No Couch, No Pillows, Yes Purse

I went to Ikea the other day - they are having their semiannual sale you know - and wandered around in there for an hour or so. I haven't been there for quite a while, it is just not as much fun without an Ikea buddy. I went in for some rugs...which is about the only thing I DIDN'T get. I DID get:

• a 12"x10" butcher block shelf to use as a platform for hammering grommets and snaps - $2
• 4 yards of fabric $4
• 2 pillowcases $2

The fabric sale was a big part of the reason I went to Ikea in the first place. I love the Ikea fabrics. They are mostly heavy decorator weight, but are flexible and soft (for the most part). I love the big, oversized dramatic designs, and I love that they let you cut it yourself. =) Of course, the fabric I liked the best was not on sale, but I may go back and get some anyway, because it is just, well, AWESOME. I think I must have a fixation on trees, because these were my favorites. Left to right, Gunilla, Fredrika, Saralisa, and Majken.

I don't actually have a couch, or a place to put throw pillows, so I tore apart the pillowcases and ended up with a nice piece of fabric with a nifty design.

I can't find the original pillowcase on the Ikea website, and of course, I forgot to take any "before" pictures, but it was just a square pillowcase with a zipper on one end. This is what I ended up with. I would like to switch the links between the handles and the bag itself, in fact, I went to JoAnns this morning partly to get rectangular links, but when I tried to pry them open far enough to slide them on, one of them broke. So...I used these instead. I am not totally happy with the links, but other than that I like the bag. I wasn't sure if I would, it is really bright, but I do.

I also managed to smash my thumb pretty seriously with the hammer...fun times.