironed the curtains before hanging them with black ring clips from Lowe’s…

I have a total of 5 of these curtains on my patio! The drop cloths were less than 10 dollars a piece at Home Depot. (Remember, Home Depot drop cloths do NOT have seams down the middle, Lowe’s drop cloths do.)

Here’s a run down of the price of my patio curtains:

5 drop cloths -$50.00

5 sets of ring clips – $25.00

metal poles – $10.00

hooks – $6.00

primer and paint $6.00

Grand Total: $97.00

That sounds like a LOT of money to me, and if I wasn’t working full time, I may not have been able to afford these.

But compared to the Ballard Designs curtains that I love…

(that would have cost over $500.00 for 5 panels), I am thinking I did pretty good!

Now I can pull the curtains out for some extra shade on the patio…

Or I can tie them back…

I will show you the rest of the curtains on Friday.

Tuesday, I will show you a furniture re-do I finished this weekend for the patio.

If you want to see all of my posts about drop cloths, just click on “drop cloths” in the labels in my side bar.

Have a blessed day!

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Filed Under back patio, drop cloth projects 55 Comments

A Drop Cloth Slipcover

October 19, 2009 AT 10:53 am 61 Comments

October 19, 2009 By cyndi 61 Comments

If you have followed my blog any this summer, you know that I have become a drop cloth connoisseur and have found many uses for this splendid and inexpensive material.

I showed you the drop cloth curtains I made for my kitchen.

You can read more about them here.

And then I promised you I would show you how I made my drop cloth slipcover for my wingback chair.

I finished it the first week of August, but that is the same week that we found out Mom had cancer, and life was put on hold. And though life changed drastically for my family in the weeks to come, those weeks quickly became the most treasured moments of my life.

Mom is the one who taught me how to sew, though I will never be the seamstress she was. She could sew anything…she could sew professionally.

I am not a professional.

WARNING:

If you are a professional seamstress, I would like to suggest that you stop reading this post immediately.

If you chose to ignore my warning, the following may occur:

Headaches, nausea, loss of breath, light-headedness, weakness in the knees, swelling of the ankles, dry mouth, watery eyes, vomiting and diarrhea.

If any of the above symptoms last for more than an hour, please consult your physician.
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Now for the rest of us….

This was the wing back chair that my mom gave me to slip cover. She had been storing it in her basement, but since she wasn’t using it, she wanted to give it to me.

Since drop cloths are so inexpensive, and I like their texture, I decided to use them to slipcover the chair.

I will try to explain how I slipcovered the chair, but please keep your expectations low…

First of all, I look at the chair like a puzzle. The seams on the chair outline each piece of the puzzle.

So I take my material and lay it over the piece of the chair I want to make a pattern of, and I use a pencil to draw a line where the seam is.

This is how I did it on the front of the arm.

Then I cut about 1/2 inch around the pencil mark for the seam allowance. It doesn’t have to be perfect because slipcovers aren’t perfect. They are supposed to look a little messy!

Then I repeated the same process on the wings of the chair, the front, the back, and so on….

Then I sewed the pieces together to create the slipcover.

I took the slipcover off and on a hundred times checking to see if it “fit” each time I sewed on another piece.

I did use cording on some parts of the chair, but you wouldn’t even have to do that.

(And I forgot to take pictures of how to make the cording. Sorry.)

For the skirt, I just measured across the bottom of the chair to see how wide the skirt needed to be, and I measured down to see how long I wanted it to be.

Then I just cut a rectangular shape using those measurements, cutting about 1/2 inch more around each side for the hems.

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I cut a little flap to go on the corners under the front skirt pieces.

Yes, I haven’t trimmed the thread yet…

This is what the inside of the chair looked like when I was finished. I just used some leftover white canvas material that I already had for the seat.

I got real fancy-smancy on the back…with velcro!

I put velcro on the back to make it slip on and off easier. (Pay no attention to the mess in the corner or the exposed insulation in our kitchen. Did you hear about my unexpected kitchen renovation? If not, click here.)

I secured the material even better with an hook and eye.

Sorry for the blurred picture.

I didn’t worry about how it looked because this side of the chair is up against the wall!

I also used velcro for the back of the seat cushion, instead of a zipper. It’s sooooo much easier. I’m not a zipper-gal.

So, there you have it! Clear as mud????

I think it turned out great!

I washed it for the first time today, and it didn’t fall apart! Yeah!

It has actually stayed pretty clean considering the fact that four little dirty boys have been sitting in it for a couple of months.

And if the material gets ruined by one of my boys (which is pretty much a guarantee), I won’t be too upset because it cost me less than $20.00 to create. Minus the HOURS of sweet precious time it took me to make it.

Okay. I would be upset!

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I am linking this post to some great blogs, so go check them out!

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land (Tuesday)

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Blessings,

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Tagged crafty project, drop cloth projects, furniture makeover, makeovers Filed Undercrafty project, drop cloth projects, furniture makeover, makeovers, Uncategorized 61 Comments

Kitchen Curtains

September 14, 2009 AT 12:40 am 45 Comments

September 14, 2009 By cyndi 45 Comments

I spent several months this summer trying to find some curtains for my kitchen windows.

I knew that I wanted floor length panels, but I wasn’t sure what type of material I wanted. I thought about black and white buffalo check, but was afraid that would be too bold.

I wanted something more subtle.

I had in the back of my mind some curtains I had seen in blog land. They were made of drop cloths, and I thought they were beautiful.

The first ones I saw were at Layla’s blog, The Lettered Cottage. You can read about her curtains HERE.

She got her inspiration from a picture she saw in Pottery Barn…

Then I saw them appear again on Judy’s blog, Gracious Southern Living. You can see how she made her beautiful curtains HERE.

Don’t you love the black detail on the bottom?

So I decided to give them a try and see if I liked them.

I made many trips to Lowe’s and Home Depot to find just the right drop cloths (yes, I have analyzed drop cloths!), and you can read about my discoveries HERE.

One of the many things I learned was that not all drop cloths were alike.

See the difference between the top drop cloth and the bottom drop cloth in the above picture? I got these at the same store!

Many of my followers asked me which drop cloth package to get? Honestly ladies, I found that drop cloths wrapped in the exact same packaging were sometimes still made of different materials.

So I spent about 20 minutes in the store comparing the drop cloths, holding them up to the light, opening the packages, etc. The Home Depot guy must have thought I was CRAZY!

I could hear him thinking, “Come on, lady, pick one already! It’s just a drop cloth!”

I liked the drop cloth in the bottom half of the picture best. It had a lot more texture and beautiful brown flecks in it.

But YOU can choose whatever type you like best! (The variations are very subtle.)

Here are the things I love most about drop cloths…

1) They are 6 feet by 9 feet,which means they are super long and perfect for curtains to go from the ceiling to the floor.

2) All four sides are hemmed. Saving you some time when making your curtains.

3) They are a super heavy canvas material which requires no lining. Saving you another step!

4) And most importantly…They are Cheap! About ten dollars a piece. That’s a little over 3 dollars a yard!

Now, I chose the simplest way possible to make my curtains.

I have made window treatments before that were a lot more time consuming. These are the curtains and roman shades I made for my previous home. (It was Christmas time…)

But for my drop cloth curtains, all I had to do was hem the top and bottom of each panel, and I was finished.

I simply ironed the top of the panel down 2 inches, and sewed a straight stitch all the way across.

I did the same thing for the bottom of the drop cloth because I wanted mine to puddle in the floor.

If you didn’t want yours to puddle, you could do a bigger hem.

To find the correct length, create your two inch hem on top first, hang the curtain up with the rod and clips that you want to use, then let the drop cloth drape on the floor. Next, pin the bottom up to the length you want it. Take the curtains down and iron the hem the length you chose, then stitch. No cutting required.

If you do not own a sewing machine. simply hem your drop cloth using an iron and some hem tape. You can get hem tape for a few bucks at Walmart or just about anywhere.

I bought my clips and curtain rod at Hobby Lobby.

Though I love the “look” of the clips I chose, they are not as strong as the ones I got for my den curtains. The drop cloth is very heavy and has slipped out of the clips.

Then I took some black ribbon from Walmart and a couple of tassels from Hobby Lobby to create my tie backs.

To attach the tie back to the wall, I got real fancy and used a curtain clip. Could this be called a Window “Mistreatment”?

I love the finished look!

I had a very difficult time getting a good picture of my curtains. During the day, the sun is so bright that I get a huge glare in the picture. And of course at night, the picture quality is not as good.