So, Charley has this baby best friend named Leona …
They are both adopted and were born just four-weeks apart. Leona’s mom is also one of my dearest friends.
Wait, why is her title about a baby bed and her post about Charley’s best friend?
Because that’s how I roll. In writing and in-person. Can you hang?
When Charley was … oh ten or eleven months old she found a baby at Leona’s house and carried/crawled around with it. She would stop to hug it and kiss on it. Martha (Leona’s mom/my sweet, dear, scrumptious friend) and I about died. Martha let Charley bring Baby home with her.
Then, for Charley’s first birthday she was gifted another Baby.
She loves her babies.
You can say at any point, no matter what she’s doing, where’s your baby? and she’ll bring you at least one of them.
I have a video of her carrying one of them around kissing it over and over. Then, in the video, she laid Baby down and continued to kiss it’s lips. I nearly died from cute-overload.
So, I got this idea to make her baby a bed as a Christmas gift. I wanted to make it special so I wanted to make something homemade. I didn’t have intentions of making it so far in advance, but we had a lazy Sunday home a few weeks back and she took a nice, long nap so it just worked out.
Prior to this day we headed out post-nap to some of my favorite antique shops and enjoyed perusing around the stores. She loves getting out and I love having a buddy to tag along with me for afternoon coffee and some of the most delicious honey/flaxseed/oatmeal concoctions called ‘Birdseed Bites.’ Have you ever heard of them? I still crave them!
In the first store we entered I said I was looking for an old box. She walked me to a stack of few, I picked up the one I liked best and bought it lickety-split! I thought it was priced a tad high at $20, but it was oh so perfect so I couldn’t pass it up.
With most projects around here I don’t think about sharing them on the blog (although I’m trying hard to change that). I so wish I had a before picture for you, but I don’t. You can just use your imagination. Imagine a box exactly like the ones I used in Charley’s room, just a bit taller.
I got to use my new circular saw my dad got me for my birthday so that was pretty exciting. I also used my jigsaw to get some of the edging so if you have one of those it’ll work just as well. The fourth side I left tall for the headboard. I had everything I needed to make the bedding minus a bit of fleece I picked up from the fabric store. I could have totally made the blanket without the fleece, but I am obsessed with soft things myself and I’m pretty sure if Baby could talk she’d say she was very grateful for the fleece lined blanket I made for her.
The “mattress” is made from foam board (like this) I cut to size and the pillow is a mini-pillow case sewn with blanket-like stuffing (like this) inside.
The headboard is a piece of scrapbook paper I had on hand, cut to size and modge-podged on. I tied a scrap piece of twine around with intentions of hanging some sort of banner, but I ended up liking the simplicity of it so I left it as is.
The end is a paper doily cut in half and modge-podge on (love that stuff!).
At least now when Baby gets carried around by the neck, dropped on her head and taken on walks where she occasionally falls out of the stroller she’ll have a comfy bed to sleep in. Christmas day on that is. Only six more weeks, Baby!
Anyone else brave enough to admit that they’re already buying/making Christmas gifts? Did I mention that I made this in October? You heard me. Now ‘fess up yourself so I won’t feel so ridiculous.
jc
p.s. Tons of boxes like the one I used can be found on Etsy. Some great ones can be found in just this one store.