Showing posts with label Craft Projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craft Projects. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2011

A New Day

Thank you for allowing me a bit of hopelessness. It was a hole I dug myself into, but some days you just have to allow yourself to feel exhausted and finished. Thank you especially to T from DSS for all her sage advice. I know it will be OK and that we'll be settled soon, it's just the waiting I can't stand!

So fear not, I've come out of the sorrow pit and am trying to be positive once again. I'm busying myself with The High Power Pregger's baby shower (whatever will I call her when she's no longer pregnant!) The theme is Toy Story and here is what I have so far:

Guests will come in and choose a character badge (a circular badge with a print of one of the Toy Story characters on it) and pin it to themselves with a baby diaper pin. They won't know it, but whichever character they chose will determine what teams they'll be in for the first game, which I'm calling Potato Head Baby. I've printed out silhouettes of a potato head as well as packets of photos printed on regular paper of the future mommy and daddy. Some of them have them making funny faces, ect. Teams will have five minutes to cut up these photos and paste them to the potato head, making it sort of a "if they mated" game that Conan O'Brien used to play. But super-duper more mature (because you know, I'm all about maturity!)


We will also play a trivia game based on questions concerning The HPP's pregnancy (cravings, aliments, ect.) and baby bingo, which The HPP specifically requested. I've made it Toy Story themed by creating a Toy Story bingo board, which I'll share on here when it's completed.

Favors will be "Oh Baby It's the 80s" 1981 pop song mixed cd as both the future mommy and daddy were born in 1981 and the cover will be adorned with their baby photos. I found the Billboard top hits of 1981 and can't wait to pick and choose what to include. Any favorites from the list?


Other Toy Story touches include the fabulous Toy Story invitation, seen above, a cowgirl hat headband that I'm making my sister wear throughout, red and yellow decorations, cupcake toppers (possibly these!) and special gifts such as a Jessie-themed blanket I'm actually crocheting. Do you know how hard it is to crochet a cow-hide pattern?

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Rock-a-Bye-Nursey

I won't even go into all the baby drama in my life. The fact that since The High Power Preggers has become, well, preggers, almost all our family talks about is babies. Or the fact that my in-laws want babies, from me, like yesterday. Or how I can't even count on one hand how many close friends/family members are having babies. Or the fact that I have very, very vivid nightmares about being a bad caregiver to babies. Or being pregnant. Nightmares, not dreams.

But I'm here to focus on something positive, the nursery for Baby H, who will be arriving in June. My sister, though talented and skilled in many, many ways, has not always had an eye for design. She wants a Toy Story themed nursery (sidebar, she had a Toy Story themed room as a highschooler.) And to her this means buying up every Toy Story brand item and shoving it into one room. Then, a hitch in her plans. The baby is a girl. There are practically no feminine toy story nursery items out there.

Enter, me. I try to explain to The HPP that once she picks a character on which to base the nursery, we can deconstruct that character and use inspirations from the texture and color of their clothing, and of course their theme, and create a cohesive space. This she simply could not wrap her little pregnant mind around. Enter, inspiration boards. I created two, one more traditional and one sort of weird looking to be honest (the board itself, not the theme.) The first is based on Jessie, the cowgirl. I was told by The HPP, "I want a Jessie room, but not a cowgirl room." Well, that's impossible as Jessie is a cowgirl.

Here is Jessie, our cowgirl from Toy Story.

Here is the inspiration board I deconstructed from Jessie.


The centerpiece for the room would be some sort of artwork featuring Jessie, possibly this wall cling. Then denim or red crib bumpers and yellow curtains, tied back with robe curtain ties. Cowhide elements would pop throughout, such as a faux cowhide rug, or this fabulous red and cowhide blanket. I would buy an official Jessie cowgirl hat and place it on a shelf. Other western elements could be introduced without being overwhelming, such as horseshoes as hooks, distressed red picture frames, and rope spelling out Baby H's name. Other decorative elements could be created using the red/yellow/denim/cowhide color story and incorporating other aspects of Jessie's appearance, such as a sheriff's badge. Red polka dots work well in this space, either by adding a red polka-dotted crib skirt or simple pillows throughout. I would also suggest a small lamp with a red lampshade accented by a light yellow ribbon.



Here is our friend Bo-Peep.

Here is the quirky inspiration board I created for a Bo-Peep inspired nursery.

With the Bo-Peep room I focused on our shepherdess' clothing, her pink polka dots, blue ruffled bloomers, and patterned blue top. Also I went a little wild for the sheep, they are just too cute and perfect for a nursery. I accent the blue (possibly Toy Story clouded) wall with pink polka dot letters spelling out Baby H's name. Pink crib fabrics would be offset by a blue and white patterned crib skirt. I found light blue, ruffled baby blankets and other fabrics which could be used as textiles in the crib or as curtains. The sheep bumper and pillows are also a fun alternative to the pink polka dotted crib. Finding an actual Bo-Peep lamp or figure from the film would tie this room together. The fun sheep rug would add some whimsy.

Here are some more detailed photos of Bo-Peep inspired nursery items.




Which room do you prefer?

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Mr. Postman

9504_1The Professor and I are hitting the road tomorrow in a strange, obligatory, and yet somehow fun weekend involving him having “man time” with my brother-in-law while my sister and I continue north to DC for some lady time.
Due to this last minute holiday, we’ll be riding back to Georgia on Monday, St. Valentine’s Day. IMG_2000The Professor and I generally do not make a fuss on this very strange day. Not a lot is known about this feast day’s saint but Chaucer did basically invent the secular holiday. And I just can’t deny a good Chaucer invention stemming from courtly love. So we usually do little things, generally baked goods, like cannolis (which are, surprisingly, extremely difficult to find fresh in Georgia.)
In keeping in our Valentine’s tradition of do less, say more (and since it needs to be done before this little trip,) I’ve just finished my V-Day project for The Professor.
western-union-telegram-sign_280601253115Western Union Telegram Ad 1959I love Western Union telegrams. Working in the archives, seeing how they were used to tell good news, bad news, important news, I just fell in love. I was going to use a service like this one to send one to The Professor. But then I remembered two things. First, we share an address with his parents due to our unique living arrangement here at the cottage (read: no address) and I was not sure if such a shop would keep the messages private or send as a postcard. Second, I am trained as a freaking graphic designer. This would be the easiest project ever. And it was.
blank western union telegramI downloaded this blank telegram. Opened it in photoshop and wrote a message using one of my favorite fonts, 1942 report.
IMAG0151I then slightly tilted the text box to give that “just stamped” look. I followed these instructions to size, print, and fold my telegram. I thought of tea-dying it for aging, but I only had twenty minutes, so I just printed on slightly yellowed paper and went about my business.IMAG0153
IMAG0152
I finished the whole thing by melting some wax and stamping it shut, and completed the back with a lovebirds stamp I used throughout our wedding planning. Adorable alternative-card finished!