Aiya’s crafty bedroom

My sister-in-law just sent me these gorgeous photographs of my niece, Aiya’s bedroom. My brother and sister-in-law are super crafty – they’ve completely transformed their (UK) home into a handmade haven. We stayed in this room a few years back when they first bought the house and I can barely recognise it.

Some information on the decorations from Vanessa -

Card collage: made from many of the congratulations cards we received on the arrival of Aiya.  It seemed such a shame to throw them away or store them in the loft, never to be looked at again!

Ceiling lampshade: the original shade was picked up from a homewares store for £1.50.  I removed the cheap covering and used it as a template for my material.  The edges were hemmed and then the fabric pulled over the shade frame and stuck using fabric glue.

Floor standing lampshade: again, this is a cheap shade I purchased for £8.  The shade diameter was over 50cm so I was pleased to have found this so cheaply.  The original had a silky lining which I carefully removed and kept, then discarded the original shade fabric.  I then cut two arc-shaped pieces of material (using the inner lining as a template) and sewed them together at both ends, leaving the top and bottom open.  The material was then placed over the shade frame, as if putting on a hat, then pulled tight and the edges tucked under and over the frame and stuck down.  I then hemmed the inner lining as it had frayed where it had been taken off the original, and stitched it inside the shade.

The lamp stand belonged to my great uncle.  It’s wooden but we sanded it back and painted white.

Charlie’s paintings: The Phunky Penguin Series were painted on some old pieces of chipboard.  I framed them using some old white frames I picked up and we then mounted them using cream card.

Shelves: the wooden shelves were made from excess stair treads from a building site, taken from an old bespoke staircase.  We painted them white and the white brackets were purchased very cheaply from a garden centre.  We have 4 shelves in Aiya’s bedroom and they cost a grand total of £10.