Project Big Boy Room: Part One

We're in the process of changing our boys room over from a nursery to big boy room. I know that this will be something that happens over the course of a couple months (from planning mode to fully finished) and I'm doing my best to be patient with that. Anyone else an impatient creator/crafter/decorator? I'm seriously the worst so this is going to be a great learning experience for me. I've been planning and plotting for over a month now so I am really excited to show off my first finished project for their room: a map dresser!

Here is a Before: 

{My husband spent several hours sanding, staining, and finishing this old dresser for our boys nursery. He was nice enough to let me paint over all his hard work:)}

And After:

I really love how it turned out! I had the hardest time choosing a color for the dresser. The color scheme for the room is going to be blues, greens, and gray and I just couldn't decided on a color. I finally marched myself over to Lowe's and forced myself to just pick something. The color wasn't quite what I was expecting (I was hoping for a deeper blue), but I really like it any how. I actually think it will end up going pretty perfectly with the rest of their room. What I love the most though is that each drawer is a map of somewhere significant to our family. 

One of my guys is really into maps right now and I love showing him where my husband and I got married and where he was born. I know he doesn't super get it right now, but he still thinks pointing at the maps is fun!

I did this little make over on the cheap: DIY mod podge, DIY chalk paint, spray painted the old hardware and used free highway maps (most states will send you one for free). Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out and itching to keep working on projects for their room. Next on my to do list is making some (simple) quilts for their beds!

Giveaway!

Rachel, of Maybe Matilda is hosting a giveaway today and the prize is one my monster bags! Sweet! Go check it out.

http://www.maybematilda.com/2013/06/giveaway-better-than-perfect-monster.html

Plus, Rachel is hilarious, so creative, and mother to one darling little guy. Definitely check out her blog.

New! Personalized felt car mats

One of these days I'm going get caught up on this blog. One.of.these.days. 

In the meantime I've added something new to my shop (yeah!) that I'd love to share.

Check out my cute little personalized felt car mats (double sided no less!):

4 little pockets to hold your little one's favorite cars + bright numbers appliqued on each pocket.

One side has sweet little machine stitched roads + bright colored shapes (to help your little one practice their shapes and colors while they play). The other side features the letter of your choice (your kiddo's first initial!) as a road along with those 4 cute pockets. So fun!

Plus, this double sided beauty is the perfect take along toy! It folds so nicely and secures with a sturdy magnetic snap. (Can I just say how much I love magnetic snaps?) 

In addition to choosing the letter on side (A) you also get to choose the background color! There are lots of colors to choose from so you can personalize this mat so it is perfect for the little miss in you life:

Or the sweet little man:

I've been perfecting this little mat over the last few months and I am so excited to have it up in my shop! Wahoo! You can find them in my shop here.

Oh.my.

So life got a little ahead of me and I've been running frantically trying to catch up. Well ok maybe not running, but I've at least been speed walking :)

I have so many things to post about still: Christmas presents and decor ('tis the season still, right?), but I'm really excited about something so those other things will just have to wait.

So you might remember the monster coloring totes I made for my boys. Well that post generated a bit of traffic via Pinterest (thank you everyone who pinned it!) so I decided to take the plunge and start an Etsy shop. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, but I needed an idea to get me started. It has been so fun (and a little nerve wracking) getting everything put together: sketching out new patterns, sewing, taking pictures. Whew! It's a lot of work, but I have had a blast doing it.

So go check it out!

Better Than Perfect Shop

I'm really excited to expand my shop. I have some ideas for new items and hope to put together some patterns for the monster bags. We'll see where it all goes!

Here's a little sneak peak of some of the bags I have in my shop currently!

Shaun the Sheep birthday shirts

Our twinners turn 2 next week. TWO! Having two two year olds brings some unique challenges, but I have to admit there are parts of this age that I absolutely love. Like the talking! I love hearing them talk and get excited about the world around them. Granted they don't talk a whole lot yet, but they say more every day. It's the best.

I also love all the personality that comes out at this age. While I could do without the tantrums and hysterics I love all the laughter and silliness. So much personality in two little bodies!

Well if there is one thing my boys agree on it has to be their favorite TV show...

Shaun the Sheep!

In honor of their greatest obsession I decided to make them Shaun the Sheep birthday shirts for their big day.



I must say I am very pleased with how they came out. I'm no applique expert so I was pretty much just winging it. A little felt here, some hand stitching there add in some machine stitching and a dash of polyfil and voila! I just used some plain t shirts I had on hand and definitely would've chosen a lighter color than navy blue for the second shirt if I'd been buying them.

His hair and eyes are stuffed with polyfil to give it some dimension. I just free hand drew the pattern pieces on paper whilst looking at a picture (is that a copy right infringement?). I was actually surprised with how cute they turned out. And I know my boys will like them because well they've already seen them (oops!). Though I felt extra good that they could totally tell who it was supposed to be!

My husband and I were looking at sheep cupcakes tonight online. I think we might try to  make  some! If we do I'll be sure to take pictures and post them even if they turn out disastrous  Especially if they turn out disastrous  We all need to laugh at ourselves now and again, right?

We did it!

Folks I am proud to report that we made our December 1st deadline for getting all our Christmas gift shopping/making done. It was quite the undertaking with all the handmade gifts I did this year, but oh so worth it. Already December has been more relaxed and we are just able to enjoy our time together as a family. There are of course still the wrapping of presents and all that fun, but the rest is done. It feels so good! I think we'll do this every year. Seriously.

And now I actually have time to blog about the stuff I've made! Yeah!

A little man's tool belt

This has truly turned into the year of the handmade Christmas! I was going through the list of things we have to put under our tree and a good portion of them are handmade. One of the few store bought items my boys are getting this Christmas is a tool bench with a tool set (yes they will be in heaven on Christmas morning). I thought it would be fun to make them each a tool belt to go along with their tools. But I didn't want to spend any money on it so I was relegated to using things I could find on hand. I mulled over some different ideas, but decided on this tutorial that repurposes old jeans into a kids tool belt (awesome right?!). Well after my fiasco with the car cozy  I made using an old pair of jeans I just couldn't bring myself to give denim another try (I'm a chicken I know). Instead I used some left over red upholstery weight fabric I had on hand (canvas maybe? I'm not sure) along with some coordinating cotton plaid scraps for the edges.


I'm generally please with how they turned out though they are still lacking a little something to me. If I had to do it over I would have used a contrasting thread on the pockets so you could see them better. Live and learn! 

I even managed to score the parachute buckles for free. I had an old backpack with all kinds of buckles and straps on it that was just gathering dust and headed for Goodwill. I also noticed that the Dollar Tree has dog collars with parachute buckles that would probably also be a great alternative. If I hadn't had something on hand I definitely would have gone that route.

 

I think I might go back after Christmas and add a little something more to these (a felt monogram with their first initial, some loops for hammers...I'm open to ideas). There is just something missing.

But I am determined not to do anything else to them before Christmas!

(I’m sharing this at the Dare to DIY party hosted by Decor and the Dog, Maybe Matilda, Newly Woodwards, and Two Twenty One!)