Weekend Craftiness

Few things make me happier than getting the chance to be crafty and make something with my own hands. It relieves stress, helps me to focus and take my mind off of things, and gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment that what was created was done by ME. Even better is when the fruits of my labor are for someone that I love.

This weekend I began a project that I had wanted to work on for awhile: I made Livers a homemade stuffed animal.

When I was pregnant with Livers I struggled for awhile over the whole "nursery theme." I always knew what color scheme I wanted to use: blue, red, and lime green. I wanted something bold and atypical, even if it was for a girl. At first I wanted to go with something "oceany," and I always wanted to try and make my own artwork, but when I realized that I was too tired and had pregnant-brain, I scrapped the idea of doing something original. That's when I came upon the world's cutest children's book: Rainbow Rob. It's about a penguin, named Rob, who doesn't like that he's boring black and white. He looks up at a rainbow one day and is inspired to chose a different color for himself. After much research, he realizes that there's nothing wrong with how he looks, and he accepts himself for who he is.

Touching, right?

I wasn't so much sold on the concept as the fact that it was bright, had rainbows and penguins, and was cute as a button. So I themed my nursery after the book, drawing my bold colors from it and even making homemade canvas paintings from characters in the book. I was very pleased with how it turned out, and Livers loves it and the book.

Paintings I made in Livers' nursery

I had wanted for awhile to make a stuffed animal Rainbow Rob for Livers. I had done a little work in the past with felt, and I knew that it was pretty easy to work with. (Not to mention very cheap to buy.) So this weekend I finally sat down and cut out my patterns and began working on the stuffed animal. I must say, there is something very cathartic about sewing. To some people it is mind-numbing, but to me it is relaxing. One thing that was really nice was that I actually could get some of the sewing done with Livers around. She would climb on my lap a bit, but mostly she was just curious about what I was doing. She even could tell me who I was making, which must mean something!

Finally, this afternoon, I sewed my last stitch into Rob's felt. There are a few mistakes, such as his head being a little too pointy and him being a little less rotund that I would have liked, but I'm overall pleased with how it turned out, especially considering this is my first attempt at making felt stuffed animals. Rob's almost too cute to give to Livers, particularly since I'm worried he'll be destroyed.

So, without further adieu, I give you my "masterpiece" ;)




I really enjoy doing things like this, and am really getting into sewing. I have more projects in my head than I (and our bank account) know what to do with. I think that if my handiwork gets decent enough I might try my hand at selling things on Etsy. If any of you know anything about how that works, let me know!