Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Hot glue and ruffles...

Before I get to the post, I just want to say THANK YOU so much for all the great advice and support on my son's sleeping issues! There is something about getting advice from other moms who have been there, done that. It's the kind of advice you just can't get out of a book (although I had gotten a recommendation for one of those I'm keeping in mind too!).

So far, so good! Day 1 we started at 8:00. We got him jammied up and read a story. Put him in his bed and....he cried. It was really, really hard. He even tried to coerce his sister to go get us for him. Although he never got out of his bed he whined on and off and finally fell asleep around 9:20. Not much fun but we were convinced it was the right thing to do.

Day 2 we started again at 8:00. He told us 1044846363 times that he didn't want to go to bed (you know, in case we didn't hear him the first time) and cried when we kissed him goodnight. BUT, he stopped quickly and was asleep by 8:30!!! Wow!

Honestly, had I known it would go this well, we would have started this routine earlier. He's still coming in our bed during the night but we're off to a great start.




With our sleeping issues on the upswing, I had all kinds of motivation to have that date with my glue gun I talked about in my last post. I had leftover ruffles...and a boring sconce.


I gathered all my supplies. Shades, fabric, ruffle trim, and of course a glue gun. The best thing would have been linen fabric but I didn't have any so I used burlap (is that stuff crazy awesome or what?). Here's the part where I make a weak attempt at showing you how to do this. I'm not a good teacher so bear with me.


Fold your fabric around the shade and glue as you go. Try to stretch the fabric a bit as you do this and hold it with one hand so it goes on without wrinkling up....



When you get to the end, cut a straight line and glue along it. Cut your fabric close to the shade all the way around. Don't worry about it being perfect, you'll cover it anyway.




Fold the top fabric over your shade, cutting a slit for the metal thingy. Technical, I know. Use your glue gun to tack it down. If you've done everything correctly, at this point your shade will look like this and your lap will be covered in lint.....




Now it's time to glue the ruffle. Sandwich your shade edge with the trim and glue the top piece along the bottom edge of the shade. All the way around....





And then you'll glue the bottom piece of the trim to the inside of the shade. Pull the ruffle down a bit as you glue so you get a tight fit and help the ruffle to sit pointing down, instead of sticking out. Easy right??







And when you're done, you end up with this!




















Aren't they cute? I may not have ruffle shades but at least I have ruffle sconces!


Happy gluing!







I'm linking this post up to The DIY Show Off! Go check out the home accent party over there:



32 comments:

Christina said...

Those shades are adorable, may have to give it a try myself.

Theresa said...

Congratulations on your bedtime routine success! Sounds like you guys have done good so far:) I know you feel better and strangely enough, he will feel better too.

Not those little shades are precious. Thanks for the instructions. I have a nightlight shade that I want to cover. I'll give it a try!

Enjoy your evening!

Kelli said...

The sconce turned out great!! I love that you're not afraid to try something!!!! Thanks for stopping by to comment on Sophie's bunny!!!

Unknown said...

Congrats on winning the bedtime war! As long as you and dh are consistent with the routine, you (and the little guy) will be fine.

The shades are super cute!

Nancy

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

You go girl - with the bedtime and those adorable shades!

Connie said...

Great job. Those turned out very cute.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments on my blog, I appreciate it.

Anonymous said...

So glad your son's new bedtime routine is working out so far! I'm not sure if you want any more advice but I was watching Jenna Elfman on David Letterman last night, and she happened to be talking about this exact issue!. She rewards her son with little trains (that's his thing)the morning after he sleeps in his bed all night. She already has them all wrapped up, and he knows that if he sleeps in his own bed all night he gets to open one the next morning.

Your son may like something different but i'm sure it would work for whatever his fancy is. If it happens to be something a bit more expensive maybe you could reward him with one on the first night, and then after two nights, then three and so on...until it becomes a habit!! Most importantly have it at home and already wrapped, that way it seems more easily attainable. Good luck!

Rachel~Wildflower Photography Studio and Wildflower Creative said...

SO glad that your bedtime with your son is going well! :)

Yes, I admit, I LOVE my hot glue gun. I use pretty much on everything, especially these days, since my sewing machine has been broken and it works just as good. :) Love your sconces! Too cute!

Smiles,
Rachel

Rue said...

You lost me at the metal thingy... or maybe before LOL BUT, I love it! Very cute :)

Sorry about the shades. I would have said much worse than... #^$#@^$^@$%$%$#@$#@!#&*&... ;)

I'm glad someone helped you with the sleep issue, Alex was easy, but with Annie... ugh. Lots of nights laying in her bed and trying to sneak off after she fell asleep. It was ugly.

xo,
rue

Pink Daisys Blog Spot said...

WOW I love this! thank you so much for sharing..I just found two lamps and these shades will be perfect!
Mechelle

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Very cute and very clever girl...you always come up with the best DIY's here and have been so helpful to me this past year...well you do litght a fire under my ole butt at least ha ha!! Love you visits here my friend...I loved visiting you also on RMS and seein when you were working on Haley's room...Great job on the shades girl...Many blessings to you this year...Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's great progress in just 2 nights! Love the ruffled shades on the sconce. : )

Barb @ The Everyday Home said...

Great craft project! Explaining the how-to is hard but you did good. I did not even see any glue gun burns on your fingertips either. *smile* Good luck with your son, we went through the same thing years ago. It gets better. Blessings, Barb

The Whispering Creek House said...

so glad sleeping issue is going well! this post is great..anything with hot glue is great! gonna have to keep this idea in mind!thanks

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

I re-found your blog again, Yah! You have great ideas, so glad I re-checked my blog lists as sometimes they are not being updated properly in my dashboard! Beautiful projects for 2009!
Cindy

trish said...

Cute!
:o) Trish

beth said...

Hi Michelle. I am so glad to hear that your son is adjusting so well to his new bedtime routine. Keep up the good work!
I LOVE your shades. They are adorable. They fit in perfectly in your lovely home. :)

jamie said...

So happy to hear that you are having success with bedtime! Sounds like each day will be easier than the next.
The sconces look great too! I love the ruffle.

Radostina // 79ideas.org said...

Love those shades. Thank you also for the instructions. Hope that I will have enough time to try it :)))

Have a great day,
Raru

Anonymous said...

Hi Michelle,
The shades turned out way cute!!! Hey congratulations on being one of Julia's top 5 makeovers for the year! That's quite an honor!

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Ticking and Toile said...

Very cute!! Love the ruffles w/ the burlap! Good luck w/ your son & the sleeping issues. Our 9 1/2 yr old daughter still wants us to lay down w/ her at night (which we still do :/ but only for 5 minutes or so) She was our last & the baby so she shared our bed when she was little tiny & I swear she doesn't forget that & thinks thats her perfect spot! :-)

Thanks for coming by my site ~ It was my best score ever on craigslist!! The man who gave the wood away took the utmost care removing nails etc... too...what a guy!
The floors are dry now from the varnish and we are ready to move back in!! yahoooooo! :) I need batteries for my camera (always...) then I'll post on it.

Take care!

Shellagh

Dawn said...

Those are too stinkin' cute!!!

Darlene said...

Those are really adorable!! Great use of the ruffles!!

gina said...

cute makeover! i LOVEEEE burlap!!

heyruthie said...

love the little shades! success out of failure--i love it!

good job on the bedtime. just HANG IN THERE! i have 4 kids, and the oldest is 7. they ALL go to bed at 8:00, and it's the BEST gift I can give to them and my marriage. i grew up with a Mom who was way more loosey-goosey about schedules, and i've had a hard time convincing her, but i'm so glad i had the courage to be different. it's saved my home! hurray to "early to bed."

Robin Johnson said...

Adorable. Fantastic job, I love it.

Jane said...

Super cute! I like the scale of it too. A little ruffle goes a long way.

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

Simply charming! I love burlap, too.

Charity said...

I am head over heels for this. I have just found you for the first time and am mad that I haven't had your inspiration before. Just signed up to stalk, I mean follow you. I can't wait to learn more, find out more and explore more. Thank you.
Cha Cha

Tracy ~Seeking Refinement~ said...

to. die. for.

Now - i need to get some burlap - I have some shades to cover!

LOVE IT!

Tracy ~Seeking Refinement~ said...

I referred to this project in my craft tomorrow - siting you and of course! This project must be seen by all!!

Can't wait to do this project - Happy Tuesday!

Roeshel said...

Hurray for bedtime success (I'm a little late)!

I love the burlap and ruffle! Great job! They're so pretty!

Thanks for linking to the DIY Show Y Tell!

Have a great rest of the week!

Roeshel