Custom Doll Cradle

This cradle belongs to my coworker and was originally her mom's as a little girl. She played with this cradle as a little girl and now her daughter plays with it. This antique cradle has been in the family a long time but, it just didn't match the daughters pink, black and white girly bedroom. She wanted the ugly stain color gone and fixed of the wear and tear.The cradle needed an update and also some TLC. This picture was taken while I was doing the wood filler and sanding part of the project. This is how the custom doll cradle turned out!! I love the colors and the use of different textures that are a little unexpected for an old cradle.

The inside of the cradle is a girly pink with white polka dots. So cute!! The outside was done in black so the flowers would Pop!!

The two sides of the cradle are similar yet not identical. They both have the same flowers and color combinations. The flowers were attatched with a permanent glue and sealed to protect them from little fingers.
The swirls were done in a the same pink color as the inside of the cradle. The centers of the flowers are buttons, brads and crystals. I also added crystals to the swirl to be more girly.

This cradle was made from solid wood and is very sturdy, it just had a lot of cosmetic damage that needed some attention. Once it was fixed it was the perfect slate for an updated look.

I added many layers of sealer to make sure that this cradle is going to be durable for many years to come. It's updated and matches the little girl's room and will last for many more generations!! My friend was thrilled with how it turned out!!

It's Christmas Time

It's officially christmas time at our house. I love this time of year...but I also love in January when you get to clean it all up and begin again with a clean slate. My dad hung drapery rods for me last May. It's really not like me to leave a project undone for so long because I even have the fabric bought. I just need to buy backer/lining fabric. So, Dad this is for you to show you I made curtain....OUT OF ORNAMENTS AND TOOLE.

The ceilings are 9 feet so, I had to buy a lot of red ribbon. Good thing it was the after thanksgiving sale with 35% off ribbon plus an extra 20% off your entire order because it was ALOT of ribbon. I used the extra ribbon around the house and on the chandeliers...as you will see.

Just some different setting around the house. The bench is in the entryway with some festive pillows. The wall quilt is a countdown. You add fabric ornaments to the tree he is holding because they button to the quilt. So cute!!

Our Christmas tree was 12 feet when we cut it down (with a special christmas tree permit) and I loved all the extra pine bowes to decorate with. I used them on the arms of the chandelier.

This is the mantle. The candle lights are actually electrical. Thank goodness...or I would have to buy a lot of candles this season.

This tree was originally 12 feet and we cut three feet off to make it fit in the house. I love the heighth and it makes the house smell SO good. I love this time of year and I love making the house a little extra special around this time of year.

Ladder changing with the season

I added white lights this year and it adds such a gorgeous effect. The glow with all the silver and white is amazing in the evenings. So fun!!

I changed the ladder in the front room to the winter season. This time I wired on the sled and added my penguin to the top of the ladder. This way, I can keep it up for longer than just the month of December.

Christmas Card Hanger

This Christmas Card Hanger is made out of a Crib Side peice. I used the other peices to make the khaki/yellow bench. I tipped it sideways and then the idea popped into my head...this would be perfect to hold Christmas cards and magazines!! SO COOL!!

I added a few handmade cards to show how it would hang Christmas Cards. So, if you have lots of family or just really love Christmas Cards, this is perfect!!

I added bulldog clips to the side to add extra card capacity and also a place to hang odd sized or really neat cards that you want to highlight.

The greenery is shades of green, pine bowes to anchor it and red to accent the red color I painted the wood. You can also see the holes that I tied the ribbon to to hang it up!! Perfectly pre-drilled holes!!

It's hard to see the ribbon hanger because I took something off my wall to hang this up so I could photograph it and the bolts were set really wide so it doesn't really show in this picture because it's hidden behind the greenery.

If you follow this blog then you will have realized that I just made a khaki/yellow bench out of a crib. It turned out awesome but I had one peice left over. It was a side peice. So, I took off all the hardware and it had holes in the end that was already there from the hardware so that the side peice could go up and down on the crib side. I used these pre-drilled holes to be able to tie ribbon and use it to hang the Christmas Card Hanger.

BEFORE....just a peice of a crib! and it has turned into a great way to organize and keep all those Christmas Cards together and not have them sit in your mail pile and not be displayed like they should!

Halloween Party

These were the party favors that I made for the Halloween Party! They were pretzels with white chocolate skeleton fingers on the end!! They turned out so cute and were pretty easy! I used a wilton mold for pretzels and then found the cutest wrappings that said "Beware of contents"!! I love the themed party favors!!

I just had to share these really fun food ideas from our Halloween party!! Everyone that brought food went above and beyond....it was sooo cute and super yummy!!

Green and Yellow Bench

This bench is one of my favorites because I love the colors of the bench. The fabric was the inspiration for the color choices. I fell in love with the fabric and got paint to accent the fabric.

The bench sides are made from crib parts. The seat had to be built in custom to fit the bench. There was a lot of pre-drilling required so that the crib wouldn't crack due to the small parts. It was fun custom building in the seat and was fun to cover in gorgeous fabric. The fabric was an end peice of a roll because it was originally $30 a yard fabric that I got for a couple of dollars because of the small size of the fabric left. I love when you can find a great deal on really great quality fabric!!

This bench turned out gorgeous. The upholstered seat is so perfect for this smaller bench. It's made out of a crib and is a little smaller than some of my other benches but, I love the size and would be a great fit in a lot of places. Go check it out at The Silver Drawer on Antelope by the Theatres in Syracuse!!

Dress-up Trunk

This is an old trunk that I redid!! I love how it turned out and even though it took a lot of steps to get it done..it was definetely worth it. This is how it looked from one side with the words "Dress-up Trunk" and the other side has a crown and the words "princess". One of the sides has a hinge and opens up at the top and the other side is drawers. The trunk opens up to reveal two sides. One is drawers and the other is a hanging compartment. The edges are all metal so I had to paint them first with a metal paint. Then hand paint the latex pink paint into the inside. The old steamer trunk was at some point, a traveling clown trunk because I had to scrape off tons of stickers and pictures. But, clown trunks just aren't as cute as a dress-up trunk. You'll have to take my word for it...it needed an update and redo!! I wish I would have taken a picture of the original because it really was different. I love the way it turned out!

The trunk opens up into two different sides. There are a side of drawers and are really cute! The other side is a hanging compartment! The first drawer has a small hidden drawer that comes out of the inside compartment. Really great for some fun jewelry!

The four drawers have details of dress-up images of wands, shoes ect. Each drawer has a different unique image. The trunk even has the detail that if the top drawer is shut then it holds all the drawers in place for when the trunk is traveling and can't be open without the top drawer pulled first.

The trunk side opposite the drawers is a hanging area. The rods even pull out to lengthen and become a full hanging closet. The inside was wallpapered in a matching pink/brown polkadot.

This is the view from the back when it's all open. It makes a cute little changing room. I love how the trunk could turn from being just an old trunk to something that is so usable and fun. Any little girl would love to play dress-up in this old updated trunk!! It took a lot of time to finish this project but was definetely worth the outcome!