Save That Table

This idea I've known about for a long time and have always wanted to implement it somewhere in my home.  I've just never gotten around to it.  Martha Stewart left directions on exactly how to do this. (What would we do without Martha?)

1. Unscrew the extension mechanism from the bottom of the table. Remove the part of the table you won't be using.
2. Sand the remaining part, then prime and paint it.
3. Nail or screw a two-by-two-inch piece of wood to the wall at the height of the tabletop so that the edge of the table rests on the wood support.
4. Screw through the top of the table to the wood support; fill the holes with wood filler, and paint over them.

The Shirt Off His Back

This idea came from Country Living. 
Make great pillows from mens shirts .  The directions are below. 

STEP 1: Iron shirt to smooth out all wrinkles. Button it, then pin the shirt's front and back to each other to keep them together when cutting.

STEP 2: Cut out the shirt to match the shape of your pillow insert — adding two inches to both the width and length, and centering the row of buttons down the front. (You'll now have two pieces of fabric.)

STEP 3: Repin the fabric so the shirt's finished sides face each other. Sew the pieces together using a 6/8-inch seam. Snip the corners at an angle to ease turning.

STEP 4: Unbutton the fabric and turn the pillowcase right side out. Iron, then rebutton.

STEP 5: Topstitch around the case twice — first 1/8 inch from the edges, then 3/8 inch from the edges — to finish it.

STEP 6: Unbutton the case, insert the pillow, then rebutton and fluff.

Follow these instructions to add rickrack trim to your tailor-made cushions.

Cut an old shirt as described in Steps 1 and 2, but adding only 1/2 inch to both the fabric's width and length. You will have two pieces of material: one with buttons (keep them closed) and one without. Take the piece without buttons and pin rickrack along the perimeter of its front side. Rickrack should be parallel to the edges with no overhang. Machine-baste the rickrack onto the fabric using a scant 1/8-inch seam (you will just be sewing across the top of the rickrack to hold it in place — the trimming will flip up once the pillow is inserted). Pin the two pieces of fabric together so the side with the buttons and the side with the rickrack face each other. Sew together using a 1/4-inch seam. Unbutton the case, turn it right side out, and insert pillow.

A few gatherings

Many times when we go to a thrift store or flea market we just look for things that pop out at us.  But, when you take a little time to match things up, you could put together a beautiful setting for an end table or dinning table.  Slow down and smell the roses and you could go home a very happy shopper.