Red Leather. Read that out loud three times fast. (Go ahead... I'll wait) Hard to do isn't it? Now try Red Faux Leather. Much easier, isn't it? Not only is it easier to say, faux leather is much easier to sew with than the real thing. We really enjoyed designing and creating this elegant handbag project out of the faux leather provided by our friends at Fabric.com. It's part of our Lush & Plush Series sponsored by Fabric.com, which ran all last week and is continuing this week, giving you tips, projects and product reviews surrounding the lush-est, plushest, trendiest fabrics or Fall and Winter. Our Red Calf Faux Leather bag is a perfect crossover tote. It's clean and casual enough for the office, but still posh and pretty, and in a manageable size, so it works perfectly for a night on the town.

Walk into any store selling clothing or accessories this season, and right there in the front display you will see it: faux fur! It is everywhere, especially these adorable sets of faux fur scarves and gloves. Super trendy: check! Super duper easy: double check! With a little bit of fur and a little bit of time, you can create beautiful matching scarves and cuffed gloves for yourself and everyone on your holiday list. Part of our Lush & Plush Series sponsored by Fabric.com, both of these projects are fast, easy and fun. The scarf has just three seams and a big 'buttonhole-like' opening for the pull-through. The cuffs take a little measuring, only one seam, and some hand stitching. Stylishly cozy in about an hour!

Pillow inserts give your pillows their plump shape, and allow them to do their job: provide soft support or cushy comfort. A pillow insert, also known as a pillow form, is simply a plain-covered pillow designed to be used with a decorative outer pillow cover (those things we love to design here at S4H!). Put another way, covers are your pillow insert's wardrobe. For our Lush & Plush Series, Fabric.com provided us with samples to try of the two types of pillow inserts they stock: polyester and feather/down. Although tempted to shirk our duty and simply take a little nap on the pretty pillow inserts, we managed to stay awake long enough to write our review.

Today's faux fur gives you the luxurious look and feel of real fur at a fraction of the price and without harming any animals. And, because of recent improvements in fabric manufacturing, it comes in an amazing array of rich colors and lush textures. It truly starts out beautiful on the bolt. But if you treat faux fur like regular fabric, your project can end up looking like a bad haircut.