No sew pillows from a DS tote

Good day all, how is your week so far?

I have been feeling a little frustrated of late due to my inability to get things on my 'to do' list checked off.  It just seems that there are so many things I want to do but not enough hours in the day to do so.  I did however manage to make something to share with you and the best part is it only took a few minutes to complete. 

Last week we visited the DS to pick some items for Ethan's school project and of course I couldn't leave without taking a little walk down the aisles for potential DIY projects.  That's when I spotted some plain vinyl totes.  I saw potential and brought them home....

Having been inspired by a Chanel towel I spotted in a magazine with the word 'plage' ('beach' in French), I knew what I wanted to do.  I taped and painted several stripes in various shades of blue and painted the word 'plage'. 


You can obviously see that my letters were hand painted (use a stencil to make yours look more polished).

When the kiddies are around and I'm crafting, it's important for me to include them, even if it's just with something small. 

Once it was all done, it looked like this.  
Pretty, no? But we're not quite done yet...

I love staging my final products and believe that taking the time to stage is as important as creating something beautiful.  When I photograph bags, I usually stuff them with pillows and books or whatever I find around.  The above is a behind the scene photo of the inside of the bag.

I have made and showed you several bags before (here, here and here) and each time I thought that they would make pretty pillows if only I had a sewing machine.

This fabric was a little different and I knew I could easily convert this tote into a pillow by simply hot gluing the opening and cutting off the handles.  And so that's what I did.

I love how they turned out; they are going to be perfect for our backyard, but....

They also look pretty in our living room.  
Love the pop of blue against the white...

I painted a PB inspired octopus pillow to go with my summer beachy theme.  I like the faded uneven look of the picture.


The pillow in the background is also handmade with red sharpies.  I'm experimenting various ways to give the illusion of Ikat print.  Hopefully I'll find an easy way to show you.  In the meantime, I hope you feel inspired to make your own pillows from dollar store totes.  


Not bad for less than $2.00.


much love,
Lucy







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