DIY No Sew (Seriously!) Tee-pee

The entire time I've been plotting Colton's big boy room, I've known that I wanted it to somehow include some cozy corner/nook/private space for him.  When I started spotting tee-pees on Pinterest, namely this one
                                                            
I knew what I wanted!  Unfortunately, the above guy's price tag was pretty high...plus it was only sold in Australia...so needless to say, it wasn't a real option.  I looked around for other more affordable, USA-possible options, but was not having much success.
So I did what any other good DIYer would do...I decided to make my own!  Usually I would give you a step-by-step tutorial, but in this case I relied so heavily on this tutorial from Sew Mama Sew that I really think the first thing you should do is head over there and keep it open the entire time you plan to construct your tee-pee (if you plan to make a tee-pee obviously!).
Instead of providing you with step-by-step, then, I will let you in on what I did a little differently than the tutorial.  The main difference was that the Sew Mama Sew tutorial claimed to be no-sew (something I most definitely need), but actually involved a little bit of sewing...obviously I had to come up with a a new solution to those steps.  So, to make my no sew tee-pee, you will need the following supplies:

• 6 foot x 9 foot painter's canvas
• 6 6 foot bamboo garden posts
• scissors
• twine
• acrylic paints and brushes
• twine
• ribbon
• hot glue gun
• 10 large grommets and setting tool
• hammer
• safety pins

And here are my directions (again keep the Sew Mama Sew tutorial open as well because I am going to cite it a lot!):

1.  My canvas was a little bigger than hers, so I folded it into a triangle and cut off the excess foot or so of fabric.  I, then, followed her fold directions to make the additional cuts that made it into a semi-circle.  Honestly, I'm not positive I did the cuts correctly, but it seemed to work out, so my advice would be to not stress too much over them!

2.  Whip out the paint brushes and paints and decorate how ever you choose.  Make sure to put some kind of newspaper or cloth under the canvas.

3.  Allow the paints to dry overnight.  In the meantime, gather all 6 posts and tie twine around the top, leaving about 4 inches at the top. Spread the posts apart, leaving about 18 inches in between each post.  This may take a few attempts, or at least it did for me, to get it just right!

4.  Once the canvas is dry, wrap it around the the posts.  Use safety pins to secure the canvas closed at the top.  Figure out where canvas is going to meet each pole at the bottom.  Cut a small piece of ribbon (about 3-4 inches) and hot glue it in place where they meet. These will be used to tie around the ends of the posts once the tee-pee is officially built.

5.  With those in place, remove the canvas from the poles and use the grommet setting kit and hammer to put the grommets in glace at the top (Sew Mama Sew gives much more detailed directions on this if you want them).  

6.  Lace the ribbon through the grommets once they are in place, tying loosely at the bottom when you are done.  

7.  Drape the canvas back over the bamboo posts.  Tighten the ribbon ties to secure the canvas around the bamboo posts.  Once it is tied, head to the bottom of the tee-pee to tie the ribbons around the bottoms of the bamboo poles.  

8.  Add ribbons to the top for decoration.  Have fun!

I am in love with Colton's tee-pee...it totally makes the room feel like a little boy's space and adds a lot of character and spunk to the room.  Even more importantly, Colton LOVES his tee-pee!  While he doesn't really play in there yet, he does love to go in, pull it closed, and hide.  

As you can maybe tell from the above pictures, Colton's room is coming right along (he actually has been sleeping in it for a couple weeks!).  We're still waiting to track down an elusive dresser to complete the space and then I will be ready to share the grand reveal with you, so keep checking back:)