DIY Princess & The Pea Play Set

9 Materials
$25.33
3 Hours
Easy
I needed a really special gift to give at a friend's baby shower and I wanted it to be something unique and hand made!
Step 1- Assembling the bed: First I found 1, 4 ft piece of poplar wood that wasn't too thick or too heavy to use for the headboard and footboard. (the wood needed to be thin and light weight because it was going to be for a small child to play with)


I wanted the headboard to be 12" tall, the footboard to be 6"tall, and the middle board to be 12" long. (3 separate boards)


For the middle board I used this wood that also found at Lowe's because it was a little thinner...


After marking the poplar wood with these measurements, I had my handy husband make the appropriate cuts with his circle saw. **sidenote, a jigsaw or hand saw would have worked just fine since the boards were only 1/4" & 1/2" thick**


Then I attached the middle board to the headboard and footboard exactly 2 1/2" from the bottom using tiny corner brackets that I bought at Lowe's.
Step 2- Painting the bed: Next, I painted the bed with 2 coats of some leftover paint I had laying around from our kitchen cabinet makeover. (Dove Wing by Benjamin Moore)
Step 3- Making the mattresses: I searched Hobby Lobby for the cheapest way to purchase atleast 3 different patterns without having a ton of extra fabric left over. I considered the "quilting squares" pack but I couldn't really find a set that consisted of the soft pinks and greens I was looking for.


After scouring the fabric department, I discovered that buying 1/8 yard (the smallest amount possible) of the cotton duck bolts was the most cost efficient and there were a bunch of different cute patterns to choose from. So each piece of fabric came out to be 61 cents per 1/8 yard and I bought 4 different prints. I figured that I could get 2 mattresses out of each print because each mattress needed to be 12" long.


I cut 3 of the patterns into 6, 13" strips, 13" because this gave me 1/2 inch to work with as a hem on each side. The width happened to be the perfect size so I didn't need to adjust that at all. After cutting the fabric down to these measurements, this gave me 2 strips of fabric per mattress and 2 mattresses per pattern. (2 pieces of fabric per mattress, 2 mattress x 3 patterns= 6 mattresses total) I saved the last pattern for a blanket and pillow.


Then I laid the matching strips together with the corners aligned, pattern facing pattern/top side facing top side. Visit the blog to see more pictures of this step ( http://lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com/2016/07/princess-pea-diy-play-set.html )


Then I hot glued around the inside perimeter, leaving a small hole to pull the fabric back through and also for the stuffing to be inserted. (all my seamstresses out there, roll your eyes and pull out your sewing machines because I know this is a simple hem waiting to happen for you!) More detailed photos of this step on the blog (http://lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com/2016/07/princess-pea-diy-play-set.html)
Step 4- Filling the mattresses: Once the glue dried (took only a few seconds) and the front/top side of the fabric was pulled back through the hole, I pushed a small handful of stuffing in 2 inch chunks at a time (totaling the size of a tennis ball) through the same hole and spread it around evenly throughout the mattress. After making sure the stuffing was even, I closed up the hole with more hot glue and tada, 6 mattresses were made!
Step 5- Making the blanket: To make the blanket and pillow, I cut the final pattern into 1, 13"x 2" strip for the blanket and 1, 4.5"x 2.5" strip for the pillow. Then I repeated the same exact steps that I used in making the mattresses. (aligned the corners and placed the patterns face to face/top side to top side, hot glued around the inside perimeter leaving a hole to pull the fabric back through and insert the stuffing, and lastly sealed the hole with more hot glue)
Step 6- Putting it all together: Last, I stacked up the mattresses in order of how I wanted the patterns to look and added the pea underneath the bottom mattress. (a green Pom Pom from Hobby Lobby) Then I placed the doll on top of the mattresses that I found on Amazon (see here http://lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com/2016/07/princess-pea-diy-play-set.html )
When I wrapped up the gift, I placed a book with it to complete the set, also purchased on Amazon.


And that's it! I loved having a handmade gift to give my friend at her baby shower! I hope her daughter will have fun playing with this Princess & the Pea play set for years to come!
For questions, email me at lemonstolovelys@gmail.com


To see more pictures of this project visit the blog at:
Suggested materials:
  • Poplar wood   (Lowe's)
  • Corner brackets   (Lowe's)
  • Fabric   (Hobby Lobby)
See all materials
Lemons To Lovelys Marci
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Susan Priestly Susan Priestly on Jul 31, 2016
    If you put tin foil on your ironing board, before gluing the pieces....you take your hot iron to the seams that you put together with the glue gun and iron over the seam allowances, the glue "Line" will melt and it won't feel like that long line of hot glue is even there. I did this to make Xmas chair pads and tablecloth mats for my children on their small table chair set for Christmas :)
  • Andrea Andrea on Jul 05, 2018

    absolutely adorable!

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