Design Inspiration from an Old Friend

When Bug was born an old friend of mine named Katie sent me a couple of boxes of beautiful thank you cards from her new stationary line. Well, she just had her third baby. I'm so excited to finally be able to return the favor!

Katie and I are high school softball teammates. Here is a picture of us and the other two seniors on the team at our senior prom. That's me on the left with the blue dress. Katie is next to me in black. Don't we clean up nicely? It is tough to tell but we were on the field just hours before.

Like many of us with our high school friends, college and life got in the way of keeping in touch but facebook and motherhood reconnected us. A year ago, she posted this photo on facebook: 

Her daughter's pillow inspired some cards in her (then) upcoming spring line. Her picture inspired me too. I have been holding this idea in the back of my mind-until now. It is finally time for me to bring my idea to life. Here are the tees I made for her kiddos: 

I made Madeline's a little more girlie with a turquoise tee and coral fish...

...and made the brothers' shirts using a light blue tee and orange fish.

With Owen's tee, I decided to experiment with the placement of his name. Which do you like? The name in the middle, like Madeline's or off to the right like Owen's?

I've never been a huge fan of onesies (all those snaps) so with Colin's I thought I would try the lap shoulder tee.

I love the way they turned out! I may have to make a version for Bug and her cousins or a BFF version. What do you think?

Lessons Learned: My First Mod Podge Project

I found a small unfinished table and pair of chairs for Bug when she was just two months old. At the time I didn't have a vision for the set but who has many creative visions when you are a first time mommy with a newborn?  My Luv Bug is now 2 1/2. It's time.

Recently, I started noticing a trend of Mod Podge fabric/furniture projects on Pinterest. I've pinned a couple on my PLAYROOM board.  It got me thinking and inspired me to try a little Mod Podge experiment of my own...

My Materials
-Wood Table and Chairs (Clearance Section at Joanns)
-Custom US Map from Breeding Fancy on Etsy
-Spray Paint: Krylon's White Primer, Candy Apple, Lagoon (Home Depot)
-Mod Podge (Hobby Lobby*) Paper Mod Podge and Hard Finish Mod Podge
-Sponge Brushes** (Michaels)

*I always use the 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby!
**I stock up on the sponge brushes when they are on sale at Michaels 20 for $1.

My Experiment
First, I primed both chairs and the table and let them dry over night. Next, I painted the chairs candy apple red and the table lagoon and let them dry overnight.

Primed and painted.

The following morning I found a few areas where I got a little crazy with the spray paint and the paint dripped. I sanded those areas added a second coat. Again, I allowed it to dry overnight.

Now the hard part...

I spread a medium layer of Paper Mod Podge over the top of the table-just in the middle where I was going to place the print. (The Mod Podge website suggested to use a "medium" amount in order to avoid wrinkles.) Carefully {nervously} I placed the map on the middle of the table.  I used my hands to smooth out the bubbles.

As I was getting the bubbles out, some Mod Podge leaked out the sides. When I wiped the excess Mod Podge with a paper towel, I wiped off some ink from the edges of the print. I don't know why this happened. Do you?

Not sure what happened here.

I came across more issues with the edges of the print. Because the print was mailed in a tube, the edges were slightly rolled. If this were 1983 I would have used our encyclopedias to flatten the print. In the digital age I don't even have a phone book to use! So I slapped a piece of plastic on top of the table and turned the table upside down. I added some catalogs on top for additional weight.

After a couple of hours, I started to add a coat of the Hard Finish Mod Podge. Following the directions, I added a new coat every 20 minutes for a total of 3 coats.

Hard Finish Mod Podge-formulated for furniture.

As I was reading the instructions on the bottle, I discovered that it takes FOUR WEEKS to cure. That is just not going to work for a two-year-old. My plan is to use some Krylon gloss sealer that I have leftover from my mailbox project. But that will have to wait because it is now January and I don't know when we are going to get above 50 again. Oh how I miss sunny San Diego! 

The finished project! 

Overall I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Here is what I learned:
*It's called Mod Podge, not Modge Podge.
*For large pieces of paper and furniture, a roller might be helpful to get the bubbles out.
*The Hard Finish Mod Podge for furniture takes FOUR weeks to cure.

What's Next
I really want to Mod Podge a graphic map of San Diego on our kitchen/craft table to create a permanent "table cloth." I need to do some more research because I can't wait four weeks for Mod Podge to cure.  Any advice?

-Caroline