So you’ve seen the kids’ candy colored Christmas tree, it’s time for the quick tutorial on how to make a scalloped felt tree skirt!  I chose felt because it’s a cozy fabric used so often during this season.  I used small pieces of 9”x 12” felt found at Michaels stores in bold teal and crisp white for contrast.

Here’s the quick step-by-step on how to make a felt scalloped tree skirt!

What you’ll need:  small sheets of felt (I used the inexpensive 9” x 12” ones from Michaels) in varying colors, 34 of first color, 25 of second color; scissors, thread, small bowl for measuring your first scallop template, sewing machine, 54” piece of cotton fabric (not shown).

Fold the felt in quarters and use a small bowl (no more than 4 ½ inches in diameter) to form the shape.   Allow extra room above the midway point for layering scallops on the skirt.  Hello favorite crème brûlée ramekin – you are perfect for this project!

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There’s something I’m very guilt ridden about and need to get off my chest.  Last year I failed to adequately prepare my elementary school children with the proper equipment for the intense and aggressive Pursuit of Sugar otherwise known as traditional Trick-or-Treating on Halloween night.  

Last year, we were invited to an event where a large group of kids excitedly gathered up together to go running door to door for two hours to collect candy from willing neighbors.   As mine ran out the door I handed them a paper bag but by the end of their intense Pursuit of Sugar, the paper bags were ripped and torn proving them an inadequate vessel for the weight of candy collected inside the weakening paper of the bag I had provided.  

And the guilt has haunted me ever since.  Get it?  Haunted?  :)

I kid because really they don’t care, they just want that candy.  But I made up for last year’s paper bags with a simple sew project:  Halloween trick or treat bags made from ½ yard of spider web fabric with purple ties for my wizard/witch and black ties for my little ninja.

Each one took about 15 minutes to make and cost me only a few bucks.   For each trick-or-treat bag you’ll need 1 yard of cotton belting and a 18” x 27” piece of fabric.  Here are the simple steps to stitch up something similar.  

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A few months ago I imagined for the window seat project a piped cushion cover with a zipper enclosure.  When I finally took the time to tackle this project, I realized I just didn’t have the desire (or maybe the energy?) to make something fancy when something simpler would do just fine.

The only thing I really cared about for this window seat cushion was 1) straight clean seams in the front and 2) a cover that could be removed for washing since this study is a kid space.  I settled on a simple knife edge box cushion cover, one without any piping or even a zipper.   This one’s stitched in just a few obvious places, and kept together with velcro in the back!

Since I wasn’t doing piping and just a straight edge in the front, I was able to save money by not having to buy extra fabric for the piping (welt cord requires extra fabric cut on the bias so it curves around corners easily).

Instead I bought 3 ½ yards of green outdoor canvas fabric for $9 a yard to cover the length of the window seat and a piece of 24” x 2” foam as long as my window seat to fill the cover.  And a package of velcro strip.

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Wow, what a weekend!  After six weeks of renovation, we finally finished up the kitchen over at our Alma Project at I snapped a lot of pictures, can’t wait to show you the transformation, it’s such a great before and after story!  Thanks for all the sweet comments on our blue balcony from last week.  As promised, here is the four step easy peasy lemon squeezy way to sew your own removable pocket pillow covers.

First things first, grab yourself some outdoor fabric from a local fabric store or online (here’s a great list of online fabric sources!)  I used two yards of P. Kauffman Conservatory Aquamarine for two rectangular lumbar pillows and two yards of Waverly Meridian Medallion for the square versions.  (Depending on the size of your pillow, you often can get away with only 2/3 of a yard per pillow, but I ordered 1 yard for each pillow to be safe.)

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