Fabulous Find Friday...you did what with that napkin?

I've said before how much I love cloth napkins.  Rarely do I actually use them for their intended purpose, but I love them for making accent pillows.

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time finding accent pillows.  It's just something I'm really picky about.  But with cloth napkins, my options are significantly expanded.  I have been able to find some really fabulous prints and patterns in napkins, that I haven't ever found in accent pillows.  

Not only that, cloth napkins are typically about 20 inches square which is just the perfect size for an accent pillow...it's like they are just begging to become pillows, right?

Cloth napkins are also very affordable generally.  You can easily make an accent pillow for under $10 each...which is significantly cheaper than the pillows I've seen around for no less than $20-$25 each.

I stopped by World Market {one of my favorite stores} a week or two ago and stopped by their cloth napkins section...because I felt like it!

I was pleasantly surprised.

I loved this set of 4 napkins for $15.95.  The colors make excited for fall for some reason.

I thought these little birdie napkins were so cute.  I immediately wished I had a nursery to decorate because these would look great there.

I loved the bright, floral print of these napkins.  They just make me happy.

These ikat napkins are super cool...and again makin' me excited for fall with all the fall-ish colors.

These napkins are the exact colors of my family room.  I wish I had come across them before I spent a small fortune on pre-made pillows.

I love the colors.  I love the whippoorwill.  This print just makes me smile.

I love these teal napkins {they also come in red}.  I love the scalloped pattern and the color combination.  I purchased a set of these for accent pillows in my master bedroom.  I love that they have a slightly more masculine feel, which I'm sure studs will appreciate as well.

So, my tip of the day...

If you are in the market for accent pillows but not having a lot of luck, try checking out the kitchen linen section of your favorite store.  Not only will you end up with chic, one of kind pillows, you will also save a bum load of money.

  

Pillow Talk

Let it be known that I love toss pillows.  

I'll save you all the lengthy dissertation on how obsessive personalities run in my family and how I tend to get fixated on certain things...uh hum, David Beckham anyone?

Anyway, I just love accent pillows.  I especially love having extras on hand that I can pull from when I am feeling the need to switch things up.

That all said, I thought I would share one of my favorite tips for making pillows...cloth napkins {and kitchen towels}.

Not only are napkins {and towels} the perfect, pre-formed size for accent pillows, they also tend to offer a wide variety of interesting patterns and colors.  Oh!  And they are also really cheap.  Cha-ching.

I recently came across this brightly colored dish towel.  Only I didn't see a dish towel, I saw the perfect accent pillow for my bed.

There was no cutting and no hemming involved...just sewing four straight lines {and if you don't sew, there are all sorts of liquid stitch and heat activated options you could try}.  What could be easier than that?

Voila!  A beautiful, bright and one of a kind pillow that took all of fifteen minutes to make {probably less if I wasn't using the world's crappiest sewing maching}.

And for your inspiration...

I saw these napkins at West Elm, a set of four for $20.  That works out to be $10 per pillow, or you could always add a contrasting color to the back of each and make four pillows for a little over $5 a piece.  Ba-Bam!

 I think I love the dark pink best.

And who doesn't love a playful polka dot...especially those of the "ikat-y" variety?

These napkins, also from West Elm retail at between $16-20 for a set of four.

I'll take a set in blue, thank you!

I love this geometric pattern...especially the green...and the black...and the tan.

$16 for a set of four at West Elm.

Can you tell I love West Elm...remember the little "fixation" bit I talked about at the beginning of the post?

Anyway, next time you find yourself in the market for some new throw pillows, maybe you will consider passing up the premade ones and will consider making some of your own.  I promise you will be the envy of the PTA.  In fact, your popularity might propel right into the president's seat.  Is that a good thing?  I don't know.  But at least you'll have some totally rad pillows to admire {and rest/bang your head on} while you plan out a year's worth of activities.

You're welcome!