No Sew Window Seat Cushion

Another DIY for y'all today! I've been cranking out the projects around the house, so this won't be the last you see on here! 

We have a beautiful bay window seat in our bedroom, and I wanted to make a cushion for it and spend as little as possible. And I didn't want to use my sewing machine, since that always results in a meltdown. So I came up with a very quick and budget-friendly solution that can be used again when we inevitably move!

First, measure your window seat! 

I bought my foam (2" thick) at Joann's. That stuff is expensive! Tip: download the Joann's Fabric app and there is, just about always, a 50% off coupon. I had them cut it to 66" (length) by 23" (width/depth) and then I finished the rest of the cutting at home.

Since I have a bay window, the dimensions were a little more complicated. First, I measured the little sides (the red in the picture above) and marked accordingly on each side on the foam. 

I marked the half way point at the top of the foam (33"), and used that mark as the center of the length of the back of the cushion (I feel like I'm speaking gibberish right now...I hope this is making sense!) The turquoise line (pictured above) is 27", so half of that is 13.5". Using your measuring tape, place 13.5 on the mark that you made for 33" (the middle of the whole cushion). Then mark at each end of the measuring tape. 

That would be Pep's foot up there :)

Using a straight edge, connect the marks on each side! Apparently I need to invest in a yard stick, as the only straight edge I could find was our dining room mirror :)

Measure the lines you just made to make sure it's accurate (the black lines above= 17.5") Then, cut! An electric knife is the best tool to use for this, but I couldn't find mine so I just used kitchen shears, and they worked surprisingly well! 

Now it's time to make it pretty! I chose to not sew for a few reasons. 1) I hate it. 2) It takes me about 12x longer than it should, and 3) I wanted to be able to use this cushion again for our next house, and there's a good chance the dimensions will be completely different. So I ordered a bit of extra fabric, wrapped it like a gift, and safety-pinned it onto the bottom! This way, it's super easy to take on and off and throw in the wash. Plus, if we move and have a bigger window seat, I can just add extra foam and re-use the fabric! 

Please pretend that you don't see my filthy carpet. Today's vacuuming day, I promise! :)

I absolutely love how it turned out!

And so do the cats...they are up here every time I walk in the room!

A few pretty pillows complete the look.

This is now one of my favorite little spots in the house! 

DIY Custom Canisters

I've been a busy little crafter lately. The silver lining of moving so much is that it gives me an excuse to update a few things here and there, and I'm just about done! Here's an easy DIY that I did over the weekend.

I love the canisters we've used for the past few years, but they finally started to crack on us.

I found these adorable canisters at Target but wasn't too crazy about the colors (specifically the mustard yellow one!) Then I remembered that you can paint just about anything now, so with a little Googling and a trip to Michael's, I discovered FolkArt glass paint. So cheap ($2.50 a bottle!) and so easy. (Martha Stewart also has glass paint but doesn't have as many colors as FolkArt.)

Simply paint your glass or ceramic object and let it air dry for 1 hour. Then, place your items into a cool oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Allow them to completely cool in the oven before removing them. Now you have a beautiful, dishwasher-safe canister! (I threw in my spoon rest, too!)

I used my chalk pen to label them, which gives you a peek into our healthy, well-balanced diet :)

Happy Monday, y'all!

Shower Inspiration: Part 2

Here are the rest of the DIY projects from Allison's baby shower! You can see part 1 here.

My other favorite craft for Allison's baby shower were the candy egg favors!

I got the idea from this pin:

Source: howdoesshe.com via Julie on Pinterest

And I made a few changes to make it a little less time consuming. In the original, she made the nests out of melted chocolate and chinese noodles. I decided to use brown shredded paper, and it took less than 10 minutes to make all of the nests!

Since I wasn't using chocolate in the nest, I decided to put the eggs (we used jelly bean eggs) on a drop of melted chocolate so they would stay in place in the nest.

And for the tags, I designed them using MyMemories Suite, printed them on cardstock, and tied them up with yarn!

I followed this tutorial for the tissue paper pom poms, except I crinkled them up so they would look a little less uniform and more fluffy and cloud-like. 

My mom wouldn't let me tape the yarn to the ceiling, so I got these dowels at Home Depot for less than $2 and set them on top of the light fixture. I was worried it would look tacky, but several people at the shower commented that it looked "very anthro" :)

I found these birds and birdhouses at Michael's for .99 each! I bought some cheap acrylic paint to spruce them up and match the decor!

And for the game, I got the idea from this pin: 

Source: hankandwhit.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Again, I designed them using MyMemories Suite and printed them on cardstock (I bought a 100-sheet pack for $5 and made everything, including the invitations, from this one pack! Such a deal!) And I changed Wishes for Baby to Wishes for Fisher, because it just sounds much cuter :)

That's it! I've found that it's a lot more fun to make everything rather than getting store-bought things. I think it makes for a much more personalized event!

Shower Inspiration: Part 1

I'll be highlighting some of the DIY projects I did for Allison's Baby Shower this week! First up, the lemonade bottles (my personal favorite!)

I got the idea from this pin: 

Source: luxefinds.com via Julie on Pinterest

I already drink these Starbucks Frappachinos, so I quickly accumulated 24 bottles. The hardest part of this craft was to get all of the adhesive off of the bottles. Make sure you have plenty of Goo-Gone on hand!

For the decals, I designed them on MyMemories Suite (a scrap-booking software) and printed them out on cardstock. I cut strips of ribbon and glued the decal on with Elmer's glue. I used a drop of hot glue to attach the ribbon onto the bottle. This makes for easy removal after the shower!

I got the straws from Sweets and Treats Boutique, and they were the perfect finishing touch!

For the cupcake picks, I printed out smaller decals and glued one on each side of a toothpick! Easy peasy.

I made the Fisher banner using scrapbook paper and Elmer's glue. Can't get any easier than that!

And for the menu, I bought a plain wooden plaque from Michael's, painted the border blue, and used chalkboard paint for the front. I used a chalkboard pen, which made it much easier to write, but I just wish I had better handwriting!

In the next post, Bird Egg Favors and the Wishes for Fisher game!

*Thanks to Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! for featuring this shower!*

Allison's Baby Shower

Remember last month when I disappeared from the blog for 2 weeks because I couldn't stop crafting? Well, it was for a baby shower that my mom and I hosted in Atlanta last weekend! Our long-time family friends, Andrew and Allison McCleskey, are having their first baby, and we had such a great time showering them with love and gifts for baby Fisher! Plus, I had an excuse to visit Michael's just about everyday, so it was a win-win :)

For the food, I made the cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, and fruit dip. We bought the fruit (obviously), chicken salad and croissants, and pasta salad. Yum.

I'm now OBSESSED with these straws! The bottles were my favorite thing at the shower- and I love that we can use them for any event and just change out the ribbon and design!

My mom and her longtime BFF, Janis

The soon-to-be momma and grandmas!

I think this picture is SO precious!

I think I'll do another post about the shower showing how I made everything, so if you have any questions, leave them in the comments! I bought the straws, but made pretty much everything else!