I admit, I tend to change my mind frequently. My husband would call it fickle. I just call it "ever evolving design tastes." Whatever you call it, it means that I really love decor that has built in flexibility such as pillow covers that can be removed, washed, or changed. The best thing about pillow covers is that they are so easy to make. Here's how I make a cottage-style throw pillow cover in 10 easy steps.

Supplies
You will need:

• A yard and a quarter (1 1/4) of 45" fabric, or a yard (1) of 55" fabric
• Two and a half (2 1/2) yards of trim
• A drinking glass and pencil
• A sewing machine, iron, ironing surface, pins, scissors and thread
• Optionally, you may want a rotary cutter and mat for cutting your fabric.

Step 1
Cut your fabric into three pieces. For the front of the pillow, you will need one square 21" x 21". For the back, you will need two rectangles, 13" x 21" each. Note: Measurements given are for a 20" square pillow. The formula for other sizes is at the end of the article.

Step 2
To ease sewing and turning, we will round the corners of our pillow cover slightly. Trace a glass with a pencil on the wrong side of your fabric. Mark all four corners of the square piece of fabric and two corners on one long edge for each rectangle (see the picture at Step 4).

Step 3
Cut along the pencil lines. To save time, I often double-up corners and cut two at once.

Step 4
To prevent fraying but also avoid bulk at the seams, we will finish our raw edges using a zig-zag stitch or an overlong stitch if you have one. Finish all edges except the straight edge on each rectangle.

Step 5
Since the straight edges of the rectangles will be exposed, we'll use a more polished hem. Fold about 1/4" - 3/8" of the edge over twice to completely encase the raw edge and stitch it down with a straight stitch.

Step 6
Next we will pin in our trim. On the right side of the square piece of fabric, start at the bottom of the pillow and carefully pin your trim, making sure the sewing band is to the outside and the trim to show is toward the inside of the square. Pin frequently, making sure not to stretch the trim. It should not have any tightness to it, or the pillow will pucker on the edges. Butt the ends together so the trim appears continuous, adjusting the length as necessary.

Step 7
Next, we'll pin the entire pillow cover together in preparation for sewing. Place one of the rectangular pieces face down, rounded corners to the outside as shown. Line the corners up and pin carefully, again, making sure not to stretch the fabric or trim.

Step 8
When the first rectangle is completely pinned, place the second rectangle, face down, on the other half of the project. The hemmed straight edges will overlap. Again, beginning with the corners, pin the rectangle down carefully, making sure to remove any pins that might hide under the overlapping fabric and cause problems when sewing.

Step 9
Sew all around the pillow, using a seam allowance that matches the sewing band on the trim. For example, the sewing strip on my pom-pom trim was 5/8" wide, so I used a 5/8" seam allowance. For very bulky trims or piping that are close to the seam, you may need to use a zipper foot, but for flat trims such as fringe, or trims that hang away from the edge, your regular presser foot might work fine. If in doubt, sew a test using scraps of trim and fabric until you are comfortable with how the material will run through your machine. Finally, make sure to remove pins before you sew any given section of fabric! Sewing over pins can break your needle or even damage your machine. I usually pull the pins out of the 1"-2" right before the presser foot and sew in small sections.

Step 10
You're almost done! Your project should now look like this. Next, turn the project inside out and press. Then, all you have to do is stuff the new cover with your pillow form.

Stuffing the pillow form into the cover is easy, just like you would put a pillow sham on a bed pillow. Smoosh it around and shake the corners until it looks right, and then, you're done!

Voila! One cute cottage style pillow cover. Now that you know this simple trick, you can change all the pillows in your house whenever the mood strikes. If you're like me, that will be often!

My very best,

P.S. If you want to make a pillow cover for a pillow form other than the 20" pillow I made here, you can figure your fabric sizes as follows:

• Your square piece is the size of the pillow form plus 1" square. So if your pillow form is 14", your square piece of fabric should be 15" square.
• Your rectangle pieces are the same length as your square piece on the long edge. For the short edge, they are half your square piece plus 2.5". So, if your square piece is 15" square, half of that is 7.5" and plus 2.5" is 10", so your rectangles should be 10" x 15" each.

With perennial borders all but spent and autumn leaves putting on the big show, attention in the front garden is focused on the home entry. Using materials gathered from the garden and discounted end-of-season perennials, create this welcoming seasonal display to provide color, interest and a focal point for your fall and winter garden.

Materials
While it would certainly be possible to buy everything required fresh from the garden center and spent upwards of $100, the frugally-minded and moderately resourceful should be able to pull together needed items for $20 or less. Look around your home or tap friends and family for items they may no longer need to bring your project in for the lowest possible budget. Feel free to improvise or adapt based on what materials you have to work with.

For each pot, you will need:

A. A decorative garden pot or other container, about 16-18" in diameter.
B. An assortment of smaller pots, bricks, rocks or scrap wood for props.
C. A bundle of large grass, twigs, or other tall material.
D. An upright potted plant, preferably with color.
E. A trailing plant.
F. Two small filler plants, preferably with color.
G. Three or four small pumpkins, squashes or other gourds.
Remember, this is for one pot--you have to double the amounts for two.

Instructions:

Step 1: Assess your space.
What size and type of containers you want to look for will depend on the specifics of your entry. For example, I have an asymmetrical entry. To the right of the door there is a nice spot for a pot, but to the left the landing drops off immediately to stairs. The next available spot for a good-sized pot is 8" lower. So for my display, I knew I was going to need either one tall pot and one short pot or some kind of base for one of the pots.

Step 2: Gather materials.
Resourcefulness and bargain shopping are key here. Here's where I found my materials and what they cost:

• Decorative garden pots. I happened to have a tall pot and a short pot with similar colors and shapes in the shed, not being used. You could also use galvanized pails, terra cotta pots, some scrap wood nailed together or even plain black plastic nursery pots wrapped with raffia or twine. $0.


• Assortment of pots, bricks, etc. I just happened to have a random selection of these kinds of things in my shed. $0.


• Bundles of large grass. My Mom has a row of tall zebra grass in her garden. About this time of year she cuts it down for the season, so I was able to snag several bundles of grass from her. You could also use pampas grass, fountain grass, or something completely different like corn stalks or twigs pruned from a tree or shrub. $0


• Plants or plant materials. I found what I needed at a local big box store garden center in the end-of-season clearance racks. Some of them were a few bucks, but since they are perennials that I will be planting in the garden next season, it was money well spent. For the upright plants I got two one gallon agastache (hummingbird mint) for $4.27 each. For the trailing plant I found two orange sedge in one quart pots for $1.74 each. And for the fillers I got four 4" burgandy mums at an amazing $.25 each. Total: $13.02


• Small pumpkins/squashes. I bought these at the local grocery store. I used two smallish pumpkins that were $.50 each, two mini-pumpkins that were $.59 each, four unusual gourds for $.69 each and my big splurge, a white and orange striped mini-pumpkin for $.79. Total: $5.73

Step 3: Load in the plants.
First, place the large bundle of grass into the large pot in back. Wedge it in with an upside down pot or other medium-sized item that will also create a shelf. Next add the upright plant in the middle back. Arrange the trailing and filler plants around the edge. If you have asymmetrical plants like I did, have one pot mirror the other. Make sure to leave a space in front. Fill the space with bricks or scrap wood up to the rim, making a shelf to pile the pumpkins and gourds.

Step 4: Add the Pumpkins
Start with your largest pumpkins or gourds in front and arrange the rest around it until it makes a pleasing display.

Step 4: Refresh and Rotate
As the display begins to deteriorate, give it a holiday season refresh by replacing the grasses with twigs and pushing the cut ends of evergreen clippings into the potted plants for the rest of winter.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed this project. If you decide to do this or another seasonal entry project using materials from your garden, let me know!

One of the most common decorating challenges I hear about in kitchens is the dated oak cabinetry. My friend Kim has done a spectacular job of tackling this challenge in her own house. With her kind permissions, I've put together a step-by-step how to on her process. If you like Kim's work, please also check out her blog: One Woman's Cottage Life. There's more stuff there than anyone could read in a lifetime, and it's all adorable.

When Kim bought her house, her kitchen had fine quality cabinetry with face frames and doors in solid oak. They were under 5 years old and in excellent condition. Fortunately for Kim, they also had a traditional raised-panel door, the shape of which was a nice fit for Kim's history-inspired vision.

Kim added moldings, details, hardware and completed a multi-step paint finish that gives the entire kitchen a beautiful, timeworn feel. She also added a distressed island and updated her dining area to a farm-house style. Even through her kitchen and dining area are still under construction, the impact of the new finish on the cabinet doors is clear.

Before you decide to tackle this project, be warned, it is a very labor-intensive, multi-step project. If you don't have the discipline and dedication to see it through, hire a professional. It'll still be cheaper than buying all new cabinetry, and it's nice to recycle if your cabinets are in good condition.

These are the steps that Kim went through to complete her project:

1. Clean and degrease all the cabinets, inside and out.
2. Remove the doors, drawers, shelves and hardware.
3. Add crown & rope molding at the top of each cabinet.
4. Add bottom molding (to hide under-counter lighting).
5. Add beaded board panels to the cabinet sides.
6. Add decorative moldings to the front of selected drawers.
7. Sand all the cabinet carcases, shelves, doors and drawer fronts.
8. Apply two coats of primer.
9. Apply two coats of cream basecoat (so distressing, will reveal cream).
10. Apply four coats of red paint.
11. Lightly distress the drawers and drawer fronts.
12. Use antiquing glaze on same.
13. Dry brush same with light green paint.
14. Wax cabinets, drawer fronts and doors.
15. Spray paint old brass hinges with Krylon high-adhesion brown paint.
16. Rehang and intall drawers and doors.
17. Position and install new oiled bronze pulls.

In addition, Kim updated her interior shelves with toile style wallpaper covered with three coats of poly. The results are beautiful.

If you want to duplicate Kim's gorgeous colors as well as her process, here's what she had to say:

• The red that I used is by Waverly and it's called "Cherry."
• The off-white basecoat was American Tradition Homestead Resort Parlour Taupe."
• The glaze was "Raw Umber" translucent color glaze.
• The green walls in the background are not permanent. We will be using a creamy, off-white wall color.
• Our trimwork will also be painted white.

As for the final tip, Kim says, "I can't really recommend waxing, though I did wax mine. It was really hard to get the wax buffed out and to get just the right sheen. I still don't have the sheen I really wanted but removing wax isn't easy - so I'm living and learning!"

Since completing her cabinets, Kim has also added a painted brick backsplash and a tongue-and-groove faux beamed ceiling. To see pictures of the latest, check out my post featuring her kitchen remodel.