No-Sew Burlap Tablerunner

I have a secret.  Well actually I have many, ha ha, but today I am revealing one:  I can't sew.  Don't judge, don't hate... I. don't. sew.  It's true and I will readily admit it.  I truly envy all the beautifully sewn creations I see out there in blog land.  But, while I have many talents, sewing just isn't one of them.  It is on my very long list of "things to do before I die."

As with many of you, I have fallen in love with burlap.  It all began with my kitchen update to French Country and discover that natural fabrics are part of the decor.  Thus enter burlap.  Hmmm... what can I do with burlap... such a lovely fabric...

 I discovered all sorts of very cool table runners created out of burlap all over blog land and Etsy.  But, most, if not all, involved sewing.  Crap!  Well, never one to be deterred easily, I decided to create my own. 

The first one I made was super simple.  Go to Joanne's, get a few yards of fabric, cut to desired length and width, wash, dry, and iron out the wrinkles.  The washing and drying create awesome fraying which of course we want.  I loved it and it worked perfectly in my kitchen. 

But then I started seeing some more elaborate burlap runners with lace and rosettes.  I love the combination of the burlap and lace but it required sewing.  Or does it?  Not if your brain works like mine!  I. Can. Glue. It!

Now I ask you:  why was fabric glue invented?  For non-sewers right?  Well, maybe not but it works.

What I used:

Burlap fabric cut to about 72" L x 16" W

Vintage Lace

Rosette (I cheated a bit and used some Melissa Frances ones that I had)

Fabric Tac

I discovered that it's really quite easy to fray burlap myself by pulling threads at the ends.  That way I could control how "frayed" I wanted it.  Then I measured my vintage lace and glued it to the ends and also glued the rosette on.  Easy, easy, easy and yet so pretty!

What do you think?  I am in love and it looks fabulous in my French Country kitchen!



It all started with this...

(sorry about the picture quality)

WARNING:  Picture intensive post!!!!!  (I think I got a tiny bit over zealous!)

So a couple of months ago I decided I really hated my kitchen curtains and needed some new ones.  Simple right?  Ha, wrong!  I then found a burlap table runner that I loved and it was so easy for me to make that I had to run out to Joanne's right then and get the burlap.  Then I discovered that burlap is often used in French Farmhouse decor.  Well, after searching French Farmhouse, I stumbled upon French Country and it was love, instantly!  You see how a total kitchen re-do can occur because of new curtains right?  I am not crazy or anything, right?

What I discovered was that French Country includes roosters (which I adore), natural materials such as burlap, striped or checked fabric, colors such as yellows, blues, and even soft ocean tones, sunflowers, grapes, toile designs, displays of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and lavender.  Plus, the point of the kitchen is to have things handy.  Thus, baskets and displays of kitchen objects are useful!  Oh, did I mention I am in LOVE?!

We completely remodeled our kitchen several years ago which included knocking out a wall to combine the kitchen and dining areas, getting new oak cupboards, and new laminate flooring.  Plus, we just painted the kitchen yellow last year and I already had cobalt blue accents and roosters.  Some how, I just never tire of roosters, ha!

So here's some of what I have added:

 new clock and a vintage inspired rooster print

 a lovely french sign from this Esty seller

 French Farmhouse baskets from my site filled with faux pears and lavender (I hand made the burlap rosette)

 vintage inspired wire basket filled with new and vintage cookie cutters

 a wire basket center piece with apples and Fleur DE Lis votive holders from Yankee Candle (though I often fill them with flowers)

 love, love, love these farm house prints from this eBay seller



 burlap pillows on my new bench - see that number 3 pillow - if you read my blog regularly you know I have triplets and I couldn't turn down this muslin pillow - it spoke to me, ya know

 toile ware juicer and salt and pepper shakers - I actually use that juicer quite often - who knew

 enamelware utensil holder with a Graphics Fairy silverware transfer using the Citrasolv method which I will share in a later post (super, duper easy)



 a cluster of French Country adornments - I made the chalk board myself and I will share that too - of course you can find that all over blog land

 more GF graphics inserted into a frame I painted and distressed

 a nice vignette of more FC decor including roosters and paper hydrangeas

 more roosters of course

 a view of my table with my homemade burlap runner

 fresh fruit to add to that FC feel

 vintage blue ball jars filled with silverware

so  I could do this with my spices - no more endless searches, yay~

 rooster canisters because what else would you expect, ha

and of course some fresh flowers in a vintage ball jar.

Thanks for taking the tour today.  I just realized that I didn't add pictures so you can see the entire kitchen.  Sorry about that.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Jacalyn

I am still around!

Hey!  How are you all?  I sure have missed my blogging friends!  I just wanted to let you know that I am still around, ha!  I have been visiting a lot of you but stupid blogger hasn't let me leave comments.  I think (I hope) that problem has been corrected!

I have actually accomplished so much since we last talked!  I've:
~updated my kitchen
~completed my landscaping
~celebrated the triplet's 20th birthday
~helped my last daughter move out
~cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned some more! There's still plenty of that to do though.  Since all of my children moved out, I have been going through lots of stuff and getting rid of it!  I am cleaning and sprucing up my house with the thought that I will be selling it in a couple of years.  So, anything I don't want to move gets tossed!
~took a couple of trips
~focused on getting things organized in my new practice
~spent more time with hubby
and oh so much more!  While I miss blogging I have enjoyed some time to do other things.  But, having said that I have oh so much to blog about so I will be back soon.   First up will be my kitchen.  It didn't need any major updates but I changed up the decor.  Let's just say it all started with this:

Sorry about the picture but the "this" I am talking about are the new curtains...  more to come!

Have a great week!

Hugs,
Jacalyn