The dining room makeover is still underway, but I wanted to share the latest development as I’m so excited. Manfriend turned our old door into a pair of shelves!

This is my favorite time of year. The weather warms up, and we eat all of our meals outdoors. Cleaning and prepping the patio for the summer season was quite the endeavor, but well worth it!

I’ve always loved this old trunk and milk can in our yard, but it’s always been buried or tucked away in a corner. And while the pillows look decent in this image, they are old and incredibly worn. In less than a couple of hours, I recovered both of these with bright, new fabric.  Here’s how you can easily do the same!

Step 1

Measure your pillow.My approach isn’t exactly scientific, but it works. I lay the pillow on the fabric, mark the corners and cut.

Step 2

With your two pieces cut out, pin the fabric right sides together and sew 3/4 sides.

Step 3

On the 4th side, sew approximately 3″ in on each side, leaving an opening in the middle. You’ll use this opening to turn the fabric inside out and stuff your pillow into the new casing.

Step 4

Now that you’ve stuffed your pillow into the casing, pin the raw edges to create a clean seam and stitch. Then stitch the clean edges together to close the pillow. This is the most challenging part.

If you prefer not to close it off, you can add a zipper or try this approach with an open flap.

My latest obsession and guilty pleasure is shopping at Goodwill for fabric. In the linen section (sheets, tablecloths, etc.) you can score 3-5 yards of beautiful fabric for $3.99 – TOTAL! Such a steal!

I originally bought this beautiful thick cotton to reupholster a cushion, but when I changed direction on that project an idea was born!

Using the Simplicity skirt pattern above, I got to work and for the first time EVER I completed an article of clothing in ONE weekend. I suspect I’ve been choosing patterns that are beyond my skill level, in turn taking me MUCH longer to complete.

Total cost for this project: $14 ($10 for the pattern, $4 for the fabric – of which I have plenty to spare.)

The skirt looks incredibly awkward bellow my 8.5 month pregnant belly, but this will be a great post-baby skirt with the elastic waist!

Have you upcycled anything recently?