Applique Elephant Nursery Art

Just after Christmas my brother and his wife had a beautiful little girl called Inara. She wasn’t due till February, so she was the picture of teeny tiny pocket sized perfection. I wanted to make her a little picture with her name on it, so I thought I would applique something as I enjoyed making the photo-applique so much. Here’s what I made…

You will need:

• Printed image for template
• background fabric (big enough to fit your selected frame)
• fabric scraps for the applique
• fusible interfacing

1. Begin by printing an image of an elephant and baby to act as the template for your applique (I used this one). I amended the image a bit so that the mummy could hold a flag with my little neice’s name on it. Draw on the name now then cut out the templates.

 

2. Select fabric for the background and applique pieces (I cut pieces for the elephant, calf, flag, text, flagpole and balloon). Iron on fusible interfacing to strengthen pieces and reduce the amount of fray.

 

3. Place the first applique fabric pieces onto the backing fabric and pin the template on top. Sew all the way around the template (it doesn’t matter if you sew over the paper a little).

 

4. Remover the paper, then snip around the applique. Sew the calf on in the same way.

 

5. For the flag, sew the main piece on as above then place the text fabric over the top and sew over the text. Tear the paper away and snip around the letters.

   

6. Sew on the flagpole and a little balloon (I was quite pleased I added the balloon as the back of the baby elephant does look like he is floating a smidge…!), then hand sew a french knot for each elephant’s eye.

 

As a last little touch I sewed on my neice’s date of birth onto the bottom of the fabric.  Press and frame!

 

Tia xx

Nap Time Crafts: Nursery Glitter Artwork

Today’s Nap Time Craft is a really quick and simple one. Add a bit of sparkle to a nursery wall in under half an hour!

For this project you will need:

• Glitter paper
• Moveable vinyl letters and numbers
• Spray paint
• Frame

1. Begin by arranging your letters and numbers to fit your glitter paper. I decided to go with the initials and date of birth of a friend of mine’s new baby.

2. In a well-ventilated room, or outside, spray over your whole sheet of paper. You want all the glitter to be covered. Leave it to dry.

 

3. When it has completely dried, peel off the letters, and then frame it.

 

You could do your whole family in the space of a short nap!

~ Laura xx ~

Song Lyric Artwork

“I’m just sitting on a shelf” is one of my all-time favourite song lyrics from the band She and Him. Their first album, which the song comes from, has so much meaning in our household that I wanted to display the lyrics somehow.

After a search on Pinterest I found an inventive way of displaying the lyrics via a beautiful mess. This is a really simple project and the possibilities are endless.

For this project you will need:

• A paint by numbers set
• Moveable vinyl lettering
• Spray paint

Begin by painting your paint by numbers.

Once it is dry can you position your letters onto the painting. I used moveable vinyl letters so they could be peeled off without any marks. I used a ruler to make sure the letters were straight and evenly spaced.

Once you are happy with your layout it’s time to spray paint. In a well ventilated area spray the whole picture so the letters and paint by numbers are well covered. I used up and down movements over the picture so as not to get a build up of spray paint in one area.

Once the paint is completely dry, carefully peel off the letters and you’re done.

~ Laura xx ~