The Girls' Room

It's almost done! Meg and I have been working on redecorating her girls' room for... a while. Meg has chosen adorable fabrics, curtains, paint colors and accessories and has arranged them all so creatively.

I offered to do the sewing and upholstery projects.
Several years ago I made a headboard for Meg and Ben that was a simple tailored rectangle covered in linen. When they gave it to the girls I cut it into a more feminine shape and slip covered it. The fabric is from only one pillow sham from Pottery Barn Kids, with all the seams opened it was large enough to cover the whole headboard! When Evie (5 years old) saw the quilted pillows with bows she said all the right things, she was thankful and complimentary, as usual. Then she asked me very diplomatically if I thought that they might need a little more "fashion". When I asked if little pillows made with the blue fabric and pink trim would add enough "fashion" she was satisfied because they would match her bed and "Relax Chair". Her "Relax Chair" was purchased many years before she was born at a yard sale for $5. A little paint and more PBK fabric made it just right for their room.

I made the lumbar pillow from a blouse that I bought for $1. It was no longer in style but, had beautiful embroidery, eyelet trim and shell buttons, so I knew it could have another life as a sweet little something.

All that is left for me to do is make the window valances (I think). I hope to show those to you soon! You can see their adorable, almost finished room on Megan's blog.
Annie added a little "fashion" of her own to the bed...

Budget Bolster

Last year I shared in a blog post that I planned to make a bolster to match the headboard I made for our guestroom. The most promising result to my search for the right size foam insert was on-line and $30 before shipping.
That may not sound like much to you but, I am convinced that there is almost always a less expensive way to do just about everything.After a few failed attempts with fiberfill that resulted in a pillow that resembled a giant anaconda that had just eaten a donkey, I found this solution...
...a pool noodle from the $ store, wrapped in a foam "egg-crate" mattress pad, held together with a little foam glue, and covered with quilt batting (the last 3 items were purchased from garage sales).

I'm pretty happy with my custom bolster and even happier that I only spent $3!