Fabric Covered Headboards

I think I've finally decided on what to do for a headboard.  Here are my sources of inspiration:

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All of these links include a tutorial.  Mine will be a modified, cheaper version of these involving way less tools!

Summer Rental Redesign: Lamp Before/After

We picked these lamps up from a yard sale.  Adam and I decided to do a little mix and match since we didn't like the shades that originally went with the lamps.  We grabbed lamp shades from another pair of lamps at the sale.  We paid $10 per lamp (too much I think), but I love how they turned out. 

Here is the before (I forgot to include the shade):

After:

I gave the lamps a coat of a pale green spray paint.  I bought some decorative rope at Hobby Lobby for $5 and hot glued it to the lamp shades just to add a little something extra.  Hopefully soon I'll have endtables to place these nice "new" lamps on!  Total cost for the 2 lamps: $27.  Again, that price is much higher than I was planning, but I think they turned out perfect.  Plus I think I can sell them back for at least that much!

And here's a peek at the nightstand I found at Salvation Army for $4.95.  It's in the process of getting a navy blue paint treatment.

On Saturday I also picked up a pair of mid-century modern (my favorite era) chairs from a yard sale.  I was expecting to ask the price and have to sadly walk away, but I was shocked when the lady told me she would take $7 for both of them.  Adam and I are actually hoping we can take them back home with us.  That's how much we love them!

Happy Belated Anniversary

So I had a post set up for our anniversary, but I obviously forgot to post it since it was last Sunday.  In honor of our anniversary, please enjoy (or enjoy again) our wedding dance!




And that photog's backside you're looking at?  None other than Jonathan Canlas.  Our wedding pics can be seen here.

Happy weekend!  I'm crossing my fingers I find some endtables for my awesome "new" lamps.  I'll reveal the final results of the lamps on Monday.  They look fabulous, if I do say so myself!

Progress

I swear there is not enough time in the day!  I have SO many things I want to do and I feel like I never get them done.  Yesterday while running some errands, I stopped by Salvation Army.  I found some frames for the living room wall.

I found a great dress for me and an adorable bedsheet that I'm going to turn into a dress for Rilo Jane.   I'll post more about those when I get them done.

I also put the first coat of spray paint on the lamps.  I should finish up the painting and will hopefully fix up the lampshades tomorrow.

Headboard Inspiration + A Dress

I've been brainstorming ideas for a makeshift headboard and I came across this lovely image.

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This would be so easy and cheap.  I could use Jenny's pelmet board tutorial (which uses foam board, duct tape and some batting) to make the top part and then just choose a pretty fabric to hang.

Also check out Charlotte's awesome T-Shirt Dress.  I love the frilly shirt and I love that she made a tie at the waist.  I made a little sash for mine, but was in a rush and forgot to attach it...The two pieces are just sitting at my craft desk at home.

 Has anyone else attempted a T-Shirt dress?  I would love to see them!

T-Shirt Dress: Baby Version

Erica sent me a link to this great tutorial over on Smile and Wave.  It's a baby dress made just like the T-shirt dress, except using a onesie.  Adorable! (Did I have enough links in 2 sentences?!)

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It's about time I start working on and posting some of my own sewing projects!  I amassed a ton of fabric the last couple of weeks...time to put it to use!

Favorite Pictures

I just took these pictures of Rilo Jane yesterday and they are my favorite things right now!  Check more out here.

Summer Rental Redesign

Every summer we move into an apartment with little more than blank walls, rental furniture and the few items we bring along.  We spend 4 months in a place that never feels quite like home.  In an effort to a) make this place a little more homey b) give me something to do and c) allow me to get creative and decorate again, I am going to be doing a $200 summer rental redesign challenge.

Here's my plan:  I am going to take $200 and do as much as I can to this apartment.  I'll be refinishing furniture, sewing and DIY-ing lots of little projects and blogging the projects these next few months.  Then at the end of the summer, I plan to sell the things I have bought back for at least what I paid for them originally (and hopefully for more than I paid).  I'll be hitting lots of thrift stores, Craigslist (though apparently people in Chicago think their junk is worth a lot.  I can't seem to find anything on there for under $50!) and yard sales.

I'll be focusing mainly on the living room and the bedroom since that is where we spend the most time, but I hope to do a little something to the dining area and the guest room.  This really will be a challenge since we have less rental furniture than usual.  I'll need to get several major items.

• End tables for the living room (we have one but I don't like it)
• Nightstands for the bedroom
• Lamps for the living room and the bedroom (we have a lamp in the living room, but again, I don't like it)
• Headboard
• Desk

The rest of the money will go to wall art, fabric, decorations, accessories, etc.

I am so excited to start on this project!  I have been dying to redecorate my house, but since we just finally finished all of the rooms and since we won't be there too much longer, it just wouldn't make much sense.  So here's my chance to play with different color schemes, patterns, etc.

I am off to a bit of a head start.  I went to Home Fabrics back home since they were having an amazing sale.  Select home decorator fabrics were $3 a yard, but on the day I went they were a dollar off.  So I ended up picking several different fabrics for $2 a yard.  Home decorator fabrics for $2!!!  Here is a sneak peek of the living room fabrics (and of the boring rental couch).

And here are the living room lamps I picked up at a yard sale for $10 a piece.  A little pricey for my budget, so I'll have to be careful with the rest of the money though.  I'll be spray painting these since they're in pretty rough condition!

Want to play along?  Set yourself a budget and makeover a room in your own house!  You could give it a fresh summer look without making any major changes.  I would love to see what someone else does with a minimal budget and lots of creativity! 

Can't wait to get started!

Chevron

I know the Chevron pattern is a total trend, but I love it so much.  It just adds something to a room. 

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Today we're headed to the zoo!  Then I hope to get as many projects done as I can this weekend.  I'm getting things together to start my summer long project.  More details on Monday!

Moving Announcements

We made it!  Rilo and I landed in Chicago yesterday and met up with Adam at our new apartment.  Rilo was a dream...she slept the ENTIRE 3 hour flight.  I was so thankful!

We're only here for the summer, but if we were moving permanently, I would definitely be sending out little cards with our new address.  Here are some moving announcements I like:

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