Bedrest and Breech

This week has been quite hectic and I am sad to say that I won't be crafting for a while. I am in the homestretch of my pregnancy and little Charlie has decided to make it an interesting last couple of weeks! My doctor has put me on bed rest due to high blood pressure and so I won't be doing my usual crafting for quite a while. I might be able to do little projects here and there but for the most part it will be really quiet around here for a while.

Charlie has also decided that he likes his head in my ribcage. He has been breech most of my pregnancy and the chances he'll turn are very small. I had an ultrasound on Tuesday and he has his head against my placenta which is why he can't turn. They normally would try to do a version, where they turn him manually but in his current position it is too dangerous. So unless he decides to turn on his own I will be getting a c-section. I am not too thrilled about it, but I want to do whatever is safest for him.

I hope to be back crafting soon after the baby comes. I was talking to my husband the other day and told him that crafting makes me sane and that I am hoping that I will be able to start crafting again soon. It's what I love doing and enjoy spending my free time doing. I feel it's important to have a hobby where you can get away from the real world and just do something you love. I hope that I won't be too busy for crafting, but I can't say for sure that this will be the case. I am going to try my hardest to make room for it once he comes because I really do love it that much!

Little Birdie Boxes

Hannah's room is slowly coming together. It would probably be done a lot faster if I had more energy. I am nearing the end of this pregnancy and I can honestly say that I am exhausted! I have only been able to craft in spurts. Luckily, I had a crafting spurt last night and got something done for Hannah's room.

I have decided to name these cute little boxes because I think they are so darn cute! :)

They are my little birdie boxes. If you are new to my blog you will have realized I have a new found fascination with birds. This may or may not be a good thing...I haven't decided yet. :)

These little boxes didn't take much time at all. I would say about an hour to complete all three of them. It would be faster if you didn't have to wait for paint to dry! I HATE waiting for paint to dry.

Tutorial:

Supplies Needed

3 stackable paper mache boxes

3 coordinating paint colors

Scrapbook paper

Ribbon

Hot Glue

Sandpaper

Mod Podge

Step 1: Paint your box.

Step 2: Distress your box. To do this I got some antique white paint and then dry brushed it on very lightly and then sanded it off.

Step 3: Cut out a strip of scrapbook paper and mod podge it on your box.

Step 4: Hot glue your ribbon onto your box

Step 5: make a bow and hot glue it onto the front of your box.

These look perfect in her room and I can't decided where to put them. They are on her dresser right now, but that was for picture taking purposes only. Hannah cannot be trusted with something like this in her reach. They would be destroyed within a day! I am thinking on a shelf or something.....we'll have to see.

Button Tree Artwork

I love going to the DI. (For those who don't know what that is, it's like a goodwill or thrift store.) I go there probably once a week. Some might say that's obsessive, but I love it. What I don't love, is the smell...i swear all thrift stores have a smell....and I am not very fond of it.

Anyways, I found a really great frame a couple months back and finally found a use for it. I don't have a before picture of the frame, but it wasn't anything great to look at. It was just a wood frame, but it had some character to it.

So to fix it up, I painted the same color as Hannah's dresser and then used some pink paint to distress it a little and then sanded it. Here is the frame after I finished it. I really love how it turned out and it will go perfect in Hannah's room.

Now, onto what I actually put inside the frame. I love buttons, actually I am obsessed with buttons. I am positive that I have more buttons than is probably necessary. Sometime I will have to take a picture of my button collection, but today I am going to show you my button tree.

I have made something very similar to this for fall decorations and such, but I have never made an everyday button tree. I love how it turned out. It is so simple, but it works.

Here is how I made it:

Supplies Needed:

Foam board

paint

brown cardstock

Green scrapbook paper

buttons

Mod Podge

Hot Glue

Step 1: Paint your base piece. I painted it plain pink and then later decided to add some light pink scrolls, and swirls to add something more.

Step 2: Cut out the tree and hills. For the tree I made this template. I just free-handed the hills.

Step 3: Cut out foam board for your background.

Step 4: Mod podge your tree and hills onto your foam board.

Step 5: Hot glue buttons onto your foam board. I like to lay mine out before hand to make sure I have them right where I want them and then I glue them on.

That's it! You could make this your own by using a different color scheme and background. I made this one to match Hannah's new room re-do. I love how it turned out and best of all Hannah loves it too! She told me it was "bootiful" when I showed it to her. :)

I am participating in the following parties:

Just something i whipped up.

Get Your Craft On!

Whatever Goes Wednesday

Show and Tell Wednesday

I don't know what I was thinking....

The other day I got this BRIGHT idea to completely re-do Hannah's room.

I am 8 1/2 months pregnant.

What am I thinking? This is what I keep asking myself.

I blame it on "nesting" Some people completely clean out their house to get ready for baby...I decide to RE-DECORATE our house before baby.....I think my husband thinks I am absolutely nuts....but he just smiles and says, "whatever you want to do sweetie." I think he knows not to mess with a pregnant woman who is "nesting." :)

Now, I am not by any means done with her room...I just barely started this weekend.

Here are the before Pictures:

(her room was a mess....well that's an understatement....a DISASTER is more like it!)

We started with her dresser. That big ol' ugly brown thing that takes up most the space in her room. :) It probably is way to big of a piece for her room...but hey, we are college students with basically NO BUDGET. So we could not afford to buy a brand new dresser for her.

We decided to revamp it with some paint.

Here is the dresser now.

We painted it a very neutralized green. When I say neutralized..I mean it is almost white with an undertone of green.

I then distressed it with some pink paint and sanded it.

I am really happy with the way it turned out. Now if I could only teach her that her clothes are supposed to stay in her dresser.....then I would be REALLY happy.

Here is my list of projects for her room that may or may not show up on this blog...depending on how well they turn out :)

**Curtains

**Quilt Shelf

**Pillows (these i am worried about..I have never really made a pillow)

**Wall decor (not sure where to go with this one...)

Creepy Crawly Halloween Bow!

I couldn't let Hannah wear her Halloween skirt without some matching hair bows! I had extra ribbon from her wand project...so I made some korker bows and added a plastic spider to the middle to make them creepy crawly Halloween bows!

Supplies Needed:

3 Coordinating types of ribbon
Wooden Dowels
Hair Clips
Hot Glue
2 Plastic Spiders

Step 1: Kork your ribbon.....You can find tutorials everywhere for this. Just google it and you'll find a million. :)

Step 2: Tie your ribbons together

Step 3: Hot glue a plastic spider in the center of your bow

Step 4: Hot glue your bow to your hair clip

Now you have two Creepy Crawly bows! Perfect for Halloween! :)

I just hope she'll wear them....she's scared of the spiders! I guess I'll have to put them in without her looking!

Shabby Witch's Wand

Hannah's Halloween Costume would not be complete without a magic wand, now would it?

She is going to be the cutest witch around when I'm through with her!




Supplies Needed

1 yard each of 5-7 ribbons
1 Wooden Dowel
Black Paint
Hot Glue

Step 1: Cut your wooden dowel to the size you prefer. This dowel is about 18"

Step 2: Paint your dowel black

Step 3: curl your ribbon. (also known as "korking") You can find tutorials everywhere, just google how to make a "korker bow" I korked some of my ribbon and left some of it straight.

Step 4: Lay a straight ribbon across horizontally, this will be used to tie all your ribbons together

Step 5: Arrange your ribbons in a pattern that you like

Step 6: Tie your base ribbon around all the ribbons and tie in a double knot. I made two different bundles of ribbon. So that my wand would be fuller.

Step 7: Tie your two bundles together with another base ribbon

Step 8: Time to glue your dowel onto your ribbon. Place some hot glue right int the center.

Step 9: Place your dowel onto the hot glue and hold until set. I also tied my base ribbon around the dowel after I glued it...to make it more secure. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS!

Now you have a magical witch's wand!

Hannah has been playing with it all afternoon and saying "abra cadabra!"

She can't wait to use it for Halloween!