DIY chevron stool (+ an easy drawstring laundry bag)

 Ottomans are great pieces to own because of their versatility, but cute ones are usually pretty pricey. Luckily, you can customize an inexpensive faux leather ottoman (I've seen them for as little as $20, brand new) easily and affordably with a DIY slipcover. I found this ugly, but sturdy ottoman a couple years ago at Value Village for $10:

It's had a couple of different looks since I bought it (another reason I love slipcovers) and recently I decided to move it into Hannah's nursery. I already owned a blue chevron fabric that suited Hannah's room, so I created a pattern by tracing the ottoman's shape onto some wrapping paper. I made one piece for the top and another long piece for the sides by rolling the ottoman along my paper and tracing as I went. Then I just pinned my pattern to my fabric and cut around it.

I also decided to try making my own piping for the first time. I followed this tutorial and if you can sew a straight line, you're ready to make your own piping. I shouldn't have waited this long to try, but I had convinced myself that it would be really hard (definitely not true). Anyway, once my piping was done I pinned and sewed it to the top piece, then pinned and sewed that to the side piece. The last step is sewing the ends of the side piece together and hemming the bottom.

Now I have a nice low seat when Hannah's hanging out on her activity mat, or a place to put my feet up when Hannah and I are sitting in her rocker, or a spot to keep Hannah's favourite books within easy reach.

While I had a sewing machine (I've had to borrow my mom's since mine bit the dust), I also made a quick and easy laundry bag. Hannah's room is quite small, so I wanted something that I could hang on the hooks behind the door - still within easy reach of the changing table. You can find a detailed tutorial here, but the condensed version is that I cut out four rectangles (two from my liner fabric and two from my outer fabric), stitched them together on three sides, hemmed the top and fed my string through the hem with a large safety pin. Super easy, looks great and now we have a place to stash Hannah's dirty laundry without using up valuable floor space!