Pepper Design Blog

Project Nursery: All Lined Up

Remember back when I first started the nursery curtains only to discover a little snag in the plan when the fabric arrived? The back-up fabric for the curtains worked out beautifully, but I was left with five yards of a great fabric that I needed to find a project for.

Enter basket liners part 1. Our changing table (which received this makeover) holds four baskets from Amazon that fit it perfectly -  but the white liners were lacking for looks.

When my aunt (an excellent seamstress whose skills I envy) asked if she could sew something for Olivia’s nursery, I asked her opinion on the liners and a couple of other projects (soon to come).

Liv loved the idea!

And the baskets look amazing, just what the space needed!

To sew liners for your own baskets, create a pattern by using a seam ripper to take apart the current liners. If your baskets are empty, use the measurements of the width, depth and height of each edge and the base of the basket to create a pattern out of paper (don’t forget to take into account the hem and overhang on the outside of the basket). Use the paper to cut your fabric pieces and sew each edge. A little elastic in the outside hems around the corners will help keep the basket liners in place!

Easy! A quick makeover that changes the entire look of the baskets.

That’s our hanging diaper pail from our cloth diapering adventure hanging on the right side of the table next to the hanging hamper that we love. Dirty cloth diapers go into the wet pail (which keeps all smells out) and dirty clothes are tossed right into a washable hamper.

Liv digs it.

Thanks great auntie Laurie!

More Project Nursery posts: the great glider makeover, sewing the curtains part 1, part 2, part 3, nursery fabric board, curtain fabric selection, rocking horse find, new pendant light, vintage wall art addition, changing table makeover, nursery wall striping tutorial, painted animal project, the initial inspiration board and the before picture posts.

DIY Entertaining Idea: Paper Flowers

Here’s a fun little tip for all of that left over wrapping paper you might have lying around.

I’m a huge fan of using a roll as an impromptu table runner or cut up as individual place mats (it helps incorporate beautiful patterns and colors – plus you can toss it when you’re done), but I love the idea of using this simple Martha Stewart tutorial to create small flowers for either a bouquet or even as individual stems wrapped around your silverware or wine glass.

Here’s the full DIY instructions.

Beautiful, right? Perfect for a shower, birthday or even a wedding. I love how simple and classic it looks!

Project Nursery: Sewing the Curtains, Part 3

The curtains are up!

- UPDATE – (Thanks to all of your lovely responses about how low the curtain rods in the images from earlier today were hung – I absolutely agree, how did I miss that? and prefer rods hanging higher as in this bedroom makeover – and have moved the rods several inches north! If you’re reading this post for the first time you don’t have to see the low hanging curtain version )

There’s just one final step in finishing my mammoth-of-a-project lined drapes, and that’s hemming these babies (here’s links to Part 1 and Part 2). To get a more accurate read on where these drapes hit the ground (so I can hem just above that mark) I’ve added the curtain rings ($4.99 a set at Target) to the tops of the panels and am letting them sit in this position over the weekend to let the heaviness of the fabric stretch out.

After that they’ll get another set of pressing (don’t worry, those wrinkles will go away and the folds will be a bit more defined) and a final trip to the sewing machine. Woohoo!

Go ahead and ignore that broken light sconce hanging out of the wall below. That’s a few items down on the list!

Just in case the curtains are showing up a bit orange on your screen, here’s how they’ll look when matched with the crib bedding that’s in the works.

The actual color of the curtains is above on the right, the new bumpers will  be the stripes in the middle, and the skirt will be out of the fabric on the left. All found here at Thibaut!

Now one more question – to valence or not to valence?

Does it add a little something special? Or too much? My photoshop version isn’t great, but it’s a rough idea of what it might look like to include a valence. The jury is still out on this one.

Almost there. Hopefully the awkward lighting in this post will make the big reveal later that much sweeter. Fingers crossed.

If you’re catching up on Project Nursery, here’s a link to the sewing the curtains part 1, part 2, nursery fabric board, curtain fabric selection, rocking horse find, new pendant light, vintage wall art addition, changing table makeover, nursery wall striping tutorial, painted animal project, the initial inspiration board and the before picture posts.