Like many projects this summer I got the idea for this artwork in June and finished it in September. I'm not sure where the idea to cut up magazine pages into strips and use them as a stencil background came from, but I really like how the finished project turned out.

Here's what I did...

Cut up pages from a magazine into strips. I wanted green as my background color, so I looked for pages with various green hues.

Then I used a little Mod Podge to paste the strips to three small, square canvases.

I couldn't quite get all the wrinkles out, but the texture actually worked well in the end.

Next I cut out the stencils I drew of sea creatures (crab, octopus, whale)

And then did a reverse stencil on the canvas using acrylic craft paint.

I'd been racking my brain trying to come up with a clever idea for a baby mobile, but hadn't figured out a good solution until last week...

After receiving my hospital bills in the mail I wasn't interested in spending a lot of money. And, I'm currently the primary food source for an 8+ week old baby, so I don't have a ton of time on my hands either. (The little hand sewn bird project I found sure looked cute, but I'd be lucky to get one cut, sewn, and stuffed.
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Exactly one month ago today I was giving birth to my most important project to date, my son Henry. Funny thing is I thought I still had more time to finish all my other craft and sewing projects before he arrived, but he had other ideas and decided he was done cooking 5 weeks early.

Fortunately, all was fine and he was right about being ready to make an appearance. Even 5 weeks early he was still 6lbs. Imagine if he had been full term, actually don't imagine that, I sure don't want to.
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It now seems like time is flying by as I try to work my way through the ever growing list of nursery projects.

Do I have my crib put together? No, of course not. Are my car seats in place? Heavens no.

But, I did finish redoing a pair of lamps this weekend. My new tree lamps look like this.

Unfortunately, the green walls/lamp color doesn't show up very well in my poorly lit photograph.

The few readers out there for this blog are aware of my love of sports and sport t-shirts. I'm often cutting them up for any number of projects, including re-purposing men's shirts into cute shirts for women.

A while back I found this really fun retro Seahawks t-shirt and decided to save it for myself. I didn't want to completely change the shape or do a massive cut job, just give it a more feminine look.
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It's been a busy couple weeks, which is why I haven't been a very active blogger.

Had my first childbirth class, which was informative and helpful.

My three, dotted curtain panels from Ikea have been through a lot. First they were white and hanging in my grad school apartment, then a few years back I dyed them orange (1) and yellow (2) to match my guest bedroom , and now they are being reduced to two panels for my nursery.

Before and After

(Don't worry these aren't the only means of blocking light for this window.
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Like many (or most) baby items, I had never heard of tag blankets, tag toys, or "Taggies" before getting pregnant. Who would have guessed that loops of shiny ribbon are so mesmerizing to babies?

I really have no way of knowing if my kid will have any interest in this item, but since I already had plenty of scrap fabric and ribbon in my stash I wasn't going to waste any money or much effort to find out.
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Learning how to sew was a wonderful thing. It's now hard for me to imagine a time when I did not know how to sew. But, the other day I was reminded when someone borrowed the table runners I made for my wedding almost five years ago - using heat and bond. That's right I made at least 10 six foot table runners using heat and bond to finish the edges. I didn't realize at the time how much work this was compared to actual sewing.

As you've probably gathered from my other posts I'm not the kind of girl who's going to go crazy buying all matching decor for my baby's room. I'm also not that into cute, cartoon characters covering the walls. If I have to look at it, I want to like it. He won't be able to provide an opinion yet anyway, right?

After perusing a recent issue of DIY Magazine I was inspired to try their fabric collage idea for this nursery art project.
About Me
About Me
I'm Maren and I inherited the "project" gene. While this probably isn't a scientific term, I believe it is why I am constantly starting (and usually finishing) new projects. I focus most of my efforts on various crafts, sewing, art, home decor, recycled materials and anything else that peaks my curiosity.
Email me
Email me
madebymeo (at) gmail (dot) com
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