Blog Feature Friday: The Homemade Calling

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I've posted, but life has gotten super busy. We have a guest poster today who is a wonderful woman! She's my cousin-in-law (if there is such a thing?) and I LOVE looking at her blog and all her creative things. Without further ado, here is Mary Beth.

Hello! I’m Mary Beth from The Homemade Calling. I stay busy being a mom to my two sweet kiddos- Titus is 3 and Norah is 1. When I get a spare moment, I'm also busy transitioning to our new life after a big move, decorating our new house, lots of crafting, creating a more natural and simple lifetsyle and documenting our journey online. I blog about all that and more, along with sharing about my passion for fighting human trafficking around the world! I also have an online shop, Oak Street Studio featuring bags and other fabric accessories that gives me a chance to make a difference by donating 50% of all sales to fight against trafficking. I'm excited to share a fun tutorial with you today! Thanks Katie, for the opportunity!

Like I mentioned, we just moved from MI to OH with two little kids, and we knew no one before we came here! We’re slowing making friends and getting established in our wonderful new church. Life is pretty crazy with the two kids while transitioning to a new life. And we’re almost done unpacking, but the biggest thing that looms is decorating this big house! We now live in a big farm house turned church parsonage circa. 1873 on 5 acres of land. We’re excited for a big garden this summer and being outdoors letting the kids run free. But inside, there’s lot of stuff we need to do. Large rooms and large windows and high ceilings mean any change costs a little more. And we are usually pretty limited with funds, so we do little things here and there as we can. You know how it goes! We slowly keep moving down our list of home projects, although we are still near the top- a couple rooms have been painted, some curtains have been sewn up and hung, and decorating is beginning to happen.

I decided that when we moved, I wanted to take a different route with setting up and decorating our house. I wanted to be as frugal and homemade as possible- not just to save money, but mainly to create a home that reflects more of who we are as a family. We wanted a house with character and creativity. And if we put a little extra effort into everything that we add to our house, we will find more satisfaction with it and enjoy our home more!

Today I want to share with you a simple tutorial for a table runner that you can make for about $5! You certainly can’t beat that! Last week I went to Joann Fabrics during a big sale loaded up with a gift card, $$ and coupons to buy a bunch of home décor fabric to make some curtains for our bedrooms. While I was loading my cart up with bolts of fabric, I noticed a beautiful bolt of bright colors that would go perfect in our newly painted gray kitchen. Since I didn’t have an extra $75 to cover the 3 large kitchen windows, I decided to use the fabric another way to add a pop of color without having to spend a whole lot. 

How to make a $5 (inexpensive) table runner

A table runner is a great way to add some color, fun or elegance to a kitchen/dining table. Place a simple centerpiece on top, and your tablescape looks complete! This is a basic tutorial that any beginner could sew! For a more experienced sewer, add a fabric on the bottom to make it reversible or a simple lining. Or layer fabrics and do some quilting! There are many variations this could take.

I find that Joann Fabrics has a great variety of home décor fabrics in fun patterns and bright colors. They are on sale often, so if you just wait a week or two, you can grab some for 50% off or about $10/yd. That’s still a little much for me to be purchasing multiple yards of, but since you only need 1/2 yard for this project, you are only spending about $5 total. If you happen to have coupons that can be used alongside the sale, you could end up spending less! You couldn’t buy a table in the store for that price!

What you need:

1/2 yd of (at least) 54” home décor fabric

matching thread

iron

sewing machine

scissors

serger (optional)

*This will make a finished table runner of approx 52” long. If you are using a 58” wide fabric, you’re finished table runner will run about 56” long.

1. Using your scissors, trim and even up your fabric. Make sure it’s all straight.

2. Fold and iron the edges over 1/2" all the way around (first picture). Then repeat, so that all the fabric edges will be hidden (bottom picture. If you have a serger, you could instead serge all your edges, then fold and press 1/2” all the way around (only once.).

3. Pin down all the folding you've ironed all the way around your rectangle.

yes, I'd already sewn this up when I took this picture

4. Sew along the folds all the way around. Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end.

Now your table runner is done! Go lay it on your kitchen table and admire your work! 
Here is mine with my Valentine Orchid in the middle! It was the perfect pop of color I needed in my new gray kitchen! I hope you enjoyed this- thanks for letting me share!