bumper pads foam or batting (sp???)-hand made...

[mama2be]

I'm not a seamstress so I am not certain that I got that word correctly...batting...?????
OOOOPS I accidently posted this under the first catagory "furniture" so if you saw this questiont here I realized it and have reposted here...sorry!!!!


I have hired a seamstress who really seems to know what she is doing and she is making me a full ensemble of very full dust ruffle, bumper pad, frilly canopy, cushion for the toy box, skirt for a round table and possibly curtains if I decide to use them.

I have only (to my knowledge) seen bumper pads with batting in them and thus bought the nicest quality one I could find (not too expensive...but purchased and take back). Well she is now recommending "foam", she was smart to say don't let it be too stiff because it could serve as a step to a little to actually get "footing" on and climb out.

For the gals amoungst us who are making their own bed ensemble what is your suggestion??? She didn't seem too opinionated on this but did suggest I go and purchase some foam.

Thanks in advance!!!

[JMarie]

I made my sister's bedding and used batting for the bumpers. I think all bumpers have batting in them - I cannot say I've ever seen one with foam in it. I would think it would be way too stiff and you would almost need ties for each post to keep it curved around your round crib. Foam MIGHT work on a standard crib, but I don't think it would work at all on a round one. Batting also 'crumples' when you press on it (at least the thinner kind you're supposed to use in bumpers), so your little guy shouldn't be able to get much of a foothold on it. Foam, on the other hand, is springy and might actually help catapult him out. I want to say I read on these boards that Hancock's or JoAnn's Fabrics carries batting specifically for bumpers - you may want to check those out.

On a side note - DEFINITELY get foam for the toy box cushion. I'm working on one for our nursery (as well as basket liners for under the changing table, Roman shades for the windows, and knitting a baby blanket - all talents courtesy of my grandmother!) and batting would flatten after a couple of sittings. You may, however, want to request the foam be wrapped with batting for the cushion to make it look more plush. I'm also putting elastic on the corners rather than velcro on the bottom of the cushion and top of the box - when Aidan has outgrown his nursery, we can just take the cushion off without damaging the box. There's also a zipper on the back so if we want to change the theme (DH wants baseball when Aidan moves to a toddler bed) we just have to take the cover off and replace with a new one. HTH!

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[mama2be]

JMarie,

Thank you soooo much for your great response...I actually had bought the batting from Joanne's so I already have it (and it is in the seamtress hands) the thought of treking back out for an afternoon to get foam had me sick.

I had an extra changing pad (never used...and a very simple one) that actually fit the toy box perfectly so we are using that and coating it with batting.

I plan to keep the room exactly the way it is for all of the children (assuming there will be more)...thus I am not hesitating as much with dropping money on fabric etc...

Send me pics as you get them I would LOVE to see them!!!!

[JMarie]

I will get those pictures together - as soon as the crib arrives! It's only been three weeks since we ordered it, so hopefully it will be here by the holidays. The store said 8-12 weeks, so it will be January at the latest. I just can't wait for it to get here - everything else is in its place.

We are planning on three children, if things work out. I HAD to have a Winnie the Pooh nursery for the first child - it was what both DH and I had, so it just seemed appropriate. I really wanted something a little more unique, but we decided tradition was more important. We'll do unique for the next two, and I will in all likelihood just make the sets for those.

I would also love to see pictures of your nursery when it is complete. If you're using the silk dupioni, it should be just gorgeous. My aunt used silk and velvet in her son's room (deep blue) and it was just about the most fabulous room I'd ever seen. You will not be disappointed at all. Good luck with your seamstress and let us know how your set turns out.

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[mama2be]

I LOVE winnie the pooh...and as a child I collected Beatrix Potter (in fact I would pretend that I was Beatrix Potter...:)

I wanted to Winnie the Pooh something and think that I might do the childs bathroom in it, I have room to hang picutres (more than in the nursery)...I will send pics once in place.

I couldn't think how to do a canopy and bought on a super sale a really thick frame from Bombay that was round and was going to Liquid Nail/and have DH double (triple) enforce it into the ceiling. BUT then came across these super cheapy plastic things at a thrift store that folks use for curtains. I don't know if you've ever seen them but they are thin and have large holes in them to just pull fabric thru and then you can stuff them with tissue to look full. So hard to explain. I attached four of these $1 things together and they are light and look super easy to use so I am going to attach those to the ceiling if all goes as planned. If a room decides my sons fate I don't think he'll be the most masculine guy on the block:):):) I'm suprised DH is letting me do all of this.

I hope I don't regret the silk...it was on sale and gorgeous!!!! But I know so impractical...I have bought almost everything at thrift stores or second hand...or stuff from my childhood and have had it painted etc...I swear my budget went towards this fabric...my weakness is fabric!!!!

Send pics...and I will do the same...

Have you gotten your stroller, car seat etc... yet??? Here is my email address if you ever want to chat off line...
[email protected]

[kathsmom]

Hi, Neve!

My SIL made her own bedding and she used foam for the bumper pad. This pad was used with their first child (now 5 years old) and is currently being used with their 2nd child (now 20 months old)). Their kids did try to climb out of the crib, but I don't think they used the bumper as a step. Their solution was to get one of those crib tents to put over the crib and to keep them in. Have you ever seen one? It looks like a cross between mosquito netting that you see over beds in the tropics and a canopy. The bumper pad looks great and does not sag at all. I don't think that she used the firmest foam on the market, but just firm enough for it to keep its shape!

HTH and good luck! Please post pictures when you get the nursery ready. If you like this seamstress, let me know, because I may need some things done for our home when we move to Raleigh!!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[mama2be]

Her resume looks brilliant so if she produces 1/100th of what it represents she can produce I think I will be happy. She does have a lot of cats and I worry about them getting to my fabric (I have two so speaking from experience)...but outside of that I feel good with her. I'll keep you posted on that.

I am emailing you directly regarding your move...we had guest this week-end so I got behind on chores, look out for that:)

[mama2be]

Alexa,

Thank you so much for posting them here too I wanted to make certain that they were under "decorating" so other folks could enjoy them...what a great room!!! I LOVE IT!!!! And know that Maeve won't want to leave it with #2!!!!!

AWESOME JOB!!! thanks so much for sharing your pics and ideas...

I just noticed...those stencils ain't cheap!!!!

[kathsmom]

Alexa,

The room is absolutely gorgeous!! I love everything you have done! Are the letters with the hooks that spell "poo" from Pottery Barn kids? I saw some similar ones in the catalog and at the store.

My poor son's room is just so plain right now. We have been so busy with everything that decorating his room has fallen by the wayside. Plus, with us moving, I am not doing too much and then have to leave it (i.e., a mural, stencilling, etc.). We were supposed to move this summer with DH's current job to SC, but then that got pushed back to January 2003. Then, DH got a great opportunity with another company and we are moving to NC.

Thanks for posting! Also, what is the name of the fabric that you picked out and who is the manufacturer? I think it would be great for DS if I could get someone to make the stuff for me!!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[mama2be]

Kathy,

Don't worry about finding someone to make it...we'll get you someone once you are here. I suspect the gal I have hired is going to do a great job and her initial price (before I added several things) seemed very reasonable.

If her quality is not good there is another gal who has done some work for me...she is just a little slow (or should I say busy which is the truth)...which is why I hunted for someone else...

We'll get you hooked up once here on that :):):)

[akc]

Hi there -

I just realized I hadn't subscribed to this thread, so I didn't see your replies. Where in NC are y'all moving to? My parents live in Charlotte and that's where I had all my stuff made. All of the best fabrics & inexpensive seamstress miracles come from NC in my world!

I'm glad y'all like Maeve's room. I just decided to go for it and make it exactly what I wanted. Meant a little more "sweat equity" in terms of painting and things, but I like everything the way it is. Some of the things I did you could do with very little effort - paint the knobs, order the letters, paint a fan, etc.

You should see what I did with Maeve's playroom (on our second floor - we wanted a room to contain all the toys so the rest of our house didn't get overrun and turn into a nursery) - I turned a bookshelf we had on it's side (it had square shelves, instead of rectangular) and got lots of PBK baskets and liners and it is so fun! I ordered three that say, "Fun" "Fun" "Fun" and the changing table in there has liners that say, "Bibs" (bibs) "Bum" (diapers) and "Burps" (burp cloths) It's all in the creativity, I think! And, that's cheap but livens up a room. Oh, another thing you can do that I did there, is she has all these little toys that can hang (like rattles, teethers, all the Tiny Love things that go on the gymini or other toys, Whoozits, etc.) and I hung them up & down on the cord to the blinds, so they're not just piled in a basket. I tied little knots and then hooked them on it, so I can just pull on it to pull them off now to use them. Looks very cute. The other thing I did was order this set of interlocking letters (the whole alphabet) from One Step Ahead for like $6 (which my friend's baby loves but Maeve's not there yet) and instead of just putting them in some storage, I leaned them up in order along the edge of a molding in the room. See, y'all can do this?!

Oh - on your questions. The letters are PBK and work fabulously for hanging her clothes on it for the day and then her pj's for night (and where I stick the wet towel after she changes into her sleeper).

And, the fabric is called "Toyland" - I'm looking at the receipt now and it doesn't have the company name, just says, "PKFToyland" - the color was Multi (which is the cream background). If you wanted to do it a little more masculine for a boy, it also comes in a beige background with the same colors in the figures. You could easily put more of the blues and oranges and reds with it and it would "guy" right up! If you want more info on it, I would call where I got it - which was Gregorie, Douglas & Co (GDC) in Charleston (& Mount Pleasant), South Carolina - 843-571-5142 and ask them for the company who makes it. I ordered it from them directly and had it shipped to my mother in NC who gave it to the seamstress!!! How's that for a loop? It was, by the way, $14/yard at the time at GDC. I also seem to remember seeing it at Calico Corners, but I can't remember. The plaid on the chair is called "Poppy" and the receipt says, "FDHIANPOPPY" (no idea what that means) - it is such a vibrant fabric, does have a lot of peach in it but also blues, greens, etc. It was $15 a yard and I provided it to Bellini which is where I ordered the Dutalier upholstered glider. You can do COF (Customer's own fabric) for it instead of the 7 glider fabrics if you want. It was also from GDC. (We were vacationing at Kiawah, SC and stopped in and picked up a few clippings & then I had to go back and order it!)

OK - think that is all you asked about. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Alexa

[kathsmom]

Alexa,

I went to Queens College in Charlotte when it was an all girls school. I loved it, but transferred in the middle of my junior year, because my parents were getting divorced, and Clemson University was less expensive!

We are going to be moving to the Raleigh area. DH's new job is with a company in Sanford, NC. We are trying to decide which area we want to live in.

Thanks for the information about the fabrics. I love Charleston, so I might just have to convince DH we need to go there personally to look at fabrics!! I grew up in SC and lived in Charleston from the ages of 10 months to 4 years old. We took our honeymoon at Isle of Palms and drove over to Kiawah and looked around. The whole area is beautiful! I have already told DH that we are going to live in Charleston one day, even if it only happens when we retire!!

Where are you living now? You may have posted this already, but in my sleep deprived state, I forgot!

As far as the upholstered rocker - did you have to go through Bellini? Or could you have contacted Dutalier directly? I love your rocker and had no idea that option was available in a glider rocker. Did they have a sample rocker for you to try out at Bellini? I would definitely want to do that before spending the money on it and then hating it!!

I am probably going to go to the PBK store this week and get the letters with the hooks. DD just throws everything on the floor and hopefully this will help her keep her room more tidy. We got DD's quilt for her bed from PBK and we are trying to help her decorate her room right now. They have tons of cute accessories, but I can't get sheets there, because her bed is a queen size and they only come in twin or full size. The quilts come in full/queen, which is why we were able to get it there. I like the idea of the PBK baskets. When we get settled in NC, and we know better what our needs are, I may order some!

Please post pictures of Maeve's playroom. I would love to see it!

BTW, I love Maeve's name.

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[akc]

Hi all -

Neve asked me to post the pictures of my nursery on this thread too! I'm a bit embarrassed, but I do love my daughter's nursery. We didn't know we were having a girl, but Maeve's room now looks a lot like a girl's room. Guess next time I'll have to work on making it gender neutral.

The room has a carousel theme with a fabric I picked myself for the crib skirt, bedskirt and curtains which I had made in NC (and how I originally got on this thread!) The bumper was a coordinating fabric I picked! So, my sister and I decided to paint a mural in her room, particularly because it is a 3rd floor room with dormers (so the ceiling slants on either side). We went with the carousel theme, and my sister did an amazing job painting four horses with children's books figures riding on the backs - Babar, Curious George and his puppy, Lowly Worm wrapped around a pony with Olivia, and Snoopy napping with Woodstock napping on his nose. We used a stencil border for the top of the canopy and the poles (this was all I was allowed to do because I am a "paint in the lines" kind of girl and my sis is the artiste!) I even painted the ceiling fan the color of the poles and put the same little stripes on it as the poles. (oh, and by the way, the yellow on the walls is Benjamin Moore's Straw Basket - it is a nice, warm yellow.)

I was pleased with how it came out and sent Neve the links to the stencil sites. The one I used for mine was http://www.designerstencils.com/cgi-bin/ds_store/ds_store.cgi?product=Children%27s+1 and they have three children's collections, so be sure to click out to "Search for other Stencils" so you can get inspiration!

On the furniture front, we got the Legacy Country Cottage crib in antique white and it was our original piece. I then had Home Depot match the color and we bought an unfinished bookshelf and changing table. It didn't match the beadboard side of the crib (was just plain) so the perfectionist in me had my husband buy one of those big pieces of faux wainscotting at the hardware store and we cut it to fit the pieces (the back of the bookshelf and the door of the changing table). We painted an old dresser the same color, and on all the knobs are the same green as the poles in the mural (and the ceiling fan!) Lastly, I got the Dutalier upholstered glider, which I told Neve, was my one big splurge because I really didn't like the plain wood gliders. This has the glider mechanism under it but is a full skirted, upholstered chair. It is the one with the large plaid print (in coral, green, blue, etc.) in the corner.

Whew! That about sums it up! Neve asked for all the pictures, so here they come. I may have to post multiple times to let you see the whole thing. Thanks to Neve for making me feel like my nursery gets to be in the BB Town & Country nursery edition! :)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Alexa

Ok, here comes the fabric which was the inspiration
then the crib close and far
Next I'll do the mural and the corner with the chair
and, finally the fan & the changing table (or "Poo corner" as we call it!)

[akc]

Here's the crib close up and from across the room (we have a 100 year old house so those are the original windows beside it).

[akc]

Hi again -

here's the mural in it's entirety (I have close up of each side if someone wants to email me) and the corner of the room where we feed & rock her (we are in this chair ALL the time!)

[akc]

OK, finally, here's the "Poo fighting corner" and the ceiling fan that is the center of the "big top"!

That's it, folks! Good luck decorating your nurseries - & I'm happy to answer any questions. Now, my biggest problem will be whether Maeve wants to move out of her room when #2 comes (we're not TTC yet, so it will be a little while, but who'd want to leave that room!)

Alexa