Paper Doll Wall Art

I began decorating my daughters room last summer in a Shabby Chic style. I have been a huge fan of the style for years. I am also a fan of paper dolls. My sister and I would hassle our mom till she would cave and buy us paper doll books. We loved the historical ones that are sold in souvenir shops.Playing together with our paper dolls is a favorite childhood memory that I wish to share with my daughter.Now that I have my own house and more money I am trying to get my house to an awesome level. When I say I have more money... I mean more than the nothing I once had but no where NEAR my idol Rachel Ashwell's money. This means more DIY .... but having 4 kids I don't have much DIY time. I was able to make this simple project in 30 min. (Half of a 'Hoarders' episode)


Start with a shabby frame, Scissors, patterned paper that coordinates with the paper dolls you wish to use or the room you are using it in, scrap paper, pen ,glue, and paper dolls.

You can Google 'Vintage Paper Dolls' or 'Free Printable Vintage Paper Dolls' like I did or... you can use some of the sites I have found.
http://thefrenchbee.blogspot.com/2009/06/vintage-paper-dolls.html
http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/801505-21-pages-of-vintage-paper-dolls
http://www.flickr.com/photos/retrorenovation/3261417619/
http://www.paperdollreview.com/
http://www.ss42.com/paperdolls.html#3

 Take the paper that comes in the frame out and place it on the patterned paper.

 Take the pen and trace it on all four sides.

Cut it out.

 Take the printed out paper dolls and cut them out as well.

Once you have cut the dolls out play with the placement , until you have it the way you want it.

 Take the scrap paper.

 and cut out a strip of paper and cut into thirds and add glue to one end

 Then roll into a circle add glue to one side

 glue to the back of the doll pieces , then add glue to the other side and place on the patterned paper.

This will add some depth ,especially since I didn't use a shadow box.

http://www.thepolkadotcloset.com/item_277/Paper-Doll-Annie.htm(here is an example)

You can add embellishments like glitter glue, ribbon, buttons, lace or paper doilies. But here is the finished project. 

DIY Burp Cloths

I am an emotional crafter. And eater..... and shopper, but enough about me. Last week was a rough one... cranky baby who is refusing to gain weight , 3 sick kids and my own illness, on top of the everyday madness. I fell into the craft store on my to pick up dinner. I wanted something to distract me , but I could do... quickly.  I went to the fabric crafting aisle and found some pre-made burp cloths and tons of cute iron-on and fabric appliqué's. There I had my "AH-HA!" moment. I can make too cute burp cloths.. in 5 minutes. All you need is and iron, iron-on patches and fabric. You can basically embellish ANYTHING.

Here is the how-to:

1. Gather your supplies. Plain burp cloths or diaper, Iron-on appliqué, and iron.

2.Place the patch where you want it.

3. Place another burp cloth between the iron and the patch to take some of the heat. Hold there for 30-45 seconds. 

4. voilà! Here is the final product.

Here are some of the others I have made. I have since added sea foam colored ric-rak to the sailboat one ( it looks like ocean waves) I have a fourth cloth that I am hoping to add gross grain ribbon to , I just need to get off my rear and set up the sewing machine to do it.

I also did a t-shit at the request of my oldest. You can basically do this to anything!

Happy Decorating!

Nursery Storage Ideas

When you have a baby and don't live in a mansion, space is usually at a premium. With all the equipment, gear, and linens you "need" when you have a baby, you might want cute ideas how to store it all. If you have a baby you also know how free time is at a premium. Here are some ideas I was able to find in 15 minutes.

I love that these hang on the wall. These are from PB kids online store.

Even daddy can figure out this system. PB kids.

These are stackable and come in cute colors. From the Land of Nod online.

Cute and eco-friendly.Land of Nod online.

You can hang things like baby's snowsuit or sun hats from this. It's by Sweet Potato "Dottie" big baby pin hanger.

Ok my time is up. Hope this starts the storage solution juices flowing. Till next time :)

Nursery

I loved (love, it's still a work in progress) working on my baby's room. It is the first time I was able to decorate a nursery any way I wanted to, Ok well that's a sort of lie.I wanted a fab modern room for him

But David wanted something with the ocean or fish (WTF?)

So I searched to something we both agreed on. It wasn't my first love like the pic above , but it was nice and had potential. I found this 13 piece set for 50$ plus shipping from ebay, it was going for 250$ at one point on Amazon. It met my love of all good deals. It came in the mail one day and I fell in love. I cried ( it was probably my hormones) one day, my unborn baby would sleep on these sheets.
It took forever to get the room and dresser painted. I was in the hospital after having him and my wonderful future FIL was helping make my vision come to life. I can't thank you enough Dave.
Here are the results:

                                              Above the bed I am going to hang my belly photo once I get it framed.

                                                    One day those pictures will be hung up next the the family photo

                    My Dad made this toy box for me when I was a baby. I am going to repaint it to                 match the room this summer

 I need to figure out what to do under there. I am going to add a painted on white board in fancy gold frames.

 I found some tin buckets at PB kids that I want to organize this crap.

 Found this old Ladies Home Journal AD from 1947 in an antique store. I thought it was cute.

 I stuffed this with all the blankets we have for him. Errr. Cute huh? Umm right....

 This was one of my brothers burp cloths. I thought it was vintage-y

 Daddy loves to play Scrabble . I secured this with hot glue.

 Old Avon sachet and jelly jar.

The rose is cheesy but my oldest bought it for me the day I left the hospital.

It's nothing fancy, and nothing like I had envisioned. But I like it. Its generic I know. I am always looking to kick it up a notch.

Welcome!

Hi guys! It's your favorite disgruntled SAHM , and I have started a new blog. What? I don't update the other one enough, and what makes me think I can handle another one? I know you are thinking it , even if you are to polite to say it to my face. (sadly most of you are to nice to call bullshit on me..... Thank you!)

To all you nay sayers I say ... I know , I know.... I just didn't want to bore you with my hobby talk. In my spare time (hhahahahahahaha I made a funny) I like to craft, thrift, refinish shitty thrift store furniture and decorate with my craft/finds. Some of you won't give a crap... as is your right ( no matter how terrible that choice is... because I am fucking awesome)  Some of you care... and share the hobby with me (even if our personal style differs) I am looking at you Mrs. D!

Well if my other blog is about my misadventures in parenting and life... what can you expect here?
 Plenty! And a huge heaping spoonful of Krista's fucking awesomeness , thats what! More specifically I am going to pictures of areas in my home I am working on, what I am thinking of doing, Pictures and how-to's of crafty shit I make for my house and kids, post pics of things I love, ideas I have, inspiration rooms and shit I wish I knew how to craft/cook/buy.

I hope you guys like, because this is something I LOVE! One day I hope to get better at it and maybe make some dough. I really would like to have the time and know how (from building crap to sewing my own shit).


Anyways peace, love and crafting!
Krista