New Product Inspiration!

I’m always looking for cute new ideas for products or monogram styles.  I never have enough hours in the day to create all these wonderful things but a girl can dream!  My Pinterest boards are all over the place, but I’m thinking these next couple of days should be devoted to trying out some new ideas.

1.     New placemat styles – monogrammed of course

These are by Kate Spade and are adorable…and I love stripes!  I’m thinking something similar to this, just two stripes with a monogram would be darling.

Bold patterns and bright monograms.  Perfecto!

2. Something nautical

These shirts come from a sweet little shop on Etsy, Sweet Tea Monograms.  Maybe some flags on cocktail napkins?

 

Ahh so stinkin cute!  And they come in long sleeve...may need to go purchase these.

3. Ah cocktail napkins.  And pom poms. What’s not to love??

4. Pot holders and oven mitts.  Monogrammed, obvi.  Fun fabrics, definitely.  Thanks for the tut A Beautiful Mess!  Check them out for the full instructions.

Have a product idea or something that is lacking a monogram?  I would love to hear about it!

Guest Bedroom Part 2 - Upholstered Headboard

I made a headboard! 

This was a pretty painless project.  The only pain I felt was more of a freaking out sensation as I stapled the first side of the fabric hoping for the best.  I scowered the internet for a quick and easy tutorial but ended up taking advice from a few and winging the rest.  They were all so different and no one had really precise measurements for the headboard or one particular way to hang it on the wall.  Some anchored it using hardware, others built legs…it really all depends on how you will be making up the bed when it’s all finished.  My guest room is not ginormous, so saving space is key – meaning lets mount this thing to the wall!

Ok so I started with one ginormous piece of plywood and cut it down to 4x5 feet.  My queen mattress measures about 60 inches across, and after studying pictures on pinterest I decided I didn’t want much headboard peeking out around the sides.  Also, since I am mounting this to the wall and it’s not standing on it’s own two feet, I decided to go with one of the least expensive types of plywood available.  In the plywood section they had about 15 different kinds, ranging from $12 to $80 a piece. 

 Next step – attach some hanging stuff.  We used 2x4’s for this part because that’s what we had lying around, but you could use something thicker if you wanted.  After cutting to size, we screwed them to the ends of the plywood and then one piece running perpendicular to them in the center (which you don't see because I forgot to photograph...too excited to start stapling!). 

My brother cut the center piece on an angle all the way across so that it’s matching piece or better half could be attached to the wall and they would sit together so nicely like two people holding hands – but instead just two lifeless pieces of wood holding a wonderful headboard.  Make sure to do all the attaching before upholstering.

Upholstery – much easier this time around because squares are great.  I don’t care how that saying goes about “don’t be a square!” or “what a dork, she’s such a square”, you are wonderful squares, as are your cousins the rectangles.

 Base layer is batting.  I bought this in the craft store and the twin size was more than enough for my headboard, and I ended up folding it in half so my headboard is extra fluffy.  Just simply stapled, nothing too fancy, but be aware of how far in your staples are for the second layer. 

Next is the fabric.  Mine is a wide navy and white cabana stripe upholstery weight cotton.  Next time I think I will probably use some white muslin or something underneath just to give it a little more umph.  Freaked out slightly about keeping the stripes on straight but I think it worked out okay.  To keep things flat I always work one side (doesn’t really matter which) and then to the opposite of that one, pulling it tight to keep things from shifting diagonally.

Once it was done we hung it up!  The center wood piece thingie does a great job of distributing the weight and it is not moving at all. 

I haven’t completely finished the room, but here is a sneak peak of how it’s coming so far J

Oh and I needed new monogrammed shams...

Remember this chair??  Still needs a cushion.

Guest Bedroom Part 1 - Inspiration

The guest bedroom in our home has been an eyesore for quite some time and I have decided to tackle it and not let it taunt me every time I go up the stairs.  Every single room in our house was painted a lovely shade of faded banana yellow.  I am so over this color that I painted it without taking the time to do a before shot, but you can imagine how it must have looked.  Just imagine a color you hate, fade it over 35 years and then layer it with dust and dead bugs.  Thats what it looked like.

Here is the paint color I decided to go with – it was actually one of the “oops” paints at Lowes for $5 but ended up being a really rich deep shade of teal – so this is the closest I could find – Aquarium by Sherwin Williams. 

I also knew that since the room is somewhat small that creating an upholstered headboard that I could attach to the wall would be a great space saving option.  Here are a few things that helped inspire my headboard designs.   Making your own may seem kinda daunting, especially since if you decide to go with a plywood base like I am going to, getting the giant in your car will be difficult.  Luckily I have a little brother with a truck who should be able to help. 

A little inspiration...

As for the overall feel of the room, I wanted something cozy with a nautical feel.  I’ve always loved navy and teal together and have been brainstorming from there.

 

I purchased the two bird prints from Antique Print Boutique on Etsy, and at $10 a pop they were a deal.  They measure 12x15 inches, so once they are framed and matted should take up a good amount of wall space. 

Another flea market find is this wicker chair for $35!!!  I never find deals this good.  Check out the cool shape of the back.  It still needs a cushion but luckily I have this place to make custom ones at no additional cost.  As you can see it’s currently a pea green color.  At first I thought I wanted to remove the paint and then stain it darker, but that proved to be a pain in the butt and since I love pink I’m just going to paint the whole thing.  Maybe put a brown giraffe print on the cushion, who knows!!

Oh and I also have this little stool – another great find at $20.  This was probably my best flea market day ever. 

Next step will be getting the headboard upholstered and mounted on the wall.  Stay tuned!

Weekend Project - Moving Outdoors!

Our little backyard deck has seen better days, and worse ones apparently.  We live in an area with deep woods behind us, and the previous owners had to rebuild this deck several times due to falling trees.  We are pretty sure the trees that have made it through the last 40 years are good to go and won’t be coming down anytime soon, so we tackled some built in seating.  My brother of Built by Bert came by & constructed some of the most fantastic deck seating I’ve ever seen.  It’s no secret that we love a good sectional, so we collectively decided to build into half of the deck and in return received seating for about 10-14 people and one very comfy corner spot (which will be mine, all mine).

Bert doing some math.

These frames went up in about 10 minutes - so fast!

Working around the corner - just look at all that seating!

It only took about 3.5 hours from start to finish and around $200 worth of supplies.  Bert wanted the bench to look as if it was floating, and doing that required some serious math and tricky cuts, but it will now hold a truckload of people and is completely stable and secure.   Not to mention all the room underneath to store the cushions I have yet to make.  

Finished!  And a few celebratory brews.

I can't believe we went from having 2 seats out here to full bench living in just an afternoon.  Bert is an incredible craftsman and truly had a vision for the seating.  Thanks again bro!