I'M BACK! Plus... burlap box spring cover

It's been over 2 months since I've posted. TWO MONTHS! I think that's the longest break I've ever taken, and no doubt I've lost a LOT of readers. I apologize. Sometimes life and unexpected STUFF comes along and sucks everything out of you. And sometimes it continues much longer then you could have imagined. But such is life. I have missed my blog. I have missed your comments. So I'm back with things I had planned on posting months ago - and hopefully I'll be back for a while :)

~

When we got a new bed several months ago, I quickly noticed that as much as I LOVED it, the box springs showed between the frame and the mattress. Not all the time, but most of the time, I like bed covers tucked in all the way around - so of course this posed a problem: the box spring showing.

Well, I ordered a roll of 12" wide burlap from BurlapFabric.com - enough to go all the way around my queen size bed, and have a few inches overlay on the top and bottom of the box spring.

 The finished box spring/corners look like this - I was really happy with the way they came out! Below is the short tutorial of how I did it - - - - -

 Here is my roll of burlap, and the box spring turned and resting on the bed frame for easy access.

 Laying the burlap sidways, I began to staple it to the box springs, pulling tightly and using an electric staple gun. My husband helped unroll the burlap ahead of me and I stretched and stapled. You want to pull it so it's taut, but don't over-stretch it.

 When I got to each corner, I stretched the burlap around and continued to staple on the next side. THEN I went back and made a nice fold over the corner, and stapled the folds securely. When I was done with the top side, we flipped the box spring over and I repeated stretching and stapling the burlap the exact same way on the bottom of the box springs.

 When everything was done/secure, I used needle-nose pliers to hold my brass tacks as I hammered them in on each corner. This is decorative only of course, and you can use any type/color of upholstery tacks that you like - or leave it plain if you wish. I found my brass upholstery tacks on eBay - I think I got 100 for around $8.00.

 It turned out looking nicely finished, and I was very happy with the outcome!

NICE! :)

score

 Remember how I mentioned something about an antiques store?

SCORE!

I found the cutest, coziest quilt! YESSS!

 Just browsing around a local antiques mall I enjoy... it's very much hit or miss there...

But over the years I've found some fantastic things to have in my home.

I rounded a corner, and saw this small quilt hanging up! 

A generous twin/full size, and in excellent condition - no stains, holes, or even a missed stitch!

Doth my eyes deceive me?! Is this tag really the price?! 

Now, I know it's not ancient, and it doesn't have perfect quilting or pristine fabrics,

but I loved it's geometry and color and feel instantly. And it was $59.00! Are you KIDDING me?!   

 Machine pieced and hand-quilted... with LOTS of different fabrics from various eras.

Most of the fabric looks like it's from the 40's (help me out here, Wendy!) but theres a wide variety.

 If you look at the above photo, toward the bottom left, you can even find a DOG!

(Golden Retriever? Irish Setter?)

I also really like the skeleton keys on the pink background, and a pink/orange paisley pattern.

 The above pic had one of my favorite fabric pieces - it's gotta be late 60's or early 70's!

Love the flower pattern, colors, and especially the texture!

 The above pic shows more fabrics I really liked, especially the center red, gold and light blue.

 And one more paisley pattern that I liked a LOT - pink and lavender and blue too -

how could anyone not that THAT fabric pattern and color combination!

You know, I've always thought to myself, how ironic it is that a quilt is made up of so many fabrics.....

gorgeous, plain, colorful, interesting, flowers, stripes, and the list goes on and on..... 

some of them are even downright HOMELY when you really check them all out! 

But you put them all together and magic happens - all of the sudden they're perfect together! 

All the pieces combine to make something that couldn't be more beautiful!

I think quilts are a lot like people. 

There's room for everyone. Differences are good. Everyone needs each other. 

We're special just how we are. Combined together, we make the world beautiful. 

Bedroom Bookshelves Project

Remember a teaser a few posts ago? About a project I had coming up? Well, the time has come. And if I don't post these pictures now for everyone to see (oh the shame!), I'll never get this project finished. It has me completely paralyzed. I don't even know why, but it does. So......

This is my bedroom wall, opposite the Red Bed. I have this lovely little armoire, you see. It has glass panes all down the front and even on both sides, so you can see my quilts and textiles. 
Bright Mexican blankets, Pendelton trade blankets, wedding quilts from my mother and my mother-in-law, cherished baby blankets of our own boys - some stitched lovingly by hand from dear friends, cheerful old quilts and textiles I have collected and kept over the years, even my grade school sleeping bag that I cannot part with. Favorite fabrics, sweet embroidery pieces stitched by inexperienced hands... all of it is here in my lovely little armoire. 
I love waking up each morning and seeing all the cheerful color peeking out at me. It's one of the first things I see every day. It makes me so very happy. The problem is........
THIS IS THE REST OF WHAT I WAKE UP TO! WHAT A MESS!

My poor armoire is being drowned on both sides by looming bookshelves gone wrong! Seeing all this first thing as I wake up makes me want to hide from the day. I am an "everything in it's place" person, not a "just throw it on the shelf" person. Metal initials, leather boxes, a sewing box that lost it's twin, magazines hanging around that haven't even been cataloged(!). It's enough to make my brain explode. And I'm glad you can't see the half inch of dust on top of everything.
My backpack from Europe, stashed up there when we arrived home SEVEN MONTHS AGO. Bags of linens from Europe that are still sitting there. Linens! And underneath them are books my sly college son no longer needed and tried to hide while home during Christmas break. Let's see... pants I need to donate, a lone frisbee (?), some CD's, room freshener, years & years of photo albums no one even realizes are there, kitchen counter spray that somehow ended up in my bedroom (?)... blah, blah, blah. You get the idea. Say it! The "C" word! CLUTTER! UGH! 

(Moment of silence please. I'm still grieving the folding of Country Home Magazine) 

All my magazines need to be re-labled so the tops can be kept clean. Yes, you heard me correctly. No, I'm not freaking insane. I just like things how I like things. I went to Ikea and purchased new holders for them too. These have served me well for years, but it's finally time to recycle them. Especially after the time our ceiling leaked and it rained INSIDE the house and soaked them all... they never quite recovered. I haven't either. 

As you can see... I've got my work cut out for me. I will have to save the world another time.  

Collections

A little eye candy for all of us today!

 

I am always amazed at what people collect. Even friends, whom I think I know well, turn up with collections I knew nothing about. I have several collections myself, though over the years I have pared everything down, keeping only what I truly enjoy. Perhaps it's more like fine tuning. It's interesting even to me, the things I'm willing to let go of, and the things I can't imagine living without. 

I find my collections bring me daily joy - probably because I am such a visual person. Color and texture are at the top of my list. When I began collecting, the main requirements were all about things that a home full of boys couldn't do too much damage to! Antique woodenware and textiles rated high because they had already been knocked around and yet still survived. And plus, I'm a big believer in using the things I collect. 

I found that I really gravitated toward vintage items. I do like new - my funkalitious lamps for example (from my "vignette" post). I get a lot of enjoyment out of mixing old and new together. But when something is vintage, you know that every mark, every crack, every faded color, has a story. I recently mentioned my love of textiles ("gratitude" post) and wooden boxes and step stools ("vignette" post)......

 

Here are a few collections that have passed the test of time and continue to give me much happiness.

Miniature, children's billiard balls are colorful and great fun to play with. I love big, chunky glass marbles too.

Ah, my vintage croquet balls....... joy and rapture! 

Your different colors, and textures, and sizes, and styles, delight me every day.

I also collect standard size vintage billiard balls - always a cheerful sight to behold.

I keep all my colorful vintage balls displayed in thick, glass jars - they look GREAT! 

Oh, antique quilts and textiles of all kinds - you comfort me with your colors, your feel, your handiwork, your warmth.

Someone spent a lot of hours creating you - I have spent a lot of hours appreciating you.

What kinds of collections to *YOU* have? I would love to hear - and so would all those who stop by. 

This is your chance to redeem yourself for not posting any comments yet - you know who you are :) 

And it will give all of you lurkers a chance to come out of the shadows and play. 

Gratitude Shmatitude?

In the month of November we give our thanks. Thanks for those who came before us, for our country, our freedom, our homes, our families - all the big stuff that we often take for granted. Thanksgiving is a great reminder that we do indeed, have much to be thankful for.

Life has really taken it's toll on us lately. We're constantly bombarded by uncertainty, by stress, by fear, by heartache. It's hard to remain thankful in a world full of turmoil. But there are positive things - oh, so many positive things - in our lives. Some very large, some very small - some so tiny we hardly know they're there. But all essential. And the small joys add up into large joys. Often overlooked, those simple pleasures can give us a great amount of happiness.

Have you heard of a Gratitude List? Have you ever tried it? All it is, is a simple list of the every day things in life that lift your heart. It doesn't matter what you write on. It doesn't matter if it's messy or neat, long or short, plain or artsy. What matters is that you do it. All it takes is a few minutes every day to add a few more things to your list. It's easy to do - there's no right or wrong way, because your list will be as individual as you are. And if you've had a rough day, all the more important! You will be amazed at how writing down the little gems that are meaningful to you, truly can give you a happy, thankful heart.

Here are several of my little gems that I love, love, love, and am so thankful for - - -

   

It's true - my relationship with Ruffles and diet Coke is legendary.

I love my Megibug. We are tight. And she is FAST. 

I am grateful for these dorky faces.

And who could not *ADORE* this precious face!?!

I am so grateful for the beauty of flowers.

Oh, textiles! How do I love thee!

Color. How grateful I am for color. Can you imagine a world without it!?!

Oh yippee! It's amazing what a little pedicure tenderness can do.

Doodles :)

Cherished books. And my fave magazines - such sources of inspiration.

So are you ready? There are little gems in your lives waiting for you to write them down.