Pillow tutorial - grommet & rope

This pillow is one of my favorite Pinterest finds. Immediately I saw it, I knew it would look good in my son's room.

Here is a tutorial on how to insert grommets:

Cut a hole into your fabric

Insert the grommet into the hole (the piece that pokes out should be on the wrong side of the fabric)

Place the grommet on top the the round hardware you see in the picture

Place the washer (the flat piece) on top of the grommet.

Place the puncher on top of the washer and hit it with a hammer a few times.

Voila!

And here is the tutorial on how to make the pillow

Linking up to:
The 36th Avenue

Whale wall decor

Remember the  nautical nursery storyboard for Eli's room? Well, this is the one piece I was not so sure I could pull off. I must say it was very thrilling to make, it looks awesome and its quite big. The whale measures 34" x 20" long

This is what you will need:
2 red cedar fence board
Newspaper (or any large piece of paper)
9 mending plates
Minwax wood finish
Picture hangers
A rug or paint brush
A pen or pencil

Here is my inspiration picture from PBK. I have no idea how much it costs. I even wonder if they ever sold it, it was just part of the room and I loved it. I found these kind of whales for $100 on Etsy and it only cost me about $12 to make my very own..hurray!

Cut boards in half and arrange them like above. Draw a picture of a whale on the newspaper (if you look closely, you will see I had to adjust and redraw mine several times). Cut out the drawing from your paper and using a pencil draw alone the edges of the cutout onto the boards.

Here is how it looked like after

Then I whipped out my favorite tool of all times. My saw, this is one item I would take with me to my grave yes our relationship is that deep. I have used it on all my wood cutting projects, love it love it love it!!

source

Cut up all my pieces, one board at a time

Is that cool or what? The jig saw cut through this board like it was butter. It's the first time I have used it for something this precise and it delivered:)

I turned it around and screwed in the mending plates where the boards came together. Then I nailed in the picture hangers, one on the tail and the other on the head (not shown in picture).

I used this stain, love this stuff

Love it!

DIY Sailboat T-shirt

Here is a cute project I have been working on. It only took a few minutes. I got the tee for $3 and the fabric paint was a dollar; another affordable project. You may have noticed by now that I love anything nautical. My son's nursery is nautical and I got some fabric to make me a shirt and a maxi skirt (navy, white and red) hurray!

I have always wanted to print on my own clothes but just didn't take the time to learn how. Last week I stumbled upon this cute blog. I loved her tutorial and decided to try it out and I am excited with how it turned out. Its not that scary after all.
I would like to make a skirt/shorts whichever one will be easier to make to go with this tee. It's going to be a fun spring/summer outfit for my little daughter..

Nautical nursery storyboard

My fabric finally arrived yesterday. I get 99% my fabric from here . I am ALWAYS very happy with my purchases from them. Sometimes I forget that I bought the fabric with my money because each package feels like a treat.. The fabric is extremely affordable, the best price I have found online. They have all sorts of fabric, home decor, apparel and quilting fabrics.. One stop store for me.

I decided to make a storyboard for my son's nursery. I made him his current bedding when I was 8 months pregnant. I really didn't have the energy to do it exactly the way I wanted, as a result, the bumper fell apart and I am not a fan of the sheets anymore. I never even got to make him a blanket (he is 8 months old now) I know, sad story. With summer around the corner, I decided to get everything new, hurray! I am excited to see how it all turns out. I am not doing any major  painting or furniture making in his room, so I am hopeful it won't take too long to finish, maybe 2 weeks max.

Fabric: boats/red & white stripes/solid red /navy/navy & white stripes Decor: wooden whale(saw it here but I don't think they have it anymore)/mini lantern/anchor pillow/swing shelf/sailboat (got it at half price last year)

So, I am making the bumper, fitted sheet, crib skirt, swing shelf (a PB knockoff), pillow and quilt. I really do like the whale decor, but I am not yet sure if I will make it (fingers crossed).

Wish me luck!

Brother cs6000i sewing machine - awesome purchase

It finally arrived and I am in LOVE.. I have been trying to figure out what machine I should get for ages. I finally settled on the brother cs6000i. Its a wonderful upgrade for me. Its basic but filled with cool stuff. I can even do basic quilting with it, hurray! and the price is awesome..

Amazon $154.97 - 1018 people gave it a 5 star
Walmart $154.94 - 911 out of 968 people recommend this sewing machine (including myself)
Target $154.99 - 4.5 star (12 reviews)
Joanns $ 199 - 4 star (83 reviews)

I haven't tried all the stitches and everything but I am so happy with this purchase. I must admit that I was nervous. It comes with tons of extra gadgets: Buttonhole foot, overcasting foot, monogramming foot, zipper foot, zigzig foot, blind stitch foot, button sewing foot, 4 bobbins, 4 needles, twin needle,cleaning brush, screwdriver, seam ripper, extra spool pi, foot control, operation manual, a hard case and a quick reference guide.

It has 60 built in stitches, and its computerized

Its cute, small, light weight and its relatively quiet - my new challenge trying to keep my 2 year old out of it. She thinks its a fun toy

I ordered a ton of fabric last week and I can't wait for it to arrive. I am making bedding for my little guy and our room. Wish me luck

Small Study Table

I am back!! And I finally made a table to go with the chair here for Diana's play/study station for less than $10. She will be 3 in May and I want to enroll her into preschool; and I also want to have a designated place for her to read her books and do educational activities. She is in love with the idea already, she loves it more if we can all sit around this tiny table together..

Ok, this table was easy. I didn't have a plan to follow but I did figure it out by looking at my dinning table. I didnt have a kreg jig either to make pocket holes, so I thought it was going to be complicated, but it worked out ok. And I am really happy with it, its a perfect size for my daughter and its very sturdy:)

You will need:
2 wood studs 2x4x92 (cut 4 x 23" long table legs)
1 furring strip 1x2x8 (cut 16" long x 1 for center support)
3 furring strips 1x3x8 (cut 6 x 26" long table top) and (2 x 19" and 2 x 15" side support)

Wood finish dark walnut
Nails and screws (8x3)
Wood glue
Cutting tool, hammer and drill driver or what ever gets the job done

I decided to stain the table instead of painting it because I got lazy. I had the paint and everything but I just couldn't get myself to do it. Anyway, I really like how it turned out.

You can see all the detail, the wood grains and the nails/screws. It looks cute

The walnut stained table compliments the Chair very well.

I love the detail

She also loves her little Vteah tote and go laptop. Its for ages 3-6 andhas 20learning activities. We haven't tried them all but I like the ones we have tried; the numbers, words and alphabet ones.

Another successful project and that makes this mama happy:)

Time out

This winter has been really hard on us. We have all been to the doctor's office. I have never been a fan of winter. I come from a country that is not too far from the equator, so its always hot there (Zambia). We do have winters but they are nothing compared to what is happening this winter here in Utah.

My husband went in twice for a cold/cough that lasted for weeks. I went in for some kind of infection then I had 6 cavities filled. My daughter had to go to the ER because she threw up 17 times in 5 hours. She has had a cold/virus 4 times in 6 months. She has a cold virus right now and it has been the worst. She has been sick for almost 2 weeks straight. My little guy seems to have gotten what his sister has but his case wasn't as hopeless. Diana is getting better though and its fun to see her come back to her old bubbly, funny self.

 So, this is the reason I have been absent from blogging. I hope to be back next week. I have a lot of exciting things I will be making for MOI! Stay tuned