My creative and crafty Cousin

To say my cousin, Katie, is creative and crafty is an understatement, this girl is proving she can do it all. As my cousin she was one of my first friends, I have looked up to her my whole life, and now that we are older she is still teaching me things! I am so grateful for the time we recently spent together; we did a lot of catching up and a lot of projects!

About a month ago I ordered a ton of fabric (from Fabric.com) and had plans on using it for curtains in our master bedroom and to recover some pillows; trouble is I don’t have a sewing machine. So, last week Katie came to my rescue and we used her machine to sew, actually, she did the sewing, I cut, ironed and pinned. The outcome of our 2 evenings worth of work was: long drapery curtains for our room, 10 recovered decorative pillows and a bonus bathroom curtain made from left over fabric!

The curtains are simple panels, and I kept it basic with clips at the top. They may be simple in design, but they have had a major affect on the space, they have brought warmth, coziness, height and finish to the room! For the pillows we followed a tutorial Katie found on Design Sponge, it showed us how to make a pillow form with a zipper, instead of making an envelope type case. We both prefer the zipper, it keeps the pillow looking taunt and fitted.

As if coming home with new curtains and pillows wasn’t enough she spoiled me and hand built JD and I a table to go beside our couch in the family room. Let me just say I am in awe of what Katie can do… she works all week, takes care of her hubby and two sweet little boys, and sews, crafts, paints, designs and builds everything in their home. I wish I could show you all of the things she has made; shelving, side tables, a dinning room table, bench seating, wall décor, curtains, a sunburst mirror and the list goes on. I brought the table home and spent yesterday afternoon painting it white, after a few coats of paint and a top coat of Polycrylic Protective Finish the table is in its place and fitting perfectly!

Below are pics of the curtains, pillows and table, and the two of us in action, of course! Thank you, Katie, for all of your help; I can’t wait until we get to work on our next round of ideas! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone, JD and I hope all of you enjoy time with family; we are certainly grateful for each of you and wish we were in Ca to join in the festivities!

     xoxo,

              Rachele