So here is what I do when my husband is not around:

1. Find a DIY project.

2. Turn on some TV show (preferably some comedy)

3. Focus on the project and finish it in one sitting, taking the step-by-step photos for my blog

Friday night we had some friends over for dinner, and my girlfriend Kara said that I need more place mats, because I only had two, so that’s what I decided to work on!

I took one of the place mats that I had (it came from a thrift store, I think I only paid $1 for 2) and traced it:

Then I cut it out, and repeated the process 3 more times. I ended with 4 rectangles:

Hemming was up next:

That’s the long boring part, because you need to do that on all 16 sides of all 4 rectangles, and I actually went with a running stitch after pinning. I just wanted to be real thorough, and not mess up the lines!

Then I ironed everything, paying special attention to the hem.

Then I put the two and two together:

And sewed the sides together:

As you can see I did a double row of stitches, just because the other place mats have them, and I wanted to make the two new ones match, even a little bit

And TA-DA – the final product!

The place mats that I made are not as stiff as the other ones, but they are hand-made and I am extremely proud of them. My latest DIY problem has been starting something, and not finishing it, so this is a great mile stone for me – accomplishing something in a matter of hours! I am sure all of you DIYers out there will understand me!

Let me know what you think about my little project! Have a fabulous day you all!

xo,

Z