I saved tons of money!

I'm going to mix things up a bit and throw in a little bit of summer right in the middle of Christmas decor madness. Think you can handle it? There's absolutely no red or green, pine or lights, paper and bows involved today. Is that sacrilegious?

It actually feels a bit like summer here in Texas. We've been in the 80's recently. Throw in some lovely humidity and it's summer again, which actually works to my benefit since I just had my outdoor cushions recovered.

I'd say they needed it...what do you think? Look at this craziness...

This, my friends, is what the fabulous Texas heat did to my furniture. It was literally crunchy and falling off the cushions. It was hard to stomach the thought of buying enough high-quality fabric that could sustain the sun, so I continued to put off this task. Not to mention, I knew I'd have to pay for labor on top of fabric. This project was quickly becoming very expensive. Finally, at the end of summer, I ran across outdoor curtain panels on clearance for $9.99 at Lowes. Ding, ding, ding...I can handle that price! Cheap outdoor curtain panels = Cheap cushion covers. 

I snagged up what was left of their stock and had to visit 3 different locations, but I managed to get enough panels to make this project work. Creative problem-solving was necessary since I didn't have enough solid fabric to cover everything. I happened to have enough striped fabric to fill in the gaps by covering the ottoman and accenting the sides of the cushions.

Much better, right? Next up, finding pillows to complete the look.

Okay, so I am going to tie this post into a few holiday tips. Take my advice and stalk the after Christmas sales. Don't take things at face value, put on your creative thinking cap. Try to think of unconventional uses for the leftovers. You may just save a couple hundred dollars by using curtain panels to cover your seat cushions!