When I am frustrated with a project, but not frustrated enough to pour a big glass of wine and watch some trashy tv, I make pillows. We have a lot of pillows. Tell me I am not the only one who does this. Do you turn to simple projects to make you feel better when you are failing miserably?

The fabric for the new ones are, from right to left: some ikea fabric left over from the crib bumper, plain old random blue fabric (some of which is half way to being shorts for my son), and this awesome drop cloth print by Jay McCarroll.

One more too, because that Wiksten tank I’m trying to fix is looking pretty Becky HomeEcy. This print is by Geninne who did a lovely line of organic fabric for Cloud 9.  I fell for it when Erin made this top (it seems the wiksten tank is haunting me).

The first day is always easy; it’s the second day I usually crash and burn. It’s pillow week don’t you know. Seems I need a themed week on the internet to get me to actually make something. Why is that?

Look I even put in a zipper: a nice little metal number that I got god know where. It would look really good if it wasn’t so obviously off center, but that’s what I get for not pinning or even planning.

The fabric is from a friend who very kindly shared a little of her ikea stash.  Maybe I’ll get the ornaments to match.

I made a curtain for my kids’ closet this weekend. Not a big deal, but I hate making curtains, no, haaaaaate making them, so it’s a big deal for me. It’s just so much hemming and I kind of suck at hemming, but the curtain isn’t as bad as it looks–though it is a little straighter on one side.  There are more curtains that need to be made and I’m trying to psych myself up for it. I finally after three years of living here have picked out fabric, but haven’t ordered it yet. I want to try this roller shade hack, which looks easy enough, and roman blinds, which look hard. Has anyone had any luck with them?

I also cranked out some fitted sheets for the kids’ beds. I simplified the process a bunch from last time I made sheets. The edges are serged not hemmed and the elastic is only around the corners.  I was able to get two fitted sheets (for my kids’ weird size beds) out of one full size flat sheet. That means the pattern is sideways, but they couldn’t care less. The flannel sheet has deer and bunnies and someone about to get pelted by a snowball right in the butt.

Oh and I have some of that ikea bunting fabric left, do you think it would be ridiculous to make my son pants out of it? Would dying it gray help? or should I just make pillows and call it a day?

All my kids have odd size beds. Our bedrooms are quite small, so to fit all the kids in them we got two extendable beds from Ikea. My son has the leksvik and my daughter has the super cute minnen.  They start out about toddler size and then you can make them longer as the children get, well, longer.  The baby has a wooden travel crib, sort of like this, that I got off craigslist for next to nothing. He is just about to outgrow it, which sucks because it fits perfectly in the corner of our room.

The Ikea beds are kind of awesome and kind of annoying (that pretty much describes everything at Ikea, doesn’t it?).  The only sheets that fit them are of course at Ikea and they are uncharacteristically boring: I think the options were red or blue. This past week I finally got around to making some fitted sheets for everyone. I made them out of vintage sheets I picked up at the thrift store:  sheet from sheets–not my most creative moment.

There are a bunch of tutorials out there on how to make fitted sheets, so I won’t bore you with how I did it (though, if there are a lot of you out there with these Ikea beds I could rustle up the measurements I used).  Between these sheets and the thousand pairs of elastic waist pants I’ve made, I am done with the whole pushing the safety pin through the casing crap. I know there is a tool out there that makes this bearable, isn’t there? When I find it I’m going to retire my extra large, sad, bent up safety pin.

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything thrift related, so here you go. I found this great matching game at the (smelly) thrift store in my home town. It was pretty much the only good thing in the entire store. I’m sure it’s handmade: just cut paper decoupaged onto little wooden tiles. The box is, I think, made from wood trim.  My super talented friend made a set like this a while ago only it was painted, but they stuck together and got all messed up. I’ve always wanted her to do more (hear that Lily?) because they were so, so beautiful, but I’ll have this little set until she does.  Or rather my kids will.

This is just an ikea lamp, but one I’ve actually wanted for a long time. It’s called Jonisk and shesh! it’s 50 bucks at Ikea (no wonder I never bought it). I got it for 5 at my mom’s thrift store. I didn’t think there was really room for it in my house–these days the word is purge, not hoard–but I made a place for it in the dining room and it works quite nicely, thankyouverymuch. It’s indirect, glowly light and on a dimmer to boot. perfect.

And this is just some awesome faux cross stitch fabric that will be a skirt when I have a waist again.