So … summer.

It’s time to actually spruce up the ‘ol front porch for the 4th.

Turns out, though, I’m fresh out of décor for the 4th of July or porches in general.

And as usual, my budget is zero dollars and zero cents.

That means I’m left with whatever I can make out of my classy craft stash of old, stained shirts and trashy I’ve-been-through-six-kids stuffed animals.

Nice.

But with a little creative cutting, sewing and repurposing, I still managed to come up with:

3  pillows + 3 ways + 3 stuffing types

As always I hope you can take this idea and Rock What Ya Got and make your own version without a run to the store.

#1 – Striped Pillow with zippered close + old throw pillow

I grabbed two stained polo shirts, pieced together wide stripes for the front  and added a solid (red) piece for the back. Stained fabric? No biggie. Use the back side … no one cares or will notice. I added some top stitching for extra awesome points along the stripes, a zipper at the bottom and slid in an old throw pillow to finish. Done and done.

#2 – Blue Star pillow with button closure + fiberfill stuffing

I ironed Heat’n’bond ultra to the back of some scraps and then cut stars on my Silhouette machine (hand cutting works great, too). Shapes were ironed on and top stitched for again—extra awesome points. Because I’m lazy I loved the wide hem on the bottom of the shirt, I used that look to finish the pillow. Fronts and backs were pinned together right sides OUT and then stitched completely shut.  How’d I get the stuffing in? Easy! I just flipped the pillow over (to the old front of the shirt) and inserted the stuffing through the three buttons that ran down from the neckline. (Yup, I totally left them attached to save time.) Once the pillow was stuffed, I buttoned the shirt back together, flipped it over and voila! Finished pillow with a sneaky closure.

#3 – Camo U.S.A. pillow + old stuffed animal fluff

Oops, I did it again. I pulled a few ratty stuffed animals out of the ‘toss’ pile and pulled out all the stuffing to add to this pillow.  So sick of still having Easter plush around the house. Those clearance isle Easter Bunnies that are falling apart need to go bye-bye. I cut the letters on my Silhouette CAMEO, but again, scissors work great, too. The side seems were already in place from the shirt and the top/bottom edges were machine stitched closed in two seconds flat. I left a small opening along the bottom to stuff the pillow and whip stitched it closed.

So there you go – 4th of July flair no matter what you have on hand!

Now go grab those fabric scraps. Slip cover an old throw pillow or two. Use the buttons on a t-shirt for a quick closure. Put the stuffing in those unused stuffed animals to work.

Bet you come up with something flat-out-free and fabulous!