now onto the pillow. a necessity for a comfy sleep. cut a rectangle of cotton and one of batting, make sure you add seam allowance on all the sides. fold in half and stitch together leaving a small opening to turn.
turn right side out and fill with “pellets”. i used glass sand blasting pellets just cause that’s what i have on hand. i bought a huge bag years ago, when i was still making bears and i still have tons left! but you can also use seed beads, play sand (clean please) or some miniature sites also say to use salt but you would have to be sure it would never get wet!
because my pellets are so fine and i don’t want any leakage at the seam i put a fine line of fabric glue on the inner seam. it is flexible and doesn’t show especially under the batting. after gluing it together i close the seam with a ladder stitch as usual.
now take a nap on your comfy new pillow.
liya approves and demonstrates just how soft and squishy her new pillow is.
bed for a 15cm princess- pillow
bed for a 15cm princess- mattress
coming back to this one for a bit, while once again waiting for paint to dry on another project. (it is taking a very long time) this time i am working starting on the bedding. first the mattresses. to begin i cut out the filler. the rectangular bed got 1″ thick memory foam. that was too thick for the other two and hid too much of the head board so instead they got three layers each of warm and natural quilt batting.
the covers are simple, pillow cover like. i cut a rectangle a little bigger than the filling, stitched it 1/4″ wider on each side for the smaller mattresses. 1/2″ bigger for the larger then “boxed” each corner, turned it right side out and stuffed. the small opening is closed with a ladder stitch. i had originally planned to make tufted and piped mattresses – even got one mostly done, but then realized that would mean i’d have to make bottom sheets for these tiny beds 🙁 so i tossed it and made these simple ones instead!
fireplace continued
the rock front is painted and drying so i can varnish it. it may take quite a while to dry since my first try ended up looking way too colorful and didn’t go with whitewashed wood of the picture frame. i covered over all each brick with a combo of blue-gray and white so only hints of the colors show through and i like the effect much better. i didn’t have time to take a picture of the first try since i had to keep working while the paint was wet so all the colors would blend.
note to self, next time paint the rock before cutting it out. it would be much easier to get the variability in each rock!
1/4 scale fireplace
leaving the beds for a bit, just cause i want to get the woodworking done while i have no kids at home, and since christmas is coming, i’m going to tackle another project that has been on my list for ages…. a fireplace. i’m starting with a photo box using the lid only) a picture frame and a vague idea in my head of where i’m going….
i cut the frame down to make the front of the fire place. for the back i turned the lid over – it already was black inside which is a bonus since i may be able to leave that as is – then filled it in with a piece of packing foam. this is the same foam i used for my couch ages ago. i still have a bunch of it left over. it wasn’t quite deep enough so i put scrap pieces foam board on the back. i could have put the foam core on top but it wasn’t cutting as smoothly on the edges.
i’ve always wanted to try doing egg carton bricks and this seemed to be the perfect place for them. unfortunately my first calculations were off and the 1/2″ x 1″ bricks i cut were just slightly too small. i ended up with either too much gapping or uneven rows and and asymmetrical pattern. so i recut them all at 1-1/8″ X 5/16″. that worked out perfectly and i got hem all cut out and glued down. however cutting two sets of bricks took all my time, and i’m out at drs again tomorrow so this gets put on hold for a couple of days most likely.
bed for a 15cm prince(ss) number 2 part 2
i dug through my supply box for possible legs and came up with these. they were the ones i had enough of that looked like they might fit. after trying each set out, the spools ended up being the best for both scale and size.
so i glued one to each corner
flip it over and the bed is ready to go. or at east ready for bedding…
Continue reading bed for a 15cm prince(ss) number 2 part 2 »
bed for a 15cm prince(ss) number 2
using the oval ornament from the previous post, i chose this time to cut it in half since it wouldn’t stand alone. i made the base the same way as the first bed, except i cut the dowels the full width of the 4 craft sticks.
glue the head and foot boards to the base lining up the bottom edges and clamp till dry. the clothespins would make funky legs but they are just temporary 😉
bed for a 15 cm prince(ss) part 2
once the glue has set, line up the base with one set of curls to make sure it is straight and glue it on. clamp in place till glue dries. proper clamps would be ideal but clothes pins work in a pinch ;0)
you can leave the bed like that or paint it as desired.
verdict:
not very springy, it needs a mattress!
but it’s just the right size. 🙂
bed for a 15 cm prince(ss)
while we were waiting for paint to dry on the previous project, liya started hauling out wood and asking me to build her a princess bed that was just her size. feeling bad that every one thinks the poor girl is a boy since she is still bald i complied since it would be a fairly quick build anyway.
we gathered up a bunch of odds and ends to see what would work. the “frilly” ones are christmas ornaments i got on sale at michaels. we have jumbo craft sticks, odds and ends of square dowels left over from other projects, a bag of balsa scraps, my miter box, saws, pencil and glue. after some testing we decided to start with the rectangular ornaments for the head/footboard, the dowels for supports and 4 craft sticks for slats as the balsa wood was just a smidge too short and narrow.
next we figured out how high the bed should be and marked the dowel supports against the end boards at that point
and marked the ends of the craft sticks so they would be square not curved
i wrapped some scotch tape around the craft sticks so that i could cut them all at once. then laid the bundle flat in my miter box and zipped off the ends. it is turned this way just to show how even it came out. (the miter box is really handy for people like me who don’t really know how to do wood work, and if you use your 40% off coupon at michaels it is less than $10… even in canada!. go on a separate day and use the coupon to get the matching saw that cheap as well ;))
center the trimmed supports across the very ends of the slats making sure everything is square and even, and glue down using weld bond, or wood glue.
and placed a heavy weight on top and wait for the glue to dry
dollar store dresser upcycle part 4 finale
i painted the whole dresser with 2 coats of ultra matte varnish to maintain the lovely chalky/worn look no pics of that since it really doesn’t look any different. then glued down the knobs on the drawers measuring as carefully as possible to line them up
i’m really happy with the look and scale of them. once the glue sets i’ll be done, though it will take 24 hours for it to reach full strength.
and the finished dresser
looks much better i think than when it started, the glue still has to cure for another 23 hours or so before i can safely open the drawers, but i am very pleased with how it turned out.
bonus pic with the matching desk and my mline minifee meg for scale i haven’t decided if she will use it as a file cabinet or an end table yet. maybe both depending on the photo shoot.
Continue reading dollar store dresser upcycle part 4 finale »
dollar store dresser upcycle part 3
last color added. now it starting to look like a battered dresser, perfect for the room of a student or fledgling artist
while the paint is drying i started on the handles. i picked 6 small metal look buttons from my stash, cut the shafts off (using appropriate eye protection!) then glued on beads as spacers so they stick out a bit like real handles. this glue is really strong but has to cure over night so i started now. hopefully they will be ready by the time i finish the varnish coats.
