DIY Moroccan wedding blanket and cozy winter bedroom

I know I usually steer clear of trends, but Moroccan wedding blankets are all the rage, and I really do love the look, but not the price.

Generally, they are creamy white and look something like this one from Maryam Montague…

Vintage Moroccan wedding blanket

But you know me, I *have * to be different, so I fell in love with this fuchsia one on the same site. I mean, how could you not love it? I didn’t love the $750 price tag, though.

Moroccan wedding blanket at Maryam Montague

I thought about how to make one for a while, then when Luis needed to pick something up in Asheville at Guitar Center, I went along and headed right to Jo-Ann Fabrics. Thinking I would get fabric, then sew on sequins, fur, trims, etc., I looked around for something with lines woven in so the blanket would take shape. 

And then I saw this. Double wow, I ran right to it and might have done a little dance when I found it was half off. 

It literally has everything — hand appliques and the rows of silver sequins already attached. And it’s hot pink. Win. Win. 

I only got two yards of fabric, knowing I would fold it at the foot of the bed, and I bought lining since the sequined fabric was sheer.  I cut both pieces to size, then sewed the lining onto the  back, right sides together, then turned it to the right side, closed up the 6″ opening, pressed the seams, and voila, hot pink Moroccan wedding blanket:-)

I folded this vintage wool plaid throw and the Navajo weaving on my grandmother’s trunk. I thought the flowery sequined material, needed something to balance it. 

For the rest of the bed, I used white linens, like always, and added a Mongolian faux fur pillow, and an embroidered pillow from Home Goods. Yes — I rarely go to HG, but since it was next to JoAnn, I had to look around. 

I made the lumbar pillow cover from fur my mother had leftover from a jacket she made my middle daughter. I love the sequined fur, and it ties everything on the bed together.

I have been looking for a fuchsia/pink Christmas cactus, and I finally found one at our local Food Lion. 

It’s so retro and reminds me of my grandmother:-) She always had one in an urn on her piano. 

I mixed in some Native American art from my collection to, again, balance the flowery, sparkly in the room. I wish I could remember where I bought this lidded basket, but it was so long ago, I forgot. 

A vintage Indian Sari adds some color to the otherwise brown and white corner of the room. 

I didn’t go too crazy with the mantel this fall. I tried different things, and finally just said, “enough” and left it. 

I know this heater is not the prettiest, but it’s a quartz Infrared heater, and it really adds some energy-efficient warmth to this room. 

I finally ended up with a painting by my late Montana-rancher uncle in an antique frame. Native pottery includes Navajo pieces and the black Cherokee pot.

The plate is one of three I bought when I was in La Paz, Bolivia, and they had been stored away, so I’m happy to have this one out again. That was my first out-of-country trip, and my unit, 459th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, was delivering medical supplies there through Catholic Relief Services. It was an amazing place to see and experience.

Back to the mantel — a candle holder that sat on my grandmother’s mantel in the old house here holds a vintage twist candle.

I borrowed the Native medicine bag from my daughter:-)

I strung large craft store beads to hang below the mantel, then added a Cherokee “corn bead” necklace. Corn bead necklaces are made from the seeds of the corn bead plant, also known as “Job’s tears.” 

The gray color represents the sorrow of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears in 1838, where a third of the Cherokees forced by the U. S. government to march in winter, died along the way to a reservation located in Oklahoma. According to legend, where tears fell on the ground, a corn stalk-like plant sprouted producing seeds in the shape of tears.  It’s a reminder of my mother’s heritage and ancestry here.

Another little DIY I completed this fall was electrifying a lantern I bought in Turkey. I wanted a light here, but had in mind something mid-century, then remembered this lantern. It was really simple to add a swag light kit to a fixture I had.

A Turkish kilim pillow adds the tribal pint I love, as well as the colors I am embracing these days.

I still love all the old doors from my great grandfather’s house here that we installed a few years ago. I used vintage-style coat and hat hooks to hold a few favorite scarves and, again, add some color to the brown and white.

Really tying everything all together is this Turkish kilim runner.  

I love how it works with the color, pattern and style of everything in this room.

I bought this one from the Turkish Kilim store on ebay.

This is the fall/winter Bohemian chic version of our master bedroom. We’re loving all those little changes that make a room feel fresh and new, and Luis doesn’t even mind the pink:-)

I’ll be joining:

Sundays at Home

Inspire Me Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesdays