Tutorial: Kids Chair Cushion

Here's what I did on my day off: Kids chair cushions! 4 of them. 

Here's the adorable fabric up close:

Here's the chair I started with (see previous post here):

Those chairs (and the matching table) got a huge makeover. More on that in another post. 

Here's my template. Yes, that's Sonya Tayeh. No, I don't think she's a genius, (I know, disagree all you want), she was just on the back of my magazine which I used to make my "pattern." I just traced half of my chair seat, a little larger than the actual seat. The top edge is actually the "fold" of the fabric. You need two folded pieces to make the cushion. 

Here's what one cushion looks like (sideways) cut out. I used XL rick-rack (one of my favorite things right now) as the cushion holders. 

Place the two fabric pieces together (wrong side out).

Sew 3 of the four sides together. Don't sew the side where the cushion holders are going to go.

Because the rick rack was the huge kind, I needed 4 yards of it. Each cushion used two 18" pieces. 

I love these two colors. I couldn't choose just one... so I didn't.

I set the cushion on the chair and put the rick rack right where I wanted it on the chair. I put it inside, then sewed almost the whole side together, leaving a 4" section open so I could turn it inside out. 

Here's what it looked like:

Then I stitched a cross in the center to give it depth when I put the filling in. 

Filled it up...

I sewed the whole side together, not just the section that was open. Then I also sewed the rick rack together because I felt like it pulled the cushion to close to the back of the chair the way it was. 

Ivy's dressed it up with her Easter necklaces. :)

And those are the cushions. :) Details on the painting of the chairs will come later. 

Aloha, Rebecca

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These are a few of my favorite things... the Forever 21 edition

Forever 21. I've had mixed feelings about this shop for the last few years. Once you've passed age 21, can you still shop there and feel okay about it? Do the clothes even fit you after age 21? Is it okay that the clothes are cheap, and the clothes are, well, cheap? 

Regardless of how I've felt about F21 in the last 8 years since turning 21, lately, they've been introducing some new things, priced really cheaply, and I'm a little bit hooked.

First up: their tank tops. $4.80. Can't beat that, not even at Wal-Mart. Their long camisoles are an even better deal. $2.80. Every couple of weeks I go in and re-stock my inventory, especially since they have soooo many different colors!

 These earrings were $1.90. 'Nuff said.

Now, I'm not sure if I bought this mirror for me, or for my 2-year-old daughter... either way, I smile every time I see it. Turquoise. Heavy-duty. Uber cute. $1.90 or something like that.

 This is my second batch of these adorable rosette bobby pins. These ones were on sale for $1.99. I wear them to work to pull back my side-bangs almost daily. 

In the checkout line I spotted a lint roller for $1.00. That's nuts. I've been wanting one for sewing projects to gather up all the loose strings. Never thought I'd find one at F21.

I have a weekend full of shows coming up for work. $1.00 eyelashes?!! I couldn't believe it! It's like they knew I needed them! Just wish they came with glue.

I can't remember it now, but the name on this ring was what caught my attention and made me fall in love with it. It was something along the lines of "Hot Pink Vine." $3.90. I am in love with this ring. 

You can see a little speck of aqua paint on my hand... that's a great segue into tomorrow's post... I spent allllllllll day painting. (That's why I don't have my wedding ring on... don't paint wearing your wedding ring). Here's a sneak peak of what you'll see tomorrow:

See you tomorrow!

Aloha, Becca

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Headband/Bandana/Scarf... whatever you call it

I teach dance. My hair is short. I want it out of my face. Those elastic headbands give me headaches-- always have. I have this one double-sided bandana thing from Old Navy that I got in 2001 (I checked the tag, yep, 2001... I was a senior in high school) that I've been wearing more frequently. It looked simple enough to re-create. I used it as a "pattern"

This aqua & grey snake print/damask/tribal material is from my very first Urban Outfitters tapestry. Cailin gave it to me back in 2009! It is my favorite material, such a great airy feel to it. First I made two curtains out of it for our bedroom closet which had no doors on it. Then when we moved, I sacrificed one of the curtains to projects I wanted to do... there's only a 6" sliver of it left, and I don't know what I'm gonna do when I run out of it! Do I sacrifice the other curtain!!?

 The white dotted-line fabric was from a pillow case I got at Salvation army the other day for $1. Score.

I really wanted to use my vintage rick-rack, and I was in luck cause I just got it back from Ajja, since it was still hanging on her photo booth backdrop. See post here. I cut two strips of the rick-rack and pinned it in prior to sewing the pieces front-to-front.

After sewing it almost all the way around, I turned it inside out, then did a re-enforcement stitch around the whole thing so it wouldn't twist and turn. 

Here's the finished project.

I took a few pics of me wearing it, but they were all "myspace profile pics" where I'm holding the camera at these crazy angles and it just looks stupid. So, I couldn't bare to post one. Regardless, I've worn this half a dozen times since making it last Monday!!

And Ivy has graduated to wearing my elastic headbands (and various other accessories)...

And btw- the shirt she's wearing is from Cailin... Cailin buys us lots of awesome gifts. :)

-Becca

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Photo Booth Backdrop

My good friend Ajja is an awesome photographer (and dancer and friend and... I could go on and on... we've actually traveled Europe together multiple times... we once shared a full size air mattress in a former socialist apartment building for 6 weeks straight) ...BACK TO MY POST ABOUT A PHOTO BOOTH.

...she's been working hard on her branding and website as she takes the next step in her career. Just before Christmas she called me and told me she was throwing a launch party for her website's debut. She wanted me to make the backdrop for the photo booth. Me? A backdrop? Like a set? Normally I work on what MOVES on the stage, not what stands still. Back to reality, this was a photo booth, not a production... After she gave me her inspiration, I set to work....

First I chose a ton of ribbon in her brand colors, in a lot of different textures.

 I am in love with this oversize rick-rack in the center... It's from Sew Special :)

I took down the curtains from Ivy's room, since they were the perfect neutral. Ajja gave me bamboo from her back yard, which the backdrop was going to hang from. (Yes, in Hawaii we often have bamboo laying in our back yard.)

 I sewed lace in between two panels of curtains so that it would be the right length.  

Then I sewed the ribbon over the back of the curtain by hand

This thing was huge in my house... 8' tall x 10' wide!! 

Our home is only about 600 sq ft to begin with, haha!

Oh and the last detail-- 

we hung this pallet which my husband custom made for this project:

And here is the final product in its home at the party:

Ajja & Ivy

Kit & I

My crazy parents

Kit & my dad

 My dancer friends & Ivy & I

(Katira- in burnt orange, and Katie- in blue, made the props!)

I guess I can mark "Creating a Photo Booth Backdrop" off my bucketlist now! 

So fun!

Thanks Ajja. :)
Now go check out Ajja's brand new website: http://www.ajjaphotography.com
and hire her for your next wedding, portrait session, celebration...
she's usually game for just about anything! 

--Becca

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