in process

This post is really about the beginning of my bedroom makeover, but I remembered I never shared the final version of FireCracker’s Christmas gift. I posted sneak peeks at it before Christmas. She loves to carry bags around, so I made a special one for her Christmas present.  It is my normal wonky sewing skills, but it works. I was very much inspired by this one – if only I could sew like she does!

And now the start of the story of my bedroom….when I was trying to decide the colors for the room I kept coming back to these old tins.

Originally I was going to do a mural of that painting on the wall, but knowing my constant need to change things I decided it probably wasn’t the best use of my time right now. All those pretty paints will be popping up here for another project soon.

After painting several different colors on the wall I ended up with “muslin”….

Once the paint was up I started removing base boards and tearing out the carpet…(most would recommend painting after you take out the baseboards and carpet but I wasn’t ready to move out my bed). Tearing out carpet is one of the most gratifying things to me. It might be odd how much enjoyment I get out of pulling up tacking strips and taking my knife to the carpet.

Chicken wire….lots of chicken wire….

When looking for some new fabric to replace the previous pillows I couldn’t find anything affordable for the look I wanted. I decided to experiment bleaching and dyeing fabric (thank you Martha…tutorial here). Warning: the process of bleaching and dyeing fabrics is highly addictive. I now feel the need to experiment with all the 100% cotton fabrics I can find for $1.00 a yard.

I picked fabrics that reminded me of vintage linens…not ones that I would normally buy. I am not a fan of the original version of this fabric, but once it was bleached and they dyed…I like it. You’ll be seeing more of it.

A few more things to experiment with….new pillows coming!

So now the bedroom is emptied and my kids think having a bed in the living room is beyond exciting. I, on the other hand, hope the disarray in my house will be worth it in a few weeks. Clutter stresses me out.

I hope you have a great weekend!