Tutu stool

When my grandmother and my aunt asked me to make a gift for a little girl I jumped at the chance.  I have been waiting on someone with a little girl to ask me to make them a time out chair.  Well, the time finally came!!  I was so excited to get started.  Since this stool was for a little girl, I couldn't bring myself to put the 'Time Out' phrase on the stool itself.  I know, I know it is a double standard but I can't help it.

Originally, I measured the tutu to fit around the outside of the top part of the stool, but of course, that was an EPIC fail.  I had no idea the elastic would stretch so much during the actual tulle installation.  Well, I was playing around with the tutu and it slipped to the underside of the stool.  It was in that enlightening moment that I realized the tutu was destined to go under the top part of the stool.  It was a sign from Heaven, I am sure.

Okay, so here is a picture of my rough draft

I only thought I was finished with this project at this point, until my grandmother fussed because the stool was not personalized.  She stated she specifically gave me the little girls name and birth date for a reason.  I couldn't figure out exactly where I wanted to put the child's name but after some thought, I decided to put the name on the side like this:

Okay, so, again, I thought I was finished but oh no!  I like to spray a clear coat of spray paint over my finished project so that the vinyl will not peel off.  Well, wouldn't you know it, the vinyl began to peel after I sprayed the 1st coat.  I took a break from this project for a day or two before I lost my mind.

Finally, I decided to put the name and birth date on the top of the stool so that the vinyl wold remain in tact. This little project was definitely challenging but honestly, I can't wait to make another one.   Here is a picture of the final project.  I really hope they like it!

Kristen's Baby Shower

My sister, Kristen, is having a sweet baby boy so I hosted her baby shower.  When she told me her nursery theme was going to be Woodland I almost had a panic attack.  Well, until I began researching the theme online.  Surprisingly, the Woodland theme is extremely popular and to be honest, kind of cute!  I had a great time planning this event. 

I was most excited about the vegetable tree my mother made for the food table.  My mother is extremely talented when it comes to carving vegetables. Hopefully, she won't kill me for posting this picture (that is her in the background.) The little felt creatures were hand-stitched by me.  However, the pattern for the creatures was purchased from Aimee Ray at http://www.dreamfollow.com/.   

Since my sister insisted on inviting around 100 people, we decided to skip the cheesy baby shower games and just go with Words of Advice for the new mother.  I found the Words of Advice card templates from the PenguinPartyPress shop  http://www.etsy.com/shop/PenguinPartyPress .  The deer and hedgehog canisters were made from scrapbook paper and a pringles and pasta sauce can.  Well, my cricut helped too!

The centerpieces for all the tables were made with an empty wine bottle and some yarn.  They were extremely time consuming to make.  It took me about an hour per bottle and there were 11 tables.  You do the math!  The wood cupcake holders were cut by 2 awesome men who will remain nameless.  They asked to remain anonymous because they do not want to be asked to do this type of project again.  There were 70 wooden circles so I can see their point.

My sister begged and begged to have seed packets as a party favor so I searched and searched for ideas.  I finally found these cute little biodegradable containers from Oriental Trading and used those.  I had a cute little poem printed on a customized card (customized by paperclever at http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperclever) and attached them to a favor bag using ribbon.  I wanted a 2nd favor option so I chose candy-filled baby food jars.  We filled the jars with Reese's Pieces because the colors matched our theme perfectly.  My mother had the tedious job of washing all the adhesive off every jar (we made 50 jars) and attaching the ribbon.  The sticker template was purchased from http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperclever. 

Lastly, I made her a Woodland Theme diaper cake:

Here are some additional photos from the baby shower:

My mother's 1st attempt at making cake pops.  Not bad!

Fabulous turnout.

Pinterest inspired onesie banner. http://www.lifesweetlifeblog.com/2011/09/little-man-baby-shower.html

Utensil holders made from Pasta Sauce can, scrapbook paper, and cricut!

My first official post

Well, this is my first official blog post.  I am nervous and excited at the same time.  I hope you enjoy reading my posts.

Okay then, here goes nothing.  So, I initially made a time out chair for a co-worker who was expecting and did not realize how popular this idea would become.  Once word got out, my friend Christine asked that I make her little boys one.    After a few weeks of brainstorming, I came up with the idea to paint a baseball stool.  I was excited that it turned out so great.  I say this because I am NOT an artist.  I cannot draw to save my life.  Thank the Lord for my cricut and the 8' inch glass plate I used to create the stitch look for the baseball.

Please forgive the background.  I would love to have a professional photographer just hanging around to photograph my creations, but I don't.  So, my kitchen table will have to do for now. 

I also personalized the stool so that the boys would not fight over who exactly is supposed to sit on this stool when in time out:

Here is an aerial view:

Now, hopefully, my friend's little rascals will behave and not have to use this stool!  Please feel free to leave a comment or two.