Felt Flower Scarf

***Update:  The Felt Flower Scarf Tutorial is now available!!***

You know what fits in your last little bit of pregnancy?  NOTHING!
Don't get me wrong, I'll squeeze my swollen sausage-y self into those maternity pants if I have to, but I'm not going to like it, and I'm not going to be comfortable.  Good thing those sweet babies are worth every single second of it all!

So what's a girl to do to feel like she's still making an effort at "getting ready?"  Is there a magical pair of earrings you throw on?  Or does slapping some lip gloss on do it for you?  I try to avoid making direct eye contact with my puffy limbs and face for the last few months of pregnancy, (I swell people... in the Michelin kind of way) so I figured I'd try making a scarf to take the focus off my "swell." :)

Thus, the felt flower scarf!

I bought 3/4 yard of felt at Joann's for 50% off.  It was more than double of what I ended up using, so I figure this scarf cost me a little less than $1.50.  Plus!  Yep, there's more. (I know, I really should have focused my career on info-mercials.) I can still wear it after the baby comes!  Love me an inexpensive accessory!

So, go get some felt and make yourself a fun scarf! I plan to do at least one more... of every color available.  It's good to be rational about your crafting and accessory needs. :)

Nursery Reveal

Here is baby girl's room all finished up.

It was so fun putting so many random thoughts together into one project.  I hope she likes it!  Okay, I realize she's probably not going to care much :)  I do hope she feels comfortable and safe in here though!

You can read more about the individual projects in my previous posts.

Trellis Walls

 Wall Canvas

Bumper Pad Tutorial

Bow/Headband Holder

Old Frame Turned Bow Holder

Okay, this is the last project from baby girl's room I'm going to show with detail.   Time is running out and all I really want to do for the next little while is sit and read books and build train tracks with my boys all day everyday!
That's the stage of nesting I'm in... the "do nothing but soak in life as it is at this exact moment, because it will never ever be the same again stage."

This frame had been in my parent's basement for years.  I'd asked about it a few times, but never actually took it until about a year ago.  This frame was the beginning of our "1 year" rule at my house. 
After a Sunday dinner at my parent's house, my husband loaded the kids in the car and I walked out a minute later carrying this dusty old oval frame.  The only thing he said when he saw it was, "No." 

I convinced him that it wouldn't just sit around our house forever. (like that's ever happened!!!...  oh wait.)   Even though I had no plan for it at the time, I knew it could be something really beautiful someday.
I promised that I'd find a use for it within a year or else I'd get rid of it.  That was last November.  Finished this one just in time! :)

Now, he says this is the project he loves the very most about this room.

So, here's how we did it.

I started by taking out the glass (I'll have to find another project for that part!), removing the nails and hanging wire, and giving it a really good wipe down.

Next, I had my husband give it two good coats of Rustoleum spray paint in Heirloom White.  I got really excited when I saw the paint soaking into all of the old damaged frame's cracks and scratches.

After the paint had dried, I added a thin layer of my favorite glaze, Van Dyke Brown, by applying a light amount with a sponge brush then quickly wiping it off with a damp cloth. 

I love how it soaked into all the little creases on the applique areas.

Then I just stapled on a piece of scrap wiring from my in-law's farm.  Same thing as chicken wire, basically, just smaller openings.  I didn't want the wire to scratch up the walls, so I added a trim of duct tape all the way around on the back. 

No one will see that part anyway!

Next, it needed a little love over the most heavily damaged area on the left side, so I added a little bundle of fake hydrangeas on that side.  I like that it made it a little more feminine, and it also tied it in with the flowers from the Wall Canvas.

Found the perfect little spot for it in baby's room, added new hanging hardware, and here it is!

Clearly I've been a little too excited about making headbands and flowers for this little one.  I may have to find another old frame to fix up to accommodate all the "flair."

DIY Wall Canvas

I knew long ago that I really wanted some kind of flowering tree in the baby's room.  My original plan was just to paint it by hand onto the wall above the Trellis.   Then I started second guessing myself about the whole thing.  What if I love it in my mind right now, but after baby comes and my hormones have settled a little I end up hating it?!  Then I have to sand out the wall so I can repaint.  Didn't sound like much fun to me.  I even thought about doing something in vinyl, but really wanted a more textured look.

Instead, I envisioned breaking it up into three parts and making a continual branch on three separate canvases.

So glad I made that change.  It gave so much dimension to the room, plus it was such a quick project I won't feel bad if my ever-changing hormones change their mind (because they have a mind of their own) about it in a few months. :)  I think it's here to stay though.

I started by buying three wrapped canvases at Hobby Lobby when they were on sale. 
I painted all three with just a single coat of a very pale pink acrylic craft paint.  (it didn't dry as pale as I thought it would, but I'm okay with it.)

After they were dry I brought them into the baby's room and set them end to end, then lightly sketched on what I wanted the branch to look like.

Now, mind you, I'm no artist.  In fact, I'm not even a doodler.  I loved this part of the project though because my dad was definitely a doodler.  His harsh pencil drawings were accidentally artistic.  I can still see his little pictures of cartoonish aliens on our church program each Sunday.  I would try to mimic them, and he would give me tips by redrawing the same thing over and over again, then handing me the pencil to try again. My grandma (his mom) was an amazing artist, and would do little pencil sketches of this and that then just use a thumb tack to stick them up here and there.  I felt like I was channeling their abilities for this because really I have no skill in this area at all.

Next, I just filled in the sketch with a dark brown acrylic paint, using heavy strokes to make it look like bark.

Once that was all on, I just hot glued a bunch of fake flowers on there, and then painted a few more leaves and flowers with a metallic acrylic paint I had on hand.

(Hello! That's me in all my rounded pregnant glory :) )

The end product is even better than I imagined it.  It really is the thing that ties the bedding, trellis walls, and entire room together. 

Here it is laying out on the floor before we hung it.

Here it is, in it's final spot!

Lunch with Dad

Hi Daddy,
I've been thinking so much lately about all of our "books" we were going to write.  Hundreds of books with nothing more than a great title and a few little antics to fill them.  I wish I had written them all down.  We thought we were so funny.  I mostly enjoyed that you thought they were so funny.  I was always proud of myself when I'd be having a rough day and something had bothered me and I'd stick some terrible title to the situation and tell you that would be the title of my book about it and you'd laugh.  I loved making you laugh. We'd elaborate on it, getting the title just right, and decide then and there that it was on our list of books to write.
I think you were working in your mind on your book, "Things I Think I Know" for the majority of my lifetime, probably longer really.  I find myself thinking of that title often.  Thinking of you often.  How ironic that title was for your life because you were an immensely intelligent man, you really did know a lot.  I can honestly say I think you were the most intelligent man I've ever known. I think you just lacked some of the confidence in yourself that you should have had.  Your life was more than things you thought you knew.  So so much more.  Thanks for sharing so much of your knowledge with me.  I wish I had been a better student, a better listener, a better me while you were here.  I can't change that.  I can try harder from this point on to be those things though.
Thanks for watching out for me Daddy.  I miss your friendship daily and want you to know how much I love and miss you.

Love you forever,
Amy

Bumper Pad Tutorial

This having a girl thing is pretty tricky.  When I was decorating my boys' nursery before they were born it was simple... blue and basketballs.  Basically a sport of any kind would have done, but there wasn't a lot of thought that had to go into it.  For baby girl, it's been much more difficult.  I just couldn't find any bedding that I LOVED. Why would I have to LOVE it, you ask?  I don't know.  I didn't want to just like it.  I wanted to feel something more for it.  Pregnancy does weird things to me.

I did, however, fall totally in love with some fabric at Hobby Lobby before I was even pregnant and had thought to myself that I would totally put that in a baby girl's nursery. So... that's what I did!
I was nervous this would take a lot of time, but it was actually one of the most simple projects in the entire room.  It's all about sewing straight lines, and that's about all I can do so it worked out perfectly for me.

So, let's give this tutorial thing a try, shall we?  It's new to me... so if it's unclear, or you want more info please just ask!

Supplies needed:
These first two are a bit confusing, but depending on the fabric you choose could end up keeping you from having lots of extra fabric left over (like I did... hence the blanket), plus save a little money.
1.  2 1/2 yards 43-45 inch fabric for the exterior of the bumper pad.
2.  2 1/2 yards 43-45 inch fabric for the interior of the bumper pad
These first two measurements are if the pattern of your fabric runs horizontally -- as in the direction of the 2 1/2 yard cut.  You will end up with quite a bit left over, but sometimes that's just what it takes to get the pattern to face the direction you want it to.

If you choose a fabric that has a pattern that doesn't matter which way will be the top/bottom or if your pattern runs the length of the 43-45" then you'll need these measurements:

1.  2 yards 43-45" fabric for the exterior of the bumper pad.
2.  2 yards 43-45" fabric for the interior of the bumper pad.

Off to a rough start on this tutorial already. :) sorry!

Rest of the supplies:

3.  1 yard 43-45" fabric for ties.
4.  13 yards of trim of your choice.  (you can make this if you want... I didn't want, so I bought ruffle trim, which was the perfect touch.)  ** This step is optional.  If you were doing this for a boy, or just wanted a more simple look you could either not put on a trim at all, or you could do a small cording or something less frilly.)
5.  6 pack of Foam bumper pads that measure 10" x 26" x 1"  (you can find these at most craft/sewing stores.  They run about $30 a pack, so be sure to use a 40% or 50% coupon ... since most craft places offer these.  I got mine from Joann's and used a 50% coupon, so it was around $15.)

6.  Standard sewing supplies.

Getting Started
My least favorite part of any sewing project (besides trimming all the threads) is the cutting okay, or maybe the ironing. Anywho... my recommendation is to get all of the cutting out of the way right at the beginning.  After the cutting is done on this project, the rest goes very quickly.

Cut:
1.  From your exterior fabric:  Cut six pieces that measure 27" x 11 1/2"
2.  From your interior fabric:  Cut six pieces that measure 27" x 11 1/2"
This is a lot of cutting, so I just put my interior and exterior fabric together and cut them at the same time. 
** also remember when cutting your interior and exterior fabric that if you made the 2 1/2 yard length choice because your pattern runs that way, then you will fit three cuts in your length, then three more right next to that.
** if you made the 2 yard choice, use your 27" length edge along the 43-45" edge. Cut these one right after the other, leaving no space between to ensure you end up with enough fabric.  It will be tight.

3.  ((optional)) Once your interior/exterior pieces are cut, stack them up, maybe in two stacks depending how sharp your cutter is, and round the corners.
I like the rounded edge for a feminine look, I also like that it made the cover fit nice and snug on the pad.
This is my scientific method to round edges.  It works.

4.  From your tie fabric:  divide the the width of your fabric (43-45") in half.  That is your length measurement. So, you'll need 24 pieces that are your length x 3".  Confused?  :)  the width of my fabric was 44" so my measurement for my ties were 22"x 3".  I wanted mine nice and long so they could make pretty bows when they were tied.  If you aren't worried about that, you can make them whatever length feels sufficient to you. (I wouldn't go shorter than 16")
Cut the tie pieces one right after another leaving no space in between.  You will use every last bit of this fabric.

5.  Cut six trim pieces 78" each.

Your cutting is done!
 
Now it's time to sew.

Start with the ties:  ((sorry!  no pictures of this part.))
1.  Take your 24 tie pieces.  We'll use my measurement so this doesn't get confusing. One at a time, fold the tie piece in half length-wise with right sides together.  So it will now be 22" x 1 1/2".  Sew down the open end of your fold and across one edge.  Continue this until all your ties are sewn.

2.  Clip the corners on your sewn edge, careful not to clip your stitching.

3.  Flip the ties right side out.  **I use a Kabob stick to reach in the tube and get my corners pushed all the way out.  Use whatever method works best for you.

4.  Iron the ties so the seam runs nicely along one edge.

Time to layer!

1.  Place an exterior piece, right side up.

2.  Pin two ties to each 11 1/2" side of the exterior.  One 2" from the top corner, and one 2" from the bottom corner.  So, you'll have 4 ties per bumper, one on each corner area.

3.  Pin trim around the edge of the exterior with the top of the trim facing the center of the exterior.  Or in other words, the raw edge of your trim will be lined up with the raw edge of your exterior fabric piece. Start in the bottom center of your exterior and pin all the way around until you get back to the bottom center.

4.  Place the interior piece, right side down, on top of your stack.  Pin in place.

Now sew it all together.

1. Start by lightly lifting back the interior piece from the trim on the bottom.  Start sewing the trim and exterior piece about 3 inches above the center where the trim meets up.  Continue on until about 3 inches past the center.  End with your needle up.

2. Lift the presser foot and gently fold the interior piece back down.  Then put presser foot back down :)

3.  Continue sewing all the way around until you reach the spot you started sewing (3 inches from the center. 
This will leave you with a 6 inch opening to flip the cover.
4.  Flip the cover right side out, pushing out the corners.
5.  Stuff with one bumper.
6.  Slip stitch the opening shut.  (There are a lot of great video tutorials on youtube for doing a slip stitch.)
7.  Admire your work! :) 

8.  Now, do it 5 more times.

To attach the bumper, tie the tie pieces that match up from each bumper on the outside of the crib bars.

OK, longest tutorial EVER!  I just didn't want to leave anything out, and with the fear of that I probably over explained. 
Oh well, it was fun to try.

Here is my finished product!

I made the bed skirt and blanket too, but seems like this post is long enough without going into more details on those.  Maybe another day... or maybe not.  This baby is coming out soon, and I still have lots of things I want to get done before her debut!

This bedding adds just the right amount of femininity and elegance to the room that I was hoping for!  That's the great thing about doing it yourself... you get exactly what you want out of it. :)

Nursery- Trellis Walls

Baby girl's nursery is finally DONE!  What a relief.  There's something so comforting about knowing we have a place to put baby when she arrives.  Even if she doesn't have a name... at least she has a place to sleep and be fed and loved and cuddled!  Who really needs a name anyway?! :)

I thought I'd spend the next couple of days showing you some of the fun projects we did in her room.
Starting with...........

The Trellis Walls

I loved the result of our board and batten in the living room so much that I decided I wanted to do some sort of wainscoting in the baby's room too.  Only, I didn't want to do the exact same thing.  That would have been much too simple. Nothing can ever just be simple.   I wanted to do something I hadn't seen before.  That's not to say it's never been done, but just that I hadn't seen before.

So, one day I was thinking about it and I had this image in my mind of big diamonds.  Feminine and perfect.  Immediately I knew there would be a lot more wood, cutting, and nailing than the last time, but this is my baby girl, no amount of work would have seemed like too much.  Although, if I had realized how much math would be involved, I likely would have changed my mind about the whole thing. :)

I pre-painted all the mdf and walls.  Only I was a few boards short, and more than a little short of patience, so for the last few cuts I just stuck the primed board in there.  So here it is all up with wood filler on.

I did a lot of the manual labor in this room while my husband was at work because I felt self-imposed pressure to get it done by a certain date. Not totally sure why I did that, but I'm glad now that I did because this was a tricky little project. You know, the kind you shut the door on and forget about for a few days at a time to keep your sanity. I'm already a little crazy though, so I figured may as well forge my way through the crazy and get it done.

Although, I did leave the sanding entirely to my husband. He sure loves his baby girl too! Who else would spend so much time sanding down the walls of a room just a few hours after a bottle of peaches exploded in his face, a trip to the ER, and six stitches above his eye! Scary. Such a good daddy.

For this wall, I decided not to add a ledge to the top.  I think I've mentioned before just how small the bedrooms are in our house, and I didn't feel like I could give up even an inch more for the ledge.  Instead, I decided on just a clean and simple 1x6 for the top trim.

I love how it turned out.  Feels so calm and comforting in her room, which is the feeling that I was going for.

I had originally planned to paint the top part of the room in a super pale blush pink, but somewhere along the journey decided that I wanted to keep it tan and just accent the room in pink.  I'm not going for pink overload here, just simple calm elegant.  I guess I'm trying to get a lot of feelings out of such a little space.  It seems to be working though.

Check back soon to see my DIY Baby Bedding!

Warm the Soul - Caramel Apple Cake

'Tis the season, right?

There is something about waking up to snow on the ground that just makes a person want to stay warm in their pajamas all day and bake.
We've been doing that more than is probably appropriate lately.  In fact, the other day at about 7pm my 3-year-old little boy said to me, "Mom, you can't just leave me in my pajamas all day."

Wanna bet? :)

Anyway, I made this cake a few weeks back for a family birthday party and it really was perfect for this time of year.  My sister-in-law said, "it tastes like fall in my mouth."  I don't know exactly what that means, but she seemed to like it, so I'm taking it as a good thing!

So, if you need a good "fall" dessert recipe, here you go!

Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups unsweetened applesauce
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325-degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and one 8 inch square cake pan thoroughly (or just three 9 inch rounds if you have three).  ** I don't have three round pans, and I'm not good at stacking my cakes three high, so I made a two layer cake, and frosted the square one separately and sent it to work with my husband. :)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together into a separate large bowl.

Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient bowl in three parts.  First add a third of the flour mixture, then half of the applesauce.  Third of flour mixture, then half the applesauce.  Then the final third of the flour mixture.  Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Place the pans on a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and turn the cakes out onto the rack and let cool completely.

Topping

Caramel Buttercream

1½ cups sugar
1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1⁄3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄3 cup plus 2 tablespoons Caramel Sauce, at room temperature

Directions

In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and vanilla; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Add 1⁄3 cup of the caramel and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.

 

Assembly

 

Place first layer of round cake on serving tray.  Spread thin layer of extra caramel sauce over the top of the cake then top with a layer of frosting.  Place second layer of cake on top of frosting.  Spread another thin layer of caramel on the top of the cake, then cover the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting.  Place in fridge for 30 minutes.  Remove and frost entire cake. 

 

Optional -- Drizzle caramel sauce over the top of the entire cake and dust sides with Heath Toffee Bits. Yum.  I say optional... but really?  Just do it!

 

 

 

* I originally saw this recipe on The Great Cake Company.  She's like an actual chef, owns a cake shop and everything... not like me, I'm just a pretender.  So, her recipe is amazing and includes things like homemade applesauce and homemade caramel sauce.  I just fake my way through baking, and if there's a way for me to make it go a little more quickly, I do it.  I always take a shortcut when it comes to cooking.

 

So, I've just "shortened" the recipe down a little bit here, but hers is perfect and divine.  Looking at her blog makes me want to try everything!  One day, when I become more than a pretender, I'm going to make this again with her homemade applesauce.  Yum!