Crates for Toys

I've been putting together Jude's toddler room and baby girl's room simultaneously. Jude's room was my last room (minus the basement) to decorate in the house. It has been in a very sad and plain state for the last year.  Awhile ago Jesse told me he wanted to decorate it with a John Deere theme, which put the project on hold because it took me a long time to wrap my brain around that.  Not being an Iowa native it's not quite as natural for me to put kelly green and bright yellow in the same room - in fact the idea made me twitch.  However, after lots of chatting, compromising and painting it's finally finished (with only a couple of small details yet to be accomplished), so I'll show it off tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have to brag about my first legitimate woodworking project.  Dad, this one's for you - you'll have to tell me what you think. I built four crates for his room - three to hold his toys and one for his books.

These three line the edge of his bed.

This one holds his books and acts as his nightstand.

Through the Shanty 2 Chic website I found another one called Ana White. She has a million free project plans - plus she does a great job of telling beginners how to get started. After looking through her site I just couldn't help myself but get to the store, buy a few essential tools and start building.

I worked on the crates off and on over the last couple of weeks. I probably spent 12 hours total on them. They're not perfect. I certainly split the wood here and there and my handles look a little shabby, but I got better with each one I put together.

All in all I'm pleased with the result and even more pleased to have tried something new!

Nesting

I'm definitely nesting these days.  It's so cliche, but it's funny how a pregnant woman just can't help herself at this stage. I took the picture above at 30 weeks. The little girl is moving around a lot, making my lower back sore by the end of the day and giving me insomnia between 4-6 am.  All in all it's going well. Well, besides the fact that my hair looks like a mane. My word, I think my hair is using this picture to beg me for a haircut. It's working.

Anyway, I've been working on the kids' rooms during the last couple of weekends. For the nursery I feel inspired by poppies and the color combination coral, orange and yellow. I'm excited.

A couple of weeks ago I made this painting for her room.

I was inspired by a blog I found recently called Shanty 2 Chic. These ladies use power tools like no one's business and build everything under the sun - at least it seems like it. I'm totally inspired and I couldn't help picking up the circular saw, hammer and electric sander to put this together.

Jesse was amused to find his 7 month pregnant wife in the garage with the circular saw. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Don't worry . . . I watched a couple of you tube videos about how to use it and I read the manual from front to back before I picked it up. That's enough preparation to prevent me from cutting off any extremities, right?

Anyway, I found this picture in a google images search and thought it would be fun to recreate it. (I can't seem to find it again to link to the source.) 

Then, I found this wall hanging and decided I would build one similar to act as my canvas. So, I bought my supplies, cut the wood, pieced them together, painted them and then I was ready to draw and paint.

I used the "grid" technique that we learned in jr. high to draw the image large enough for my canvas. I had to add a couple more flowers to change it from a portrait to a landscape image.  Once I was finished I taped it to the wood and traced over it.

The tracings made indentations in the wood so I could see where to apply my paint. I just used some cheap acrylics I had on hand to fill it in. I forgot how fun it was to paint. It's been so long since I've pulled out the paintbrushes to do anything beyond freezer paper painting.

Lastly, I sanded it down to distress the finish of the paint just a little.  Then, I topped it off with a clear coat of varnish.

We'll hang it on the wall soon. I can't wait to see it all come together.

Another Baby Boy

There's another little cousin on his way in the next couple of weeks. Jesse's brother and his wife are expecting the arrival of their first sometime in August. We're very excited!

A month ago we threw a baby shower and I put together these simple gifts for the little nugget. My sister-in-law, Michelle, is using the outdoorsy/lodgy look for his nursery. Adorable. So, I did my best to come up with something that would fit the motif. We all know the outdoorsy look doesn't come very naturally to me (no pun intended), so this took some serious creative energy and a long-winded brainstorming session with Emily to come to fruition.

The toddler backpack is such a fun project. I used the freezer paper painting technique to put the moose on the front. Sometimes I wonder if I should have painted him white, but it's too late now.

I added some extra stitching just to spice things up a bit. And, used Made by Rae's latest backpack pattern addition to add lining.

This lining fabric is funny because Michelle actually gave me about a yard of it a couple of years ago after she made a blanket out of it for her husband. I was going to use it to make shorts for Jude, but never got around to it. This turned into the perfect opportunity to pull it out!

So, I made some shorts (used the flat front pants tutorial from MADE) for the little guy in a 12 months size hoping that he might be able to sport the backpack and the shorts in the same outfit. I should have made a shirt too. Can't you just see one with a moose on the front? Hmmm. First birthday gift maybe.

A Blessing of a Baby

My sister, Emily, and her husband just welcomed a sweet baby boy at the end of May.  We got to visit them in the middle of June.  What a fun trip.  He sure is a blessing and we were so happy to meet him, love him, kiss him and hold him.

Sometime in April I put together a few things for him.  Now, I finally get to show them off!  First was a matching set of urban hoodies.  I decided that Jude and Bennett needed matching sweatshirts (that's logical right?) so I sized them right to fit both of them when we see each other at Christmas. This one is Jude's.  It's a size 2T.

This one is Bennett's.  Sized 6 mos.  I found the puppy knit at Joann's and had to have it.  Jude loves the puppies and I think it's a perfect accent fabric.  The gray was a jersey knit that I had on hand - in fact, it was a jersey sheet set I purchased at Target on sale awhile ago.  I think the combo is perfect.

Jude wore his for about 10 minutes in Colorado.  The heat has prevented any future wearings, but I'm sure it will still look great come fall.  Gosh, I love this pattern.  Looking at these pictures makes me want to make more!

Of course, I couldn't stop there.  This is my twin sister's baby after all.  So, as promised, I made a few more bibs for Emily's collection. 

I added this word to the plain blue one.  I don't have an embroidery machine so I ended up printing out the word, cut out the letters and traced them onto the fabric.  Then, I just stitched over the top of the lines.  I went over each letter twice.  Turned out cute I think.  I might have to try it again sometime.

Finally, to round out the stash, I made a few snack bags to match the bibs.  This addition to the gift was purely selfish because I made 8 total bags and kept 4 for myself. 

I'm not sure when, but Jude reached this age where it was in my best interest to bring snacks with me everywhere we go.  At some point I realized I was wasting plastic bags and thought it would be better to make some and wash them instead. 

This is the tutorial I found via Pinterest. I didn't use PUL fabric for the interior like it suggests.  Mine are cotton inside and out and I think they work just fine.

Hopefully Emily and Bennett will find a use for them too.

24 Weeks

This week is 24 weeks. I can feel her moving regularly and even Jesse has been able to feel her kick occasionally. I'm experiencing a wave of "very tired" which is requiring a daily nap, but other than that I'm feeling great. This is a fun stage.

Two weeks ago we spent a week in Colorado with Cory, Em and their new baby, Bennett! It was totally and completely blissful. I have a post coming with gifts made for Bennett.  While we were there, Emily and I went garage sale-ing, where I picked up these cute little shirts/dresses.

I decided they needed diaper covers to complete the outfit, so these became the first project for little girl Tink. I already had the fabric on hand. (It's kind of embarrassing how much girly fabric is in my stash.) The blue is a linen-look that I couldn't pass up and the floral is a lovely print that I picked up on sale last year. You'll certainly be seeing these two again in different projects. In fact, the blue would be absolutely perfect as Oliver + S Sailboat Pants. Just need to buy the pattern.

It was so stinkin' hot outside when I took these pictures that I neglected to change the settings on my camera. Oops. Sorry for blinding you.

I used MADE's diaper cover tutorial which was very easy and satisfying.

I look forward to little girl Tink crawling around in these next summer.

Beachy Shorts

My sewing machine is humming away these days. I just haven't been motivated to write about my creations. I'll blame it on the heat! My goodness, I'm not sure how much longer I can stand these 100 degree days. What happened to summery 85? I miss it.

One of the projects on my list recently was white linen shorts for the little guy. We're attending Jesse's cousin's wedding next weekend and since Jesse is performing the ceremony I need a summery, dressy outfit for Jude for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. And, of course, cargo shorts just aren't going to cut it. I came up with the idea of white, linen shorts for his plaid top (given to him from his Aunt Marie for his birthday). I already had the linen on hand, so that made this project FREE! This little get-up was perfect for the 4th of July and will be perfect again for rehearsal dinner next weekend.

Plus, BONUS, there's a sew-along in blogland for shorts. Weee! So, I'll enter these bad boys into the Shorts On The Line group, which is fun.

I used the kids pants with a flat front tutorial from MADE. Turned out lovely. I added front pockets, back pockets and belt loops. It's the first time I've done belt loops, but I think they totally make the shorts. What a fun (and totally impractical) detail for little boys.

The back pockets ended up a little high. I had trouble gauging that before the waistband was in place. Next time I'll shoot for an inch lower.

So, I think I nailed summery, dressy outfit number one. Now it's time to finish the tie for the wedding.

My Very Own Sewing Space

It's true! For the very first time I have a place to sew. A place where I can leave my sewing machine out and unfinished projects lying around to my heart's content. I'm so happy! Here's a little tour of the room.

The desk above was a free piece from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It was in the basement of the house they recently bought. I gave it a distressed paint job and added hardware. I wish I had a before picture to show you. She went from less than desirable to being a real keeper.

My sister Emily gave me these canisters as a wedding present. I quickly realized they were too small to hold four, suger, etc. well, so now they have new life holding stray ribbons, zippers, velcro and extra thread.

My Mom has had one of these for as long as I remember. I feel like I've made it in life now that I have a place to put one. All that thread so neatly organized makes my heart happy.

I resurrected this shelf from our basement. It was a dingy old thing that came with the house. You can see a "before" picture below. I gave it the same distressed paint job that I did on the desk. Now, it holds my stacks of fabric, some art supplies and a few sewing books.

It was so inspiring to pull out this fabric from my bins. There are so many projects just ready to be made!

I finally get to display my sewing books too. I'm especially proud of the "Better Homes and Gardens" book copyright 1970. My sister, Marie, sent it to me a long time ago. Its pictures and content are so vintage-y cool. I'm glad it's out of a bin and finally sitting proudly on a shelf.

Don't mind the mess of cords. I'm still working to tame them. These are the benefits of living in an old house where outlets are few and far between. I'll do my best to not start a fire.

In the other corner is the office space. I replaced the hardware with the same that I put on the sewing desk. I think it gives the desks a cohesive feel even though they don't match.

My friend Sara did the artwork. I love it. We used it to decide the color scheme for the room. Doesn't it look fabulous?

These are Jude's books, which I was too lazy to pull out of the room before taking pictures. They're in here because we're currently redoing his room and don't have a spot in there for them yet.

My grandpa made a table and chairs set for us when we were little and I'm lucky enough to inherit it! I can't wait to pick them up. They will go right here under the window and provide a perfect place for Jude and I to work in the same room together.

This is a picture of the room from the doorway. The bookshelf is to the left. My sewing table in the far corner and the office desk just to the right.

So, here's the lovely BEFORE pictures of the room. I should have taken a picture of my stuff in this space previously too. It looked like a scene from the show Hoarders. Something about bins of fabric and art supplies piled high in a dingy and dark paneled room screamed hoarder. We kept the door shut as often as possible.

One Saturday in April Jesse took down all the paneling and took it to the dump. Underneath it was glue and old paint. I spent a few weeks with a scraper in hand just scraping away. Of course, I could only do it for 60 minutes or so at a time before I was worn out and had to nap. Ah pregnancy. Everything takes twice as long as it should. Eventually, I sanded, we primed and then painted. The whole process took about a month.

And, lastly, a "before" picture of the shelves. Too bad you can't see the dirt and cobwebs. It was not a pretty thing. Surprisingly a scrub brush and a paint job makes it look rather functional. Three cheers for free furniture! (Jesse wasn't so happy about lugging it from the basement to the third floor though.) God bless that man.

Oh, and yes, that is our basement. It still looks like that. We'll get to that project eventually. I'm going to work on having a baby first though.