Making Something out of Nothing- Pillows out of Place Mats!

Pillows have this amazing way of pulling a room together. They're great at adding a pop of color without being overwhelming,...

they soften the room, they allow you to mix textures and patterns..

basically... they're a great (and SUPER easy) way to polish off any bedroom

(or office... or living room... or guest room... or bathr-- uh, well... you get the point).

Today I was strolling through Target's dollar section (or whatever its called--- the place at the front with all the baskets of goodie

s ), and I came across some place mats for $2.50*... now- i dont have a dining room table, and have no need for place mats, but they just so happen to be the exact colors I've chosen as accents for my bedroom. (tune in for the Great Bedroom Makeover for under $150!!)

(*side note: Target has SO much kick-ass stuff right now its ridiculous! Follow-up Target review blog post coming soon!)

Sooo.... I after some examination- I discovered the place mats were double sided.... and rectangular...

"DUH!"- you say... but you know what else is double sided and rectangular? Pillow cases! these place mats were soft enough to use as pillow cases and already perfectly hemmed and sewn ... all I needed to do was add some stuffing- sew 'er up- and add 'er to the bed ensemble!

And lets not forget- those are $2.50 place mats! plus all i did was use an old throw pillow that was all flattened out and dirty (and i didnt have to go out and buy) . That brings our grand total for this project to ........

$2.50!!! (well. plus tax...)

And they wanna charge you $25.oo at pottery barn... BAH!

Below is the (SUPER EASY) DIY guide to making place mats into pillows! I encourage you to take a walk down the place mat isle next time your in a department store... and think---could I use any new throw pillows??

Step 1:

Find yo-self a place mat! Make sure you can feel both layers of fabric (and make sure they're separated!... wont really work if the two sides are fused together!) Then, grab an old throw pillow- or buy some stuffing... or buy a new pillow! Big Lots (another one of my favorite markdown stores) sells cheap-ass ones for about 3.99. Since you're not sleeping on these, who cares if theyre firm and not extra firm!

Step 2:

Tear open that old pillow and pull out the stuffing. Old stuffing will (more often than not) be flattened out and matted looking.... but by simply pulling at it and tearing it up (pull at it like an accordion... you'll get that analogy when your holding the stuffing.) you can fluff it up and make it look (almost) new!

Step 3:

Make a 3-4 inch opening by ripping the seam on the side of the place mat. Be gentle when doing this! Remember- this is the side of the pillow people are going to see! Then stuff the hole with the stuffing from the old pillow. I like a well-filled pillow... but that parts up to you!...

Step 4.

With either a sewing machine or by hand, stitch the place mat -- now pillow case--- back up!

Its easy when you just follow the marks left by the stitching that you ripped out in step 3.. you're basically just resealing it...

And thats it! Look at that! Something out of (almost)nothing!!

and just cause were on the topic of pillows-- i'll leave you with this.. A ginormous pillow fight.. that i just so happened to be in on Valentine's Day in San Francisco a few years ago....

SAN FRANCISCO GIANT PILLOW FIGHT!