Plush Nursery Mobile

Hope everyone is having a great Easter Long Weekend!  Just thought I would write another post about DIY Home Decor!

For today I am blogging about a mobile I made for my son's nursery.  It was made out of a plush ring stacker toy that I found to match an Elephant pillow that I received as a gift before he was born.  You may be wondering why I'm blogging about this 2 and a half  years later?  This is because I just took apart the mobile so my daughter could play with, but mainly because it was hanging in the kids bathroom and my son decided to start taking it apart for me!

Finished Mobile

What I Used:

- plush ring stacker toy with 5 rings (I found mine at Chapters)
- spool of 1 inch thick ribbon
- spool of 1/4 inch ribbon
- fabric scissors













So as I said I found the ring stacker toy at chapters and used this one specifically because it matched the elephant pillow that was my inspiration for the decor of the room.  I also love this toy because of all the different fabrics and textures, each ring also has a unique rattle inside which added sound to the mobile too.

Plush Ring Stacker 

Separated Rings

Before I got started with the assembly of the mobile, I first cut all the required ribbon pieces with fabric scissors in order to get a clean cut.  For the thick ribbon I used a chocolate brown satin with blue stitching.  With this, I cut an extra long piece for the top, I figured out the length so that the middle could attached to the ceiling and the ends would attach to two sides of the largest plush ring, which would make the mobile the perfect height for the crib.  Than I cut four pieces that gradually got smaller by about 2 inches.  And finally I cut eight equal pieces out of the thin ribbon, for this i used a lime green organza with a satin border. 

All these measurement took a bit of trial and error to get right.  But the final measurements I used worked out perfectly so here they are:

In the Thick Ribbon cut;

- one piece at 5 feet (48 inches) for the top

- one piece at 20 inches

- one piece at 18 inches

- one piece at 16 inches

- one piece at 14 inches

(these pieces will be tied in knots attaching to the thin ribbon)

In the Thin Ribbon cut;

- eight pieces at 12 inches each

 (these pieces will be tied around each ring allowing enough extra to finish off with a bow)

Thin Ribbon Lengths

Thick Ribbon Lengths

With the ribbon cut all that was left to do was assemble everything together.  I used the large ring as the top piece and I dangled the four smaller ones from there.  The thick (brown) ribbon made the support pieces of the mobile and the thin (green) ribbon was what attached the supporting pieces to the rings.  Here is how you can assemble the pieces together for your own mobile:

1. Tie one piece of green ribbon through the whole and around one side of each of the four smaller rings making it so that the bow is at the front of one flat side. 

2. With the large ring tie four pieces of the green ribbon through the middle and around each side (so that there are four bows around the outside round part at north, south, east and west of the ring).

3. Fold the extra long piece of brown ribbon in half and tie each end with a tight knot to one green ribbon piece that is tied around the largest ring and then another piece across from the first, these knots should sit at the top flat section of the ring. 

4. Tie the remaining pieces of thick ribbon to each of the four green ribbon pieces attached to the same ring so that the knots are positioned at the bottom flat section of the ring.

5. Randomly tie the lose ends of the brown ribbon to each of the green ribbon pieces attached to the remaining four rings.  These knots should be positioned on one side of the round section of each ring.

Finished Mobile

Mobile Hung Above Crib

The end result should be, and was in my case, a mobile with a large ring hung horizontally at the top and four smaller rings randomly dangling vertically at varying lengths.  The different rattle sounds that were inside the rings made a cute sound when the mobile would swing and my son as a baby loved watching the rings gently sway. 

This mobile was perfect for this nursery and helped to tie together the surrounding decor, especially the matching elephant pillow.  On the opposite wall to the crib was a elephant silhouette mural.  To see pictures of the rest of the room check out my facebook page and view the Nursery Project album.

Hope you enjoyed this fun little project!

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Family Wall Art

Hi everyone!  It's been a little while since I blogged about Creativity...  so I thought I would tell you about my latest DIY art project for our Mudroom!  Check out all of our Mudroom Makeover pictures in the album on my Facebook page.  Mudrooms are the perfect place to have a bit of fun with colour and art.  It's not a focal room of the house and usually it is just a room for the family.  For our mudroom we painted the walls in Benjamin Moore's Cedar Green which is a wonderfully lively colour that is very energetic and welcoming.  It really added a great feel to the room and our entire family love walking through it every time we enter and exit the house!

Since it is, as I said a room solely for the family I wanted to add an extra special touch that would really add a homey feel and could really be a memorable part of the house.  So I put my talented family to work at what they love to do so much (Hubby too but he wasn't too thrilled about the mess) and we made some great art from hand and foot prints!

Finished Product

What we used:

- brown craft paper cut into 12" by 12" squares

- white acrylic paint (I just used whatever white paint I had lying around)

- leftover wall paint (Cedar Green Colour)

- square shadow frames from IKEA (I used white for these but you can get them in several finishes)

- paper plates

- paint brush

Supplies

With all our supplies ready to go Oliver and I started at the painting.  We had to do the "mom" and "dad's" squares in stages as I wanted to overlap them with the kids hand prints too.

I assisted Oliver with doing his hands upside down with his thumbs and index fingers touching so that the space between his hands made a heart.  We practised this style of hand prints while making Cards for Valentine's Day.

I then printed Opal's foot prints with her heals touching so that it also reflected the shape of a heart.

Just for fun I printed each of our two dogs and cats paws but I didn't end up framing them.

Oliver's Hand prints and Opal's Footprints

Spudnick, Apple and Pickles Paw Prints

Aaron and I then painted our own hands and made white hand prints on the last two squares.  It took some arm twisting to get Aaron to paint (he doesn't like being crafty!) but I eventually got him to join in.

Daddy and Son, Mommy and Daughter

Once all the white paint was dry we went and did the second faze of our art.  We used the left over wall paint in Cedar Green to create a layered look.  We printed Oliver's hand on top of Aaron's and Opals hand print on top of mine (it is still super hard to print an infants hand).  Then on the kids art pieces I added some of the green paint by painting a heart in the space in between Oliver's hands and painted a outline of a heart around Opals Footprints.

Oliver and Opals Heart Inspired Prints

That was the extent of our painting for this project, not a lot but just enough to have some fun.  It is extremely fun to do hand and foot prints with the kids and this time it included the whole family which was great.  I think our art turned out awesome!

All of our finished art before getting framed.

Then when all the paint was dry I went ahead and framed the individual pieces of art.  I bought shadow box frames from Ikea in white so that they accented the white prints.  I traced the glass onto the brown paper to trim the art to the perfect size for the frame.  I Cleaned the glass until it was spotless and shiny with my Norwex cloths (love them!!). 

Framing supplies

Finally I put them together and they were ready to hang.  We hung them evenly spaced across the wall from the corner of the room to the edge of the cabinet.  We also hung them only about 9 inches from the ceiling.  I wanted them to stand out but also wanted to leave room for some hooks and coats.  The result actually made the room feel really tall and spacious!  I also had room to add a rub on wall quote that perfectly finished off the whole family focal wall.

Finished Product Hung on the Wall

Finished Wall

All in all this was a really fun project that I will always have to cherish.  It was the perfect touch for this family space and I love the way the overlapping colours add texture to the bright wall colour!  I hope you enjoyed this fun little post.  You could do this project in many different colours and also by stamping many other shaped items instead of hand/foot prints.  You can even try using cookie cutters for a inverted version!  There is so much you could do with just brown paper, paint, and a classic frame... just have fun with it!

Be Inspired...

Get Creative!

Hand Print Valentines

Oliver and I got crafty and made Valentines for the family today.  When it comes to painting with Oliver the funnest way to go is hand prints (its a bit less messy too!).  I love seeing his little hands printed into all different colours and designs.  Since it is Valentines Day the most suiting design would be hearts... so we printed his hands upside down with his thumbs and pointer fingers together to make a heart with the space between his two hands.  That was the plan anyway!

What We Used:

- Card Stock

- Acrylic Paint

- Paper Plates

- And Little Hands

We took turns painting the paint onto his hands with a paint brush.  Then I help him press his hands down onto the card stock.  We did two different colours.  So we did one hand with one colour first, washed our hands and then did the other hand with the other colour.

Oliver choose the colours so the hand prints don't look very Valentine themed... but they do look cute.  And I love the heart it makes!

I had some card stock with a multi-coloured foot print border left over from some invitations I made a while ago.  I thought it looked cute with the hand prints and I tried to coordinate the colours with the coloured footprints.  Most of them were sucessful but their were a few where Oliver got caried away and the heart shape isn't completely visable.  But all in all Oliver did a pretty good job... now it was Mommy's turn to get creative.

I cut some hearts out of yellow card stock using the old "fold the paper in half and cut a hook shape which unfolds to make a heart" trick.  After a few tries I cut one that fit in the heart shape of Oliver's hands so I used that as a template and traced it on all the other folded card stock pieces.  I cut them all out and carried on.  I try to utilise every scrap piece of paper when making cards or scrap booking, so I used the folded pieces of card stock left over after cutting the heart on the back for a quick heart embelishment.

I stamped "be mine" with red ink on the little hearts... which I thought were so cute.  And "Valentine" on the back over top of of the heart cut out.

Then with a white button and a needle and thread I hand stitched the heart to the card right in the heart space that Oliver's hands created.

And that was out Valentine's Day craft!  I'm sure our family will love them and Oliver is super excited about handing them out and showing them off!  Happy Valentine's Day!

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Get Creative!

Christmas Bulbs

The kids and I decorated Christmas bulbs!

I bought a package of 6 ready to paint glass bulbs at a craft store in Vaughn Mall.  I think they may have been primed because they had a cream matte finish.  So I bought red, white and gold acrylic paint and we went to town.

To start I swirled some gold metallic paint around the bulb with my hands to give the bulb a nice background tone.

Oliver's were easy!  And he loved it... he loves anything to do with getting his hands dirty.  The easiest way I could get most of his hand print on the bulb without smudging was if I let him hold the buld in his palms with both hands.  We practised a few times and then he helped me paint his fingers and palms.  I told him to open his hands then I rested the buld in his hands and let him hold it for a few seconds.  I told him to let go and then I set them out to dry.

Opal's on the other hand... were a very different story.  Foot prints for young ins are not easy as it is... try it on a bulb and it just gets harder... try a hand print on a bulb!  It can't be done!  So we did her foot print.  But not without a few failed attempts.  Once with red paint which I swirled around with my hands to blend in and once with white paint.  Finally Hubby had to step in and we pulled it off!

Once they were dry I used permanent marker to write the year and their names on and tied some bronze coloured ribbon in a bow at the top.  We made 6 bulbs, I kept a set for myself and we gave my parents (Nana & Papa) and Hubby's parents (Grandma & Grandpa) a set for Christmas.

They All Loved Them!

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Get Creative!

Reindeer Foot and Hand Prints

The kids and I were busy today creating!  My Hubby brought home a giant roll of brown paper the other day for our Christmas gifts.  I thought it would be cute to decorate the paper with Christmas themed hand and feet prints of the kids.  So to practise we made reindeer faces with their hands and feet and ended up with a keepsake on canvas.

What we used:

13`` by 21`` white canvas

beige acrylic paint

brown acrylic paint

black acrylic paint

red acrylic paint

paper plates

permanent marker

Their feet are the faces and their hands made the antlers.  Then we used their thumbs to make the eyes and nose.  Using only THEIR hand, foot and thumbs for THEIR individual reindeer ensured that the reindeer features looked proportioned.  Then I just wrote with permanent marker the year and their names beside each face.  Simple right! 

I soon realised that hand prints with young kiddies can be tricky.  I wasn't intentionally planning on writing Reindeer at the bottom but my son got carried away with his finger painting and we ended up with a blob of beige paint at the bottom of the canvas.  So I made it into a large R and wrote eindeer beside it and I think it looks really cute! 

Now we have a super adorable painting keepsake that I can bring out every year and show off too our family and friends! 

I hope you enjoyed this quick post...

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Christmas Photo Shoot

I'm always looking for different ideas for Christmas cards. 

I saw some pictures on Pinterest with kids playing with Christmas lights so I thought I would try it out with the kiddies!

 

 

Opal as you can see loved the lights and would have sat there for hours

... and hours

Oliver eventually joined in

We eventually moved to the floor because it created a great reflection effect that came across even better then I pictured it would. 

The above picture is the one we ended up using for our card this year. 

I went to Zehrs and printed 4x6's,

I used their kiosk to add Happy Holidays at the bottom left hand side in white script. 

I then bought 4x6 envelopes at Staples and

made awesome photo Christmas cards for under 50 cents each!

And everyone loved them... I heard for weeks after we sent them out how cute they were!

And those are our 2011 Christmas Cards!

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Disney Cars Party

My two year old is crazy for Cars so a Cars crazy party is what he got!  I had lots of fun with this... luckily the Cars 2 movie was coming out in theatres in August so there was Cars stuff everywhere in stores.  I got most of my supplies from Dollarama.

First I made the invitations.  I used red folding cards from Dollarama (these are great, they are available in all sorts of colours and come in a pack of 6 for $2!).  I searched all over for a Lighting McQueen stamp but all I could find was a "Ready Set Go" which suited pretty good.  And of course a few weeks later I found the exact stamp I was looking for at Dollarama of all places, but the need for it was long gone.  So I found some pictures on the Internet and printed a bunch of McQueen's and Mater's out on photo paper.  I used some gold metallic rectangles to set it off a bit and then embossed the "Ready Set Go" stamp in glossy black.  For the inside I stamped "Your invited" and printed the party info also on photo paper with another picture of McQueen racing as a watermark.

I didn't go too crazy on the decorating and focused more on things for the kids to do.  I put up red and yellow balloons and just used plain yellow and red plates, silverware, napkins and table cloths.  I got Cars tattoos, Frisbees and beach balls and let the kids go wild.

Oliver showing off some of his funky tattoos!

My dad rented a red "sports" car and offered rides around the block.  Well it wasn't really a sports car but it was red so Oliver couldn't tell.

Oliver pretending to take McQueen for a spin.

I also planned some activities that the kids could do inside in case it was too hot outside and they needed to cool down.  I found these great cardboard canvas pictures with McQueen printed on them.  Instead of goodie bags I got Cars themed paper bags and filled them with Cars stickers, stamps, crayons and markers for each of the kids.  All of which I also found at Dollarama and the kids loved using them all over their Cars pictures.

Oliver colouring his Cars picture.

I also baked some plain sugar cookies in a bunch of car and truck shapes and put out some maple syrup cream cheese icing and a bunch of sprinkles and candies.  The kids had a awesome time decorating their cookies and couldn't get enough!  It was messy but fun and super cute watching the kids put a few sprinkles on their cookie and then a few in their mouth.

Oliver decorating his car shaped sugar cookie.

I made my signature birthday cake with rice flour and maple syrup.  Oliver just loves it and its not packed full of sugar like store bought cake so I feel better about him eating three pieces.  The icing I also made with maple syrup whipped with cream cheese.  Click on the lower right picture for the recipes.  I used green sugar on the top and let it run in order to look like grass and created a road with chocolate cookie crumbs that went across the plate, up the cake and down again.  Yellow gummy bears made the road lines and I used a tiny McQueen from a Kinder Egg and reflective stickers on toothpicks of the other movie characters.

McQueen and Mater Cake Balls

Cars Cake

The cake balls were my favourite part about this party.  I made them chocolate cream flavor with chocolate cake and vanilla icing.  Click the above left picture for the recipe.  I coated half with red chocolate and half with milk chocolate.  I used yellow chocolate on the red ones and wrote "95" on them to signify McQueen and used shaved almonds for Mater's two buck teeth.  I love how the Mater's turned out!  They were almost to cute to eat!

Oliver really taking McQueen for a spin!

All in all the party was a huge success by Oliver.  It was tons of fun and a great memory with the family.  He suitingly got a McQueen car as one of his presents and scooted around the backyard for the rest of the afternoon.  He absolutely loved the entire day!

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Get Creative!