Reading fort

My amazing momma came into town this week to watch Ellie and help me get some unpacking and projects done around the house since Ryan was working 60+ hours this week.

I really, really wanted to build Ellie a reading fort in her room after seeing this pin. We tackled it blind (no pattern, no solid plan) and ended up with something I LOVE. It took until Plan G or so, but I love it. Here's our final solution:

We first tried a hula hoop, and that was pretty much a disaster. We couldn't get it to hang right -- it would fall one way or the other, and looked really messy.

So we ditched that plan (sorry, Pinterest!) and tried something totally different. I like how this one is more tailored and more open, since she's only 18 months old!

The curtains are hung from a rod going diagonally across the corner of the room. We draped her crib skirt over the rod in the front, then secured it all the way around. As she gets older, if she wants it more enclosed, I can add more curtain rods to the sides with more curtains.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how she'd react. She loves making forts right now, but this was something kind of different for her room! But when she got back (Ryan took Ellie to Ballwin Days for a daddy-daughter date), she immediately ran to the little chair and started playing hide-and-seek with the curtains. She LOVES this reading fort (thank goodness, after all that work)!

Art inspiration

Hey, I'm back! We're finally more or less settled and I'm getting to do the fun stuff like Pinterest projects I've had pinned forever.

Here's one I just finished and ordered. I wanted some kind of fine art in Ellie's playroom by her own art space. I'm big on creativity, but also on appreciating the classics of art, literature, music, etc. I want her playroom to reflect that -- open-ended and creative play, and also being inspired by great works.

A friend pinned a great quote from Henri Matisse: "Creativity takes courage." This was my inspiration. I found five pieces of art from different styles and eras, and quotes from the artists. I ordered the prints today and should have them framed and up this week!

"Every day I discover more and more beautiful things."

(The Artist’s Garden at Vetheuil, 1880 by Claude Monet)

"Creativity takes courage"

(Icarus by Henri Matisse)

"Art seems to me to be a state of the soul more than anything else"
(Creation by Marc Chagall)

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
(The Dance of Youth by Pablo Picasso)

"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”

(The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, c.1888 by Vincent Van Gogh)