Baby gift

I just love making baby gifts!

This is what I put together for my neighbor who just had a little boy.

Burp rag:

(I may or may not have ended up making another of these burp rags for myself 'cause I loved it so much)

Wardrobe:

(I love how the J ended up kinda looking like and M&M)

Poopy Clutch:

(My button hole maker broke on my sewing machine so I ended up with a snap, and I'm glad! I learned how to do something new and I loved how it turned out)
Last but not least... the Hooter Hider:
It's another one I may or may not be planning on repeating because I loved how it turned out. Especially the little flower pin...

Recent projects

I've been working too much on getting our house together so I had to take a break and to some crafting. Sometimes I think I need it for my sanity!

To start with, I made this cute little clutch for that baby shower I went to before. It was to go with the ladybug tutu set. It holds 2 diapers and a wipes pack. I thought it was pretty cute. I got the tutorial here. It was seriously the easiest thing EVER! PLUS... I got the vinyl on a super clearance, can't beat that.

So, when I got another invite to a baby shower I decided to take it up a notch and do a sewn version for a little boy. I even figured out how to add a cute snap closure to it.
And everything tucks in so nicely!
I have one for myself but it was kinda a screw up so I think I'm going to make another one like this one. I love the chocolate brown and polka dots!

I also had this simple project I've been meaning to do forever. I found this cute patchwork monster fabric in the scrap bin at Joann's. I figured it would be perfect for some brother t-shirts.
I even hand stitched around the patches to give it a little extra detail.
Zach actually requests to wear his monster shirt. I realize there's not to many years that they will let me make them match so I'm enjoying it while I can.

Felt House Along

So as yet another nesting activity I've joined a sew-along group at Fireflies and Jellybeans. I've seen these adorable houses online but never had the daring to take on building one myself but this blog gave me just the little extra push I needed to make it happen. You'll notice that I added a button on the left here to say that I'm a part of it. Now, I'm not sure it was quite the best idea to start such a project less than two weeks before our new addition is scheduled to arrive but HEY... Zach is gonna need some fun stuff.

The concept is that this little house will be all sewn together and floppy and then you just throw it over a card table and WA-LA the perfect playhouse.

I've already cut out the walls and the roof and now, following the guidance from F&J I am working on each wall. This last week was the front. I'm not a very good planner and I am TERRIBLE at visualizing how things will turn out so I cut out mock pieces so I could see how they would all fit together.

Then I adjusted them a bit and cut them out. I made the mailbox to look like Mailbox on Blue's Clues since that's the rage at out house right now. I plan on making it so that we can fit mail into it but I need YOUR help! Does anybody know how I could maybe make the little flag on the mailbox so that it can be twisted up or down? I thought that would be really cut but I'm just not sure how to pull it off.
I'm also not sure if I love the little brown roof piece over the door. It's supposed to tie it in with the brown roof but I'm not sure. I'm also planning on making this entire front panel with velcro on the edges instead of sewing it closed. That way we can open it up more and maybe I can even fit in for a party or something.

The next assignment comes out tomorrow so I'd better hurry to get this finished up quick! (Not to mention other stuff that could be happening any day.) Seriously though, I could really use some advice on the mailbox thing. HELP!

Pillowcase

Finally! I finished Zach's pillowcase. It was a little harder than I expected just because Zach was so possessive of his pillow, AND the fabric which he thought was a blanket. I couldn't ever get it away from him so that I could actually work on the darn thing. Every time I tried to grab his pillow to measure it (it's kinda a funky size) he would snatch it away and either lay down on the floor with it or take it all the way back up stairs to his bed where it belonged. Then I would pull out the fabric and he would snatch that away and wrap himself up in it as his blanket. I finally distracted him with the finished quilt instead and made a really rough pillowcase and fit it to his pillow later when he was busy playing with his dad. I made it extra long so the pillow wouldn't slide out too easily.

It's definitely looking like a big boy bed now!
This is a quilt I started for him in Idaho over the summer and finally finished just in time for his birthday in January. Hey! At least it didn't take 7 years like Jason's quilt.

More nesting projects

Here's a whole bunch of little scrap projects I've got finished now. Two weeks remaining... There's still a lot to do!

I know, it may be cheesy that these all match but come on! I'm using scraps here guys. Plus, sometimes it's kinda fun to be all coordinated and matchy matchy. Just for kicks, ya know?

Cutsie Burp Rag

Matching Big Brother, Little Brother Tie shirts. I love them!
Car seat strap covers, and guess what... I made these up all by myself. No Pattern! I'm sure there's easier ways to do it but I was working with scraps so I had to make do with what I had.

So the car seat is officially fully outfitted for the big day. What next?

Nesting some more...

Are you all sick of my nesting projects yet? Well.... sorry. There may be one or two more yet to come. I've still got almost a month left so there's still time!

So, this was my project today. The nursing cover a.k.a. "hooter hider". I had one that I used for Zach but I wanted to make it a little more schnazy this time around so I did some research and combined/tweaked a few tutorials from some blogs. (mostly Make It and Love it) and here's what I came up with. I made it extra wide, I think it's about 40 inches or so, because everyone I talked to wished they had a bit more on the sides so they could wrap it around themselves. It's also reversible so I can use the brown side with stripe-y accents...

Or the Stripe-y side with brown accents...
Yes, it matches the car seat cover and blanket I made earlier. Just wait till you see the seat belt covers I made yesterday that also match. I just need to add some Velcro then I'll share them with you.

The list is getting shorter! The day is getting nearer- AHHHHH!!!!

Nesting some more!

Wow! This is REALLY nesting now. Yesterday, I brought in 2 boxes full of baby items from our garage so that I could do a bit of inventory before the new arrival. Sadly, it looked like he was going to have to live with a bunch of dingy, yellow stained clothes. I didn't think I had put them away looking so shabby but I guess that's what a couple of year's storage will do to stuff. I decided it wouldn't be any fun to put my brand new little boy in old yucky looking clothes so I decided to do a little experiment.

I started by spraying them down with Shout and then scrubbing vigorously with an old toothbrush. I was surprised to see that some of the stains seemed to already be fading. Then I stuck everything in a big bucket of hot water and Biz (I left a few of the more delicate items in a separate bucket with cold water, just in case). Then, this morning I ran them through the wash.

I was SO EXCITED when I started to fold everything because almost every single stain was GONE! There were a few tiny PJs that I was sure were ruined but they look bran new.

So I got to do the inventory.

It's actually a little funny to look at because Zach was such a big baby (8 lbs) and he grew so fast that the newborn sizes and the 0-3 month sizes are pretty meager. The items in the NB size were actually only squeezed into once or twice. If you look at the picture we have a snow suit on the top row and then the second row is the newborn size. There's 4 PJs (one with tags still on it) 2 outfits and a bunch of undershirts from the hospital. (I LOVE those!)

The next row is the 0-3 month stuff. 4 PJs, 4 outfits and a bunch of onsies. The rest is all 3-6 months, 2 PJs and a bunch of outfits. So now I'm a bit torn... should I start watching the sales and 2nd hand stores for those smaller sizes or am I going to have another monster child? I think I'm just going to wait a while and see. It sure was fun to sort through everything though. Maybe I'm starting to get a little excited... Maybe...
OH, I didn't want to leave Zach out of all the projecting so this is what I did for HIM yesterday. I put together a new eye spy bag for him. It was actually from our relief society Super Saturday this last weekend. I was just helping with one of the other projects so I didn't have time to complete it. I haven't put the names of the items on it yet but I have them written down to transfer later. I just hate my handwriting so I'm procrastinating. He think's it's pretty cool, although he was a bit distressed at first when he realized the airplane was trapped!

More nesting

I can officially bring home baby "In style" and cozy if I should say so myself. This is a pattern I actually tried for Zach (semi-successfully) but the original pattern is older and made for the 3-point car seat style and not the 5 point harness that mine has. So I had to adjust it a bit. That's easier said than done for me! I'm creative in the sense that I like to create using other people's instructions. I'm not so good at coming up with my own. I had to take a few deep cleansing breaths before I could bring myself to slash great big long holes in my pretty blanket. Now I just have to decide if I want to add velcro to hold it in place or if it's fine the way it is. For reasons stated above, I'm leaning toward leaving it. ; )

Jason picked out the Dino print flannel for the inside. He said my classic beige was too feminine.
See how cozy! Zach loves to bundle his bears up in the seat. Then he rocks them back and forth. I think it will be good practice because currently he's a bit vigorous... we are practicing the "Soft" rocking. Let's see... what should I work on next.

Crafty To Do List:

3 more Scrapbook pages (Zach)

Burp Rags (Baby)

Cars Pillowcase (Zach)

Tie Onesies (Baby)

See, I'm trying to alternate a bit so that Zach doesn't feel neglected. Maybe I'll try to actually post a picture with a real person in it later. Sorry for all the crafty stuff. I HAVE to show it to SOMEONE! Jason just sort of grunts when I proudly display my creations for him. I guess coordinating fabrics are just not really his thing. Though, I think I kinda like him that way. LOL!

2nd Year in Review

I mentioned earlier that I had been reviewing our old pictures for a project I wanted to work on for Zach. We were reading stories the other night and decided to go through our scrapbooks. I told him the stories associated with the pictures and he seemed to love every second. But, as I got to the end of my scrapbooking I realized I haven't scrapbooked a SINGLE page since Zach was born! Shameful! So I decided I would make a goal of documenting his stories. I used to be an avid scrap booker but parenthood obviously changed that for me. I have ended up with so many pictures I guess it was just overwhelming since my old style was to basically use every picture I could get my hands on. Then along came the digital age and the normal parental obsession with my child and I have ended up with WAY more pictures than you could possibly imagine. So, I had to start somewhere. My goal is to do one page for each month of Zach's 2nd year. (I'll get the first year later... I hope!) No more trying to cram as many pictures on a page as possible. I decided to just pick a few favorites and when I'm done I can go back and add to it. But this way I'll have a good documentation of his year instead of 15 pages in January and nothing after that.

SO, without further adieu (any idea what that really means?) I present

JANUARY 2009

Zach wants to be just like his dad and heads straight for the stethoscope the moment Jason walks through the door.

FEBRUARY 2009

Every kid has to have the bathtub Mohawk photo-shoot right?
MARCH 2009

The Gundersen's came by for a visit and Grandma walked Zach around our living room until he finally drifted off. Great trick for a wound up kid.
And all three. I am actually pretty excited about how they turned out. I know they aren't anything super fancy but I do still have 9 more to do and I'm kinda hoping to finish before I need to start on some pages for the next sibling.
Like I said, this nesting thing is producing some semi-random projects and it will be interesting to see what I actually do accomplish in the next few weeks. Sounds like Zach is waking up from his nap so my crafty time will have to be put on hold until his next sleep cycle. What should I work on next....

Nesting

With about 6 weeks left things are going WAY too fast and I have started to pick up all sorts of projects that "must" be completed before the wee one arrives. The first on the list was a car seat tent and Hooray! I completed it! With Zach we would just throw a blanket over the seat and that was it, this time I decided to copy a few versions I've seen out and about that let you cover the seat but leave the handle exposed to it's easier to carry. I put flannel on one side to make it a bit warmer. I'm not sure what the weather will be like but I figure it's better to be on the warmer side of things. I don't know that the fabrics are a perfect match with the classic stripes on one side and the goofy monkeys on the other but I thought it would be kinda fun that way. Now I just need to finish the semi-coordinating blanket to go IN the seat. Needless to say, I am DEFINITELY nesting. Well, I'd better get back to it then. The days are flying by and there is still WAY too much to get done.

Felt Board Project

I've been working on this project for a little while now and I am really excited about it- thus the double post (see Teryn's Treats). I'm actually hoping to find a couple more books to copy and my next set is going to be for counting. Zack really likes the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" one. We sing the words along with Twinkle Twinkle as he puts each of the animals on the board. Anyone have any other ideas?

Latest Project

*On occasion, I like to con Jason into taking the little one with him to run errands while I get other projects done arount the house. However, recently he has complained about having to either tote around my very large, very femanine diaper bag or brave the trip sans-diaper. (side note: I am known for my large bags- I like to make sure I have EVERYTHING I could POSSIBLY need on hand just-in-case)

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*The other day, a couple of friends of mine shared with me thier solution to similar complaints from thier husbands. THIS is my rendition of thier solution. It's just big enough to hold 3 diapers and the wipes. Perfect for a day out with Dad!

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*I used the scaps from my texture quilt since I'm practicing frugal living. :) All I had to spend was $1 for a cute button to finish it off.

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*NOW, I'm faced with a new dilemma. Jason now feels that this new bag is STILL a little too much on the femanine side. He's not a fan of the rainbow motif. Sure, It would have been nice to make it out of camo or racecars or something equally cooooool! But, then I couldn't say it cost me a gosh darn dollar now could I!

My First Quilt

I just had to share my latest project. I don't really have much sewing experience and really have no idea what I'm doing but this funny thing happens whenever I step into the fabric/craft store. Instantly, my mind is running a million miles a minute and I end up spending hours gazing at different fabrics or patterns, dreaming of what I could do with them.






I recently came accross this idea on make-and-takes to have an "I spy quilt". Basically, there are two of each pattern and the child can play I spy as they search for the matching pieces. Considering my little boy is only 8 months old and I've never actually made a quilt before, I opted for the super-simplified version with larger sqares and made it a "mini". I had been thinking of doing something like this when some friends of mine said they were going to make tummy time quilts with different textures for the babies to feel. I loved the idea and decided to combine them to create a textile-mini-I-spy-quilt. I have silky, bumpy, rough, terry cloth, soft, smooth, and fuzzy.