Sensory play toys

So, ala Buckley, plus some ideas from various places i'm in the midst of creating a sensory play box for Nathy. So here is my attempt at a pat mat..

nice and squishy... some gold stars..

Next i've made a little shaker thats full of different bits and pieces

Not sure if you can tell but there is some macaroni and conchigeli pasta, some rice and some lentils.... and a very tight lid!!

I tried to make the drinks bottle with water and stars... and i thought i'd be all eco friendly and use the tub the gel came in but i filled it, shook it and got covered in red water.... me thinks I need something witrh a tigthter lid!

So, next on the scrounge will be some different fabrics, a wooden hairbrush, wooden spoon, pegs, knitted toy etc.....

How to start doing things again?

SO, the little man is in his crib asleep.... it took ages, not like him... he's been a funny little creature of late. I would say that he's not been himself, but I'm starting to worry that this is him.... the crying grumpy so and so! Anyhoo, I live in hope my placid little smiler will come back at some point!

It's funny, I'm really struggling to get life to any kind of normality when the wee man is in bed. I'm past the needing to lie in a darkened room stage everytime he is in bed but I'm struggling to know what to do. There is the obvious washing and tidying house aspect but apart from that I seem to have forgotten what I did before the little one was born. 

I know I like to be crafty, but I can't think what to do...

I know I like to bake but I don't seem to have the get up and go (plus I always forget one crucial ingredient and I can't just pop to the shops anymore!)

I like to go out.... (but again that is harder!)

So, what to do.... I guess it'll gradually get easier...

Until then, I'll hang out the washing and write this!

Nursery

So, although it's not quite there... I thought I'd upload some pics of the nursery. I'm very proud of my traced tree!

So, with the use of a digital projector I got the tree up there, thanks must go to these people for the tree pattern but I'm pleased with the way it has turned out. Now all to do with it is make a little owl and bird to sit on the branches. 

This is our barginous Argos wardrobe that we built with the help of Mr W.J.Woolnough! The little wicker baskets are supposed to be on the changing table but we have left that at my mums for the time being. Plus the little owlies on top are going to go on the wall rather than the wardrobe. Thanks to Sarah Wilson for the owl card on the left and I made the two owlies on the right..

Finally, here is our non standard light in the nursery... I just wasn't feeling the teddy bear/giraffe love so we plumped for this instead and James installed a dimmer switch so it can get nice and cozy in there!

Nursery Ideas

So, I've been looking at ideas for nurserys lately. We're still not sure what we want to do with the room, and we certainlty don't want to spend much (and we need it to possibly be a guest room) so the plan to cover every wall with teddies is out... :)

These have been some ideas...

I'm loving the tree idea... simple, easily paint overable and you can add matching accessories to the tree, such as owls or leaves etc

 This example being a M&P one...

I also think this is very sweet, along the same lines of simple background colour with just a little detail that could be easily changed. Like the owls, I like the little birds...

For something a little different, I also like this. I like the thought of alphabets, and this is pretty funky...

So all in all, a few different ideas.... getting the creational juices flowing!

Any thoughts?

Baby Links

Thought I'd share some cool links with you that I like to look at to do with the baby..

First there is this one

Create Studio

Then this one

Prudent Baby

Then this one

Project Nursery

Mostly crafty but a wealth of good ideas of things to do!

Internet Crafty Goodness

I love the internet for being able to find just about anything and help a girl who normally has no inspiration, have some inspiration!

I love to think of myself as a crafter but generally have to pilf from others to have a good idea. So when I saw this blanket, I was on a mission....

Although she appears to not currently have an internet home, this blanket is property of 'milklush' and I think it is pretty lush. So, I'm making my own, although I can tell you it's not shaping up to look quite like this, but I'll give it a go, and let you know when I'm done!