My garden is almost blooming and with it being wedding season I got a little romantic with my tin can vases!

Love, cherish, adore, XOXO are stamped onto the fabric. The fabrics are bleached and non-bleached muslin cut with pinking sheers and wrapped around the cans. I went the lazy route and taped the fabric on but I think hot glue would be better for handling.

All that is missing are flowers!

To download: right click the image or link below, select “save as” and save to your computer.

For personal use only.

Click to download the baby boy 2″ circular topper.

With little luck finding the right oil pan I stopped by Home Depot and asked for metal sheets. For some reason I kept thinking they came as large as plywood and wasn’t sure how I’d cut it down (much less bring it home!), but sure enough they come in nice manageable sizes in the plumbing section. I got the largest one I saw – 24×36 inches for $10.

Once home I realized we’d have to cover the edges to prevent little fingers from getting cut. First I thought about duct taping around the edges and then covering with fabric but that idea was scratched when wasn’t sure how to make the fabric taut. Then one day (about a month later!) while browsing Michaels I saw their large poster frames and it hit me- duh, frame it! Of course I had to make an additional trip since I didn’t know the exact dimensions of the metal sheet. There are quite a few styles to choose from but I went with the basic Michaels frame – $15 on sale!

I brought it home and took out the glass. If you’re careful you can remove it with out breaking it. There is a little double sided tape on all 4 sides to hold the glass on. You guessed it, I was not careful, it broke all over and startled both kids and hubby! I had no plans for the glass but it would have been nice to keep for later. The metal sheet turned out to be a wee too big for the frame but a pair of decent scissors fixed that problem. Less then 1/4 inch was cut off the width and height. It is easy to cut, just don’t use the good scissors!

It still needs to be hung but I’m thinking it might survive propped up as long as they don’t get too rough with it. It was also intended for the Little Peanut but the Little Guy seems to be enjoying it more (I guess he is the right age for the toys we have. Oh and don’t mind the little scar on his nose. He’s been feverishly trying to crawl, got a little rambunctious and bumped his nose on the ground. Good news is he is now crawling, bad news is he is now crawling. Hah! )

Hours of fun for under $25!

One more DIY playroom accessory crossed of the list. Infinite amount more to go.

Initially we were going for pink and blue but a few of the baked goods wanted to be green (something about the chemistry of the foods and coloring. I’m sure I’d know more if I had actually paid attention in chem and color theory!) so we went with it. It all ended up matching pretty well with the table cloth and other decorations.

Here’s a look a the full table spread. Being interactive geeks we had to include the <h1> tags. And oops, it’s been a long time since I actually programmed anything and forgot to add the closing slash.

It was a lot of fun to put together. Everything except for the Peeps and fruit were made by us. I made the cake balls/pops and diaper cakes. It was the first time making them into pops and plan on making more in the future. The chocolate covers so much smoother and doesn’t leave the small puddle of chocolate at the bottom.

The diaper cakes were inspired by Pinterest. I love the swirl look and it was an easy last minute diy project. You can learn to make your own at Creative Diaper Cake Ideas!

I used these cupcake toppers to decorate the cakes:

- Baby shower printables by chickabug (via U-Create)

- Baby girl cupcake toppers

- Baby boy toppers were made by me. I hope to post the pdf soon.

It was a big hit and I had a lot of fun with the planning, baking and decorations.

Special thanks to one of my co-workers for taking the photos!

Last night though after noticing how the strap rubbed up against her neck I made a fun strap cover in her favorite color and slipped it on this morning while she was changing. All she said was, “it’s green!” when she saw it.

While I didn’t follow the tutorial (lazy me didn’t want to go get the computer…) it was based off of the Gathered Camera Strap tutorial from The Cottage Home. The tutorial is great and I had used it to make a camera strap cover for my sister. The only thing I would suggest it cutting the ruffle/gathered fabric wider. I had some problems sewing it to the backing and really had to manipulate the ruffles to get it to fit.

Its a shame this pic turned out blurry. I love her model pose and puckered lips. Such a little diva.

The story about the Littlest Warrior brought tears to my eyes and I knew I wanted to participate. Not only are hats one of my favorite things to knit but all of the items are going to local (MN) children’s hospitals.

Learn more about Craft Hope – www.crafthope.com.

I’m looking forward to the next project already!

When I saw this tutorial from thismamamakesstuff.com I knew I wanted to make it. I also knew I wanted to use the same fabric from the sling but when I went back to JoAnn’s for it I couldn’t find it and neither could the workers. Trusty old Google led me to an etsy store with it in stock.  It cost almost twice as much then the yard I got at JoAnns but I had my heart set on it and also knew I probably wouldn’t find it anywhere else. Totally worth it though because it fits in so well with the boys room decor – blue and red.



To make it special for the boy I also added an applique initial to one of the corners.

The tutorial was great and easy to follow. I love that it didn’t require any turning or bias. The fluffy fabric also allows for some fudging around the corners and hides uneven stitching, not that I do any of those things. Haha.

One last photo of the blanket with Bear Bear. I love love love the soft and fluffy fabric backing. It’s super warm to cuddle under.

While that obsession has died down somewhat, he’s picked up a new one: the performance stage. It’s every aspect of it; the actual physical structure with the curtains and how it opens and closes to the performance – he asked for a microphone stand for Christmas (he already had a microphone) and is constantly entertaining us. 

I knew it was just a matter of time before he would ask me to make him a real stage so I decided to make it a real project for his birthday in a couple of months (it will also be a future blog post). To hold him over until then, I decided that I would make him a play stage that he could use with his other toys and take with him wherever he wanted. I actually got the idea to build a toy stage when I was about to recycle some box lids. With some fabric, craft string and a glue gun I knew I could create a one-of-a-kind, portable stage that could entertain him for as long as his obsession would remain.

I started this project by cutting a piece of cardboard to the dimension of the bottom of the lid and wrapped it in green fabric (his favorite color – according to him, the curtains had to be red). This would serve as the backdrop. Next, I cut out two fabric panels a little larger than the dimension of the lid to allow for some gathering and sewed a 1/2 inch seam. I then punched a hole on the sides of the lid whereby I strung the craft string and the “curtains”. For the stage platform, I cut out another piece of cardboard and wrapped it around a scrap piece of fleece and then hot glued it to the lid. This also helped add a little weight so that the curtains wouldn’t make it too top heavy.

I added some embellishments to dress up the stage using some wood decorations that hung in his room when it was still a nursery (another great way to reuse existing materials). I knew he would want the curtains to remain open during the “performances” so I simply punched some holes to the sides and tied craft string long enough to tie. I even put a hook on the back using a pipe cleaner so that he could hang outside his bedroom door – now talk about a one-of-a-kind door hanging!

This project only took me about 30 minutes to make; the sound of my boy’s squeal made it totally worth it even if it took 3 hours! 

Read part 1 here.

What started in my mind as a reading nook has since turned into just a hideout cuddling corner because she keeps taking the books downstairs.

The canopy is from Ikea. Initially I had planned on DIY but knew it would cost way more then $20. It’s hard to see in the photos but I did add a little DIY touch to it by tying long strips of ribbon to the inside (on the hoop and center) and adding some yellow and green tulle. While putting away the Christmas decorations I thought she might like to have some twinkling lights added to the canopy and sure enough she loved it when I showed her that night.

The photo wall began with the name poster we got from my nephew. He’s only 9 and a great artist! I picked up the three bird prints on the right from JoAnn’s in the clearance section for a a little under $3 each. The two pics in the green frame are from Oohmoon.com. The smaller frames have photos from her 12 month photo session.

I would love to say that this fabric inspired the colors of the room but I actually found it way after we had painted the accent wall but knew it would fit in perfectly the moment I saw it.

The pouf (or floor cushion) in front was made using this tutorial from Living With Punks. I skipped the piping part partially because I was chicken to try it and partially because I couldn’t find the piping section in the store since I was in a hurry. Maybe next time!

The pouf in the back was made from this tutorial from Design*Sponge. The only thing I had trouble with was adding the tuft. I didn’t have a needle long enough and didn’t want to invest in one just for this. I attempted it with a knitting needle (the one to sew up seams) but it was difficult to push it through without loosing it inside!

Eventually I would love to add more pillows and a blanket to make it extra cozy.

I think she likes it!