Playground Love

Finally- after how many months? I’ve pulled my finger out and finally finished A’s bedroom. Ah- as part of the purging process we’ve been going through since the new year (15 bags donated and counting, + countless items posted on Craigslist and at work, 3+ bags for consignment and several bags of trash) I felt ready to finish A’s room. And all it took was hanging up a magnetic board (repurposed from my sewing nook).

And cleaning her room.

And sorting her toys.

And wiping the walls of some funny foot gunk.

While it doesn’t quite look as finished as if a real designer had taken over, I am really pleased at how it turned out. And the irony is that A will probably only have about 10+ months to enjoy it on her own before we meld her and her brother into the same miniscule space. That will be a challenge. So anyhow- guess how much this whole endevour cost, even with second hand bed and new comforter? Supplies cost $184 plus tax (mostly fabric and electrical stuff) + $60 for the comforter set + $100 for the bed. Less than $350 for a whole new room. Fantastic. I long ago lost track of the stuff I sold to conteract any costs I had to incur to complete the projects, but I’m faily certain that I broke even.

Enjoy!

Our fabric tree complete with roosting owl (made by me), a birds nest (made by A) and several fairies (made by S+E) made of fabric flowers

The green book shelves- love these!

While it's true that the tree has seen better days, it's kind of nice that A is interacting with it so much- pulling leaves off here and there and re-sticking them.

All boxes repainted with orange paint (from the master bedroom) and rehung with fun little objects tucked inside

The closet that was a reading nook.

Some vintage treasures from my childhood

More treasures from my childhood (turtle bank) and from M's (lamb night light)

Another vintage treasure hand-made by an aunt and the multi-purpose magnet board for hanging art, etc.

The repurposed/ re-used list:

Pennants:

• felt, twine

Owls

• fabric scraps, batting

Patchwork blanket

• fabric scraps, interfacing, wool blanket

Doll crib + highchair

• repainted crib, recovered dolly mattress, made cushion for highchair out of fabric scraps and left over batting

Book shelves

• re-used paint, wall plugs, screws

Pouf for reading nook

• reused fabric scraps

Fabric wall decal

• fabric scraps, used old box shelves from bath/living room and repainted with paint from master bedroom

Reading Nook:

• repainted shelves with old paint, re-used rope light, mesh curtains, felt, curtain rod and cup hooks

Magnetic board

• repurposed from my sewing nook

The tree with some leaves

This wasn’t nearly so difficult as I thought it might be. It was incredibly time consuming though, or perhaps could be done over the course of a weekend. Lot’s of little tasks and a lot of cutting involved.

Cutting many leaves

But both A and I are super excited with how the tree has turned out. Really pretty and so feminine. I will be looking to ad a few more things to wall over the coming weeks, but am in no hurry to get started on those backburner items.

A posing by the finished tree

The big expenses for this project was the Steam A Seam 2- @ $6/ metre x 4 metres it ran upwards of $24. You could do this project with a lot smaller of a decal, but I wanted this quite big and close to scale. Fabric cost $0 as it was all stuff I had on hand. Still less expensive than many wall decals I have seen in stores and much larger. I ended up selling some of A’s old toys and spent the money on the SAS2 and some strawberry plants I bought for the planter I made (more in the next post).

I was looking back recently to when my first blog post was posted and this week celebrates my one year anniversary. Unbelievable- I cannot understand where the time has gone. I’ve met some really inspiring people over this past year and have jumped into the crafty mama blogosphere head first. I’m in love with so many blogs and projects, that it’s hard to figure out which I love most. To celebrate this past year of crafting,  I have made this cute little wine cozy and I’ll do a random draw for it. To enter the contest, leave a comment in the comments section below (e-mails do not count!). My handy random number picker will choose the winner. Contest closes on Sunday, June 27 at midnight. Thank you and good luck!

Well- this is it. This is what I’ve been wanting to put up on A’s large wall in her room for ages but wasn’t sure how to go about it.Thanks to Sewing for Scarlet for the great how to. When I initialy tried this, I found that the decal left a stain because I immediately tried to pull it off the wall. Once the fabric has had a chance to cool off from the iron, this will peel off nicely without marking up the painted wall beneath!

So the challenge for me was working with something so large with limited amounts of fabric and even more limited amounts of Steam A Seam 2, which is the iron on adhesive used to stick the whole thing to the wall. It turns out, I had the perfect chocolate brown fabric just right for the tree trunk lurking in my fabric stash. The two panels used for the tree were the bottoms of curtains I made shorter a while ago.

First I figured out how big (roughly) I wanted the tree to be and what shape I wanted it to be. I googled tree wall decal images and picked something that I thought I could replicate easily enough. I cannot draw free hand for the life of me, so this is how I do things…

Then I taped together pattern paper and art paper to the size of the tree I was going to draw. I drew it out, making a few adjustments here and there. I cut it out and then hung it up on the wall in A’s room to see where I’d want to centre it.

On the floorl, I laid out the fabric for the tree trunk/ branches and overlaid the paper template on top .On top of this, I placed my one small roll of Steam A Seam 2- you can see the skinny white rectangle covering the middle of the tree section below. I was going to try to avoid seams as I wanted the decal to be one whole piece, but that’s not the way it worked out. The SAS2 is not the same size as the fabric or the pattern, so it will be in sections, which looks fine.

So once everything was laid out on the floor, I traced the pattern onto the roll of Steam A Seam2, taking care to make a mark on each branch where the Steam A Seam 2 didn’t cover. I cut the branches off of the paper pattern and set them aside. Then I cut out the pattern on the SAS2 only. Laying one side of the sticky steam a Seam 2 onto the fabric, and smoothing it out, I then cut out the entire trunk. Remember that if you are following these directions, the fabric will be stuck to the wall in reverse- very important if your fabric has a good side and a bad side or if you are doing letters. If your fabric has a good side/ bad side, make sure to place the SAS2 on top of the bad side.

It’s up on the wall in three sections so far- the trunk and the top branches, and one side branch. I’ve run out of Steam A seam but will probably try to pick some more up this weekend to finish this off. I think I’ll only need another 2 metres of this for the 3 other branches and 50+ leaves I’ll be making to cover the branches.

The project wasn’t so scary once I figured out what I really wanted and what I had to work with. This coming weekend is going to be a busy one. HappyFather’s Day to all the terrific dads I know!

xok

In the last post, I mentioned that I’d be taking a bit of a break from the Zero Cost Challenge project of redecorating A’s room. If you’ve been keeping track, I’ve done 3 out of 4 walls plus a closet and window. I’ve got a grand idea for the fourth and largest wall involving a fabric tree decal as seen on Sewing for Scarlett. I tested this on a spot on our wall and it didn’t peel off as promised and left sticky goop on the walls so am now torn about doing the decals this way. I think the size of the project is intimidating me and this makes me want to step back a bit and take a break. However, I love a good challenge, and I think to make it more manageable, I may document it in smaller steps. Anyone have some nice latex brown paint (nice for a tree trunk brown) they’d like to lend me or do a fabric swap? I’m looking for fabric that’s got nice modern prints with greens in them for leaves.  In keeping with the spirit of the challenge, I am trying to refrain from buying anything (especially paint and MORE fabric) that I cannot reuse.

But I digress, the real purpose of this post it to highlight some of the cutesy items I’ve been making lately:

A’s beautiful sundress. This pattern is from Heather Ross’ Weekend Sewing. I found the pattern to require an excessive amount of fabric. Most of this ends up getting trimmed off. You can use a bit less length wise and about 12 inches less width wise if your keen to try the pattern.

Close up showing smocking

This is A modeling the dress with her cowboy hat and ballerina tutu. What a fashion maven.

A’s super cute shoulder-tied “halter”.

This was inspired by the pillow case dress I made in February when we went to Cabo San Lucas. For the halter, I used up some of the fabric from my most treasured red dress. When I wore this dess and cruised around East Van on my custom baby blue faux cruiser, I could almost smell the Parisian baguettes in my front bike basket. Sigh.

Favorite red dress. ruined. sigh.

I had this for ages but got a rip just below my bust (no idea how that happened!) and it was unfix-able. I also had tried to let out the seams underneath the arms to make room for a bigger bust while pregnant. Bad move. It’s been sitting pretty in my closet because I can’t bear to part with it. I can’t consign it because of the alterations, so I am reusing it.

It’s a pretty simple idea, take a pillow case, use the hemmed bottom and cut above to desired length, make a casing with the raw edge, cut out some ½ circle arm holes. I rolled and finished the arm holes for a cleaner look. Fold, press and sew the fabric strip that becomes the tie, thread it through. I also added the matching ruffle along the bottom in a fit of brilliant inspiration. This was done by making a really long fabric strip  (about 2.5 times the width the circumference of the bottom hem), stitching it with the tension let out and then pulling the thread so that the tie bunched up. I pinned and sewed it from there. These are brief instructions so if you’d like more I’d be happy to share them.

A’s cute tights from old stretchy fabric. I used a pair of her old holey leggings that couldn’t be fixed as a template and made a pattern from them. This was super simple and fast. It took me about 2.5 hours from the creation of the pattern to finished product and I’m not speedy when sewing! I’ll be looking for odds and ends of stretchy fabric now that I know how to make pants. I have an overabundance of elastic (a Value Village score) so A should be set for stretchy leggings now. In our climate, it’s a great way to still wear a skirt but keep the breeze off of young legs.

Shay’s b-day party frock.

Back view showing cross over straps

Front view. Check out the buttons and button holes. Buttonholes!!

Thanks to Soule Mama for turning billions of women on to this pattern from Near Sea Naturals (after it was featured on her blog, NSN experienced a shortage and had to do another run on the pattern). I happened to be one of the people who got backlogged waiting, but am so glad it finally arrived! Shay’s is made of with two gorgeous batik prints. One is a bit more subtle than the other but complement each other well.

I made a vintage fabric- inspired version for A as well:

Front view with vintage buttons

Back view

Product testing

I made something for me after finding some lovely fuschia organic cotton jersey at my last Fabricana trip. I used the “Yard Sale Wrap Skirt” pattern from the Heather Ross Weekend Sewing book and really was not impressed. I’m not going to dwell on patterns, because I hate them. I hate following instructions. However, if I am going to take the time to sit,read and learn, the pattern better be made properly. The “wrap” was ditched in favour of a seam. I kept the tie waistband and made the skirt more of a faux-wrap. I liked this fabric because I didn’t have to finish the edges. It’s the first time I’ve worked with jersey and I don’t really want to work with it again. I really like quilting cotton and wool felt the best.

Love the feel of this- very swingy

Next up:

It’s A’s birthday in a few weeks and I’ll need to start thinking about making some birthday treats. Capes? Felted food? Not sure, yet.

I will have a lot of time this summer. I’m looking forward to getting a break from work. It will be nice to comb the beaches and waterparks with A. Ah summer. It can’t get here fast enough!

I finished the reading nook this weekend and am really happy with how it turned out.

First, I took the closet doors off. This gave us more space to work with (yes, A’s room is that small that folded up doors take up too much room). I repainted some shelves that were already in the closet and found some nice lime green baskets at Walmart ($7/ each)  that complemented the colours in her room. I reused a green basket that was holding some fabric and packed it with books. The turqouise baskets and Ikea boxes were already in the closet, but now look really nice with the contrasting colours of the other baskets.

To make the backdrop inside the closet, I reused a lightweight mesh curtain panel from my bedroom. I traced different sizes of circles in the same felt colours as the pennants I made earlier.  I cut them, pinned them to the area I thought they’d work best and then sewed them.

This was not the easiest fabric to work with because of it’s feel and size. I hand sewed some felt dragonfly and butterfly decals left over from A’s 2nd birthday crowns. Next, I attached the curtain panel to the bottom shelf with a staple gun and slid the shelf onto it’s brackets.

I reused some old rope light from M’s former rock n roll glory days. It was such a happy coincidence that the rope light fit so snugly in between the bottom of the shelf and the top of the supports. I didn’t need to use anything to fasten this and it gives a really nice even line. I plugged this in to a dimmer switch around the corner and behind the dresser (this was M’s idea- what a great way to give A some control over the light and keep it safe). The dimmer switch is so that A can turn the light on and off without having to plug anything into an outlet (since the rope light doesn’t have an on/off switch). I’m not so comfortable with electricity and a toddler.

I used some cup hooks to guide the rope light up the wall and over to the bottom of the shelf and the shelf brackets do the rest.

I furnished the nook w ith the pouf that I posted last week and added another of the same white mesh curtain panels to act as the closet “door.” Instead of using curtain rod brackets, I used fabric squares screwed directly into the inside closet wall. This is so that if A or her friends trip on their way in or out, the panel will not fall down.

I didn’t want to use curtain rod brackets either since I needed the rod to lie flat. I taped the extendable curtain rod into it’s widest position again so that it wouldnt fall out and bonk anyone on the head. I’ve held the curtain back with some fancy ribbon and when A wants some privacy, she can let it out fall shut.

Cost:

• $16 for the dimmer switch
• $0 for curtains
• $0 for green book basket with circles cut out
• $14 for 2 square green fabric boxes
• $0 for a curtain rod
• $0 rope light (pilfrered from M’s long forgotten playing- live-shows-in-the-band box of props)
• $0 paint, hooks, staples, staple gun

Total: $30

I think I’m going to take a bit of a break from the Zero Cost Challenge for a few weeks. I’ve got a tonne of re-painting projects that are lingering in half finished states or projects that I haven’t started yet and feel a bit overwhelmed with trying to get these done. So I am taking the pressure off and focusing on my community garden plot (red peppers, tomatoes, butternut squash, green onions, strawberries, basil, carrots, peas and beans) and on a heap of sewing projects. It’s a bad thing that Fabricana is so close by, and is in fact, the only fabric store anywhere nearby at all. I’m working with an fushia organic cotton jersey that will be a wrap skirt for me. I have a really neat reversable one-piece smock-type dress for A and a birthday gift and a few dresses and tops for A that’s I’ve created recently (and that I’m really proud of!). Thanks to Elsie Marley for the sewing inspiration!

Project 6 of the Zero Cost Challenge in A’s room is the start of creating a reading nook inside A’s closet. Our home is pretty small so I wanted to make the most out of this project and tried to give Amina a nice little private space where she could read books or just hang out.

I’ve been coveting the pouf’s (just a really fancy way of saying pillow) at  The Cross.  The how-to is quite lengthy, but if you are interested in making one for yourself check out the tutorial for the  morrocan pouffe.

I had done the closet up but am not happy with the way it turned out. I’m going to need to spend a bit more time thinking this one out before I post any pics, but I think it will be pretty neat once it’s finished!

I’ve been busy starting projects and only half completing them, so maybe I’ll get the chance to finish some up this weekend. A has chicken pox so we’ve been pretty low key lately. She’s great- hasn’t complained one bit and is not itchy at all. Seems to be a very mild case so we have been really lucky!

Here’s what we’ve been up to during our quarantine:

Playing with playdough: We’ve used the recipe from Mary Ann Kohl’s “Young at Art” and it’s super. I made this recipe about 2 weeks ago and A is still going strong with it:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• food colouring
• 2 TB vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour

Combine water, salt cream of tartar and food colouring in a pot over the stove on low heat. Stir. As the mix heats up, add in the oil and the flour slowly. Keep stirring until the mix looks dry and starts to pull away from the side of the pan. If it’s not sticky, it’s done! We did this with pink and blue (A’s choice).

We’ve also been busy with colouring pasta and incorporating this into our playdough and just transfering it back and forth into different containers for fun.

And lastly, A’s been making wonderful art: We started with oil pastels, added some tempera and water colour paints (water colours will resist where the oil pastels are giving a really neat picture) and then started adding tissue paper, printer paper and other fun mixed media. Voila- a mixed media collage!

A’s process is pretty interesting. She typically starts out with mommy, daddy or A faces and builds from there. There is a sun I helped her with in the corner. She’s been adding swings and slides and other things that we do in our daily routine. So fun and interesting to hear her verbalizing this and incorporating this into her art. Enjoy!

PS- Total cost for the pouf was $16 for the felt.