$5 5-Minute Table/Chair Scarf

 

You’re going to love how simple it is to make your own table scarf. Adding a little bit of fabric can bring out texture and add dimension to your table-top display. Also, this simple scarf can double as a chair scarf! Just tie one around your kitchen chairs for a little dress-up. They would be perfect for a bridal or baby shower or even a wedding!

What you’ll need:

¼ yard decorator’s fabric

Matching thread

Sewing machine

1.   You'll start off by cutting the fabric in half, creating two long strips. I picked out this taffeta fabric that was half off at my local fabric store. It has a tendency to fray easily, so I included the instructions below to help alleviate that issue.

 

      2. Next, you are going to change the setting on your sewing machine to a small zig zag stitch where the points of the zig zag are close together (I’m such a novice at sewing I don’t even know the technical term for this!). Sew the zig zag around all sides of both pieces of fabric, as close to the edge as you can get. This will help all of the edges from fraying.

3   3.   Since you will still have some fraying, like the photo below, just take your scissors and trim all around the sides of both pieces of fabric, cutting close to the stitching you just made.

 

       4.   Take two of the short ends and put the right face of the fabric together. Change your machine back to a straight stitch and sew the right sides together with a ¼” seam.

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            5.  If you are a little bit pickier than me, you can go ahead and press that seam with a steam iron. This might take you an extra few minutes, so it will be a “10-minute Scarf” instead!

Now go tie your scarf around a chair and be amazed what you can accomplish in 5 minutes. You’re good!

Faux Framed Mirror

When we moved into our new home a couple of months ago, I noticed a big dark spot under the edge of one of the bathroom mirrors (see photo below). It was pretty noticeable, but I knew there had to be a solution. After looking on the internet for some ideas, I found some tutorials where people had just added a frame of molding to the outside of their builders’ grade mirrors. The look was totally custom! With the help of our contractor, who was doing some other work in our home, we put this baby up in about 15 minutes flat! Better yet, the materials only ended up costing around $50.­­­­­­­

While I had my contractor help me with the cuts and adhering the mirror, I don’t see why anyone with a miter saw or miter box couldn’t do this project with a couple of people.

What you’ll need:

Enough molding to surround your bathroom mirror

Paint and/or glaze

Paintbrush

Miter saw or miter box and hand saw

Silicone & silicone gun

Painter’s tape

        1.  Buy your molding. I discussed my mirror idea with my contractor, Kelly. He had never seen it done before but thought it sounded like a fun idea. He helped me measure how much molding I was going to need. I went to my local home improvement store and found some molding that you could buy by the piece instead of by the foot. What I found was white plastic “casing” that was a little over $11 per piece. 

   

        2.  Start painting! I decided on a creamy white paint that I already had at home. I only did one coat and then added some glaze afterward.

  

       3.  Here is a photo of the pieces after I put on the glaze (Mine was Van Dyke Brown from Sherwin Williams. To apply, just paint on a tiny amount with a sponge brush and then wipe off with a soft cloth.). I also ended up going back to the store and buying an additional piece of wood to add to the original. This made my frame extra wide but still looks like one piece. These pieces were $5 each.

 

       4.   Now you’re ready to cut your pieces. Remember – it is always better to cut them a hair too big and trim them down if needed. You’ll never be able to add back to the wood!  We measured the outside edge of the mirror to see how long the pieces needed to be and cut them down with the miter saw at a 45 degree angle. 

1     5.  Then we measured the inside edge of the large molding piece and cut the smaller board to fit the inside edge. Here are the boards after cutting:

 

       6.  Now adhere the boards to the mirror. I was planning to use Liquid Nails to adhere to the mirror, but since some of my boards were made of plastic, my contractor suggested we use silicone. Just the clear kind you would use to caulk a bathroom tub with. He said there was a good chance the Liquid Nails would melt through the plastic. I couldn’t argue with that – he really knows what he’s doing.

We just took the piece that would be at the bottom of the mirror and ran a long bead of silicone across the bottom, then dotting some silicone every 6 inches. We put the sides on next and the top piece on last. Then we went ahead and added the smaller pieces.

1    7.  You’ll want to tape the corners with painter’s tape to secure them. Also tape the top piece up really good and leave the tape on overnight.

 

1     8.  You can go ahead and seal up the gaps in the corners (if there are any) and touch them up. This makes it look really professional!

 

      9.  Take off the tape pieces the next day and you’re all done!