Easy Burlap Tablecloth

I am linking this post to DIY day at A Soft Place to Land. Be sure to stop by there for more great DIY projects!

I’ve been needing a kitchen table for my guest house for a looooooooong time now.

But I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

At first, I was thinking my husband could make me an island with some bar stools to use as my eating area in the guest house.

But I placed a large buffet table in the middle of the room, to get an idea of what an island would look like, and I didn’t like it.

It took away from the detail of the cabinets.

So then I started thinking I wanted a small table with two chairs.

But what kind of table did I want?

Well, I found what I wanted in my favorite inspiration spot…Ballard Designs magazine. (If you don’t get this magazine in the mail, visit their website and sign up to get it FREE in the mail.)

It is a burlap tablecloth with jute trim and sells for $85.00.

Of course I said, “Why buy it, when I can make it?”

So I went to Hobby Lobby and got 4 1/2 yards of burlap. I like their burlap because it is a softer, smoother material, and it doesn’t stink like most burlap. :)

Their burlap was on sale for $1.99 a yard, so it cost me only $9.00.

And here is the table I was going to use. It was a small patio table that Mom and Dad had on their back porch. Since I was covering it with a tablecloth, it didn’t matter what it looked like underneath! And it was the perfect size. (And price…FREE!)

Here’s how I measured it:

(Do not laugh at my drawing! I just really thought you would need to see this part if you wanted to make your own tablecloth. You would just use the measurements of the table you were using, not mine, of course.)

That is a total length of 94 inches.

My burlap was 45 inches wide. So I folded it over lengthwise 47 inches (half of the 94 inches I needed.)

I did that TWICE, so I would have two identical pieces.

Then I took one of those pieces and cut it right down the middle.

I laid the two smaller pieces on both sides of the larger piece. I unfolded them to show you what it would look like.

Then I sewed each of the two smaller pieces to each side of the whole piece. Ladies, I didn’t even pin the pieces together! I just held the pieces together on the sewing machine and sewed a straight stitch all the way down. The burlap did well this way. I wouldn’t be able to do that with every fabric. And I wasn’t worried if the ends matched up perfectly because I knew I would be trimming it and adding fringe.

(The reason you add two smaller pieces to the side is so that you don’t have a seam running down the middle of the top of your table. Doing it this way keeps the seams on the sides of the table.)

Now, we are almost finished.

You need to fold this entire piece in half (from top to bottom).

Then fold it in half again, just like folding a piece of paper (from side to side).

Since the total length of my tablecloth was 94 inches, I needed to take half that amount to measure where I was going to cut the material, which was 47 inches.

Since I couldn’t find my sewing tape measure, I used my husband’s metal tape measure to cut a string 47 inches long.

My oldest son helped me with this part.

He held the string at the top corner of the material, as I measured.

Then I drew a line from one side to the other to show where to cut.

(My son told me I should leave the scissors on the material to show you guys that I cut it with them. How cute is that?)

The angle at which I took this picture makes the right side look long than the other side, but they are both 47 inches long.

Then I put it on the table to see if it worked. (I was doubting myself a little at this point.)

But it DID!

Now I need to add some fringe at the bottom. I found some at Hobby Lobby that I loved, but even with the 40% off coupon, it is still pretty pricey.

So I am on the hunt for a bargain, or a homemade version.

I will post about that when I get it finished.

I could just sew a hem on the bottom, but I was really wanting some cute fringe.

But for now, I am very pleased with the results.

And now our guests have a place to eat!

I will be getting some glass to put on top of the table to protect the burlap.

The two black chairs on each side of the table were purchased at Goodwill for $30.00.

They looked like this when I bought them…

And after I re-did them, they looked like this...

You can read about that project HERE.

I thought I would be using them by the couch in the “living” area of the guest house. But now I think they are perfect for the kitchen table.

I still have some more projects for the guest house that I am working on, and I will share them as soon as they are finished.

But for now, thanks for letting me share this project with you!

Blessings,

I am linking this post to Funky Junk Interiors' Saturday Nite Special.

I am also linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Be sure to go check out the Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick!

Wednesdays with Wanda

Today I wanted to share with you one of my mom’s favorite recipes.

Poppy Seed Bread

She used to make this a lot in the fall and give it away as little gifts to people. She taught me how to make it, and I have been making it every year since!

This recipe makes 5 to 6 mini-loafs, the perfect size for sharing with others.

So I decided to make 4 batches and share them with the precious ladies I work with. I teach music two days a week at a Mom’s Day Out Program at an area church. It is the most wonderful place to work!

The ladies I work with are amazing. I was flooded with love and prayers when Mom first became sick. Many of them helped take care of my boys, so I could help take care of Mom and go to her many doctor’s visits.

And when Mom passed away, I cannot tell you how much these ladies blessed me. Many of them came to Mom’s visitation and funeral, they took turns making my family dinner for two weeks, they collected money to give me a gift card, they gave me a beautiful decorative frame for my home, and they prayed and prayed for me.

I felt their love in every hug and every tear as they comforted me.

I wanted to do something for them to show them how much they meant to me, so I made them each a loaf of Mom’s poppy seed bread.

Here is the recipe:

Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

2 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups oil

1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

2 t. butter flavoring

2 t. vanilla

Mix together the above ingredients and beat for two minutes.

Fill 5 or 6 mini-loaf pans 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Glaze:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. butter flavoring

Mix in a glass measuring cup. Pour over hot bread when removed from the oven. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Now, when Mom would make these, she would remove them from the pan, wrap them in plastic wrap, and tie them up with jute string.

She would usually attach something cute to it, like a tag with a scripture on it that she had made on her computer, or a small type of flower or leaf. She was great at “embellishing” a gift.

My attempt wasn’t quite as cute as what she usually did, but I thought it turned out nicely.

I just tied a fall leaf to each loaf with a card that said “Bless You”.

And my prayer is that God would bless my sweet friends for all the ways they have blessed me!

Mom and I talked about this recipe a few weeks before she passed away. She said that one time she made some of these and took them to work. (She was a secretary at a church.) And when a needy person would come to the church for help, she would give them a loaf of poppy seed bread to take home with them.

She thought is was such a simple way to show someone you loved them.

Can you think of some people this week that you could show God’s love to?

A teacher?

An elderly person?

A friend at work?

A neighbor?

Your Mom?

One batch of poppy seed bread would cover all of these people!

Make some poppy seed bread and take it to them with your own little note attached.

I know you will be blessed as much as they will!

**************************************

Recipe for Living

I shall pass this way but once.

Any good thing that I can do,

Any kindness I can show,

Let me do it now.

Let me not defer it or neglect it.

For I shall not pass this way again.

(This is a poem that Mom kept on our refrigerator when I was growing up. She also cross-stitched it and hung it on the wall in a frame. I memorized it as a child, not knowing fully what it meant. But I do now! We only get one life on this earth…let’s make the most of each moment!)

Thank you, Mom, for always teaching me (and showing me) it is better to give than to receive.

God bless you all!

(This is a weekly post that I am doing to honor my wonderful mother, Wanda, who passed away on September 22, 2009. It is a place for me to share precious memories of her…for myself, for you, and most importantly, for my children.)

Progress on our kitchen re-do

Here is the picture I posted of our flooded kitchen a couple of weeks ago.

I told you that one blessing that came out of it was that I got a new dish washer!

And I did! Yeah!

But I have to share a few more blessings.

1) I am getting all new cabinets, bottom AND top!

2) My new top cabinets are going to have glass fronts with 6 mullions! (which I’ve always wanted)

3) I am getting lighting inside my glass cabinets and underneath all my cabinets! (which I have also always wanted.)

So I am not upset about this “little” inconvenience at all.

Since we have to replace our bottom cabinets because of the flooding issue, we have to replace the top ones to match.

Oh darn. (wink, wink)

Here is what my ugly 40 year old cabinets looked like…

I’ve never posted this part of my kitchen because honestly, I just don’t like it.

Notice the soffit above the cabinets. Every since we moved into our house five years ago, I have wanted to tear down that soffit to see what is underneath there. Were there pipes that couldn’t be moved? Wiring? Nothing at all? I wanted to get rid of it so I could have taller cabinets.

Well….since our kitchen already looked like a dump site, we decided to bust a hole into the soffits and see what we could see…

Nothing much there….

Or there…

A little wiring there…

But nothing that could not be tucked up into the rafters.

I was SOOOOO excited! I was about to get me some new tall cabinets.

So we tore it out. (No my husband is not going gray…that’s just drywall dust in his hair!")

It is gone!

Then I decided to hire the hottest cabinet maker I could fine…

and well, my husband won hands down!

He started by building the cabinet frames.

Then he hung up new drywall to cover the ceiling, installed lighting in the cabinets, and underneath the cabinets…

He also added crown molding to match the rest of the kitchen.

The microwave goes in the space where you see the wire and metal frame. I wanted the cabinet above the microwave to stay open, so we added beadboard to the back of it.

Here’s what the other side of the kitchen looks like as of tonight…

The two cabinets in the middle do not have lights inside them because they will have doors. We put beadboard in the back of the cabinet above the refrigerator because it will be left open as well.

We are having the doors made by a cabinet maker in Georgia and should get them in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, my hubby is going to be painting these cabinets, and fixing the bottom half of the kitchen (floors included!)

I will post more pictures soon!

Blessings,

I am linking this post to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land!

This….That….and a Winner!

Before I announce the winner, I wanted to share THIS….

Isn’t it beautiful?!!!!

We received this beautiful wreath as a gift at my mom’s visitation and funeral.

I love it on my front door.  What a blessing!

And I have been wanting to share for a long time THAT….

I won a giveaway too!

Richella over at Imparting Grace was giving away a beautiful bracelet this summer, and I won!

It was around the time that Mom got sick, and I never got around to posting about it.  But I absolutely love it and wear it all the time!

I wanted to make sure that Richella knows how grateful I am!

Richella is a beautiful person inside and out, and we have become good friends here in blogland.   She has written me many beautiful emails and comments to encourage and comfort me during my mom’s passing.  Her friendship has been a blessing from God!

She also has a beautiful blog.  She’s just posted a tour of her home.  Look at this beautiful outdoor seating area….

  So go on  by there and say “hello!”

And now for the winner of my Burlap Magnet Board…….

There were  282  entries, but only one could win….

I used a Random Number Generator and the number was 40!

Shannon at Posh Pieces!

Congratulations!  I will be contacting you soon to get your address, so I can get your prize in the mail!

I want to thank all of you who entered my giveaway, and the many of you who posted about it on your blog.  You guys ROCK!

But if you didn’t win, don’t you worry, I have another giveaway up my sleeve, coming soon….

And if you just really loved my Burlap Magnet Board, you can purchase it at my Etsy shop.  Just click on the button on my sidebar. 

Thanks again to everyone!   Have a blessed day!

Burlap Magnet Board Giveaway ends today!

Just want to remind you that my Burlap Magnet Board giveaway ends tonight at midnight!

And girls let me tell you…. it really is stinkin’ adorable!

I hate to brag about how cute it is….well… because I made it. But I can’t help myself! It’s just too cute!!

I’ve been trying to get a good picture of it to capture all of it’s “cuteness”, but I still think it is cuter in person.

It is the same size as the ones in Ballard Designs magazine, 12 x 18 inches, which cost $39.00.

But my board comes with FOUR cute little magnets, handmade by you-know-who.…ME!

Don’t cha just love the texture of the burlap?

I’m seriously thinking about entering this giveaway myself!

If you have not entered yet, click HERE. Scroll down to the end of the post and read the directions on how to win.

I will announce the winner on Friday!

Goodluck!