Call me.... crafty?

Okay, so apparently I've inherited the "crafty" gene. I come from a long line of "crafters" (is that a word? I prefer to call them artists.) My paternal great grandmother, Grandma Allen was a master seamstress and quilter and my maternal grandmother, Mamaw Sherman was essentially the craftiest woman I have ever known. Crochet, quilting, painting, sewing, pottery, macaroni jewelry boxes... you name it, she did it. She even used golf balls to make the cutest dog craft you've ever seen. I spent many hours as a child under her tutelage, so it should come as no surprise that some of her craftiness would rub off on me. My mom is also extremely crafty... floral arrangements, doll making, crochet. So why am I so amazed that JoAnn Fabric has become my favorite store and that I've done so many crafty things this summer? I think I've supressed this crafty gene over the years for fear of becoming one of those women who crochets her own matching beret and poncho in that alternating color zig-zag pattern. It seems having Avery has brought some of my "skills" to the surface. In addition to the crafts I did with the kids over the summer, here are a few of the other things I've done.

1. Covered a body pillow with fabric for my grandmother's bench. I only mention this because I probably wouldn't (and didn't) do this pre-Avery. Our small group is meeting at our house again and I was in dire need of more seating. Instead of buying a pice of furniture, I took the bench out of the dining area to use. Unfortunately it is very uncomfortable, so I needed to find a seat cushion to fit. I looked at several places and couldn't find the exact size, so I decided to improvise. I covered a body pillow that was the same exact size as the bench in a great mocha colored fabric and then added some cool accent pillows from Pier 1. I didn't include a picture because it was really no big deal. In fact, my "crafty card" would definitely be revoked if the powers that be found out how I "covered" the pillow. I've only shared this with a select few people and plan to take this secret to the grave. :)

2. Made a name sign for Avery's room. It took me 10 months to actually decide what I wanted to do and literally 20 minutes to make once I had the materials. I didn't want to just hang letters on the wall... I wanted something with more flair. My friend Stephany had covered canvases with fabric to display as artwork in her apartment. I thought this was a great idea, so I tweaked it for Avery's name sign. I found this awesome mod polka dot fabric and the canvas at JoAnn (of course) I purchased the letters, whch I've been eyeing for 10 months, at Lone Star Baby. I covered the canvas with the fabric and then hotglued the letters on. Super easy... and so cute!! I really wanted lowercase letters, but I think these turned out fine. It looks great above her bed. :)

3. When I started envisioning a baby's room, I definitely saw a chandelier. After we got Avery, I had to have one for my sweet girl's room! I had been looking at one at Pottery Barn Kids since before she came home, but didn't want to pay the big price. I wanted to find one at a flea market or thrift store and paint it myself. It took about 9 months, but finally my sister-in-law, Alison found one!! She got it at Goodwill and payed $10 for this treasure!!! We painted it an antique white and then I bought and covered shades with fun fabric and trim. I am so pleased with how this turned out! It looks beautiful in her room. It was exactly what I wanted and all in all it cost about $45 to make. :)

I hope I've inspired you to let your crafty gene emerge! Really, it's not scary. I haven't started wearing my own creations.... yet!

Andi