Soft Letters

I have a confession. 

I'm starting to get nervous. 

There are only 4 weeks until I become a parent and my life changes forever. 4 WEEKS!?

I feel like I've been waiting for this time in my life to come for years, yet now that I'm faced with it I CANNOT wrap my head around it. There was a while there around the 3rd-4th month of pregnancy, that I was rather freaked out and nervous about giving birth. Now I feel like labour and delivery aren't even on my radar of anxiety but the thought of caring for a child every second of the day has become my main source of butterflies.

I know this will pass and I'll be filled with all the excitement that is deep down under the anxiety, but it's still a tough pill to swallow at the moment. Thankfully I do have 4 long weeks left to enjoy as simply a wife and not yet a mother, and I plan doing more things for me while I still can.

But on the topic of more things for the babe...

This was another project inspired by Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing for Baby". I've always been drawn to the idea of having a baby's name spelt out on a wall in their room and these fabric letters just felt more me, than say wooden letters. It was such a super simple and quick project that gives his room just a little more personality. 

Nursery Wall Decor

My baby's room is quickly coming together and it feels so great. With four weeks (or more!) to go until he arrives, I'm quite happy to have his room generally finished. Today I browsed Pinterest for more fun nursery craft ideas as the walls are still a wee bit emptier than I'd like. I found this great polka dot print idea on Apartment Therapy and decided to bring this idea into my son's room.

I had these tiny little canvases stashed away in my craft room for whats felt like years (can't even remember why I bought them in the first place) that seemed like the perfect vehicle for the paper polka dots.

I've put these on the wall near our changing table and hopefully the playful pops of colour will captivate his attention while we get down to the dirty business of all those diaper changes.

Home Making

The last few weeks have been full of literal "home making", and it's been so exciting to watch our house slowly turn into a home. One day last week while painting our bedroom I thought "Geez I really miss the days when my days spent working around the house were simple things like cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc." because now a day spent working around the house has an all new meaning and it sometimes feels never ending. But I guess that's the fun of home owning right?

But truthfully as each room comes together I just can't stop staring in amazement and disbelief. Then I realize that (holy crap!) it's OUR house and we OWN it and will hopefully live here for a VERY long time.

I feel like with all the work we've been putting in fixing up our new home I need to show a little tidbit so far. The following are before and after photos of our downstairs bathroom.

3D Paper Garland

More cute paper garland! I can't stop!

Actually this is the first garland I started last week but somehow it got pushed aside once I started cutting out the glittery circles for the other holiday garland I made. 

To make these I folded a couple circles in half and then glued one half to another half, and kept gluing the folded circles to each other until I was happy with the amount of layers. Then I just put thread in the middle (where all the folded edges meet) and glued the last two sides together. 

I think the little 3D circles would make really cute simple ornaments for a christmas tree and the flat strands of circles would look great acting as ribbon on a present. 

Looks like I've got more crafting to do!

Metallic Paper Garland

I'm really not a glittery person.
Aside from a pair of black sequinned leggings I bought 2 years ago, and maybe some glittery eye shadow I wore as a teenager, I think I can safely say I don't really like glitter.
That is however until Dec 1st hits and I'm transported into a world where silver, gold and all things shimmery feel almost necessary. Maybe it's because winter is so white, cold, and drab that I feel like I need a something sparkly to catch the light and brighten up my day.

This garland was super simple to make. I used a large paper punch to create all the circles and then just sewed them together with my sewing machine. Since my metallic paper wasn't double sided I had to use sew two together back to back so that there wouldn't be plain white sides of the garland showing. I think the fact that it's doubled up and therefore sturdier will help it last for at least a few years.

Wonky Stripes Baby Quilt

The first time my friend Lisa told me about her experience of adopting a child from Ethiopia, I struggled to keep the tears back. Her adoption story was so beautiful and touching I think it would be impossible for someone to not be moved by it. She's such a energizing and selfless woman who was clearly changed forever the day she brought back her little girl. When Lisa recently told me she was going to back to Ethiopia this winter and was organizing a fundraiser for C.H.O.I.R. I knew immediately that I wanted to help.

The fundraiser is in the form of a shopping event featuring handmade artisan gifts with a child in mind. I've clearly had children on my mind for quite sometime now so it felt really natural to make another craft intended for a child.

This is the first quilt I've made for someone else other than myself and I must say I'm pretty sad to have to see it go! Good thing I can just make another one.

If you live in the Halifax area come check out Handsmade for Helping at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth on Thursday November 3rd at 6:30pm. This quilt will be for sale as well as pottery, textiles, rugs, jewelry and so much more. 100% of all proceeds will go to C.H.O.I.R.

Another Log Cabin Pillow

Despite my attempts to keep my bedding from looking so "matchy matchy" I just couldn't help but make some cute brown log cabin throw pillows to go with our new duvet.

With some new pink striped pillow cases I also made (and some floral ones not shown) I felt like I needed to tone down the girliness by adding some more muted tones to the bed. I mean I do have to share this room with someone else, who happens to be a man. He politely says he loves it all, and I love him all the more for it.

Decoupaged Serving Tray

We love to entertain outdoors whenever the weather co-operates and this tray is going to be just perfect for toting all of our edible (and drinkable) creations out to our guests. When my mother found this beautiful old serving tray in an antique store she knew that my husband and I could put it to good use and gave it to us as a birthday gift. However it needed a major facelift, but again she knew that would be right up my alley. Thanks Mum!

Log Cabin Duvet Cover

It's about time our bedroom got a pick-me-up. As much as I love the last duvet cover I made, I've been itching to have something a little bolder on our bed. I know that this collection of fabrics might not look "bold" to some, but compared to the very beige palette of the last one I made this feels quite refreshing and perky.

The other side is made up of oversized simple stripes of navy and two shades of beige. I'm planning on making lots of pillow cases to go with this new cover but I think I'm going to try to make them less "matchy matchy" than the old set of bedding. Maybe throw in a few other fabrics that aren't in the duvet but are complimentary. 

Patchwork Shower Curtain

There's nothing like sensing an approaching season change to inspire you to redecorate around your home. 

Our bathroom was in serious need of some colour and life. Now of course I feel the need to knit a new bathmat to match. Another project to add to the ever growing to-do list!

Striped Baby Blanket

When I learned that one of my friends would be having a baby I promptly started dreaming up knitting projects for the new arrival. I remembered her showing me these blankets from Purl Soho that she adored months and months ago, long before she was even pregnant, so I decided to surprise her with my own version.
One evening while having dinner with her and husband we start talking about knitting and she begins to show me a new project she's working on. "It's this really simple baby blanket", she says as she pulls out the beginning of the blanket from her bag. As soon as I saw the wide stripes of bold color I knew we were making the same blanket. I pulled out my own unfinished baby blanket to show her and she laughed in surprise and delight.
It was a funny but pleasant way to be reminded of our friendship, and at least I know she's going to like it!

Patio Flowers

It's really the "little things" about summer that I love so much. Like drinking coffee in the warmth of the morning sun, eating fresh berries by the handful, or the good night sleep I always get after a late night lake swim.

Today it was making tiny floral arrangements with flowers from my tiny patio garden that gave me such a sense of pure summer joy.

Log Cabin Pillows

Do you ever get a little too excited at those first few signs of spring? While I'm proud to say I'm not one of those weirdo's who starts wearing shorts and sandals in May, I do however have occasional delusional thoughts that as soon as the sun comes out it must mean that summer's just around the corner and I'd better start outfitting my home for it today. But of course in typical Nova Scotia fashion the sun disappears for another few weeks only to be replaced by rain, rain, fog, drizzle, and clouds.
Which perfectly describes today, the day I've finished some summery pillows for my patio seating. I know I should really just stuff them in the closet seeing as how they won't be used for another few weeks, but how can I hide my pretty new creations? (This is what I said to my husband when he asked why the couch was suddenly overrun with pillows)

Reversible Placemats

As I lay in bed this morning not quite awake, the idea to make some cute and summery placemats popped into my head. Now that I really think about it, a lot of my sewing project ideas usually start this way. What is it about lying in bed, slowly waking that seems to stimulate my brain in this way? I think it's a bit odd...but I'm not complaining.

Long and Narrow Patchwork Quilt

This quilt has taken me far too long to complete.
You see quilts are just so...BIG, that after that initial excitement of creating something new dies you're just left with the daunting task of spending hours (and months) finishing it. Am I the only one who would rather push it aside and pick up something fresh and fun, something that can be made and enjoyed so much quicker?

Log Cabin Rug

Thanks to Mason Dixon Knitting (and their wonderful tutorial) I have just completed my first knitted log cabin pattern!
Sure it's not perfect (aren't you used to that by now with my creations?), there are some slightly crooked edges here and there, but I think once I block it and attach it to a non-slip rug backing I think it'll look just fine. Besides, it is only to wipe off our feet with.

Pillows

My favourite part of getting a new sofa is having an excuse to make new pillows to go along with it.
This was my first time making a round tufted pillow and it was fairly successful, but still a little wonky. Just enough wonkiness to make it charming I think.

Pillow Cases

Boy oh boy, do I ever have sewing fever! I actually woke up this morning at 5am with thoughts of making a high waisted full skirt.
I never did fall back asleep, but the sensible and rational side of myself said "Now, now as exciting as it would be to make a skirt, shouldn't you finish what you started?"

So being a good girl, I finished my pillow cases using the leftover scraps from my duvet cover.
And now that those are done there's nothing stopping me from moving onto much more exciting things, like skirts!

Duvet Cover

I can't think of a better way to spend a wintery day than sprucing up the ol' homestead.

Using old sheets, and my current duvet as a guide I made this cute reversible duvet cover. I had already made some pillow covers with the same fabric, and soon I'll bust out some simple pillow cases to match as well.

Christmas Stockings

I have spent a long time pondering what style of stocking I'd like to make for my husband and I.
This is the first year we're not spending the holidays with family, therefore the first year we won't be stuffing gifts into my mother's hand made stockings that I've had since childhood.
Trust me when I say that I'm a bit of a Christmas-a-holic and that deciding on new stockings felt like a big deal.

The stockings we had growing up with were made of red felt with metallic rick rack trim, our name spelt out in felt letters, and a bell on the toe. I loved them. But I wanted something more....us.
After browsing through some holiday decorating ideas online I came across the cutest rustic christmas scene complete with wool socks as stockings, and knew I had found the inspiration I was looking for.