The Many Lives of a Drop Cloth : Floor Cushion Tutorial

A couple of weeks ago I bought a 9'-0" x 12'-0" drop cloth. I had the idea of using the fabric as a canvas for several projects. (Get it, canvas fabric as a canvas? I love puns.)

The first project that came to mind was a floor cushion for a reading area in the learning room.

I love THIS RH floor cushion, but not the price tag...

My final floor cushion made from drop cloth fabric:

Drop cloth floor cushion.

Process:

Materials:
Drop cloth
Thread
Fabric Marker (or if you are like me, grab the nearest Sharpie marker)
Contrast fabric, if desired, for the straps
Stuffing

* I used 1/2" seam allowances.

Fabric Cuts:
Qty. (2) - 25" x 25" squares for the top and bottom.
Qty. (4) - 7" x 26" strips for the edges.
Qty. (8)- 2" x 8" strips for the corner straps, (4) strips for color "A" and (4) strips of color "B."

* If you did not want the front and back of the corner straps to contrast, instead of Qty. (8)- 2" x 8" strips,  use Qty. (4)- 4" x 8" strips for the corner straps.

On the (4) edge pieces, I drew a solid line 2" from the top and 2" from the bottom. These were the top and bottom lines for the alphabet. I then drew a dotted line in the center. I used a ruler to make the lines straight, and to make the dotted line 1/2" long with 1/2" spacing.

I then drew the alphabet on each edge:
Side 1: "a" through "g"
Side 2: "h" through "m"
Side 3: "n" through "t"
Side 4: "u" through "z"

Four edge pieces with letters drawn onto them.

I eyeballed the spacing between the letters and then slowly drew each freehand, adding directional arrows to each letter. I'm sure if you have a Silhouette or a CriCut machine, or used iron-on paper, it would also be effective.

To make the straps, I sewed together two contrasting fabrics, right sides facing, and turned inside out.

If you are not using contrasting fabric, use this method to make the 1" wide straps.

Four edges sewn together, with straps sewn onto the edges.

I then sewed the four edges together (right sides facing), and basted the straps on the right side of the corner seams.

Finally, with right sides facing, I sewed on the top and bottom pieces, leaving a small opening to turn the cushion right side out, stuffed the cushion with stuffing, and hand-sewed the opening closed.

Voila!

This project used about 1/6 of the $22 drop cloth. The rest will be used for upcoming projects.

Unfortunately, I did not take step-by-step photos, but if you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments!

I have also included several great tutorials for varying floor cushion patterns below:

Fiskars Tutorial: This is a more structured cushion (foam insert vs. stuffing).

"Fold, Stitch & Stuff Floor Cushions" via Apartment Therapy

This "Tried and True"cushion from Gerbera Design is round, but oh-so-cute and must be included.

Learning Room, Phase 2: Tulle Pom Poms

Husband and I are making our main floor 'den' into a Learning Room. This space is intended to encourage learning by emphasizing reading, writing, science, art, etc. Examples of such spaces can be found here. 

I am a fan of using color in accents. I love a neutral canvas with pops of color. In that spirit, I added color to the learning room by making several tulle pom poms as a ceiling accent. This both adds color to the room, and lowers the scale of the ceiling, making the room feel more intimate. 

To make tulle pom poms, here are a couple of tutorials:

Little Things Beautiful

Chintzy Couture

A couple of tips to expand on the tutorials: 

Be SURE your ribbon or wire is between the two pieces of cardboard!! 

See that big purple ball? It is about 24" in diameter and took a loooong time to wrap as it was several spools of tulle. The ribbon (which is what I used to secure the center) apparently snuck out of the cardboard sandwich, so when I pulled apart the two cardboard templates, the perfectly cut tulle just fell onto the floor in a big mess. After silently screaming and gnashing my teeth, I spent the next 10-15 minutes salvaging the pieces. The top of it looks a little wonky, but luckily you don't see that part. {Wink.}

If you are doing a large tulle pom pom (like these), I recommend making a slit in the cardboard, rather than the full donut, similar to this yarn pom pom template. The larger the ball, the more tulle it will require for your desired fullness... essentially, your center 'donut hole' will get smaller and smaller as you wrap with more tulle, making it harder to feed through the center. The slit will allow you to feed it through much easier.

And finally, a room view with the table, chair, and pom poms:

And because I know some of you are wondering why that chalkboard is mounted so high (bestie, I'm looking at you!), the answer is two-fold...

1) The chalkboard is not for Little Tomato's use. I didn't want chalk tracked through the house, so I have an alternative to a chalkboard for her (Phase 3 of the Learning Room).

2) Imagine a piece of furniture sitting under it. (Phase 4, the largest undertaking...)

And in case you were wondering what it says right now, it is my favorite Shel Silverstein poem:

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,

Listen to the DON'TS

Listen to the SHOULDN'TS 

The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS

Listen to the NEVER HAVES, 

Then listen close to me-

Anything can happen, child,

ANYTHING can be.

Learning Room, Phase 1: Desk & Chair

Our new home has a small, open room on the main floor. While this type of room is typically utilized as an office or reading den, we have decided to make this a room for Little Tomato.

This space is intended to encourage learning by emphasizing reading, writing, science, art, etc. Examples of such spaces can be found here. 

Part 1: Desk

Husband and I purchased a floor model desk at a children's store some time ago. I spruced it up by painting it the same color as the kitchen table with our leftover paint. As this had drawers, I removed the drawers from the table and the knobs from the drawers to paint it. I also removed the legs to fully cover the joint between the top and legs, as this is a visible joint. 

Part 2: Chair

The chair, post-sanding and pre-staining.

I found a wood children's chair at a thrift store for $15. The stain was worn and uneven, and did not match our house, so it was in need of a good sanding and re-staining. I wanted an aged grey stain for this, as our kitchen and dining room chairs are this color. 

Using this tutorial, I combined apple cider vinegar, coffee grounds, and steel wool in a bowl and let it sit for a few hours. I then used the steel wool as a 'sponge' to apply it to the chair. The stain needed a couple of hours of drying time to see the aging effect. At first it only appeared wet, and did not seem to change the appearance. I was impatient. {Shocking, I know.}

Note: On my first attempt at this stain I used stainless steel pads. This did not produce a good stain. I would highly recommend 0000 steel wool or similar to get desired results.

Final products:

I also changed out the plain wood drawer knobs of the table with some decorative iron knobs from Hobby Lobby. I highly recommend checking out their knob & pull section for your knob needs. Several knobs look strikingly similar to the Anthropologie pricey knob selection. As these were 1/2 off when I purchased them, I got them at a whopping total of $3.

Kitchen Nook, Phase 1: Kitchen Table

I am in the process of making our new house a home. Room by room I am completing projects... and creating new ones along the way. The list is overwhelming, but I am a seasoned veteran in the field of ridiculous project lists. 

My current project: The Kitchen Nook. 

We have a nook in the kitchen with a loooong built-in bench. It has been an awkward empty space for the past few months. The bench is in dire need of cushions to protect the white paint from the inevitable scratches that occur from daily use (read: small child), and our table is so unsightly that it has been hidden under a tablecloth.

Husband has also remarked on more than one occasion that "the house of white could use some color." So, I felt it was about time to do something to get the ball rolling...

Part 1: Make the table presentable.

This was my table in college. It was already a paint-stained, water-stained, worn mess when I acquired it (notice the large stains on the non-primed side) and the center leaf was non-existent. It was gathering dust in my mother's basement until I asked to take it home and revive it for our kitchen.

I decided to paint it a light 'robin's egg blue/green' color to add a little color to the kitchen. 

For those looking to paint furniture here are a couple of great links for tutorials:

Paint Makeovers: An Expert Tells All

How to Paint Furniture: A Beginner's Guide

This table took three coats of primer, especially to thoroughly coat those spindle legs. Using the sage advice of the above links, I sanded after each coat of primer and each coat of paint. The end result was far better than past attempts when I just threw on a coat of primer and paint. As this is a kitchen table, I plan on adding a layer of polyurethane on the table top to prevent wear of the paint layer. 

Here is the finished table. The color is Sherwin Williams #SW 0059 "Frostwork."

Project 2: Sew covers for the pillow inserts...

To be continued!

My New Neighbor, Mr. Frog

The family and I recently built a farmhouse. On a farm.

It is bit of a change from suburban living.

[Enter the frog]

In this record-breaking heat, I have been spending an exorbitant amount of time watering plants. The other day, I went to turn off the spigot when I saw movement and quickly pulled my hand back. This little guy greeted me there and I thought, "Well this is new."

He let me turn off the water and even stayed long enough for me to come back out with the camera for a little photo session. I found him to be a charming fellow.

Fast-forward to a couple of weeks later. 

I woke up, walked into the bathroom to use the restroom (mind you, this is on the second floor) and a new frog decided to introduce himself...  by jumping at my rear-end from the inside of the toilet bowl. He then escaped out of the toilet and began manically jumping around the floor. 

I, understandably, ran screaming. 

A few minutes later, after the hyperventilation stopped, I took a hand-towel, coaxed him into the towel, and released him into the flower bed. 

I am now that paranoid woman who inspects toilets thoroughly before use.

And I don't find Mr. Frog quite so charming anymore.