Flag bunting Extravaganza!

Ever since spotting my first flag bunting over on ohdeedoh I've been totally gaga for the spiky, novel room decor. Post after post displayed beautiful handmade buntings that really made the spaces they were in pop!





Needless to say I caught the bug... the bunting bug! We're fortunate enough to have a nice large room to dedicate as a playroom but the walls are made of rock and the ceiling is a slanted dark wood paneled one... hardly very cheerful. I would have loved to paint the room in one or several of my favorite bright hues... but it's a rental and rock... so no such luck! Then I got thinking a flag bunting would be such a fantastic way to introduce some colour and whimsy! I decided to make a bunting for the back wall... so you'd see it on entry and from other parts of the house... Now that wall is almost 8 metres long! we were going to need a lot of bunting!



I had a really hard time choosing fabrics and ended up going for a whopping 18 different patterns in almost every colour of the rainbow. I used a mix of designer fabrics by Amy Butler (used several colourways of the Wallflower fabric), Heather Bailey, Erin Mcmorris, Alex henry, Joel Dewberry, as well as some others I had lying around. I made three flags out of each fabric for a total of 54 flags! I used a cardboard cutout template and cut out the fabric flags with a rotary cutter. The Cutting and sewing of the flags was long and laborious... The part I was dreading the most.. affixing them to bias tape actually turned out to be so fast and easy the flags were on and the bunting complete within less than half an hour! after debating for days how to sequence the flags I made up a random pattern and repeated it three times.



I love how it turned out and hope to be able to enjoy it in our playrooms for years to come. It's really that missing piece that lends the room some pizazz! My daughter let out an enthusiastic "wwowww" and "pretty" when she first saw it so I guess it's got her seal of approval too!

A soft spot

I love pillows! no actually that's not the whole truth.... I lust them! Shelves, bedscapes, and big bins of brightly coloured pillows at my favorite home dec stores get me swooning! There's always room for one more, so many patterns, shapes, textures..... how could anyone possibly stop at 20? 30? or 40?!

When DH and I were first married we lived in a teeny tiny! (were talking 30 sqm...) apartment if you can call it that... needless to say storage was a hot commodity... nonetheless one of our cupboards was home to pillows that would be just perfect for our "den". Yes I know how could you possibly have a den in 30 sqm.... well you're right we didn't.... but we do now! and I've been saving up for years!! nothing brightens up a drab room, chair, couch, bed? like a brightly coloured and patterned pillow. I love pillows on beds, couches, casually tossed on the floor... ooh and I'm a rug person too... love getting cozy with a favorite interiors book on our shaggy carpet propped up by, you got it! more pillows!





To help foster my love of the cushiony stuff, I bought the Pillow Book by Shannon Okey, it's home to over 25 patterns for fun decorative pillows for use around your home, as well as Amy Butlers Gum drop Pillow pattern. This is my attempt at making this addiction a little more affordable.... you can get whole yards of gorgeous fabrics for the price of your average tossing pillow. You don't need to be to an accomplished seamstress either to make the most basic of square pillows. Like all home accessories you'll get the most bang for your buck if you invest in quality home dec weight or upholstery fabrics. I always keep my eye out for great remnants, they're generally large enough for at least a pillow or two and for a fraction of the original yardage cost.

These are just a few samples from my collection...



To spruce up our playroom a little, I decided to make a little "house" pillow/plushie to sit on my daughter' rocking chair when it isn't in use. It's put together entirely from scraps I had lying around, and a button for a door knob. It was very simple to put together, just two rectangles for the body of the pillow and I eye balled the roof... finishing it off with a scalloped edge. I cut the windows, door, flowers and grass freehand and zigzag stitched them in place. The possibilities are endless, using different fabrics and whatever embellishments you prefer. I love it! How about trying your own?