Art & Design of Kelli Murray

So…I did it. I was actually quite proud of myself when I lined up all of my 25 baby headbands and realized I had actually completed a goal. Completing non-work related goals these days is not even close to as easy as it used to be!  Phew! Each headband will be cut custom to your baby’s head size and I will add a (very important) elastic stripe to the back for a snug fit.  That little elastic I found to be the key to keeping the pom on Rylee’s head and not in her eyeballs!  These headbands have been on my “to-do” list for weeks after promising a few friends I would make some for their babes, so it feels good to have them done!  2 days of winding, clipping and braiding yarn and these bad boys (or girls?) are ready to adorn some cute little baby heads.  Yay!  I must say, I have both purchased and created my fair share of baby headbands over the last few months.  Sam considers it a borderline addiction which I fervently deny…..but these yarn pom bands are hands down my fav.  I think we get someone touching Rylee’s head or grabbing her cheeks every time we go out in one.  Maybe that is not a good selling point…but needless to say, that little pom gets attention! haha.   Now available to buy on my ETSY! Just leave me a note with your desired size and i’ll get it sent off to you in the mail!  They come in coral, eggplant, merigold, moss green, ivory, and grey!  I’m not sure if this will ever happen again, so I suggest you hurry over if you are really interested! Much love!!

Flower Crown – DIY / Dress – Free People / Shoes – Jeffrey Campbell

The ocean never ceases to amaze me.  I swear, I’ve lived here all my life and I still have those moments as we are driving to the coast and I see the great expanse of the sea and I think to myself, there could not possibly be anywhere more beautiful.  It’s funny how easy it is to complain about the weather being too hot or too cold or blah blah blah…but who are we kidding….most of the time it’s pretty darn perfect.  Especially right around April.  We snapped these photos over Easter weekend.  I wish Rylee was awake (she is sleeping in her stroller behind the camera) because I think I would have died to have her in my arms for some of these wearing her matching flower crown.  Am I a silly mom for making her a flower crown?  Maybe so, but she did look ridiculously cute in it.  Kind of like a family of hippies….minus Sam, because he never looks hippy. ha.

This week has a really good one.  For a lot of reasons, some of which I have to keep mum, but mostly because I have just been feeling so hopeful…and thankful lately.  Last weekend was a good reminder for me to be more grateful for the life i’ve been given.  Sometimes I get in a rut where I feel like nothing is going right and things will never turn around.  In times like that, I tend to only think on the negative, loosing sight of the bigger picture that there is also a lot of GOOD in my life, even in the midst of something hard.  I am trying to remember to consciously remind myself of those things….the things that make me smile on a daily bases and the things the bring me joy and inspiration.  My family, my friends, my work.  It really does make a world of difference in my mood and outlook.  My new venture into freelance has been better than I could have ever expected.  I have been having so much fun diving into new projects and experimenting with new art forms.  I worried that with having a baby I may loose some of that creativity….but in fact, Rylee has added just that much more inspiration and drive for me to stay creative.  She is a pretty big deal in my world and it’s hard to believe she is already coming up on her 8 month mark! Anyway, that was a bit longer of a post than I planned but it feels good to be honest on here sometimes.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  And hey, why not try to remember a few things that YOU are thankful for…and see how you feel!  And feel free to share in the comments.

Exciting announcement today!  I have joined a team of talented ladies to take part in an event called SPELLBOUND, taking place at the historic Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena,  November 8-11.  Hosted by my ever talented cousin and aunt (the duo behind A Gilded Life and the ultimate craft extraordinaires) the Spellbound event will be a beautiful weekend of art and inspiration, including classes taught by a handful of working artists!  I was honored to be asked to participate.  I will be teaching two classes, both of which I am pretty excited about!  It will be my first time “teaching”, so the opportunity both scares me and excites me! haha!  But more than anything, I am looking forward to meeting other creatives and learning new techniques! We can all use a little creative boost every now and then, right!?  I know the date is a long way off, but if you are really interested, sign up now because there is limited availability.  Registration is now open!  Hope to see you there!

So, I must say, I was pretty happy with the outcome of Rylee’s DIY bunny ears!  If only she could wear them everyday!  I can’t get enough of this little girl.  Today was extra special because it was Rylee’s first Easter.  I suppose I will say that with every holiday going forward until her first birthday.  But it’s so true that having her makes every holiday exponentially more special for Sam and I.   I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and got your fill of chocolate eggs.  As for me, I am on chocolate strike for a bit because i think I ate my month’s share today.  Oops.  Monday rolls around far too quickly doesn’t it?

I recently did a mini “spring-inspired” shoot with Taryn and Shelby of Joielala  (which mean a handful of fun lookbook posts will be coming to the blog over the next few weeks!)  This is just a sneak peak of one of the looks because I wanted to do a quick tutorial on how I created this pastel flower crown.  They make such a statement and are great for weddings, special occasions, or…just because!  Below are the steps on how to create one for yourself.  I created a large, full crown, but if you want to make one a bit more delicate, just buy smaller flowers and space them out more.  In total, it took me about 45 minutes to put together  and I spent only $18 in supplies.  But I still have a lot left over so I plan on making a few more! Perhaps even a mini one for Rylee!

STEP 1:  Get your supplies!  I bought all of my supplies at Michael’s, but any craft store should suffice.  What you will need is a handful of selected silk flowers, wire cutters/pliers, heavy rustic floral wire for the base, thin floral wire (green) to attach the flowers, and floral tape or ribbon (both optional).

STEP 2:  Take your rustic floral wire and shape it into a circle that fits comfortably on your head.  I would suggest making it a little loose because the flowers end up making it fit a bit snugger at the end.

STEP 3:  Begin arranging your flowers on the base and decide the general placement of the flowers prior to attaching them.  Once decided, start from the back and begin working forward.  Take your thin green floral wire and secure each flower into place by wrapping tightly around the base several times (or until you feel like it is secure).

STEP 4:  For the larger flowers, there was not enough of a stem for me to securely attach it to the crown, so I improvised, and first went underneath the bottom of the rose and tightly wrapped the wire underneath the green base of the flower between the petals and the stem.  Make sure to cut the wire long enough to be able to first wrap around the bottom of the flower as well as still wrap around the crown afterward.

STEP 5:  Continue the process moving around to the front of the crown and to the opposite side.  There is really no “right” way to arrange your flowers.  Just play with it until you feel like they lie the way you like.

STEP 6:  You can choose to wrap your flowers around the entire circle of the crown, or, like I did, only go 3/4 around the base.  If you decide to only go 3/4, you can finish it off by wrapping the back with floral wire or ribbon.  I decided to leave mine as it was because I liked the natural look of it.  Voila! You have yourself a flower crown!