Quick & Easy ~pillowcase make-over~ Tutorial

I had a couple of vintage pillowcases which I just love as they are so nice and thick but were pretty plain and boring. I wanted to use these in Lisa's bedroom but wanted to jazz them up a bit.  What to do?  I then remembered I had a couple of pieces of vintage lace  (different to each other, but that's ok) just long enough to fit from top to bottom.

My aim was to make them  romantic and pretty by adding some lace to the edge of each one. I first placed the lace onto the p'case where I wanted it to sit when it was finished. As you can see I wanted the lace to overhang the edge of the p'case by about 1". I only had enough lace to do the front of each pillowcase. If I had more I would have gone round front and back but this would still achieve the look I was after. I placed a pin top and bottom of the p'case where I need to sew the lace to. Make sure you cut the lace 1/2" longer top and bottom for seams.

Now remove the lace and make a hem top and bottom by folding in lace by 1/4" and then again by1/4" /This will finish the edge to prevent it from fraying.

Now pin your lace right side facing right side of your p'case and line top and bottom of where your seam is going with the pins we placed earlier on your p'case.

Now sew along your pin line. If you are new at this I recommend you baste it first.  Make sure you don't catch the back of your p'case!

Fold out your lace so it is now right side facing up and pin along the edge you have just sewn so you can go over and top stitch along the edge.

Now you need to topstitch the top and bottom section of your lace to your p'case so they stay in place and won't flap around.

Here they are finished. A very quick and easy way to jazz up a plain pillowcase! If you wanted to take it a step further you can add layers of lace of different widths. Simply place the narrowest lace face down first followed by the next and ending with the widest and sew them all at once. Then I would only sew the widest lace to the top and bottom of the p'case and let the other layers flounce around. (now why didn't I think of this.... BEFORE....!)

Hope this wasn't too boring but I thought a beginner might like to have a go! take care, Maryann

saturday finds...

Saturday morning and I'm still in bed thinking.. I really should get up now and get dressed to go to those garage sales that are just around the corner from me. (which doesn't happen very often)  Will I, won't I.. a part of me couldn't be bothered and the other part thought, I wonder what I'll be missing out on if I don't. So after a cuppa decided yep, better go!  I'm so glad I did..
For the past couple of weeks I've been searching on ebay for a couple of sconces for my family room to replace the ones I already have.. they're ok but wanted something more eloborate and couldn't believe I found these!

Also found these vintage S & P shakers! I just love them! Also found the little silver dish earlier this week from vinnies. Think the shakers look really good sitting in it. (atleast for now anyway)

Found these really cute handles at a local market ( mmm... must remember to go there more often!)

They had a bit too much gold on them so I have just given them a coat of offwhite and I think they will go really well on Lisa's cupboard. I had intended using crystal ones, but for $1 each I couldn't pass them by.

I hope you all had a great w/e. Was a pretty quiet one for me... take care, Maryann

Shabby armchair make over...

I thought you might like to see what I've been up to lately.. still working on Lisa's room, it's taking a little longer than anticipated but I just finished her armchair today and thought I'd let you have a peek.

These are all the before shots..... I had already taken the swivel back off and thought 'oh yeah, better take some pics!'

Too many nails here so I decided to slice the fabric from the sides of the seat.

Iwas very happy to see burlap keeping it all together underneath

Before recovering it with the proper fabric I covered it with a sheet of wadding to make it all nice and clean and also to give me a light coloured base to work on.

We decided to use a dainty roses fabric by Rachel Ashwell .. (which is one of my fav's)

I'm also going to make a slip cover for it as I don't think it will stay white for long. It looks so pretty in Lisa's room but can't show you that yet!   All I have to do is cover her lamp and her room is done. ! So stay tuned.

 Also My Cottage Charm is having her very first 'Treasures & Trinkets Thursday' if you'd like to pop over and have a look and Cindy at My Romantic Home is having Show and Tell Friday!

Hope you all have a great week end ...take care, Maryann

My lounge room chandelier..

Have you seen that movie "Castaway' with Tom Hanks.. the part where he's in the cave and he keeps flicking his torch on and then off, then on and then off..... well that was me yesterday with my lounge room chandelier! I just had to show you a pic of it!

 It's been in storage for the last 4 years but finally took it out a couple of weeks ago to work on it.. well all I did was give it a good clean by spraying it with hot soapy dishwashing liquid and then I hosed it down. Yes I had to use the hose it was that dirty and prayed it would still work when it was dry. Ofcourse I covered the globe bits with a plastic sleeves to keep the water out. She came so sparkly. I love it.
She did look like this...

I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I took her out of the box. I forgot what she looked like. I really thought she was 2 tier with a row of globes up top and bottom.. but they were all at the bottom... that's how good my memory is for you! Plus she was filthy, a bit of a let down really to how I had remembered her. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I saw the dirt just dripping off when I started spraying her and her shine was coming through. I just love it now!

I decided not to do the scrunchie thing over the chain as I think its just part of the look of the chandelier.  Have a great day, the electrician's back this morning to finish off a few things so better go get dressed! take care, Maryann

week end find..I found a beauty! & 4 tips to help you get a bargain!

Call it luck, call it fate... but sometimes I get an eary feeling when I come across something that I know was just meant for me! With my new lounge room now built ofcourse I would be needing a lounge to sit on but knew I would have to wait a while to get the one I really wanted due to financial reasons. But I was happy to wait, I'm pretty much used to it!  I knew what I wanted in the back of my mind, a nice comfy lounge with big cushions for Fred and 2 french inspired armchairs, you know the ones with the ornate wood trims,  to give the room a french feel.
Well Fred and I went to a swap meet this weekend, he goes for car parts and I go for my treasures. We rarely walk together as we don't like to slow each other down looking at things we're not interested in. 

So guess what I came across.. I couldn't believe my eyes! A beautiful french Louie style lounge suite! OMG! That's when that eary feeling came over me and I knew that lounge was coming home with me! It would need a fair bit of work to bring it back to it's former glory... but that's ok.

Tip no. 1 - ALWAYS ask for the price. the lounge already had a small tag of $250 on it, but I've learnt that peoples emotions and needs fluctuate constantly when selling, so never take a price tag as the right price.

'How much do you want for the lounge' I asked
'$150'  he said.... so there you have it, he'd already reduced the lounge by $100 without me even trying..
'I just want to get rid of it and really don't want to take it home'  so at this stage I was hearing horns and sirens in my head because I knew he was open to more negotiation.

Tip no.2. -NEVER look too interested, even when you KNOW you are going to buy it.
'Mmmm,  I wish it was blue not green, do you know how much they charge too reupholster lounges' I asked. This part is true, I do not have a clue how  much they charge.. but I thought at that price I can afford to give it a go  myself.. so.. as fate would have it, Fred was coming towards me from the other direction,  and before I even mentioned the lounge he said 'that's a nice lounge'.. well that's all I needed to know.

Tip no. 3- ALWAYS haggle the price.. I'm a pretty good haggler.. and what's the worst thing that can happen?... they'll say no. Either way I was already happy with $150 but the guy didn't want to take it home right?
'Will you take $100 for the lounge?
Approx 10 seconds later he said 'OK'  ..and that was that.... yay!!!!!!!!

Tip no. 4 - CLOSE the deal and pay in full if you can, especially if you aren't taking it with you right away. Like that the deal is closed and he won't be tempted to sell it to the next person who comes along that may offer him a better price.

 So, if anyone out there has any tips and suggestions on how to reupholster I'd be so happy to hear from you.. I'll try googling it and see what I find.  I 'll be painting the wood trim white ofcourse and antiquing the ornate bits for more definition. I'll also try to replace the foam bits and then recover it all in an offwhite fabric. I can't wait to see it finished!  Hope you all had a good week end too! take care, Maryann    ps. I know alot of people don't like to haggle, but asking that one question saved me $50 and if he had said no $150 is the lowest I'll go I would have just said fair enough, I'll take it any way. easy peasy!

My new 'frenchy' bike..

Well sometimes it is a bit hard putting a title to a post, but I didn't know what else to call this..

I just had to show you what hubby bought me without me knowing. Now just let me tell you something he doesn't do this very often... he is not very romantic at all, but this time he really surprised me............... so I forgive him.

I actually saw this bike at 'recollections' when hubby and I went to pick some door handles for the extension. I immediately fell in love with this bike and kept saying I love that bike, I love that bike it, I have to get it. But ofcourse, I didn't, too many other expenses going on at the time. Well, not long after he turns up with this! Totally shocked me! I even started crying (mind you it doesn't take much to make me cry.. all Oprah has to do is give out cars and I start balling) So for now it's just sitting in my formal lounge ( sorry no pretty background here yet, this room is still waiting to be done up)

 I am still uhming and ahring where to put it... it was supposed to go on my front verandah but  since no one goes there I think it will be a waste. I am seriously contemplating leaving it in my lounge room! Would definitely be a talking point and would really add to my French theme.

I thought I'd post a pic of Lisa's wardrobe, her room is nearly done. I still have to cover that floor lamp and make-over an armchair, and memory board aswell. Hoping it will be all done by the end of next week!

So have a great week end everyone! take care, Maryann