After weeks and weeks of torrential rain, fog, and cold weather, things have finally dried out and spring is here! This is hands-down my favorite time of year up here on the farm. I will have to post some pictures for you in the next few days of how dang beautiful everything is up here. For now, I will just show you this tiny bit of green that is making my day. My tomatoes and peppers have germinated! Hooray for planning ahead and having a brother who is a scientist and gardening genius! This year I used plastic cups instead of the seed starting trays because they are bigger and I don't have to worry about my plants getting root-bound before I am ready to plant them. In addition to these friendly little sprouts, I've planted my lettuce, peas, beans, chard, and carrots outside (all by seed - I've decided that transplanting anything other than tomatoes and peppers is a waste of time). Fingers crossed on how those turn out - if you've followed my blog for a while you know that I don't have much luck when it comes to actual outside gardening. This year my pest-deterrent efforts have reached an all-time high; after a rabbit made off with two of the brussels sprout plants that I nursed through the whole winter I decided to go all out. Some day I'll show you some pictures of my garden beds - they look like plant jails. It is such an exciting time of year - planning, working in the dirt, choosing what things to grow, plotting the death of all snails and gophers within a 3 mile radius... How about you? Are you planting a garden this year?
Here's another of my tentative forays into interior decorating - I'm really not a natural at making the house cute, nor do I have the budget to buy, well, anything. Thinking about redecorating is so overwhelming that I end up frozen in fear, so I've taken to thinking of things in terms of walls. This time I turned my attention to the "wall above the dressers," which has been an ugly area for a long time. Next I figure out what problem I'm trying to solve, which in this case is the fact that there are two completely different dressers crammed right next to each other and this corner is kind of dark. My solution: add color and fun to distract from the dresser situation and bring a feeling of brightness. Enter the banners: I didn't have any money to spend on new decorations, so I decided to make something. I had fabric (of course) and some of this great baker's twine, so I made several strands of bunting to add some color and whimsy.
Next I chose fabric and cut out triangles. I kind of winged it from this point on. I chose fabrics in bright colors that worked in the boys' room but weren't too matchy-matchy. I cut out 3 different sizes of triangles, keeping them pretty small, though you could make them any size you want depending on the space you are hanging the bunting.
The last step is stringing the triangles on the twine (I should really call these low-sew bunting banners since you do have to sew, but no machine is needed and you basically just need the ability to thread a needle and have decent aim). I used the biggest embroidery needle I had so that the twine would fit through the eye. I used lengths of twine about 5 feet long but of course you could make them any length you want. After cutting the twine, I poked my needle through the front upper-right-hand corner of a triangle and then back through the back of the upper left-hand corner. This way the twine runs along the back of the fabric and you don't see it when the bunting is hanging.
I made about 7 different banners using different shape and fabric combinations because I like the circus look of having a big bundle hanging together. Here's the new look - of course I didn't take a before picture because I'd rather forget how this area looked when it was piled with dusty lego cars and orphaned socks.
I had originally planned on hanging these more straight, but I used some pre-existing nails in the wall (seriously, this area was a disaster) and really like how it looks hanging skewy (is that a word?). The street signs are courtesy of my brother's rebellious phase as a teenager, and the button bouquet is something I made a few years ago as a baby shower decoration. The lamp and clock were purchased from Target a few years ago.
I'm pretty excited that I managed to tackle this difficult space without spending any money. Let me know if you decide to make some of these banners - I'd love to see pictures! I'm seeing bunting everywhere in kids room lately and I don't picture myself ever getting tired of it. :)
That's what Moses named this little guy, getting the name from his current favorite movie. This is my first attempt at making anything plush - I got the pattern from Bit of Whimsy Prims on etsy. I think he turned out pretty great for a first try, but since I am a perfectionist, we will be keeping this guy rather than gifting him as first intended. I wanted to try using this minky fabric for the body, and even though it was really slippery, it worked fine. However, I think he might look cuter if his head and body fabric match. I've already cut out the fabric for attempt #2 and hope to sew him up soon.
This is a seriously fun project - another great way to use up scrap fabric. I have so many Christmas projects going on right now that I can hardly decide what to work on. I'm finishing up two knitted gifts, need to baste the quilt I'm making for Titus, hope to make two of these foxes as well as a couple of dinosaurs... and then there are teacher gifts to figure out and BAKING. Sounds totally hectic, but I love it. Christmas is such a wonderful excuse to make things. How about you - are you making any gifts this year?
It seems that I get the crafting itch even more than usual near the holidays - of course, I am also so busy with the normal activities of being mommy and running Junie None that I seldom get beyond the gathering ideas phase. So I thought I'd share some of my I-wish-I had-time to-do-it crafting plans - maybe you are better organized than me! (and if you make any of these things you must send me pictures...)
Then there are these darling dinosaurs I'm thinking of making for a certain dino-obsessed two-year-old I know. You can order the instructions from Bit of Whimsy Prims on etsy, as well as tons of other darling patterns. A definite must-see for you crafty gift-givers.
I've promised myself that I will make these velvet flowers for my house some day - the instructions are in the November issue of Martha Stewart Living (thanks again Jess!) Aren't they so cool?! And they look really easy to make, too.
Then there is this adorable notebook pattern I found on Sew Mama Sew. The tutorial is put together by Jennifer from J Casa, another of my favorite etsy shops. This would make such a great gift, and she shows a bunch of cute ways to personalize it with embroidery.
After:
(Again, I took these pictures at night, when most of my sewing happens, so the lighting is weird.) I'm super happy with how this turned out and had so much fun making it since I know the little girl it's for. Enjoy, Baby Elle!
1.) Cut a 1-2 inch wide strip off the bottom (short end) of an old towel. I've found that a thread-bare towel works best - those plush towels are hard to cut through and a bit cumbersome once you put it on your kid.
Yesterday I got the urge to make something for myself (which happens quite rarely) and found, miraculously, that I had a bit of time to do it. So I made these dryer sachets, which I have already used to death (coincidentally, yesterday was laundry day). What makes these so great is that they can be used instead of dryer sheets to lightly scent your laundry WITHOUT irritating sensitive skin. I thought I was doomed to a lifetime of clean laundry that smelled like ... nothing. But now my kids can smell lovely without breaking out in a rash. Yes! Plus, they are reusable, making them both budget and earth friendly.
These are super easy to make - basically the same idea as the bean bags but without the beans. Cut out two 5" x 5" squares of fabric (or, if you've misplaced your ruler, just trace around one of the square children's books lying around the house), and pin them together with right sides facing each other. Sew around the perimeter leaving a small opening for turning and stuffing. Turn 'em right-side-out, iron them, then stuff with something lovely. I made four, and stuffed three with lavender (which I bought here). I filled the fourth with whole cloves and two cinnamon sticks as an experiment, and it turned out awesome. Moses requested that I make more of those because it makes his pants "smell like ginger cookies." A feat indeed. I'm so happy I made these - it made laundry day a whole lot more fun. :)
