Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A Birdy Branch for the Boys Room

After seeing the beautiful bird-and-branch wall hanging that Meg made for her little son-to-be, I had to try making my own version for the boys room. Their walls are rather bare, since their room in this house is so much bigger than their former bedroom was and since they both seem to delight in yanking and pullling things off walls. I sewed up five stuffed birdies yesterday afternoon, made from bits from the scrap bin, and David went out in the dusky twilight to find me a branch. He chose one that fell in an ice storm a few months ago, that he had dragged on the garden. I trimmed it down and it was just right.
I had to hang it with stout quilting thread for the time being. David isn't sure where his clear fishing line is, so for now, you can tell it hangs from the ceiling. Hopefully we'll find the clear fishing line soon since I think that will make it look much better. I'm pretty happy with how mine came out, although its a bit more primitive looking than Meg's cheerful and whimsical one. Ack, that's just my personality I suppose. Dismal plaids and dark calicoes rather than bright prints and perky polka-dots! I hope the boys aren't too freaked out by the eyeless birds that gaze solemnly over their sleeping quarters.

I also finished up the boys curtains, at last, over the weekend. I started them shortly after Christmas but postponed finishing them since I ran out of black thread. (I usually sew with either white or black thread, depending on the project). But, at last they are done and up. I was very worried about the boys strangling in the cords from the mini blinds so wanted to make curtains to take the place of the blinds, so we could remove them altogether. The curtains are extremely simple, just a panel of blue fabric hemmed on all exposed edges. I decided to add a little ruffle at the top since the plain blue was so very plain. The ruffle was made from a worn out crib sheet. It has the same red color as the walls in the print, so it helps bring the room together. To hang them, I sewed a tube of tan and white stripe cotton at the top.

In the day they can be pushed to the side to let the light in:
And at night I can draw them across the window and they work effectively to keep people from seeing inside. Which is handy, since little David has become quite fond of Stripping and that is not something I want people to see if he happens to climb in his window before I find him out!
The boys room is not really a real bedroom. It is a closetless room off the kitchen. I think at one time it was a side porch since it sits a little lower than the kitchen and you have to step down into it from the kitchen. It doesn't have a door in the doorway and there is no closet. But it is large and roomy and has four windows and a door leading to the outside. We put a shelf in front of the door for the time being, to keep the toys up and to prevent people from wanting to use it as a door. The boys use the closet in my sewing room for their clothes so they have plenty of space to play on their floor.
As aforementioned, the boys like to yank pictures off of their walls. The things I *do* have up they thankfully haven't disturbed (yet). For a little decoration, David made each of them their names from some old wooden blocks. They sit on the top of each window. Since their are four windows, we have one apiece for David, Judah and Malachi. The last window has the word "Love". Here is a plaster mold I did of little David and Judah's feet last year. How much they have grown since then!And a beautiful cross stitch that my friend Sarah sent to me last year. I thought the colors in it were so cheerful and bright, and the boys just love to look at it!
From the ceiling, David suspended a planetary system with the central light fixture representing the sun. Here is my oh-so-naughty baby boy, climbing in his window to try to pull Uranus from orbit. Since the blinds are out of the windows, he finds the ledges very desirable and convenient to climb upon.
Judah knows when Little David is doing wrong. He is especially good at those times and especially attentive to me, as if to instill in my mind the superiority of his behaviour over that of his elder brother. "Look, Mama. I'M being good!"
Hopefully the birdy branch will add some more visual interest and stimulation to this room where my little boys laugh and cry, sleep and play and will grow in and learn in. Unless they pull it down.
Love,

Sarah

8 comments:

  1. I love all you have done! The birdy branch is really cute and you did such a wonderful job on the curtains!

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  2. How adoreable! I love the birdy branch, naturally. You did such a great job! God BLess!

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  3. The birdy branch is so cute! What a neat idea.

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  4. The curtains look great. Is stripping some sort of spurt that boys go through? The little boy that I babysit does that too. :/
    Love the bird branch - it's a great idea.
    ~Sarah

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  5. Their room is wonderful! Very comfy. I love the bird branch. I want to do one for my living room. Thank you!

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  6. Sarah,

    I love your posts—so beautiful, warm, and inviting. You’re a wonderful mother. :)

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  7. That's such a neat idea -- I'm tempted to borrow.

    "Look moma, I'm being good!" hahahahaha I love kids. I can't wait.

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  8. I love that birdy branch!
    They are such darlings. :)

    Haha Judah looks like he is up to something in that photo. :)

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Thank you for your lovely thoughts!