When Aimee Grover posted some DIY fabric embroidery hoops on her blog, I wanted some for my living room immediately. They’re so easy to make and inexpensive. When it comes to home decor, I love cheap. I love versatile. I love fabric hoops.
When Peter and I bought our house a couple of summers ago, we bought this modern five-panel painting from local artist Robert R. I love the painting, but I’ve been ready for something different. I just enjoy changing things around as often as possible; I usually reorganize the mantel above my fireplace every few months with different frames, photos and/or thrifted trinkets.
So I went to a local fabric store and bought some fun fabric and several wooden embroidery hoops in all different sizes. I followed Aimee’s easy how-to guide and then hung the rings on the wall above my couch with a bunch of old frames that I thrifted from Savers.
The result?
The cost of the rings and fabric was about 30 bucks, and I bought the frames at Saver’s for a dollar or two each. Not bad for such versatile decor! My favorite part is that when I get tired of the current fabric, I can easily swap it out for a new color or pattern.
Close-ups:
You can see I really, really like things that don’t match.
The big picture:
I’m really happy with the way it turned out. These are also a fun and personal gift you can make for someone. I made a set of three for my sister’s graduation gift to take with her to Phoenix when she moves next week. (Photos of those are on the Macbook in Germany so they will not be seen for another few weeks.)
Here are a couple more things in our living room that Peter and/or I’ve recently changed…
This little table belonged to my grandparents and was kept in their storage shed. I was planning on using it on our back porch, but Peter brought it inside and we loved the way it filled in this awkward gap next to our dog’s crate. It’s also a perfect out-of-the-way place to burn candles, which I pretty much do on a daily basis.
I gave our mantle a face lift a couple of weekends ago. I framed two of our engagement photos that my incredibly talented friend, Lissa Anglin, took of us at a county fair in West Texas. Then I added a few little vintage cups that my aunt gave me along with an old book and mirror I got at Savers. It’s fun to change things up a bit, especially when it only costs a few dollars.
Close-ups:
The vase was part of a centerpiece at a friend’s wedding that guests were able to take home, and the sticks were from my backyard. Yay free!
This book looks identical to the one Marshall is looking for in the episode of How I Met Your Mother where Ted throws three parties in hopes of Robin coming. I just discovered this last weekend and got very excited.
The candle holder was also thrifted from Savers. Embrace other people’s junk. guys. It’s a beautiful and inexpensive activity.
Well that’s all for now. I’m six days away from the beach in Mexico and exactly three weeks away from picking up Peter at the airport.
Things are definitely starting to look up…
Hi Jenna! I am really enjoying your blog. So sorry you are missing Peter so much. Danny and I met you at the key leader retreat last year, I’m not sure if you remember us. I had the best day thrifting today! Goodwill and Savers are two of my favorite places! I LOVE your white circular mirror with the flowers. SO fun!
Jenna i love these! Can you tell me how to make them sometime?
Your fabric hoops look so cute! Great job! Glad you were inspired
Yay I’m glad to see this on the blog! It looks even greater in person!
something else fun you could do if you want to change up the fabric hoops would be to paint the hoops…you could do all sorts of fun colors! just a thought. i think they’re a good idea
Sweet! A “How I Met Your Mother” reference! I’ll take credit for that, thankyouverymuch!
Yeah! I made the mantle! It looks awesome Jenna!