DIY IKAT rug!

Would you believe me if I told you I made the rug in the picture, and it only took about two hours? I am in LOVE! It is my new favorite thing.

I love it from every angle!

 I feel like it pulls the whole room together!

Update: To see me demo live on Studio 5, click HERE.

 I have been wanting a rug for my formal living room for quite a while now, and have been crazy about the ikat (pronounced, ee-kot) pattern. These rugs are all over the place, but have a very lofty price tag.

This Martha Stewart rug from gluefier is $468.

Ikat rugs in Pottery Barn start at $999.

The way I feel about it is; Ikat is very trendy and I love it now, but don't want to make an investment in something that I may not be crazy about two years down the road. I saw a tutorial online about how to make a rug, using fabric, so I thought I would give it a try. The tutorial can be found here.

You will need:

Upholstery Weight Fabric

I got mine at
warehousefabricsinc.com 

They have so many lovely fabrics to choose from, and have a terrific selection of ikat's (if you are a little obsessed, like I am). I highly recommend them for any project you have in mind, that involves fabric!

This is what I chose:

It's called Iskander Lime, and it is fabulous! I ordered 2 yards, equaling $32. Make sure you get at least a medium weight upholstery fabric. I was also sure to use a fabric with a large repeat. This will give your rug a more high end feel.

You will also need three products from
 Home Depot
(I like the Centerville, UT store. They are so friendly and helpful!):

Painter's Drop Cloth $10.98

5ft x 8ft Rug Gripper $22.97

Spray Adhesive $5.77

So, the whole thing costs around $72. I used thread I already had to sew the edges, but you may need to factor the cost of thread in there as well.

Let's get started on the tutorial!

The first thing you need to do is iron. I spent nearly an hour on this part! You will want the fabric to be as smooth as it can be. I left it on my railing while I prepped everything.

Lay the rug gripper out on a flat clean surface.

Lay the painter's canvas on top of the gripper.

Lay the fabric on top of the canvas. I laid mine so the salvage edge barely hung over the canvas, so that I could turn and sew it to finish the edges.

It should look like this.

Cut the excess around the fabric.

Two of the sides will look like this.

You will need to fold the fabric in half, and cut the base in enough that the  edges of the upholstery fabric will wrap nicely around the base when it's time to sew the edges to finish the project.

 Now it's time to start spraying the adhesive on. Fold your fabric in half, and start spraying a 6 inch section near the folded edge. Spray on the canvas. Don't spray too much. Use your hand to smooth out the fabric layers.

 Work your way down, constantly smoothing from the center to the outer edges.

 After you have finished the first layer, you can do the same for the next layer, but spray on the canvas instead of the gripper. My gripper moved a bit with the smoothing, and probably because of the slant of my driveway.

 Next, you get to turn the edges. The tutorial I read before recommended pinning, but I didn't actually need to, because of the spray adhesive making it stick on it's own!

 I had a hard time figuring out how to sew the edges, because of the scale and weight of the rug. I ended up rolling the rug, and setting the rolled end on the chairs next to me, and in my lap. I am not going to lie. It was hard to push it through the machine, because of the gripper. I did break one needle on a corner.

 Next time, I would sew it with the fabric against the table instead of the gripper, because it runs much more smoothly through the machine. I sewed an extra line of stitching around the edge.

I wouldn't recommend this rug for high pile carpets. I think it would do best on hard floors, like wood, tile or laminate, and it works well for low pile carpet.

Now for the fun part!!!

Here's how it looks in my house!!! What do you think?

 I love how it goes with my chairs!!!

I love everything about it!!!

It makes the whole room!

See that lamp? I am going to tell you all about it soon!  Also, I will be sharing this on Studio 5 on Wednesday. Tune in for a live demo. Our fabulous friends at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.  have a special for Studio 5 viewers that I will tell you about on air. You won't want to miss it!

Be sure and come back!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

3ft by 4ft photo Enlargements for $4.99!!! My new favorite thing!

When I was on  pinterest the other day, I saw something I thought was SO COOL!!! You can take a photo to Staples, and they will blow it to up what is called an Engineer print for $4.99 - that's 36" by 48" for $4.99! It took about 2 hrs, and I got my prints.

So, I took my kids to the park, and took a few (hundred) pictures of them. What did we ever do before digital cameras? These are a few that worked. I couldn't get one of all of them looking natural and smiling in the same photo at the same time, so I had to blow up two.

I e-mailed the photo I wanted in, after sizing it to 3x4 in picasa. I wanted to make sure I could get the crop I wanted, and not leave it to them. As well, I turned it to black and white, and tweaked the light beforehand. Also, e-mailing the print makes for a better copy. They can do it from a hard copy though.

Then, I called around for prices on mounting on a foam board. The best price I found was at Ben Franklin in Kaysville, UT. It was $17 each. Hobby Lobby was $26 each, and Michael's was $32 each! They didn't offer to price match after I told the the price at the other store either. Oh well. I love the dry mount, because they run it through a machine, that adheres it to the board, and also puts a protective covering over the top, so they can be touched.

This is how they look on my wall.

 

See that little yellow table? It and nearly everything on it was from DI. I will post about that tomorrow. You won't want to miss the details!

 I love the photos, and feel like it was a SUPER inexpensive way to fill up a large space! Maybe it's because I love my kids mugs ;) I am Assistant Stake Girls Camp Director, and we are having each ward take a picture of their girls, and we are going to blow them up for decoration at camp. I can't wait!

*Update! This is where I got the idea: Real Housewives of Bucks County (Thanks Tausha!)

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Indian / Bollywood Party, Part 5 {Decor and Dress}

I was feeling pretty good about myself, and the Taj Mahal and Indian Dolls I made, and thought they would suffice for the decor, then I thought about it and asked my SUPER-FABULOUS-sister-in-law, Angie, if she wanted to help. She said not only would she help, but she would bring some decorations.

She said she has a friend who went to India, and she was going to borrow some stuff from her. I figured she would bring a sari or two, and maybe a picture. Oh no, when she showed up... her car was PACKED full of plants and decor - straight from India! Angie, YOU ARE THE BEST!!! How lucky an I to have a sister-in-law like her?!?

I had NO IDEA how fabulous it would look. "FABULOUS is as FABULOUS does" right? And, like I said, Angie is fabulous! So is her friend for letting us borrow everything!

I have wanted to show a few pics from Sophie's Indian Photo Shoot, but like I said... the computer was not working :( This picture worked out fine though. I have to tell you about this frame, and most of the pillows from the couches that you will see below. Well, I will tell you in a minute... Keep reading! :)

I love this elephant and the whole display!

Isn't this book the sweetest!?!

Do you like how we hung the sari on the windows? So fun!!!

Alright, now for the pillows. I have this sweet friend Julie. She grew up with my aunt. We are facebook friends, and follow each other on Pinterest. She saw that I was pinning a bunch of stuff for an Indina / Bollywood party. She left me a message asking if I wanted a bunch of Indian pillows and decor for my party. She said she was cleaning out and getting rid of them, and wondered if I could use them. HOW SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL ARE YOU, JULIE?!? Thank you!!! I was so excited to get them. They worked perfectly! It was a LARGE bag, full of shams, a throw, pillows, a picture frame and lantern. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life!!! Thanks again Julie!!!

So, of course I had to buy myself a sari! I got it at the same Krishna Temple in Salt Lake City, UT where I got my daughter's. It was also $18.

Two of my awesome girlfriends offered to help. Thanks Kristen and Christine! You ladies are the best!

Here is the lovely Angie. I never got a posed picture of her, but she looked SO BEAUTIFUL, like an Indian Princess!

It was such a great, and over-the-top party! Be sure and come back to see what we did for all the activities! You won't want to miss it!

You might also want to look at:


 Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 1 {Invitation}
Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 2 { Indian Princess Doll Favor}
Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 3 {Princess Beds and Taj Mahal}
Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 4 {Indian photo shoot}
Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 5 { Decor and Dress}
Indian / Bollywood Party, Part 6 {Diwali Lanterns and Rama Sita}
Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 7 {Footless (barefoot) Sandals}

Indian Bollywood Party - Part 8 {Mehndi (henna tattoo)}

Indian / Bollywood Party - Part 9 {Bollywood Dancing}
Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa