A Nursery in Progress

Check Pinterest and it's easy to find lots of beautiful nurseries. What you don't often see is the whole process of how they come together. I'm excited to share, in real time, how our baby boy's nursery is starting to take shape. I shared in a previous post a board that I had put together with some initial ideas. At that time, I had already found a few items that had gotten the inspiration flowing. Since then, with Christmas, I hit a standstill for a while, but I'm excited to get back to the room and start focusing on pulling things together.

In my initial search, I found this beautiful, incredibly soft, mustard throw, along with the raccoon and squirrel bottlebrush ornaments. For Christmas, Eric's grandma, without even knowing about those initial ornaments, gifted us the owls. She had intended for them to find a place on our tree - I'm more excited that they fit in so perfectly and will get year-round use with a nice little spot on the mobile I'll be putting together soon. 

Other additions include the bear cross stitch I made, which I featured on my mood board, as well as some arrow wall art.

Forgive the glare. I had gotten the idea for these hangings through this post on a blog I enjoy and read regularly. I have plans to hang these with a twine-wrapped large-scale letter in between, to represent baby boy's first name. All three items will hang on the wall that will house the wallpaper from my mood board. The wallpaper ended up being a little pricey for me to buy any more than one roll, so what I've decided to do is wallpaper a 9'x4' section of the wall and frame it out with molding. I ordered the paper, and after a month of waiting, I ended up receiving a completely different paper than the one I bought. Oy vey. I'm still in the process of sorting it out, but I'm not sure how long it will take, considering it's coming from China.

I think I'm still most excited about the rug for the room. This was passed along to us by my in-laws, before we even knew we were having a girl with our first pregnancy. I've been patiently waiting for a boy to come along, to be able to put it to use the way I want to.

Isn't he cute?

Here's a glimpse of everything together, so far:

 The herringbone fabric is what I'll be using for the curtains, which I'm really excited about. I had purchased an orange and navy flannel, but after getting it in the room, I just couldn't picture where things would go from there. It didn't fit in with the light blue walls, it made the room feel dark, and it didn't flow with the rest of our house. So when I found the herringbone fabric on Joann's website for 50% off and immediately started seeing things come together in my head, I snatched it up and decided to just eat the cost of the flannel (which I had also thankfully gotten for 50% off, so I don't have to feel like I wasted too much money). I love how the pattern on the fabric fits in with the texture on the throw, as well as how it ties in the light blue walls and the blue chair. To bring the mustard into the curtains, I would like to add a thin strip of mustard fabric.

Finally, because I have a wonderfully talented and generous grandma, I've planned a quilt to fit into the room. My grandma asked me a while back what kind of quilt she could make for baby - once I found the herringbone fabric, I knew exactly what I wanted. I found this quilt pattern through Pinterest and then rounded up some fabrics and sent them her way. To make sure I liked the way everything looked together, I put together a mock-up of how things would look. Even though the prints aren't to scale, I can at least get an idea of how they look together.

Here is a more detailed look at all of the fabrics:

With grandma on board, saying she's excited about the pattern and will have fun with it, I can't wait to see the end result.

Expect lots more updates to come. I have a feeling that mobile may be done by next week. I've got an itch to work on it, and I think it'll end up being one of my favorite parts of the room. How does your creative process work when you're planning a room? I would love to hear!

Christmas Q&A

***Following are my answers to a list of 20 holiday-related questions that we (Lauren, Ashley, Amy and I) compiled.  We thought it might help you get to know us a little better.  Have fun reading!***

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

This is such a hard one for me to answer!  I have such fond memories of laying on the bed in my grandma's guest bedroom and watching It's a Wonderful Life--oh how I love that movie.  But if I had to pick just one, I'd go with White Christmas.  I  just love that movie so much.  I'll watch it anytime of the year which annoys my husband to no end.  And while I don't have all of the dance moves memorized just yet, I do know all of the song lyrics.

2.  What is your favorite Christmas cookie and/or food to eat?

My grandma always had m&m cookies and I looooove them.  I'm not sure if that qualifies as a 'Christmas' cookie.  My sister-in-law makes them now and she  uses red and green m&m's so that works for me!  And I love to eat homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

3.  What is your favorite gift to give? 

Books.

4.  What has been your favorite gift given to you?

I always love getting something that I love that I didn't know I was getting.  So I guess it isn't necessarily a specific thing, but just when someone knows you well enough that they get you a great gift.  With that being said, I love receiving books as much as I love giving them :)

5.  What is your favorite Christmas song?

I don't know.  I am the annoying person that will pop in Christmas music in the middle of July.  I just love it.  This year my favorites are Do You Hear What I Hear and I Believe.

6.  Do you travel for the holidays or stay home?   

Oh we are all over the place.  My husband's family lives in Kokomo so we go there the weekend before Christmas, spend Christmas morning/noontime at home and then head back to Kokomo for Christmas evening.

7.  Do you like egg nog?  

I've never tried it.  But egg in a drink?  geh.  And I also don't understand how the word nog is supposed to sound appetizing.

8.  What is your favorite Christmas tradition/memory?

Opening stockings as soon as you wake up--hands down my favorite memory.  We would stay the night at my grandma's house and my dad would hang up my grandpa's socks before we went to bed and when we woke up in the morning they would be full.  Now I have regular stockings for my kids but it is still something that we get into right away.

9.  What's at the top of your Christmas list?   

This shirt.  I asked my husband to get it for me.  It is not something I would buy for myself, but I like that it is unique and bookish, too.

10.  Does your family wake up early or sleep in on Christmas morning?

We wake up when we wake up.  My kids have always been good sleepers, but I have a feeling that now that they're a little older they could be waking us up early come Christmas morning.

11.  Do you travel on Christmas day?

yes.  We head to my husband's family's house later on in the day and then we spend the night there.

12.  If you visit family, does everyone bring food to share or does one person do all of the cooking?  

Most of the cooking is done by one person but there are usually random trays of cookies and dips that others bring.

13.  Do you do anything special on Christmas Eve?

Just stay up and watch Christmas movies while wrapping gifts.  Yes I am a procrastinator.  This year I bought Christmas jammies to give the kids.  So I'm going to let them open that gift on Christmas eve.  I think they are going to be excited to open a gift 'early'.

14.  When do you typically put up decorations/take them down?

I usually put up decorations after thanksgiving and will add to them, it seems, up to Christmas day.  Then I take them down once the kids go back to school.  I'm always amazed at how clean my house looks when the decorations come down.

15.  Do you want it to snow on Christmas Day?    

This is another hard one for me to answer!  I don't like winter and I don't like snow.  But we are where we are and it makes the kids SO happy!  For me personally, if it were to end up being a rare 60 degrees and I could wear my flip flops, I'd count that as a Christmas miracle!  

And maybe the kids wouldn't mind it so much if we lived someplace warm and we could go swimming on Christmas day.

16.  How does your family open gifts?  

For our immediate family, we have one person who passes one present to each person and we open those.  Then the rest of the gifts get passes out and we all open them.  There aren't a lot of us so it doesn't get too crazy.  We don't have a set tradition.  

17.  What does Christmas breakfast look like in your home?

One year we made a huge brunch and ate it after opening gifts.  This year I think we're going to have cinnamon rolls.  And some years we just eat cereal.

18.  How many Christmas' do you have/parties to attend?

We have three main Christmas' to go to and I had two parties.  Not too crazy.  

19.  Do you prefer to give or receive?

I love giving gifts.  But I'm not going to lie--receiving them is probably my favorite.  I know that is the wrong answer.  But I'm just being honest.  

20.  What is the main way you focus on Jesus during this season? 

We try to do the Christmas Adventure Box and that involves reading the Christmas story a little each night.  We also teach our kids that they are receiving gifts because of our love for them, not whether they were good or bad. 

***I hope you've enjoyed our "20 Questions" posts this week.  I wish you and your family a very joyous Christmas season.***

Christmas Q&A

1) What is your favorite Christmas movie? National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. I haven't actually watched most of the other classic Christmas movies.

2) What is your favorite Christmas cookie or food to eat? Chocolate Dipped Oreos (the Mint Oreos). But really, I am not picky. If it is chocolate, has sugar, or resembles something sweet I will eat it :)

 
3) What is your favorite gift to give? Last year we made a book on Blurb. It was a story about how my daughter was actually a superhero who has to save her bear named Starbucks. Hands down the best gift I have given. We gave it to all our relatives, and they all sincerely loved it. 

4) What has been your favorite gift given to you? I don't know that I have one gift that has been a favorite. Some gifts that stand out to me are a pair of super comfy/warm shoes, and a cast iron skillet (both of which I asked for, and was super excited to receive)
5) What is your favorite Christmas song? I like this song, and the lights. It makes me laugh. I am grateful I am not their neighbors.

6) Do you travel for the holidays or stay home? Every year I have been married has been different. This year we are not traveling outside of our hometown. We will go visit family on Christmas day.

7) Do you like egg nog? I haven't tried it. The name alone makes me gag. 
8) What is your favorite Christmas tradition/memory? Our lack of traditions is my favorite thing. One year we I decided it would be fun to have a dinner that Mary and Joseph might have ate. Um, it was a disaster, but so fun. There was a lentil dish (the one and only time I have had lentils), latkes, a curry based dish, and something akin to a salad. My guess is Mary and Joseph did not actually eat anything like this, but our family still talks about it. We love to do new things each year, and not do something simply because we have done it in the past.

9) What’s at the top of your Christmas list? I didn't make a list this year. I imagine if I did, it would include things like craft supplies...

10) Does your family wake up early or sleep in on Christmas morning? As a child, my family always woke up super early Christmas morning, and my husband's family always slept in late. Imagine my surprise our first year married and visiting the in-laws on Christmas. I was up hours (as in I was up at 5, and they finally got up at 11!) before everyone else. My husband has adapted to me and wakes early on Christmas morning--so long as I hand him a cup of coffee.

11) Do you travel on Christmas Day? Every year has been different. One year we celebrated at my in-laws in Oklahoma (we drove there a few days before Christmas), one year we hung out at our house just the 3 of us, and then some years we visit my family on Christmas.

12) If you visit family does everyone bring food to share or does one person do all of the cooking? My family shares in the cooking and doesn't leave anyone hanging. :) I think it is downright cruel to make one person cook for everyone else, but I also don't really like cooking all that much.

13) Do you do anything special on Christmas Eve? We typically drive around and check out the lights, go to Christmas Eve service, and then come home to open a gift (pajamas). Last year, we ended up opening almost all of our gifts Christmas Eve. I have no self-control and get as excited as my daughter.

14) When do you typically put up decorations/take them down? We put our tree up around the week of Thanksgiving, and take it down December 26th. My birthday is December 30th, and I want everything cleared out and cleaned up before my birthday.

15) Do you want it to snow on Christmas Day? Yes, I figure if it is going to be below freezing temperatures, we may as well have some pretty snow to look at. 

16) How does your family open gifts? (Ex everyone at the same time? One person at a time?  Is there order or chaos?) We usually take turns so everyone can see what others get. There isn't a special order or anything, we just all sort of take turns.

17) What does Christmas breakfast look like in your home? (Do you go all out or keep it simple?) I *try* to get a casserole type dish prepped on Christmas Eve, so we have something yummy (and easy) to enjoy on Christmas morning, but we have also had cereal. Hot cocoa with marshmallows is pretty much always on hand as well as coffee.

18) How many Christmas' do you have/parties do you attend? Last year, I felt like Christmas lasted forever because we were visiting family into January. This year we will celebrate with our little family at home Christmas morning, visit my parents, and my grandparents--so 3. We also have 3 Christmas parties to attend. With all the parties and reasons to get dressed up, we thought we could squeeze in a nice family photo. 

A failed attempt at one of our Christmas parties to get a family photo--the girl standing next to me is not with us.

19) Do you prefer to give or receive? Both. I like giving gifts when I have had the time to really make the gift special, but getting well-thought out gifts is fun too.

20) What is the main way that you focus on Jesus this season? We read the story of Jesus' birth several times and point out the reason we give/receive gifts is because we are celebrating Jesus.
Merry Christmas Mama Together Fans. I hope you have a wonderful day spent with family :)

Under One Hour: Handmade Gifting and Decorating

Christmas time is officially here.  In case you didn't know.

I love crafting and I love giving handmade gifts.  But sometimes the time pressure to make something instead of running to walmart and buying something can overwhelm me.  It might have something to do with me being a huge procrastinator.  So when I come across a tutorial on the world wide web that can be completed under an hour, I am a happy girl. 

Gift Giving

Do you need a gift for someone this weekend?  Consider one of these three options.  Pop in a Christmas movie, relax and make that special handmade item.

1.  The purple infinity scarf was made in about 45 minutes by following a youtube video.  It was done with a method called arm knitting.  I know it sounds weird.  But try it, it is addictive!

2.  These coffee cozies were made in about an hour.  If you're just making one, it will take you no time at all.  I followed this youtube video.

3.  The grey and white infinity scarf was made in an hour by following this youtube video.  I made it with a method called finger knitting.  Just as easy as arm knitting and equally as fun!

Decorating

My kids love to help with Christmas decorating.  I like to keep it simple and when the kids see their work up on the walls it makes them joyful AND triumphant (name that Christmas movie).  So after you get your scarf done and while the Christmas movie is still on, you can let your kids tackle a few of these easy decor options.

 1.  Paper Snowflakes.  I've done these every year since I can remember.  I'm sure you've made them, too.  This year I hung them on my windows with green glittery washi tape.  Super festive.

2.  Advanced Paper Snowflakes.  They are Very easy, but Super impressive.  I followed this tutorial.

3.  I added knitted garland to the stairs.  I used the finger knitting tutorial with a very thin yarn and am loving how it turned out.

4.  Print off letters in a fun font.  Cut them out and hot glue them to a ribbon to make a Merry Christmas bunting.

5.  Paper chains.  paper chains.  paper chains.  We make them in abundance.  One kid cuts while another kid staples.  It is one of our Christmas traditions to hang them up as a family.  This year we hung them up to look like a star.  

What are your go-to handmade gifts?  Do you like to craft your Christmas decorations?  Do you sometimes feel like you have no time?

I was having a stressful day and I pulled out the crayons and markers and sent my children to town on some Christmas cards I bought recently (shown in the first picture).  If all else fails, grab some Christmas coloring pages and let your kids color and you can send them as cards to those you love.  You can sit back and sip your tea and Relax.  That's really what all mamas want anyway, right?  5 minutes to just sit back and relax.  

I am wishing you a relaxing last week before Christmas.

Child's Ruffle Apron

I love children in aprons.  It may have something to do with my love for Montessori, and how they can be a great tool.  But then again, it could just be that they are just so stinking cute.  We have collected quite a few aprons and each one has a specific job associated with it.  One for baking, one for gardening, one for painting, and one for cleaning.  

Quite honestly, this apron hasn't been given a job yet, because it is just so lovely I don't want it to get dirty yet.  For now, it is for playing dress up.

 First up of course is to gather your supplies.  Since I was flying by the seat of my pants, I grabbed all things frilly, and ruffle-like and played around with various layers before settling on the final one.

Materials Needed:

1/2 yard of fabric of for the base of the apron
Various ribbons, ruffles, or strips of material to make ruffles
Lots of straight pins
Tape measure/ruler
Disappearing Pen

The material I used as my base was an old bed sheet--already hemmed, so I skipped this step.  I measured my little lady to determine the right size.  I made the apron 10 inches in length (from her waist to a little above her kneed).  Next, I made a trapezoid.  I made the top portion of the apron 24 inches in width, and the lower part of the apron 27 inches in width.

My goal for this skirt was to make it frilly and not just a rectangle with ruffles on it.  Those aprons are fine, but not the shape I wanted.  To give the apron some curve, I added two sets of pleats.  I folded the apron into thirds to get them equal distance apart and then ran an iron over the creases.  Next, using a few pins I made the pleats, iron them in place, and then stitched 3 inches down on each pleat.  Then I hemmed the sides of the apron skirt.

Some of my ruffles were made with material I had lying around, and some were pre-made ruffles.  To make my material into ruffles, I cut strips of material (those pre-cut jelly rolls would be perfect for this) 3 inches by at least 35 inches in length.  I hemmed three of the sides, and then basted the top.

After all the ruffles were made, I laid my ruffles on the skirt until it looked the way I wanted.

Next, I pinned them on one at a time, and sewed them on.

After the apron skirt was finished, I made the ties.  I cut out a piece of fabric 5 inches wide by 30 inches.

I folded the raw edges toward the center of the material and ironed it (it should look like a single fold bias tape).

I centered my apron skirt on the apron tie, pinned it in place, and basted it in place so I could fold the apron tie over and cover the raw edges at the top.  After it was basted, I folded the apron ties in half again (so it looks like double fold bias tape), pressed it, and pinned it over the top of the ruffles.  I sewed along the whole length of the ties, being careful to sew slowly over the ruffles because it is very thick.

Almost done.  Now to just finish up a few details....

Some of my ruffles were made with wide ribbon (the pink polka dot ruffle).  Rather than trying to hem that, I used a lighter to melt the edges so it wouldn't fray.

Also, you may have noticed my ties are not terribly long.  I added velcro to the ends, rather than making them long enough to tie because it is more child-friendly.  This way my daughter can easily put the apron on independently (again with the Montessori).

I also sewed a piece of ribbon loop in the center of the back side of the apron so it can easily be hung on a hook.  These little additions take just a few moments to add, and really help foster independence and I am not walking around my daughter 'fixing' her work to make it look neat.

All finished, and I think she is quite pleased with the results.  

So. Many. Ruffles!

I love, love, love this project, and rather enjoyed the bright cheery colors (especially with all the gray skies we've had lately).  I loved it so much that I wanted one for myself.  In a few weeks, I will show you the apron I made for myself.  It's complimentary to the child's apron, with less ruffles and some practicality to it.