I Vowed Never to Do Piping Again

But then my friend asked me to make some bumpers for her nursery, so I attempted it once more. It really is a sweet story. They adopted two little girls, and they recently found out they were expecting their first little girl. So exciting for them.

The friend who I made them for is quite thrifty herself, so she actually found some really nice boy bumper pads at a yard sale and bought them before she found out what she was having. I ripped the whole thing apart and I used the existing piping and ties and recovered the pads to come up with this. It really cut down on the work (and the cost).

I basically just sewed a huge tube of fabric, added piping and ties, on one side, and voila. 

She loved them. As in, almost went into tears when I gave them to her at her baby shower. It's always nice giving something away when you know the person you're giving it to really appreciates it.

Marbles plus a dollar store pool noodle equals...

Hours of entertainment!  We live in Washington and it rains often...more than often.  I'm always looking for ways to keep the little ones busy indoors.  I saw this idea on Pinterest here .  It has been an instant hit!

 The pink balloon under the noodle is not necessary unless you have a little sister who also needs to be entertained. :)

Tree Wall Hanging

I bought an ugly sign at Ross for $3. It was orange and said "Do Not Enter." I painted it, cut a shape out in vinyl on my Silhouette, and glued some buttons to it. Easy Peasy!

Lattice Safari Quilt

This quilt is for my sister. She's having her first baby girl, so I wanted to do something special for her. I really really love how it turned out. Seriously. If this quilt wasn't for her, I would have a hard time giving it away. It's probably in my top three faves. She chose the grey/navy/yellow color scheme and I took it from there.

It was fun doing a palate so traditionally masculine, but keeping it feminine with all the floral, girly prints.

 I think the quilting really kept it simple and soft. Aren't these prints so fun? There's a bit of a safari theme going on, not on purpose though.  Tip: I always like to wash my quilts before I send them off because it really changes the look of them. I like the rumpled, worn look. 

 First attempt at bias binding and rounded corners. Won't be the last. I loved not turning corners.

Off to your new home in Montana!

Book Birthday

My little girl just turned one. As I was considering what to do for her birthday, I easily could have done something super girly and pink, but I thought it was better to do something that she really likes--books. They're easily her favorite thing to play with right now. I searched around for inspiration online, and  I found a great idea here. I scrounged up most of the stuff for the party around my house, and the goodwill. It ended up being pretty easy and cheap.

Invitations, found here:

 I cut a page out of an old book from college and just sewed up the sides to make an envelope.

Decorations:

 You can do so much with paper from books. I cut pages to 5x7", then ran them through my computer and printed the letters on them. Then I just cut them to a point and taped them around baker's twine.

 I made a timeline of monthly pictures I took of her first year.

 Hung it with twine and clothespins, and threw some books up to add to it.

I bought a Dr. Seuss book at the Goodwill and cut pennants out of it with my rotary cutter. Then I just slapped on some bias tape and we were done. 

Food:

I kept it really simple. Cake and cupcakes and fizzy lime ricky's. I made little cake toppers by shrinking down some of her favorite book covers and printing them out. 

 I found the straws here. Did you notice the table cloth? I had the Dick and Jane fabric left over from a quilt from a few years ago. Talk about perfect. 

I'm kind of in love with Baker's twine now. Oh, and I made the cake stand! So easy. I bought a candle holder and a glass plate at the Goodwill, and just glued them together with E6000. So easy. 

Favors:

Brown paper bags I ran through my printer with a Dr. Seuss quote on them. 

I threw made little packets of worms, and printed out these bookplates to go in the bag. 

I loved this party. So fun to get ready, and so fun to do something different. 

nursery

 

I finally finished up the nursery! Sheesh. I really wasn't in a big hurry because I didn't want to have nothing to do the last few weeks before the baby got here and we couldn't decide on a name so I had to wait to add the letter. Guesses?

Well this just about the easiest craft project ever though. But depending on if you get your fabric clearance or not it can be pricey. The embroidery hoops are cheap though. I think this project total might have cost me about $15. I got most of the supplies at HobLob. (PS. for their prices their fabric is really good quality...I made some curtains for Marshall's room and got some fabric at another place starting with a "J" and I was NOT impressed with the fabric---just a little FYI)

Its pretty basic:

buy as many hoops as you like in the sizes you want

either use some scrap fabric or buy want you like. 

place the fabric into the hoops and tighten

tip: when you hang on the wall, the nail doesn't need to go in very far or else the hoops will kinda pucker out.

Add a letter or name if you like. So cute. 

I also made curtains that I will post later...they are made with that animal print (that is soooo adorable) and the brown polka dot. Very simple.

We are going with a minty green, baby pink, pale brown, ivory color palette. I love it.

 

Here's a recent pic of me at 37 weeks. We put blinds up and I can't bend over to get the boxes so ignore the mess. But you can kinda see more of the room. I also re-covered that chair which was sooo easy (used to be navy blue) and made some pillows. 

Anyways...that's my nursery update.

(and my slip hanging out...tacky?)

sponge balls

 

Found this idea while pinning and then found it was a Martha Stewart idea...she's pretty awesome.

Here's the link: click here.

This looks like a super fun idea for a hot day verses water balloons and cheap too if you get them at the dollar store. Have fun!

More Color

In a continuing attempt to bring color into my home,

I turned pretty fabric into "artwork".

I appliqued the bird onto the blue fabric,

covered a canvas board with the fabric,

and perched it on a blank wall in my living room.

Next I plan on coving the background of my bookshelf with some bright fabric...I just need to find the right fabric.

simply sego

My cousin has opened an Etsy shop selling baby blankets and he needs a hand in getting things rolling!

Make sure you stop by and get one!!!

They are bright and fun---love the colors!

Click here

Upcycling old T shirts

My daughter came home from school with a big paint stain on her shirt from Art. I was a little mad. Don't they wear smocks anymore?  Any who, when the "washable" paint didn't wash out. I decided to make a dress out of it.  I cut off the part that was stained and added 2 old shirts of mine in layers to make a cute maxi dress. If the shirts you are adding on are a lot bigger then the shirt you are adding to, just gather and sew the layers together.  

 I added a little flower on the top to tie the fabrics together by cutting out varying circles from from the leftover fabric and sewing it on. 

It took about 15 mins in total and at no additional cost. 

Easy peasy Lemon Squeezy!

My kind of sewing.