My newest crafty attempt

Hello. I'm back. For now, at least. 

Summer was great, Ty has started Kindergarten (!), and I've been crafting up a storm. So much craftiness around here that I haven't wanted to take the time to share any of it! I am completely hooked on sites like Pinterest and CraftGawker, both of which have handy iPhone apps, so I can get ideas constantly. There are seriously not enough hours in the day to try all the stuff I'm dying to try. 

My latest attempt. which I am now obsessed with, is embroidery. It is so fun! I've been googling all kinds of different stitches to learn. 

Recently I bought a box of Kleenex tissues, not because we needed them, but because the box was so adorable. It had the cutest monsters all over it. It occurred to me in the grocery store that they would make an awesome embroidery pattern... and so they did!

These were my four favorites. 

Love these silly little guys. I intend to sew up something for one of the boys out of the embroidered gray fabric, but have yet to decide what. Suggestions?

This owl I saw on craftgawker, and had to give it a try. It's a bit crooked because this was before I learned to trace the drawing onto the fabric, so I drew him freehand. He's perfect for Beckham's room. This wall with the wooden owl art was always missing something. 

I love his eyes. 

Becks loves him too. He loves "counting" all his owls before bed. "one, two, two, one."

Curtains for Beckham

My perfect sleeper went through an unwelcome phase a month or so ago, when the sun would beat through his many bedroom windows (2 of which face east) and wake him promptly at 6am. This does not work for me. Nor for him- he would be ultra cranky all morning and need an earlier nap, which made for a longer and crankier afternoon... not a good schedule for us. 

So I decided to sew some curtains to help darken his room in the mornings. Also for bedtime, since it's still light out at 7 when he goes to bed. 

I found this adorable owl fabric quite a while ago and bought a yard of it, knowing it would be perfect in Becks' owl room but without a plan in mind. One yard isn't enough to cover his three windows but I thought this owl fabric would make a great accent for curtains. So I headed to my local fabric store in search of something sort of neutral to complement it, and also match his room. I wanted something heavy to block the light, but not too expensive... tough criteria!

My husband stumbled upon this celery green fabric on the clearance rack... it was home deco weight and width, and lined- just what I needed! Plus it has this great velvety texture, almost chenille-like. And the best part? There were exactly 4 yards, clearance priced at around $3 a yard!

So here is what I put together with my fabrics: 

This is his single window, and I could've used a bit more than the 4 yards of fabric to make the curtains more ruffly when closed, but I think it looks great as is. Beckham loves these owls. He points at them whenever I change his diaper and makes hooting sounds. 

Here they are opened. 

This is the double, east-facing window wall. This heavy fabric really does block the light- completely solved the 6am problem.

Aren't they cute?! Most owl fabrics I find are super girly. I was thrilled when I saw this one in neutral, woodsy colors. It's a pretty heavy, canvas-like texture. 

Lined! You can see the texture of the green fabric pretty well in this pic. It almost looks like some kind of upholstery fabric to me. I could see a fab vintage love seat recovered in this. 

I had a couple small pieces of the owl fabric left over so I sewed up a simple little pillow for Beckham's chair...

...and backed it in green with a little appliqued owl.

My baby loves it. I love when I can sew things for my boys; it's so much harder to find cute handmade ideas for boys. 

Secret project revealed! And a little hoot...

Ta-Daaa! It's finally finished: my mom's birthday quilt. Her favorite color is green, as you can tell. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! But that's just because these fabrics are so gorgeous... my sewing is still not great.

I couldn't reveal this project last week since it was a surprise for her. We all had a great time celebrating her special day the very way she wanted: Sitting on the upper deck at McMenamin's Edgefield with wine and pizza, listening to one of the outdoor concerts held there. Just happened to be Steve Miller Band, which was pretty fun! If you are local and haven't been there, it's really one of the coolest, most unique sites around. Restaurants, hotel, pub, 5 or 6 different bars, winery with tasting room, distillery, golf course, movie theater, gardens galore, live music all the time... and surprisingly kid friendly! We go there often. Actually had the rehearsal dinner for our wedding there.

[Ah, love my little sweetie]

I just had to share this next project, because it turned out so cute! I wanted a cute stuffed owl for Beckham's room, and found tons of gorgeous ones on etsy... but they were expensive! And rightfully so- some people are so talented. This one doesn't even compare, but I made it myself! With fabric I had lying around! So it was basically free. I did buy the stuffing at the fabric store with a 50% coupon. But otherwise free!

Isn't he cute? We named him Oliver. I know, not very creative. But Beckham doesn't care.

He has the softest, fuzzy belly and wings. And a little heart on his bottom, but I forgot to take a pic of that.

And he was pretty easy to make! And so fun! I'm making another one now. Why, I don't know. Maybe Oliver needs a friend. :)

A Tour of Beckham's Nursery

When we found out we were having a boy, my husband came up with the idea for an owl-themed nursery, which I instantly loved. I guess it would have been just as cute for a girl... anyway. I loved that it was unique and something that could grow with him. So of course, I got on Etsy and had a bit of fun.

We painted the room a great robin's egg blue and chocolate brown. Then I ordered these birch trees, which go floor to ceiling on one entire wall. They looked so cool! Beckham loved the contrast and stared at them very early on. 

Then I found this great seller who makes eco-friendly wood and paper collages, so I ordered a custom one, plus an adorable pegboard. 

I also got this super cute box that I keep pacifiers in...

and these vinyl owl decals to perch above his door.

Then I got crafty! I never found a mobile that I loved on Etsy, so I sewed some cute little felt owls and made my own. 

I got a bit carried away sewing these little owls. I made some more as gifts, and then I appliqued one onto a onesie of Beckham's....

A few more crafts:

a memory bucket

and a magnet board!

More cloth diapers... and a few owls

My good friend Becky, who recently switched to cloth for her gorgeous little one, showed me this owl diaper that she ordered from this Etsy seller. I HAD to post about it, because not only is it so stinkin' cute, it was only $10! And the seller does custom orders! Working on convincing hubby that I need just one more diaper.... Perhaps the John Deere one? Or maybe a custom boy owl print? Like this?

And while I was searching owls, I found this! How cute would it be in Beckham's owl-themed nursery? I may have to find a way to create one of these myself because I can't really justify $55 for an owl garland.

What a great idea, wrapping gifts in fabric! These are Japanese Furoshiki; eco-friendly and reusable! Plus gorgeous! I'd sure love a gift wrapped in one of these.