i make stuff

woodland themed playroom - the tree stump pillows.

how about this lucky little guy?
His loving momma asked me to sew a few pillows for his amazing woodland themed playroom. I'm completely envious of the beautiful tree bookshelf behind him, made by Scott from Woodcurve.

on another front.. the house building is coming along. I've been designing and planning things that will make it home (hence my absense from blogging).
A wonderful creative space for me and the kids is in the works.. so when we're home & settled I'll be back to posting more often.
So hang on for now. I'll check in every now & then. Thanks for stopping by!

the whole world

Cyra has been curious lately about where we live.. where we have gone.. and "the whole world" "do I live in the same world as you mommy?" you can only imagine my response when going on only 4 hours of sleep.. :)

so I thought it was time to hang a map of "the whole world".. I found this adorable children's map via uncomon goods. Framed in a poster frame, bought at target.. I thought down the road.. it would be fun to use dry erase markers to mark places we've been.. places we'd like to go..



it's my new favorite addition to our playroom.. and I'm guessing it might be her's too..

how-to table setting place mat.. freezer paper stenciling

I've been trying to get cyra more involved in meal-times.. so I freezer-paper stenciled place mats with images of silverware and plates.. to "help" her set the table..




I cut the freezer paper using my silhouette.. but you can also go the more traditional route of cutting out the stencil manually..
(I've shared all of my files at the bottom of this post.)
after cutting out your freezer paper.. arrange your stencils and iron them onto your place mat, shiny side down, no steam, med-high heat setting.. I found that the "plastic lined" freezer paper works best for stenciling..


then using a foam brush I painted the place mats with fabric paint with two even coats... allow your place mat to dry entirely before applying the second coat. Once completely dry.. slowly peel off the freezer paper.. and that's it!




here are my files, if you'd like to try this.. be sure to download the JPEGS if you are going to manually cut out your stencil..

Silhouette files (MAC):
Plate Silhouette file
Silverware Silhouette file

If you use a PC and have a Silhouette.. I'm not sure the above files will be compatable on your software, since I use a MAC. You can get around this by downloading the JPEGS, then import them into your Silhouette library and use the trace feature to set up your file. You can also refer to this Help section on the Silhouette site. Importing and cutting other images with the Silhouette

jpegs, if you are going to manualy cut your freezer paper stencil:
silverware JPEG
plate JPEG

here is our first time using them.. cyra thought it would be "silly" to use the painted plate as her plate for lunch... she is just too much.


hope you enjoy this project as much as we do!

the twinery - project one

 


so if you missed my post a couple weeks back.. i'm on the twinery design team.. how fun is that? when i recieved my first packet of lovely twine.. i wanted to design something to display the twine that is simple and functional.. and here is my idea.. a vintage shelf of twine. the vintage spools store and unravel twine as you need it.. and it's also beautiful to look at! 
I'll share below how I built it. very simple.. you'll just need a couple things you may have around your house.
here it is.. the vintage shelf of beautiful twine.

 


you'll need:
twinery twine (of course)
scrap old piece of wood.. 20 inches
vintage spools (ebay is a good resource for these)
wood pegs (you can find these at most craft stores)
small bar picture hanging system.. (home depot 10$)
wood glue
power drill
ruler & pencil

ok. lets get started. first wind your twine..

 

grab your wood.. measure and decide how far apart you want your spools, this would depend on how many colors you are going to display.. etc.. mine are 2 inches apart..


drill your holes..


attach your picture hanging system to the back of the board.. follow directions on the package


sand and glue pegs onto board.. allow to dry


attach to wall.. and enjoy.


now how simple is that?
I have mine hanging over my sewing/craft table..and I'm loving it.

 

weekly board

A couple months back I saw this brilliant idea from Cheri of i am momma, hear me roar..
her weekly board was just what we needed!

With the new baby and her starting school.. our schedules were getting a little overwelming for a three year old to take in... so we got to work. It took me sometime to finally get this project together.. I still want to paint it.. but for now, that will have to wait.

So now cyra can plan her week... deciding when she wants to plan trips to the zoo, park.. or even special cyra-mommy time or cyra-daddy time.. I even drew icons for the weather.. so she knows when it will be rainy, sunny and so on. We're loving this project.

I cut the vinyl days of the week using the Silhouette, everything to build the board I got from Home Depot. It just so happens if you walk (or waddle in my case) into Home Depot, 8 months pregnant.. you can get the guys in lumber to cut things exact sizes :)

dylan's woodland nursery

featured on OHDEEDOH today.. dylan's woodland nursery.
how about those lovely floor pillows? Dylan's Mommy contacted me about a year ago when she was designing this adorable room for him.. I love how it all came together.
Wonder if she'd consider designing my new nursery?

on my sewing table

a few lovely stumps.. out to find new homes via USPS tomorrow morning. i often imagine the homes these will end up in.. with kids that will roll on them, the people that will find comfort resting on them.. this is what i've been up to these past couple days.. maybe it's time to make another little something for baby.. any ideas?
 

 

the bubble station.. how to

many of you have commented recently on the bubble station I made for cyra last year.. we decided to repaint the pot in honor of cyra's favorite color.. so here is a more detailed tutorial with photos!

you will need..
6" flower pot holder
6" azalia pot (these have holes on the sides.. to allow you to tie the pot to the holder.. incase tiny hands want to pick it up)
glue.. (i used gorilla glue)
small round ziploc container with top
spray paint color & primer
cord


1) prime spray paint the pot.. the color of your choosing.. we used ballerina slipper pink
2) when dry, glue a small round disposable plastic container to the bottom.. you'll need something with a lid. I used the Ziplock brand.. I find that they are more durable than most..

3) attach pot holder to wall or fence
4) When everything has dried.. place the pot into the holder and tie into place using the cording.

 

I hope this works as well for everyone as it does for us.. less tears and more bubbles!! I'd love to see photos of your bubble stations if you try this!! Here are also instructions on how to make your own bubble solution..