Making a bench cushion...and a splash of colour

I've been stepping out of my comfort zone these days.

It's amazing what you can do when you create that blind (sometimes ridiculous) self-confidence in yourself. It's how I end up starting new projects, trying new things and discovering some skills that I never knew that I even had..cause I just go for it, regardless of whether I know what I'm doing or not.

It's how I got started on my little cake/cupcake business. Jen was planning her wedding and talking about buying a wedding cake, and I all of a sudden spoke up and told her that I would make her a wedding cake. No problem. I got this!

I had never made a real cake in my life.


Blind self-confidence. Ridiculous.

But I did it. Because I really believed that I could--and I knew that I would just figure it out until I got it right.

And that one moment of "I can do this" (even though I had never, and still have never had anyone actually teach me) decision actually started for me what is now a passion of mine, a love of mine and thankfully a little side-business to boot.

You need a cake or cupcakes for an event? Call me. I'll hook you up.

That ridiculous "I can do anything, cause I'll just figure it out...I think" self-confidence is what jump-started my newest project and in the midst of it all, I think that I might have found a new love...just maybe.

Sewing.

My sister is the sewer in our family. She can make just about anything. She's made clothes, baby bedding, oven mitts, bibs and diaper bags, just to name a few. But me? I've only ever made pillows and curtains for our house. I've never even attempted anything else.

Until now.

I bought a bench for our front hall since we really needed somewhere for the kids to sit while putting on their shoes and storage for their summer hats and winter mitts and gear. But the only problem was that the bench that I bought didn't come with a seat cushion, or baskets.

So I had to get crafty.

This is what our bench looked like before I got my hands on it.

And this is what it looks like now.

Whoa...COLOUR.

I'm still having a bit of a heart attack over how bold it is.

Our whole house is pretty neutral and has been since the day that we moved in almost six years ago. But I'm getting tired of it and decided that I wanted to throw in little splashes of colour all throughout. Kind of like saying "Hey! This room is so darn happy, colourful and bright...enjoy!".

So I threw some colour on our bed in our master bedroom.

And filled both Carter's room...

and Mya's room with a few colourful details.

But our front hall? Well it is definitely now yelling "Welcome! Come on in. Sit down and stay a while. Not having a good day today? Well, have a seat on this ridiculously colourful bench. I promise you'll feel better".

We threw up this chunky white mirror too, just to add even more pizazz.

I'm still having a bit of a heart attack though. Definitely stepping out of my neutral-loving comfort zone.

I was going to write a whole post on how I made this cushion from scratch and how I made that pillow there too. But honestly, as I started step one (of a million steps) to finally complete the cushion, I realized that it would just be too much for me to be trying to figure out how to actually complete each step while taking pics and trying to remember the details well enough to teach someone else. So here is a link to the website where I learned how to make this cushion (amongst many others that I found online too).

But be warned..this is NOT an easy project if you aren't a real sewer. This particular cushion has all of the added details, like the piping along the edges, seven separate strips that you cut to an exact measurement and piece together and an added flap in the back with velcro so that I can take it off and wash it when I need to.

Definitely stepping out of my comfort zone as a want-to-be sewer.

But the pillow? No problem. Great for newbies (and it even has a pocket in the back so you can take it off and wash it too). Definitely a necessity around here. Youtube taught me how to make it. Here is the link if you want to try it yourself.

And the baskets?

They used to look like this.

I'll explain how I transformed them to match my bench in another post. Off to bed I go.

Feelin' pretty happy as I walk past that bench up to bed tonight. Colour will do that to you.

Erica xo