Ikea Hack From Comforter to Slip Cover and Head Board

My daughter is a college student with a limited budget but we wanted to make her apartment stylish.

She had bought the sofa bed last year for her bed, this year she wanted to buy the bed and move the sofa bed into the living room.  Ikea doesn't offer a slipcover for her sofabed, so we had to think hard what we wanted to do. 

We made several trips to our local Ikea in New Haven to take measurements and make notes on what would work best. Because her school is over 1000 miles away I would need to either find room in the car for a sewing machine or buy one there. I was happy to see that Ikea offered an affordable machine.

Check out my review of the sewing machine here.

We decided on the king sized comforter with pillow covers in purple as it had the largest surface. At $39.99 it was a great price.

Here is the sofa bed and bed for the hack.

  

So I laid out the comforter on the sofa bed and carefully pinned where I would cut it. (measure twice cut once) I only had one chance to get it right so it took awhile. I mitered the front corners and used the nice binded edge for the front.

I opened up the seams and removed the zippers on the pillow covers and joined them with some scraps from the comforter. I left the pipping to give it great detail. Also the top piece is the contrasting color as the comforter is reversible. 

I used cardboard and foam to pad the headboard the cover slips right on and looks great.

My Etsy Shop is Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

Maybe it is a bit early. But I have started beading for Valentine's Day.

I did a beading demo at Raspberry Junction on Sunday. 

It took me awhile to decide what to bead. I decided that the hearts cuff was a good choice.

I also need to make more of the net heart necklaces.

 I have several variations of that.

Ribbon Storage

Just a quick note on my storage war. I buy ribbons that catch my eye. they end up in the bins that I store beads in. Then they come unwound and get all over. Or even worse roll out of the closet when I an trying to quickly find something.
I am kind of a hoarder of containers. I hate to throw them out. I might need them. A while ago when my daughter was home for the summer I bought her kind of expensive salad greens that came in a plastic container. It was there in the closet where I stashed it and I thought the ribbons should go in there.
So there they are nice and neat but easy to see.

New Christmas Ornaments

My latest project is to make Christmas Ornaments to sell in the Holly Berry Court at Raspberry Junction in Niantic, CT. If you are in the area check it out. They have 100% American Made Handmade Crafts.
My ornaments start with a white cotton fabric backed with wonderunder and stitch and tear stabilizer. I then used a rotary cutter to cut the shapes. I have 2 sizes. 2 inches and 1inch.

 

Then there are 2 choices I can bead the 3 sides first or stitch them together first. Here is the small one during the stitching.

 

Here is a photo of the larger one beaded before joining the sides.

Here is the large one beaded and joined.
I still have to decide how to add the fringe and loop.
I hope you like them. Please let me know in the comments below.

 

My Seashore Embroidery Hoop Art in my Etsy Shop

My newest addition to my shop is another Beach scene in a mixed media.

I used buttons and stones for the jetty.

I like the crab in the sea grass too.
And the high tide line on the beach with the egg casing. Have you ever opened one of those? They are full of tiny seashells.
On the dunes is a wind fence and the sea birds have taken wing.
I hope you like it. Let me know what you would like to see in the next one.

Crafting Space at Raspberry Junction

Renting space at Raspberry Junction in Niantic has been my latest endeavor. I did an artisan show one weekend in June. At that time the idea of a craft  mall with completely hand made USA products was proposed. It was exactly what I was searching for.
The jewelry spaces are in locked display cases and the employees are happy to show you any piece of jewelry you would like to touch.

A lot of the spaces were taken when I got there, but I was the first to set up. I had cataloged and tagged my pieces at home so I only needed to add my vendor # and check them off the list.
 Getting them in just the right arrangement of course took quite sometime.
I would like to think I picked some great pieces to display. I hope to change it up regularly to keep interest.

I can't wait to go back and see all the other crafts that will be displayed. The Grand opening is October 4th at 10am.
click here for directions.

Emptynest Stole my Heart

 

It has been kind of a bad day. Not to complain but the repairman told us we need a new water softener, then the knob of the washing machine came right off in my hand.  Hopefully Hubby will be able to fix that. 

In the past month both daughters have needed car repairs. The list goes on ... I am sure just like at your house.

Yet it is a lovely day out. One of those days you wish you could can for the cold harsh days of winter. So I went out to enjoy my yard. 

Near where my daughters parked when they were home I found this nest on the ground under the maple tree.

My daughters have long red and blond hair so it is very hard to say which daughter's hair this is but it warms my heart to see how much this bird valued the hair.  

I hope you enjoy the sight as much as I do.

Review of the Ikea SY Sewing Machine

As previously posted I used the Ikea Sy to make a slipcover and headboard for my daughter's apartment. I hope you scroll down and check the posts out. I have 2 other sewing machines that when I bought them they were the top of the line. I have been sewing for a good 35 years from home, factory to a drapery shop.

Ikea Sy sewing machine 

I had read some other reviews as I was a little worried about it sewing through the double sided quilted fabric.

 I had to hand turn the wheel over the thickest part.  I have a habit of doing that with every sewing machine as the tension adjusts when the pressure foot has been raised by the bulk of the fabric. This is the most common reason for a broken needle. That could upset the timing of your machine, so I avoid the near occasion.

 I was somewhat concerned that the needle position was close to the rear of the pressure foot but I had no issues. 

Ikea Sy sewing Machine

The 13 stitches are somewhat misleading as  3 of them are straight stitches, one of which is a basting stitch. You adjust the stitch length by setting between the stitches. 

I also  used the zigzag stitch and that worked fine also.

I was very happy to have the zipper foot. I didn't use it for a zipper, but the pillow covers I used for the headboard had piping on them and it would have been impossible to sew those as the seam allowance was quite thin so I had to stitch close to the the piping. The zipper foot worked a charm for that. 

I didn't use the buttonhole foot so I have nothing to report on that foot. 

The machine comes with 6 bobbins one of which was filled with pink thread that was loaded in the machine. I image they tested the machine before packaging it. I thought it was a generous amount of bobbins. 

They had a whole book about oiling the machine but did not provide even a small amount of  oil. Needless to say I assumed it had been oiled in the factory and would only needed to be oiled on a later use.

I didn't have any trouble with the speed of the machine but I am a fast sewer and they were mostly long straight seams. 

The price of $69 is a reasonable price. We saw it tagged for $59 upstairs in a display and asked for a price check but alas we paid $69. Still for what I had to get done it was still a good price.

All in all I was happy with the sewing machine and was happy that my daughter would be able to use it if she found a need to sew something while away at school.

From Ikea Bedspread to Headboard Part III

In my previous post I have shown you how I made the slipcover. I hope you read those.
Now comes the headboard. In my opinion the Bed frame is plain to encourage you to make it your own. We wanted to have more comfort and to have pillows keep from falling through the spaces.
  Ikea FJELLSE Bed frame, pine

The pillow covers that came with the bedspread had a great piping detail so I wanted to keep that intact. I opened up the two long sides and one short side of the pillow cover. One of those long sides had a zipper. I saved that for some other  project. (You never know when you need zippers )
The pillow covers now covered most of the front and back of the headboard.   

 I added center panels from the left over fabric from the sofabed slipcover. I then added the top strip to the front first and back. The top strip is the contrast side of the quilt. I have to admit I forgot the old mantra  ( Right sides together) but it made a nice added detail to the cover.  I added a strip of the binded edge left overs to the bottom of the front so it would look good and tuck down between the mattress and frame and finished the back edge.
I then had to built up the cover to give it strength and comfort. I used a cardboard box for a backboard and covered it with a 3 thin foam squares. 

 

It all worked out well and I even had left over fabric. When I visit this winter I will make some contrast pillows with the left over fabric from the bedspread and the zippers. 

 

From Ikea Bedspread to Slip Cover and Headboard Part II

All projects start with tools. Ours started with the sewing machine from Ikea.

Ikea SY Sewing machine

It was the right price and after reading different reviews I was sure it could handle the job.
The same goes for the bedspread. We picked the royal purple one in King/queen size for the most fabric. Ikea KARIT Bedspread and 2 cushion covers

I then laid out the  bedspread on the sofabed and carefully planned where to cut it. "Measure twice cut once" I turned it inside out and pinned the back seam to fit snugly over the back of the sofa.

I then mitered the front corners to fit the seating area. Then I cut the excess off the back. I still had the Pillow covers that came with the bedspread and the extra fabric. I was optimistic that I could make the headboard with what I had left. That will be my next posting.

 

From Ikea Bedspread to Slipcover and Headboard

Recently we helped our daughter move into a new apartment. She had a sofabed as a bed last year and decided to use it as a sofa and buy a bed this year.
        Ikea FJELLSE Bed frame, pine

 They are both from Ikea
  
Ikea EXARBY Mattress

but the sofbed that she has doesn't have a slipcover that fits it.
 So we had to get creative.
After a few trips to our local Ikea store we decided that the quilted bedspread gave us the most fabric and looked like it would hold up to wear. Plus is was a great color. Ours was purple.

We also had to buy the sewing machine at Ikea as space in the car for the 19 hr drive was tight. Check back to see it all come together and to see the review of the sewing machine.

KARIT Bedspread and 2 cushion covers

I Love BirdHouses, Don't You?

Etsy Purple Color Block Beaded Bracelet

I bought the materials for this bracelet on a trip to relocate my daughter in St Louis. With some time to kill we looked up the bead stores in town and came across Lady Bug Beads. It was a nice bead store. I found the color block stones there and some of the seed beads.

I used 4 sizes of seed beads to make the rings in a 1 inch circle.

I made 4 rings and strung the stones and rings in a alternate pattern.

Color Block Purple Beaded Bracelet

Show Displays

I want to share with you my displays from a recent Artisan Show at the Niantic Bridal Mall. I wanted to have a garden theme for the show. I didn't want to have a table. I wanted people to wander around and get into the feeling of a garden.

I found the trellis's at Lowes. The ones that I chose had curly details that were perfect to hang the jewelry on.

I needed to stabilize the trellis's.I didn't want to lug a heavy planter so I fashioned two boxes. One to pierce the box with the legs of the trellis. The other to resemble a terra cotta planter.


I had to spray paint the box. My 1st experience with spray paint.
I added glass stones and lots of flowers.
I think it came out great. What do you think?
  

My Cape Cod Inspiration

I was born and raised on Cape Cod. Of course that was back in the day when after Labor Day Main Street in Hyannis went back to two way traffic.


Anyway as a child I had no idea I was surrounded by beauty others have never seen. So many beaches. and scenic roads.   Our summers were spent in child like pursuits berry picking and just plain fun.

These memories inspired my beading.
My Cape Cod Cuff in several colors.

Cape Cod Bracelet Hand Beaded in Blue and Green

Denim Blue Cape Cod Bracelet  

And the famous Blueberry Picking at Adam's patch in West Barnstable.

Summer Blueberry Picking Inspired Bracelet 

Unique Maine Wild Blueberry Beaded Cuff Bracelet  

This all brings me back to the carefree days of my childhood.

Come garden With Me

Floral Bracelet Cuff in Peyote

April Showers Bring May Flowers Bracelet

Clouds with a Touch of Gold Treasury

Some New Favorites, and Some Old Favorites

Texture, Eye Candy for the Fingers

A Fun Themed Treasury

I had a lot of fun with this treasury. I had to use the Cute as a Button necklace. I then based the treasury around the castle ruin.
I hope you like it. I know I do.

Spring Trends Treasury

My Team Treasury

My Hoop Art Featured in a Treasury

Let's get away From Winter

Beach Path Hoop Art in 4 inch Hoop

Here is the first in my line of mini hoop art in the theme of my show piece.

Hoop Art Beach Path Mixed Media

I paper quilted the background. A process that has you piece the fabric on a paper pattern. 

Then I added embroidery thread to accent the areas.

Then I added bugle beads to make the wind fence and thick thread to join them as a fence.

I added sea birds in the sky and plant beads in the dunes.

To hold the white interface backing I stitched around the piece adding a ring of small beads around the piece.