Oh, Dumbo! Such a classic movie, such a cute little guy! Yes, I know it's sad, but it's also good. I decided recently that I love elephants, and since we're big Disney geeks, Dumbo seemed like a good theme for our baby's area in our room, and one day, bedroom. I also liked that it works as a nicely gender-neutral color scheme, of gray, red, and yellow. It helps that it doesn't clash much with our bedroom's existing red and brown color scheme. Here's a preview of the decor in-progress.
First up, I started on some felt elephants for a mobile. I loved this mobile on Etsy, so some of those ideas will probably show up in the final product. Here's what I have so far. I'm proud to say that these elephants and the Dumbo were not only all made by hand, but also from patterns I created! The elephants are two-panels, and Dumbo is three so he's flying. I actually sketched the elephants based on Google image searches of elephants in profile, and of course I had plenty of pictures on which to base Dumbo.
To go along with the theme, I decided to make some customized bedding based on Dumbo's collar. I started out just planning to make a flannel rag quilt of three layers, but partway in, had a brilliant idea. I had already made this quilt to fit standard crib size, so that we can use it for a lightweight bedspread when our little one is using it as a toddler bed. I realized that if I made the quilt with only two layers, and I left one end of it open, I could later stuff a toddler comforter (any kind or design!) inside and use it as a duvet cover! So that's what I did, and now we have two options to keep it in use year-round.
Strip quilts are seriously the easiest things! I was actually bummed that this quilt went so quickly. I have been trying not to zip through projects so fast since that tends to make me also zip through my fabric and craft budget! At least making it a rag quilt adds some time and effort. I was once again very grateful for my spring-loaded fabric scissors, making the fringe cutting part less painful on my hand.
Also, check out what I found at Target! It's too perfect!