Cushion Production....

Well it seems that my cushions went down a treat and I have to say i am quite proud of them. A lot of people have commented on how expensive it is to buy something similar online or in the shops. So I thought maybe I might make a few different designs and create a little online shop to sell some of my cushions on.

I will have to get a bit of a feel out there to see what else is on the market and the pricing etc but the reason why I want to do this is for the everyday person to be able to afford something as nice as these cushions. Why do they have to be so expensive? Fair enough people want to make a profit but to what extent?? Anyway it's all a bit of an idea at the moment and wanted to hear a bit of feedback on them first.

Crown Motif

I have been thinking and searching though on some other motifs to add to these cushions as well as different designs such as some without ruffles and some with more etc. The crown above is one of the motif's i would like to add to the collection. Here are a few more motifs that i have come up with.

Floating Flowers

Trio Of Floating Flowers

Corset

Love Birds.

Love to hear your idea's and comments - good & bad!!

My French Ruffle Cushion

I mentioned a few months ago my desire to have some "french" inspired cushions to decorate the house with. Post here. 

But what stopped me was the over-the-top price tags on some of them ($50 and upwards on some). I am sorry but as nice as they were i couldn't pay the price tag for them. So I have been researching since then a way to try and create my own "french" inspired cushions on a budget. I found a way.... at last!

My French Cushion (Under $15)

It all came in the form of a little magic paper called "Freezer Paper". Now freezer paper is not baking paper or waxed paper that you buy from the supermarket. I actually bought this from Spotlight. It's an American product used also in the kitchen but also in the crafting world. It has a waxy side and a side that is "sticky". 

Ironing the Freezer paper onto the fabric.

I simply printed a picture on normal A4 paper that I wanted to put on the cushion. I then placed the "sticky" side down over the paper and using a scalpel I cut out the picture. I kept it simple for my first try and used a basic picture of the Eiffel Tower. Once you have finished cutting the picture out you can then iron the "template" you have created onto your chosen fabric, i used a light coloured linen for this. Make sure it is the waxy side up and sticky side down when ironing the template on your fabric otherwise you will find yourself in a bit of a mess. The great thing about Freezer paper is if you iron it on wrong you can peel it off and re-do it and re-use the template once you have completed your first project.

After painting & removing the "freezer paper" stencil.

I kept it simple and used plain black mixed with a fabric fixative to paint the stencil. I left it to dry and removed the freezer paper to reveal my masterpiece (well not quite!) I wanted to add some words to the print so i sat down and cut out some words to add underneath the Tower. This was a little more time consuming but i think worth it in the end.

The addition of words underneath the Eiffel Tower.

The second cushion i created with different wording.

The hard bit was not done and all I had to do was heat seal the fabric paint with the iron to set the paint into the fabric. The cushion cover is now washable! I whipped up the basic cushion cover and added one last point of interest to it.... a ruffle. It seems ruffles have a bit of a craze at the moment. I found out how to make ruffles at Ink Blots & Polka Dots, which gave simple instructions on how to whip them up!

The ruffle.

 So over all it probably took me a day's worth of work in between waiting for paint to dry etc. I am really  happy with the result and can't wait to get started on some other designs. I am not sure if i will keep these or sell them.

Not bad for under $15.00!!!

Puppy Power - FOR SALE!

We have had a few extra mouths to feed over the last 6 weeks. Six in fact! 

They have cute little wet noses, four paws, balls of fluff and playful to boot.

A very protective mum.

Yep our dog Abby had puppies. 

It was a bit of a story as she was due during the time we went away to India in February. Drama central! Thankfully my lovely parents agreed to look after her and the forthcoming off spring. I anticipated her to be due in the second week we were away - which wouldn't of been too much of a burden on my parents.

A day old.

 Well my dates were out for sure. She had them 3 days after we left to go to India, while my parents were at work. She had 7 puppies in total - 5 boys and 2 girls but sadly one of the girls died in the birthing process. So that left us with 6 boys and 1 girl. (3 black and 3 brown). My Mum & Dad did an outstanding job in looking after Abby and the pups while we were away - feeding, cleaning and wringing there hands i am sure at some stages!

For Sale - Foxy X Aust Silky Terrier - $100

They are now at 6 weeks of age and have been weaned. The sad time has come to put them up for sale. As much as i would love to keep them all there is no way we could. So with much regret (but happiness) i will introduce to our wonderful bunch of puppies. They are Foxy X Australian Silky Terrier. They are $100 each and will be ready to be picked up on the 2nd of April. If you live in Toowoomba or surrounding areas and are interested simply place a comment below or email me at thewhimsicalwife@gmail.com.

For Sale - Foxy X Aust Silky Terrier - $100

For Sale - Foxy X Aust Silky Terrier - $100

For Sale - Foxy X Aust Silky Terrier - $100

Rustic Jewellery Board

How was your weekend? I hope it was relaxing and full of creativity...... as mine was!

I have finally finished a project that was laying around for the past 3 months or so.

It is a Rustic Jewellery Board (Or Pin Board). It all started with a $5.00 wooden frame that i picked up at my local OP shop. (Which by the way has seem to jacked all their prices up to the point of being ridiculous - not happy). Anyway moving on!

Original Frame for $5

I loved the size and shape and had a project of a pin board in mind - i just needed to find the right frame and.... TADAR! I found it! It was out of necessity actually that i needed to create something to hand my jewellery on. You see i love to by "fashion" jewellery ( i love to accessorize) - not the expensive stuff unfortunately - and out of that love i now have an excess of earrings and necklaces that are overflowing out of my jewellery box.

Do you have this problem??

I thought about buying one of those steel mannequins to hang it all on but then there was the problem of where to put it, and they're so expensive as well.

I started off by giving the frame a light sand and painting with a white acrylic paint. I gave it a few coats for good measure. The fun then began! SANDING!! I rubbed and sanded (by hand) for what seemed like ages to get the aged look. I seemed to not get very far with it as i don't have the muscles to get in there. My knight in shining armour came and lent his muscles and VOILA we had "aged" and rustic look.

Sanding...

Painting......

The next step was to create the pin board center. I started by cutting out a piece of plywood for the backing. I then used quilting batting to create the puffed look that i wanted. I overlaid this with a lovely rustic looking linen which I picked up at spotlight.

Quilt Batting

Jute Twine

Jute twine was used to create the diagonal pattern over the linen fabric and glued at the edge with a glue gun, I then sewed these gorgeous buttons at each intersection. To finish it off i glued the edges of the linen to the backing board.With the help of my husband I nailed the board into place framing the pin board perfectly.

Buttons all sewed on.

The last step was to attach the coat hooks to the bottom of the frame. You have no idea how hard i looked for hooks similar to these for a reasonable price! Non existant! I ended up finding them cheaply on ebay from a USA supplier, which still worked out cheaper than buying in australia! So once they were attached we were in business to put it up!

My lovely coat hooks!

So there it is in all it's glory. I think it turned out pretty good if i don't say so myself! The best thing of all is i now have a tidy jewllery box! YAY!

Finished Result with jewellery all in it's place!

Yay for tidiness and order!

Blog Crush....

Yep it's official i have a crush.... 

Her name is Miss Mustard Seed and i am in Blog envy and DIY project crush mode!

Mustard Seed Interiors is a small business that was born out of a love for antiques, decorating on a budget, and giving old pieces of furniture new life.

Miss Mustard Seed finds decrepit old pieces of furniture and turns them into beautiful pieces that would proudly grace any  french country home!

 She has the knack of sniffing our pieces for next to nothing and turning her hand to making them beautiful again! I love her vision of each piece and the whimsical feel she adds. 

The best thing of all - she does it on a budget! No fancy shmamcy stuff just good old fashion paint, sandpaper and elbow grease! 

She makes gorgeous slipcovers for sofa's and chairs out of canvas drop cloths! You can buy these from Bunnings for about $30 for a large one and the possibilities are endless on what you can do with these... cushions, curtains, slipcovers, bags etc!

 Before

After Slipcover

So make sure you pop over and check her out and drool along with me! I am definatly inspired by all these projects and have started on one of my own!

This is my next project below. It is a crusty old cupboard that was left when we bought this house. It definatly has character and charm i just need to unveil it and show it's true colours. So i have a bit of hard yakka up ahead of me but it will give me something to do. Hopefully it will have some sort of resemblance to some of Miss Mustard Seeds work! :-)

I have finished one of my projects that i have had sitting around for the last 3 months. It all started with this $5.00 frame that i found in my local op shop. I will show you the end result in my next post! :-)

Be sure to check out my Simply Tea blog for this delicious Black Forest Cake recipe!

YUM!