It’s been a while since I have looked at Amenity’s collection, mostly because we are pretty pleased with our budget Ikea duvet. This week however I was browsing the Amenity line over at Design Public, and I was surprised to see that Amenity is a lot more than bedding these days. Sure they still have their gorgeous (and somewhat expensive) duvets and sheets, but they also have a whole slew of other cloth goodies. The line includes everything from bedding, to wall hangings and prints to table runners, place mats, and even modern Christmas decorations. Pricing ranges from $9 for modern ornaments to $400 for a duvet.
Available from Design Public.

I haven’t done a lot of reupholstering over the years, but I have looked into it. One thing that always surprised me was just how expensive good fabric can be. Luckily Modern Fabrics is here to change that. By reclaiming fabric cuttings from factory floors they are able to accomplish two things. First they prevent all the usable fabric from just getting thrown away, and second they are able to resale beautiful fabrics at a fraction of the normal cost. With choices from Knoll, Maharam, Architex and many more you are sure to find some good stuff. I am now seriously thinking about getting some of this for the free couch I found a couple of weeks ago. I have seen prices as low as $15 a yard, which is a smoking good deal.

Check out more fabrics at Modern Fabric.

Being the cheepskate that I am, free is one of my favorite words, and almost nothing is better than free furniture. That’s why I was excited to run across this little ditty the other day as I was riding my bike home from work. It has obviously seen better days, but I’m really pretty fond of the overall shape of it. It almost has that mid century wingback chair look to it. Of course it is a little worse for the wear, and it probably needs a good reupholstering. I have thought about doing it myself, but realistically I may be better off just taking it somewhere. I have a little trick up my sleeve for inexpensive material to use. I plan on getting a used wool blanket from a local army surplus. The color options are orange, (shown rolled up on the couch) white, grey and of course army green. I am leaning towards the grey.
Anyone know a cheap place to get it reupholstered here in Salt Lake City?

I have been coming across a bunch of good DIY projects online lately, and I thought that I would share some of the recent ones I have found. The most impressive of them all is this Ikea hack by the folks at Moddi. It uses some off the shelf pieces as well as some Ikea goodies, and the result is a great looking murphy bed for under $200. You can buy the plans from Moddi for $8, and with a little elbow grease have your very own affordable modern murphy bed.
Plans available at Moddi for $8.


If your not feeling quite that ambitious, you could always tackle a smaller job, like this DIY stuffed animal. This little kit comes with two hand screened pieces of canvas. All you have to do is follow the instructions, cut them out, sew them up and stuff them. It would be a nice and easy little project, and you have to admit that Claus is one of the cutest racoons you’ve ever seen.
Available at Egg Press for $26


If you don’t have a kid to make a stuffed animal for, or just aren’t into that thing, you could always treat your laptop to it’s own little felt cozy. Grace over at Design Sponge has posted a great little how to on making your very own laptop cozy. This one is even easier because there is absolutely no sewing involved. The end result is a very nice looking protective sleeve for your laptop.
Full instructions at Design Sponge

I received a lot of great gifts this year, but perhaps the one that captures the Christmas spirit the best was this shirt from Rosaloves.com. If you haven’t heard of Rosa Loves before, you should definitely check it out. Not only do they have some great designs printed on American Apparel t-shirts, but by buying a shirt from them, you are actually doing some good. The idea behind Rosa Loves is that everyone has a story. They find someone who is in need for whatever reason, design a shirt for them, and then donate all the proceeds of that shirt to support and help them. So in a way it really is a gift that keeps on giving.
Fitted Tee’s are $25 and proceeds always go to a good cause.

We have bought and received many blankets since our son was born, and I have learned to be a bit of a blanket snob. The ones that we like the best are nice and big, so it’s easy to swaddle him, and not too thick, so he doesn’t have a heat stroke. This Modern Blue Bunny Blanket (say that ten times fast) measures 30″ x 36″, which is a nice big size. It’s made of a super soft cotton flannel, and double stitched to hold up to all the abuse a good blanket gets. Available in pink, or blue. Matching bib and burp cloth is also available.

Available from Tadpolecreation’s Etsy Shop for $26.

In this day and age, it seems like everyone is just out to make a buck. People design a product with the question in mind “What’s the most I can charge for this?” Thats why its refreshing to meet a group of people like the guys over at tenbills.com who are asking “What’s the least we can charge for a fresh looking original t-shirt?” The answer of course is $10! They were nice enough to send me a couple of shirts, and I have to say I am very impressed. The designs are great, and the shirts are a quality cotton/poly blend that fit just the way I like.

Check out all the other great shirts at tenbills.com all for just $10.

This blanket was the first handmade blanket that we received. We absolutely love the asian inspired print of this blanket and the minky back is super snuggly. I was just thinking this morning, if I was Arri, and I had to choose a favorite blanket, this just might be the one. It was made by one of our good friends Lyndsey, who is now a mother of two beautiful twin girls. She did a great job, and even included washing instructions. Thanks Lynds!

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Once you have a baby, burp cloths are one of those things that you absolutely can’t live without. It seems like half the time I am at home, I am walking around with one of them on my shoulder. Lucky for me we have some great looking burp cloths. Before we had Arrrington, we sent my mother in law home with a big package of cloth diapers, and instructions to find some nice fabric to sew onto them. She came back with some beautiful, functional, and inexpensive designer burp cloths. These really only require very basic sewing skills, so they make a very good DIY project.

With the birth of our child, we had so many generous people give us gifts. This week, I wanted to feature some of the wonderful things that were hand made especially for Arri. Its funny how even though we didn’t know the sex of Arri until he was born, most of our gifts were blue. This chenille blanket was made by my mother. It is actually made by placing 6 layers of fabric together and sewing parallel lines every 1/2″ or so. After it is all sewn together, you go back and cut through 5 of the 6 layers of fabric. When you throw it in the washing machine, the 5 layers curl back on themselves creating a heavy chenille look.

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