Creative Projjies of Yore

Just getting in the spirit for an epic trip Down Under, to the land of hilariously shortened words, and bizarre expressions. Big J and I took out a library book on Oz, in which we learned that "fair dinkum" means "really".  Alrighty then.  And a person who's nosy is a "sticky beak".  I already know I'm going to love the Aussies. 

Now seems as good a time as any to share some of the projjies I've done over the past couple years. I'll be packing up lots of this stuff before we leave, and then who knows when I'll have time to showcase it.

Projjies for Kids

Sock Monkey Mania
Behold, my crowning glory: a family of sock monkeys. I made these in my last few weeks of pregnancy with Big J, when I was in major nesting mode, and also had LOTS of time on my hands.  

I essentially had a sweat shop operating in my living room. It's not important that I was both the sole employee and my own boss, and that I wasn't standing waist high in toxic chemicals. It was a crazy operation.

Oh. My. God. Becky. Did she pose her sock monkeys on a ladder? That. Is. So. Nerdy.

Sweet Whaley
I just named him this second. Aren't I creative? I made him for Big J's first birthday, from a pattern in a book. I did choose the awesome fabrics.  Isn't the Amy Butler fabric perfect for the spout?

Makeshift Mobile
I waited until Little J was over 6 months to simply place the butterflies on the pre existing lanterns, creating a mobile over the change table.  Ah, the plight of second children.

Baby Angel Costume
O.K. fine, I geeked out again.  But dang, babies look super cute in wings.  Never mind that they can handle wearing them for about 30 seconds.  I made these out of a thin clear plastic placemat which I cut in the shape of wings, and then glued on white feathers. I cut a hole on each side, and looped elastic through to create armbands. 

Baby Fairy Costume
Continuing on with the wings theme, because they're cute as shit. It wouldn't have been fair to torture Big J, and not do the same for Little J.  I bought the wings, but made the hat and tutu myself.  Maybe some day I'll post a tutorial.  But I followed an online one myself, and there are tons out there if you want to try your hand at it. 

You can unbunch your panties now.  She didn't hate every second of it.

I made her little dress, in a sewing class I took before she was born.  It was one of the most labour intensive things I've done.  But it was sooooo cute.  Here's us on the beach in Portugal.  She was 6 weeks old.

Another pic of pretty Baby J (at 10 weeks) in her pretty grey dress

Baby Memory/Photo  Projjies

I'm as sentimental as they come.  So I've come up with lots of ways to do creative stuff with early memories of the little ones.  For Big J, I did a footprint at 9 days of age,  and then again at 1 year.  I mounted them onto Japanese paper, mounted the paper onto mini canvases and mod podged the whole shebang. 

For his first birthday, I simply bought a white mat on white frame dealio (I made sure to use a wide white mat), and then had his grandparents, aunts and uncles (and of course, us) write him birthday messages. It's a great memory to look back on.

To memorialize Little J's newborn days, I created a shadow box with her teeny tiny onesie, her hospital bracelet, a footprint and a tiny sock.  She was only 6 pounds, and was itty bitty.  So it's fun to look back and marvel that she fit into those tiny things. 

I also had the foresight to take a monthly photo to track her growth.  I bought a big letter J and some alphabet stickers to put her name on it, along with some number stickers to show her age.  I used a big silk flower and a white shaggy rug as the backdrop. I then used Picasa to create a collage and edit it, since the lighting was different in each shot, and they really didn't look good until I edited them as a whole. I will continue this project until she is a year old.  And maybe beyond, with a different backdrop each year. 

These little starburst photo ornaments double perfectly as mini picture frames that are perfect to hang on the wall. The whole montage hangs in Big J's bedroom (one day to be shared with Little J), and is filled with pics of the extended family.

Home Decor Projjies

Window Hanging Garden

Yes, these are fake plants.  I have a black thumb, and have killed absolutely every plant I've ever owned.  Including cacti. But rather than looking exclusively at a hideous brick wall, I like to look at the hideous brick wall through my pretty hanging vases.

Fabric Covered Magnetic Photo Board
I bought a magnetic board at Ikea. It was butt ugly. I never used it. The thought of going back to Ikea to return it made me throw up in my mouth a little. I put a piece of pretty fabric on it and glued it down. Now me likey.

That's it for now. Enjoy!