Matching Wallet

I am in the middle of making my bag (see previous post) and I realized that my new stylish bag isn't going to allow my huge ugly wallet in.  So I found a wallet tutorial that is cute and super easy.

http://therubberpunkin.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy-wallet.html

Now, if only I can actually find a zipper or cording foot to match my sewing machine!  Off to A-1 Sew and Vac, again.  FYI - Anytime you are looking for a specialized foot, just take your sewing machine.  I didn't take mine yesterday because I had Josie and I didn't want to deal with it.  Didn't think it would be a big deal.  OOPS!!!
Hopefully I will finish my bag tomorrow...just in time to show it off on Sunday :D

DIAPER BAG/PURSE

I just need to tell you that I hate my diaper bag that doubles as my purse ... It was only $1.00 from D.I. and it has lasted about a year, so I really can't complain.  But it is like the ones you get from the hospital.  It is black, boring, big, bulky...and honestly...I need to add more style to my daily accessories.  I never paid much attention to the diaper bags in the stores cause the ones I actually like are worth more than I wanted to spend ... so I just settled for a cheap back from the D.I.  Especially since, until recently, Jon was the main parent toting around the ugly diaper bag.

So, now that I have a little more time, I might as well take matters into my own hands and create an awesomely amazing bag for myself!

I LOVE THIS BAG

http://www.warehousefabricsinc.com/blog/pleated-lined-handbag/

Not the biggest fan of the fabric, but the style is exactly what I want.
Monday, I am going to head to the fabric store to find the perfect fabric and get started.  I can't wait!  If the stores weren't closed right now, I would probably just go right now.

My Own Episode of Hoarders/Organizer

 Don't look to long at those photos, they might stress you out.  For some reason this room bacame my brother-in-laws dumping place.  I will claim 2 boxes and the white tupperware shelf, but the rest belongs to my inlaws.  The best part of this room is the giant green spa bath tub...totally random.  But it was actually a really great place for me to throw the empty boxes and garbage.

A couple funny treasures that I found in the mess.

A LARGE tupperware full of empty perscription bottles



My 22 month old crawled into the saucer and was stuck and screaming for help



Painted portrait of my inlaws ... from the 70s (I think)

So my purpose in cleaning is not to sort through their things, it was to put their things on the shelves in an orderly manner, and get rid of the garbage.  It was actually a lot easier than I thought, mainly because about 90% of everything in the pictures were empty boxes and a TON of organizing bins and shelves.

I can't do anything about the shelves ... but Im totally excited to see the carpet.

Believe it or not, that is just a huge pile of empty boxes and
and random organization bins and shelves

I really wish we had unlimited garbage space...But as for all the organization stuff, Im hoping DI will take the rest.  Once the pile of stuff is gone, I am going to start working on the closet of crafts, and set up a table to be able to have my craft corner.  Totally excited to be seeing some progress.

MIA

I have to appologize for being MIA ... a lot has happened.  For starters I quit my job!  With my new responsibility as a stay-at-home-mom, I have a lot of catching up to do in my home.  One of the ways that I coped with the stress of being a full time working mom, was by letting my house go.  I would clean on the weekends...but it was surface cleaning.  I never actually kept my house clean like I wish I could.  SO...as a result, I have several rooms that I need to deep clean. 
I will be taking pictures of the before and after ... and then once Im done, then I can get back to my wonderful crafty dreams!

Mother's Day

For the first time I really thought about Mother's Day.  I know how hard my mom works and I wanted to do something special for her, that she would actually use.  Well ... she got her present last week while we were visiting, and I think I succeeded, at least she fooled me into thinking I succeeded.

I made her a picture board!  It was so easy.  She gets a lot of pictures from her 10 kids and 20+ grandkids.  I know from experience how hard it is to keep your picture frames updated, or even hang them on the wall (especially for her).  I think it is genetic, I hung up an empty frame on our wall (to make sure it would look good) and it stayed hung up empty for about a year...and then we moved.

ANYWAY, back to the picture board.  I took the pictures with my phone, so they are not the best quality.

I used a thick foam board and then put a layer of batting on the top.  I found some dark blue material and just covered the front and wrapped it around to the back and then stapled...ALOT.  I got the ribbon on sale from Hobby Lobby and just measured the width, and threaded every other one, and stapled it in the back.
Side note: You will use more ribbon than you think.  I bought one spool that said 18 feet thinking it would be enough.  I am obviously lacking some math smarts.  I ended up using 4 - 18' spools.  

Some of the picture boards have tacks or brads at all of the crosses, but I thought that was a little too much.  So I did every other one.  The only thing about the foam board is that the tacks don't stay very well.  I used super glue to make sure they wouldn't fall off the fabric, but for this reason I would recommend using some hard board.

Part of the present to my mom was actually hanging it and putting the pictures on it for her.  I know they aren't spaced very well...I was just throwing them on.
Totally easy, and totally awesome!  I am going to have to make myself one now.

Headboard

I dream of the day when I will have my own home and I will be able to make my home exactly how I wish it to be.  Right now we are taking care of my in-laws home while they serve a mission for the LDS church.  I am extremely grateful for the free rent, but it can be hard some days living with their things, and not being able to fully make it my home and my space.  So in the mean time, I will just talk about another project that I am dreaming about doing someday!
On C.R.A.F.T. she does a M.M.M. (Making Monday Marvelous) post every Monday that allows everyone to share their latest crafts and accomplishments.  I found this amazing headboard project from http://gardenberger.blogspot.com/.

I think it is amazing that she was able to make this.  I have always wanted a bed frame, but since we were living the poor student life, and moving around so often, it never seemed smart to buy a huge bed frame if we were just going to move in a couple of months.  So after I have my own place, instead of buying a huge bed frame, I am going to remember this project for when I am able to create my dream bedroom.
Thanks for the idea and awesome tutorial.

Craft Day

Yesterday I had an awesome day doing crafts with some friends.  The husbands went golfing, the kids played on the floor, and us girls got to work on our crafts.  It was so fun!
I finished the last two pages of Josie's quiet book.  I forgot to take pictures...but just trust me they are cute!

I also worked on a skirt for Josie.  When I tried to put it on her today she freaked out, (I will need to figure out how I can bribe her into trying on clothes and then modeling them for pictures.)
Side Note:  I am having a love affair with brown and pink.  If you haven't noticed the last 3 things I have made have been brown and pink.  But I just can't get over how cute the combination is.  Which is sooo funny, cause when I found out Josie was a girl, I was sooo anti-pink.  But now here I am in love with it.   

I found the brown fabric at D.I. and it was originally a shower curtain.  I LOVE IT!  The best part is the skirt only took about 30 minutes (after I bought a new iron).

Here is what I did:
I measured Josie's waist (18") and I then just added more...hehe, I think I ended up timing it between 1.5 and 2.  It really doesn't matter, it just depends on how full you want the skirt to be.
Then I measured the length, and cut out the big rectangle.  All I had to do was sew the hems, sew the two fabrics together, and then put in the elastic.  VIOLA!  cute skirt.  Now I just have to see if Josie will actually wear it one of these days.

Pillow Pet

This cute little cuddly puppy was so much easier than I thought it would be.  Even though the face is a little lopsided, I am still proud of myself.  I am going to have a hard time waiting until easter to give this to Josie.  The other day she found the head and started carrying it around.  It was so cute to see how excited she was.  

The tutorial was really easy to follow.  The only change that I made was that I used a silk fabric for the stomach.  I had mentioned before that I only spent $12 on the fabric ... well, it actually turns out I almost have enough to make two puppies...so even a better deal than I thought!

Pillow Pet

Okay, let's be honest.  Pillow pets are rather silly ... BUT!!! They are soooo soft and cuddly you can't help but love them.  Every time we go to the store and Josie sees one, she immediately tries to grab them.  I always pick one up for her to feel how soft it is, and she always gives me this adorable laugh.  I am tempted to buy them every time.  But $20 for a pillow is so silly to me.

I figured that I could make one for half the price ... and have fun at the same time!  So I looked around the trusty internet and sure enough I found a simple tutorial.  I bought the fabric last week at Joann's and I used their awesome coupons and only paid $12.  The time it will take me to make this pillow is probably worth more than $8, but the experience will be priceless! 

If anyone wants to join me in making a pillow pet/buddy thing let me know!  We can have so much fun doing it together.

Matching Skirts

I am totally cheesy, and I think it would be so fun to make matching skirts for me and Josie.  Besides, we need to take family pictures anyway!  This cute picture is from Craftiness is Not Optional, she created the skirts from a tutorial on Make It and Love It.  This is definitely going on my To Do list.

Tutu

I LOVE little tutu's for girls!  I always see them in the stores, but I can't ever get myself to pay that much for a little skirt.  Someday, I am going to make one!  I found this tutorial at The Spunky Diva that is perfect, and it looks so easy!

Hoppin on the Owl Band Wagon

Who would have thought that owls could really be so cute!  I never paid any attention to owls until Josie started saying "whooo whooo" when asked what an owl said.  Now I notice little owls everywhere.  LOVE IT!

I have two nieces that turned 1 year old this week, and I wanted to make a fun little something for them.  What better than a cute little Owl Softy.

I created my own pattern from owl picture on Angel Lea Design.  Her owls are much more "crisp" looking, but I think I did a decent job from looking at the picture.  The second one I made turned out a little better (can you guess which is which).  I did not stuff the wings and the feet like the picture shows...I kinda like them better a little floppy.
I am thinking of making one for Josie.  I am more than happy to share my pattern if anyone is interested.

Polka Dot Dress

Here is another idea from Craftiness is Not Optional.  This is a dress that I need to make for Josie.  Again, I am posting the picture and link so I remember where to find the tutorial.  I will give an update when I am able to get it completed.

To Do List

I had to make a quick note about this crafty idea before I forget and loose the link.

First off, I just have to say how much I love the blog Craftiness is Not Optional.  She makes the cutest dresses and she has the cutest ideas.  I only found the blog a week ago, but I have already found tons of things that I dream about doing.

SO ... this was a present that she received from her sister.  It is just a picture frame with cute paper in the back, and TADA! Its a dry erase board.  

I will definitely need to remember this for gifts and for my future craft room.

Nursing Cover and Burp Cloths

It doesn't take too many brains for people to realize how awesome nursing covers are.  It is amazing how a small piece of fabric can be such a life saver.

I have made matching nursing covers a couple times in the past, but I had to make a few adjustments after I saw the styles on bebeaulait.

It looks like a typical nursing cover, BUT it has a little surprise. 

Bebeaulait added some pockets ... love it!!!  These pockets will fit a binki or some nursing pads.  PLUS, it is made out of soft diaper material so it can be used as a little wipe.

In the past I have always taken a prefolded diaper and sewed some cute fabric up the middle.  But again bebeaulait gave me a great idea.  I found diaper fabric at Joann's for about $4/yard, plus I used a 50% off coupon.  I doubled the fabric and used the same fabric from the nursing cover to make it extra cute.

I had so much fun making this for a friend who is going to have her baby any day.  I can't wait for someone else to get pregnant so I can have an excuse to make this again.

Cake Decorating

I have always admired people that decorate cakes...and I LOVE watching The Cake Boss.  I find that there is a sense of magic about cake decorating that has always intimidated me.  Well, I think one of these days I will have to try decorating a cake ... maybe my daughter's 2nd birthday will give me a good excuse for the adventure.
I want to highlight some beautiful cakes that people I know have made, and inspired me.

My amazing sister-in-law made my wedding cake.  It was the best wedding present I could ask for

This same sister-in-law made a birthday cake for one of her daughters 1st birthday

Those jewels are edible candies.

She also made her oldest daughter a beautiful cake for her sweet 16

A friend made this cake for her birthday

Are those not AMAZING!?!?!?
After seeing these cakes, I am starting to feel the need to play with fondant.  One of these days I will stop dreaming of awesome cakes and I will try my hand at this magical art.

Quiet Book

This quiet book is something that I dreamed about doing for a long time.  I found motivation after spending too many Sundays in church not being able to listen because my sweet daughter just wanted to play.

I found a lot of inspiration from these blogs: 

http://sewing.craftgossip.com/quiet-book-page-templates/2009/07/06/

http://servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com/2011/01/quiet-book.html

http://modestmaven.blogspot.com/2009/05/sew-quiet-book.html

Some of them have some really good templates, and others just helped me get an idea for a page.  I am willing to explain in further detail how I made the book if anyone want.  But for now, I have some pictures.

 

Love this fabric!!!  I painted her name with fabric paint and used freezer paper as a stencil.  Ask me about it sometime and I will give more details ... it is the coolest thing.

  This is one of my favorite pages.  I the number dial can go in circles, and the phone really comes off the page and you can pretend to talk on the phone.

I was a little skeptical about these little dolls, but they are so cute in simple I love them.  But I definitely need to give them some faces.

This page is so colorful it makes me smile!  I wanted to have a page where Josie could learn how to snap, but the snaps are a little hard to use.  We will see how it goes.  I think this will still be a good page for her to match and learn her colors and shapes. 

These two pages are my absolute favorite.  I really wanted to have some finger puppets and I thought I was a genius when I though of putting finger puppets in a barn ... but then I found other people had done the same thing.  Which was helpful because I am not sure if my own brain would have made it as cute.  The apple tree is awesome and so simple ... I just love how they fit together.

Close up of the puppets

 The paint pallet is another fun one to help teach colors.  I have a cheap paint brush that I am going to attach.

 LOVE IT!!!  I thought this was such a clever idea, I couldn't wait until I finished this page.  I could not stop staring at this page when I finished.

Every quiet book has to have a dress-up doll.  This doll definitely needs a face and some cuter outfits, but its a good start.

Tomorrow will be our first Sunday with the quiet book.  I am afraid that after all my hard work, she will look at the book, throw it on the floor and then reach for the Hymn book.  We shall see!