DIY: Tag blanket for baby

I am a super novice sewer. I have made a total of 3-4 things with my sewing machine, so this project is one that someone with just basic knowledge can do!

Supplies:
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Coordinating thread
16x16in patterned fabric (I used fleece because it's super soft) washed and dried
16x16in soft/fuzzy fabric washed and dried
16x16in warm and natural batting
Assorted ribbons
Pins
Optional - Rotary cutter and mat

Steps:
After washing, drying, and ironing the fabric (so it doesn't shrink and get distorted after you make it and wash it), cut 16x16 in pieces of each kind of fabric using scissors or your rotary cutter (much much faster)
Lay your patterned fabric right side up on your table
Pin the ribbons onto the edges (I randomly chose sizes and lengths) about an inch and a half up (so they aren't in the way when sewing)

(Some of the ribbons may be too thin to pin horizontally, so when sewing, just pull the pin and hold it down with your fingers until you've sewn over it)
Once you have all of your ribbons situated, place the fuzzy fabric face down on top of the fleece and then place the batting over that and pin all of the layers together

We're going to sew this sucker inside out so we don't have rough edges at the end

This is how it should look when you flip it over

Sew with a straight stitch all around the edges. I didn't leave a certain seam allowance or anything. I just tried to sew it evenly :P I also back-stitched over the ribbons. Those suckers aren't coming out since they were sewn over 3 times and then a fourth with the top stitch in the last step!
**Make sure you leave an un-sewn piece of the edge so we can flip everything right side out**
I stick my fingers in the hole (heh-heh!) and pull out the opposite corner when I'm flipping this right side out, but any way you do it works as long as it comes out

I chose to sew a zig zag stitch around the edge to seal them up (after pinning in your open edge)

That's all there is to it!

One for Jill and one for baby James!

DIY: Wooden nursery letters

You know those cute letters people put over the crib or on a shelf of their LO's name?! Well, I'm gonna show you mine and how I did them with scrapbook paper (because there is no way in hell I can successfully paint designs on the letters and it turn out like someone other than a 5 year old did it).
 

Supplies:
Wooden letters (you can do a full name or just initials!)
Mod Podge -matte
Adhesive Spray (or glue.. but the spray is the easiest)
Spray paint (optional)
Sponge or paint brush to apply mod podge
Exacto knife or scissors (if you're using an exacto knife or some type of blade then you also need a cutting mat)
Scrapbook paper

Steps:
(Optional Step) I put the letters in a box because we don't have any newspaper and it's easier to move all of the letters around without getting paint everywhere.

I went outside to do the spray painting since it is better fume-wise. I did two coats and made sure I got the sides really good. The reason I chose to spray paint them, was because I wanted them to have yellow sides (we're only covering the front of the letters with the paper in this tutorial) instead of the unfinished wood sides.. I think the unfinished wood color would actually have looked better with the papers I chose.. but you live and you learn :P

I let the paint dry for about 30 minutes and did a second coat. After the second coat dried, I moved them to the table inside.
Next, you want to get out your knife and mat (or a pencil and scissors). Trace each letter on a different piece of scrapbook paper with the knife (or flip the paper upside down and put the letter upside down on top and trace with pencil. Then cut out the tracing)

After you have traced and cut out all of the paper letters, lay them on some newspaper or scrap paper (or back in the box). Spray a letter with the adhesive and gently place the corresponding paper on the front of the letter. I held it in place for about 20 seconds before putting it down so the letter didn't stick to the paper. Repeat for the remaining letters.

I let the letters sit for a while (and got some opinions on what to do with the dots from some trusted friends :P) and then sat down to add the mod podge to them. Lightly coat the front and sides of the letters with the sponge (or paint brush if that's what you chose). I pressed down lightly on any bubbles with the opposite end of the brush for a few seconds and that took care of any bubbles. I coated each letter and once I finished, the mod podge was dry on the first letters so I went back and did the second coat. It dries pretty quickly (I think the bottle says 10-15 minutes). I did two coats.

Don't worry that it doesn't go on clear.. I PROMISE it dries completely clear!

 I made sure to keep moving the letters around while they were drying so they didn't stick to the paper

I LOVE the way they turned out! Excuse the bump :P I will have to come back and add the picture when we hang them on the wall.. in April :P

26w1d

I had a busy weekend so I missed my update yesterday. I really don't have any updates that I haven't already posted this week. I am going to post a DIY project either tonight or tomorrow as well (:

I am officially in the double digits for my countdown to Jill's due date! I hit 3rd tri on Friday! I'm so so excited! Time is flying by!

Since about 23-24 weeks, I have been having trouble with crotch pain. I know that sounds weird (and it is :P). If I am particularly active during the day, my crotch starts feeling sore like I've been kicked in the pubic bone. Keith loves to make fun of my pregnancy waddle.. but I hate it. I'm not big enough to waddle yet! I went to the mall for like 3 hours yesterday and then cleaned and cooked when I got home (after cleaning alllll day Friday) so I had a super waddle last night and it was difficult getting up and down. I can only assume this is going to get worse and worse as I get bigger!

I figured out I was going to the wrong page for my baby-size pictures so I guess I'll have to update the past few weeks that have duplicate ones (TB does produce by week and then switches to monthly)

How far along? 26w1d!
Total weight gain/loss? Haven't weighed myself since my appointment, so assuming I weigh something similar, down 14lb for the pregnancy
Stretch marks? No new ones
Sleep? I definitely slept 13 hours last night and only a few hours the night before. Sleep is getting pretty difficult as far as getting and staying comfortable and I wake up frequently through the night
Best moment last week? Crafting made the week go by fast and made me feel accomplished
Movement? I feel her a lot now. She gets crazy some days
Food cravings? Sweets - I made an entire cake for myself last night :P
Belly button in/out? In, but I'm not sure how much longer until it starts popping out. It is a bit more shallow and it pretty stretched out now.
What I miss: Not waddling after having a really active day
What I am looking forward to: 3rd tri and a big ole belly
Milestones: I have less than 100 days left! 3rd tri is sooooo close!

25w6d

26w0d.. smaller than the day before :P I guess Jill was in a different position or something!

Nesting: CD edition

My downstairs looks like a freaking battle ground of fluff :P I have diapers drying on every surface available and a shitton hanging in the closet we use for storage. I decided that in the middle of the night last night, I would wash all of my diapers.. mind you I now have over 100 diapers (including prefolds).. IDK if anyone that reads my blog is planning on CDing, so I will explain what I did

Previously-Loved Diapers Strip:

• I ran all of my used dipes and inserts through a long cycle on hot until I didn't see any suds in the wash (which for me, luckily was only one wash)
• I then let the water fill up on hot again and added maybe 1-1 1/2 tbsp of Tide Original powder detergent and a little less than 1/4 cup of regular old bleach (to kill any germs from the previous owners). I ran that whole cycle on hot.
• Lastly, I rinsed the dipes until I could no longer smell the bleach (I think it was 3 times)
• Hang to dry

New Synthetic Diapers Prep:
(These are all of the diapers that are made of cotton, suedecloth, fleece, etc and your microfiber inserts. Natural fibers are your bamboos and hemp -which I have none)

• I just did a hot wash with a tiny tiny bit of detergent
• After the wash, I threw the ones with PUL in the drier for about 10 minutes (I've read that this can seal the PUL)
• Hang to dry

You really don't want to dry your diapers unless you are in a pinch and it is a must. The heat can damage the PUL and if you have cotton diapers (like my Rockin' Robbies AI2's) it can make them fade and show more wear quicker (which is why I removed the non-PUL diapers bc I don't want them to fade).

Natural Inserts/Doublers/Whatever Prep:
I have some bamboo inserts and bamboo blend inserts (microfiber and bamboo layered together)
These absolutely have to be prepped separately from your other diapers and inserts because they have oils on them that can get on the diapers and cause them to repel moisture instead of absorb.
For these, I have read you can do 5-8 washes on hot, but I honestly only have about 10 and that'd be a lot of time and water/power to prep 10 inserts

• I filled a pot up with hot water and brought it to a boil
• Added a small drop of blue dawn (this is optional)
• Place the inserts in for 30-45 min while the water is boiling
• Make sure you watch it and stir frequently (especially if there are snaps on the inserts bc they can melt if you let them touch the pot)
• Throw them in a hot wash (I didn't use detergent)
• Dry or hang them

Bleached Cotton Prefolds Prep:

• Wash once on a cold cycle with a smidge of detergent
• Wash on a complete hot cycle (no detergent necessary) and dry
• Repeat the second step 5-6 times

After your new diapers are prepped and your used diapers are stripped, you can start washing everything together because the ickies should be gone from the used diapers and the oils and whatnot should be washed away from the bamboo/hemp/etc.


I completed the crib skirt! It turned out to be pretty easy and simple. I didn't do a post or take pictures bc it is terribly plain and I don't have a crib set up to even show the finished product. Also, we have those terrible red carpets and the skirt is maroon so pictures would be awful anyways.

I am going to start a new project tonight that I will be writing a DIY post with pictures and instructions for a sweet baby item I'm making for Jill and another special baby, but I won't be publishing it until the mama gets the gift on the off chance she reads my blog and sees it :P

I also plan on doing a little DIY post on the nursery letters I am making to put on the wall over Jillian's crib. The unfinished wood came in the mail today!

You can see an edge of the folded crib skirt up at the top :P

An awesome friend sent me some onesies she made for Jill for an exchange today! I just wanted to share a picture of them bc I'm so freaking excited over them!

Lastly, my dad bought some things off of our registry and another friend gave me some things for Jillian so everything really seems to be getting more real! I find myself getting really obsessed and excited getting ready for baby Jill! We now have a bassinet, changing pad (I plan on making the cover!), and cloth diaper pail. I am still waiting on several more things to come in from my dad. Every day when the mail comes is like Christmas!


EDIT Thursday night: OMG I am dying at the adorable-ness of the goody I just made for a special baby and for Jill. I will be going first thing to the post office to get it out so I can post pictures here when the mama receives it!

bump comparison(s)

Uh yeah.. so, 1. I am retiring this shirt, and 2. I cannot believe I have been pregnant (and known about it) long enough to make a 20w comparison :P

5weeks and 25weeks 4days in the same shirt

Exactly 10w difference - 15w4d and 25w4d

Sadly, the 10 week comparison is more drastic bc I lost all of that weight.

Felt HP mobile

I had to add in the almost finished product of my felt mobile bc I'm so stinkin proud of it! When I finish it tomorrow, I will update with pics of the completed mobile.

I bought two embroidery hoops to hang them on and I'm going to wrap them in yellow and maroon yarn then hang these pieces with fishing wire (probably in a similar way as they are laying bc I like the owl in the middle bc it is the biggest). I'm so proud! I think they turned out way better than my inspiration pics above and that lady on etsy is selling her mobile for 55 bucks!

Steps on how to make this mobile (or really any felt mobile):

Materials:
Assorted felt (I bought the mega cheap sheets of it for like .35 or so)
Different color threads (I used embroidery thread so I could choose how thick the stitches were)
Sewing needles
Hot glue gun (optional depending on if you want to sew every little thing or quickly glue something on)
Something to stuff it with (I used cheap crafting polyfill)
Scissors
Pen/marker/something to trace out your patterns
Embroidery hoops (or other hoops)
Some kind of string or line to hang the hoop and attach the felt pieces to the hoop
Yarn or paint (also optional and depends on what look you want for the hoop. Embroidery hoops are usually unfinished wood, so I wanted mine to be wrapped in yarn to cover that up)

Steps:
Draw out the shape that you want to make on the felt
Cut out two identical pieces
Sew together leaving an opening (I like poking the needle through the bottom and wrapping the thread around the edges. I didn't make the stitches ultra neat bc I like the look of the messy little characters)
Stuff with polyfill
Sew hole

It was incredibly easy. You can sew on little designs or buttons or other pieces of felt before sewing the back and front pieces together and stuffing. Next, you can get an embroidery hoop and either paint it or wrap it in yarn (so it doesn't look like a plain old embroidery hoop any longer). You just hang the pieces with some string or fishing line and hang the whole thing over the crib!

Keith is on duty tomorrow so I might attempt the crib skirt after my appointment in the morning!

Finished product (I need Keith's help getting it a little straighter)

Another edit.. here's my photoshop (and free) version of a print I found on pinterest/etsy

I am hoping for a new printer for Christmas so I can print it and then frame it (it'll be 8x10). I want to make a few other prints made of HP quotes and possibly the "Jillian, Yer a wizard" quote by Hagrid. I really can't make up my mind bc I like so many of the quotes :P

Nursery ideas

This is what I have in mind for Jill's nursery. I have no clue what colors we will do the walls, but I want to make some House Flags (maybe even just one large Gryffindor one) like in the top left corner, a mobile of felt owls, lightening bolts, brooms, etc, hang a few prints like the top right corner or the two on the middle row (and the prince one is an absolute must). We have already picked out (but not ordered) the crib and dresser in that expresso color. They are Graco collections. I really really want to get a rocker recliner similar to the picture and have a HP throw pillow and/or a maroon and yellow blanket to go over the back. I have already ordered two sheets in the yellow patterns above. Today, I went to JoAnn's and bought the maroon fabric to make a plain crib skirt. I am thinking maroon curtains and I kind of want to get a changing pad cover in the same color yellow as above, but maybe in polka dots (the changing pad will go on the dresser which is actually short and long, but the stupid picture editor cut out half of the pic).

I want to get one of those cube storage things with the fabric drawers for Jill's diapers.. but IDK how I can tie one of those into this since they usually come in white and have limited drawer colors/styles. I need some kind of storage solution for her diapers bc it'd be mildly inconvenient to have them in a tub in the bottom of her closet when I need to change her diaper. I thought the cube drawers would be nice bc they're light weight and we can take them out and put them in the living room so we don't have to change her only in her room.