Color, Color, Color.

I'm in craft mode and there's no telling when it may end.

Tim and Ben humored me and helped with this print for Ben's bedroom.



It took a few tries to get exactly what I wanted. I tried the paint in different shades of gray and eventually decided I wanted bright colors to match Ben's room.

(In case you can't tell, the green hand is Tim's, the light blue is mine, and the dark blue is little Ben's.)

I honestly couldn't have imagined how difficult it would be to get a 7 month old's hand print. While I attempted to paint his little hand, he grabbed and squeezed the sponge brush, making paint drip everywhere. When I'd finally adequately covered his hand with paint, I couldn't get him to open his hand so I could press it flat. All Ben wanted to do was grab at the paper, so Tim had to hold Ben and both of Ben's arms while I attempted to pry his little hand open and press it flat against the paper. It was quite a sight.

You can see that Ben's print is smudged a little, but I don't mind. Every time I look at it, I'll remember him as this busy, active little guy that we just can't hold down.

While Tim was gone camping this weekend, Ben and I made some crayon art for his room. I found a few bright chipboard animals and pulled out crayons that match them. I lined them all up on a canvas- red and black next to the tiger, yellow and brown by the giraffe, etc.



I glued all the crayons in place...



Then I went to work with the hairdryer. I thought it would be pretty mindless, but the darker colors melted much faster than the lighter colors, and although I hadn't realized it until now, I don't think my hairdryer distributes heat evenly. It took a little bit of finesse to get everything melted evenly and straighten out a few of the colors that splashed all over, but we got it.

Note: Ben doesn't like the hairdryer and cried the entire ten minutes it took me to melt the crayons. Sorry, Buddy, but the crafting must go on!



Once the crayon had dried on the canvas, I glued the animals in place and hung it on the wall. Ben LOVES looking at all the bright colors and seems to have recovered from the trauma of the hairdryer.



Ben's room is slowly becoming more and more bright and personalized. He adds such color and fun to our little home.

Creative Energy

In the months leading up to Ben's birth, I did quite a lot of painting and sewing. Since we did most of his nursery by ourselves, I sewed his curtains, his bumper pads, the crib skirt, a quilt for the wall, etc. I also painted the mural on the wall. (Pictures here.) I enjoyed every bit of it, but the pressure to have everything finished before he arrived, coupled with the exhaustion that comes with pregnancy had me pretty worn out.

After Ben was born, I didn't sleep for four months. At least that's how I remember it. Doing anything crafty was WAY out of the question because I tried to spend any "free" time either feeding myself or showering. He's almost six months old, and I just now have my act together enough that I feel like I can justify clearing the cobwebs out of the doorway to my craft room.

A few weeks ago, I made this binder cover. I'm not gonna lie, it unleashed something inside of me. Months of pent-up creative energy came pouring out. I wanted more.

This weekend, I made a prayer jar for Ben. I found the idea on Pinterest and loved it. Although we are already in the habit of saying prayers with Ben every night, they usually sound something like, "Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and my nice house. Help me to sleep well tonight. Amen."

This prayer jar is filled with tongue-depressors with the names of all of our family on them. Every night, we'll let Ben pick a stick (which he LOVES) and we pray for the person or people on that stick. So far, it's been a big hit. I love that it will teach him to pray for others on a regular basis.

First, I painted all of the tongue-depressors. The main reason I did this was because sharpie usually bleeds on wood, and I wanted to avoid that.

After the paint dried, I wrote all of our family members' names.

Then, I just threw the sticks in a mason jar and tied a few scraps of fabric around the top. I originally painted a green square on the jar where I could write "Prayer Jar," but the paint didn't adhere to the glass and it wiped right off after it dried. I quickly gave up and just scribbled with sharpie directly on the glass.

The great thing about this project was that it only cost $1.27 because I already had everything except the tongue-depressors.
Note: Look and see if there is paint that adheres to glass.

Yesterday, Ben helped me make this crayon monogram for his room.

Okay, he mostly just tried to eat the crayons and I had to wrestle them out of his hands and mouth between hot-gluing them down on the card-stock, but we still did the project "together."

So, those are our crafts from the last few days. I'm starting small, but it feels great to be getting my mojo back!

Ta-Da!

Last year, I ordered this yummy fabric online.
I love those little teapots, but particularly the cups and saucers. The fabric has been neatly folded and sitting on my fabric shelf for over a year. Although I loved the fabric, I had no plans for it. I considered making an apron, but I already have three of those, and how many aprons does one really need?

Last week, I started BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and all the materials I was given required a three-ring binder. My binder was plain black and... plain. Inspiration struck.

A few hours later, I had this cute little quilted binder cover.

I use the bright green ribbon to clip my pens and highlighter.

Let's just say I had quite a bit of pent up crafting energy. At least five months worth. It felt so good to hear my shears slice through that fabric and listen to the glick-glick-glick-glick-glick as my presser foot hopped over those tiny teapots.

What do you think? I think I like it. Perhaps you can look for it soon in an etsy shop near you...

The Couch.

This is our couch:

We bought the couch a few years ago and LOVE it because it is huge. I'm not particularly in love with the fabric or the style, but I love that eight adults can sit on it without awkwardly rubbing shoulders (or hips) with the person sitting next to them. Whether we're hosting guests or it's just Tim and me sprawled out watching a movie, everyone has plenty of room.

When we bought the couch, we didn't really put a lot of thought into a coffee table/ottoman. We currently have a small, rectangular, wooden coffee table that probably should have been replaced a while ago. It wobbles, has rings on it from where we have set hot mugs, and it has sharp corners, which will become quite dangerous when a certain little boy starts pulling up and moving around. We need something new.

As much as we love the couch, I've been pretty stumped by the ottoman deal. The couch is so big that if we only have one ottoman, the people sitting in the middle of the couch have something to rest their feet/drinks/books/whatever on, but the people on the ends are just out of luck. I like the idea of doing side-tables, but there really isn't space to put them without blocking the walking paths through the room. If we do two small ottomans, I'm afraid the space will look cluttered. Annnnd, do the ottoman(s) have to be round to mimic the shape of the couch, or can it/they be square?

I dunno. Waddaya think?

Drapes

Now that I'm officially a stay at home mom, I'm itching to change a few things in our house. I haven't done much in the way of decorating in a while, and everywhere I look, I think, "Hmmm, that could use some updating..."

Now that I'm officially a stay at home mom, we are down to one income. That doesn't exactly bode well for my redecorating fund. Nevertheless, I'm dreaming and surfing design blogs and getting inspired to find some things I can do on the cheap.

I love traditional decor. I want my home to feel comfortable and cozy. I like plaid, stripes, quilts, rag rugs, dishes on display, and warm colors.

For several years, we had some red striped curtains in our living room. They weren't as bad as they sound. They were red and cream and khaki, but they started to look a bit circusy to me, and Tim said they looked like dorm room curtains because they were tab-tops. I washed them once and they shrunk quite a bit and were pretty squatty. Wait, I just found a picture of them.


Okay, they were that bad.

While I was still pregnant, I decided to replace them. Our kitchen and living room are open to each other, and our kitchen is painted a pretty buttercream yellow that makes me really happy. One day, I drove to the design district in Dallas in search of some buttercream colored fabric that would pull the yellow from the kitchen into the living room. I found some, purchased six yards, and came home to make drapes.

Word to the wise: You should NEVER, I repeat, NEVER make design decisions while hormonal. At least I shouldn't. It's like getting a major haircut on a whim. Just. Don't. Do it.

The fabric was a little brighter than buttercream, and by the time the light came through it, it was closer to school bus yellow. I added some dark brown grosgrain ribbon to tie in the pillows on our couch, but alas, these curtains could not be redeemed. Good thing the fabric was cheap.

One of my neighbors told me they remind her of a taxi cab. She's right.

Down, but not defeated, I'm determined to right this hormone-induced wrong.

I love buffalo check. It is versatile and classic, and when used properly, pretty chic.












As much as I love the look, one must be careful about the color and scale, or your living room could end up looking like a cheap motel room in Idaho.

Don't let this happen to you.

While perusing the Calico Corners website the other day, I found exactly what I was looking for- a large, taupe buffalo check. I already had the address to Calico Corners plugged into our GPS when I glanced at the price- $43 per yard. Say WHAT?!?

What are the odds I can make fabulous drapes with half a yard of fabric?