DESIGNING SCARLETT

 

 

Since the time of our My Painted Porch blog, much has happened!  

And there's a newer sister blog where you can meet Gunner and Scarlett!  See more on the many changes, for more DESIGN and DIYs in our century plus home, stories of FAMILY from CANADA'S EAST COAST, and see our many new products in our ETSY shops!

Designing Scarlett - capturing the essence of HOME! 

ALL THINGS GIRLY-GIRL - Part 6

Little Project No. 10...

By the time our peanut was born, our expectant parents’ list of the things we wanted to teach her, make for her, provide for her, had grown to be one of 1001. We wanted to not place importance on “things” however, but rather have her develop a love and appreciation for those tokens and treasures given from the heart and made by hand, or at least with the tiniest bit of creativity, and with the appreciation as to how they came to be. Joe and I both being the sentimental softies we are, believe that in addition to traditions and customs, heirlooms and cherished pieces of our history or that of our ancestors are a big part of providing us with something tangible of our roots...something we can hold on to while in keeping and awaiting becoming yet the next generation's precious piece of family history.

As probably has grown obvious by now throughout Lizzy's room redo, I find myself living my childhood all over again at times vicariously through Eliza’s. What little girl wouldn’t enjoy afternoons of playing dress-up with tea sets and hosting parties for Teddy and imaginary friends? Altho I’m not quite sure why I didn’t, I, for some reason, had that image along with countless others when we found out we were having a little girl. I remember wanting a play table and chairs so badly but Mom was a single parent, often times working two jobs to make ends meet. It was understood that you keep your wishlist short, realistic and practical...bells and whistles were often hard to come by altho much to her credit, we did have them on occasion. That being the case, and accepted with a true appreciation for all we did have, it still didn’t negate the fact that I wanted one!  In remembering that in our pregnancy, it found itself on the list of “all things girly-girl” that I would attempt to give to her at some point in time. So Joe and I being ever so slightly creative in thought with hopefully capable hands to match as only time would tell, set out to make one for Lizzy and came up with this.

Made of wood, we gave it to her for her 3rd Christmas. Of course, she wouldn’t realize or appreciate then that it was handmade by her parents, nor would she find much purpose for it then, but she would in time. I decided to finish it in paint with a clock motif and ballet slippers. It sits under her toy bag rack where we so often find her coloring or dressing her Barbies while singing up a storm to Justin Bieber and patiently waiting for me to ready myself in the mornings.

Since the time that all of the little projects began to hatch from the onset of her room's makeover, I’ve decided the green walls have run their course undoubtedly meaning, project no. 11 lies awaiting us somewhere not too far off in the distant future. Just how far off, is hard to say. Until that time tho, hopefully our little one is enjoying her new surroundings as I know without a doubt, I am.

While putting away her folded laundry one afternoon, I glanced at her bed and found myself suddenly getting sooo sleepy. Her bed looked sooo inviting and so...I placed the laundry basket on the floor and assumed a horizontal position on her bed...”just for a minute”. As I looked around her room from the perspective of her plump floral pillows, the thought occurred to me that, in the many ways Joe and I have chosen to be creative over the years, this is one that I’ve taken indescribable joy in - creating a space where our little one can play, learn, grow, dream, be imaginative and creative - where she will live out a wonderful childhood surrounded in things requiring much thought and work which her parents created for her, when and how the means available to them were there to do, and with so much love...what more could a little girl ask for? Thanks Mom ♥.

I hope you've enjoyed following a bit of a journey in the transformation of our little girl's nursery to a "big girl's room" and the many little projects and finds, of self included, along the way. Ah, having a girly-girl is so much fun! Er...or is that, "being one"?

ALL THINGS GIRLY-GIRL - Part 5

Little Project No. 8...a window treatment

I had an ivory curtain on Lizzy's window while her room was still a nursery. It was a pair of cotton duck tab top panels, which I had removed the tabs from, sewn a rod pocket into, and made tiebacks for from one of the fabric patterns I had dug out of remnant bins at our local fabric shop. Pretty, and functional, they served their purpose while she was a baby. Now 4 yrs old tho, we decided a change was due in a window treatment. 

Joe set out to make shutters for her windows which would serve two purposes...well 3 actually if you were to include the ‘pretty’ function! Not only was she requiring privacy, but now also, a little darkness in her room for bedtime when neighborhood kids can still be heard shrieking with delight in their play on a warm summer's night. It's difficult to explain to a small child that it's her bedtime while other kids are running around outdoors still having fun in broad daylight! I'm not that old - I do remember and it hurts!

I copied the contour from one of our vertical sign designs at www.mypaintedporch.com and of course, painted and antiqued them, as well as the attached hinges. I found glass knobs from eBay for $3 a pce, for a few projects I was working on around the house, and installed a few of those for operating the shutters. They look so sweet in her windows, from both inside and out! One window has nothing but the shutters as a treatment, as the window is quite short and long...one of those odd sizes you're continuously struggling to find a solution for, so we went full length for that window. The longer window behind her headboard would require another treatment.  Where the shutters ended only a little over the halfway point on this window, I re-used the curtain from her nursery, by doubling the panel and draping it over the rod. Using the same tiebacks from the nursery curtain but I repurposed those by installing them from the curtain rod and down and over the fabric, to gather the fabric vertically from the rod, and well...kinda love that too! Here's a bit of a peek at her shutters... 

AND THE WINNER IS...

Congratulations to www.papernosh.com, the winner of our Christmas Giveaway drawn Nov 15th!

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all of our blog followers, customers, FB fans and friends, a truly wonderful Thanksgiving (for those of you celebrating this coming weekend :-) and to all, a wonderful Christmas and holiday season, everywhere. We are so thankful to each and every one of you for your friendship as we too, give thanks for our wonderful blessings...you!
 
With big hugs...xxx!

Leslie