on his way

I was worried I wouldn't get Jack's room or other projects done in time, but I was able to accomplish the things I wanted to do after all!  now we're just waiting...

I finished up my basketweave blanket - something I really wanted to have in the hospital.  I love the color and texture.  it's a nice and simple pattern and I would definitely crochet another one.

we all got sick right after Christmas so I had time to work on it while laying around for days - what an awful time to be so sick :(  worst. holidays. ever.  at least I was kinda productive while I wasn't able to do anything?

I updated the old nursery walls with some contact paper stripes and jackalope cut outs, as well as some new frames for the wall above the crib with antler letters in them.

I cut wood grain contact paper down to 2' sections to make it easier to put up, and did dovetails to join them together with the grain going in opposite directions for contrast.  I really like that detail :)

I didn't sew any bedding this time and just bought new sheets, bumper, and blanket from Target.  I used the same crib skirt, and found the stuffed jackalope online.

I put up a floating shelf for when Jack's big enough to get into things and we need to keep stuff out of reach.  we got the shelf unit when it was Leo's room, but he regularly emptied the shelves and we lost a lot of books (or rather, pages of books) because of it.  it'll hold things like stuffed animals, blankets and burp cloths until he doesn't need it, then maybe I'll take it for myself  O:)

I really like the lamp I found (maybe I can have this too when Jack's done with it!) and added a "hidden" jackalope crest inside the shade.

I got a little pop gun to put on the wall above the changing table.  I think that was one of the hardest things to find!  World Market - who would have thought??

we're all so excited to meet Jack and I can't wait to bring him home to his new room!

accordion sewing box

for my sister-in-law's birthday I found a nifty wood sewing box on ebay. it showed up late and the handle was broken in shipping :( but I fixed it up a bit.

I buffed the wood out smooth with steel wool and rubbed walnuts all over. the oil in them stains the wood and hides scratches - pretty cool, huh? I glued and clamped cracks here and there, filled chipped spots on the inside with glue and sawdust (makes a great wood filler if you don't have any on hand... but happen to have glue and sawdust) and cleaned up the hardware a bit.

then I removed the old, tacky, shelf paper printed to look like marble and replaced it with embossed felt.

I needed to cover the parts on either side of the box that the handle was on since I decided to just remove it altogether, but it was kinda icky looking. I took ornate little bookplates I found at Michael's and inserted some embroidery I did on faux suede - they came out better than I expected! I want to do more embroidery now :) and I just happen to have a small mounting hoop I bought the other day for a buck!

I'd really like to try my hand at making my own box like this one, and I really wanna use dovetails. this guy makes it look easy. if you don't watch it all, at least skip to 5:08 - it's a great shot... of nothing noteworthy! but nonetheless a great video. I could watch instructional videos all day - I love how inspired I get after I watch someone make something cool.