Crafty Mama

I've always enjoyed doing arts and crafts, but my projects were always pretty sporadic - not really something I did on a regular basis.  Then I got pregnant.  Then I became a mother.

The first thing I started making during my pregnancy were burp clothes.  I started with some run-of-the-mill prefolded diapers, added some fabric, some embroidery by hand, and voila, fun and functional burp cloth.  A few of my friends received these as baby gifts, too.


I also tried sewing some cloth diapers while I was pregnant, but those were dismal failures.  Thankfully after Addisyn was born and we started using modern cloth diapers I had a better understanding of how they were put together, what were appropriate materials to use, and I was able to redeem myself.  The early diapers that I made didn't go to waste either - they made great doll diapers for a friend's little girl!

The nursery... What mom-to-be doesn't go crazy with the nursery?  If memory serves, the first nursery project I took on was re-covering a used glider rocker and ottoman that we found on Craig's List.  I was incredibly pleased with how it turned out!  I also painted Addisyn's nursery in a nature theme.  There is a pond complete with cattails, fish, a turtle on a log, and a Prothonotary Warbler (my master's thesis research subject) nest box.  She has an airplane (because daddy is a pilot) towing a banner with her name on it; and there is a big tree that takes up one entire corner of the room.  There are a few patches of flowers here and there, and I found realistic rub-on butterfly stickers, and made my own rub-on bird images, with a little help from my sister.

After some suggestions from friends and a little research into crib rail guards I decided to make my own. With a few yards of fabric and some ribbon I made Addisyn's rail guards for under $20.  The types of rail guards that friends had suggested (and mine were made in a similar fashion) would have cost around $60!

At one point I searched high and low for a bead maze.  You know, one of those toddler toys with the thick wires that loop and wind in and out of each other with little wooden beads that kids can push around the wires.  I searched high and low, and only found very small ones, or larger ones that were more than I wanted to spend - $60 plus.  So I found a small unfinished stool at a local craft store, bought some metal clothes hangers and some wooden beads, threw on some paint (with Addisyn's help) and made a bead maze to my liking that cost me less than half of what it would have to buy one in the store.  Addisyn had a great time adding her hand prints, and loves playing with it!

My most recent project was a pair of monarch butterfly wings.  I'm not sure how long they took me to make, but it was a while.  As with most of my sewing projects, I made my own pattern, sketching out what I wanted to do on cardboard, then cutting that out and using it to cut my fabric.  I started with 8 pieces of black fabric (2 forewings, 2 hind wings, front and back) and used iron-on bonding to attaches the orange cells and white patches.  The wings are huge on Addisyn, but I wanted them to be closer to scale with her body than typical butterfly or fairy wings are.  I also wanted her to be able to use them for a long time to come.

Most, but not all, of my projects are for Addisyn.  I recently finished one that was just for me - I put up shelves in our bathroom window.  We have a nice, big window (46"x46") in our bathroom that is a wonderful light source for plants, except that there was very little space to actually keep plants there.  I cut and stained my own simple shelves, and installed two in the window.  They're exceptionally sturdy, and I now have more shelf space than I do plants!

I'm not sure what it is about motherhood that inspires a woman to be more crafty - and yes, I think this is the case as I have numerous friends and family members who were bitten by the crafty bug when their children came along.  I like that I can make a lot of things for less than I would pay for them in-store, and that I can make them the way I want them.  A lot of the time it's not being able to find exactly what I'm looking for, or not being able to find something reasonably priced that motivates me to try doing it myself.