a wee bit of craftiness

Since being pregnant, I feel like any and all of my creativity just disappeared. Like those pregnancy hormones took whatever creative brain cells I had and made them their tiny little hostages. And if one or two of those creative brain cells happened to escape the evil hormones and present me with an actual creative idea, well then, as it turns out I was too tired and didn't have the energy to take that good idea and do anything with it. Poor little brain cells. All that effort for nothing.

Lately however, dare I say it, I am having a slight return to creativity. Add to this the extra bit of energy I've found in the past month or so, and it looks like I may actually accomplish a few things! I've made out lists of projects and craft ideas in my little list journal, and slowly but surely am striving to check them off before this baby of ours arrives. I've really missed the part of me that is crafty and creative, so I hope this lasts.

One little thing I created last week was part of a gift for my beautiful friend Kourtni, whose baby shower for her soon-to-arrive daughter Genevieve was held on Thursday. My original intent was to sew her something cute, but I decided to be realistic and not attempt it-- my sewing skills still leave MUCH to be desired, something I am trying to work on. Also, Kourtni's mom is an AMAZING seamstress and creates the most beautiful baby bedding you may ever see, so I must admit to being slightly intimidated by that. :)

So, anyway, I came up with this picture for the girls' room instead:
Juliet (Kourtni's other daughter who is Emma's age) and Genevieve are going to share a room, and it is decorated so cute, in pink and zebra print. So girly and fabulous! It was quite fun using those colors to create something. This is in a 9x12 inch frame, just to give you a proper idea of the size. It's nothing too fancy, just papers and stickers and rick-rack, but I was pleased with how it came out. I especially loved this little heart/key sticker I found in a pack at Michael's (oh how I love Michael's...). I added the J and the G to symbolize that sisterly closeness. Cute, right?
The only way in which Michael's let me down is that they simply did NOT have zebra-print paper. I scoured that store high and low, but no zebra print. I knew I wanted that for the background, so I did what any dedicated crafter would do: came home and drew my own on a blank sheet of paper while watching Top Chef with my husband. I have to say, I'm kind of glad I ended up having to do that, because it made me feel even more accomplished and creative! And I'll take whatever feelings of accomplishment I can get these days. :)

I am SO EXCITED for Genevieve to get here...!!

In other crafty news, all I can tell you is that I bought two gallons of Adriatic Mist and one gallon of Jamaica Bay for a MAJOR project that I've been wanting to do for well over a year now. You will get to see those results, I promise!
One final tidbit that has nothing to do with being creative or crafty, but it certainly bears telling:

Emma and Annabelle got brand-new bunkbeds! And they are quite excited about that fact, in case you couldn't tell.