Down Comforter Quilt

 Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am not the most patient person. I usually choose projects that can be completed in one night. So when I thought about making a quilt for my son's room I felt a little nauseous. I wanted to make him something original and by me. Something that he can keep until he is old and know that "my mom made this just for me." But making a quilt is not my favorite sewing project. So I decided to cheat a little. Here is what I came up with:

I used a down comforter that is super fluffy and soft. I measured each square and cut my quilters cotton 1" smaller than the square. (the down comforter had 8" squares so I cut my cotton 7" into squares).

Next I cut some wonder-under into 6" squares. I ironed the wonder-under pieces to each of the cotton square pieces.

Then I ironed each cotton square to the down comforter. I started with one row. Then sewed down the row in a straight line starting at one end of the blanket and going over each square in the row until you reach the other end. Continue until all the sides of all the square are sewed down.

Throw your quilt into the washer and dryer to see all the square edges frayed.

It is fluffy and comfy with a quilt flair.

 

*If you don't like the frayed edges look you can turn all the edges of your squares under, iron the edges down, and then sew over the top of them so you don't have the frayed look.

C is for Christian

Now that my in-laws are off in New Hampshire we finally have the house all of ourselves. I have been moving furniture, clothing, and children around for the last week trying to get everything in order the way I like it. Let me tell you, living in someone else's house is not as easy as it sounds. Not only do we have all our own furniture to fit but we also have all of their furniture and decorations. It has been difficult for me to put my personality into a home that is already fully furnished and beautifully decorated (but not exactly my style). We are going to be living here for the next 3 years and I would like it to feel like my house, not just a place I live.

Anyways, one of my first projects is creating a room for baby Christian.

I was snapping some pictures of him the other day and found inspiration in his red and white striped romper. A nautical theme is perfect for a growing boy.

In search of some decor I found this great tin case at Hobby Lobby for just $15. I think it was on sale because there is some wear and tear to the outside but I personally like that vintage look. I thought it would be fun to jazz it up by adding a large C to the outside.

  

I bought a cardboard C for $1.99 and some stripped trim. Then I used burlap twine to cover the letter. It took two coats to completely cover all the open areas. After the burlap I wrapped the stripped twine creating a zig zag pattern. I finished the C by using hot glue to secure it to the front of the case.

I love it. It is fun and different. I am working on many more projects to add to the room but this was a great start.

 

Baseball themed nursery art

Obviously I never got around to posting pictures of my project Sunday. My plans changed when I woke up to a sick little girl. We've pretty much been home watching plenty of Nemo and eating soup to feel better.

I had planned on showing you the baseball themed nursery art I had created. A friend contacted me over a month ago and asked if I could make a scoreboard for her new nursery. She is expecting a son later this year. I usually don't have the opportunity to make something fun for boys. She sent me a picture of a scoreboard she would like replicated (sorry I don't know the actual source).

I started with a blank canvas big enough to hang over a crib.

I used painters tape to completely mark off the edges around the canvas.

I also used the tape to mark off lines for the sections on the scoreboard.

Next I took my canvas to the empty lot next door to spray paint. Being that we just moved into our new home a little while ago, I don't have a good set up for spray paint yet. I'm terrified of getting paint all over our new house, garage, yard, patio, pavers, etc., etc., etc.!

The canvas needed several coats of spray paint...this picture was taken after the first coat.

I let it dry for most of the day in our garage. Then I brought it inside to add some details. I used sticky backed paper to cut out the black rectangles, white letters/numbers, and red digital numbers. I initially planned to paint them but changed my mind when I realized how difficult it would be to paint white over blue. I could have used stencils before the spray paint but that didn't seem too appealing at the time either.


I used my cricut to cut the white letters and numbers. I didn't have a cartridge with the perfect font so I just used the cut out letters as guides and then trimmed each letter until I was happy with how they looked. This picture shows several letters in different trimming stages.

I had a hard time coming up with a way to make the digital numbers. I ended up cutting slanted rectangles to start with.

Then I used a picture of digital numbers (on my iPhone because my husband was using the computer in my office) to cut each of them and draw dashes where there were breaks in the numbers.

I was really satisfied with how the numbers turned out.

I covered the canvas with two coats of modge podge (with several hours of drying in between each coat).

It turned out perfect!!

I delivered the canvas to my friend today and she loved it! It is the perfect addition to her baseball themed nursery!

While I was there I also added a vinyl wall quote above the window. The room is still serving as their home office so above the window was the safest place to put the vinyl with out yet knowing how she would arrange baby furniture.

I am excited to see her finished nursery!

I have all the dimensions for the sections and spacing. If you're interested in making a scoreboard similar to mine, please email me and I would be happy to share the dimensions so you won't have to spend time figuring it out.