It takes real crafty ingenuity to turn a fail into something fabulous. One such happy ending was brought to us by DSC reader Shelly of 14countess.  She picked up some placemats to match her dining room decor a the dollar store, but after running them through the washing machine, they emerged a misshapen mess.  Unable to bear throwing them away despite their bargain price, she turned them into stylish chair cushions instead!  (Genius!)  [how to make a placemat chair cushion]

Project estimate:

• Fabric placemat, $1
• Polyfill, on hand or about $5
• Button, on hand or $1
• Ribbon, on hand or $1

Total: $1 and up

With the wide variety of placemats available on a seasonal basis, this easy and cheap project is a great way to dress up your dining room chairs throughout the year.  It is also an inexpensive way to add a grown-up touch to a childrens play table and chairs, making tea parties a little more elegant.

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