Craft tutorials

We’re in the process of turning the nursery into a big girl room. We’re hoping to have the majority done by the end of summer, which is very quickly coming to a close.

I thought I’d share a few of the projects and inspiration that have kept me motivated.

We’ve already painted the room a light turquoise color. We bought this fun and colorful twin quilt set and have her bed all set up. (Goodbye, crib!)

And now I’m starting to work on the fun part – the wall decorations.

I’m embracing all the bold, bright colors of that quilt and am really having fun figuring out what to put on the walls. I want this to be a room she can grow with – so nothing too “themed”. She does love pink, so I want to include some pinks without going overboard. And I want a comfy, home-grown feeling with at least some of the decorations. I’d like at least a few projects to be handmade.

And then I found it.

Pretty in Patchwork doll quilts book

The most incredibly inspiring book – Pretty in Patchwork: Doll Quilts. And I knew… this was it. I was going to finally get going on teaching myself to quilt. In miniature form. The thing I love about this book, beyond the wide variety of modern quilts included, is that these are not full-size quilts. They’re all doll-sized – about 24×19 for most of them. Which means it’s not quite as overwhelming for a beginner like me to attempt one. And if you’re an experienced quilter, already, you also get to practice new designs and stitches on something a bit smaller.

So I’m attempting to make a doll quilt for her room, which will coordinate with her own quilt and will hang on the wall. If I’m successful, I’ll make another functional doll quilt, so she can actually tuck those little dolls in!

Here’s a photo of her quilt (on the left) and a few of the fabrics I chose for her doll quilt.

doll quilt

It’s not the best photo, but that fabric in the front? That’s my favorite. It’s called “Monkey’s Bizness”. It features the most adorable flea market stalls and you can find it here. I also snagged a few of the coordinating fabrics in the same line while I was at it.

So that’s the start of the inspiration for our little girl’s “big girl room” transformation. I’ll keep you posted on our progress, with the quilt and with the room as a whole.

Have you tackled any DIY projects this summer?

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Doll clothes patterns – American Girl

doll clothes patterns

Once again, Liberty Jane Patterns is offering FREE American Girl doll clothes patterns! Print a free dress pattern and a swimsuit pattern, both just in time for summer!

Sign up for their newsletter and you’ll also get two more free patterns!

Looking for more doll clothes patterns?

Check here for printables, doll clothes and more!

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Pinterest Projects: Specimen Art

Editor’s note: This post originally ran last fall, as an idea for Christmas. Choose a different shape to update it for spring or summer (or any time of year!).

I’ve teamed up with a few other bloggers to host a new Pinterest blog hop: I Didn’t Just Pin It, I Did It! So link up the projects that have so inspired you that you didn’t just pin it on Pinterest… you actually made it, too! (Link at the end of the post!)

pinterest

It was a total crafty weekend for us. I finally sat down and made a few of those projects I’ve been pinning. (Want to see my inspiration boards? Check them all out over at Pinterest.)

This particular project was inspired by the following project from My Blessed Life that I found on Pinterest last month:

pinterest

Source: myblessedlife.net via Alissa on Pinterest

I stumbled across this project entirely too late to pull it together for Halloween. But winter? Winter, I could do. I found the cutest snowman punch at Joann Fabrics and broke out the hot glue gun (for the first time ever!)

pinterest

I love how the shapes just pop out at you.

Supplies you’ll need

- Paper punch (find a shape you love!)
- Scrapbook paper
- Frame
- Scrabble tiles
- Felt furniture pads
- Hot glue gun
- Burlap (optional)

Directions

- Find a paper punch you love.

- Choose several designs of heavy-duty scrapbook paper. I went with a mix of patterns, solids and glittery papers.

- Punch out several shapes and lay out on your frame. You can decide how exact you’d like to be. The tutorial I followed actually measured between each shape. I just eyeballed it and was happy with the outcome.

- Attach felt furniture pads to the back of your shapes.

- Use hot glue to adhere the felt pads to your surface.

- Finally adhere your letter tiles to the bottom of your project.

Hint: if you’re using felt pads to adhere to your surface, make sure that the shape you choose is pretty solid to hide the pads. I almost went with a gorgeous snowflake, but there would’ve been no way to hide how I was adhering them.

What do you think? Who would you gift this to?

I Didn’t Just Pin It, I Did It! Pinterest Blog Hop

And now it’s your turn! Link up the projects that you not only made it to your Pinterest boards, but you actually made yourself!

pinterest


Looking for even more Pinterest projects?

Check out our 31 Days of Pinterest series for more pin-spiration!

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