DIY Snowflakes

My newest project was to create a couple large snowflakes to hang in an empty frame. I used basal wood (super lightweight) to create the snowflakes. I started with wood glue, but who am I kidding, there was no way I was waiting for it to dry. I switched to hot glue and was able to quickly get three snowflakes put together. I gave them a coat of gold leaf to match the frame. To hang the snowflakes from the frame I used fishing line. Perfect another project done!

Ninja Turtle Costume

This year we experienced Halloween in Ohio. Now I've lived in Ohio and in Wyoming so I know what it means when you need a warm costume. Living in Texas for so many years I avoided costumes that were made of fleece and fur, but living here you just might need to wear a coat with your costume. I promise he wore shoes trick or treating. The pictures were taken a few weeks before hand because Halloween was wet and chilly!
My son decided he wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle like the rest of the 4 year old boys out there. I looked at the pre-made costumes and couldn't bring myself to buy one. First they were way too thin and second I knew he'd wear it all the time so it needed to be able to take the abuse.
I purchased the green hoodie and pants which he literally wears all the time now. He already had the mask and sword. Then I sewed the turtle shell, the front, the belt and the knee and elbow pads.
I really should have taken step by step pictures, but I pretty much winged the entire costume. I used felt fabric and batting to give the front some thickness.
For the shell I stuffed it with polyfil to give it the shell shape. I did sandwich some batting for the shell too so I could sew the turtle shell pattern.
To connect the two pieces I used straps with velcro and the belt does a good job of keeping it together on the sides.
He loved it and really that's all that matters, right?

Pumpkin Hat

I am on a knitting streak! Not sure if it's the colder weather that caused this knitting bug or because it makes me feel productive while I'm watching TV. I just finished knitting the cutest little pumpkin hat for a new baby. It's so cute and just in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I found the pattern on Ravelry and you can find it on the Sonnentaler blog. It knitted up quickly in front of a movie one evening. I looked through a bunch of pumpkin patterns till I came across this one and I really think it's perfect!

Prismatic Scarf

I let my daughter pick out some yarn, oh a year ago and I finally got around to knitting it up into a scarf. She selected a very fine yarn so it took me much longer to knit up. I did find a fantastic pattern to use since this yarn is so very colorful. The Prismatic Pattern that I found on Ravelry was a great choice. I knitted it extra long for her so she could wrap it around herself a few times and for the possibility that I might be able to borrow it sometime. She was so thrilled to wear it that she wanted to wear it to school the next day even though it was going to be a high of 70 degrees. I love when kids want to wear something their mom made.

Knitted Infinity Scarf

This summer my sister requested a gray infinity scarf for her birthday. I looked for one that she might like to add to her Fall and Winter attire. I knitted it up and I seriously wanted to keep it. It's called Budding Infinity Scarf. I found the pattern on Ravelry courtesy of Linda Thach. I did what one of my fellow knitters did and knitted it from the backside so that I could knit it quicker. It turned out amazing. I'm going to go ahead and make myself one too in an off white color.

Robot Scarf

My son is obsessed with anything with robots. I asked him what kind of scarf he wanted, you guessed it, ROBOTS! I'm still a fairly new knitter, but am all for trying something new. The technique I needed to learn to complete this scarf was double knitting with 2 colors. He chose blue and orange which definitely makes the robots pop on each side. It took me awhile to get the hang of double knitting and there is definitely some mistakes, but my son doesn't seem to notice. He can't wait to use his new robot scarf this winter.

Knitted Pouf

I know you have seen the poufs or stuffed ottomans lately in the stores and magazines. I have been admiring the knitted version and decided to try it out. It was a super fast knit with giant knitting needles. I found the pattern on Ravelry and it is called Puff Daddy.

The tricky part was stuffing the pouf. I ended up doing what some of the other knitters suggested and bought a down comforter to use as stuffing. Thank you Ikea for having a sale on comforters! I also wanted the pouf to hold its shape and wrapped it up very tightly in a jersey knit before putting it in the pouf. The knit color I used to wrap the comforter was similar to the yarn, but gave it just enough contrast. I'm pretty pleased with it! Beware, if you have kids it will become their favorite place to sit.

School Bus Painting

I was commissioned to make a set of 3 paintings for a little boy's room. They liked my firetruck and backhoe painting, but wanted to add one more vehicle to the group. We went with a yellow school bus. I think it turned out pretty great! I've listed it on Etsy for future orders and have already found it on a couple treasury lists. How cool!

Here is what all 3 look like together.

Batman Logo Painting

In addition to making a Batman crib mobile for my friend I also included a coordinating painting with the Batman logo and her son's name.

Batman Crib Mobile

I just recently made a crib mobile for a sweet friend who is expecting a baby boy. She was looking for something very specific, Batman. I looked for some examples on Etsy and was able to make something similar as a gift for my friend. Please, ignore the loose ribbons hanging. I wanted to leave her some length so she could adjust how low or high she wanted to hang the Batman logos.

I even tried my hand at felting some beads to add to the mobile. 

Cast Art

Never thought I'd be painting on a cast, but since my son broke his arm I gave it try. The first cast I painted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle on his arm.

The second cast I tested my skills and painted Batman. He wanted me to position it closer on the inside of his arm so he could look at it. He was so excited to have a cast that had his favorite characters. 

Water Bottle Holders

My daughter had Girl Scout camp last week and on the list of things to bring was a water bottle holder. We didn't have one and my daughter made her own version of one. She used a stainless steel water bottle and decorated it with fun duct tape and used a piece of bias tape for the strap.  Pretty clever! Of course she received many compliments from her friends.

I thought I'd try to make a knitted one for her, but of course I didn't start making it till camp was almost over. Oh well, she can use it for school while she's playing outside for recess or PE. I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. I found the pattern at my favorite place, Ravelry. It's called Bishi. Super pattern and I've already made two others one up as well!

Rocket Painting

Another painting for a sweet boy's room that I did awhile ago, but haven't posted. I did one for his older brother that was an airplane and train. I thought a rocket would be a great addition to their room.

Using Color in Your Interiors

It's been a long while since I've posted on my blog and I've started to focus more on building up an interior design business in Cincinnati. This is the first blog post on my interior design website. I wanted to post it here as well.  

Using Color in Your Interiors

Among the many aspects of design color plays an important role in the space of an interior.  Color can evoke emotions and influence a person’s behavior.  Studies have been reported that children tested in colorful rooms earned higher IQ scores than children who tested in neutral toned rooms. Colors can visually trick our minds in thinking a space is bigger or smaller than it actually is by the color selected. Something to remember when you are painting a room, paint it a light color if you want it to appear larger. If you want the space to feel more intimate then paint it a darker color. The same can be done with painting a ceiling.  The height of it can appear higher or lower depending on the paint color.

To address the subject of color affecting our mood or evoking an emotion we will take a look at the different colors and what feelings they give. Warm colors such as red, orange, yellow are active colors.  When using a warm color remember that they will seem to appear closer than they are. Cool colors such as blue, green, purple are restful colors and would be great for a bedroom.

I’m a huge fan of color and tend to use it more in my furniture, accessories and artwork. I love to see pops of color or an accent wall with a bold color. It really makes a statement!

Using a Stencil

I had a question come up on how to use stencils that involve multiple steps. I thought the easiest way to answer the question was to show it in process.  This video shows how to use the owl stencil that is available in my Etsy shop, LilybugPaintings.

Under the Sea Painting

I was asked to make a custom painting for a nursery via my Etsy page. I matched the nursery bedding called CoCaLo Turtle Reef. It has turtles and fish on the baby quilt. It turned out really cute and I hope the recipients are happy.

Heart Valentines

I found these cute little plastic hearts from Michael's and used heart erasers as the treat inside. Hurrah, another candy free valentine. My only dilemma was how to put her name on them. I went with labels and placed them on the bottom. Easy peasy!

Fish Valentines

I love all the creative Valentines out there. This year I am trying to avoid giving away candy with the Valentines for both my kids' class. I randomly picked up some fish stickers that I wanted to add to the Valentine. It was a little more difficult to incorporate a strip of stickers with the Valentine, but I figured out a way to thread the stickers through the cutout in the fish. I found the cute saying via Jasey's Crazy Daisy.  It works perfectly! 

Upholstered Cornice

I've been on a long blog break. Don't worry I had plenty to keep me busy. My hiatus consisted of getting my house ready to sell in Texas (huge job), keeping my house clean for showings (next to impossible with kids), living without my husband while he started work in Ohio (hated it), finding a new house in Ohio, preparing for the house to be packed up and moved (so thankful the company took care of that part) and then unpacking everything in the new house in Ohio. I can't tell you how ecstatic I am that there is a basement and I can just hide all the boxes I don't want to unpack yet down there. Now that things have settled down, I'm hoping to post more on the blog again.

First project for the new house, an upholstered cornice. The house has sliding doors in the back with vertical blinds which are NOT my favorite! I considered switching to draperies, but with 2 dogs and 2 kids I didn't think they would stay clean. I opted for the upholstered cornice.
They are so easy to make and don't require any sewing.

Materials

Wood (for frame)

L brackets 

Batting

Fabric

1. Build the cornice out of wood.  I used a 12" width so I could cover the track for the vertical blinds and give the sliding glass door some balance. My frame came off the wall 8" on the sides. You can adjust the measurements for your window. 

2. Attach batting to the front of the cornice board. I doubled the thickness of the batting and wrapped it around the edge and stapled it to the back. 

3. Next staple the fabric to the cornice board. I stapled it on all the edges in the back to get the fabric centered. During this step you need to make sure you pull the fabric tight to give it a nice flat appearance. 

4. I like my cornices to look nice on the back as well. I used white fabric and covered the back and attached it with hot glue. It hides the staples.

5. Attach L brackets to the cornice and install to the wall.