Thursday, June 30, 2011

done!

aside from their quilts (the pieces of which are still stacked in much the same fashion as they were a month ago
),
i am so relieved and excited to say that the girls' room is finished! i love this bright, sunny spot and i hope that the girls will too for years to come. i tried to make as much of the decor as possible and i hope that they enjoy the handmade touches as they grow! the room is full of color and i wanted it to be fresh and playful, so i chose to use almost every pattern in heather bailey's pop garden line of fabric. lots of those prints may look familiar, as i have used many of them in chickadee chickadee clothing pieces!! take a peek inside their little space and let me know what you think!
my high school friend natalie is an incredible artist and a few years ago she sent me a tutorial she was working on for scallop bunting to test out (can't find it now, but here is her fun design blog and it might be hiding somewhere here). i made two banners using her pattern for the nursery and R's old room but this one i just made a few weeks ago is my favorite!i enlarged the scallop a little and just love how it outlines the top of the room and incorporates all the fabrics that will feature in their quilts. i made my own bias tape for the banner using this pop garden print and my handy dandy bias tape maker so that i could bring even more of the fun fabrics into the room.
i made the ties to hold the curtains back using this print from the pop garden line. i have a few yards leftover and can't wait to sew some things for the girls for next summer! the canvas propped on the bookcase i made by painting it a light shade of green...i cut out the tree and tire swing and birdies and butterflies using my silhouette and some happy shades of scrapbook paper. the other canvas features this pop garden print and then i had some leftover butterflies from the mobile (see below) so i hot glued them here!
so glad we could reuse this pottery barn teen rug we had in R's room before!
these were kind of randomly thrown together but i think i am okay with how they turned out. i quilted smaller versions of what will soon adorn their beds (hopefully!) and stretched them across canvases and i used hot glue to secure the fabric in place. for the middle one, i used my silhouette to cut out none other than silhouettes of two girls holding hands and skipping. i added skirts and hair bows to the image for some color pop. i could have done a better job with these for sure, but they'll do!
i wrote about how to make these letters in this post! such an easy and fun project!!
 
originally, i just made these two flower pillows, but i decided that each girl needed two so i made a yellow and white one and a white and yellow one--you might be able to spy them! this is such an easy way to add color to your little girl's room!! and you can do it all using just fleece and a hot glue gun!! (the website for the flower pillow tutorial can be found in the post linked to above.)
i took inspiration from a pottery barn kids butterfly mobile i've always loved when i set out to create a whimsical chandelier of sorts for their room (and to hide that plain ole fan a little bit better!) click on the above picture for a link to the pbk version. i used my silhouette to cut out the butterflies and i hot glued them to white thread and then hot glued all the strands to two rings (10 inch and 8 inch) that i found at michael's.
when we did R's room before M arrived, i found the most adorable etsy shop for children's artwork! emily creates the cutest prints for kids and i am just in love with her prints that include Bible verses. i chose this verse for little M and this verse for R. i also ordered two prints that i personalized with their names--this one and another cutie pie one, but i don't see it in her shop right now! find emily on facebook and send her some chickadee chickadee love! she's awesome to work with and i love supporting other Christian moms and their small businesses!
i am so very happy with the beds we decided to go with--it was a long debate but i am glad i went with the frames with the most precious feminine touches.
the beds are from stanley furniture's young american line. the color options are endless! we went with the lighter shade of green and i love it!
other bits and pieces...
dresser--ikea--hemnes 3-drawer chest
drawer pulls--hobby lobby...i loved some i saw at pbk but the HL ones were $1.50 each while the pbk ones were almost 18 times that each! now i see they are on sale, but i am still happy with my HL find.
bookcase--target--cottage bookcase...it was on sale when i bought it...now i see it's not. i am happy that i finally have a way of organizing their books!!
sheets--pottery barn kids--brianna pink sheet sets

and now... i wish you all... (read the sign!)
i'd sleep too but, i have lots more quilting to do!!
 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

some side projects

pictures of some things i have been working on in between orders and kids and growing a baby! yesterday, i looked in my youngest's closet and decided that an ole talbots kids dress she had needed a little uptick...i chopped off the bottom of the dress and made it into a skirt for my oldest and turned the top of the dress into a collage like dress for little m. i think i found the dress at a consignment sale to begin with, so it was cheap from the outset but now i feel so economical because it has been transformed into two outfits!
 (not the best pictures...they were itching to get to the park!)
 bucket hat for an 8-year old! biggest size I've ever sewn for!
 baby three's quilt!
popsicle tanks for my girlies and my nieces!
gift for a friend's second daughter!
pillowcase dress, headband and a matching reversible purse!
  some projects for a sweet friend about to have her second baby!!
i have a few other things to show you, but they are tucked in drawers in my girls' rooms and they are sound asleep, so taking pictures of those goodies will have to wait!

Monday, June 6, 2011

a giveaway i think you'll love!

check out this fabulous giveaway!! one lucky entrant will win all 31 fabulous prizes! i think you all will be quite interested in lots of the featured shops!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

under the sun

so this past week we basked in the florida sun and had lots of fun as a family...but...
i couldn't leave my sewing projects behind, so they came with me! i am feeling overwhelmed with all the projects i need (maybe "want" is a better word) to finish before august and baby, so most of what i tried to work on while away relates to the girls' new bedroom. i did sneak in a little clothing sewing... but spent most of my time doing craft projects... that required no sewing!  first up--decoupage letters for the girls' soon-to-be-repainted walls!
i can't find the tutorial i used, but this is pretty self explanatory...i found the letters at hobby lobby for $1.99 each. i chose my favorite fabrics that will feature in the girls' new quilts, turned the fabric face down and traced the letters upside down on the fabric with a pencil. i cut out the letters and then applied modge podge to the letter, placed the fabric on top of the letter and added a few coats of modge podge--a quick nap-time project!
next up...i needed to get working on the quilts...i have two twin size quilts to make and having never quilted before, i really need to get going! so on our second day at the beach while the kiddos napped, i cut out 335 (!) 6x6 inch squares for their patchwork quilts. i just love the fabrics, all from heather bailey's pop garden fabric collection, so even though it was a pretty monotonous project, it wasn't boring because these prints are so colorful and fun!
on day three, i finally got the chance to try out a tutorial i have wanted to use for a while now! this is such a simple project and doesn't have to involve sewing if you don't want it to! i saw these fun fleece flower pillows here and couldn't be happier with how these two turned out. the girls love them so much and i have plenty of fleece leftover to sew a few more.
it might not seem like i accomplished much, but it feels good to at least have a few things checked off the list!
we came home last night and i found several packages of great new fabrics waiting for me (pictures soon!)! i won this giveaway at one of my favorite fabric shops for a beautiful set of fabrics...i am not a quilter, but as the prints came already cut and ready to sew into a quilt, i figured that there was no excuse for me not to sew a crib quilt for baby three too. these are all big experiments for me as up until now i have only sewn clothing. until i can get a good way through the sewing of the quilts, i won't take on any orders in large quantities... hopefully i can open up orders again the first bit of july. i will post ready-to-ship items weekly until then, so be sure to stay tuned! and if you have special requests or need something custom before july, feel free to email me at chickadee chickadee at gmail dot com. i just might be able to squeeze other little projects in!