Vacation Recap

I'm back!  We're all still a little tired from the loooong drive home but our bags have been unpacked, the laundry's been done (but not folded-- my least favorite), and I've finished the grocery shopping and restocked the kitchen.  Now, how about a few pictures?  I actually really slacked off on the picture taking this time around... but I figured, sometimes that's a sign of a really great vacay... right?  Anyways.  Here's a few for ya.

Let's just say... the week was paradise for my little boy.

Getting a tour of Uncle Joel's truck.

Going fishing with Daddy and Papa.

Going to the lake.

It doesn't get much better than that.

And I just can't help myself.  Isn't this little sweetie adorable?  Almost too much cuteness for this auntie to handle!!!

And, as promised... a few pictures of the headboard my sisters and I worked on during the week!  On the last day we were in town we brought it over to my sister's place and the boys set it up.  I had all of 2 minutes to take pictures (or we were going to be late for the new Bourne movie) so... excuse the quality.  But-- I've gotta say, the headboard turned out to be spectacular.  The fabric looked amazing, it was just the right size, the tufting was perfect, and every little fold/button was perfectly placed.  That's what happens when you work alongside two sisters who are also perfectionists... 

Anyhow, that's all I have for today!!

Tufting

More progress has been made on the headboard... my sisters and I were busy in the garage last night and got some of the tufting done on the headboard.  Let me tell you... tufting is definitely a group effort... and can be a little dangerous.  Scissors, staples, needles-- it's serious business.  We tufted and tufted and then we ran out of tufting twine.  We'll pick up more today and get this headboard finished.  Can't wait!

And so, to pay homage to a fun filled night of tufting... I'm going to leave you with some pretty pictures of rooms that all contain a little tufting.  Is anyone else out there a fan?

decor8

Lynn Morgan Design

Annsley Interiors

Made By Girl

Southern Living Idea House via Cottage and Vine

A Vacation Project

So... I'm on vacation right now!  Last weekend we packed up the kids and drove straight through the night for 17 hours (stopping only for gas) so we could spend the week at my parent's farm.  

The kids did great, the roads were clear during the night, and we even managed to come up with a few smiles when we pulled into Edmonton.

So far we're having a blast enjoying hot weather and some time with family.  Yay for vacation!

And... of course we're working on a little project.  My sister moved into a new place and is getting new furniture.  She really wanted an upholstered headboard, but we were having trouble finding the right one.  So, why not make one?  Here's our inspiration...

designed by Alice Lane via me oh my blog

We picked up all the supplies and started working on it yesterday.  The frame has been built, the foam is on, and tonight we've got to start tufting.

And while we were hard at work in the garage... my two kiddos were busy exploring the yard in their gator.  Caleb was pretty excited to give his sister a ride and show her around :)

More to come!

Now there's an idea

I've mentioned this before on the blog-- but one of my favorite ways to make Caleb's bed "cool" is by covering his box spring with a fitted sheet.  He doesn't have a bed frame to hid the unsightly box spring and bed skirts can be a little too girly.  Since I have many many fitted sheets for his bed (he's four-- what can I say-- many many fitted sheets are needed) I regularly change the look of his bed by changing the sheet covering the box spring.

A while back we had stripes.

The last few months have been dots.

And today we have yet another look.

Yesterday I found this fantastic idea on pinterest... UPHOLSTERING a box spring!!  How cool is that?  You can find the instructions here.

I don't think I'll upholster Caleb's box spring since I do like being able to change is up whenever I feel like it.  But, I am contemplating doing the box spring in our bedroom to match the headboard we upholstered a while back.  Hmmm... I'm liking this idea.

Well-- if anyone's looking for a project to do over the weekend-- here you go!

Overnight Guests Beware

Warning-- if you ever are an overnight guest at our house I might just sell your bed right out from under you.  True story folks.  While my parents were visiting a couple of weeks ago I sold the guest room bed.  Well not the mattresses, just the bed frame.  You see-- I have a bit of a craigslist problem.  I buy things... and I sell things.  It's a bit addicting.  On a whim I posted our old Ikea Hemnes bed frame to see if someone would buy it for a decent price.  I figured it was now or never-- Ikea recently started cleared out all the old style Hemnes bed frames in the wood finish (I think they're still selling the white ones) and are now selling a new version for a much cheaper price.  Well, as soon as I posted it I had a ton of emails and inquiries... but I wasn't super committed at that point and it just didn't seem like I had buyers that were really serious.  Then my parents came and I was scheduled for surgery so I just figured I'd sell it another time.  But then someone called the day before surgery and was willing to pay cash and pick it up within the hour.  Before saying yes I asked my mom if I could sell her bed-- she was down with it.  So we pulled the whole thing apart and an hour later it was gone.  I wasn't sure what my dad would say when I told him I had sold his bed, but he just chuckled and told me that the old ikea bed was too high for him anyways :)  So now the mattresses sit all alone on the floor waiting for a headboard intervention.

So now I've got to make a new bed.  Obviously not today, this week, or any time soon... but I would like to try my hand at doing another upholstered headboard.  We already did a camel back headboard for our room so I'd like to do something different this time around.  So many options... how's a girl gonna decide?

image

I guess for now I'll just have to look at some pretty pictures for inspiration.  Here are few fav's...

white or cream with tufting.  pretty and kinda girly.

How about this one with side panels-- kind of like a wingback chair turned headboard.

This one's the got the best of both-- wingback-ish sides AND tufting.  Looks like a lot of work :)

upholstering a headboard with a patterned fabric could look pretty spectacular...

I love yellow,

I love stripes,

And I love pretty much anything Sarah Richardson designs.

These ones don't have pattern but are still colorful.  I love the inset panel in the next ones and how they are trimmed out with piping or a bit of nailhead trim...

Oh, there are so many options.  And I have way too much time on my hands to think about this!  So what would you choose?  Color, pattern, tufting, nailhead trim...?

all images via pinterest

ticking

My mom bought this chair for $20 bucks.  It needs help... serious help.

She's on the hunt for some fabric to recover it.  She asked me to pick something out!  I instantly thought that a ticking stripe would be fun.  Ticking stripes make me think of a relaxed, comfortable beach house-- they aren't fussy, they provide a casual feel, and the fabric is cheap!!  Let me share some inspiration...

Ticking is available in many shades and styles...

Look at this cute settee-- it's a more traditional piece of furniture pared with some modern furnishings... it looks amazing!

It looks pretty awesome on a headboard...

Or in an office.

I am quite certain that I could enjoy drinking my morning coffee here every day...

And maybe I'd follow it with an afternoon nap here...

Check out the ruffles on this shower curtain.  Definitely something you couldn't purchase at your local Walmart :)

What's not to love about this?  Ticking striped wallpaper, perfectly folded and organized linens... beautiful.  I would love to have a linen closet just like this!

Instead of ordering the fabric online my mom and I decided to hit up a local Saskatoon fabric source-- Century Textile & Sewing Supply.  If you live in the area and have sewing/upholstery projects on the go you need to check out this store.  They don't have the biggest supply of fabric-- but if you're committed to digging around for a while you can find some good stuff!  They do have a great supply of upholstery supplies and their staff are very helpful.  So after digging around for a while we found this:

Premier Prints

It's a classic black and white ticking stripe from Premier Prints.  Century was selling the fabric for $9.99 a yard-- the same price you'd pay if you ordered it online directly.  I'm pretty excited to see how it all turns out!  And I'm also excited that I won't have to do all the work :)

images from Pinterest

The perfect formula

If you're a Sarah Richardson fan like me you've probably seen Sarah's House.  Remember the episode where she creates two cute bedrooms-- one for a boy and one for a girl?  Remember this chair from the girls room?

I've always thought it was adorable.  Inspiration.

Then my friend (who has a cute little girl) found this fabric.

Then she found a chair.

So let's add it up.

Inspiration + cute little girl+ Fabric + Chair (+ me!!.. and at times Doug) = this...

Cute, eh?  This chair did not reupholster itself over night.  It took me months and weeks to finish since I am the slowest. upholsterer. ever.  And once again, I had some had some help from Doug-- arm strength is needed when it comes to dismantling the chair and flipping it around.  But when it came time to put it back together my mom and expert aunt were not around to offer sewing assistance and a few pointers... I was on my own.  While I had a few nervous moments... it all came together in the end.  But let me tell you... I was sweating a few times during seat cushion construction time-- badly fraying fabric + seamstress-in-training + sewing over my finger (like I said... I'm still learning) = the urge to say a few bad words.

Finally, it's done and it looks great.  And in the end I managed to scrap together enough material to cover the ottoman too.  I'm no expert... but it looks considerably better than it did before.

From what I hear, the little lady loves her new chair :)  I can't wait to see it in her new"big girl" room!!

Making a Headboard

I've been sleeping well lately... enjoying my new headboard :)  This week Doug finished making the legs and late one night (it was actually that day... the one with the hotdogs and the hockey game) that I heard the sound of power tools coming from the basement.  Doug was putting the finishing touches on the frame so we could move it upstairs.  I just love our late night projects :)

Our inspiration was the Colette bed from Crate & Barrel.  I love the way it looks, but not the price tag.  Seriously. If I had an extra 2 g's kicking around I'd renovate my kitchen... not buy a bed.  I knew we could make a lookalike for quite a bit less.  So I showed the picture to Doug and asked if he could build the frame for me... he was up for the challenge.  A couple of weekends ago Doug and I worked into the wee hours of the night to upholster the headboard.  We had fun.  At one point Doug may or may not have asked me to shoot him with the stapler.  Apparently he wanted to know what it felt like.  But as he was standing all the way across the garage facing the wall waiting for the blow he decided that he really didn't need to know.  Even though it was late and we were acting way too immature, we still managed to get er done.  I think it turned out great!

Here are some of the details.  I decided to go for a warm grayish sand colored linen.  I like the texture and warmth that it brings to the room.  My pictures really don't do the color justice-- the lighting situation in there is terrible (it's currently exposed hanging wires from where to old ugly fan used to be-- another story for another day) and really, I'm not an expert photographer :)  Our old Ikea Hemnes had served us well for many years (and will continue to work in the guest room)... but I like the way that our room is beginning to move away from being all matchy-matchy.  Nowadays it's all about mixing it up!!

We used nailhead trim in a brushed gold to define and outline the edge.  I'm really liking the way it highlights the curve of the headboard.

Now that it's done I can happily say that DIY-ing your own headboard is a much better deal than purchasing a ready made one for $2000 (duh).  Here's the breakdown of the costs:

• lumber to build frame-- free-- Doug used some scraps from the garage
• 3/8" sheet of plywood to cover the surface-- $13.50
• 1/2" foam-- got on a 50% off sale at Fabricland-- 4 meters at $3.50 a meter
• batting-- $10.00
• inexpensive fabric to line headboard before upholstering with the more expensive linen-- 2 meters at $3.50 per meter
• linen-- 2 yards at $20.00 a yard-- purchased at Fabricana
• nailhead trim kit-- $20.00
• lumber, stain, and hardware to build and attach legs to bed-- free-- it was already in the garage

Grand total?  $104.50.  I like this price tag a whole lot better than the $2000 one.

That's all I have for now!  Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend.  I plan to spend the weekend reflecting on the importance of Easter to me-- the cross, the resurrection, and God's goodness.  I also plan to spend some time outside in the yard (come on sun!!), maybe have an Easter egg hunt or two, and I'm definitely going to have lots of quality time with these three...

I know you're all thinking-- how did I get Caleb to sit still for the camera?

Easy.  Bribery.