My Slipcovered Sectional and a Giveaway!

I spent this summer changing my space from a dark, slightly Tuscan vibe to more of a cottage-y, light-filled look. One of the things I really wanted to do was slipcover my big sectional in my family room.

 

I wanted to go with white, but since I have four active children, I thought maybe a slightly darker color would hold up better. I didn't want to spend all my time taking the slipcovers on and off to wash them - lol.

And then last Spring I was sick and I spent about 6 hours watching a marathon of Good Luck Charlie on the Disney Channel. I fell in love with the house on that show and their turquoise couch. It was so happy. It was the center of their home.

So that's what I did. I originally wanted to sew the slipcover myself, but after a little experimentation I had to face the fact that my sewing skills just are not advanced enough to make something that detailed. So I did the next best thing-- I contacted my friend Shelley who has a slipcovering business. She is a genius.

Shelley came out and fitted the couch. She pinned it and then took it to her home to sew it together. I was fascinated to watch this process!! After watching her pin it and having her explain things and give me some tips, I think I can attempt a slipcover of my living room couch since it's smaller and symmetrical.

So now I have a really bright and happy couch. 

Seeing it every day makes me happy! 

Here's a before and after shot of my couch:

Shelley has an awesome DVD that shows you how to make a custom slipcover for YOUR couch or chair. And she is letting me give one away. You will love it!!

Here's how you can win:

• Go over to Custom Slipcovers by Shelley -- leave a comment and/or follow. You will love seeing all of Shelley's finished slipcover projects!! one entry each. 

• Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or your Blog. one entry each. 

Have a wonderful day! 

xoxo

PS -- I have an awesome giveaway going on over at babble's New Home Ec --

$100 to Annette Tatum-- 

beautiful home goods, bedding and decor!!

Painted Striped Nautical Rug {tutorial}

My family Room/Kitchen Redo is almost done and I'm so excited!! One of the last projects I had to do was find a rug that went in the new space. My new kitchen and family room is a really pretty shade of grey {Sharkey Grey by Martha Stewart}.

So I decided to make a slightly nautical striped rug to go with my turquoise couch.  I used the same paint color as the walls to paint the rug.

This was definitely the easiest painted rug that I have done so far, and also my favorite!!  I found this rug on Pinterest that I loved, but it was $800 --

So I went over to Ikea and picked up this ERSLEV Rug for $59.00 --

Here's what I did to make the rug:

• I measured the rug and then divided the sections up so that they were even. How many stripes and how thick they are will depend on how wide your rug is. I ended up having 5 thick stripes. I thought thicker looked a little more nautical. 


• Once I figured out how wide to make the stripes, I measured it out on my rug. The rug I used, from Ikea, had natural stripes and so it was super easy to measure out the stripes. 


• I used Frog Tape to tape off the stripes. It worked great. So great, in fact, that I didn't have to make ANY touch ups! yay!! 


• Then I rolled the paint on the rug. I actually started off with a darker color, and decided that the stripes were too dark and re-rolled them with the lighter {Sharkey Grey} color. 


• I applied two coats of paint with a foam roller for best coverage. 


• Then once it was dry, I peeled off the tape. 


• And to make sure the rug stays looking clean, I sprayed on some Fabric Protection Spray. 

And coming up later this afternoon - information on my turquoise slipcover, inspired by Disney's Good Luck Charlie and a slipcover giveaway!!

xoxo

PS -- Check out the Master Bedroom Mood Boards over at Remodelaholic. I love seeing all of the great ideas from these awesome bloggers!!

And the winner's of the Krylon Glitter Blast 6 pack of spray paint AND $50 gift card are --

The winners of the Krylon Glitter Blast linky party are:

#46 Halloween Pillows -- Chapman Place  

#22 Metallic Secretary Desk  -- Twice Lovely

#95 Glittericious Birthday Crown -- My Sister's Suitcase 

#38 Metallic Sunburst Mirror -- Markham Street Designs

#23 Courtney’s Glitter -- A Little glass Box

Email me your address if you won, and I will get our prize to you :) jennifer@tatertotsandjello.com

I'm linking this up to Kellie's Fall Festival. 

Be sure to check it out!!!

"


 And these fun parties - check them out!

Fast and Easy Pleated Ruffle Ottoman Slipcover {tutorial}!!

Fast and Easy Pleated Ottoman Slipcover!

I recently ordered this pretty blue chevron material fabric.com. 

I love the color because it can go in almost any room in my house.



I bought this ottoman at a discount store about 15 years ago and for the past 5 years it's been sitting in my basement, waiting for a makeover. So I decided to give it a little facelift with my new fabric.

This was my first slipcover project, and I kind of made it up as I went along. 

Here’s what I did:

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  The first thing I did was I measure the top of the ottoman and added 1 inch to the width and the height.
  
  
  
  


• Then I measured the width of the sides of the ottoman and left about 2 inches for the pleated ruffle.
  


• I drew the picture on a piece of paper with the measurements. I am a visual person and this is the best way I could figure this project out.
  


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  Then I cut out the top of the ottoman and all four sides.
  
  

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  I sewed the sides of the ottoman onto the top of the ottoman cover.
  
  

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  And then I sewed the sides up. I made the seam allowances as small as I could because I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough room to fit the cover over the ottoman.
  
  

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  Luckily the cover turned out to be the perfect size once it was sewn. 

 

• 
  
  
  Now I turned my attention to the pleated ruffle.
  
  
  

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  I measured the circumference of the ottoman and added 150% to the total. Then I measured 5 inches high and folded the material so that the ruffle was 2.5 inches high. I sewed the ruffle and then ironed it so it was flat.
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  
  Now the next step is how you get the ruffles to be even. Take your huge circle of ruffle fabric and pin one section to one end of the ottoman cover. Then take the opposite side of the ruffle material and pin it to the opposite side of the ottoman cover. Do this on all four corners. Then do it again in between each section -- so you have eight sections pinned.
  
   Now you have an even amount of material in between each section so when you make your pleats, all of the pleats and the number of pleats should be the same.  Now take the ruffle fabric and make 1 inch pleats every inch or so. And this part of the slipcover is tedious, but so worth it once you are done!
  
  

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  Once the ruffle was pinned, I sewed it onto the inside of the slipcover.
  
  

 And then I was done!!



I just love my new slipcover. It totally transforms the look of the ottoman – totally updating it!!

And, just for fun – I made a couple of matching pillow covers.

They look so good in my living room. And, they would also fit in perfectly in my bedroom too!!

xoxox



PS -- We made it home this morning. 22 hours on planes and in airports and we're home sweet home!!

Have a Happy Day!! 



 PS -- I am linking up to these fun parties - check them out!