My Sweet Babu

gourds

Little ones always seem fascinated by the mini gourds that are often for sale at pumpkin patches...and just about everywhere else this time of year.  I'm not sure if it is the bright colors, odd shapes or just the fact that they are so small that attracts my kiddos so, but either way, we end up with many little gourds during this time of the year!

Last year I had our gourds arranged on our dining room table.  They did look nice, however, there were really way too many and it was not long before I was finding mini gourds in all kinds of random places where they really did not belong.  In a basket, you  would not be able to see all of the gourds, however, in this big glass thing you could really see and appreciate all of the unique shapes and colors of the gourds.  I know I did not spend much for this class container and it has served as everything from vase to fishbowl since we have had it.  So far this year, we still have plenty of room to add more gourds.  Having a place to out them all makes it much easier to say yes to my kiddos as they stand there, doe eyed, pleading to buy "the cutest baby pumkin ever! " 

 
As any other picked vegetable or fruit, once off the vine, it does gradually start to "go bad".  Keep an eye on your gourds...by the end of the season last year, some of the gourds that were packed underneath looked a bit like they could have been a science experiment!  But hey, they were behind glass, and they looked beautiful for the holiday!

Have a great weekend!

a.

Halloween tree

The Halloween tree is a project that I first saw years ago in a Martha Stewart catalogue.  All that you need for this is atree branch that might have fallen in your own back yard!  Early on, our tree branches were on the small side, since we did not have many decorations.  However, as the years went on and I found decorations in a variety of random places, our branches needed to be bigger.  Finding our "tree" actually became a tradition in itself and each year my Tobin will remind me of the year I randomly pulled over to the side of the road to pick up a tree brach that had fallen.  This is our second year using this branch, as it really was a great size and shape!

You will need some black spray paint for your tree branch and I used the remaining blakc paint for the terracotta pot that the branch would be placed in.  To hold the branch secure inside the pot, we used some of the green foam block that is typically used in floral arrangements, then we covered this in spooky looking green spanish moss.  And there you have it, a ghostly Halloween tree.

Sad to say, our puppy got into our tree and knocked it over, leaving me with a mess of terracotta and glass to clean up.  When we put our tree back up, we used fishing line to secure it to the wall in the corner where it resides.  Another idea is to keep your tree up in a higher spot where kiddos and pets might not be able to get to it?  Either way, the extra precautions are well worth it! 

Happy decorating!

a. 

dressing up the stairs

During this time of the year, I find myself going through my craft binders for inspiration, holiday gift ideas or just for something that I have not done with the kids in a while.  In the last couple of weeks, between school and our other commitments, we have not had much extra time for crafting.  As I sat, flipping through the pages of one of my binders, I came across one project that caught my eye, so I thought I would share it...

The idea for a painted runner on the stairs came from a back issue of a Martha Stewart  magazine.  Although we did not even have stairs in our house when I came accross this idea, something about it struck me, so I ripped out the page to save for another time.  The process involved using painter's tape to tape off the are to be painted, then using a color to paint the designated area.  Sometime during the spring of this year, I decided that our stairs {yes, we have stairs now!} could use a little dressing up.  A painted runner was not exactly what I was looking to do, so I thought that perhaps a stencil might do the trick.

I purchased a vine stencil, a stiff stencil brush and some paint at the craft store.  I used three different stencil paints to achieve the color and shading that I was looking for.  The biggest tips I can give for doing stenciling anywhere in your home is 1) use painter's tape to hold your stencil in place each time you are painting it and 2) blott your brush in between collecting your stencil paint and touching it to the wall.  With stenciling, less is more, you can always go back and add more paint as you go. 

I was really pleased with how this turned out!  So pleased, that I decided to stencil around a doorway in our home aswell!  This is a fun day project that can make such a lovely difference in your home.  Just make sure that no one touches the stenciling for 12-24hours after it has been done, otherwise is could smear.  Most of all, have fun with this craft, be bold!  It is not meant to be perfect, infact it is the unique nature of the stencil that really gives it it's charm!

a.

a touch of gold

I love having my little one's art work decorate the walls of our home.  {I know you're probably thinking I should have rephrased that statement.}  Ok, so I don't love all of the random crayon drawings that appear on the walls from time to time, even though I have allowed some of this art to live on one wall in the kitchen.  I am mostly refering to the art work; paintings and drawings, that can be framed and enjoyed by the entire family.

  

These two paintings were done by my son when he was around 2 years old.  I chose the paper and the colors of the paint, and let him take over from there.  I thought that spray painting these frames gold would add a certain "museum like quality" to the display of his art work.  Today, this art work lives above our bed and to be honest, I find it to be even more incredible than the day he created it.  You see, as children grow, the way they paint and draw changes tremendously.  I don't think that Tobin could, or would want to paint something like this today, at 5 1/2 years old...

   

Today, Tobin's art work is very different from when he was only 2 years old, but it still blows me away.  Today, his art work has such purpose and focus and I find that he no longer wants to smear paint on paper with his hands, uncertain of what the outcome may be.  I clearly remember the day that he sat down to create and painted a series of different colored, straight, horizontal lines across the paper.  I knew then that his mind had grown, changed, evolved...it was both wonderful and sad for me to witness.  I am so proud of the art that my children create and have found that preserving their art work from different stages of their development is just as important as saving a favourite outfit or toy.  To me, these creations are even more priceless than what is found in museums.  A touch of gold paint seems not only fitting, but looks quite lovely in helping make something that you treasure a part of your home decor. 

Have a great weekend! 

a. 

Little artists

We are supposed to be heading into some pretty rainy weather over the next couple of days.  It's not the nice, light, run outsides and play rain, but is more of the dark, thunder-ing, make popcorn and play inside variety.  Actually, it is the perfect weather for nestling back into our routine.  There is a certain kind of snuggley calm that comes with these kinds of rainy days.  It is the perfect weather for working on something bigger that might normally be difficult to do with the kids running outside every few moments!

When we set up our kitchen, the big black side of the fridge faced into the family room...I liked this not.  We rolled out a big piece of brown postal package paper and let Tobin, who was about 3 years old at the time, go to town painting this masterpiece.  When it was dry, I brought it to a Staples store to have it laminated on one of their big machines...twice actually, so that it would be ultra durable.  We used self adhering velcro to attatch the lamintaed art work to the side of the fridge, where it has lived ever since.

I thought that something like this would be a great activity to do on a rainy day!  The laminating keeps the artwork from being crumpled or torn and makes it easy to wipe off, if necessary.  It is a lovely way to preserve artwork and gives it a new life, for example, something like this might also make a fun table covering!  

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny weekend!

a.

A little girl's room...

Next week is "birthday week", the week leading up to my baby girl's second birthday!  All of the posts will be about something I have have been working on in preparation for her party.  The theme will be a Japanese tea party, which was largely inspired by the way her room came to be decorated...

 

I know you are probably thinking, "WOW, that is really pink!"  This is one of those colors that came out a bit darker than it appeared on the swatch, but I have come to really love it!  The birds on the wall I sentciled in red and her name is from www.wallwords.com.  The name was really easy to apply and I think the combination of her name, the swallows and the art on her walls works well with the color. 

 Fifi's furniture and vibe of her room began with more of a 'shabby chic' feel.  I fell in love with the vinatge print of the mermaid with the parasol umbrella and gradually came to find other similar items (like the 2 postcards on the shelf above that also have mermaids with parasol umbellas on them) that I thought were really neat.                 

I randomly came across some bedding that was not only adorable but also ridiculously soft!  I loved the color combinations of red, pink and a bit of green embroidery on the blanket and dust ruffle and the way the colors popped against the white background.  I also loved the sheeting.  I think that the intention was for this set to be modern, but the way they teeny clusters of flowers were organized, it appeared almost vintage!

I ran into an issue with this table, (which was only supposed to be temporary), in that it only had the white table cloth on it...wasn't loving that.  My solution to this problem was to cut the back of the dust ruffle off and sew the pieces together to create this little table covering.  Since the crib was against the wall, no one would see the back anyway!

    

This room, like the others in my home, were not planned, but have evolved into the way they are and how they are decorated.  I am a big bargain shopper and thrifter, so I can never tell when I will happen across something that catches my eye.  But that is kind of my point, one might never have dreamed that combining Asian influences with vintage mermaids would work, but I think it has! 

We spend so much time in our home; it is where we raise our family and spend time with our friends.  It is important to me that it is filled with things that we enjoy, that reflect what is important to us and 'what we are about'.  My thoughts are this, if you fill your home with what you love, then it will always be great!  I can only hope that my interpretation of this space turns into a successful party next weekend! 

alison