Baby Mobile: A Guest Post
Happy Thursday everyone!

I have seen so many great tutorials recently about cleaning out stashes and re-purposing old clothes, and I thought it was about time that I tried it for myself. My husband had this old shirt that is really soft but doesn't fit quite right, so I wanted to find a few ways to make it work for a little guy instead. It turns out that a long sleeved mens shirt is a lot of material, so I got 2 projects out of 1 shirt. Come back next week for project #2!
I thought this pattern and material was pretty cool and a bit dressy for a little boy, so it must be turned into a little vest applique!
Project #1-Vest Applique
My first step was making a pattern. I lined a piece of paper up on a plain white onesie and roughly traced where I would need to cut the paper away for the neckline and sleeves.
I cut along those lines and laid the paper onto the onesie.
I lightly sketched one side of a little vest, making sure to extend the middle piece slightly past the middle of the onesie.
I traced the vest pattern onto some fusible webbing, flipped it over and traced the pattern again to make the left and right sides of the vest.
**Do not forget to flip the pattern over before you trace the other side of the vest! Otherwise, when you go to iron your applique onto your onesie, you will realize that you have 2 left sides and this will not work. Ask me how I know.**
Iron the fusible webbing onto your fabric, and trim around the edges.
I made the little black tie using the same method as in my Little Man Tie Applique tutorial, ironed it onto the onesie, and then sewed the edges down with a zig zag stitch.
Next, I laid my vest appliques down exactly as I wanted them, ironed them on, and then sewed those edges down with a zig zag stitch as well. I made sure to pin a fabric stabilizer to the back as I was sewing to keep the fabric from stretching as I sewed and it worked like a charm.
(New to sewing appliques? Read some of my beginner tips here.)
I made sure to use thread in coordinating colors so that it wouldn't draw too much attention to the stitching.
I selected a few dark gray buttons to complement the vest and hand stitched those on, centering them above the point in the tie.
There you have it! A onesie any little cool dude would be happy to wear.
Men's shirts are PERFECT for little boy ties, tie appliques or vest appliques. I challenge you to rummage around your husband's closet and see what old duds can be transformed into something perfect for your little dude! :)
Also, have you seen the fun new series Decorating with Portraits over at Kristen Duke Photography? Kristen has an all star cast of bloggers lined up for the whole month of September to share the ways that they decorate their homes with portraits, and we are thrilled to be participating! Look for us on September 18!
I'll be linking to some of these great parties! Happy Labor Day!
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I have been talking about my daughter's nursery for months now it seems. I didn't mean to drag it out, it's just that "Operation Nursery" came to a screeching halt once I was put on bed rest, and stayed there during the haze of the newborn phase. But now it is finished and I am so pleased.
Allow me to take you on a short tour.
The Room
My favorite thing about Hannah's room is that it gets the most beautiful soft light, and with the light gray walls it seems to glow. I didn't want to take away from that at all, so I splashed my color on the feature wall in this fun damask pattern, and left the others blank so that I could play with furniture, fabric and other decor.
The dresser was a flea market find, re-painted and gussied up with some new Hobby Lobby handles. I filled the frames with some of my favorite pictures of us with our new little lady. The lamp, tray, blocks and frames were thrift store finds, and the lampshade is from Target.
Hannah's crib and glider were a part of her brother's nursery. I was initially disappointed not to have white furniture because I just love that look in nurseries, so I decided that I would compensate by white playing a part in all of fabric in the bedding and the other details of the room. Now that the room is complete, I'm glad that the crib and glider have a maple finish. It adds large chunks of warmth to the color scheme and blends everything together nicely.
I wanted her room to be sprinkled with a few of her brother's things, since the toys now belong to "the kids" instead of just my son, But I also wanted a few things that were just for her. The stuffed animals, books, baskets and the well-loved wooden train that adorn the book shelf had each belonged to Jayce. But the art piece is just for her.
The Details
I was on a tight budget when pulling Hannah's room together, so most everything was found at a thrift store or made by me.
This little shelf display warms my heart!
I made the family blocks for my son about a year and a half ago and I thought it was such a fun little display of our family of 3! I was so pleased to make a coordinating block with a picture of our newest addition for an updated family display! I had used the "It's a Girl" bunting on her vintage inspired announcement, with a picture from the doctor's visit where we discovered her gender, so I was pleased to have that little trinket in her room as well. The photo on the shelf is her birth announcement. The three components together bring all sorts of memories to mind of the "before, during, and after" of my pregnancy and her addition to our family. Is that corny? Regardless, it's still what I think when I look at it. :)
I love this quote because we are constantly reading in our house. I used fabric as a mat since the frame was an unusual size, and printed the quote onto photo paper so that you wouldn't see the pattern through the paper. The bunting is made from fabric scraps that match her bedding.
I wanted Hannah's name displayed beside her bed, so I wrapped doilies around these chunky letters to add a bit of daintiness to them. I found a large frame that we cut down and re-sized so that it would frame her name perfectly. I love the wood of frame. It has beautiful details and is a lovely gold color, but was a bit a bit beat up. I really like the mix of it being both elegant and worn, so I did nothing to it other than re-size it.
The color scheme and inspiration for her room came from this puff quilt that I pieced together throughout my pregnancy.
I pulled a few of the fabrics from her quilt to use for her crib sheet and ruffled crib skirt. All of these were my first attempts at sewing anything even remotely complicated, so if you are a new sewer, you can do it! :) I was hesitant to make the crib bumpers myself because of the safety issues that can come with bumpers, so I had a custom set made for me from the talented Isla of IslaCorrine. The craftsmanship is beautiful, she was so sweet to work with, and I just love how it completes the crib! Perfect!
I made these hanging fabric doilies with the same fabric used in the quilt and other areas of the room. I strung them onto the frame from my son's old mobile for a colorful and sweet display.
I had extra quilt fabric that I had cut on the bias, so it was in perfectly long stretchy strips. I wrapped these strips around a few of the baskets on her shelves, and wove the longer strips around a basket that holds blankets beside the rocker. This added a nice pop of color to these baskets and pulled them into theme of the room.
The blocks are my husband, son and I's initials. I am on the lookout for a coordinating "h."
I made a few throw pillows with coordinating fabric for the glider. When we no longer need the glider in the nursery I plan to keep her quilt and these pillows in the same corner for a little reading nook. I won the owl bookend from a giveaway on KoJo Designs from the adorable Etsy shop I Sew Lucky.
I shared her My Girl inspired Nursery Subway Art on Lemon Tree last week. It is one of my favorite things in the room. Unless my little lady is in there.
Wouldn't you know that with all of the colorful elements in this room, Hannah's favorite thing to stare at is the white ceiling fan? Go figure. :)
What do you think? It was definitely a labor of love, and I'm so happy with it. :)
I'll be linking my nursery to some great parties this week, so stop by to say hi!