Pee-Pee Tipis

So… I found a design at Embroidery Garden that I sure wish I’d had when my boys were babies…

All four fit nicely into the little carry pouch.

They even come with a cute little poem.

baby boy giftings:

The past year has been full of pregnancy revelations, baby showers & births. Here are a few things I’ve stitched these last couple months for some boys:(Doesn’t every nursery need a bear-skin rug?)I “mustache” if you like my binky…(this design comes from Embroidery Garden)And for the sports-minded family, we’ve got an oh-so-soft basketball blankie,a soccer ball hat,a baseball bib,and a football onesie.

I remember a time when each of my boys should’ve been wearing one of these…

And, last but not least,I got to make a few cards with my Silhouette cutter!

…now, I’ve got to go finish up a few girlie gifts…

Monopoly®-izing the family room

The long-awaited day has come. Today is the “reveal” for those of us participating in Erin’s brainchild: the Random Acts of Craftiness (henceforth referred to as RAoC) challenge. (I previously referred to this activity in a post sometime last month…)

The beneficiary of this RAoC in my home was this lonely, little table lamp. (There’s a back-story as to why it was procured last year from the thrift store, but I won’t bore you with details.)

It somewhat straddles the demarcation between breakfast nook & family room.

It’s not imposing enough to really anchor that end of the sectional which is our only seating in said family room.

Enter Erin & her tossed gauntlet: what can you make/remake by upcycling an old board game?

This does play into our decorating scheme for that room. Above a portion of the sectional is this statement:So, Erin & all your RAoC participants – GAME ON! It will be so much fun to play this edition with you! I foresee a decor improvement on our horizon…

 

Now, when my guys play Monopoly®, this is what it looks like:

…but I wanted my lamp to portray the more classic version of the game. I scoured an antique mall, frequented thrift shops, even went Goodwill hunting… I gotta tell you – I refuse to pay what some of those vendors believed their used merchandise to be worth!

Fortunately, there was the internet. Equally as fortunate is the lovely shopping experience which is Etsy. And most fortuitous, there is Judy Ashman’s shop, Vintage Paper Works!

S-C-O-R-E!

So, I took my little green wooden houses & big red wooden hotels and the hubs' big cordless drill and went to work. (*insert woodworking skill or lack thereof disclaimer here*)

Next, I used the router to faux-age the buildings; then I “strung” my beads on a length of chain.

I stitched the chain to the bottom of the lamp shade.

While taking time off to stop the blood from flowing from the needle pricks  During breaks from old shoulder fatigue  In between stints of stitching, I E-6000®-ed the tokens to the lamp base utilizing a template to ensure equitable spacing.

I waffled between three or four possibilities for using Monopoly® money on the shade. Originally I had planned to stitch it on the fabric I’d cut to cover the shade. But I wasn’t wanting a ruffle-y look. Thought about découpage, but that felt like too much work & too much clean-up.

In the end we determined our solution would be to print scanned images of the money onto iron-on transfer paper. (I was hoping it would bring more of a translucency to the shade when illuminated.)

I really wanted to place the money in a way that would account for the curve in the shade, but that would’ve used up a lot more of that expensive transfer paper than I was willing to part with. Oh! And did you see the section that I accidently ironed on upside-down? PSHHHHHH!

The top & bottom trims from the original shade had come off during all the maneuvering – so I painted them black & reused them.

Have you stuck with me thus far? Are you ready for the reveal?

Drumroll, please.

Curtains up!

TA-DA! 

 

You really need to go to His and Hers to see what other crafty people have done with their game pieces.

George Foreman, he's our man... ...wha'?

Nooooooooooooo -- he's our "Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine"!

So, we use "him" for ev.er.y.thing!

(frozen "Normandy" veggies from Costco + olive oil + Sriracha salt = 2die4)

Deee-lish!

I think Xander ♥s him best of all, 'cause he uses George every day!

He makes a mean quesadilla

corn tortillas, too...

But the fave, by far, is garlic butter bread

baby girl gift

"Change" is the word for 2012, I guess. Come the end of May we'll have one boy ready for college, one boy ready for high school, and one junior high school that won't know what hit 'em when our third boy shows up in August! That's alotta change!

These boys are one of the reasons we changed churches eleven years ago. Change can be tough, even though it's a good thing. Our church is in the process of changing youth pastors. The one we've had for about five years has been called to a senior pastor position in the mid-west. He and his beautiful wife and three darling children will be a blessed addition to that church, but leave a sizeable hole in our congregation & collective hearts.
But our God is good all the time, and does good things for His people. Five years ago He began preparing another young man for this position. This new youth minister has been a friend of, and mentored by the one who is leaving. It's a God thing. It's a good thing.
Oh! Another good thing is the new baby girl that happens to accompany this young man and his sweet spouse. What a doll! And she has such a precious name. I just had to do something with it...

I used my favorite appliqué script, but made it raggy instead of satin stitch. There are four layers of fabric in the letters.Three of them were used to make these rolled raggy roses.

Also used them to make a bunny.
Sew cute!

Things I'm Loving...