Getting crafty, part 2

With Jeremy handling the assembly of the crib I was itching to contribute something to the Bun's nursery two weekends ago.  And when my fingers get itchy, my hands get crafty.  So after the crib was done I tackled two tasks that I have had the materials for for a while, covering a generic lampshade with cute fabric, and making 3D art to be hung over the changing table.

The lamp project was fairly straightforward.  I found a white lamp with a red plastic star pull in a thrift store in Delaware before we moved, sans lampshade.  Because it was only a lamp base, it was only $6, so I grabbed it and made plans to get a generic lampshade later.  On an unrelated World Market trip I found a  simple cream colored lamp shade that seemed to be the right size, and at $10 I decided to pick it up to save for later.  The final piece of the puzzle was the fabric, which I was thinking should be a black and white stripe to match the fox's shirt in the mural.  However, after seeing the fabric in person I decided to go for the uber-trendy chevron, which is more of a subtle echo than complete match, if only to introduce a little variety.

In covering the lampshade I was first considering just sewing it, but after some serious, honest insight I realized that I often struggle with sewing straight seams.  I accept this about myself.  So, thanks to Young House Love, I discovered no sew tape, which has the effect of sewing without the seams.  You just iron the pieces that you want to stick together, and voila!  So I started by hemming all the sides of a piece I cut to roughly be the right size. I then just glued it to the lampshade with hot glue, bing bang boom.  My measurements turned out to be a little too rough, so I had to stretch it a little, but other than a slight warping of the pattern, I don't think it was noticeable (here's hoping I don't fixate on the imperfection during long bouts of nursing next to this thing).

Yes, the shade is slightly askew due to a few millimeters difference in the size of the socket and the diameter of the lampshade base.  I will have to figure this out later.

The next project was a little more time consuming.  I've seen lots of Pinterest projects with embroidery hoops covered in fabric and love the look, so I figured out a way to install some in Bun's room.  I found lots of scraps of red fabrics in my fabric bin, and snagged a big piece of solid red fabric on a recent crafty expedition to an art warehouse in Raleigh.  I covered the set of embroidery hoops that I found at Goodwill for $4 as well as the ones left over from the Craft Night I hosted for work back in May and turned them into red balloons.

To do this I first stretched the fabric over the inner hoop, cut it to size, then glued the edges to the inside of the inner hoop.  I then separated the inner and outer hoops and covered the outer hoop in strips of the same fabric.  The final step was putting the two back together to make what appears to be one solid colored 3D circle.

 Close up shot of one of the hoops.  Note that you can only see wood at the top under the screw.

Eventually they will end up on the wall, but for now I was playing with the layout on the floor.  My hope is that the final product will look like a bunch of red balloons floating away with a little girl holding onto the strings at the end.  The little girl is a decal I customed ordered from www.ltlprints.com, made from a picture I took in Lark's nursery.  As soon as the decal arrives I will put it on the wall, but for a quick preview, here are the balloons on the floor, and the little girl I had printed:

Here's hoping that they come out the way I think they will!