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Thinking Outside the Box: Fabric

I always decorate on a limited budget [and by "limited" I mean, "as close to $0 as I can get"].


Through the years I've discovered that I can assemble a pretty good space if I get creative and think outside the box.


Today's post will give you ideas on finding fabric for less. [So. If you don't sew at all... this may not be terribly helpful. However, if you can muster up a straight line on your sewing machine, or even if you have a staple gun and aren't afraid to use it... then you're golden, keep reading!]


When I redid our dining room over the summer I needed to get enough fabric to recover this bench and four pillows [note: I moved that middle pillow in "as-is" from another room, so it's not included].


I paid exactly $28 for all of my fabric, plus I had bonus fabric left over that I used as a table runner... and I did it all without stepping foot into a fabric store [to be honest, I did step into a fabric store. I didn't like their fabric selection and I choked at the prices of the options which were available that I didn't even like... so I quickly stepped out of the fabric store!].


Then I remembered this little fact: fabric is fabric.


Armed with my new revelation [which really isn't a revelation at all, but I'm feeling dramatic], I went to one of my tried and true spots: Marshalls. There I found a fantastic woven blanket for $19.99 that I was able to cut in half and use to recover the bench. This was actually perfect because I wanted something thick and woven and slightly Boho inspired... all of these boxes were checked with a blanket! SO. If you're wanting to recover a bench or something... a thin blanket and a staple gun are all ya need!! And below is the bonus no-sew runner that I now have on my table using the remainder of the blanket [shhhhhh, don't tell anyone I actually have a blanket on my table, please...].




Next, I moved onto another favorite store: Goodwill. Now, I'll be the first to admit that it's hit or miss... but I lucked-out and scored a table cloth that was the exact color I wanted. AND... get this... FOUR perfect, new, never even used placemats. Of course none of these items were actually going to be used for my table [I already had a blanket for that, silly!].



This is when I sewed my straight lines, stuffed my inserts inside and ... voila! Four Pillows for $8!



Remember... fabric is fabric so nothing is safe anymore... shirts, blankets, table clothes, thing rugs, sweaters... look around ya and get creative!!

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