Charm's New Pouf

Poufs seem to be all the rage these days, and I love them along with everyone else.  They can easily cost $50-$100 on the low end, so I decided to create one myself after discovering this tutorial in an old issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

Pretty Poufs

BHG

This project was so easy.  I finished it during one good Charm nap (except for hand sewing the top and bottom pieces onto the pouf which took me about 30 minutes the next day).  I used some of the chenille houndstooth fabric that I've had on hand for awhile.  I didn't line my pouf with a bed sheet as instructed because my fabric was thick enough already.  I pinned and sewed.

Once my pouf was ready for stuffing, I grabbed a big rubbermaid bin that had been hanging out in my closet for a long time.  The bin was full of clothing that we had sentimental attachments to for one reason or another, but we didn't wear it anymore....do you see where this is going?

Charm's pouf is stuffed with the following (and lots more that I won't bore you with):

I wore this shirt on my first date with Bill.  Sexy, I know:).

I often wore this shirt during UW Basketball games.  I had season tickets every year in the student section with my Dad.  It was awesome.

I picked up this jacket at a flea market in London with my mom.  It doesn't fit quite right.  I can't get rid of it though because it reminds me of my European adventures with my Mom.  I'll never forget that trip.  I remember laughing the whole time.  And I remember our tour guide's name was Barry Amor.  And gelato.  And Paris.  And my Mom's driving in Ireland on the left side of the street (Look right, stay left!).  Good times.

Bill's bachelor party t-shirt:).

This garment is actually a stuffed animal named Stitches that I got after a mini-surgery when I was 8.

I wore this dress to Bill's PhD graduation.  Lucky had a matching one.  It never fit right, but I still love it.

Bill's first Father's Day shirt (Lucky was actually in utero at the time:)) that has shrunk too much.

I wore this dress when Bill and I renewed our vows on our first wedding anniversary.  It was an simple, outdoor vow renewal with just the two of us.  I just loved it, and in many ways it had more meaning than our actual wedding ceremony. (It's easy to lose the meaning of the day when there is so much planning and stress involved.  This celebration was simple and sweet.)

I labeled the garments with card stock tags that I sewed onto the tags.  I figured stickers would probably fall off:

The pouf is a time capsule of sorts, and guess what?  The stuffing was all free!!  (In addition to the clothing, I did use the contents of 2 bed pillows that we weren't using to soften things up around the top and sides of the pouf.  Even new, you can buy bed pillows at Target for about $3, and that is so much cheaper than buying craft store stuffing.)

Can you tell I had a helper for this project?

Here is the finished product in Charm's room:

What do you think?  Does anyone else have a stash of sentimental clothing that you can't part with?  I can't be alone on this one, right?:)

And have a wonderful weekend, too!  We'll be dressing up for Halloween in March!  It's sure to be fun:).

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