DIY Matte Finish Paint or Chalk Paint

The name might be deceptive if you have not heard of chalk paint before. It is not to be confused with chalkboard paint. It is basically altering paint to have a matte finish or chalky finish. It is very popular right now, and I especially love the look. My mom passed down this dresser that she had as a little girl, and I painted it pink for my precious little girl. My husband called it Pepto pink. I am in love with her new vintage pink dresser!!

 

 

 

Project Supplies:

Paint Flat
Plaster of Paris
Water
Container
Spoon or mixer
Paint Brush
Sandpaper (medium)
Furniture wax



Chalk Paint Recipe:
2 cups paint
4 Tb Plaster of Paris
2 Tb Water

 

 

Here was part of my dresser before I began the project.

 

 

I bought really bright pink paint thinking that the plaster of paris might dull down the color. Wrong! However, I still loved it that bright.

 

The paint appears very streaky when you apply it at first. It took about three good coats of paint. Make sure you let it dry several hours in between...even though it is sooo tempting to paint it sooner.

 

Don't panic yet! The coats will look more even as you go.

 

When all layers of paint are well dried, rub on a coat of wax.

 

 

I scuffed up the pink dresser a bit with a sander for a vintage look.

 

I was very pleased with how it turned out.

 

 

I also painted an old highchair with the chalk paint for my princess. Her vintage nursery is finally done. More to show soon!!

 

Baby Shower DIY Bow Station

I just realized I never posted any pictures from the amazing baby showers thrown by some great friends and family. One of my favorite things was this bow station. Basically, my guests all designed and created my little one bows from newborn to 1 year old. Baby A has already worn so many of them, and they are just absolutely precious!

The bow station was made from a picture frame with strings stretched across. Then different pieces of elastic lace and bands were pre-cut with tags per size. There are cheat sheets all over the internet for the band length. The elastic bands, flowers, and bows were clipped with mini paper clips to the strings on the picture frame.

Look at all these adorable selections for guests to choose from.

Each guest at the baby shower designed and created a headband or bow for the baby on the way. The hostesses had precut little pieces of felt to hot glue the flowers to the bands. (The felt backed the flowers. Layered it would be...flower, lace, felt circle).

Each guest tagged their creation with the size (ex. 3-6 months) and their name so I would know who created it.

And look at these cute decorations!!

And sweet cake with It's a Girl!



Here was the perfect brunch.

I was so excited to craft at my own baby shower. Here is how big baby A is already.

12 weeks old this week! I return to work on Monday. :(

DIY Taggie Sensory Toy for Baby

In case you have not been in the baby world for a few years, I would like to introduce you to Taggies. Some genious realized little one's love to grab the tags on stuffed animals or toys and play with them. It is generally a babies favorite part. Hence, the Taggies brand was likely born. It is very simple to make your own Taggies. I wanted to share this simple tutorial for the crinkle version of this baby sensory toy. What do I mean by crinkle? I enclosed a layer inside that crinkles when  a baby handles it and plays with the tags.

I found these cute designs on etsy here. I am sure this link will not be good forever though.

   

We will start today by making the super simple square version and then you can vary it from there.

Supplies:

Two 6" squares of material

Crinkle material (explanation to follow)

Various ribbons of different colors and sizes

Sewing machine

Directions:

1. Cut two 6" squares of fabric. (6" is my size of choice) I used a soft blue bumpy fabric and a dinosaur print.

2. Place printed fabric right side up. Pin ribbons of different colors and sizes on as shown below. Be creative in your color choices.

3. Place right sides of 6" fabric squares together. Cut 6" square of crinkle material to place on top as shown. I chose to use a square cut from the bag baby wipe refills come inside. It has the best crinkle sound to me. Choose anything you desire to use in the middle that crinkles.

4. Pin the three layers together and sew with 1/4" seam allowance, leaving opening to turn project inside out. Next, I place my fingers in the opening to carefully remove all the pins that were holding my ribbon pieces in place. Turn inside out.

5. Once your project is turned inside out, sew 1/4" seam around the squares as shown below.

6. Share it with a baby you love and watch their face light up as they chew and crinkle their new toy. This is the first sensory toy I used with my little one.

Here is another variation of the taggie toy idea that I liked. I thought it would be the perfect gift to enlist a older sibling to help make for a new baby on the way. I saw this clever idea at HavingFunAtHome.

She had her kids use fabric markers to draw on the new gift for baby. Precious!

Disclaimer: The inside crinkle material is a choking hazard if this toy were to ever come apart. I have never had any issues personally and I love that it is machine washable.

New Baby Washcloth Fast Gift Idea

I have two friends that have just recently had sweet baby girls. I gave them gifts before they were born but I always like to give a little something extra when I go to visit for the first time. One of my favorite fast gift ideas is baby washcloths. I buy a whole bundle at Walmart to have on hand for personalization. I love giving burp cloths too but I have found that washcloths are really more useful over time. Especially when you buy the adult size washcloths to make them out of. Here are the gifts for baby Julia and Alice.

I often make up several with a boy or girl themed circle in advance to have on hand. I have found that felt is the easiest way to add a letter on top. Now for the simple and easy directions. Iron on your adhesive to a small section of desired fabric. Then use a glass or cup to trace the circle size. Cut out your circle and peel off the paper backing on the adhesive. Iron on to your washcloth.

Next I cut out a small square of wax paper to layer under my washcloth while sewing to act as a stabilizer. A zig zag stitch will easily secure your circle to the washcloth. I then embellished with a felt letter. So fast and simple!

Some other washcloths I have made in the past...



Western themed



Turtle and Duck

Up close veiw of the turtle