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1.02.2020

create a cozy home with repurposed sweaters & blankets

sweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decor, fleece blankets, cozy decor
on a cold winter-y January day, 
we can always count on a soft sweater and a fuzzy blanket to warm us up.
why not incorporate that into our HOMES?!
in my decor for the winter season, i did exactly that -
and let me tell you, it panned out much better than i ever could have planned!

continue reading to see how a fabulous thrifted find brought it all together...

sweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decor, fleece blankets, cozy decorsweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decor, fleece blankets, cozy decor
it all began with the dark brown plaid fleece blanket on the left.
i've had it for awhile, left over from a past display. it's SO soft!
as i was deciding what to do for our home decor this winter season, i kept circling back to it...
and when a red book came into my life (more on that in a future post!)
i decided that red, brown, and white would be our winter color scheme.

then i went to a few thrift stores, looking for a red sweater. easy, right? NO!
holy moly, there was a dearth of decent sweaters out there! 
took me hitting FOUR stores before i found even ONE... i grabbed it fast!

then over on a rack on the faaaaar back wall of the shop, i spied the blankets...
just peeking out was the bottom corner of a tan blanket with brown and white AND red plaid!
i ran. i grabbed it. i bought it. (spent ten bucks on the sweater AND blanket)
when i brought it home and put the three pieces of fabric next to each other, 
they could not have been more perfect!
mixed with wood textures & tones, and clear glass, it's a warm & cozy winter mood.

i washed my finds, then cut up the tan blanket and red sweater,
fashioning pillow covers and a few table runners from them...
with the blanket stitch edging on the tan blanket adding the perfect 'trim' to the folded edge!
(i did NOT cut up the really soft cozy dark brown fleece blanket, tho - it's perfect as it is)
sweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decor, fleece blankets, cozy decor

then i took the arms of the sweater (i buy XX large ones, btw, so there's a LOT of fabric)
and used them to cover some candles and candle vases.
NOTE: these are battery operated candles. never place fabric of any kind near real flames!
sweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decorsweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decor
i even had a small swatch of the tan blanket left over, so i tied it like a 'scarf' on a glass vase.
the candles are on the dining room table, sideboard, top of our fireplace, and there's one on the coffee table:
sweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, trash to treasure, diy decorating, home decor
this is the only 'real flame' candle we use. 
notice that the sweater cuff is only 1/4 the height of the glass candle container, keeping the fabric WELL away from the flame.

fun detail: that 'wood' pedestal that the candle is sitting in isn't wood. it's a ceramic bowl
that i found in a thrift shop for two bucks and used in our tropical holiday decor.
 but i never shared THAT part... so here's how it looked then, with its original hot orange interior:
for the winter decor, i simply flipped the bowl upside down 
then sat the candle in the 'foot', and put a twig wreath around it.

credit where credit is due:
years ago, i shared this idea of putting sweater cuffs on glass vases & candles on my old blog.
i've shared the idea here and here on homewardFOUND.
it's not my original idea, though... 
credit goes to home design pro Danny Seo, who inspired me WAY back in @ 2005

there's ONE more thing i did with the sweater:
sweaters, thrifted, upcycled, repurposed, faux food, cake decorating, trash to treasure
i took the last piece of the sweater arm, and pulled it over a square ceramic vase.
then i sat it on a glass cake pedestal, and added a few pom poms and a bead to the top.
this 'faux cake' adds a whimsical touch to the kitchen, 
especially when joined by a red metal bundt cake pan under a glass dome.

years ago, i created products that i called 'foo foo faux food' - using chenille bedspreads & pom poms.
(i shared them here) this quick little project reminded me a lot of that one.
sometimes, you just have to make something for the FUN of it!

shared online:

funky junk interiors |
diy salvaged junk projects #508

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