Toddler Bedroom Wish List

Bear naps every day in his own room in our house, he has occasional sleepovers too. He's 22 months now and it won't be long before his cot is transformed into a toddler bed. Unlike a bedroom at home that may be multi-purpose this is to be a place he can wind down and just sleep. It also means I have the fun of buying new bedding, curtains and a few bits and pieces to make his room all cosy. So when Yorkshire Linen* asked if I would like to write a post including some of their products I thought it would be great to compile a Toddler Bedroom Wish List.

I have two themes in mind a pastel Farmyard or a brighter Robot. He loves farm animals and has just started to love robots too. They wouldn't worry him and stop him sleeping as they don't "bite" like Dragons and Dinosaurs may do. I have chosen a lovely soft duvet too that would be wonderful to snuggle under in the cold winter months. So here are some of my favourite things.

Bears 1st Christmas Party

This week was Bears first Tots Club Christmas Party. We weren't too sure how much he would enjoy it but we were determined to go. Bear refused his morning nap which meant we got to the party on time (yeah!) but he was very tired (booo!) so after an hour we decided to leave. That was plenty of time for us!

Watching with Grandad

How to Make Fabric Shelf Trims

I wanted to make shelf trims to brighten up Bears nursery. I used fabric because I wanted it to match the curtains I had made but I'm sure these could easily be made out of card.

For the bunting you will need;

Bias binding the length of the shelf
Two complimentary scraps of fabric and the same amount of Bondaweb or equivalent
Hot iron
Glue gun (optional)

Sandwich the Bondaweb between the fabrics, wrong sides together and iron with a hot dry iron.

Make a template for the bunting. Just a small triangle with the top shorter than the sides. Cut the fabric into strips and place the template on the fabric. Cut triangles turning the triangle upside down so no fabric is wasted.

Cut a piece of Bondaweb the same width as the bias binding, iron onto the bias binding and carefully remove the paper

Position each triangle in the bias binding and fold, alternating fabrics and then iron. The Bondaweb will stick it all together.

Attach to the edge of the shelf. I used a glue gun.

For the train shelf trim you will need;

Bias binding or tape the length of the shelf
Scraps of fabric in 4 different colours
Iron on heavy weight interfacing
Bondaweb or hot glue gun
Template of train and carriages (I got mine from Sweetclipart.com)

If using tape then miss this step, I only had bias binding so I used Bondaweb to fuse it together. Cut a piece of Bondaweb the same width as the bias binding, iron onto the bias binding and carefully remove the paper. then fold in half and iron.

Trace the carriages and train onto the interfacing. Remember the train will be reversed when cut out. The carriages are the same both ways. 

Iron the interfacing onto the fabric

Cut out and arrange onto the tape.

If you have a glue gun stick each piece to the tape.

If not cut a small piece of Bondaweb and iron in place.

Attach the trim to the shelf. I used a glue gun.

I haven't decided what to put on the shelves yet, just Samuel Crowe looking a bit lonely.

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Nursery Makeover #2 Wall Stickers and Shelf Trims

Well I had a big clear out of the nursery and finding homes for all my precious stuff was hard work but finally it was done. So now the nursery looked boring and bleak.

The room needed something to brighten it up and so I bought some Decowall, Little Monkeys and Animals Height Chart Wall Stickers. I asked Grandad to put this up while I was making some shelf trims. He didn't shout or curse too much so I think it must have gone up OK. They are described as Removable, Repositionable without leaving any trace but when we tried to take it off to reposition it took the paint off. This wasn't a problem for us as the room hasn't been recently decorated and I think it will be on the wall for a long time but I would have been annoyed if it was freshly painted.

 It looked fantastic when it was done. I'm sure Bear will love it. Don't know how I'll get him to stand still to get his height though!

The shelves in the corner were old shelves from an end unit that I had reused. They are a bit tatty but too good to throw out. I had previously trimmed them with paper tape, flowers and mirrors but this was not suitable for a toddlers room so I took that off and replaced it with lovely green bunting and little train bunting to match the curtains. If you'd like to make them there is a picture guide here.

I think they are adorable and make the room really happy. I still have to decide on what to put on the shelves. At the moment all that is there is Samuel Crowe, a pirate I knitted a while ago.

Bear loves the animals.

Bear won't stand still to measure his height and absolutely loves the animals. What do you think?

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Nursery Makeover #1 Curtains

Bear has his own bedroom in our house. This is great when he naps and stays overnight. The problem is that this room is really my craft room, well was!

It was OK to have it full of my stuff when he was a baby but now he's a toddler I need to make it into a nursery. I'm sure it won't be long before he's climbing out of his cot and so I really need to make the room fun and safe for him.

I had a spare pair of navy curtains that were too wide and too long for the window. Now the colder weather has arrived I needed to shorten them as they would cover the radiator and stop the heat getting into the room. This was my task for today, just shorten the curtains. You can see how I shortened them here.

While I was doing that I decided to make them narrower and decorate them to make them toddler friendly.

I didn't want anything too stimulating that would keep Bear awake looking at the curtains and decided on a train. I found my template on Sweetclipart.com. They have a variety of simple designs to choose from.

Equipment

Curtains
Template
Fabric Remnants
Bondaweb
Steam Iron
Ironing board
Pencil
Scissors

Instructions

First get a template of your design. I chose a simple train engine and carriage. The simpler the better.

 Trace the design onto the bondaweb. One side has paper, the other glue.

 I wanted my designs to mirror each other so I folded the bondaweb and traced another engine.

 Then iron the bondaweb to the wrong side of the fabric.

Cut out.

They are red but the sunlight made them photograph as pink.

I did the same for the carriages. They were identical both ways so I just cut 6 the same.

Then place onto the curtains.

Remove paper backing and press

Do the same for the other curtain. I measured mine from the hem so they matched.

As you can see the room is full of my clutter. That's a project for next weekend.

Before and After

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How to Shorten Curtains Without Sewing

I'm sure a lot of you know how to shorten curtains and probably have more experience than me but this is my way of reducing the length of curtains without sewing. I hate to throw anything away so love to adapt items to give them a new lease of life. This method is great for light weight curtains, heavier fabrics may have to be sewn but the method of shortening will remain the same.

This is not a task for the faint-hearted! Although it is really easy to do, just handling large amounts of fabric can be a nightmare.

I had a pair of curtains that were way too long for the window and because the radiator is under the window when they were drawn they cut out all the heat so I thought I would just reduce the length. I ended up decorating them too! Instructions for this can be found on my blog Nursery Makeover #1 Curtains.

Equipment 

Curtains
Steam Iron
Ironing Board
Large Worksurface
Rotary Cutter and Cutting mat
Measuring Tape
Chalk or fabric pen
Wonderweb or similar iron on hemming tape

How to Do It

First measure the window and decide how long you'd like your curtains. Add enough for a decent sized hem. At least 4cm.

Lay the curtains on a work surface. I used my dining room table.

 Line the top of the curtain with the edge of the table. This keeps the curtain straight.

Measure carefully from the top the length you need (don't forget the hem allowance) and mark. I used tailors chalk.

Using a ruler, rotary cutter and mat cut along the line.

Place onto ironing table and fold over the hem. Press with the steam iron.

Fold the raw edge in, measure the hem allowance and press again.

Cut the wonderweb the same length as the width of the curtains. I used 2 pieces because I wanted a deep hem. Lay the wonderweb along the hem and press.

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