LiFe {unscripted}

Baby Boy Shower

(photo HEAVY post for documenting purposes)

Y'all. 

My girl friends know how to throw a party...the most beautiful baby shower for this baby boy and I. 

My amazing family and sweet friends went above and beyond to be there to celebrate this bundle of joy that is currently wiggling from the breakfast danish I just ate. 

Our family photographer/neighbor/and good friend, Marshal McIntosh, even showed up before the shower began to photograph all the beautiful hard work my girls created, and to get some group shots before the party started. 

My besties always peg me for the "crafty-creative" of the group, but seriously, THEY completely stepped into their own creativity and incredible talents and totally out did themselves. 

Everything was so gorgeous, I just wanted to share the photos here. 

The green glasses are 1970's vintage from my mom and dad's wedding china.  My mom just recently renovated her kitchen and decided to finally remove them from her china cabinet.  She asked if I wanted them and I just knew immediately that they would work perfectly for the shower. 

Beautiful photos by: Marshal McIntosh Photography

Adorable Cake and Cupcakes by: Rachel Lombrano of Heavenly J Cakes

Food and gorgeous (and delicious!) charcuterie boards by: Stacee Ribble

 

Hello there, Prickly Pear.

Welcome to the first addition of Make It Monday here on my blog.  I am pairing up with my long time scrapbooking friend, April, over at TheBlessedBeanstalk, and we have set up a game plan to blog more this year.  Technically, it was her idea LAST year, but in true form of life, I let other things take up my space/time, and just never did it.  So we are challenging each other to blog this year by setting up a plan for each week. 

Today: Make it Monday.

I generally get crafty with felt around the holidays.  It started several years ago in my teaching days.  I looked for a project for my HS students that we could start working on after the Thanksgiving Holidays, and work on them until Christmas Holidays.  A sewing project that would teach practical life skills like "how to thread a needle," "how to sew on a button," "how to sew something together," and also teach craftsmanship, learning how to sew with different and decorative stitches.  I wanted them to make something that they could take pride in learning how to make it, but also make it well enough that they would want to give it away as gift.  Enter, the felt ornament!

Over the years, I would make one or several right along side my students.  And once Ellis came along, I decided to make some for the special kids in her life at daycare, or now, in her class at school. 

This year was no different.  I was very excited to start working on them and even started a little earlier than Thanksgiving. 

I already knew what I wanted to make - Cute Cactus.

 

In artist fashion, I started with a certain cactus in mind.  This one was from the Land of Nod Bingo game set. 

I scanned in the card. And printed it on card stock.  Then cut it out. 

That's always been the easiest form of having a pattern to start from.  My HS students used to just search the internet for a cute picture they liked and do the same thing.  My only rule being that it had to be simple.  Simple is always better when creating with felt - if it is too detailed, then you end up having to cut out so much felt before you can start sewing. 

From there, I used my printed pattern and a piece of chalk to "trace" it onto the felt.  I needed two cactus' and one small piece in a different color for the red top.  For the top, I would just trace the top circle and free hand cut the little triangle pattern around the bottom. 

Again the easiest way I have found to make these, though I am sure there are other ways.  For the supplies I use, I will link along the way, but I will also put a quick reference list at the bottom of this post for the supplies.

Cut and Ready to Sew this is my process:

1. Sew on Red (or other color) round top directly onto the front cactus.  I used 2 strands of DMC thread for this in a color that was either monochromatic or would be a good contrast.
2. Sew the year onto the other designated back piece cactus using 2 strands of embroidery floss. I like to put the year for my purposes and I think it's a special idea for the people receiving them to know what year it is from.
3. I used an Eyelet hole punch to punch small holes in the face of the front cactus so I could insert my eyes, but I am sure you could probably just cut a super super small hole with scissors. SIDE NOTE: the black eyes are from Amazon.com.  They are called "Safety Eyes."  Last year when I was making my ornaments I came across an amazing artist on Instagram, @bargraf, who used these and I messaged her asking what they were, and she so sweetly and kindly shared her info and link to them on amazon.com.  They were a game changer and made putting a face on ornaments so much easier! I used the 4.5 mm size last year, but when I realized I was running low this year, they were out of stock, so I went with the next size up, the 6mm.  They were a tad bit larger so I had to make my pattern a little larger.
4. Secure the eyes in place.
5. Sew the triangle nose with two strands of red DMC embroidery floss. 
6. I used only one strand of black thread to sew on the mouth.  Both the nose and the mouth were just free hand sewn on.  I did not draw them on first. 
7. I used two strands of a light green DMC floss to sew on the thorns to the cactus.
8. For the hanger, I used ribbon from my stash and folded and pinned it into place, sandwiching it between the front and back of the cactus'.
9. I always tried to start sewing the ornament together at the bottom right side.  I used a blanket stitch for this, but you could always just use a loop stitch. 
10. Sew all the way around to the bottom left side of the cactus and stop. 
11. Stuff the little cactus ornament with poly fill. I was not able to stuff the arms of the cactus, as they were too small, but I was able to get the body nice and full. 
12. Continue the blanket stitch along the bottom to completely sew the ornament together.  Knot the thread, and then push the needle back and through the back so the excess thread would be hidden inside.

I realize so much of these step by step directions might only make sense to someone who sews already.  For that reason, I am also playing around with the idea of making some video tutorials for this kind of craft.  It was always one of my most favorite things to teach my students at school, so I think it would be easier to understand for a beginner, if I had videos to go along with the directions.

Would this be something you were interested in?  If so, leave me comment and let me know :)  And if you just have simple question, please feel free to ask!  Hand sewing cute little items makes my heart happy and gives me something to do when I am laying in bed at the end of the day watching t.v.

And it always makes me smile when I visit the homes of my friends and family and see the ornaments I made them on their Christmas tree. 

Supply List:

Felt
Some of my felt is from Dick Blick, and some I bought several years ago on Etsy. 
There is a difference in quality, and the Etsy seems to be higher quality, but for crafting purposes, the Dick Blick always seems to work well, too. 

Embroidery Floss
DMC embroidery Floss

Needle
Hand Sewing Needles

Eyelet Punch (optional)
Eyelet punch

Safety Eyes
4.5mm (smallest)
6mm

Poly Fill
Polly fill

Blanket stitch online tutorial - Red Ted Art channel on YouTube.  Redtedart.com

 

Her 3rd Birthday: Cake

Since the girl could talk, anytime I would mention that it was someone's birthday, she would immediately reply in inquiry, "CAAAAKE??!!!"  As in, will there be cake?!

The few months leading up to her third birthday, she really had not defined what theme she wanted for her party.  Brainstorming, I realized what better theme than just CAKE.  Being the art teacher (and lover of Pop Art), Wayne Thiebaud's Cakes.

Unable to find a print to work for the invites, I decided to draw my own and watercolor it, scan it in and add the text in illustrator.

Then and there, the theme was born.

 The front of the invitation:

And the back (she literally said this days before I sent these to the printer):

The party. 

I re-used this garland that I made for her first birthday - I just added glitter to the letters to change them up a bit. 

These were the main decoration.  The HUGE cakes.

About two months before her party, a friend of mine made some large dice for my brother-in-laws birthday party.  At the time, I asked her if she might be interested in helping me come up with some ideas for Ellis' party.  I pulled up the original Wayne Thiebaud painting on my phone and she immediately had an idea.  I could literally see the light bulb on top of her head!!!  (I LOVE CREATIVE PEOPLE!)  She said, "We could make them from concrete forms from Home Depot!"  And I was like, "OMG!  You are a genius!!!" I would not have even thought of it.  She is responsible for these amazing works of art!  Concrete forms, felt, yarn, and hot glue!!! 

The first one she made and sent pictures of, I literally felt my heart do flips of happiness :) Perfection.

I made the letters on the mantle like I did her alphabet wall.  The Land of Nod banner I found on eBay, gently used, but in great condition!  The 24X30 Insta Poster was printed by Persnickety Prints.  All of the photos are from my Instagram feed that I have taken of her from the day she turned two, until she turned almost three...minus 6 or 7 photos because you can only print 60 photos on this size poster.  

We decorated the tables with cookies to decorate cookies! 

I made five batches of sugar cookies, and two batches of royal icing using the awesome instructions from Alison's Cookie Party class...of which I have been addicted to  - making sugar cookies that turn out like works of art is so.much.FUN!!!  That' s a whole other post in itself - cause I'm obsessed.

Colorful plates to keep the sprinkles on the floor to a minimum.  A few colors of royal icing in squeeze-y bottles, a tray of sugar cookies, little cups with lots of different sprinkles in them, some colorful paper doilies for spots of color, and mini glass slices of cake (actually salt and pepper shakers) from Cracker Barrel for decoration.  Under each plate was a plastic bag and twisty tie so guest could take their decorated cookies home. 

But the MOST awesome part of each table could be found on the backs of the chairs...

My sister.  My talented, amazing sister, volunteered to sew homemade aprons for each kiddo we invited!  She used fat quarters in the most delicious fabrics, her time and talent, to create mini-aprons for kids.  Insert ALL THE HEART EYES here!!!!  They were absolutely perfect.  Each sweet kiddo that came got to take their apron home as a party favor. 

My sister is better than you sister ;)  Or rather, Ellis' aunt is the BEST AUNT EVER!!! :)))

 

At each place mat I put a little bookmark I created using my inspired watercolor at as a party favor as well. 

A quote from Wayne Thiebaud.

And a "thank you for coming" on the back. 

Cookies were decorated. 

Sprinkles, icing, cookies, and laughter were shared among family and "Sinds" (friends).

My wonderful family came...some even fitting into the aprons and making delicious works of art cookies. 

Oh, and super hero fabric was used for the boys that came (insert more HEART EYES!).

And the cakes.  OH.THE.CAKE.

Thirteen. 

Twelve made by our local bakery, Flour Power, who did an amazing job recreating the cakes from the painting.

And one Dora Cake made by my talented and sister of a friend, Amy, who so lovingly volunteered literally days before, to make a Dora cake.  At the last minute (like the week of), Ellis announced "I have DORA cake for my birthday!"  (Insert blank stare from me! "You what??!!!")  THANK GOD for loving friends who don't blink an eye or hesitate to help. 

Each cake not only looked super cute, but tasted even better!!!

I made the banner using cardstock, paper punches, and my sewing machine.  Surprisingly to me, it only required like 1 or 2 12X12 sheets of each color of cardstock for a long strand.  And once punched, the sewing went really fast. 

We sang.

She did great blowing out the candles. 

And boy did she eat a huge hunk of cake!  We all did. 

I hired Ashley again from Ashley's Twist and Paint, and man, this woman is awesome!  She is always such a magician with the kids - keeping them entertained and enchanted with her balloon twisting skills. 

This little doll baby scooted around in her walker and hung with the big kids like a champ!!!  I just love her so. 

And this year, even Ellis was interested in the face painting.  She was willing to sit still long enough for a darling design!

A last minute party favor - I was at the Dollar Store grabbing paper towels and saw these cute mini gumball machines (I think they were for Easter).  Grabbed the whole box for under $14 and attached a bookmark and a balloon to them. 

All the sugar and excitement meant that this is the kind of photos I mostly captured of her.  Blurs. 

And a couple towards the end when she started to wind down. 

This next picture we captured at the end of the party.  I wish I had taken more with all of my friends who came to celebrate our girl with us.  But these two (and my sister) completely stole my heart upon the end of the party.  They did something so very thoughtful and heartfelt that I was literally dumb-founded and speechless. 

During the party, they took lots of photos with their big cameras.  I had my own, of course, but with the busy-ness of hosting, I only took a handful before guests started arriving. 

So before we started saying our good byes, they both turned their camera's over, popped open the SD card spot, and handed me their SD cards saying, "oh yeah, these are yours babe!"  My face was like, "huh?!  what?!  I don't understand."  It genuinely caught me completely by surprise and took me a few seconds to stand there and realize that they were giving me all the photos they had taken.  And even better than that, I would be in the photos  - not just behind the camera. 

To this day, as I type it out, my heart is still so touched by the thoughtfulness and I am so grateful for their friendship and to know them. 

Thanks to them, I have lots of AWESOME photos of that special day (many are in this post!!!). 

Megan is the girl to the far right.  She is also the supremely talented creator of the large cakes up top!  Abbie is next to Megan - she has a heart of gold. 

We made our way home - (only a five minute drive) and upon pulling into the drive I turned around to ask her if she had a great day...

I took this as a "yes!"

Her third party was so much fun. 

Full of dearly loved family and friends that feel like family.

It was so very memorable.

And in all the meanings of the word, 

it was sweet. 

 

An album of all the photos from the party can be seen here!

Homemade Memory Game

I mentioned that I finally completed this homemade memory game on FB/IG earlier this week.

I started it last summer but never made the time to finish it until this last week during spring break.  Lucky for me, Ellis is just now at the phase where she will sit still for long enough to play memory.  We have another set, but there is like 50 cards and that makes for a LONG game with a newly three year old, if you know what I mean. 

For this game, I made 24 "cards"  - twelve matching sets.  And time wise, it's just perfect for now.  If at some time I need to make it longer, I can. 

Disclaimer: I did not intend to make a tutorial out of this, so I didn't take any step  by step photos, but the design is pretty simple.  The hardest longest part, as I have found with a lot of sewing projects/crafts, is the cutting out of all the pieces.  Once they are cut, the sewing part is quick and easy. 

Also, as you can see in the photos, we are already missing one card (gah!)...though they are pretty durable for a toddler, keeping up with all of them is not easy.  There's no telling where that missing card is at this point.  Cool thing though, I could probably sew another one pretty quickly, if we absolutely couldn't play without it.  Oh wait! - I was supposed to clean out that fabric stash, right?!!!

What you need:

12 different patterned fabrics - like I said, I used scraps that I could cut a 2 inch square from.  New fabric was not necessary for this project!

Mid-Loft quilting batting.  Mine actually came from Wal-Mart, and I used left over pieces from making quilts.  I used it to give the pieces a bit of a quilted look with a little "fluff."

A solid color of fabric.  I used an old white sheet. 

I also have a few tools that are my fave to cut fabric/sew with:

Fiskars Pinking Shears

Fiskars Rotary Cutter

Fiskars Self Healing Cutting Mat

Acrylic Ruler

Directions:

1. Cut patterned fabric into 2 inch squares.  You will need two - 2 inch squares from each fabric - equaling 24 pattern squares.
2. Cut the solid (white) fabric into 48 - 3 inch squares.  You will need 48 of these because you will need two per card.
3. Cut batting into 24 - 3 inch squares.  One piece of batting per card.

To make one card you layer it face up:

1. pattern fabric (top layer)
2. 1 square of solid fabric (under pattern)
3. 1 square of batting (under solid)
4. 1 square of solid fabric (for the bottom)

4. Once you have made your "card sandwich," pin it with a couple sewing pins and repeat until you have 24 "card sandwiches."

5. Using a zig zag stitch, sew directly on top of the patterned fabric all the way around the square to sew all the layers together.  Cut excess threads. 

6.  I then took my pinking shears and cut the excess white fabric off - being sure to NOT cut the zig zag stitching. 

And that's it.  I started to try to make the edges of the cards a bit more "finished" and "clean" looking by having a clean sewn edge; but then I realized that "done is fun!" and Ellis will not care if the edges fray after a while.  The pinking sheared edge will last for as long as we need it for.

Done IS fun (which BTW is worth the read, if you have time!)!  We had a lot of fun playing on the rainy days during our spring break. 

And now, a ridiculous amount of photos of Ellis "b-tending" to play the game so I could photograph it.  These are not necessary to see, but she's my love-love so it's necessary that I post them  ;)

By this point she was using the cards to cover up the kitty cat on her quilt.  She said the kitty cat needed "cub-ers." Ahhh, toddler-life imagination - I love.

Let me know if you have any questions - or if you make any of these, I'd love to see them :)  Shoot me a link!

Sometimes it pays to buy things you might not need.

Like when you forget that her Easter party is the next day and need to make last minute gifts for her friends at school.

I purchased these cute navy polka dot sacks from Pick Your Plum a few years ago...at the time, I was like, "Oh those are cute!  I need them in every color."  Then they all arrived and I never did anything with them. 

Until Wednesday night.

I whipped up this graphic in Photoshop using a FREE Birdesign Overlay (Happy Easter), and a couple cute bunny graphics from Creative Market, and printed them onto Avery shipping labels.  

Her Easter basket was personalized with some reeeallly old American Crafts letter stickers I had in my stash.

this post could also be titled, "sometimes it pays to store (hoard) scrapbooking supplies - even if you rarely scrap anymore."

 

Her 2nd Birthday Party

Her most favorite things party at age two.  I hemmed and hawed over what to do for this birthday.  She loves Peppa Pig, but she also loves Dora the Explorer.  What theme was going to suit her 2nd birthday?  Did we need a theme?  I knew her birthdays were numbered when I have the opportunity to choose the theme.  By next year she will most likely be old enough to specify and choose herself.  One day at lunch I was texting with my sister about what it could be.  So I began a list of her favorite things on a scratch sheet of paper.  As I shoveled the last chip in my mouth, it hit me. 

Favorite Things. 

If it's good enough for Oprah, then we can do it even better for Ellis :) 

These 2X7 bookmarks were inside each party favor bag to explain her favorite things. 

Every detail was SO worth it when Adam brought her into the party room and I got to watch her eyes dance and light up with excitement.

I strung up her Freshly Picked moccasin collection with jute and clothes pins.  Before you gasp, just know that most of these were bought in good used condition (GUC) off social media groups :) 

Peppa Pig was made from chipboard (like I made the alphabet letters for her room).

Scattered about the tables were photos printed in 3X3 size cardstock from Persnickety Prints. These babies are such awesome quality and so cool that you can print from your Instagram roll.  

Each table had red paper place mats for a pop of color, a party favor bag, and a mini felt moccasin ornament.  Each mocc was lovingly hand-sewn by me. (insert emojicon with X's for eyes)  I will be honest...when I started them, they seemed easy...and then about 10 in, I was all "what.the.(badword) did I get myself into?!"  But the stubborn inner me, dug deep and pushed through to finish more than 50.  Thank goodness I started them sometime during the Christmas holidays. 

The bags are from Uline and were printed using this method from a linoleum block and fabric ink.  I wanted to mimic the FP dust bags that come with the moccasins. 

For food, we had macaroni and cheese, pigs in a blanket (hotdogs), cheese and fruit.  Her faves to eat.  I used the Freshly Picked dust bags to make a small banner for the table, and added the tissue paper tassels for a pop of color. 

Her cake was made by a local bakery, Flour Power, who did the perfect job at creating the moccs out of fondant and the cake tasted AMAZING.

The 2 in the background was made using the 3X3 cardstock prints from Persnickety Prints, and this tutorial by A La Mo Party Styling.  As you can see, I ran out of room for the bottom row of pics and ended up having to be super picky as to which photos I was going to include, but most are the highlight photos from my #ellischandlerrose Instagram posts over the the past two years.  

Instead of having a candy buffet, we decided to have her favorite things buffet so guests could fill their own goodie bags with her favorite things: Mardi Gras beads, Dora Maps (mozzarella cheese sticks) (Idea found here), Skittles, and mini play dough jars.    Most of the items that are listed on her on her favorite things bookmark were on the table.

The other items listed on the bookmarks were covered by a wonderful girl named Ashley, who does face painting and balloon twisting for parties and events; Ashley's Twist and Paint.

She was a total hit and worth every penny, although she is super-duper reasonable :)  The kiddos loved it.  Ellis didn't quite understand getting her face painted (she wanted to do the painting!), but man oh man, she LOVED the balloons. 

And when it came time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles, she was all about it. 

(eating Skittles while being sung to?  Even better!)

And thanks to my sister, we have this awesome moment caught on video...

 

Pretty much sums up the entire day.  The high fives at the end...I die. 

Watching her literally dance across the room with her friends from daycare was magical.  Usually she is quite timid and clingy to us when we are in new environments - at least until she warms up.  Not that day.  I had several friends text me afterward to tell me how awesome they thought it was that she literally "worked the room" entertaining her guests, having fun, and being a social butterfly.  My usual timid baby was a different child that day.  Like she just knew it was her day.  It was as if on the very first day of her second year, she grew within her little soul as well. 

Such a fun and cool day for our little family.  And the best part was celebrating with friends and family who love her dearly. 

Happy 2nd birthday to our sweet butter bean, Ellis Chandler Rose. 

You are so very loved.

 

 

 

 

 

POPSUGAR

About a week ago, I was contacted via email by an editor of POPSUGAR.com.  The email was short and sweet and basically just wanted to know if I would be willing to share my "how to" tutorial on E's alphabet wall.

Uh, duh!  Of course!!!

So a couple of days ago, it was featured with some very awesome other DIY nursery ideas.  

The article is here, if you want to check it out and see the other very cool ideas. 

I say this trying to be very humble and totally not trying to toot-my-own-horn, but it is a great feeling to get a bit of recognition for something that you truly put your heart into. 

Just wanted to share my excitement :)

 

Her 1st Birthday Party...

...was FIESTA themed. 

I cannot remember how the conversation went between my sister and I but I remember it was right before Ellis was born that we decided it would be so fun to have a Fiesta for her first birthday.  The cute dress, the bright color decorations, the flowers...a PINATA!  And so when it came time to start planning, I dove in head first. 

Of course, the planner that I am, I had to draw it out first. 

 A lot of the stuff I made ahead - the party sacks, the "lets eat cake" and "nacho bar" banner, the tissue paper flowers (with help from my sweet friend!), the pinata-like number 1, and the monogram E's.  The rest of the decor was bought in San Antonio by my sister and my amazing friend, Sarah.  

With an hour and half to decorate the restarant room, my sister, my cousin, my mom, and I had the room decorated and ready for guests to arrive. 

I started working on the party favor sacks back in early January when my students were working on linoleum printing blocks.  I drew the design on the block based off of this beautiful chalkboard sign by the awesomely talented blogger of Little Baby Garvin, and then cut it from the linoleum and printed it directly onto the brown paper sacks. 

I then added strips of fringed tissue paper to the bottoms of the sacks topped with a strip of washi tape for a finishing touch. 

I made way more than I needed, but that's the beauty of printing with lots of colors - I just couldn't stop!

The cake was made my a very talented friend of mine, Tonya Staggs.  She did a wonderful job making it look colorful and fun.

She had a smash cake that was just as yummy as the big cake, but there was no smashing that took place (smile). 

Just a little finger tasting...

Followed by some water drinking...this girl is not used to sweet stuff...on this, I kid and question if she is my daugher or not...

And then she ordered that it be taken away - again, I kid, but that's what this looks like, right?!

Unfortunately, this is the only actual photo we got of the three of us at her first birthday party, but at least we got one.  I wore a Mexican top like hers.  I realize the days for us to dress alike are going to go fast, so I took full advantage. 

I'm happy to say that her first birthday party was a complete success!  Sweet pea was an absolute peach the whole time and enjoyed being carried and doted on by lots of family and friends who genuinely love and care for her.  I'll be the first to admit that the planning that went into this was sometimes stressful and time consuming, but to see this smile, I will do it a hundred times over again. 

She and I went home soon after the party was over and took a much needed siesta together.  The day could not have been any better. 

 

 

 

How To Make Alphabet Letters from Scratch

I've had a few sweet people email me asking for a step by step process that I used to make the letters for E's Alphabet wall. 

They truly are fun to make so I decided to take out my iPhone and snap a few step by step pictures of the process.  

Supplies I used:

• 14 ply Chipboard - You could probably use cardboard, but chipboard paints better without warping too much.
• Craft Knife
• Insulation foam OR 3 oz paper Dixie Cups - depending on how thick you want your letter to be. 
• Ruler
• Elmers glue
• Paper Tape - it's basically brown kraft packing tape that is like an envelope.

A photo of the chipboard to show the thickness:

Step 1: Draw your letter out on the chipboard.  I used the edges of my chipboard for my letter so that I would not waste time cutting the edges or waste chipboard. But this is the part where you could be super creative and do a cursive letter, an upper case or lower case letter, OR even print a certain letter from your favorite font and give that a try.  All of mine, I hand drew to make it easier/faster, but I am sure it would be fun to have one in your favorite font, too.

Step 2: Use your craft knife and a ruler (on straight edges a ruler helps!) to begin cutting the letter out.  Because the chipboard is thick, it takes more than one cut to cut all the way through AND a craft mat to cut would also help make this process easier. 

Step 3: use your cut out letter to trace another out on chipboard and repeat step 2.

Step 4: Slice your insulation foam into 1 inch sized squares.  These do not have to be precisely one inch, just small enough so they do not go over the edges when put on the letter.

Step 5: Begin using Elmer's glue to glue your insulation pieces to the bottom layer letter - spreading them about an inch apart and being sure that they do not go over the sides of the chipboard.

Step 6: Put glue on the tops of the pieces of insulation foam.

Step 7: Carefully place your other chipboard letter on top of the gluey insulation foam, looking over the very top of it and "1-eyeballing" it to make sure the edges line up just so.  Especially the bottom edge if you are going to want your letter to stand upright. 

A side view

Step 8: Carefully place a book or a thick catalog on top of the letter as a weight to hold the chipboard down while the glue dries.  Step away from your letter and let the glue dry before moving on.  I generally do this process one day, let it sit a night, and then come back to it the next day.

Once the glue is dry continue with the following steps.

I used this paper tape from DickBlick.com. You will also need a paper plate and a damp sponge to wet your paper tape.

Step 9: Tear about 3-4 inch strips of paper tape.  you can tear a lot of them at once, or tear as you go. 

Step 10: Begin by wetting the shiny side of the tape with your sponge.  You do not want it to be drippy wet, just wet enough so that it becomes sticky. 

Step 11: Begin covering your letter with the strip of tape.  Pull and press the tape firmly over the side, but do not pull it too much or your will make the edges pucker together.  This part is all about craftsmanship and neatness.  It takes patience so you might practice a bit with the paper tape a bit to get the right technique down. 

Tips for using Paper Tape:

1. Don't use too much water on your sponge.  You want the tape damp, not drippy.
2. Smooth the edges of the tape down using a damp finger.  Gently pulling the tape around the side - too much pull, and your sides will squeeze together.
3. Overlap the tape so you do not have gaps in between your tape. 
4. When you get to the corners, get as close with the tape as you can, and then use the next tip to properly seal your corners. 
5. Fold and crease the paper tape before wetting it, then wetting it and placing it on a corner to get a sharp corner. 

Again, the paper tape takes some practice and play and patience to get the hang of. 

I made this short video to demonstrate the first steps of using paper tape.  It was challenging to video with one hand and apply paper tape with the other hand, so it might not be extremely helpful, but it's a start. 

 

I also suggest using at least two layers of the paper tape to ensure a sturdy monogram.  

From there, you can decorate your letters however you would like.  Here is how I decorated Ellis':

A - Mod Podge with fabric strips
B, F, K, O - Mod Podge with tissue paper
C - Mod Podge with an old map
D, I, J, L, M, N, P, Q, Y, Z - Painted with acrylic paint
E, W - Painted then drawn on with a Sharpie, then Mod Podge.
H, U - Mod Podge with old book pages on sides, then painted on lots of glue to the front and glittered.
G, X - Painted with acrylic paint, Mod Podge paper dots or hearts.
R - Painted with acrylic paint, then used a craft knife to cut the paper design and Mod Podge to front.
S - Mod Podge with notebook paper
V - Ornamented with toilet paper rolls cut down, then painted with acrylic paint.
T - Decorated with washi tape, then Mod Podge'd

Notice a commonality?  MOD PODGE!!!  It was my BFF during this project :)

And because we just had an impromptu photo shoot a couple nights ago with my baby bean standing and playing in her crib:

Just exactly the kind of picture I imagined while I was making each letter of the alphabet for my sweet butterbean's nursery. 

 

 

Apartment Therapy

A few weeks before my due date, we had finally put the finishing touches on baby girl's nursery.  I was happy to have it all done, and decided to snap the pics to share on my blog. 

I must admit that right when we found out we were pregnant, I got so super excited about getting to decorate a nursery.  I had the ideas flowing and websites like Pinterest and Apartment Therapy were totally getting my creativity flowing.  And then I decided, that if her nursery turned out as I had planned, I wanted to submit it to Apartment Therapy just to see if it might get "published" on their blog.  A small goal of sorts. 

Fast forward to the few weeks before my due date.  I did just that.  I took the photos and decided to submit them.  When you finish submitting, they send you an automated message saying that you would be notified if they decided to "publish" your nursery. 

The weeks went by and I never got an email.  And then we went to the hospital and came home with our baby girl.  I hadn't even thought about it with all the newness of Ellis.  And then last Saturday I was on Pinterest and noticed someone had pinned my photo of E's alphabet wall.  I clicked on it, thinking the link would lead to my blog.  Nope, the link led me to Apartment Therapy! A happy surprise to say the least! The nursery title is Chandler's Colorful Crafty Space because at that point when I submitted, we still had not decided if her name was going to be Chandler or Ellis. 

Email notification or not, that surprise made this new mama a happy girl. 

Thanks for dropping by :)