What to do with Vintage Bed Linens...

Hello My Lovely Creatives! I thought I would share a quick and fun project with bed linens that I worked on this past week. With summer in full swing, we are eating outside more, especially since we now have a new little deck in our backyard to have a table on. Instead of always using a tablecloth, I thought it would be nice to have a set of placemats for all seven of us. I had found some very fun large red and white polka dot fabric at the thrift store that would match with my colors in our kitchen, but I decided to make the reverse side completely different with using all reclaimed linens in a mis matched fashion. They are working out fantastic, I can use them in our kitchen, or outside and they match either place. I also enjoyed quilting them.

Here is the cheerful summertime side for outside.

And here is the red and yellow side to match the kitchen.

I have cut out enough for 8 guests as well. It will be fun to dress the table with these when we have company. I am really enjoying the 2 sets in one with them being reversible!!!

And they match so perfectly with my bed linen napkins!!!

A Simple No Sew Fabric Wall Art

I had been coming across this concept quite a bit recently and of course being a lover of all things fabric, it really captured my attention! It is making wall art simply out of wooden embroidery hoops and your favorite fabrics! Can we say SEW Simple! And it can be applied in so many different ways! Instead of struggling to choose a certain style or color scheme, I decided to pick my favorites and slowly begin building my collection. One of the walls in my living room has become the showcase for some of my favorites.

Here is the wall so far. The color has been so fun to see every morning. The kids love to stop and stare at it and pick a new favorite every day.

But hands down, both my husband and I agree that the good morning is by far our favorite! I found this embroidered beauty at a thrift store and was thinking of making it into a throw pillow, but this idea is helping to keep it beautiful for years to come! I have been able to take fabrics from bed linens, clothing, curtains, and embroidered tablecloths. The possibilities are again limitless! You do not even need to buy the hoops new! Most of us have them laying around collecting dust and they can also be found at thrift stores, garage sales, or on line for fractions of their original cost! It is a very inexpensive decorating solution! I stretched the fabrics tightly and then trimmed the excess off. The great thing is that I can go back and easily change the fabric out for a new print with no problem!

So, of course, I had to share some of the fun with my shop;) I put together a trio of hoops with a bold vintage bed linen print. I am looking forward to putting more collections together for others because, well.......I am just about out of wall space here at home;) but far from out of ideas to bring to life!

What To Do With Vintage Linens #12-"I think"

It is funny how if you gather enough of the same thing, it all of the sudden becomes an inspiration in itself! That is what has happened with all of the bed linen hems that I have lopped off of the sheets I cut up. Those hems are like little treasures, especially to someone( ME)who likes "easy" sewing and quick solutions! I have always loved the hems for making pants for my kiddos like the one below.

These pants were made for my Madi girl who is 10. They were made from two king size pillowcases! The ruffle is so sweet at her feet, and what is even better is that it was already made! But I am getting off track here. I wanted to share today, what to do with the linen hems when they are cut off of the sheets. Below are a few combinations that I was able to put together with some saved hems.
SUMMERTIME!!!!

GIRLIE DREAMS....
Some hems are so detailed and so unique that they are art within themselves.

GRANDMA'S PORCH
HAPPY TOTE...
The first thing I did was to lay out the hems on a piece of fabric that would become the body of the bag. I simply sewed the hems in strips, starting at the bottom. I did roll the cut edge under so that the hem would be finished even though it was not going to show once it was layered with the remaining hems.
I have shown this in the photo above. Next I chose fabric to line the tote and to serve as handles. All was made from vintage linens. The body of fabric simple gets folded in half and is stitched on two sides leaving the top of the tote open. Then the wrong sides of the body and the lining are folded in , straps are pinned in and the body, lining, and handles are stitched together.

All finished and in the shop! Yeah...now to get those others finished!
And just to get that imagination going, here are some more possibilities for the hems to add to the countless possibilities...

How fun would it be to make a skirt with the layered look of these linen hems!
Or a blanket that would completely fascinate any little fingers.
Add them to a pair of pants that have become a bit too short.
Use them at the bottom of curtains.
These would be fantastic for creating a unique pillow as well...

THE FIRST EVER.......FREE GIVEAWAY!!!!!

alright my faithful few!!! I thought it would be fun to give a little something special away to my readers. this is the first ever giveaway here on the Whimsiedot blog! I am offering one of my fun vintage bed linen fat quarter bundles. The chance to win is as easy as pie! Simply post a comment about what you would do with this bundle for the chance to win. Leave a comment through Sunday and I will pick a winner on Monday. One chance per reader. Remember to check back for the winner and contact me for mailing address if you are the winner! Nothing to fancy, we will simply pull a name from the hat, or basket or crate, whatever works:).


Here is the bundle you will have a chance to win....

There are 6 vibrant flower power prints in this fun bundle. Some of my very favorites!

Good luck lovelies!!! Can't wait to hear all your ideas!!! May the Lord bless your weekend!

Oh Happy Find...Come and Snuggle With Me

This is my happy find of the month! Our basement is a typical semi finished mish mash of activity. The overflow from our living space, but in turn making it where we live a good portion of the time. With five kiddos, investing in NICE new furniture for the basement would be quite the silly mistake on my part! I Mean, come on, I found many shades of beautiful mold growing on the carpet after my sons first sleep over-WHAT IS THAT! So, with that in mind, we naturally went with the very retro and groovy mustard coorduroy sofa that was in mint condition until it was in my house for one week! But that is besides the point....it is late and I am rambling. While i am a vintage geek, the lovely funk was not my first choice in color or decorating styles, but I decided since I couldn't beat, I would join it! In otherwards I was going to enjoy the challenge of making our hang space in the basement fun! I bet those of you who know me, could never guess what i used in this project! Why vintage linens of course! "I am not just the owner I am a client as well"-haha-to many late night infomercials I think! Anyways, my find was not the couch, it is actually this chair! I found this overstuffed chair for 7.00! After looking it over thouroghly, thinking there has to be some kind of mistake, we decided to snatch it up to sit beside our lovely couch! The only thing missing on the chair was the back pillow. No problem, I think I have about 20 at home that may do the trick! I am a bit of a pillow hog as well! I think Matt thought I was a bit like the Princess and the Pea when he met me in college, although it was not matresses in my case but oodles of pillows, and of course I needed them all!

So, I gathered up all the lovely retro prints and colors on my shelves and began with a pillow party in my basement! That was my late night Friday and Saturday project keeping me busy so i would forget how very much i was missing my husband who is in Ecuador right now. Here are the additions to the chair and couch.
I used a combination of an old bedspread and coordinating sheet for the seat cushion. Talk about flower power-whoa


I made new slip covers for all the pillows in our TV room. Awesome, wash and go.
I think it is a hit!I love it, this is the perfect cuddle up with a book chair, I can fit all my kiddos on it with me. I love these kind of finds!

Update On The Friday Night Quilt

Well, I forgot to look at the clock last night and ended up working on the quilt until 1am, thankfully it was a slow morning! But here are the pics of where it is at. I am hoping to pick out the backing and get it pinned to quilt later tonight.

Friday Night Quilting-What to Do withVintage Bed Linens

It was a girl's night around here, tutus, mama's old make up, dancing music, and lots of laughter. It is known as the " pink party" around here. But now, with all the little lovelies tucked in bed, it was playtime for mama! I had been working on a few custom orders today for my sweet customers for their quilting projects so it completely gave me the itch to sit at the machine tonight and put together some quilts I have been anxious to do. I love selling fabric, but sometimes it is such a tease that I wish I had more time to work with myself! So...this is the fun quilting I have been playing with tonight.

Here are the yummy bubblegum fabrics I began with.

What a fun jelly roll of fabric strips to begin playing with! I cut the strips into 3 inches wide by 12 inches long.

I cut and sewed approx 100 strips together in sections of 4 each. This giving me plenty to make several projects.

I am just loving the eyepopping colors and the randomness of them.

Once they were ironed, I cut them into 6 inches in length.

I am planning on bordering them all with a solid color, most likely white so that they really pop. Updates to follow....

What To Do With Vintage Bed Linens-#4

Spring is coming! I think!? We have had quite the tease here in the Midwest-do I wear shorts or my winter coat today!? None the less, I feel the fever coming on for sunshine, gardening, and days in the pool! So, feeling so inspired, I thought it would be nice to sew up a few reminders of the springtime blooms we are awaiting. If you have paid any attention the the bed linens of the 60's and 70's, they all tend to scream flower power!! Pretty fun if you some color in you day. And, they are not to difficult to coordinate! So many of them seem like they were meant for one another!

So, in preparation for ball games, days at the beach, summer camp, garage sales, and parades, simple totes make a perfect project for vintage bed linens. They make wonderful book bags, just throw in your favorite book, journal, pen, and of course you camera and have it ready for the unexpected moments of inspiration. Or, bring it to the hospital full of goodies for a friend who needs some cheer.
















Happy sewing from one bag lady to the next!!

What To Do With Vintage Bed Linens-#2

I had to find a fun way to keep a small reminder of the fun prints I have found and passed on to customers or used in my creations. Our stairway to our basement is pretty drab and dark and for the time being and it will probably stay that way. I hate clutter and have a horrid time trying to concentrate in the midst of it, so I have not been able to bring myself to having a messy bulletin board up in our living space. Hiding that mess in the stairway since it is so close to the kitchen was a perfect compromise! I have taken varying sizes of cork board and foam board and covered them in random vintage flower power prints. It took a bit of puzzle piecing to arrange them, but that was fun. I had tried all kinds of sticky back tapes and adhesives but found that nailing them was the best solution. Now I have a whole side of my stairway to pin up important messages-but I have a confession to make! I can't bring myself to clutter it up-aughh! It looks too cool all by itself! My daughter Madison leaves tiny little notes taped everywhere and she was the first to break in the new bulletin board. I have left it and it is the lone sweet reminder. GOD MADE US.....