How to Make (Screw up?) an Upholstered Headboard

So I've been pondering whether or not to buy a new bed for the new apartment. And as much as I'd love to have this bed

the Brighton White Queen bed from Crate and Barrel (and even the Marimekko Madison Persimmon bed linens), I've decided that I just can't afford it.

My current bed is, well, lacking, to say the least, but it's workable. It needs a coat of paint and a new headboard. Which is where my latest project comes in. I've decided to make my own headboard.

The geniuses over at HGTV.com have posted the step by step directions on how to make an upholstered headboard- and you all know how much I LOVE upholstery (it's sick really. It's just fabric.) So I'm going to try my hand at making my own upholstered headboard.

Here are the steps:

Materials:

foam core board

craft knife
fusible fleece
fusible adhesive
iron
pressing cloth
trim
glue gun
fabric scraps
fusible patterns
self-stick hook-and-loop tape

Steps:
1. Determine the shape of the headboard, and draw its outline on the foam core board. Repeatedly score the outline with a craft knife until it cuts completely through the board.
2. Cut three layers of fusible fleece to the dimensions of the headboard, and align them on the foam core. Place a pressing cloth over the fleece, spray it lightly with water, and then press the fleece with an iron. All three layers will fuse at once.
3. Cut the fabric slightly larger than the foam core so that its edges wrap around the sides and onto the back of the board.
4. Starting in the center and working out to the edges, press the fabric onto the fleece.
5. Iron a strip of fusible adhesive to the edge of the fabric, remove the protective paper and fuse the fabric onto the back of the board.
6. Cut a piece of fabric about ½-inch smaller than the dimensions of the board. Fuse it to the back of the board so that it covers the raw edges of the fabric fused to the front.
7. Apply trim around the edges of the headboard with a glue gun.

8. Fuse pattern onto coordinating fabric. Cut out the pattern, remove the paper backing and iron the design onto the headboard, pillows, dust ruffle or other accessories.

9. Attach the headboard to the wall with self-adhesive hook-and-loop tape. Apply a little glue to the part of the tape attached to the headboard, and press it onto the part of the tape attached to the wall to make a more secure bond.

Now, I think this is pretty straightforward, but I'm not exactly the most coordinated of persons, and I do have trouble following directions, so we'll see how this goes.

The hardest part (I think) is going to be picking out fabric. Here's why: I love color, but I change my mind like I change my mood (and that's FREQUENT) so I don't want to get tied down to something that I'm going to hate in three weeks. I like solids, but I think solids will be boring. I'm thinking that if I go with something neutral, I'll be able to make it work with any bed linens I buy (Augustine duvet cover from Crate and Barrel, anyone?)

Thoughts?

Ok now here's the fun part: Who wants to help me do this? Anyone? ;)

DIYours,

Nay

Art Imitates Life

I'm contemplating purchasing some original artwork for my living room, over my sofa. The artist, Amy Giacomelli, is from Colorado and her work is so amazingly beautiful and lively that words just can't begin to describe.

These are the two I am considering:

"Crimson Forest" 24x36, acrylic on canvas, Amy Giacomelli




"Scarlet Reflections", 3 panels each 24x18, acrylic on canvas, Amy Giacomelli

I'm so in love with both of these and I'm having a hard time deciding!! HELP!!

Check out Amy's Etsy.com site here Original Prints by Amy Giacomelli

Artistically yours,

Nay

Under Covers

I'm gearing up to move into my own apartment (yippee) and with new scenery comes my desire for new linens. I'm dying to redo my bed linens, and have found a few pleasing choices. But now comes the hard part. Choosing. (Well that and paying for them.)

Here are the contenders:


Marimekko Madison Plum duvet, Crate and Barrel



Augustine Duvet, Crate and Barrel

Marimekko Madison Persimmon duvet, Crate and Barrel



Alissa Embroidered Duvet, Pottery Barn





Thoughts?

Beddingly yours,

Nay

An Examined Life is Best

I was cleaning out some closets today in my house and I happened across a rare treat. I found my old diaries; diaries I'd kept since I was a freshman in high school, all the way until sophomore year in college!

Of course, being the curious glutton that I am, I read them. I wish I hadn't because I am SHOCKED at how vapid I used to be. USED TO BE, BITCHES. ;-)

Anyway, it got me thinking about the past, and how we should reexamine our past in order to proceed into the future. Reading my old diaries, the entries about lost loves, teenage angst, bitchy friends and heartache, reminds me that I have so much to be thankful for. I've grown a lot since those entries were written and I've learned a lot about life and the world. Back when I was a teenage girl, the world was so small and limited, so every little thing became a HUGE deal. But now that the world is wide open and I can go where I want to go and be who I want to be, these little things are really just that: little.

I realized while I was reading the old entries that life is really REALLY good now. I have an excellent job and a fulfilling career, a loving family (not the annoying, oh-why-do-they-torment-me-so, family members that I wrote about in the diaries), and plenty of other great things, things I had taken for granted and taken as a "given" instead of the blessing they are.

So I suppose my point is that it's important that we look back every now and then to remember how good we really have it. So I guess that teenage angst had a purpose after all :-)

Now my question for you, dear friends, is this: Do you ever look back at old diaries or letters? Do you even keep them?
Food for thought, indeed.


Count your blessings friends.
Love,
Nay

A Lady Should Never Be Without One

ucky Brand Women's Sunshine Paisley scarf, $55.00

Autumn is finally arriving, and not a moment too soon!! For me, Fall means pumpkin pie, apple cider scented candles, crispy mornings and warm afternoons and.... SCARVES!!!!

 

God I love a good scarf. No, not the woolly, it's-20-below-outside scarves, but the gauzy, flimsy, lady-like neck adornments that just SCREAM "pay attention to me, I'm pretty and girly"

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ISTIL Designs Women's Scrunch Scarf, $20.00 amazon.com

Of course, tying a scarf is more than just wrapping a length of linen around your neck. There is more to it, and it can quite complicated. Fortunately, there is a clever little website here that gives step by step instructions on folds, basic knots and more complicated ones. Myself, I'm a fan of the European loop. It's easy, chic and effortlessly fashionable.
A scarf is not just an accessory. Oh sure, you could treat it as one in its own right, but I prefer to wear scarves as an extension of my outfit. I like to add a vivid scarf to a more muted outfit to add lots of POP! But really, it's all about what you're comfortable wearing.

Satin Charmeuse silk Van Gogh "Irises", $35

Scarves are easy to find. A simple Amazon.com search brings up pages of them. I've bought mine from Old Navy, Dress Barn and Macy's. They are simply EVERYWHERE and in every price range. So, what are you waiting for? Go get yourself a snazzy scarf, and be at the very pinnacle of autumnal fashion :)


Elegantly yours,
Nay