Room Progress

The purple paint is officially gone! It took me nearly a week from start to finish but I finally repainted the room and I love it. The paint ended up having a soft lavender highlight that I didn't notice before but it's not overwhelming. Can't say I enjoyed the process but I do enjoy the result!

The fun part begins now (or it began on Saturday when I finished). I started planning what would go where on the walls and how exactly I want her room to feel. For a few months I've saved postcards, photos, birthday cards, book jackets and things like that to potentially use in her room. Cheap art! Why not? I'm still tweaking it and there are still a few spaces that I am working on ideas for but it's coming along!

Two of the decorations I actually made this week. The first was a banner with her name. We are working on name recognition and I think it's a nice room accessory in general. I found this lovely free printable on Pinterest and printed out her name along with the stars and used some twine and a fat needle to string them up.

 

She loves it!

 

 

My next little project was just painting a cardboard number 3. Again, it is useful in teaching! And just a fun little bit to have on the wall. I found this at the store for around a dollar and brought it home for painting. I chose an aqua color because it's just one of the happiest colors ever.

 

And here it is all happy and bright and fun on her wall. Right under Olivia, a book jacket I saved, and above her monster calendar, another freebie that I found.  It looks so cute!

 

Some other room views-

 

 

The bunting was used for her birthday party and is now one of her favorite things in her room. Butterfly stickers are also a favorite and a gift from my mother. Over her bookcase are pictures of our little family, including Alice Mae when she was just a little flutter in my uterus. <3 Also some postcards that I've collected through the years. The Love Monster is another book jacket and the Spiderman is from her box of candy on Valentine's day. It's really easy to save things and use them as fun, interesting wall art. Cheap! Recycling! Good things.

 

I still have some projects. The list-

 

-painting the inside of her closet

-adding a closet organizer for PJs, undies, socks, etc

-adding cuter bins for her toys

-making some fun art for over her dresser

-repainting her dresser from green to aqua

-adding blinds

-adding a place for her to display her own artwork

-a few more pieces for the walls

 

It looks long but actually I think it is a pretty easy list! I plan on starting a few of those today. And then it will be on to tackle our bedroom and the first born's.

Baking Bread

I have been bread obsessed. Cinnamon banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread, beer bread, rolls. You name it.

I love baking. I had never tried bread until maybe a year ago. I have a trusty bread machine but there is something beautiful and fulfilling to me about taking a few hours out of my day and loving on some yeasty dough.

I love the frothy sugar water and mixing it all together with a wooden spoon. I love that my daughter is so invested in the process and that my kids watch the unveiling of the dough with big wide eyes and are thrilled to see how it has expanded. I love that they want to punch the dough down and help me knead it. I love the smell of the yeast in the bread and the smell of it baking. I love cutting the first slice and taking that delicious warm bite and passing slices to everyone. It is a true gift, to break bread with your loved ones. To take something that you worked hard on and put so much time into and watch your family enjoy it.

 



Probably my very favorite part was asking Oliver if wanted any boysenberry jam and him exclaiming 'boys?! in berries?!'. Haha! What a goose.

We also have immensely enjoyed a large supply of lemon coconut pixies this week. Delicious, flaky little things.

 

 

Currently I have some beer bread baking away! We'll have some fancy grilled cheese sandwiches tonight. The process of bread making just never gets old to me. It is always interesting and relaxing and fun and with such a yummy result.



Bitty Things

It's Mother's Day weekend and I plan to spend it making pies and watching Doctor Who. :) But I wanted to pop in with a little baby stuff update.

I finished my loopy love blanket and I ADORE it. It's beautiful and soft (I used Caron Simply Soft) and feels like a cloud.

 

 

I also made some baby booties to go with the blanket-

And here is everything all ready to be packaged up. Blanket, booties and a little purple octopus rattle.

 

 

I do really love making stuff for babies and kids. It's my favorite.

 

 

A very happy mother's day to us all. <3

Chugging Along

I finished my mother's day bag! I love it and I think Mama will too.

It was easy peasy. I made a ton of granny squares with 3 rounds each (27 squares, 9 rows of 3 including the bottom) and sewed them all together with a plain old wip stitch. I added a sweet scalloped edge.Then I picked out some pretty fabric and sewed it into a simple square with a double folded hemmed top and fit that inside it and hand sewed it in-

And then I made some straps that are 95 chains long each. I half double crocheted all the way down the length in white, then made 1 single crochet stripe each of green and purple and then another half double crochet stripe in white. Hand sewed those suckers in and voila. I do wish I'd thought to sew the straps on first so that they could be behind the fabric. Next time!

 

I will make notes of some changes I'd like to make next time. I'm hoping to make one like this for myself soon but maybe a tad bit bigger so that I can carry around lots of books and projects and such.

 

 

Currently on the hook, the Loopy Love Blanket from Moogly-

 

 

I have a friend due with her first baby in July and I'm working hard on this for her shower gift in 2 weeks. I'm a little over halfway done! I'm enjoying it. It's easy and quick. Making baby stuff and things for kids is my favorite.