Alright, guys, it’s time to revamp your standard DIY throw pillow. We’ve taken your classic square throw and added four more sides and eight more tassels! Oh, and guess what? You can make these pillows in under 20 minutes, tassels and all. We think these poofs are a must for your spring redecorating plans. Now, let’s get to making these Octagon Pillow Poufs, baby!
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– fabric
– four spools of embroidery floss
– thread
– stuffing
Tools:
– sewing machine
– needle + pins
– scissors
– ruler
– pencil
Instructions:
1. Fold fabric in half and measure out a 21 x 21-inch square. Make marks at seven inches and 14 inches.
2. Draw diagonal lines to connect your marks and create an octagon. Cut out the octagon.
3. Time to make your tassels! Hold the embroidery floss in your hand and wrap around your four fingers. Once you have wrapped about half of the floss around your hand, slip the bundle off and wrap string around the top. Knot and cut off the extra string. Create eight tassels.
4. Pin the tassels in between the two layers of fabric. Make sure the area above the wrapping is hanging out of the side.
5. Sew seven sides of the pillow leaving one open for flipping and stuffing.
6. Turn the pillow right side out and start stuffing. Make sure you really get it in the corners!
7. Sew up the open edge with a needle and thread.
Okay, let’s make this thing!
Usually we would suggest using the fold of the fabric as one of the sides of the pillow (less sewing!) but in this case you are going to need all open sides to insert the tassels. Measure out a square that is divisible by three, we chose 21. Divide the height and width into threes by creating a mark at seven inches and 14 inches. Now draw diagonal lines to each mark and create an octagon. Finally, cut it out!
To make your first tassel, you are going to hold the embroidery floss in your hand and wrap it around your four fingers. Wrap about half of the floss around your hand, it should be quite a few strings (the denser the better). Remove the bundle from your hand and wrap extra string around the top. Cut and tie off the string at the top. You will want a total of eight tassels!
Time to pin those eight tassels in place. Position them in between layers so the top of the tassel is peeking out of the fabric.
It’s best to start sewing right before each tassel. We know it’s kind of annoying, but it will ensure the best results. This way all the tassels will be secure when you are stuffing and you won’t have to deal with hand sewing the tassel on. Make sure you only sew seven sides of the fabric.
Tip for making sharp turns: Anchor the needle in the fabric, lift the presser foot up, turn the fabric, and place the presser foot back down.
Turn the fabric right side out and start stuffing.
Really make sure the stuffing gets into the corners of the pillow.
Once all the stuffing is in place, use a needle and thread to sew up the open seam.
Stop right there. Look at that octagon pillow!
We created three and loved the look of them stacked on top of each other.
Try making different sized octagons. When first measuring out your square, we recommend sticking to measurements divisible by three (unless you’re a math whiz).
Turkey Temple totally approves! ;)
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures