Monday 1 August 2011

Don't let the bedbugs bite

They say that somebody's trash is someone else's treasure. I totally agree! Most of our stuff is second hand from thrift stores or websites similar to craigslist. However, finding a "treasure" in the trash (for free!!!) is the Holy Grail of consumerism.

Sadly, like in most cities, Montreal has a problem with bedbugs. We are always careful and only select items that are "safe" but, last week, I saw an "unsafe" item next to a garbage bin at the public market (I know, why would you bring a piece of furniture there?) and after much considerations I took it with me. Don't worry, we are not infested with evil little creatures but you should have seen me: Alice sleeping in her stroller, Brian attached to my wrist with his leash and me kicking the top of the little stool with my foot to remove the suspicious fabric cushion (I only kept the metal part). I probably looked like a mad woman but upholstery was on my craft to do list for years. This was finally my chance!

There are many (re)upholstery tutorials available online and the material that we needed was easy to find (fabric store and hardware store). It was a simple and fun little project...especially without the bedbugs! The only thing is that I screamed pretty much every time we used the staple gun. It is not called a "gun" for nothing.

Total budget for this project: 10$
(note: it is good to know a friend that owns a staple gun)

* * * * *

marie christine: Ah, merci Marie! Et Alice était avec toi le jour de ses 4 mois.

anne: J'aime bien écrire des trucs "sentimentals"...je dois retenir de ma mère!

ulla v.: Thank you Ulla. I hope that you are right and that it will always be fabulous.

pj: Already 4 months. I almost cried that day!!!


one claire day: Thank you so much Claire.

joeynomad: Oh, I didn't want to make anybody cry ;)

emily: I'm just like you. It is so lovely to look at babies sleep.

daniela: Big hugs and kisses to you and your lovely baby from Canada.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing, Claudia (and what a super cute italian name, I'm in love with it;)
I've just found your blog via Babymine and I'm very happy to know this wonderful brend new world!
I'm a vintage tresures hunter and I'm very lucky cause 2weeks ago I accidentaly found a baby crib at the corner of a street! Someone left it there so my father helped me to bring it home... It was a new crib actually so I dont really understand why someone should leave it there! I re-painted it and left it in the guest room (I live with my patente and I'm not married). Two day after it was due my cousin called me to tell she was pregnant! That was
definitely the crib of luck!! ;) xxx

Lin said...

It looks great - great fabric too. I'd love to see a pic of where you put it. And bedbugs - i've heard of them but never seen them - are they like fleas?

Sophie said...

Claudia, tu fais partie de mes favoris depuis longtemps et je te lis régulièrement, mais n'ayant pas de blog, je ne commente jamais. Mais là...en voyant la merveille que tu as faite, je ne pouvais pas m'empêcher...d'où vient ce tissu? Il m'inspire pleins de projets...

En passant, ça fait plaisir de voir quelqu'un ramasser un trésor abandonné dans cette ère de punaises de lit. J'adore faire du neuf avec du vieux, mais maintenant avec tout ce qu'on entend c'est pas rassurant. Vive le courage intelligent!!! Merci de partager des bribes de ta vie si simplement.

Su said...

Excellant! I love finding things in the rubbish bins and your stool is perfect. Love your fabric choice and I'm afraid of the staple gun too. xo