Vintage linens pillow

Awhile back I purchased a handmade girl’s skirt at the Salvation Army thrift store, not because it would fit me or because I have a little girl (my little girl is almost all grown up!)  – but just because I liked (okay – LOVED) the sweet lavender fabric with the pretty violets.
Vintage Linens Pillow | Vintage Floral Cottage

This week I decided to use another of my great-grandmother’s hand-stitched pillowcases, and pair that with my violet fabric to make another of my vintage flap pillows (click here for the tutorial!). I have several of these pillow cases, but on most of them the front side of the fabric is badly stained from years of use. This pillow design allows me to preserve the pretty stitching. For this pillow, I was able to also use the back of the pillowcase as backing for the pillow itself, making this one extra-vintagey! (I swerved slightly off the path on this one, too, because I stuffed it with loose fiberfill rather than a pre-made pillow form.)

Vintage Linens Pillow | Vintage Floral Cottage

Vintage Linens Pillow | Vintage Floral Cottage

Vintage Linens Pillow | Vintage Floral Cottage

I do have some other pillow ideas in mind, but this one turned out so sweet and allows me to enjoy Great Grandma’s handiwork. And, bonus: I only used the front panel of the skirt, so I still have enough violet fabric to make something else.


I’m linking this sweet little project to Saturday Night Special over at one of my favorite blogs, Donna’s Funky Junk Interiors. Please click through for a ton of wonderful ideas! 

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Spring is blooming… indoors

The weather has been really frustrating around here for the past 10 days… upper 40’s to mid 50’s and rainy, which actually means cold and damp. That means our fruit trees are going to bloom really late this year, but I was getting desperate for a little Spring cheer in the house. So I decided to bring some budded branches inside. It only took a few hours before the warm house coaxed these branches from our pear tree to open and provide a very pretty “show” in front of the dining room window. I have really enjoyed this vase full of blooms all week!

Blooming Pear Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage
Blooming Pear Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

A couple days after bringing those branches in, I noticed that a good portion of my one lone lilac bush had been broken off at the base, either by animals or high winds. This really “hurt my heart” (as my daughter used to say) because lilacs are among my absolute favorite Spring flowers and we only have the one shrub. Not about to admit defeat, I clipped off some greenery and the one piece that seemed to have some buds on it, and brought that inside to force as well.

Lilac Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

This sprig hasn’t bloomed yet after several days, but I am giving it plenty of time – the buds had just appeared when the branch got broken.

Lilac Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

And, here is the neat vintage green-and-gold vase I’m using. I’m not sure of the maker, it belonged to my grandmother and simply says “Made in USA” on the bottom.

Lilac Branch | Vintage Floral Cottage

Meanwhile, neither the pear or apple tree, nor the remainder of the lilac bush, appear any closer to blooming outside than they did ten days ago. Hopefully we’ll have some warm sunny days really soon!

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Easy zipper pouch

Even though I totally should have been riding my motorcycle today, I decided instead to take on a few small projects that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. A couple of them were just spray-paint projects,. but my favorite is this cute little bag I made using Kate’s super-simple zipper pouch tutorial.

Green Pencil Bag | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

Seriously adorable!!

My little pouch is made up of some favorite scraps: green corduroy from a blazer/jacket – I left the flat-felled seams intact because I really love the look of them…

Green Pencil Bag | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

..and lining made from a too-small shirt I bought at Goodwill just because I liked the toile fabric.

Green Pencil Bag | Vintage Floral Cottage

Green Pencil Bag | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

The crochet trim is a scrap from a grab-bag of old sewing notions I recently picked up while thrifting.

Green Pencil Bag | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

The whole project took me a little over an hour – I have decent sewing skills, but I don’t have the patience to make anything too complex. I also don’t have a “zipper foot” on my vintage sewing machine, so there were a few tense moments getting past the zipper pull 😉

But, Kate’s tutorial was spot-on simple, and I am IN LOVE with this little pouch. I am not even sure what I’m going to put in it – I just knew I needed it!

Green Pencil Bag | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

 

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Aqua round-up

A look that I really love, that I’m seeing a lot of these days amongst shabby and romantic style blogs, is a little infusion of aqua among all the white linens, chippy wood, and milk glass. I decided to go around my own home and gather up some aqua elements, to create a tabletop vignette that celebrates this particular combination that’s soft, yet crisp, and sooo pretty… all at the same time! Here’s what I came up with.

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

Aqua decor | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

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Romantic address book re-do

I’ve been on the lookout for a larger-format address book (because I’m in complete denial about needing eyeglasses) and I recently found this lovely 80’s/New Wave version complete with totally blank inside pages just crying out for a re-do.

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

For the new cover I chose this pretty floral fabric that I had on-hand.

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

I removed the inside pages from the book, and using Fabritac I applied white felt (to create the feeling of padding under the cloth cover) to the front, back and spine.

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

Then I laid the book open onto the wrong side of the fabric, and using Fabritac I simply began gluing the fabric down with some care taken to create tidy corners.

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

I actually intend to choose another fabric for the inside covers which will cover the raw edges you see here – but, I haven’t decided what to use yet so for now it’s incomplete.

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

I closed the book and thought it looked great, but still needed a little detail on the cover.

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

I used one of these small metal label-holders used in scrapbooking, inserted a printed label proclaiming “Addresses” that I made on the computer, and added a couple of small faux crystals in the holes on either side. (The label-holder is secured to the cover with Fabritac.)

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

I love the finished look – romantic and entirely suitable for a cottage writing desk, don’t you think?

Address book re-do | Vintage Floral Cottage

 

 

 

 

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