Too Stuffy for Me! Part 1

This is the first house we have ever owned that has formal living and dining rooms.  To me they are completely unnecessary and a total waste of space.  We are not formal people and have in fact NEVER eaten dinner in our formal dining room...and we've lived in our house for 4 years!  I'm on a mission to reinvent these rooms and turn them into something that will work for our family.  I've gotten started but it will definitely be a work in progress...

Here is what our formal living room used to look like.  I never really knew what to do with the space and I guess I thought it needed to be somewhat fancy.  It's SO not us!  

We ordered the sofa and chair from a furniture store and didn't like them the day they arrived.  We kept them anyway (dumb, I know).  I do like all of the tables because they are casual and rustic.  I ended up painting an accent wall with swirls to jazz it up.  And I hung silk curtains.  It's an OK room, but nothing special and definitely not representative of who we are as a family.  

This is the dining room which is opposite the living room.  I have always loved this dining room table and chairs.  My husband and I bought it on our honeymoon.  I thought we'd keep it forever and pass it on to our children.  But now, I'm over it.  We are a 5 member family and this table only seats 4 people.  Obviously it doesn't work for us either.  

I decided it was time to begin slowly changing the rooms to make them spaces we want to spend time in rather than rooms we just walk by (not to mention dust and vacuum).

Owl Stuffy

When I was a kid my mom constantly made me gifts. I still have them and have passed them on to my daughter who now plays with them.  For my daughter's birthday I thought it would be fun to attempt a stuffed owl for her.  She's been in love with owls since she was one!  Since her birthday theme is an owl theme this was the perfect opportunity to try to make her something special.  

Here's what I did...

I drew a picture of an owl using the back of some wrapping paper.

I cut out a front and a back.

Owly Party Favors

I've been very busy!  15 little owl party favors completed!

Here's what I did...

I drew a simple picture of an owl and cut it out to use as a pattern.  Then I placed the pattern pieces on my fabrics and cut them out.  I stitched the wings on first (using a zig-zag stitch), then stitched fleece and felt on for the eyes.  I  hand sewed the buttons on the eyes. Next I put them right sides together and stitched around them leaving an opening at the bottom to turn them.  I filled them with stuffing and hand stitched them closed.  They were really easy to do but making this many was a job!

My pattern consisted of...

* 1 front and 1 back body shape (corduroy, velvet, heavy fabrics)

* 2 wings (cotton)

* 2 fleece circles for eyes (white)

* 2 felt circles for eyes (any color)

* 1 triangle nose (cotton)

I used ALL scrap fabrics to make these little cuties.  All of the fabrics are left overs from outfits I made my daughter or stockings and quiet books I've made over the years.  I had a ton of stuffing too.  The only thing I had to purchase was a $3 bag of buttons for the eyes.

Artsy Owl Printables

My daughter's "Art & Owls" party is coming up next month.  As you know by now I try to make as many party elements as possible and I try to be as cheap as possible too.  I attempted to make all of the printables for the party this time.  I know they are nowhere near as good as something you can order online but I wanted to try for myself.  I don't have a fancy program or even know how to use one.  I used my regular word program and created text boxes that I was able to "fill in" with patterns and outlines as well.  I found the free owl clip art by searching around on Google.  Here are some of the things I came up with...Amateur yes....but my daughter likes them a lot, so I'm ok with it.

This is what I came up with for the invites.  My daughter Keely was the one who picked the colors as well as the designs for the backgrounds.  All of the fonts were downloaded for FREE through links I found on Pinterest.  I used these colors, backgrounds, and the owl clip art throughout all of the printables.  

Happy, Little Angry Bird

Halloween is just around the corner so I got a jump start on making my kiddo's costumes.  My little one loves "Angry, Angry Birds" and asked to be the blue bird.  Thanks to pinterest and twindragonflydesigns.com I was able to get inspiration for this adorable costume.  

Essentially this Angry Bird costume is made of 2 large pillows and 2 small pillows.  The large "pillows" are attached with straps.  I fumbled along through this little project but overall it turned out pretty cute and my little one LOVES it!  I was hoping my other son would be an Angry Bird too because I have all of the kinks worked out now and I know I can do it better...but no luck.  He's going to be a "silly monster".