March 19, 2010

• February Inspirations

   

  It hits me every February.

  They are  the long, dreary days of winter, and I know, I know, that is the perfect opportunity to sleep when the kids sleep. To take long, restful naps every afternoon. Or at least sit on the couch with a cup of coffee and a book while the kids sleep. That was my dilemna this afternoon, and it’s not even February anymore.

  But oh no. Every February I’m hit with the desire to create. Not sure why it’s then. Maybe wanting to bring a little bit of beauty into a bleak winter. Maybe partly because I like to have a little “Clarita-the-woman” time in the midst of all the “Clarita-the-wife” and “Clarita-the-mommy” roles. Don’t get me wrong- I love my roles, but I am also a woman along with being a wife and a mother, and I think I do better at both when I make time to bless my soul. Hear that – make time, because it sure doesn’t just happen!

  This February was a little different. I think I only had one day that I didn’t go anywhere in the course of a month,   and for a few weeks I was hardly at home during the day at all. 

  But the ideas kept coming, and I made time for a little bit of creating. Nothing huge and glamorous. Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A few cutesy things for the girls’ room, mostly. And though it was a very busy season, it does my heart good to be inspired and “create.”

  Project #1: Faux Fleece Blankets

  I’m thinking ahead to the new old house we’re hoping to move into by May. I will probably do the same basic color scheme in the girls’ new room, neutral with whites and creams and  browns, because we aren’t rich enough to change our entire house, furniture and all! Ha! No, I really like their room as it is right now.

  These are used at the foot of their beds, but I use them at night for extra warmth for Zoe, and for a big cuddle blanket for Olivia. Inspired by a similar blanket I saw at BabyGap for $40.

  JoAnn Fabric sells fabric almost identical to BabyGap, but make sure you have a good coupon if you go because it’s $25 a yard. I used two yards for both blankets. JoAnn has two colors, this dark chocolate and a really pretty camel color.

  

  I made these by cutting it into large squares then overlapping the squares on top of each other to get the fleece to stick out on top.

  

  

  Project #2: Faux Fur Pillows

  In a neutral room, I’m finding that I need texture, texture, texture! Unless it has lots of texture, it feels very lifeless and boring. But with texture, it makes it come alive, I think. Just with Zoe’s bed, there are these different textures:

  wood (the bed),
  cotton (pillowcase and down comforter),
  faux fur (accent pillow),
  faux fleece (throw blanket)
  faux silk (accent pillow).
  
  And I keep adding as I get more cheap inspirations.

  

  So – easy-peasy, basic rectangle shape. The faux fur is all you need. That and a little sewing machine to sew your straight lines on.

  

  Zoe’s little dolly got a blanket too from the leftover fleece.

   

  Project #3: Hair Pretties

  My friend, Ruth, has a little girl just a few weeks older than Zoe. Her little Esther was born with a headful of beautiful black hair, so unlike my bald Zoe who hardly had hair until she was a year old [and even then you really had to check to make sure it *was* hair ], and could wear all kind of darling little barrettes almost a birth! Ruth always called these barrettes and bows  ”hair pretties” and so I’ve adopted that term too. That’s all we call them now – anything for the head and hair  is now a “hair pretty”. Or, as Zoe says, a “hair fretty.” 

  My sister-in-law, Mary Jo, is a super creative woman, and I learned so much from her when we lived in the same area! One of the last trips she made down south she brought along a little project to work on one free evening – making corkscrew and ribbon hair bows. So cute! What I did just a few weeks ago was not the same thing, but I learned the basic how-do from here – so thanks, Mary Jo!

   

  Sweeties needed:

  Hair clasps of assorted sizes
  Ribbon
  Flowers
  Hot glue gun
  Scissors

  I just used the ribbon I had on hand, which wasn’t a big selection, but Michael’s or somewhere like that has unlimited darling choices.

  This one: ribbon glued on clasp, then three petite roses from Wally World glued on top of that.

  

  

  Glitter Headband: package of 2 for $1 from the dollar bins at Target, then I hot-glued three felt flowers (they were a ribbon strand and I cut them apart) on the band.

  

  

  This was an existing flower pin that I had – which I LOVE – and the only thing I did was add a hair clasp to it to make it more versatile.

  

  Due to the large selection of stores in our area (cough, that is a JOKE, people), Walmart is pretty much my only craft store option within an hour. In the baby section, however, I found a package of two flower headbands for $3. Hot pink and light pink. Perfect.

   Only problem: the headbands were huge, wide stretchy bands that  A) made it look like my child had a serious head wound, or B) made it look like they were wearing a kid’s sized sweat band to work out. Not cool. So I cut the flowers off of the band, and glued them to my little clasps. MUCH better.

  Now I can use the flowers alone, or clip them on to a ribbon-made-headband.

  

  A few more. So fun to do, and only takes a few minutes!

  
  

   

  Project  #4: Hair Pretty Holder

  This was something I saw in a Pottery Barn kids book I picked up a few years ago. Thought it was a darling idea, and then kind of forgot about until a good friend of mine was here and was looking through the same book. Thanks, Shelly, for reminding me!

  If anyone has little girls, you know the PROBLEM it can be to keep everything straight and organized. Or not just little girls, for that matter, I have a time of it keeping my own pretties straight! Maybe I’ll need to make another one for myself! So this is a GREAT solution to that problem, and ever so practical.

  Actors needed:

  Old frame
  Cardboard to fit inside frame
  Fabric of your choice to cover cardboard
  Ribbon of your choice
  Stapler
  Scissors
  Hair pretties!

  This was all stuff I pulled out of closets here and under-bed storage there. Man, I dream of having an art room one day, where all my creative juices can flow uninterrupted! It bugs me that I have things in probably five locations around the house, just because of lack of space in one area.

  

  

  

  

  So those are a few of my little projects of late. Balm for my soul, I call them.

  -clarita

   

  • 2:58 pm
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