Yesterday you learned how to make delicate organza flowers. Let's put them to use with this Turquoise 2010 project. You'll also use your new skill of inserting concealed zippers. Why ... it's like three projects in one! We love the swirling pattern on this brocade. Very elegant, and yet it doesn't detract from the beautiful flowers.

Flowers are the RAGE these days. Wear them in your hair, on your wrist, a jacket or a coat, on a velveteen ribbon around your waist... or sew several to a pillow, fill a bowl, upscale a gift. If you're planning a wedding, these airy flowers add an etherial, romantic touch wherever you use them. They can be rather expensive to buy, but are downright cheap to make. And with just a little practice you can turn out a dozen of these beauties in one afternoon.

Even though it's really tricky to spell, corduroy is cool. It adds interest to any project and comes to loads of wonderful colors, like Turquoise, 2010's Color of the Year. We took corduroy's terrific texture to the next level by spinning the wale to create an awesome center diamond, then we kicked out the corners by turning those famous fabric ridges in yet another direction. We did all this without getting dizzy. A beautiful silver button through the middle adds the finishing touch. It's just one plain fabric, but by being playful with the design, it's certainly not just one plain pillow.

Welcome to the first of our Turquoise 2010 projects. We're celebrating the many shades of this great blue-green blend all year, and what better place to start than the turquoise of a classic Native American design. You could make this type of bound blanket with any combination of fabrics, but what makes ours so gorgeous is the classic Pendleton wool and the surprise texture of its coordinated corduroy binding. The beautiful weave of Pendleton wool makes their fabric striking from both the front and the back, and with this type of binding, you can display it either way to dramatic effect.

To be perfectly honest, I hate to cover up my windows. Staring out into the world is one of my favorite pastimes. But, I also realize you need a little privacy and some protection from the sun; plus, the softness of curtains and drapes adds a distinct coziness to a room. For our Nature Brights Kitchen, we chose a design that captures the freshness of a spring day and sweeps it into the room. In true Sew4Home fashion, our tab-top curtains are easy to make. Clever seaming gives you fully lined, finished panels with no visible stitching on the sides.

A shower curtain is an easy item to sew; it's just big! You can make one in just a few hours and give your bathroom a whole new look. We made this one from a couple of our favorite prints in Patty Young's Flora & Fauna collection. When you select fabrics, look for something that will blend nicely at the seams, such as the all-over pattern of the Humming Birds fabric we used. Or, if you're a bit more advanced, go for something you can pattern-match, a stripe for instance. You'll notice there are great little sewing techniques here that will apply to all kinds of projects, including several different seam and hem finishing options.

These beautiful placemats are perfect for your big National Embroidery Month family dinner. The seed packet print is ‘fussy cut' to take advantage of the cool striped pattern, then paired with wonderful botanical embroidery designs from Westminster Fibers new collection of embroidery design CDs digitized to coordinate with fabrics from some of the industry's leading fabric designers. We choose two designs from the Anna Maria Horner CD.

If you're hanging out in the kitchen, chances are your favorite pet is hanging with you. Shouldn't he (or she) have a matching cushion? Pet psychologists have long warned that forcing your furry friend to sleep on a ratty old bedspread can lead to deep-seated resentments ... and hair-balls. I have no idea if that's true, but I liked pretending to be a pet psychologist. Back to the Pet Bed... ours flips over: one side is a cool cotton, the other side is cozy fleece. There's an easy-to-insert zipper in one side so you can remove the cover and toss it in the wash. Its finished size is about 18" x 24", which makes it good for a smallish dog or a giant cat... like our sweet Ollie. You can expand, or reduce, the dimensions as needed to best fit your best friend.

The idea for this project came about from a set of embroidery CDs we received from Westminster Fibers. They have a new series of machine embroidery designs, which have been digitized to coordinate with the fabrics from some of the industry's leading fabric designers. What a great idea ... and perfect as a project to celebrate National Embroidery Month. These two beautiful boudoir pillows each feature a large scale medallion print from Free Spirit fabrics with a featured embroidery design artfully positioned. The print is ‘fussy cut' and positioned over matching plain fabric, using a raw edge appliqué technique. Easy to make and beautiful to display.

Here's another fun project we did in our booth at the recent CHA Craft Super Show in Anaheim. Again, this completely proves neither lack of space nor limited time are sufficient excuses for not making your own home décor. The other lesson from this tutorial is how a clever bit of geometry can transform a plain square pillow into a much more interesting pieced pillow. Start with a square and slice it into pieces, then put it all back together again. The only thing to remember is to add ½" to each piece anywhere there's going to be a seam. As I always say, after all the time I spent hating match in school, Mrs. Martinsen was right, I do use it all the time!

The design for this apron came about because we loved the Daisy Dot border prints in Patty Young's Flora & Fauna collection. We were very happy with the sample when it was finished, but were thrilled to earn the, "Hey-this-is-really-cute Award" from our teenage model. Praise like this is hard-won, and we are now clinging to the awesome coolness of our Daisy Dot Apron. We won't, however, be wearing it to the mall. We do understand where coolness ends.

I ♥ hot pads! I have tons of them. In fact, I'm zany enough that when I throw a dinner party, I actually coordinate my hot pads with my table setting. Yes... I need professional help. These awesome quilted hot pads are super simple, and each one uses just a 10" x 10" square for the front and back. You might have some scraps laying around that would be perfect. Our design is reversible, which is a two-for-one deal, and the insulating batting between the layers makes them functional as well as fabulous.

I live a ways out of town, so transporting home frozen food before it thaws can be a challenge. Canvas grocery totes are a great alternative to the standard store plastic bags, but they don't help with my frozen food dilemma. This insulated shopping bag with its Velcro closure was the answer. I can load up all the food I need to keep cold (or hot for that matter), seal up the top, and everything stays the right temp for the ride home. As an added bonus, by using the Flora & Fauna fabric, I solve my problem and look cool doing it. Several people at the store asked me where I got my bag. Of course, I told them I made it, and then proceeded to block the dairy aisle while I explained how THEY could go to sew4home.com and learn to make one too!

If you want to jump start a project, start with something off-the-shelf and add your own sewn touches to make it unique. That's what we did with this set of clever dish towels. We started with plain white towels from Crate and Barrel, then added three fabric bands with contrasting topstitching. The color and pattern really pops off the crisp white background. I can't guarantee folks will be fighting to help you dry the dishes, but I can promise the towels will look fabulous hanging on the rack.

You'll see from our instructional photos below that we made this jazzy ironing board cover while working in our booth at January's CHA Craft Super Show. So I don't want to hear any more whining about having no time and no space to sew. This tutorial is proof positive you can have success in the smallest of areas. An ironing board cover might seem like a rather mundane project, but think about it – you look at your ironing board a lot. Wouldn't it be easier on the eyes if it had a cheery cover?

Traditionally, I've kept my recycled plastic bags in an old, cracked plastic bucket under my sink. Very stylish, don't you think? It was a mess, and nearly always overflowing. Nature Brights Kitchen to the rescue! I love the Patty Young Flora & Fauna fabric so much, I was searching for all kinds of ways to use it and display it in the kitchen environment. This clever plastic bag keeper/dispenser fit the bill perfectly. I put mine on the pantry door, but it would also work great over a doorknob, inside a cupboard or just hanging from a hook on the wall. Easy to store; easy to retrieve.

Before you close the page without even trying this project, because you just read "boxed corners" in the title and are afraid, I'll let you in on a little secret: there's no gusset involved. That's right, we've created a Sew4Home exclusive design with detailed instructions that make it easy to create a beautiful cushion with fancy accent piping and nice, square corners but without any beads of sweat forming on your brow. Read on 'fraidy-cats ... you'll be sitting pretty before you know it!

We love the cloth napkin here at Sew4Home! It's a green alternative to paper; it's super simple to make; and it adds a cheery splash of color to your table. That's a trifecta of winning reasons to give it a try today. We used a different fabric for each of our six napkin samples, because mixing and matching is fun.

Here's a new take on the standard rectangular placemat. These have a slightly trapezoidal shape (okay ... I just gotta say, Trapezoidal sounds like a character from Fiddler on the Roof ... dontcha think??). The unique shape allows them to fit nicely around our round kitchen table. And, they're reversible, so you can spill breakfast on one side, then flip them over to spill lunch on the other. You could also alternate sides around the table for a fun and colorful look. The coordinating binding ties it all together.

Yesterday, I created the Valentine card that coordinates with this envelope. While the envelope looks a bit complex, it's really not difficult to make. In fact, it took me less time to make the envelope than the card. It's such a lovely way to deliver a valentine.

Using your sewing machine to sew paper and fabric together is surprisingly easy. Since I'd never tried it myself, I thought I'd start with a project that wasn't too complicated. It's a satisfying way to use up little scraps of pretty fabrics. Tomorrow, I'll show you how I made a coordinating envelope.

Create a pretty fabric mat for an inexpensive frame and turn a favorite photo into a showpiece. We patchworked eight squares from a charm pack, and added some ribbon for accent, but you can use the fabric of your choice. We think using a selection of fabrics from a wedding would make a great memory piece. Covering the mats is easy, even for a beginner, and they make a perfect gift for family and friends.

I'm cautious about toys for my cats, so I like to make my own catnip toys. That way, I can choose organic catnip and use up scraps of 100% cotton fabric. We made these little heart-shaped catnip mice out of charm pack squares, but they're a purrfect way to use scraps of fabric. I was pretty sure my cats would love them because I had oodles of feline assistance during their construction.

A little bird chirps a heartfelt message to someone special. These sweet vase wraps turn fabric scraps into your personal message board. Tweet it as we did, or say it your way.

Upscale a plain cylinder vase into a sweet Valentine gift by using a few squares from a charm pack. These vase wraps are easy and quick to make. Mix and match charm squares to see the many different patterns you can create.

These three throw pillows look very different don't they? Look again. They are the exact same pillow pattern - just with different fabric combinations, and one with a ruched flower embellishment. Clever mixing and matching isn't just for your clothes closet.

Wrap up your Valentine in this incredibly snugly rag quilt with its special ‘secret admirer heart' appliquéd onto the bottom row. "What's a Rag Quilt?" I was hoping you'd ask! A rag quilt is sewn together so the seams show on the outside. After washing and drying, the seams gently fray or "rag," producing a soft and cuddly look and feel. Ours is made from ten different kinds of Woolies Flannel in a collection of patterns and tones we thought were very ‘guy-like' and so qualified as an official boyfriend/hubby/dad/son/uncle/grandpa Valentine's Day project. Truth be told ... all the gals we showed it to we're ready to snap it up and take a little nap so I think it's a perfect ‘everybody' project.

On Wednesday of this week, we featured our Heart Happy woman's apron. Today it's the guy's turn to shine. Made in the same longer-style French baker's cut, our men's version goes even further down that road, using a smooth white cotton twill with cream linen ties. You'll notice the cream linen matches the woman's apron ties, and we used a scrap of that apron's Paula Prass Woodland Delight in Brown Bloom for a coordinating pocket heart. You know, they say the couple who cooks together in matching Sew4Home aprons is 47% happier than the average couple. Don't even try to prove that stat.

Patterned in the longer style of a French baker's apron, our woman's Valentines apron is the perfect accessory to don when lovingly whipping up a dinner for two. Believe it or not, it takes just a single yard of fabric thanks to our clever cutting plan. We even supply you with a pattern to download to help you cut the arm hole curves. Start to finish, you can easily make this apron in an hour. In fact, check back this coming Friday to see our matching men's version. Make them both and cook together in style.

Good things come in small packages, and they are especially good if the package is oh-so pretty and smells wonderful to boot. Our Valentines Heart Sachets are a little bits of elegance you can make to give away as indulgent gifts. They can hang on a closet rod, hook on a doorknob, slip into the lingerie drawer or simply show off on top of the dresser or vanity. Doesn't that sound sweet? Better make a couple extra to keep for yourself.