A Quilt in My Future?

My recent focus on spiffing up my son's room has really put my crafty prowess in overdrive and got me thinking about my daughter's room. We converted her crib to a full size bed just before my son was born and I have been struggling to find bedding to match her room ever since. I'm pretty darn picky when it comes to things matching, so lately I've been thinking that I might just make her bedding. What's that? I think I just heard the seams on my to-do list burst!

Yeah, I'm pretty good at piling too much on my plate, but I'm having a really hard time resisting these gorgeous fabrics

My daughter's room is done in green and pink and I think these fabrics would look beautiful as a modified version of the Oh, Fransson! Simple Modern Baby Quilt. Of course a prerequisite to taking on this project is finishing my son's room first. What do you think? Am I crazy? I've never done a quilt before, so I'm a tad nervous.

Second Child Syndrome

Ya know how everyone says that you won't take as many pictures of your second child, or fill out the baby book completely and you won't be as particular about some things as you were with your first? I swore up and down that those things would not be true.

But I knew from the second we found out I was pregnant that things would be different. I didn't rush to get his room ready, or fill his dresser, or even put his crib together. Maybe it was because I was now experienced and a lot busier, but it didn't take away the guilt.

One of the areas that most obviously didn't get as much attention is his bedroom. My daughter's room was pain stakingly painted, wall papered and decorated just so. My son's room got a slathering of blue paint and a white shelf hung on the wall above his crib to hold the monitor base. Ugh. Such a sad, bare little shelf.


The other day I decided that the shelf, and my sons room in general needed some love. A few stuffed animals from his baby shower were plopped on the shelf, but it otherwise sat empty. I've been loving the giant letters and symbols that I've seen hung on walls in magazines and all over blog land, so I decided I would join in.

A giant paper mache letter "K" was just what the doctor ordered. I grabbed a paper mache letter from Joanns for $7.99, spray painted it dark brown with paint I already had and perched it proudly in its new home. I probably should have measured before I purchased, because I hadn't realized it would nearly reach the ceiling. I kind of like it though. I think it makes a nice bold statement.


For the other walls I'm thinking vinyl wall decals (and maybe a nice quote under the shelf) and fabric covered frames to bring in some color and absorb some sounds from the rest of the house. Then, maybe a soft shag rug and I might be satisfied. It only took me 7 months, but I'm hoping this room will start looking a little more cozy for my sweet guy very soon.

New Window Treatments for Cheap

Ever since the hubs and I moved into our home three years ago I've been struggling with what type of window treatments I'd like to hang on our ginormous bay window. I've gone full circle from wanting fancy decorator fabric, breezy white linen, geometric patterns and damask. I simply couldn't make up my mind so, for three whole years our bay window has been bare and drab.


Then out of the blue, one day it hit me like a ton of bricks - Burlap! It's cheap, has lots of texture and character and comes in an array of colors. Off to Joann's I went with my 50% off coupon in tow! I chose an off white-ish burlap called oyster and paid a whopping nine dollars for 5 1/2 yards! I definitely can't complain about that!

I already had a few beskada curtain rods and riktig curtain rings from ikea just waiting for me to decide on a fabric, so all I had left to do was sew them up, hang my rods and enjoy. I made one two inch fold on each end of the burlap, a simple straight stitch across, hung them and called my room transformed. Seriously, these simple (and cheap) little curtains make the room feel so much more cozy and I just love the texture and the way they break up the sea of dark brown.

I absolutely love the way these look in my living room, (this picture really does them no justice) but there are a few things that I should note. 1) these curtains are not wide enough to close, since my window is over 12 feet wide. I'm totally ok with that though, since it's east facing and we don't spend a lot of time in that room anyway. If you have a window this large and would like to try burlap, you might try fagoting two selvages together. Burlap has such an open weave, a seam would be very obvious. 2) burlap has a pretty funky smell to it, so be sure to have some febreeze on hand! I didn't wash mine first because burlap can be kind of finicky and requires hand washing so I just gave them a good spritz to freshen them up.

There you have it! Cheap, easy curtains that add lots of character. Have you come up with a cheap solution for your window treatments? I have a few other windows that need some love, so I'd love to hear your ideas!

Celebrate the Boy

Have a little boy? Need new ideas and patterns for things to make for boys? Dana and Rae have come to the rescue in a crafting world saturated with girly stuff!

When my daughter was little it was super easy to find fun projects to sew for her, but it's a whole different story having a little boy. Aside from bibs, appliqued shirts and soft soled shoes, what else is there to sew for little boys? Dana and Rae at MADE and Made by Rae have set out to change the way of thinking when it comes to sewing for boys and are sharing ideas and guest posts dedicated solely to the little guys out there! Click the buttons below to visit their blogs and see the crazy cute things they come up with all. month. long! Happy crafting everyone!