if at first you don't succeed, make a baby sock corsage

I have a tendency to see a project and think to myself, "I can make that."  Sometimes, my mouth catches on a little too quickly and I tell someone that I would love to make a baby sock corsage for a baby shower honoring a dear, ole' friend of mine.  Even though I had never made anything of the sort.  I loosely followed this tutorial (there are similar tutorials all over the internet, but I found this one to be most helpful) and set to work trying to make roses out baby socks (blue for baby boy, Nathaniel).  Several tries later, I ended up with these and still wasn't quite happy.  I finally made the decision (on behalf of my sanity) to put the project down for that day and re-visit it on another.  It is a good thing I started early, which is somewhat out of character.

When I came back to this project, a mere two days before the celebration, I found inspiration in the bush that sits just below our front porch.  Finding this little guy, and knowing he would make the perfect addition to a corsage, coaxed me into trying some more of those roses.

After some twisting, and manipulating, trying, re-trying, nearly giving up, and a few sock rose casualties, I finally came up with this.  I decided on just two simple roses, instead of three, and that they did not have to look perfect.  For those of you who actually intend to try this project I will offer this bit of advice:  (1) Just keep messing with the sock roses until you get them (as close as possible to) how you like them.  (2) Don't skimp on your floral tape or wire.  The good stuff is not that much more expensive, and it doesn't make you want to rip your hair out when you're trying to get it to stick.

Once I had the hard part behind me, playing with some adorable, baby boy themed ribbon was a piece of cake. 

My final product looked like this close up.  I simply tied two "it's a boy" ribbon loops behind the foliage, and did some accenting green ribbon around the stem.  And despite my frustration with those silly sock flowers, I really enjoyed the end result.

So, who's this old friend of mine?  Lisa and I became close friends when she was my small group leader during my middle school years.  She and her husband met through and work for an organization call Youth With A Mission (YWAM).  They currently live in Turkey where they are building relationships and sharing Christ in an area that is not heavily evangelized.  Lord willing, she will give birth to her little boy, Nathaniel, IN TURKEY.  Brave woman, she is.  I was terrified preparing to become a parent in a familiar place, but can't imagine the stress involved in preparing in a foreign country with different customs, doctors, medical systems.  I know that she and her husband, Craig, along with their team would appreciate your prayers during this time of transition.  I loved getting to introduce someone so influential in my walk with Christ to our daughter, while celebrating the life that she carries.

 

I also got to make a banner celebrating the occasion.  Since, I wasn't sure exactly the name they were going with I just decided on the classic "It's A Boy!".  Simple, but effective.  I used scrapbook paper that I had, a circular pot lid and vase for tracing, some stencil lettering and white paint, and ribbon to hold it all together.

 

 

Did I mention how excited I am to meet this little boy!?

sag