I've Got 99 Projects...But I'll Add One More (The September DIY Thread)

hannahbananas11

One day late, here's the first of our monthly DIY threads! Feel free to post about any project you're currently working on, thinking about starting, or that you've finished! Baby-related or not, let's see it!

Some prompts to get things going:
1. What are you currently planning, working on, or completing?
2. Anything that you need help brainstorming? Looking for suggestions for something?
3. Have you completed something this month? Post a picture!
4. Any rants or raves (or questions)?

BourbonBiscuits

I just have to say, this is an EXCEPTIONAL thread title. You win the day @hannahbananas11.

I'm planning a gallery wall for the kids' room - this baby and DS will share a room eventually. We have little letters that spell out DS's name on the wall right now, so I want to get the same thing in different colors for this baby. Their beds/cribs will be on opposite walls, so I'd like to do kind of an ombre effect of pictures/quotes in a gallery wall style across the back wall connecting the different colors of their names. Does that make sense? I don't really even have an inspiration picture lol.

hannahbananas11

My project right now: I love the cute mobiles that Pehr has, but I'm unwilling to drop $80 on one. So I'm going to buy some wool balls from Etsy (around $10 for a few dozen), use one of my embroidery hoops, and sew some felt creatures using patterns from this Etsy shop. I'm heading to the store today to buy felt for the animals, and I'll be working on those this week. Hopefully the finished product will turn out similar in style to this:

hannahbananas11

@BourbonBiscuits That's an adorable idea! Huge points for planning it without any inspiration pictures! I'm really bad at visualizing what things should look like, so almost all of my projects are riffs off of things I've seen other people do. I have major respect for people who have an eye for design (especially when it comes to home/furniture design)!

disneybaby84

Long term. Put the nursery together, make it baby ready.

heybritups

I've got a lot of non baby related projects going on. I'll get around to baby crafts once we get moved into our new place next month.

So for now, I'm learning about jewelry metalsmithing and slowly putting together the tools needed to get started on my first piece.

And in the mean time, I have a half finished crocheted cozy infinity scarf, and this wood sign I made over the weekend as a reminder to keep pushing (I am a freelancer and keeping the motivation up day to day can be exhausting).

Edit: picture never uploaded 

becks_726

I need to get back to work so I can't go into detail right now but I've started nursery planning!  I'm surprisingly excited considering decorating is not my thing. This includes buying and painting used furniture and a gallery wall right now. 

I did not think I'd be participating in this thread but here I am! Pregnancy does weeeeird things to you. I can't wait to hear about everyone else's projects. 

ksdelong20

We're doing a map/ travel theme nursery and i recently acquired some bedroom furniture from a co-worker. I want to do this to the dresser. 

Disclaimer: I'm not artsy at all but should be able to manage straight lines. Stay tuned for a likely Pinterest fail

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becks_726

That's so cute @ksdelong20! 

So I had no idea what I wanted to do nursery decoration-wise until I had a sudden flash of inspiration this weekend! I'm going to buy a nice secondhand dresser, side table and changing table and paint the dresser a very neutral grey and the two other things probably a nice navy. I've never done anything of the sort so I'm pretty jazzed! 

Then for the gallery wall, I love nature photography but literally never print any of my pictures so I'm going to change that and make that and a pair of canvases I bought the starting point. 

hannahbananas11

@becks_726 and @ksdelong20 Good luck with the painting! I bought a bright red solid wood dresser from someone on Facebook that I'm going to use as the changing table, and was considering sanding it down to repaint. But then I got lazy and said "Nah. Red will just be one of the themes of the nursery now."

lmaplejc

@hannahbananas11 thanks for this thread!  I work in luxury furniture sales and have an interior decoration business so I’m probably overly excited about working on this nursery.  Going to paint the room’s trim a gray/blue, and the walls will be a soft white.  DH, pupper, and I went to the Anthropologie outlet this weekend and I got this rug and door stop for the nursery.  

hannahbananas11

@casperthefriendlybeeb THAT RUG IS SO PRETTY! Basically anything at Anthropologie is gorgeous.
Please post pictures of the finished nursery! I'm sure it's going to be absolutely beautiful!

lmaplejc

Thanks @hannahbananas11 !  Will definitely post nursery pics

lifeofboggs

Hi five to all the ladies with creativity here!  I always wanted to be the Pinterest person but I have found I’m more of the amazon prime type 

okayestmom12

I put together a collage of what we’re doing in the nursery. That’s about as creative as I’ve gotten so far. I’m going to DIY the mobile and my H is going to handle the art for the walls. 

BourbonBiscuits

Omg @okayestmom12 have you seen the PB Baby Star Wars nursery collection?

BourbonBiscuits

Omg @okayestmom12 have you seen the PB Baby Star Wars nursery collection?

okayestmom12

@BourbonBiscuits - Yes! That’s where the sheets (middle column, 3rd picture down) are from! 

becks_726

Love it @okayestmom12! 

wrensnest

Everyone’s ideas are so great!

@ksdelong20 that dresser is beautiful!!!

I *think* I’ve got DH on board for a Somewhere Over the Rainbow theme for our rainbow baby’s room. We did sort of a loose take on a You Are My Sunshine theme for DD1’s room, so I like the idea of keeping to the song-inspired nurseries. 

Thinking about making a mobile like this. Gotta find some multicolored poofy balls first, lol. 

thechickendance

Tonight's minor craft project, gender reveal/glitter bombs for my parents and the inlaws... they can't get too mad, right?  (I'm usually more crafty but in this case the glitter will overshadow effort)
The outside says ''we're having a..."

hannahbananas11

@thechickendance LOL that is borderline cruel to send a glitter bomb! But also hilarious and fun!
I open most of my mail in my car once I get home from work. I hope they don't do that with this one!

thechickendance

@hannahbananas11 hahaha that would be a disaster!! Thankfully both typically open mail in the kitchen! We figured this is the only opportunity to glitter bomb someone without repercussions (first grandchild on either side).

bellebaby221

I've picked out a woodland nursery set that I just love. 

My brother does amazing outdoor photography and I'm thinking of asking him to take some nature pics for the nursery instead of buying art work.
I'll also be painting the letters for her name. Whenever we finally agree what that's going to be!

wrensnest

Crafty people! Question: I want to make a rag garland along the lines of the picture below. Any thoughts on how to obtain fabric on the cheap? Are there places that you can get scrap fabric? 

hannahbananas11

@wrensnest I don't know where you live, but JoAnn's fabrics sells remnants.
You can also buy small amounts off of bolts (the big rolls of fabric). I think the minimum cut at my JoAnn's is 1/8 of a yard, which is 4.5 inches. Quilt shops and fabric shops usually have a minimum for cuts, so you'd just want to call ahead and check to see. Fabric is folded in half when it's on the bold, and is typically 44" or 45" when unfolded. So you'd get a 4.5x44 inch strip of fabric if you got a 1/8 yard cut. You could then cut in half again lengthwise to get two 2" strips, which is what the strips look like on the garland in the picture. You could tie them as-is to get 22" long strips on the garland (44" full strip tied in the middle on the string) or you could cut some a bit shorter to get the varied look of this garland.

kayjay44

I actually bought yarn to make baby hats for this winter baby. I am 80% of the way through a hat for DD then I'll get started on baby knitting.

hannahbananas11

Major points to you, @kayjay44! I still haven't finished a knitting project (a simple scarf!) that I started back in 2010.

kayjay44

@hannahbananas11 - I've finished a few since then, but not many. I usually knit the kids a hat every year, but that's all I have time for anymore. I've been knitting a loooong time (since I was 4) so I can do it pretty mindlessly while commuting on the train or watching TV. Baby hats are super quick and easy. Might do a few socks too if I can find a magic loop pattern that small because I hate knitting socks on DP, let alone ones that small.

wrensnest

@hannahbananas11 excellent info. Thank you!

hollyvenelle

@kayjay44 I'm also in knitting mode now that fall has arrived! Although, I can only do square/rectangle things as I only ever learned the basics, so it's blankies, swaddlers, and headbands with bows. I made two or three bands of different widths, and the bows are interchangable with buttons on the back.  

But I also started the layout for my maternity scrapbook as well. Its going to run from our first test to the last pic in the hospital before baby arrives. I am a big scrapbooker, and I have waited so long to do this one, so it is going to be my pet project from now until baby comes. 

disneybaby84

This is the before nursery. And the closet is full boxes. 

BourbonBiscuits

Oooooh I love the idea of a before and after nursery pic @disneybaby84. Also, good luck.

disneybaby84

@BourbonBiscuits you can see I’ve got work to do! 😆

whattalife525415

Glad to see there are some knitters out there! I got ambitious after my 20 week ultrasound and started to knit a blanket, cut fabric for a quilt and started sanding down a dresser. Still need to paint a bedroom and flip flop rooms. 

kayjay44

I’m too lazy to start October because it’s past my bedtime - but tiny hat #2 finished!

hannahbananas11

@kayjay44 Adorable! And I love the color!
I just remembered that today's the day to post the October thread. But it's also past my bedtime. Tomorrow!