Anyway, I had a really good topic today, but it's kind of a bummer, so I decided to save it for a (literally) rainy day and tell ya'll the story of how I saved $40 and gained a whole new confidence all in one trip to Walmart.
We have a lovely rope hammock. It was a gift from my parents, and a perfect addition to the screened in back porch that made me fall in the love with our home. However, if you've ever sat in a rope hammock for more than 5 minutes in you life, you know they can be slightly uncomfortable. So, I went to my go-to place for all things that may or may not exist (amazon, of course) and searched for a hammock pad. Imagine my surprise to find the only thing that popped up was a thin, water resistant quilt with ties on each end, selling for a whopping $77.
As you know from my last post, we don't have a lot of money. Particularly somewhere in the area of $77 to spend on a thin hammock pad. So, after researching several other sites for something comparable or better, I came up with nothing. After this discouraging discovery, I was about to add the quilt with ties to my amazon cart, but something stopped me. I could figure this out. I don't cook, but I have learned to make a few dishes. I still buy some veggie pouches for V, but I've learned that my homemade avocado-spinach-yogurt-fruit smoothie is her favorite. Chris does not repair, but our washing machine is working again. My point is, we can do more than we think we are capable.
So I took to my other favorite internet source, facebook, to ask my savviest of friends to assist me in ideas of how to pull off a better DIY pad on the cheap. I aimed the question at one girl in particular, Catherine. Catherine and I went to high school together, and she's always been a sweet, sweet girl. And smart. And as we've grown older, I've come to know her as an incredibly handy girl. I mean, this girl has transformed areas of her house on her own for several years, with three kids in tow and now one on the way. But enough about that. She's cool, ok? So anyway, Catherine in all her brilliance came through for me and replied that she would likely use an egg crate mattress pad and a bed sheet. Egg crates?! Why hadn't I thought of that? They're like, the cheapest thing ever. So, determined with this new idea, me and V made the trek to the local Walmart, and investigated our choices.
My two issues were these:
1) I know myself, and this thing WILL get left in the rain at some point. Well enough for a removable washable sheet, but how would I defend the egg crate? Simple, I discovered. A zip up, full coverage waterproof plastic mattress cover.
2) I don't sew. I mean, I can hand sew - but I don't even have the tools and I haven't done it in a long, long time. So, solution number two caught my eye - fabric glue. Permanent, washable. Quick and easy.
Armed with my supplies - $38 worth of egg crate, flat sheet, fabric glue and a waterproof mattress cover, we headed home. I immediately put the baby down for a nap - this was not a project to tackle with a toddler - and got to work. I rolled out the egg crate. I unfolded the king sheet. I did this funny this hop dance while trying to shimmy the egg crate into the waterproof cover. Then I got to work with my glue, to make what I would later call "The World's Largest Pillowcase."
After closely inspecting the glue, I was surprised to find two warnings on the back instead of instructions. "MAY CAUSE NUMBNESS IN UNTREATED AREAS OF SKIN EXPOSED."
Um, ok.
"THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS AN INGREDIENT SHOWN TO CAUSE CANCER IN CALIFORNIA."
Geez. Fabric glue is serious business. Well I don't live in California, so I don't have to worry about that (cue rimshot here). But seriously, folks, I don't sew.
So me, my smelly fabric glue, and a folded in half king sheet sat on the floor for about an hour, meticulously fashioning our cover. I waited all of 10 minutes for the glue to dry (I'm impatient, ok?!) and shimmied the plastic covered egg crate into my hand made cover. Finally, something I could test.
I took my prototype outside, and then grabbed the baby. She never did go to sleep. I guess she could sense my excitement and desperately wanted to be a part of it. I lay her down on the soft pad and she started giggling with delight. Success! Sure, it needed some trimming, and I still have to find a way to tie it to the four corners so it wouldn't slip around, but it was really quite comfy. I waiting for about 45 minutes for Chris to come home, eager for him to see my brilliance.
He came up the basement way, said his hello to the baby, and then said he wanted to see the porch. He went out there, looked at it, layed down, closed his eyes and said, "It's so small!."
Sigh. He saw the look of disappointment (and let's face it, a little disdain) on my face, and immediately retracted and started complimenting me on my innovation. "I could read a book out here!" "Sure is more comfortable!"
We did ultimately decide to return the egg crate and mattress pad to upgrade to a full size, but still I was proud of myself. My first DIY. Simple, yes, but we have to start somewhere, right?
Happy Thursday Everyone! May all of your spring projects work the way you want them to. And if they don't, congratulations on trying. That's more than I do 99% of the time. (But not anymore!)
Love,
Dominique
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