A Sleepy Halloween

A few weeks ago for a date night, my husband and I built this doll bed for Kitty using the plans from Ana White. I love that lady's website. So many things to build, so little space/time/money... 

I still haven't finished the bed yet. I need to pick up some more wood filler and then I will paint it white. Until then it is already well loved. Not only is it good for sleepy little marsupials, but I have seen a couple of kids sitting on it like a bench. It is certainly sturdy.

Yesterday, after watching General Conference, I had the desire to sew something. I've had a stash of Halloween fabric sitting around for a while now, and as I was looking at it, and then saw the bare doll bed, I suddenly decided that it was perfectly acceptable to have seasonal bedding. I may need to seek therapy for my Halloween fetish.

Meanwhile, I shall share with you how I made my mattress and bedding. (Mostly so I have a record and don't forget, but also in case anyone else wants a little more guidance in that department).

I started with some foam. I wanted a 1" thick sheet of foam that was 11"x 18 3/4". But foam can get pricey. Then I discovered at Walmart some Foam Seat Cushions in a 4 pack. They were 16" x 16" and, if I remember correctly, around $6 or so. Since I knew I was going to be making a few beds, that worked perfectly for me. I just cut the foam to the width I wanted and added a strip to the end to make it the correct measurements.

 I may have used a highly technical method for joining the two:)

 Then I realized that with adding batting, it would make my mattress fatter than I wanted, so I trimmed 1/2" off the length and width. If you want to spare yourself this step, just start out with the mattress measuring 10 1/2"X 18 1/4". This fits the modified version of the Ana White Farmhouse Doll Bed plan with only 4 slats.

 I wrapped quilt batting around one and a half times (because that is what I had and it looked good and covered).

 I trimmed along the long edge even with the side.

 Then I bent up the ends and trimmed the excess there.

 Then I stitched with a quick whip stitch around the edges.

 On the ends I tucked them up and in and gave it a nice boxy finish.

 Here is another view- I tucked the top down and folded up the bottom, with the sides trimmed so it was square.

 This is what it looked like when I was finished.

 Next I took some plain white fabric and cut two rectangles and 20 3/4" x 13". To get that measurement I simply added 1" for seam allowances ( 1/2" seam allowance on each side) and 1" for the thickness of my mattress to the size I wanted the final product to be.

 I sewed all the edges, leaving a gap to insert the mattress into, and trimmed the corners.

 To make the box corners, I opened the corners out and flattened them with the seams lined up in the center. Then I measured down until I had a 1" line and drew along that line with a fabric marker.

 I sewed along the line I had drawn and trimmed the corner. I repeated this step for all four corners.

 After I was done with that step, I turned the fabric so that it was right-side out and stuffed the mattress inside.

 I got the corners all lined up and everything where I wanted it and then used a blind stitch to close the opening.

All finished with the mattress!

After I had the mattress done, I needed some pillows. I wanted some good king size doll pillows for the Koalas to sleep on.

 This fabric is actually folded along the bottom edge. I cut it out at 8" x 11". If you wanted to sew all 4 sides then you would just add and extra 1/2" (and cut 2 at 8"x 6").

 I sewed along the edges with my 1/2" seam allowance, leaving an opening for turning and stuffing, then trimmed the corners.

 I even ironed before I stuffed my pillow:) Then I used a blind stitch to close the opening.

 For the pillowcases, I was using an end piece of fabric, so I did my measurements the long way. I started with a piece of fabric 17" x 6 1/2".

 I folded it it half and ironed it. Then I ironed the ends under- I folded it in about 1/2" and ironed, then folded it again that much and ironed again for a nice clean edge.

 I sewed along the top and bottom edges.

 Because I anticipate the pillowcases being taken off frequently (I know my children), I decided to do a french seam to finish off my pillow. I started by sewing about an 1/8" seam with the right sides facing out- this is after I folded the pillowcase in half so that it now looked more like a pillowcase.

 Then I turned the pillowcase wrong-side out and sewed about a 3/8" seam along the edge.

 Finished pillowcase after I turned it right-side out again.

For the sheet I took two pieces of fabric, 20" x 20". On one side I sewed some 1" bias tape about 2" down.

After I had the bias tape on one side, I put the two pieces of fabric right-sides together and sewed with a 1/2" seam allowance around the outside edges, leaving about a 3" gap. I clipped the corners, turned right-side out, and ran an 1/8" seam around the outside edges, closing the gap and finishing it off.

I ran out of fabric that I wanted to use for sheets, or else I would have made a fitted sheet as well.

My husband commented that it might be a little scary to sleep in. Hopefully Kawana and Kierra don't have too many nightmares.

 This was my first attempt at piece quilting. I went off of the instructions on this website and made 3" squares, sewn together with a 1/4" seam allowance. The binding instruction was not so clear so I found this binding tutorial to finish the edges.

 It is even reversible. Now I just have to finish the bed:)

A Little Miscellaneous

 Monkey and Kitty made a "snake" for Grandma. They painted it themselves too.

 Tiger started it all. He wanted to make a present for Grandma. When asked what, he said a "princess castle". After he made it he said he needed to paint it pink because girls like pink (the black is the window).

I can't take credit for this one. My amazing mother-in-law made a flower and bug cake for Monkey's 3rd birthday. Monkey may have a weird obsession with bugs. She likes to pick them up.

Go West, Young Man!

This month's Cub Scout theme is perseverance. The pack meeting plan I chose was the western one, purely because it looked like fun. Pack meeting isn't until tomorrow, but if you would like a sneak peak...

 This backdrop came from a cousin. It was painted by her friend's daughter for a western themed family reunion last year, and she was kind enough to let me borrow it.

 This is my new horse- Hidalgo. Fortunately, he doesn't eat much, or make much noise, or mess and I can keep him in the house. The inspiration for him came from this picture.

 I borrowed these stick horses from my cousin as well. Technically, I made them last year (hence I knew she had them). They were patterned after a horse that her mother had made her many years ago. The fence I made from a large cardboard box. If you look closely at the back you can see thee pvc poking out the back. I just covered my pvc frame with the cardboard and drew lines with a sharpie.

 A western theme for 8-10 year old boys just screams "shooting". I found this pattern online and added a little Cub Scout-ness to the targets. My husband and I may have spent a little bit of time the last few days testing out every single one of the guns we made. We are getting pretty good- I am claiming genetics. I am a direct descendant of Jonathan Browning after all.

 This picture does not do these pvc bows and arrows justice, but it will have to do until tomorrow (at which point chances are pretty good that I will either forget to take the camera, or be so busy rushing around that I forget to take pictures). For the most part, I followed the tutorial here. I am going to tighten the strings on the bows tomorrow so they will look more like the top bow- I made these several days ago and decided that I would just tighten them right before pack meeting instead of every other day.

 Here is a close up of my arrows. They are soft tipped, but I am sure still pack a wallop. The rule is "no shooting people or animals".

And this picture is just in case you are wondering what "LOVE" looks like. My wonderful husband is way too supportive of my craziness. I spend a few days on Google and Pinterest getting way too many ideas for what I want to do for pack meeting, and instead of rolling his eyes at me, he asks what he can do to help. We may have spent all Saturday making a horse, six rubber band guns, three targets, and working on a doll bed (that is another post). It was a fun (and productive) day.

Finally Done!

Remember these chairs from Kitty's birthday party?

 I finally got around to sanding and staining them.

 Two of them became a gift for a craft swap, but I still had two left, and since I had just stained the doll bed for Kitty, I figured I should probably finish the chairs too.

 They are actually quite sturdy- I sit on them all the time, and I am not petite by any definition of the word.

So how long do you think it will take me to getting around to the table?

Mother's Day for the Little Mom

Kitty loves babies. The stuffed variety are her favorite. Her current favorite baby is a little stuffed Koala from Deseret Book that she calls "Kawana" (think 4 year-old trying to say Koala). Friday, I had a super productive cleaning morning, and by afternoon was looking for a fun non-cleaning project. It started out with a little bed made out of scraps of wood (plans here). (If I was going to make it again, I think I would add 2" to the width. It is fine as is, but I think the 2" would be nicer).

 Then came a mattress,

 and a fitted sheet and pillow,

 and a semi-fitted flat sheet,

 and a blanket. Of course, Kawana then needed a nightgown to wear to bed.

 Sleep well, little marsupial.

 Today, the little mother got a diaper bag from Butterick pattern 5304 (view F). I have had way too much fun. And I got a very big hug and "thank you" from a sweet little girl (I am sure that Kawana is happy too)!