The monster family's loft bedroom

So, a couple days I posted about the joy of finding a project in which I could be both a genius creative and a great mother.I revealed the DIY and incredibly frugal my Ayva and I created.I also promised mini-tutorials on nearly every piece inside the house.So here we go



We're going to start with the monster family's loft bedroom.This is an incredibly small doll house that we found, so the monsters have to share the bedroom and we had to get creative about privacy elsewhere in the house (wait for the bathroom). But, as we're incredibly good at making small spaces work for us in real life, we accepted the challenge with vigor.




First, a picture of a bunch of stuff.This is a sampling of the supplies I used to do everything in this house.You will hear about a lot of recyclables, like cereal boxes, plastic bottle tops, metal can lids, plastic bins, etc.You will also hear about scraps, like leftover papers and fabrics, spare buttons.Some of these items you may have to buy if you don't have them on hand.I do a lot of different types of projects, so I nearly always have batting, stuffing, spray paint, and glues on hand.I also make jewelry, so beads are easy to come by.



And now, onto bedroom pictures and how-tos



Here's the room under the roof. It's so short we thought the only idea that made sense was a room in which the monster family would spend most of their time lying downthus, the loft bedroom was born.



We made two beds, one for the parents, and one for the baby.



These were what I would call a tiny upholstery project.I constructed bed frames/mattresses out of layered (glued together) corrugated cardboard until thick enough.I then wrapped that bed frame with batting to give it a bit of pouf.Then, I upholstered the puffy cardboard square or rectangle with some fabric scraps I had on hand.By upholstered, I mean that I wrapped and glued as I went.To get a more finished look, I cut a square of thinner cardboard to glue onto the bottom of the bed, which also lends a hand in making sure the bed can sit flat.



You get a decent view of the headboard from this angle as well.I simply cut a piece of thicker, corrugated cardboard into a headboard shape (one is rectangular, one more like a semi-circle). I also wrapped this piece of cardboard with scrap fabric, and finished it off with a corresponding piece of thin cardboard, much like the bottom of the bed frame/mattress.I attached it to the back of the bed frame with hot glue.For this part of the project, think hot glue, hot glue, hot glue!Although, I do think spray adhesive would work wonderfully.I was just working inside all day.



Now, the bedding!I was so fortunate that my fabric scraps are indeed fabulous (a lot of Amy Butler scraps leftover from my living room redos.)So, of course when Ayva is picking fabrics and patterns to use, she couldn't stay away from these amazing bold floral patterns.



For the blankets, I cut rectangles from the fabric, and pressed and hemmed all the way around.I did do double hems, to stop the fabric from fraying over time.



The pillows are sewn on my sewing machine as well.I made tiny pillowcases, then stuffed them with batting, and sewed a seam to close the edge. If you look closely at all these tiny sewing projects, you will see that I never once changed from white thread!(One way I finished this all in a day and half).



Here's a closer view of the fabrics we chose for the bedding.



Adorable, yeah?



And that's thatWe really only had room for beds in our bedroom, so no dressers, or lamps, or nightstands.Maybe if we add an addition to Ayva's monster house in the futureI would love to see what I could come up with for a dresser



Anyway, let me know what you think! And remember to follow this blog to receive updates.I will be posting about the rest of the rooms in the next few days. So, come back to see how I spent no money to make adorable things with and for my Ayva!
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