Crib Mattress Spring Turned American Flag

I’m about to knock your socks off.  Well, at least I’m going to try.  This project made me feel so incredibly good inside.  If you don’t mind, I would like to go back in time a little.  It was 1957 and I wasn’t even thought of yet.  My oldest sister, Diane, was a baby and my parents provided her with a beautiful crib to sleep in.  I found this photo to show you.  You have to look closely at the details of the crib.  Check out those fancy curtains too :).

You can find Diane’s famous “baked baby back rib” recipe if you click on her picture.

The crib is made out of pine and it has parakeets as decorations on the headboard.  12 years after this photo was taken, I slept in this crib and I remember those parakeets.  They are pastel colored and they spin around.  I describe the crib in present tense because we still have the crib.  Somehow, after all four of us children slept in this crib, my parents managed to save it.  I ended up with it in my attic.  I wanted to use it for our babies, but the spindles no longer met the current safety requirements.  Still, after all of these years I kept it, not knowing what the heck I would use it for.  Until now.

If you look up crib upcycles on Pinterest, you will find several ideas to recycle an old crib.  From desks to photo displays, you’ll be amazed by some really cool ideas.  I knew I wanted to come up with something clever, but it had to be something no one else thought of.  Or at least I don’t think they have.  If you have…please come forth and we can share stories 🙂  When we upcycle, recycle, whatever you wish to call it, we not only save money, but we help save the environment, we bring back memories, and we create a special piece that can be cherished for years to come because of it’s history.

So, originally I was going to see if this mattress spring could be used as a dog gate.  I brought it down from the attic and realized there was no way it would work.  Bummer.  So I set the mattress spring up against the wall, and thought that if I left it there for a while I may come up with another idea.  I was right.

My daughter was eating her b-fast at the kitchen table before school one day, and I was standing behind her staring at it.  She was startled because she didn’t realize I was there.  She asked what I was doing, and I just explained that I was “thinking”.  At that instant it came to me that if I turned it horizontal, it took on the shape of a flag.  Like this one above my “hutch turned tool bench” I purchased from Pottery Barn years ago:

(click on photo for tool bench project)

So then I thought, okay…I can paint it red, white, and blue and display it for the 4th of July.  Cool!  Well, maybe not so cool.  It just didn’t sit well with me because I wasn’t sure the stripes would stand out.  No WOW factor, ya know?  Then I thought of the 13 stripes.  I needed to count the rows in the mattress spring to see how many stripes it had.  If it didn’t have 13 stripes like our American flag, this idea was headed no where.  I quickly counted with my daughter.  We were both amazed…there were 13 stripes-exactly.  By this time Red was super fired up.  My mind was turning so fast I couldn’t stop until I had a plan.  Then, holy firecrackers!  It came to me.  RIBBON.

I purchased ribbon at Micheal’s with my 40% coupon, and yes, I used a lot of coupons. The lady was mean when I asked if I could use more than one.  She said no, so I just got back in line and used another coupon.  Again, and again.  HA!  Little did the mean lady behind the counter know what an amazing project she was holding up.  Here she is…not the lady, the finished project.

My hubby actually fed the swans for me so they would hurry up and get in the photo…what a guy.  They fell for it.  His mate is behind the tree.  Not my hubby’s, the swan’s.  Pretty, huh?  Obviously we can’t keep the flag outside, but she sure looked pretty out there in the sun.  Here she is from our deck at a distance and both swans made this photo (my hubby is behind the tree):

You may be able to see my old pal “Trixie’s” grave site down there too.  She was the best cat ever.

 We all miss her terribly 🙁  Rest in peace Trixie Marie Tuna July ’94 – Oct. ’08.

The ribbon was secured with Zots, and glue.

 The stars I ordered on line, and I found the rope at Home Depot.

Here’s another photo of it fireside in our kitchen:

We ended up putting her on top of our mantel and look forward to sharing this story with our family and friends.  When it came time  for a title, I originally thought of “Made in the USA”, but then my Mom came up with the “Born Free” title.  Thanks Mom, it’s perfect.  I was born free, and I am a proud American.

By the way…

Today is Flag Day!  June 14th, yep…Flag Day.

So, get your flags out, ok?

Now the question is, what should I do with the rest of the crib?

You never know what this redhead will think of next.

Next Friday & Saturday I have a special treat for you.  While I’m taking a break, I have some lovely gals stopping by to fill in.

Be sure to come back and say hello to them.

I will be back the following week.

Happy Flag Day!