Easy no-sew dog bed

Written by: Grace

This is the story of two Ikea rugs, a naughty devil dog,an old pillow, and some hot glue. While these elements do not sound promising, trust me no animals were harmed in this project. In fact, two lovely easy no-sew dog beds were assembled in fewer than 10 minutes (Pssst! Are you ever baffled by the use of fewer or less? I wouldn’t be an English teacher if I didn’t direct you to this easy explanation).

Months and months ago (about 8, but who’s counting?), Rona was at Ikea and picked me up some lovely and cheap rugs. At the time, I was envisioning pillows for my boys, but that didn’t happen. What did happen was a solution for a dog who kept on ripping up $20 dog beds. My dog and I have a love-hate relationship. She loves to wreck things, and I hate it.

Anyway, at $2.99 a rug, I figured if Donny the Dog ripped it to shreds, I wouldn’t be too dismayed.

I’m not going to break this down into tutorial because it’s ridiculously easy, and I would feel like a fool because I didn’t even sew this puppy ( the dog bed, not my dog). Just a generous amount of hot glue (well, my first one was with hot glue, and then I tried some Liquid Stitch. Both have been washed, and both are holding up fine).

I took a pillow, cut it in half, and folding the rug over it with the fringe matching up. I then used hot glue/liquid stitch to “stitch” it together.

While I was waiting for my hot glue gun to warm up, Donny the Dog decided it was the best time to destroy the pillow I was using. Thanks, girl.

After slaving away on this ( approximately 6 minutes), I created two easy no-sew dog beds.

And that is the story of a dog, two rugs, a pillow, and some glue. Sorry if that was super anti-climatic.

So, if you are counting, I still have an Ikea rug left from Rona’s February trip to Ikea. Anyone have any great ideas?

06
Oct
2014

Halloween Burlap Table Runner

Written by: Grace

It should come as no surprise that I love decorating my house for holidays. I don’t just mean Christmas, but all holidays (Hellooooo. Remember my mantel madness? V-day, St. Patrick’s Day, Spring, Flag Day, and Fall). Partially, it is because I can’t sit still, I get bored easily, and it reminds me of elementary school, and I looooved elementary school, because my fabulous teachers were always changing their bulletin boards and room decor with the seasons. As a kid, it made every part of the year special and festive. As a mom, I want my kids to have that same kind of excitement and wonder I felt about the calendar year (or I just want an excuse to do something).

Two weeks ago, I busted out the fake cobwebs, spiders, and pumpkins, and I made– with Finn’s help– this Halloween Burlap Table Runner.

Here’s what you’ll need:

- Burlap Runner (or just burlap cut to the size of a runner)– I got my burlap from http://www.burlapfabric.com–; I can’t stop raving about this site!

-Paint brushes

- a Black Sharpie

- Black craft paint

- A stencil of a bat

Here’s what you’ll do:

- Trace the bats on the border of the runner.

- If you have a helper, allow the helper to fill in the bats with black paint.

-Write a Halloween saying or poem on the runner.

- Done!

Pretty easy, and pretty cute, don’t you think?

Are you a seasonal decorator? Or am I just a weirdo?

Wait. Don’t answer that second question

01
Oct
2014

bwok bwok Chicken wire frame

Written by: Grace

Did Anyone start singing “Chickenhead?” when I mentioned Chicken wire frames, or am I the only one to bust out in song whenever I hear trigger words?

Well, even if you aren’t a song master like me, I think you might like this easy DIY project.

Similar to Lisa’s jewelry storage frame, this is a quick and cheap!

What’ll You’ll Need:

- Gloves— trust me on this..

- Staple Gun

- Chicken wire

-empty frame (I bought mine off of Craig’s List for $3!!!)

- paint (optional) — I painted my frame with a sample paint pot from Lowe’s.

-ribbon

What’ll You’ll Do:

I feel really silly giving a tutorial for this, but here goes…

Step 1: Put on your gloves to protect those paws of yours.

Step 2: Roll out chicken wire and cut it to fit frame.

Step 3: Staple chicken wire to the back of the frame.

I couldn’t find my work gloves, so I wore a pair of old leather gloves. I’m fancy/it looks like I might commit a crime later

Step 4: Staple ribbon over where you the chicken wire and frame meet. This is optional, but it covers the sharp edges of the chicken wire and finishes the look.

see how the chicken wire has sharp edges? I just stapled some burlap (like you’re surprised) ribbon over top of it!

Step 5: Use a ribbon to hang the frame.

I use my chicken wire frame as a backdrop for wreaths, pictures, etc. I like the texture it brings to the wall.

So that’s my 5 minute chicken wire frame. For Thanksgiving, I plan on having my boys clothespin things that they are thankful for on the frame each day for the month of November. For now, it’s housing the only kind of spider-webs I allow in the house.

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