Headboard & footboard slipcover

It's not often that I get this excited about a project. But all I can say is, dudes- I'm stoked!

Today I slip covered my bed and I am THRILLED with the results.

Here's the "before".

We bought our leather upholstered bed when we moved here almost 2 years ago, and I do still really like it. But recently I've been toying with the idea of changing it up and making it less dark and heavy looking. We've got all this dark furniture in our bedroom- the bed, the night tables, the rocking chair, and this behemoth dresser.

I finally decided that with a wide-open afternoon I'd try tackling this daunting project at last. The boys and I headed to Joann where I'd seen this cotton fabric for $3.99/yd. in the "Utility Fabrics" section (I'm not even sure what it's called), and purchased 6 yards with my 40% off coupon. I liked the color and texture because it reminded me of linen, but without costing $15 per yard. Seriously. 15 freaking dollars! I also bought 3 packages of cream colored piping.

After laying the kids down for naps I went to work. I didn't even bother taking photos during the process because I was really just flying by the seat of my pants the entire time and had no idea whether it was actually going to work or not.

But here's how it turned out.

Like a GLOVE! (You have to say this like Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura.)

It's certainly not perfect, but there's nothing terribly wrong with it that's visible even up close. You should've seen me doing the final tugs and smoothing on the headboard with this big, stupid grin on my face. I was so tickled that it fit!

When I finished I ran downstairs to show my husband my handiwork. The best remark he made was, "For a slipcover it actually looks good." This is quite a compliment coming from a man who LOATHES any and all slipcovers of every shape, size and style. I can tell he likes the leather better, but he won't fuss. He knows how much I like change, and how proud I am of my new slipcover.

But, dang it, now I want to buy new bedding and lampshades!

Looking at this photo it shames me to see that big blank wall above our bed. Two years and nothing on that wall.

But today I tore this photo from my newest Pottery Barn catalog, and it's got me thinking...

...maybe I could do that! I've been trying to come up with something that would fill the space but wouldn't draw attention to the fact that our bed isn't centered on the wall. This could do the trick.

Maybe.

Tutorial: Make a thrift store sweater hot water bottle cover

Wow- that title is a mouth full. I might have to re-think that. In the meantime, here's a little tutorial to show you how I made a cozy for my hot water bottle.

Today during a blissful two hours of only having 1/3 of my kids to tote around with me, I popped into another thrift store and hunted for a great wool sweater to use for this project. I found a great sweater! Just not wool.
It was a ramie/cotton blend, but I couldn't resist that fair isle design and the lovely embroidery on the chest. It reminded me of a sweater my Dad brought back from Norway decades ago.


I ignored the fact that there was a zipper smack in the middle of the top half, and because it was 50% off I figured that it couldn't hurt to try and make it work.

Here's how I did it:

Make a template.
Start by tracing your water bottle onto a piece of paper. (Please ignore the circle punch.)

Cut about 1/4" away from your line. (I folded my template in half before I started cutting to ensure that both sides would be identical.)


Since my sweater had that zipper, I had to start by ripping it out...

...then stitching the two sides together.

Place your template on your sweater in whatever way is pleasing, incorporating the elements of the sweater that are most attractive. Try to place it as straight as possible with the "grain".
Pin the template to the sweater.
Cut.

For the back piece, fold your template in half width-wise to give you a visual idea of where about halfway is.
Lay your template along the bottom edge of your sweater so that you have about 1"-1.5" between the bottom of the hem and your new halfway fold line.
Pin and cut.

Repeat the last step with the top half of your template, this time adding a little more distance between the halfway line and the hem. (Mine was about 3".)


Because I was working with a non-felted sweater, I chose to serge the edges of each piece to keep them from unravelling. If you don't have a serger you could probably just zig zag along the edges instead. This step isn't necessary if you use a sweater that's good and felted, though.

Take your shorter back piece and place it wrong side up onto your template, matching the edges.

Place the longer back piece on top of this (also wrong side up) matching the edges with the paper template.
Pin the two pieces together where they overlap.
Stitch the two pieces together on each side.

Lay your back and front pieces together with right sides facing and pin.

Stitch all the way around, pausing where the hems on the back pieces are and taking some back stitches to reinforce them.
Turn your cover right side out through the gap in the back piece and slip it onto your water bottle.


In theory, this should help to keep the water in the bottle warm longer by providing some insulation, as well as making it more comfortable by keeping the rubber off your skin.

It's also much, much cuter this way. :)

a little project brewing

Have you ever been wandering the thrift store and thought to yourself, "Hm. I wonder if they have a such-n-such...?", then turned a corner and found that very such-n-such? That happens very infrequently, but tonight I got to experience that wonderful, giddy feeling that comes when it does happen.

I've been wanting a hot water bottle but just couldn't bring myself to shell out $15 for one from the drug store. And frankly, I've been too lazy and forgetful to really hunt down a good deal. Then tonight while I was dragging my kids through our local Savers I came to that little section with random stuff hanging on the wall, like slippers and stethoscopes and massagers and shoe trees. I actually said the words out loud, "I wonder if they might have a hot water bottle...?" and then my eyes rested on this.

It's an old one, but never used!
In fact, it was still bolted to the box.
It even has the 5 year Guarantee Certificate with it. Ha!
I looked all over for a manufacture date, but all I could find to indicate its age was this handwritten price of $2.98. How long ago would a brand new hot water bottle have cost $2.98??
Anyway, I'm stoked. The rubber is still very soft and supple, not hard or cracking like I kind of thought it would be. I've been wanting to get one because my kids often ask to use our hot rice bags for their achy legs, but sometimes waiting that 3 minutes for them to warm up in the microwave feels like an eternity. Turning on the hot water is much faster. I've also thought how nice it would be to be able to put some ice water in one of these water bottles for instant cold therapy.

But to tell you the truth, the real reason I wanted one was so I can make a cozy for it. :) I'd seen some knitted covers on Etsy that were just darling, but since I'm not a knitter I thought I'd try making one from thrifted, felted sweaters instead.

Or there's this idea which I just LOVE.

Aren't those gorgeous??

I think I'll try the sweater cover first. Can't wait to show you!

Cute just doesn't quite cover it.

Nothing new from me today, but I HAD to link to this post by Corinne that I just saw on her blog, so September.

Can you believe the insane amount of cuteness that's oozing from this set of hoops??!



Look at the little chains connecting the three. I. COULD. DIE.

Seriously, I just cannot get over the utter adorableness. LOVE!


You'll find the free pattern for this darling fellow on her blog.

I embroidered him a while back but haven't tried adding the patchwork to the sides yet. In my opinion, it just brings the sweetness level way, way up!

Tooth pillow

My six-year-old has a dentist appointment today that we'd both hoped wouldn't be necessary. But she's got two reluctant baby teeth that just won't vacate the premises for the impatient adult teeth that have already come through.

So after more than two months of wiggling, jiggling, pushing and pulling with no success, the dentist has recommended extraction. *sigh*

She's VERY nervous and just the thought of this visit brings her to tears. So last night I tried to come up with a little gift that I could give her to help to ease her anxiety a little.

I've seen these all over Blog Land and just had to make one myself. It's a safe little place to put those precious baby teeth in anticipation of a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

Complete with a heart-shaped pocket for the safe keeping of teeth & money.

Hopefully this will increase the excitement level while decreasing the panic and dread. HOPEFULLY.

fabric scalloped bunting

Bye, baby bunting,
Daddy's gone a-hunting,
for to get a rabbit skin,
to wrap the baby bunting in.

My Mom used to sing us that song as children. Now I sing it to my kids. And every time I hear the word "bunting", that's what comes to mind.

I loved the idea of some kind of banner to string up in the corner around Finnley's crib. It needed something, and I figured this would be just the thing to fill up those walls.

I started by carefully selecting the scraps of fabric I wanted to use, then cutting each one into a sort of "U" shape and stitching them to a plain cream linen backing. You could easily make this a reversible bunting by choosing fabrics in a different color scheme for the other side. 2 in 1!!

Pinking the rounded edge made the curve nice and smooth once the pieces were turned right side out.

I couldn't resist doing a little embroidery on a couple of them.

Then each got sandwiched between some extra wide bias tape and stitched in place.

I'm in love with this bunting.

I found this sweet little canvas at TJ Maxx on clearance for $7. Isn't it darling??

The embroidered pieces repeat the sentiment I stitched onto the crib skirt.

It was amazing how quickly this project came together. MUCH easier than I expected. But I think what I really dig is how inexpensive this was. Practically free! All of the fabric came from what I had on hand, so the only thing I bought was the bias binding-- and even that didn't have to be bought, but I was just feeling too daggum lazy to make some. :)

Just for fun I added labels to this last picture indicating what other projects my scraps of fabric have been used for (click to enlarge). This banner has little bits of memories sewn into it, which makes me love it even more.


*EDIT: At the wise suggestion of my aunt, I re-hung the bunting higher to be sure that it would be out of Finnley's reach. If you make one of these, be sure to hang it so that your little one can't pull it down and become entangled.

Finnley's Crib Bedding

Oh, I'm soooo close to being done! I can't even remember when I started making this bedding- I guess it's been 2 or 3 months now. It started with the crib, though. I hunted and hunted forEVER for just the right crib.

You know when you have this idea of what you want but can't specifically describe it, or even really picture it? There's just this sort of feeling that you know it needs to have.

That's what I was dealing with when searching for a crib. I waffled back and forth between looking at brand new cribs and used ones. The security that comes with buying one that's never been used was tempting. The fact that it'll be sturdy enough to last through more than one child's use was definitely appealing.

But then... I don't like buying new. Not usually. I prefer to find something that somebody else is done with and make it mine. Besides, I wanted a vintage look to my crib and that can be hard to come by in a new crib without shelling out hundreds of dollars. Which brings me to reason #2 for buying used-- price! Craigslist is my friend, and it came through for me once again on my months-long search for this crib. So here it is, sitting in the garage the day it came home back in November.



The people I bought it from told me that it used to be a dark walnut color before they stripped it, sanded it and stained it a "pickled oak" color. I know how much work that must've required, but I was wishing they'd left it alone. I didn't say so, but I really wanted it to be dark! Ah, well.

Once I got it home I proceeded to do a quickie refinishing job, which turned out to be a not-so-quick job after all. The finish was satin, so I sanded it on the parts that were a bit shiny then used a rag to apply a walnut stain that I already had. Since I hadn't bothered to remove the existing finish, the stain didn't penetrate much at all, but it did darken it a bit. With all those turned spindles it was pretty time consuming. The final step was to give it a new glossy finish.

I like how the stain settled into the creases and crevices to bring out all the detail this crib has.

The bedding has been a labor of love, to be sure. I winged it for each piece, but they all turned out alright. I really wanted something that's gender neutral but still has some color and personality.


The first piece I made was the skirt. I was so excited about this idea I had for a scalloped skirt made from quilted fabric and doing some applique and embroidery on one of the long sides. You knew I'd use birds, didn't you?


I love how it turned out, except that I wish it was longer because the stupid foot thingy to drop the side covers some of it! Bah.


This tutorial for a cloth crib rail guard was just the inspiration I needed to make something that would protect my newly finished crib from the razor sharp teeth of its occupant. Those plastic stick-on jobs are just yucky, but you gotta have something on there, right?


Because does this guy love to chew.


Oh yes, he does love to chew!


The bumper- aahhh, the bumper. The reason this project is soooo close to being done and not DONE is because I can't seem to get my hands on enough khaki colored binding to make the bottom set of ties. Why does Joann only get like, 3 of what I need every month or so? They're killin' me!


I think I ended up using 8 or 9 different fabrics and I love them all. Every one of them. LOVE.


Just a peek at his new fuzzy friend.


Oh, and I made him a mobile.
Of course.
With birds.
Of course.




Felt birds, felt circles, string, embroidery hoop, beads. Easy!


I like this crib. And I LOVE this boy. So it's important that he likes it, too. ;)


My next project will be to make something for that big, blank wall.
I'm thinking... a bunting.
Maybe a little like this?