Nursery Update

The nursery is coming right along. In fact, I'd say it was darn near complete. There are only two things missing - the glider/ottoman and two frames that go above the crib.

At our baby shower, baby and I sort of made out like bandits! All of the darling gifts we received have been hung, set up or put in their place and boy am I ready - she just needs to cook and grow for a couple more months. Having the shower early was really great - I wanted to make sure my mom and step-mom could both be there and this was the best date - but it makes for a long 2.5 months remaining in my pregnancy! :-) Nesting is so fun!

Thank You Cards

Using the same basic layout and tweaking it a little, I made my first set of Thank You cards, or a set of cards of any kind for that matter!  I used a stamp pad to antique the edges, the Cricut for shapes, some scraps from previous projects, some paper I bought at Wal-Mart and a few embellishments. It was fun and I will have lots left over!

My dad had a bunch of school pictures in a packet so I decided I would make my first attempt at a real live scrapbook page. That will likely be the next little project I take on.

Ribbon Lamp Shade

I found this lamp base at Wal-Mart for $8.95. There was a white lamp shade on clearance for $5 so I got it and hot glued various ribbons to the top. I trimmed each ribbon with pinking shears on both ends, glued them on, then added the pink ribbon at the bottom of the shade, the brown ribbon at the top of the shade for trim and the pink satin bow. I love how it looks in the nursery! Too bad I can't find a light bulb!

Coming soon:  Card making!  I can't believe I actually made all these cards!  Thank you, Cricut, for giving me the ability to be crafty when I never thought I could be. It has been a really fun project.  They are not done yet, but I will post when they are.  

Tutu Tutorial

This ribbon-waisted tutu is for a newborn.  You may need to adjust the length of your strips to accommodate a larger size.

My husband made so much fun of me for crocheting during my last three pregnancies that I let my pride get the best of me and decided not to crochet a blanket for this baby.  Instead, I took on a much smaller, simpler project - making a tutu.  There are so many adorable tutus on Etsy, I figured I could do it!  Well, it's more difficult than I expected! The desired effect would have been much cleaner had I purchased tulle ribbon instead of cutting strips myself.  Next time.  

But, for my fellow non-perfectionists who want to attempt this, here's what I did...

Materials needed for this project:

approx. 3-5 yards of tulle (two or more different colors)

ribbon

scissors

STEP ONE - CUT RIBBON

Cut a length of ribbon twice as long as the desired waist measurement.

STEP TWO - CUT STRIPS OF TULLE

Note: I cut each strip as close to 1.5 inches as I could, though I admit I wasn't very meticulous.

Cut 1.5 inch strips, then fold and cut in half - should be 18-24 inches long.

STEP THREE - GATHER, CUT AND TIE TULLE

Note: Because my tutu is for a newborn, I found it easier to gather, cut and tie the final tulle strips at the same time. If you are making this for an older child, gather 8 of the longer strips together and don't cut them in half again.  If you are making it for an adult, perhaps 10-12 strips will be necessary to achieve the desired fullness.

 

Gather four strips together.  Fold in half and cut in half.  You should have 8 strips.

Loop the 8 strips in half again, place below the ribbon and tuck the ends through the loop, as in the illustration.

Pull taut

Repeat until tutu is full and desired length has been reached.

STEP FOUR - TRIM AND TIE

Trim the ribbon, folding end in half to get a finished edge.

Tie your bow!

And the finished product looks like this...a little messier than my Etsy counterparts, but still pretty cute!

The Nursery - Personalized Wood Letters

This isn't a Cricut project, but I may as well post all my DIY projects here.

This project requires the following materials:

Wood letters with pre-drilled hole for hanging (I got these at Wal-Mart, pre-primed)

primer (if not pre-primed)

paint (if not painted)

sand paper/block

approx. 3 yards ribbon

hot glue gun

hot glue

nails

hammer

METHOD:

 

• Prime and paint your letters. I only painted one coat, then sanded the edges for a distressed look

While letters are drying, do the following: 

• Cut 2 ribbons of equal size for each letter, angling one end and cutting straight across on the other.  Mine were about 24 inches long. 

• Tie a bow with each pair of ribbons, angled ends at the top.

Once paint is dry, finish the project:

• Sand the edges

• Hot glue the straight edges of the ribbons to the letters

• Hang letters first, then stretch ribbons up and nail them in

Her changing table will be here on Monday and it will go beneath her name.  So fun!