Finished Daybed

This only took about 6 hours total sewing time.  It was really easy.  Here's how I did it:

1.  Measure the bed and the pillows.  Buy fabric accordingly.  Use inches; it's easier to convert to yardage.  Remember to take into account the width of your fabric.  Buy zippers close to the length of the bottom edge of your pillows.  Buy piping if you like, or make your own from cording and/or bias tape or quilter's binding.  Both of these are packaged and can be unfolded and used.  I got double the yardage from one package of quilter's binding.

 2.  Cut out these pieces:  The top of the bed, the front piece of the bed, the two side pieces, and the back.  And then the fronts and backs of the pillows.  I used a piece of old sheet for the back piece because it doesn't show.  This saves on the fabric needed.

3.  Sew together the front piece, the side pieces, and the back pieces so you have a big circle.  Then add the piping to the top piece and sew the big circle piece to it. 

4.  Hem all the way around.

5.  Pillows, one at a time:  sew the zippers first.  Then sew the piping to one side, and then close them up by stitching all the way around.  Stitch from the side where you can see the line of stitching from the piping; that way you'll be sure to catch all the edges.  It also helps when you unzip it halfway before sewing around the edges -- it makes it much easier to turn right side out.

** The piping makes it look professionally done **

** The pleats are easy as well.  Email me if you'd like details on how to do those. **

That bolster pillow is just a bed pillow rolled up inside a circular casing. 

Here's the finished product:

Try a project like this.  It's easy sewing (lots of rectangles) and the payoff is great!

xoxox

PB Envy and Sewing Room Update

Remember how I told you I've just moved?  There's a wonderful thing that happens when you move.  Companies begin to send you all sorts of things in the mail to welcome you to your new home.  Like Pottery Barn, and West Elm.

I am drooling over these things.  Somebody hand me a napkin.  Seriously.

I have a dining room table that is slated to go on the screened-in porch.  I may have to paint it a matte white and distress it a little on the edges.  Actually, the table I have is amazingly close to the design of this one.  See?

I got mine at Sam's Club about 20 years ago.  It's seen some better days, but it still has a nice profile.

And I'll put these little recycled-glass lanterns from West Elm on it.

My house is decorated in such a way as to fool me into thinking I'm on vacation all the time.  So -- LOTS of seashells.  I love these pillow covers because they're beaded AND they're seashells AND they're in that wonderful natural muslin colour.

OK, how genius is this?  They've made a chandelier out of canning jars and light bulbs.  This would be incredibly easy to do, and is absolutely gorgeous.  And green!

And I think I could work and sew and generally be a genius right here.  I am absolutely certain there would be amazing things just cascading out of my brain.

Maybe I'll just move into a Pottery Barn store and live there.  My second home will be the West Elm store.  

Of course, that would mean I'd have to move again, so maybe not.  

There was another brief re-org of the sewing studio today, and here's the result:

I used to have a worktable, made of an old oak door that came from our very first house.  It sits on sawhorses that a friend made for me so the table would be the right height for a worktable.

I have moved that oak door -- that 100+ lb. oak door -- from Indiana to California to North Carolina.  And yesterday, when I had a look at the half-a-garage-full of junk that is going into a yard sale tomorrow --

(I actually MOVED all that junk?  Seriously?  Why is it we always do this AFTER we've moved all this stuff)

-- I decided it was time to call a halt.  What the heck have I been thinking?  No more 100+ lb. oak door/table.  If I can't move the thing by myself, then I need a new table.

Almost by mistake, I found a hollow-core door out on the back porch.  We also have moved it from Indiana to California to NC.  But it weighs about 10 lbs.  It's been Hunk-O-Man's garage worktable.

So I tore off the gingham cover I had used on the oak door.  Because I don't want to buy quilt batting, I found an old blanket that was going to go into the yard sale.  I grabbed it for a nice batting-ish cushion under the gingham cover.  By Monday I plan to staple-gun it all onto the door.  The sawhorses have been living outside, so I'm going to paint them.  Already got the paint, just need to do it.

So by the first of next week, I should be up and going with a couple of new video tutorials.  I feel like I'll have an actual studio!  Woo-hoo!

Till then -- 

xoxoxox

Mirror Mirror

Up in the girls bathroom, we've tried to create the illusion of water falling. We've done this with glass beads on the wall and the mirrors over the sink. I started this project about a year ago, and haven't finished the bathroom yet -- still have to put the final coat of paint on the vanity. Up until now I had also only finished one of the mirrors. But today I finished the other one!

This is such a cool idea. It's basically a "Dollar Store Craft" project. Very simple, and very fast.

Here's what you need:

1. A mirror of your choice -- any size, preferably without a frame.
   



2. Glass beads in various shapes, sizes, and colours.
   





3. Good glue that can be used on glass or non-porous surfaces. I used -- E6000, a crafter's glue. But any kind of superglue or cement you find with hardware will do.

Here's how you do it:

1. Begin by cleaning your mirror with a window cleaner.







2. Arrange your glass beads in the pattern of your choice in a short segment so you'll know how to place them. Or you can just get an idea in your head and do it as you go, which is what I did.


3. Run a line of glue in a zigzag pattern along the edge of the mirror, about 15-25 inches long.









4. Lay your glass beads onto the glue in the pattern you chose -- or randomly, like I did.








5. When you get to the end of your line of glue, repeat steps 3 and 4.

Some tips:

1. I'm serious about the good glue. If you use a glue gun, the glass beads will come off. Same with your basic Elmer's or white glue.
2. You should lay out your pattern ahead of time unless you know what you want. I knew I wanted mostly clear beads and a random pattern. If you want something symmetrical, then you should lay out your pattern in front of you for reference. Just put the repeating line of it on the table in front of you.
3. A mirror with a beveled edge works nicely because you can see how wide you want your border.

And be sure to let me know if you try this!

xoxox

Redecorating

I learned some years ago that if my children were slobs, there was a one in five chance that they'd continue to be slobs no matter what I did.

However, if I made sure they had a pretty room, they might be less inclined to be a slob and more inclined to keep it pretty and picked up.

JB and Babydoll share a room, and it's been a mess since we moved in. They have a massive bunkbed that is gorgeous wood, very beachy, plus a dresser and a little bookshelf/nightstand. But in a room that's 10x13, there was never enough space for both of them. My days were full of constant warfare between them.

So recently, I decided to kick them out for the weekend and rearrange everything. I moved the bed into a corner, put little curtains around the bottom bed for JB, hung new curtains. I bought a piece of carpet for the unfinished-as-yet floor. I hung mirrors and shelving. I put a big shelf on the wall near Babydoll's upper bunk for her iPod, endless collection of books, lamp, and clock. I covered pillows and a tri-fold floor mat that now serves as a little sitting area. I even hung up hooks for their jewelry.

"privacy curtains" for JB, who vants to be alooo-ne.

A new full-length mirror helps them getting dressed in the mornings

The square thing is a mat, all folded up, and covered, with the pillows on top. And then the mirrors and shelves and hooks everywhere --

Tiny bookcase and shelves for makeup

So now it's looking pretty nice, and the slobbishness has yet to set in. I think it inevitably will, but it's nice to see the room looking better and more efficient thanks to my ability to sew.

Thanks, Mama, for teaching me all those years ago!