DIY nursery

Creating a whimsical space for our soon to arrive little girl has been such a fun time! Although we didn’t set out with any particular “theme” in mind, we did have a few ideas about what we wanted for the space. Budget was of course a consideration, but we were confident in our abilities to make something really special without spending a ton of dough. The result is a mix of handmade objects, DIY decor projects, second-hand finds and hand-me-downs, and a handful of brand new items too.

Looking to create your own special place for a young one?  Here are the steps we took to transform a plain, white room in our rented apartment into a relaxing whimsical retreat for us and baby.

First we had to decide where to put the baby’s room. We live in a two bedroom apartment and have always used the smaller bedroom for our own because it has the bigger closet. In the past the larger bedroom was used as a [mostly nonfunctional] studio space for myself, so it only made sense to re-purpose this room for the baby. With a little creativity I was able to find homes for all of my most frequently used supplies and tools throughout the apartment, which has actually proven to be more functional these past few months.

The next step was to start looking for furniture. Let me just start by saying that my name is Emily and I am a Craigslist junkie. But it payed off! We found all of the furniture (except for the cedar chest that was mine since I was a teenager) on Craigslist.

The crib was the first thing that I found. Like most cribs these days, it converts into a toddler bed, thus giving it a longer life.  Of course, safety was a huge concern with buying a crib second-hand, so we made sure that it wasn’t a drop sided crib or one that it had been recalled for any other reasons.  We also did not buy the mattress used because of the possible link between SIDS and using old mattresses.

The next item I found was the dresser.  I knew that we wouldn’t have the space for a changing table (in an ideal world I would have a changing table, but it would be in the bathroom), so it was important to choose a dresser that could also double as a changing table.  The key was finding one that was the perfect height.  The changing pad on top was found after the fact at a yard sale, and it was a happy accident that it happened to fit perfectly on the dresser top.   I made a removable cover for it that matches the drawer liners that I mentioned how to make in this post.

After the dresser I found the cozy shag rug, which is hand-woven and made of all natural fibers.  Then came the rocking chair, which is probably my favorite piece of furniture in the room.  From what I’ve heard and read, a good, comfortable nursing chair is essential when breast-feeding.  I wanted something that was both comfortable and could be used for years to come in another space in our home, (such as our living room, which has a mid-century modern vibe) once I am no longer nursing.  The same can be said of the book shelf.  Right now it’s a great space for a small collection of books and toys, but in the future it could be used elsewhere as the needs of our child change.

In the midst of all of this Craigslist searching, we were deciding what to do with the blank canvas of the all white walls and trim.  As I mentioned before, this is a rental apartment, so we didn’t want to do anything permanent that would have to be “undone” once we move.  That meant painting was out, even though the walls really do need a fresh paint job.  This didn’t really bother me because I actually really like the brightness that white walls give to the room, and putting plenty of decorations on the walls meant hiding a lot of the imperfections left by previous tenants (scuff marks, patched nail holes, etc).

We started with a very fun DIY tree decal project.  You can read exactly how we created the look in this previous post.  Later I decided to extend the idea to the opposite corner of the room where we hung a very fun vintage growth chart.  The placement of the growth chart behind the closet door was very strategic by the way.  Now we don’t have to worry about it being covered by a piece of furniture if we decided to rearrange things in the future.

The idea to use a cluster of Chinese lanterns is not new or original.  I’ve seen this idea in nurseries over and over on the web.  But it’s such an inexpensive and easy way to add color and dimension to a space!  We decided not to use the mobile that I had made previously because we thought the scale was just too small for the baby.  But the lanterns are big and sway gently when the cycling fan is on or the windows are open, thus we thought they’d be a bit more visually stimulating and appropriate for a baby.

The butterflies were all Jon’s idea.  He drew each one individually on a piece of foam core than cute them out with an Exacto Knife.  The wings are scored at the body then folded up to create a 3-D effect.  They were then attached to the wall using Velcro.  Originally he had wanted them to be painted or colored in some way, but I pressed him to keep them white.  With the tree and the lanterns, we already had a lot of things going on and I didn’t want it to become too visually busy.  We are both happy with the fact that he left them white.  Now they add a subtle texture to the wall and the shadows that the wings make is very interesting.  Though babies can see only bright and contrasting colors at first, it is important that this be a pleasing space for us adults as well!  Besides, they will be something that she can “discover” as she gets older.  The sun and rainbow picture shown above is one of those plastic canvas and yarn kits and was actually made by my mom and I when I was around 4 years old.  Surprisingly it was still in excellent condition except for the mat, so I just covered the mat with some pretty pink fabric and it was good to go.

The last decor project that we tackled was the white canvas night-light.  It was an idea that I found online that I thought would be really fun.  For this project we used a hand-made painting stretcher from my college days, which is much chunkier than the modular ones that you can buy at the art supply store.  We stretched the frame with some thin blue fabric that was printed with flowers and butterflies then I stitched down a strand of very tiny twinkle lights.  These lights are much much tinier than regular Christmas lights and they also have a dial that lets you choose what you want them to do.  I like having it on a setting where only part of them come on slowly then fade away while some of the other lights gradually get brighter.  The printed fabric was then covered by some slightly heavier white fabric.  The result is that you can only see the pattern very subtly during the day but then very well at night when it’s on.  It gives the effect of fireflies and it’s very fun to watch.

In addition to decorating I also wanted to make some toys and some other every day items for baby Virginia.  In addition to the changing table pad cover mentioned above, I made four fitted crib sheets from various bigger vintage bed sheets, lots of reusable diaper wipes (tutorial here), a portable changing table pad, a pillow cover for the throw pillow on the rocker, the pink and brown granny square blanket, an owl softie and a couple of rag dolls, and most recently, a crochet cat designed by Nekoyama (free pattern can be found here).

So there you have it, our DIY nursery!  I hope you have enjoyed the tour and if you are in the midst of designing your own nursery space, perhaps you have walked away with a little inspiration!  If so, I’d love to hear what your own plans are, or if you’ve made your own version of one of these projects, I’d love to see some pictures!

by the way… we started creating this nursery on January 1st, and have just now finished completely with only one week to spare before my due date.  Now all we need is the baby!  If you are planning to tackle some projects like we have, or if you want to rely on finding the perfect items on Craigslist or at yard sales, I do recommend starting as early as possible; these things take time and you don’t want to feel rushed!  What really kept me going was the thought that once baby Virginia is here we will not have the time or energy that we do now.

Enjoy this post?  Please leave me a comment!  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

This post has been added to The Inspiration Board: link party 58 on Homework, Wicked Awesome Wednesday #70 on Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Wow Me Wednesday #59 on Ginger Snap Crafts, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Linky Party #53 on Primp, Your Whims Wednesday #67 on My Girlish Whims, and Make It Pretty Mondays- week 5 on the Dedicated House.

A Whimsical DIY Tree Decal for the Nursery

When you live in a rental, wall decals are the way to go.  They aren’t permanent but they provide a big impact.  I’ve seen a lot of lovely wall decals online, but their price tags ($60-$150 or more) were not in our budget.  Besides, buying ready-made decals isn’t really our style.  I had a feeling that there was a way to DIY it, and sure enough there was.

I found this tutorial to be indispensable to the process and basically followed the directions exactly.

I’ll summarize the process here, although for more detailed instruction you may want to check out the above mentioned link.

We made the wall decals themselves out of Contact paper.  Contact paper is self adhesive vinyl that is primarily used for shelf liners.  I was a bit skeptical at first that Contact paper would work, because I remembered it being very sticky and I thought it might damage the walls, but after trying out a small sample I realized that it was indeed the perfect material for making wall decals.  The finish on our walls is a semi-gloss, and it is very easy to remove the Contact paper and even reposition it if needed.

When planning our design we started by looking at different wall decals online for inspiration.  I really liked how this image incorporated both a wall decal and an actual tree branch that suspends from the ceiling.  So the first thing that we did was go to our local park to find the perfect branch.  The branch that we found was very light weight; perfect for suspending from a small hook on the ceiling.

Next we went out looking for the perfect colors of Contact paper at Target.  Unfortunately, the selection of contact paper was very limited.  They had a plain white paper, which would have been perfect had our walls been any other color besides white, but for our purposes we had something more like black or brown in mind.  We were able to find a pretty green and white patterned paper, which I thought would work well for making leaves, so we bought a roll of that.

After Target we stopped at Home Depot (I know, I know, I hate Home Depot and vowed never to return after that fiasco with the table legs, but we really wanted to get this project going and not have to order something online).  Though it was a little difficult to locate in the huge expanses of this super sized store, we did locate the Contact paper eventually and found just what we were looking for; a dark brown with a subtle, kitschy, wood veneer pattern.  Perfect!  The two rolls of Contact paper were more than enough to make our tree and cost less than $15 together.

Now that we had the basic elements it was time to get started!  I sketched out a design in a sketch book then Jon taped up several large sheets of newsprint on the wall to encompass the size tree we wanted to make.  We wanted our tree to be floor to ceiling and incorporate the corner of the room.  After all the paper was in place using painters tape Jon used my sketch to rough out the idea on the wall itself.  Once we had a tree that we were generally happy with, Jon held up the branch to see how we liked how they looked together and  make sure that the base of the branch would intersect with the tree trunk.  Finally, we just cut it out to use as a pattern for the contact paper.  Below are a few pictures of this process.

Once we had the tree completely cut out we needed to get it traced onto the Contact paper.  We had to make the tree in sections of course so we developed an easy way to divide the tree into different segments then label each section in a way that we’d be able to reconstruct it.  Also, I wanted the branches to follow the “grain” of the printed design on the pattern so we took this into consideration when tracing the pieces.  If your design is not completely symmetrical like ours, you’ll also need to take care that if you trace your pattern on the back of the contact paper, you must also reverse your design, otherwise it will end up being backwards.

Next came the fun part; sticking cut pieces of Contact paper to the wall.  To do this we started with the bottom most section of the trunk since it was most important that it line up perfectly with the baseboard of the wall.  The rest of the tree then “grew” from that in more or less the way that we had designed it.  There was a bit shifting, but all in all it came out pretty much spot on.  After the “naked” tree was completely on the wall the branch was ready to be installed.  To do this Jon installed a very small hook into the ceiling and used monofilament to hang the branch.  I’m really happy with how well the color of the vinyl matches the color of the branch.

This was the end of day one.  Luckily, I also had the next day off work so I was able to cut out and stick on the “leaves.”  At first our idea was to make the leaves more “leaf shaped” and kind of floating around the branches, but at the last minute I decided that I liked the more Mid-Century-Modern and “design-y” look of using circles to represent the leaves, kind of like this image.

After I put the circles on the wall I decided that the actual branch looked too bare, so I sandwiched some of the small branches between more circles.

We wanted to add more elements to our tree with more colors of Contact paper, but since we already knew what was available to us at Target and Home Depot, and since we wouldn’t be needing nearly an entire roll just to make a few birds, butterflies, or flowers, I decided to put a listing up on Freecycle asking if anyone had any leftover Contact paper that they didn’t need.  To my delight I got a reply and was able to make an owl out of some light brown suede contact paper.  A word of caution about the suede material though; it gives a really great texture and is just as easily removed from the wall, but unlike the vinyl kind, this stuff is very flexible and does not hold its shape easily.  I still like the way the owl turned out, though it has more of a “hand drawn” look to it.

So what do you think of our DIY tree wall decal?  I’d love to hear your comments!  Did you find this post helpful in your own DIY project?  Does this inspire you to make your own wall decals?  If so, please let me know.

Happy crafting!

This post has been linked to;
Show it off party# 21 on Get Outta my Head {Please}
Make Mondays Marvelous on C.R.A.F.T
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays #117 on Coastal Charm
Tutorials & Tips Link party {63} on Home Stories A2Z
Take-A-Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Crafts
Too Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-Tay #97 on Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Vintage Dresser Rehab

I’m no stranger to Craigslist.  If you have been a regular zween reader you may remember the red, white and chrome retro kitchen table and the awesome vintage buttons I found within the last year.

Now that we’re expecting our first baby, my interest in Craigslist has been renewed with a new purpose in mind; to find useful items for this new addition to our family.

One such item that I’ve been searching for is a dresser.  But it couldn’t be just any old dresser.  No no no, I wanted this dresser to do double duty; booth as a chest of drawers to store clothing and cloth diapers, and as a changing table.  That meant that the perfect dresser had to be of an appropriate height for the latter use, thus rendering taller bureaus out of the running.

I also wanted something older because not only do I like and appreciate vintage furniture, but because buying second-hand can be cost-effective without sacrificing quality.

Which brings me to this little gem I found just two days ago on Craigslist.  I have no idea what style or era you would consider this dresser to fall into (though if you do, I would be interested in knowing!), but I had a hunch that this would be the perfect fit for our needs.  Although the listing only gave a very minimal description and one terrible cell phone photo, we decided to take a chance and check it out.  What did we have to lose?  The item was located less than 2 miles from our house!

When deciding when to go for something and when to pass I very quickly calculate mentally its pros and cons which include things like quality, functionality, aesthetics, and price.  This dresser was listed on Craigslist the day before we went to see for $40.  After taking a good look at it and debating on whether or not it would fit into our Toyota Carolla (it did), Jon offered $30 and it was accepted immediately.

A lot of our furniture has a mid-century modern feel that we really like and although I don’t think that this piece really fits into that era we still really liked it because of its simple, tapered legs and the well-worn and smooth feel to the wood.  Jon really liked the unusual stains of the dresser top.  I really liked the height of the legs which make the very heavy and sturdy piece not feel too heavy visually.

So on the outside we are both more or less happy with this find, the inside of the drawers was the only thing we wanted to change to make this dresser more functional for our needs.  The drawers are dovetailed and well made, but the bottom of one drawer was severely warped and partially braking away from the frame.  Also, all of the drawers were partially covered with an ugly contact-like paper liner.

Some big heavy books (and my typewriter) along with some wood glue and a couple of claps fixed the broken drawer problem, and as for making the interiors of the drawers more inviting, we did a non permanent take on the contact paper idea by making our own fabric-covered cardboard inserts.  It’s basically exactly what I did for my suitcase restoration project a year ago.

The sequence of photos below show Jon figuring out the measurements needed for cutting down the cardboard, cutting the pieces of board, and what the finished cardboard liner looked like before the fabric was added.  The fabric, by the way, was all recycled from some horrible curtains I made years ago.  The color was a perfect complement to the wood tones and I had plenty of it for all three drawers.

Now all we need is a changing pad for the top so that it can function as a changing table!  Using a dresser as a changing table is a great idea, especially since we plan on cloth diapering.  Now we’ll have plenty of storage for those cloth diapers and have a piece of furniture that can be used for many years to come!

 

Baby Steps

It’s a new year and it’s starting out to be a good one!  Above is a recent project that I tackled (more on this later) that ties together what has been going on in my life these past few months.

Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a creative slump.  It’s winter, it’s cold, it’s dreary.  That never helps.  But it’s more than that.  I’m working more hours in my “day job” and I tire much more quickly than I used to.  Oh yeah, and I’m pregnant with my first child!

As of today I am 16 weeks along and every day is an adventure as to how my life is changing and will be completely different from now on.  I’m going to prenatal visits with a midwife, I listen to podcasts about pregnancy and babies (to learn about things such as birthing options, baby carriers, breast-feeding/pumping, etc.), I watch documentaries about the current situation most American women find themselves in when giving birth (Pregnant in America and The Business of Being Born are two of my favorites so far and are currently able to be streamed via Netflix), I follow along month by month with my used copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and I keep in touch with my good friend, Sarah, who is my pregnancy mentor, since she just gave birth to her first child three months ago (congratulations Sarah!).  What a great source of support and knowledge!  My husband and I are taking things one day at a time and trying not to stress out too much about the whole thing.  So far, it seems to be working.

Now that the first trimester is over and I’m regaining some of my previously lost energy, I feel more motivated to make things again (besides just this baby).  Motivation has been a real hinderance lately.  Though I want to start creating again, I find myself feeling a bit blocked as to what I want to do.  Do I continue making things almost exclusively with recycled materials?  Do I continue seeking out shops to potentially sell the things I make, as well as keeping up with the shops I’m already in?  Do I switch gears completely and just start making things for this baby?  I think the answer is probably to do a combination of all of these things.

Sometimes it’s the hardest to just get started, especially after what feels like a long break.  Taking things slow is probably a good way to start, which is how I came to make this crocheted baby dragon.  But let me back up first, because before I could make anything, I had to get organized.

On January 1st we took down all of our Christmas decorations, clearing the slate for the new year.  After that was done I was ready to do something that had really been getting me down; cleaning out my studio to make room for the baby.  I realize we have plenty of time before the baby will be here but it felt good to find new homes for all my tools and supplies.

The long, low dresser filled with my most essential tools (scissors, glue, hammer, pliers, crochet hooks, knitting needles, fasteners, etc) found a perfect new home as a buffet in our dinning room, conveniently located next to our dinning room table,  which is an excellent place to work.  The vintage suit cases underneath store finished products and also double as displays during craft shows.

On the underutilized side of our living room, my work table found a new home right next to a small closet which previously housed little more than our vacuum (not too necessary with all hardwood floors).  After moving the vacuum to the closet of the baby’s room, I had plenty of space for bigger essentials such as my sewing machines, irons, ironing board, sewing threads, and my most frequently used yarns.

My favorite feature of this storage space are the shelves that hang from the top to the door. We found these for only a dollar at a yard sale last summer! Now I can store and see all my little do dads such as buttons and beads. Love it!

Other, less used supplies, are now stored neatly in the attic and are still easily accessible.

I mention this because having an organized workspace is very important to many people’s creative process, including my own.  Though I feel lucky that I had a whole room to use exclusively for my work for an entire year, it did pose a problem of its own; it was impossible for me to keep it organized!  Now, with everything out in our living space, I am forced to clean up after my projects daily, since I am now unable to just shut the door and forget about it.

Now that I was organized I had to think of some things to make.  I started by processing a bunch of plastic bags that people have been giving me into new plarn.  Though it’s nice to have all those bags made into plarn and ready to be crocheted, I haven’t thought of what I want to make with them next yet.  So the plarn is on hold for now.

Then I started to look at my yarn stash and see what I wanted to make with that.  I couldn’t think of anything so I turned to Ravelry for some inspiration.  That’s where I found this free Baby Snow Dragon Pattern.  Originally, I had set out looking for something cute to make for my new baby.  Since this little guy has safety eyes it’s not exactly baby material since I guess it could be a choking hazard.  But it was the perfect application for my last bit of my green silk bamboo yarn, and since I haven’t done much amigurumi yet, it was a good exercise in the process.

More importantly, it got me making again, happy to be using up yarn in my stash, and excited about having a baby to make cute things for.  And I guess that’s all that really matters right?

PS- Doesn’t this baby dragon look like it needs a hug?

PPS- Here are my baby bump pictures that where take every two weeks starting at 12 weeks and ending with a picture that was taken today.

12 weeks

14 weeks

16 weeks

This post has just been added to Made By You Mondays over on Skip to my Lou!

DIY birthday cake toppers

Growing up, I’ve had some pretty amazing birthday cakes thanks to my mom.  She has worked in the bakery/deli at the Kroger grocery store for more than 30 years and is about to retire (yay!).  She’s had a lot of practice with making intricate piping boarders and lettering using butter cream frosting, and various decorative icing tips.  In addition to making and decorating nearly every birthday cake I’ve ever had (all but the two while I was in the Peace Corps), she decorated cakes for many other special occasions; first communion, conformation, graduations, and even my wedding (not to mention all the cakes she’s done for other family members).  Now that’s a lot of experience!

I like pretty cakes too, but I haven’t yet mastered all that great frosting work.  I also haven’t yet invested in buying the tools needed for creating pretty borders or lettering either.  But this past May I decided that I wanted to make and decorate my dad’s cake for his 60th birthday by getting a little crafty.

To make this “happy 60th birthday” sign cake topper was simple but a bit time-consuming.  I used materials that I already had on hand; some colored paper scraps left over from my wedding decorations, green floral wire from my hair clip craft fair display, some markers and Elmer’s glue.

Each decoration is two pieces of paper glued together with the wire sandwiched in between.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of my dad’s cake all finished.  In addition to the sign you see above I also made the owl decoration shown below.

September 30th was my Grandma Virgie’s birthday and I decided to make her cake as well.  I knew I wanted to re-use the happy birthday sign I used for dad’s cake, so I made a bird using the same paper so that it would match.  This time I got a little more ambitious with the bird.  I found the bird design in really old craft book from the library.  This time I wanted to make it look like the bird was perched on the wire, that’s why I had to add a second wire going through the tail section for extra support.  At the end of each curled wire is a leaf.  I also decorated both sides of the bird and leaves, so that it looks nice from either direction.

Here is the finished product with grandma Virgie posing behind it.  Doesn’t she look great for 105?!  Actually that was my Aunt Mary playing a little joke.  She’s only 83 (but still looks great!).  Mom decorated the orange, yellow and brown boarders on this spice cake.  It was a nice choice for fall I think.

Then, just a week later, it was time to celebrate my mom’s birthday!  Again I made the cake (yellow), but this time I decided to steer away from the birds.  This is a little ironic because my mom likes birds more than the others; and she HATES squirrels!  It was a risky choice I know, but there was a method to my madness.  First of all it was a cute squirrel, and second, it went with the gift I gave her; a plarn acorn basket.

After the candles were blown out and the toppers removed, the squirrel found a new home stuck into the pot of Gerber daisies we gave her.

This project would also be great for cupcakes of course, since the individual pieces could be stuck into the different cupcakes.

If you have a birthday celebration coming up and need an easy DIY project, this is something that anyone could do.  And the best part is that it’s totally reusable.  Just remember the clean off the wire stems well after you pull them out of the cake.

Happy crafting and happy birthdays!

I just had to include this picture of grandma, it just really shows her silly side.

Above; the present I gave my dad was wrapped in a deconstructed paper bag with a cute bird stamp from Crafty Goodness.

This post has just been added to a link party over on the blog Carolyn’s Homework and Skip to my Lou!

Type Set Drawer Coffee Table Mash-up

What do you get when you take a vintage type set drawer and add sleek Mid Century Modern legs from the ugliest coffee table you’ve ever seen?  A very awesome furniture mash-up!

I’m really proud of this piece.  Mostly because I made it nearly all by myself.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures of the entire process, or the original coffee table we cannibalized the legs from (trust me, it was truly hideous) but I’ll try to explain the process as best as I can.

It all started last June when we found these two gorgeous type set drawers at a yard sale (just $10 for the set!).  When we saw them we decided that we wanted to make two tables out of them; a coffee table and an end table.  Well, a few weeks later we found a really great end table at yet another yard sale (also for just $10) that was very cute and had that Mid Century Modern feel that we like so much.  We also had a lot of trouble trying to come up with legs for our type set drawers.

What a odysey that was.  For the complete story, please read my post from June titled “A Local Hardware Store, Home Depot, and a DIY Project; a true story.”

But then our luck changed when we came across a really awful coffee table with really great legs at a thrift store.  (again, I’m so sorry that I didn’t take a picture of the monstrosity before it was dismantled.)

Luckily the thrift store was in my home town and we were able to use my Dad’s tools (vice grips) to fully dismantle the table before even getting it home.  The legs are the screw-on kind with a metal bracket that attach to the underside of the table.  Since the base of the drawer is super thin, and because I wanted to damage the original drawer as little as possible, I wanted to find some scrap wood to screw the brackets onto.  Again I was in luck because my Dad has a bunch of scrap wood and a chop saw so I decided how I wanted my wood pieces to be and he cut them down for me.

For the next step I needed to pre-drill the holes for the screws.  I was really excited about this part because it was my first time using my “new” drill (also found at a yard sale this summer).  Then I went to work sanding the rough edges of the newly cut wood and staining it with some dark stain that I had.  We decided not to refinish the legs themselves at all.  As luck would have it they matched the drawer nearly perfectly as they were and though they are a bit scratched up, we don’t really mind.

After all of the legs were attached to the wood scraps with screws I decided where I wanted them to be on the drawer then glued down two of them using wood glue and clamps.  I only had two clamps so I had to glue only two legs at a time and let them set for 24 hours each time.

Now came the fun part; filling the compartments!  We don’t collect a lot of little trinkets, but I was still able to find plenty of treasures; coins, shells and rocks from our travels, old keys, buttons, spools of thread, wine corks, feathers, lapel pins, an old pocket watch, etc.

To finish it off we went to Lakewood Hardware for them to measure the drawer and have a piece of glass cut for us.  They had to order the glass, which took about a week.

Now we have a one of a kind, upcycled and totally awesome coffee table that is truly a conversation piece!  If you enjoyed this project then like zween’s facebook page to get updates on similar posts.

Thank you for stopping by!

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P.S.- Did you notice the fun paper mache fire in the fire place?  That was the brain child of my husband.  To read about how he made it, check out this post.

Parallels

Often since our return to the U.S. my husband, Jon, and I will see something and it will remind us of our time in Morocco.  Maybe we’ll overhear a conversation in Arabic, or see an object that looks Moroccan (or even from Morocco), or sometimes it’s just a situation we find strikingly familiar.

Today Jon picked up our sheep skin (a gift from a Moroccan family in 2008 after our first Eid Kabir in the country), which we keep on our floor in front of our couch, so as to take it on the porch and shake out the dirt and dust.  When he picked it up however, he discovered that the bottom was quite damp.  We surmised that this may be due to the heat that we’ve had lately and the fact that our downstairs neighbor keeps her air conditioner quite low, thus causing condensation to form under the sheep skin and making it damp.

Our porch gets a lot of sun this time of day, so he decided to drape it over the railing to dry out; just as one would do in Morocco.

Oh Morocco, with its cold, wet, rainy winters and its hot, dry, sunny summers.  Below are some pictures of what spring cleaning looks like in Morocco.  You will see this on every rooftop and through all the streets.  Women turning their homes inside out (literally) to dry out their rugs, blankets, couches (pondges), wooden sadaries (the platform for the pondges), pillows, mattresses, shoes, and pretty much anything made of fabric or wood.

Not only does the sun dry out these items so well, it also disinfects (and helps fight mold).  Yes, this is something that Grandma Virgie always taught me and Moroccans know very well.

Made and REmade in the USA

Happy Independence Day!  It’s time for cookouts, fireworks and spending time with family.  So today, in honor of Independence Day, I thought I’d share a project that I began this morning which is patriotic in its own special way; a lowly rag rug.  And no, it’s not because it’s not red, white, and blue, which as you can clearly see, it is not.

Rag rugs have a long history in America, experiencing popularity during both the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Great Depression.   They are representative of a DIY mentality deeply rooted in our identity as a nation, as well as embodying the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra that has become ever so popular and necessary in these tough economic times.

Recently, I came across this video on Etsy with The Crochet Dude, who teaches a really great way of joining strips of fabric together that is very secure and doesn’t involve sewing or knotting, which could completely come apart when washing.

Then last night I was lying awake in bed thinking of where I and my business, zween, are going (or rather, not going).  It’s something that I’ve been struggling with for a few months now and which has been a source of perpetual exhaustion and confusion for me.  Why are my projects feel so disconnected?  Why can’t I just use one type of material like yarn or fabric or fleece or clay?  Why can’t I just make one type of product like clothing, or jewelry or household items like everyone else?  WHY CAN’T I FIND MY VOICE???

For weeks I’ve been stumped.  I still am.  This is a process.

After giving it some thought in the context of finding where I’m going with my business, as I discussed in this post, I decided that one direction I could really see myself going with my work is the realm of reworking and remaking objects to make them once again functional and/or beautiful.  This is something that has been an underlying interest of mine for years; wanting to use materials and resources in a sustainable and responsible way.  If you are in any way a creative person at all, which I assume you are, you know what I’m talking about.  We work with what we have.

It’s within this meandering train of thought that I came to start this rag rug.  Do I see myself making 3o more of these?  Five more of these?  Probably not.  As it is, I’ll probably have to completely re-do the one you see here, as it’s not lying as flat as I’d like.  But it’s part of that process that I was talking about.  So maybe I don’t make something that I can sell, or even use myself after the first try.  The point is that I made something and by making I am also learning.  In the words of Thomas Edison, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

On the other hand, there are some aspects of this rag rug that are working for me.  For example, I really like that I’m finally able to put some old bed sheets to use.  I bought these sheets years ago at a thrift store, with the intention of using them for a project of some sort as they were no longer useful as bed sheets.  They are old and worn, faded in the middle, and have some stains and the occasional hole.

The idea for this blog post and title came after a closer look at the tag sewn into the hem of the bed sheet I was deconstructing.  It is labeled as Made in USA.  So the original product (bed sheets) where made in the US and now the new product, a handmade rug, was also made in the the US.  Made and re-made in the USA!

Retro Flair

We’ve been looking for a 50′s style dining table for a while and yesterday I finally came across this beauty on Craigslist.  Well, it’s a beauty now, after several hours of cleaning.  It was so worth it though.

This is just another example of how you can find “the right” piece for your home without spending a lot of money or contributing to the cycle of rampant consumption.  The key is patience and knowing exactly what you want and not settling until you find that perfect piece.  It might take longer than you’d like, but in the end you and the planet will be happier.

Happy hunting!

Learn more about the African print fabric wall hanging shown in the above picture here.

African Print; Add Color To Your Space

Back in the summer of 2003 I went to Ghana, West Africa, to participate in a six-week architecture class of all things (more on that later).

It was an eye-opening trip for sure. It was my first time traveling to another continent and even my first time traveling by plane!

One of my favorite parts about Ghana was the color and patterns that are used in the fabrics there. The bolder and brighter, the better! At one point in my trip I bought a small amount of the print shown here. I loved the colors and the pattern of the leaves. I also liked the proverb that it featured; “DUA KUR GYE EMUM A OBU” which means, “A tree alone cannot withstand a storm.”

Unfortunately, this beautiful fabric sat in storage for years without being seen or enjoyed. It was such a large print, I thought, what was I going to do with it? Finally, when we moved into our current home I decided that it needed to be on display. I had a bunch of old stretcher boards that had previously been used for (bad) paintings that I did in college. It was such a simple and easy solution, I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner!

And although the fabric is fairly small as far as yardage goes, it makes a fairly large piece of wall art, making it a bold focal point in our dining room.

Do you have a gorgeous fabric that you just can’t bear to cut into?  This is the perfect project for you!  And, if you later decide that you want your fabric back, it will have very little damage to it (some damage around the edges where the staples will be may occur).  Be careful to hang all artwork in areas that don’t receive direct sunlight which will damage, well, pretty much anything over time.

To attach your fabric to the stretcher bars just staple it on the back, stretching the fabric from the inside out, as you would a canvas for painting.  Fold the corners neatly for a nice, finished look.