• Featured Sponsor

  Ad Rates

• Awards

  

• Fun In The Making

  Looking for lots of crafts made from recycled materials? You’ve come to the right place. I go beyond soup can pencil holders here. It is all about greening up your crafting and moving toward a more sustainable way of living. This site is full of eco-friendly crafts for children and adults. Making use (re-use really) of otherwise unwanted materials is good for the pocketbook and good for the environment.

• Sign up for Fun in the Making Newsletter

  Email Address

  First Name

  Last Name

  
  

  powered by MailChimp!

• Categories

  • chickens
  • children's activities (recycled materials)
  • children's crafts (recycled materials)
  • crafts (recycled materials)
  • eco-friendly living ideas
  • furniture, redo/ upcycle
  • garden (gardening info and eco-friendly project ideas)
  • gift wrapping, eco-friendly
  • gifts from recycled materials
  • give aways
  • holiday crafts/activities: April Fool's Day
  • holiday crafts: 4th of July (recycled stuff)
  • holiday crafts: Christmas (recycled stuff)
  • holiday crafts: Halloween (recycled stuff)
  • holiday crafts: New Year's Eve (recycled stuff)
  • holiday crafts: Peace Day (recycled stuff)
  • holiday crafts: St. Patricks Day
  • holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff)
  • home décor (recycle and upcycle)
  • home school
  • imaginative play
  • links
  • local environmentalism (doing our part)
  • Nature: plant and animal identification
  • organize
  • party décor (recycle and upcycle)
  • party favors
  • party: Circus
  • party: robot
  • recipes
  • reuse containers, ice cream
  • reuse straws, plastic drinking
  • reuse "trash"
  • reuse appliances, broken
  • reuse bag, plastic mesh produce
  • reuse bags, brown paper
  • reuse beads salvaged/ vintage
  • reuse berry basket, plastic/ paper
  • reuse blankets: old or damaged
  • reuse books
  • reuse bottles, plastic
  • reuse boxes
  • reuse buttons
  • reuse calendars
  • reuse can, paint (plastic)
  • reuse cans
  • reuse chopsticks
  • reuse clementine box
  • reuse cups, tea
  • reuse dinnerware
  • reuse door, wooden garage
  • reuse down from jackets
  • reuse egg shells
  • reuse elastic bands
  • reuse electronics
  • reuse fabric from drapes or other
  • reuse fabric items
  • reuse fishing pole
  • reuse fishing wire
  • reuse flatware
  • reuse frames, picture
  • reuse game pieces
  • reuse glass bottles/ jars
  • reuse glasses/ sunglasses, vintage/ old
  • reuse handkerchiefs
  • reuse hangers, coat
  • reuse jars, spice
  • reuse jeans
  • reuse lamp or other lighting
  • reuse license plate
  • reuse magazines
  • reuse magnets, promotional flat flexible
  • reuse milk carton
  • reuse panty hose/ tights
  • reuse paper
  • reuse paper printed material
  • reuse pen, broken
  • reuse pie pan, aluminum
  • reuse plastic/ metal bottle caps
  • reuse pot, coffee
  • reuse sheets, bed sheets
  • reuse skis
  • reuse straws: drinking straws
  • reuse stuffing, from pillows etc.
  • reuse sweaters
  • reuse sweaters, wool
  • reuse thread spools
  • reuse toilet paper or paper towel rolls
  • reuse toys, small junk
  • reuse twist ties
  • reuse wood/ lumber
  • reuse wool from coats
  • reuse x-rays
  • seasonal: fall
  • seasonal: spring
  • seasonal: summer
  • seasonal: winter
  • sewing
  • Uncategorized
  • use for dryer lint
  • use for fabric scraps
  • use for natural stuff: vines, sticks…
  • use for vegetable scraps
  • use for wire scraps
  • use for yarn scraps
  • vintage

After finding and altering a coffee table into a bench, I set to work making it cozy. It needed to be a comfortable sitting and/or reading spot. That meant a pillow of sorts but then I got a clever idea: to add a pile of mattresses like in the story “The Princess and the Pea.” How fun! My girls liked the idea too. The idea was to have the mattresses look home-made like a pile of Grandma’s quilts. I wanted them to have lots of playful variation, yet still look nice together. And, of course, I wanted it to be made with lots of recycled materials.

This “princess” has discovered something under her mattress.

Making the mattresses:
1. Make a pattern by laying a piece of salvaged packing paper on the top of the bench. Run the edge of a crayon around the edge of the bench: marking on the paper the outline of the bench shape. If your bench is rectangular in shape then your job is easier: just measure your bench.
2. Add about ¼ inch all the way around to allow for the loft of the mattress and another ¼ inch for the seam allowance.
3. The mattresses are made like basic pillows.
4. To fill mattresses, I encourage you to use recycled materials.
-an old comforter: layer the pieces to achieve desired loft
-stuffing from salvaged pillows
-recycled fiber stuffing (I’ve only seen this sold in bulk). or even dryer lint. (try asking at industrial drying places for large amounts)
-down from salvaged comforters or jackets

The top blue mattress (picture above) has been given a quilted look by tying it off at regular intervals with super soft alpaca yarn (left over from knitting project).

This mattress was made from scrap fabric from another project. It is filled with two layers of an old comforter of ours that had become faded and torn. It is made like a basic pillow then I hand quilted it using embroidery floss.

This mattress was made from a cotton thrift store shower curtain (not the liner). I used the curtain’s own hem to edge it.

This mattress was made from a second hand tablecloth with a bleach stain on it. No problem, I was able to use the un-stained piece. It was made like a basic pillow then I machine sewed all around the edge. It is filled with recycled fiber stuffing.

This mattress was made from left-over fabric from the curtains I made for that room. Although this fabric was not recycled, the stuffing is. Inside is two layers of an old but clean comforter.

So far I’ve made 6 mattresses for our bench. This pile of mattresses will continue to grow as I come across other fabric to recycle.

Find out more about the bench and tips on how to alter it:
Thrift Store Coffee Table Turned Princess And The Pea Inspired Bench: Altering Bench

Comments

• Search

   

• Got Questions?

  Are you having any trouble understanding some of the instructions? Feel free to send me a quick e-mail at HesterJane@FunInTheMaking.net. I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Do you have any suggestions regarding a specific post? Maybe you have a better way and would like to share it with the other creative people visiting this site? -Hester Jane

• Sponsors

• Support Fun In The Making

  

  Like what you see? Consider donating a dollar. If you get project ideas throughout the year consider giving $10.