Cozy up your living space with a few, great, do-it-yourself projects:
* To create the illusion of taller ceilings and wider windows hang curtain panels high and wide. For custom draperies with extra length and weight, cut standard curtain panels and machine stitch black linen to the bottoms.
* Bedeck a plain pillow with fantastic felt flowers. For this specialized look cut flower shapes in different sizes out of felt, layer the petals and tack them together. Sew each flower to the pillow bunching them together to create blooms.
* Create a custom ottoman! Cut MDF to size & attach stacked, wooden spheres (already painted) or pre-fab legs using a center dowel for stability. Wrap MDF with foam and fabric, and carefully secure to the underside with a staple gun. Personalize your creation with silhouettes of your favorite four legged friend!
* Can't find the perfect light fixture, try crafting your own from a large tomato cage, fabric and some embroidery floss. Now that's a great idea! For step by step directions see Do It Yourself {Winter 2010}, page 72 by BHG Special Interest Publications.
"Step 1: Using wire cutters, cut a large tomato cage down to the desired size of your pendant lamp. Turn upside down.
Step 2: Bend the wires meant to push into the ground over the top of the cage as shown. String a pendant light kit through the center of the bent-in-wires.
Step 3: Create a template from newspaper for the pendant cover. Roll the cage over the paper, creating an arc, and trace as you go; add 1 inch to top and bottom.
Step 4: Using the template as a guide, cut the cover from a piece of fabric. Press under the top and bottom edges 1/2 inch for a hem; sew. Embellish with embroidery if desired. Sew ends together to create a cylinder-shaped slipcover.
Step 5: Slide the cover over the cage. Fold the top and bottom ends, and stitch the fabric to the inside of the cage."
*Photography via Do It Yourself {Winter 2010} by BHG Special Interest Publications
