Woolly Owl Hat
I made this cute little hat from yarn I had leftover from my Half Moon Arm Warmers Pattern. I customized the hat to fit an average 0-3 month size head, so our little guy will actually be able to wear it for the few months of cold weather we have here in the south. You can download the pattern for free on Ravelry here, but I think you will need to set up a Ravelry account first (also no charge.)
Play Gym Re-Make
I picked up a baby play gym/activity mat at a yard sale over the summer for only $1. It was not something I had planned on buying, but for such a low price I figured I couldn't go wrong. I washed it and while it really was in great condition, I couldn't get past the bright colors and "babyish" look to it. Neither Erik or I are a fan of that style. So one afternoon last week, I decided to recover it with some flannel fabric that I had leftover from projects I made last year. Here is a before and after:
To "re-make" the gym, I simply sewed the bottom part as a large "pillowcase" to fit the existing mat. I then stuffed the mat into the cover, sewed it shut, and top stitched on the zoo animal pattern fabric. It was a bit tricky running the whole thick mat through my machine, but we got through it! I removed the fabric from the two bars that criss-cross the top of the gym, and just made new sleeves to fit those. When I sewed those up, I added little yarn loops to hang the links/toys from. I tried to just recover the tummy time pillow, but that ended up not
working out as planned, and I ended up just making a new one of around
the same size. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is place the tabs to attach the bars in a little further towards the center of the mat. You can see in my finished product the blue plastic links in the corners of the mat, but overall it's not a big deal. I still love how it turned out!
I crocheted a simple ring in coordinating colors to hang from above, and still need to figure out a few more toys that will work to hang from the links...
Pear Blanket
I bought the fabric for this blanket a while back, not knowing what I would do with it at the time, but loving it too much to walk away. It turns out I had just the right amount with which to make a blanket!
The top is brown corduroy with aqua polka dots and small green pears, and the back of the blanket is green minky fabric that coordinates perfectly with the green pears. I wanted to add a little something special so it wasn't just two pieces of fabric sewed together, so I decided to make a large pear on the front using a technique called reverse applique. I used this tutorial for the reverse applique (which was really very easy) and then I used this tutorial to sew the blanket together.
After I was done I realized that the front and back didn't stay together in the middle they way I thought it would, and decided I needed to sew them together somehow. My Mom had a great idea, to tack them together with a little bit of DMC floss. It was the perfect solution, and I added the knots (through both layers of fabric) at the top of the pears which actually adds extra cuteness to the blanket.
Hanging Bathroom Shelf
Not everything I have made recently is for the baby! I made this wooden shelf last month after seeing the tutorial on pinterest. It turned out to be the perfect thing to hang above the toilet in our downstairs half-bath. I love it!
I would love to tell you that I made the entire thing out of reclaimed wood and used recycled screws to fasten it together, but that would be a lie. Truth be told, I went to Lowes and bought new materials to make it, and even had them cut the wood for me there. As it turns out, the shelf as instructed in the tutorial would have been huge in that small space, so I did have Erik trim down each board by a few inches. Since it was so heavy when we went to hang it up, and there was no stud conveniently located behind the spot where we put the hook, we ran 4" screws on a diagonal through the shelves and into a stud. The holes are strategically covered up by the decor, and the hook is now purely for decoration. Done and done.
Office Desk: from black to aqua
This isn't so much a craft as it is me just re-painting a piece of furniture, but I still thought I would share it since it is also a "recently made thing!"
When we moved into the new house I brought along this little table that I had been using as my desk at the old house. It is just the right size, however it was painted a shiny black finish and the drawer was a bright green. Erik painted it years ago, and I think I had requested those colors back then. I am no longer interested in black furniture, so I decided to just re-paint it. I took it outside and (wearing a mask) power sanded off as much of the black paint that I could, then put on a coat of light aqua satin finish paint. I bought the premium paint from Lowes as they promised it would only take one coat, and sure enough it did! The desk sits in the corner of my office, and while it looks a little small in this big empty space we will eventually have more furniture in here to fill it up a little better. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the office walls are a light green, the desk is a light teal, and on the drawer is a darker teal porcelain knob. This is where I sit and write almost all my blog posts (as I am right now) so now you can picture me writing as you read this ;)
Hope you enjoyed my recently made things!
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