My Mood Board - Let's not forget the little boys

There's been way too much girly stuff featured on this blog.
I hope that people don't take this the wrong way.
I am a firm believer in that everything that works for boys could work just as well for girls
...and what's wrong about a boy playing with dolls? Boys also have to learn about adult life through roll playing. And lets face it, all little boys don't grow up to be astronauts or cowboys, some grow up to be great fathers and husbands and hopefully so much more.

So even though today's posts are very gender stereotype I believe in letting the children choose what colours they like or don't like and what toys to play with, without us brainwashed adults telling them what's for boys and what's for girls.

I remember very well being secretly disappointed as a little girl when my father would come home from a trip abroad bringing with him little gifts for me and my brother ...my brother's boy toy was always sooo much cooler than the (usually pink) gift I was given.

Pink was my least favorite colour as a kid.

My Mood Board - Perfect little girls room

My iPad is overflowing with interior pictures but I hardly ever look at them.
That is partly due to my iPad crashing and closing down whenever I scroll through my pictures on it
...i need to have that looked at.

To get them out of there and onto somewhere useful (and where I might look at them) I will be creating themed mood boards and post one each Thursday. 
So here we go... 
it's Thursday(!) and today's mood board will follow Tuesdays posting theme ... it is an inspiration board for the perfect (in my opinion) little girls room.

Pouffes and floor pillows DIY inspiration

I am going to sew some nursery floor pillows tat we can all use when hanging out and playing on the floor. I am considering adding a base with wheels to stack them on, perfect for moving around when cleaning and suddenly it has become a pouffe or foot stool. I love things with multiple purposes, usually I end up using multi-purpose items for only one thing but it's always a great selling point to me...by that I mean I fall for it.

Coming back to my home sewn floor pillows...
no DIY project without some inspiration

1. Frank pouffe from SCP
2. Pesce pouffe from Culture Vulture
3. Low Pixel Ottoman from Down to the Woods
4. Cameia pouffe from John Lewis
5. Anthropologie Mushroom pouffe
6. DIY pouffe tutorial by Better Homes & Garden

Pictured pillows are from West Elm

House pillows from Collected by Tas-Ka

1. DIY Girard floor cushion tutorial by tried & true

2. Floor pillow by MYK

3. Knitted floor pillow by MYK

4. DIY Jelly Roll floor pillows tutorial found at Moda Bakeshop

5. DIY Land of Nod inspired floor cushion tutorial by Living with Punks

6. DIY Hawaian Style felt pillows by Purl Bee

Make My Room - Cupcakes and Powdered Sugar

Make My Room


Today's Make My Room post will be for the Mini princesses in our lives...
this weeks inspiration is Cupcakes and Powdered Sugar
You will get a peak into 3 little girls nurseries topped off with some retail therapy
... enjoy!

see all pictures of Emily's Artsy Traditional Nursery over at Project Nursery

find more details from Rylee's dreamy nursery at Baby Lifestyles

The full feature of Scarlett's room can be found on Chic & Cheap Nursery

1. Fuchsia cotton hanging lamp from Graham & Green  - £85.00

2. Cupcake plushie from SeeSueStitch on Etsy   - $14.00

3. Printed Quilts by Auggie  - $125.00

4. Steam Pug print by Doggleheim on Etsy - $12.00

5. Custom upholstered Chakki in designer fabrics from Serena & Lily   - $450.00

6. Large Pink African Basket from EA Déco   - €100.00

My name is Simone...

Meet the über cute, quirky and slightly retro dolls by My name is Simone. 

Creator Caroline Castagna-Suarez realized after working 6 years as a creative director for and advertising agency that becoming an adult is no fun, in her own words... 

"Growing up Sucks!"

So she gets down to work and decides to spend her spare time time fighting against adulthood and seriousness. The outcome is Simone and her friends, made in the EU, of super soft 100% organic cotton and safe inks they are the perfect gift for any little girl or boy.

But this is not about Caroline, this is all about Simone and its a lot more fun!

Featured - Alessandra Hayden from Just Be Happy Life

Today I'd like to introduce you all to Alessandra Hayden, super creative full time mother and fellow blogger living in Tacoma, WA.
For 5 years she's been sharing her everyday life and her love for creating with us on her blog Just Be Happy Life
and today she is sharing why she started blogging and what she loves about it plus a very awesome scavenger hunt which is one of the many activities that she comes up with to entertain, inspire and just spend some good creative time with her kids.

Question   
What made you decide to start blogging? 
Answer
I decided to blog to make friends, get some ideas out of my head, which in turn makes me create more.

Question  
What is the most fulfilling part about blogging?
Answer 
I think it's going back and having history to one day share with my kids.

Question  
You very often feature some great kids activities and projects. Where do you get your ideas from? 
Answer  
Lots of my ideas come from Pinterest and TinkerLab

Question
Being a full time mom, how do you manage to make time for maintaining the blog and your crocheting business at the same time? 
Answer  
It's easy because the blog is a reflection of my life, I put in there what we do at home and I love to crochet, so I try to squeeze it in whenever I can, after the kids go to bed or while they nap (baby)/quiet time (toddler).

Question  
What do you wish to achieve with blogging?
      - is it a way to increase customers for your crocheting business?
      - is it somewhere to vent?
      - is it to meet others with similar interests and share online?
Answer
All of the examples! 

Question 
Is there anything else you would like to add, something you would like people to know about you? 
Answer  
I am always open to new ideas, suggestions, so if anyone has anything they would like to share, I'd love  to hear. Please contact me by email justbehappy@justbehappycrochet.com

For some exciting educational and creative activities to do with your kids check out Alessandra's blog where you can revel in ideas such as this very cool Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt she put together for her son last week. 

Details and the Scavenger Hunt printout can be found here.

Thank you for sharing Alessandra!

Craft inspiration - DIY kids wooden blocks

I came across these super cute, very decorative and easy to do wooden blocks by Sparkle Power on Pinterest

My little baby girl turns 6 month today

Custom knitted baby name blanket

Finally the blanket I kitted for Elin is finished and already I feel like making another one...
but you can never have too many blankets

My plan was to leave it without backing but I decided against it and added a cotton jersey banking which actually gives the blanket a really nice weight.

If you are interested in me making a customized  blanket like this for you then don't hesitate to contact me.

Knitted Monster Pillow for Benji's birthday

Here they are, the pictures of the finished pillow that I made for my friend Nina's son Benji.
We celebrated his 2 year birthday on Saturday with a very hot but enjoyable picnic.

I wanted to give him something that he could cuddle with, play with and relax with (3 wishes in one...like a kinder egg) so I made him a pillow, which I am sure is quite a boring gift in the eyes of a kid which is why I added a monster face on it, his name crocheted into it on the other side.

Unknown to all adults the picnic was being disturbed by an "ant invasion" and the pillow ended up being the perfect retreat.

Update on the weekend crafting

Weekend is long past and I managed to get some crafting and knitting done.

Two DIY kids projects
1. A knitted, personalized Monster Pillow for Benji, my friends son who just turned 2.
2. A personalized baby blanket for my little Chupi, Elin.

Both were first time projects and without bragging I think they turned out great, I will post pictures super soon.

Malina - Dresses by Malin Andren

My beautiful sister in law, Malin Andren, is the founder of and designer for the brand Malina.
She creates the most stunning dresses made from hand painted Korean Silk at - believe it or not - reasonable prices.

Being based in Stockholm she has a very loyal Swedish clientele including the Swedish crown princess Victoria who has been spotted in Malina creations on numerous occasions.
But the gowns are sold internationally and Uma Thurman alongside others is a Malina customer.

You can purchase her beautiful dresses directly from the Malina webshop

....they are currently holding a sale!

Inspiration - Crochet cushion

Besides the fact that I studied 2 years in Copenhagen loving every minute of it and have many friends in and from Denmark they are also world class designers.

I don't know how many beautiful pieces of furniture or how many very cool fashion brands originate from Denmark, but I know it's a lot. Some of the worlds most iconic 50s, 60s and 70s furniture designs come from Denmark...
and the Danes continue creating quirky and fun designs. So obviously I read a lot of Danish blogs and today I was again looking for some cool knitting patterns when I once again came across the Tich Tach blog. 
I know(!) ...I posted something from there yesterday, Tich Tach has not been in my must read blog list but I just seem to stumble across it again and again when researching projects. I love the stuff Tina does and I just felt she needed another mention.
Check it out!

DIY Inspiration - Crafting with socks

As mentioned before I am currently monkey obsessed, especially sock monkeys.
Meet my two latest Monkey creations:

There are 1000 of ideas and inspiration for things to create with a pair of socks, below are a few of my favorites:

SOCK PUPPETS

This sock puppet is by Alessandra and her beautiful children over at Just Be Happy Life

SOCK PEOPLE

This little sock person is by Fliss at Fliss Russel

SOCK GIRAFFE

Girafe by Swing in the Tree Studio at Etsy

This sock giraffe is by mybootee.com

SOCK DOG

Sock dog tutorial can be found at Little Black Teapot

So go on, create your own sock creature...

Colour inspiration for knitting projects

This is a knitting pattern (in danish... sorry) for a cotton dishcloth but I just had to post the photo because I love the colours in these knits and think they would be lovely in a kids cardigan or baby blanket or a kids toy....

..like these little knitted monsters by Alessandra over at Just Be Happy Life

The free monster knitting pattern can be found here.

I just love a good before & after project

I am on the brim of obsessional with before & after projects and Design Sponge definitely has some good projects to ogle. Like this Before & After: Chic Bohemian Nursery by Justina Blakeney. 
She has combined so many lovely fabrics and patterns and I am absolutely in lobe with the shaggy rug.

Maize Hutton: A Chunky Crocheted Hanging Bag

Look at this gorgeous chunky crocheted hanging bag by Maize Hutton. 
I could see a row of these in different colours hanging beside each other on wall hooks in Chupi's room.

A project for another rainy day.

In love with Smantha French

Samantha French, originally from Minnesota and currently residing in New York, is the creator of these lovely works of Art below. The colours that the reflections of light create on the water is simply gorgeous. I wouldn't know where in my home to place one of these artworks if I had one but I wish I did.

A DIY high chair for Chupi

We always said we were going to get the Stokke® Tripp Trapp® chair in a bright colour for Chupi once she got big enough...

suddenly she was big enough and we really needed a high chair but I knew it was going to take ages until we got our thumbs out of our a**es and go get her a chair.
So Sunday a week ago I thought I could DIY a high chair instead...and I did.
It took all bloody day but it turned out pretty cool I think (my boyfriend's parents think it looks like something found in an institute for the insane), I mean improvements could still be done now looking back on it but it works and Chupi seems to really like it. 
Judge for yourselves:

You can see in the background how the chair actually looks before covered with the "high chair".

This is what I did:

I placed two square foam pillows on the seat of the chair and covered them in fabric going around the underside of the chair seat and then added push buttons to attach it all the way around.

I covered the backrest of the chair with the same fabric and sewed it onto the pillow part also fastened with push buttons at back.

I sewed the harness part seen in the picture onto the backrest fabric with lots of push buttons to make sure it would fasten securely around her and that I could make it larger as she grew.

I shoved a pillow down the back behind the fabric for back comfort and softness and that was it.

It is easily removable with the snap buttons so it can be machine washed which is necessary as I have already had to wash it twice since making it.

Sounds complicated? It was a little complicated :)  - I didn't have the patience to create a pattern so I just started sewing and I wasn't smart enough to document the progress with pictures, but should anyone be interested I can probably come up with a better description on how to do it including both photographic and hand drawn pictures, just let me know.

DIY project - IKEA Rast dresser makeover

I have just bought 4 Ikea Rast dressers.
They are cheap and untreated and great for DIY and I am definitely not the first to DIY this dresser.
Below are some Rast re-creations from others...

1. Almost Makes Perfect
2. Me, You and a Wiener
3. IKEA’s Livet Hema blog
4. Design Manifest
5. AM Dolce Vita


I bought two dressers for Chupi's room and two for the living room as a TV stand and DVD storage etc. The ones in the living room are still plain and very ugly and I haven't decided what I want to do with them. The two in Chupi's room have already been painted and only need hardware ...that's where I got stuck.
I bought and added the hardware to one of the chests and now I cant decide if I maybe liked it better with the original knobs.

What do you think, original knobs or the oriental brass ones? 

I might go for something completely different in the end... I will keep you updated on how it turns out. 


The stripey guys on the dresser are my Sock Monkeys, I am a bit of a sock monkey maniac at the moment and have to everyone's amusement started a mini sock monkey production line.

To finish today off here are some more IKEA Rast hack by other bloggers

1. Design Sponge

2. I Suwannee

3. IKEA’ s Livet Hema blog

4. Design Dump

5. + 6. I cannot find who hacked these but they are using the  decorative fretwork panels from O’verlays

See how the other pair of dressers turned out here.