Curious Bird

:come back craftiness:

I am slowly trying to find the time and energy for crafty pursuits. It's challenging with two little ones, but slowly I think I might be figuring it out. I truly miss making stuff, which I haven't been able to do on a consistent basis since giving birth to Felix almost three years ago (yep, he'll be three in June. nutty, eh?). But every now and again I do find the time and it's thrilling. Sadly, though, I don't often find the extra time needed to photograph and write about it here. Today, I am trying to turn that around. 

So...here is a little block puzzle I created for Roman a few weeks ago. I had the super smooth sanded blocks on hand (a big bag was given to me by a woodworker friend) and I knew I wanted to try making a little puzzle. It turned out really cute and was so relaxing to work on. As I worked one evening, Dustin commented that I seemed really calm as I painted. And after a day of hanging with kiddos, calm is what I was looking for. Yes indeed. It was relaxing and satisfying and now Romy gets to bonk himself with blocks ;-)

Hopefully there are more puzzles to come. I have a few littles in mind who are due for a gift.

More soon,

L.

p.s. Just a reminder that I'm posting over at Habit the entire month of May. Go take a peek.  

:a little green:

Inspired by this, I finally got around to making use of some of the paints chips I had stashed away in a drawer. I have made a couple more, but this is the only one I've made time to photograph. 
Paint chip art...so easy and soooo gratifying. 

More soon,

L.  

:mama's little helper:

Every new baby needs a birdhouse painted by their older brother, right? Thought so. 

And Felix still really likes the little birdhouses I painted for him and hung in his room before he was born. Oh how times flies. 

More soon,

L. 

 

:sewing for baby:

I have a pretty big to-do list I'm in the process of working through. And although I know I should be catching up on sleep or sipping cool glasses of lemonade with my feet up in these final weeks (days?) before baby number two arrives and everything becomes a little, well, different, I am in total last minute sewing/crafting for baby mode. I need to bind a baby quilt and finish sewing some clothing items that have been cut out and are waiting patiently on the end of my sewing table. But one thing at a time. This weekend I did manage to finish the bobby cover I had in mind. Yes it took me ripping out the zipper once before it was complete (20 inch zippers are kinda wonky to work with), but it is finished and I'm really digging the graphic print (the fabric is vintage and from my stash). I hope bumblebee baby approves.  

Onward!

-Leya 

p.s. do you use Wunderlist? I'm a big fan. 

:for the host and hostess:

Hi there,

I'm still here. Still EXTREMELY pregnant. It's becoming more and more difficult to do simple things these days. Bending over to pick anything up has been off the program for a while now, but it seems that walking uphill (even the slightest incline) is well on its way to impossible. Oh, how one forgets what it feels like to be 8 months pregnant, even after doing it once before. :-)

We are starting to get things prepared and organized around here, which causes me to feel a mixture of exuberance and anxiety. All the tiny baby clothes being laundered and folded and the gear being brought up from storage makes the fact that we are so close to welcoming a new baby into our family very, very real. And this time, having done it once before, I know what natural child birth is like, so there's all the I wonder if it will be similar, shorter, longer, harder, easier (??) thoughts swirling about in my head. And since my due date is less than a month away, I am becoming quite curious when this baby will arrive. I was so fortunate to have gone into labor on my actual due date with Felix, although I didn't get to meet him for 27 hours. Oy! My mom says she thinks I'll go early this time around ("I don't think you'll go past 38 weeks" was her comment during our chat yesterday. Hmmm...sounds good to me) One thing I know for certain is that I can't wait to meet the little dough-kneader/kickboxer/yogi who has been swimming around in my womb all these months. That part is going to be the BEST. 

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Okay, so this was initally supposed to be a post about the gifts I made for the two lovely families we visited on our trip a week or so ago. But obviously I had a bit to say about being pregnant. Go figure.
I'll let the photos do the talking from here on out.

Be well, 

L. 

:dye does wonders:

This simple project has been on my to-do list for a week or two now and this morning I finally managed to check it off. My friend gifted me a few simple cotton dishtowels a couple of months back and I have used them daily. (Thanks, Lucy!) Of course using them so often left them stained and looking pretty rough. My pickling obsession can be blamed for most of the stains. So...the simple solution was to buy a box of dye and rescue the situation. I love it how easy this transformation was, and now I have some pretty blue towels that will last for a good while. So fun to photograph all that pretty blue, too. 

:worth the effort:

Hi there, 

I finally got around to snapping a couple of photos of one of my latest projects. Just like the hanging planter bandwagon I jumped on a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist giving the tree stump table bandwagon a whirl. I'm so glad I did because now we have our very own tree stump table sitting on the front porch --it will likely make its way inside at some point. It holds my glasses of lemonade and Dustin's adult beverages brilliantly!

Of course this particular project took quite a bit more time, effort, and supplies than making my own plant hangers, but it was very satisfying. And no high dollar West Elm tree stump tables for me. No way!
I should mention that it also required help from the hubs (being pregnant got me out of having to do the real annoying part: applying coat after coat of polyurethane).  Thanks, Dustin. 

All you need is a tree stump, some sandpaper (we used a palm sander), a can of polyurethane (I chose a satin finish), a natural bristled brush for applying the polyurethane, and a little patience. And wahlah! You've got yourself a tree stump table. 

I should also say the following:

*our tree stump was dried out when we got it. A kind neighbor passed it along after having it in his garage for a year or more. It is riddled with imperfections and noticeable woodpecker...uh... pecks? I especially love that part.  

*I added some hardware to the bottom to make our table slide easily. I may add casters later on. Haven't decided.  

*I think the total cost was around $20. 

Have yourself a great weekend. 

We're going to pick strawberries and garden and hit some yard sales. Can't wait.  

xox, 

Leya 

:nothing to it:

Well, folks, I'll admit it. A while back I jumped on the hanging planter bandwagon. What a simple thing to make and the completed project is very satisfying indeed, so I think I'll stay put on this particular bandwagon for a while.

Just some string or twine or whatever you have really, a keyring or another type of gizmo for hardware; although, you can just do a loop at the top instead, and about 15 minutes from start to finish. Can't beat that, right?  Turned out better than my first attempt making fruit leather, that's for sure.

Posts from around the web I found helpful:

How-to by Skinny Laminx

Tutorial from Refinery 29

Happy Making!

-L.

my favorite little elf

Lucky for me there have been a few chilly mornings thrown in with all of our warm weather allowing Felix  to wear the newest hat I knit for him. I love this little elf hat so much. It's so easy to whip up -- only takes a few hours, even for a slowpoke knitter like me.

The pattern is from: More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Naturally I don't remember where the yarn is from. One of these days I'm going to get a little more organized in that department.

Be well,

Leya

like father like son

I have made a few of these lightweight biking hats for D over the years (he wears his navy hat pretty much daily during the summer), and I also made a super funky little one for Felix when he was just a wee dude, but sadly, it no longer fits.

What to do? Well, make another one, of course. He needed one (okay, I needed him to have one) so I whipped this little gray hat up over the weekend. I created the pattern through much trial and error, so there was (as there always is) a bit of fudging involved. Lucky for me it fits really well and he will actually keep it on for a few minutes at a time...if highly distracted.

Be well,

L.