diy – Jo McVey Photography

DIY Alphabet Wall

My son, Grayson (2 yrs., 3 mos.) loves reciting his letters, and can say all but six of them! I’m a proud mama! I’ve been wanting to do this project for a while, so that he and Oliver can see the letters whenever they are playing in their playroom. I finally was able to get to Hobby Lobby to pick up the supplies and get to work. This project wouldn’t have taken very long from start to finish, but I could only work on it for a few minutes at a time, since I have a 7.5 month old and a 2 year old to take care of during the day, so it took me about a week to complete.

Here’s what you’ll need:

cardboard/paper mache letters (found at most craft stores)
scrapbook paper (26 sheets)
modge podge (I used a matte finish)
paint brush or modge podge brush
x-acto knife
scissors
cutting board
tacky putty (for attaching to the wall)

Grayson is obsessed with trucks and trains, so when I saw this pack of coordinating scrapbook paper, I knew it would be perfect for him!

Since I wanted the colors to be evenly distributed, and not have two of the same color or pattern next to each other, I laid out all 26 sheets of paper and switched them around until I was happy. Then, so I wouldn’t loose track of the order, I wrote the letters on the back corner of each page.

On the back of each paper, flip your letter over so that it is facing backward. Then trace around the letter with a pencil.

Tada! A traced letter!

Then, cut out your traced letters. You can leave the center in letters such as B, O, P, etc. because we’ll cut those out with the x-acto knife later.

Next, paint all the sides of your letters with a coordinating paint color.

This is the modge podge and brush that I used. It’s a matte finish for paper.

Brush a thin layer of modge podge on the front of each letter, making sure to cover the entire surface.

Then, firmly press the cut out papers onto each letter. I found it best to start from one end and work your way up, to minimize air bubbles.

Wait at least 30 minutes for the modge podge to dry, then cut out the centers of the letters on a cutting board with the x-acto knife.

Tada!

Next, brush a thin layer of modge podge over the entire front of the letters, and let dry for 30 minutes. Now, you’re ready to hang them on your wall! I used tacky putty to hang them, but if you have another method you’d like to use, by all means, do what makes you happy!

And there you have it! A beautiful alphabet wall for your playroom, nursery, or any other room in your home! (Yes, I realize that the letter “Z” is missing. It was out of stock when I picked up all the other letters, so I’m going to have to go back and get it. Just pretend it’s there.)

I hope you enjoy!

DIY Curtain Tutorial

I’m proud to say that I have made all the curtains in our house. In total, there are 5 sets: blackout curtains in our master bedroom, Grayson’s bedroom, and our bonus room, and blackout Roman shades in our living room. The newest set (which is what I’ll be covering in this tutorial) is regular, unlined curtains in our kitchen. Since I couldn’t think of any reason why I would need blackout curtains in my kitchen, I omitted the lining, which made these the easiest curtains I’ve made so far!

Here’s what you’ll need:

home decor fabric (mine was 54″ wide)
ruler
scissors or rotary cutter
sewing machine
thread
pins
iron and ironing board

First, you’ll need to measure your window to determine how much fabric you’ll need. My window is 68″ wide x 84″ tall. The width doesn’t really matter too much unless your window is REALLY large or REALLY small, in which case you’ll want to adjust your fabric accordingly. As far as the height goes, this will determine how many yards of fabric you’ll need. Since I knew I wanted my curtains to hang about 6 inches above the top of the window, I added 6″ to the initial 84″ measurement, which brought my total to 90″. So determine where you want your curtains to hang and measure from there. Then you’ll need to add 10 inches to that measurement (2 inches for the top hem and 8 inches for the bottom hem).

So, here was my measurement:

90″ + 10″ = 100″

That was the total for one side. Remember you’ll need to make two curtains. So my total fabric length needed to be 200 inches. Since I like to play it safe and have some extra fabric just in case, I bought 6 yards of fabric (or 216 inches).

Measure and cut your fabric. You may need to fold your fabric in half lengthwise once or twice to be able to cut in a straight line if you’re using a cutting mat (which I highly recommend).

Once your fabric is cut, turn it so the wrong side is facing up. Fold and press the side of your fabric (going lengthwise) one inch, or if your fabric has designer and color information on the side like mine did (see picture above) you can fold it until you start to see the pattern on the right side of the fabric.

Fold and press one more time so that you have a one inch hem going down the length of your fabric.

Pin in place and repeat on the other side.

Sew both hems as close to the edge as possible. Don’t forget to back stitch at the top and bottom of your fabric to secure the thread.

Here you can see my stitch placement on the hem.

Time for the bottom hem. Make sure your fabric is still facing with the wrong side up and turn up your fabric 4 inches (across the width) and press.

Fold up 4 inches again and press. This will create a nice thick hem at the bottom.

Pin in place and sew as close to the top edge as possible (just like you did with the sides).

Here’s another example of my stitch placement on the bottom hem.

We’re almost done! Time for the top and final hem! Turn and press your fabric one inch.

Turn up one inch again and press.

Pin in place and sew. You’re all done with the sewing!!! Now we just need to attach our curtain rings and hang it up!

These curtain rings with the clips are such a time saver, because you don’t have to worry about making holes for the rings!

Tada!!!! Beautiful new curtains, and you made them yourself!!

These curtains add that special touch I was looking for in my kitchen. I can’t believe it took me almost three years to decide this window needed some pzazz!

Here’s a picture of them closed. They’re so colorful and cheery!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section.

Throw Pillow Tutorial

After almost a year of staring at the not-so-attractive throw pillows that came with our couches, I finally decided to make new covers for them that were more my style. Luckily the original covers came with zippers so they were easy to remove.

Here is what our couch looked like with the original pillows. They’re definitely not the worst pillows I’ve ever seen, but I thought some gray chevron fabric would give the nice modern and chic touch I was looking for.

Here’s what you’ll need to create your new throw pillows:

2 yards of fabric
sewing machine
rotary cutter or scissors
cutting mat
straight edge fabric ruler to run your rotary cutter along
pins
18″ Pillow Insert

Start by cutting a 19″x19″ square from your fabric. We are going to be sewing with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, so you’ll need your fabric one inch bigger than the size of your pillow. My pillows are 18″, but if you are using a smaller or bigger pillow, just adjust the measurements accordingly. If your cutting mat isn’t big enough like mine, you may have to fold your fabric in half to get a straight cut.

Next, cut a 19″x24″ piece of fabric. This will be for the back of the pillow. You’ll need it longer than the front piece so that we can create an overlapping pocket opening for the pillow to slide into.

Turn that longer piece of fabric horizontal, measure 8 inches from the right (or about a third of the length of the fabric), and cut all the way through so that you now have two separate pieces for the back. In total, you will have three pieces of fabric for your pillow.

Press a 1 inch seam on each of the back pieces where they used to meet.

I also pinned the seams I just pressed as an extra precaution, but this isn’t necessary if you are careful when sewing.

Next, sew your seams on the two back pieces of fabric about 1/8 inch from the rough edge.

Lay your front fabric piece right side up. Then lay the smaller of the two back fabric pieces on top of the front piece, right sides together. The seam you just sewed should be in the middle, not on the outer edge. Now lay the larger of the two back pieces down, with right sides together. The two back pieces should overlap, and the seams will create the pocket for the pillow.

Pin and sew around the entire pillowcase using a 1/2 inch seam.

Cut your corners at a 45° angle to reduce bulk. Be careful not to cut where you have sewn.

Flip your pillowcase right side out and push out the corners with something pointy, like scissors or a knitting needle.

Now all that’s left to do is insert your pillow!

Ahhh!!! I like this so much better than the original pillows! My house is on it’s way to becoming modern and chic! I might just have to make new throw pillows for all the bedrooms as well!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Let me know if you have any questions, and I will be happy to help.