Baby Shower Gift

I cut these out on Friday night and sewed them up Saturday morning before a baby shower. I've made them so many times, that by now they are a cinch to whip up, even last minute! I made up my own pattern and directions, but there are several great tutorials on the web.

A Blessing Outfit

This past Sunday we blessed the baby at church. For weeks, no months, before he was born I searched all sorts of fancy boutiques, department stores, chain stores and etsy for something for him to wear, but found nothing. So I decided I had to make something. I wanted something simple and classic with an heirloom quality. I wanted something blue, not white. I don't know why but I have blessed all my boys in blue. I found a great online store that will send you free swatches of fabric. After getting the samples in the mail I picked the color I wanted and went to the fabric store for a pattern. I don't know if it was me or the pattern, but I had a hard time with some of the directions, so I'm not sure if I made it right, but it works. I love how it turned out!

ReCycle / ReUse

When I had my first child I bought a used Jenny Lind crib for a mere $20. It lasted for the next 2 kids until my daughter kicked the side and broke a spindle. I actually duct taped it back together until she moved out of it a few months later. I know, ghetto, but I wasn't ready to move her out quite yet. As I was dissembling it I was looking at it wondering if there was something useful I could do with it. I saved a side and stuck it in the garage with the rest of my projects until I thought of something I could make with it. So here it is: a blanket rack.



I need to give it a fresh coat of paint, but I was so excited to get it hung up, I couldn't wait!

Here's what I did:

I cut a section of the side to include 7 rungs. I thought this looked like a good size. Next I cut small blocks to mount on the back so that it hung away from the wall. This gives the blankets room to hang in the back. Finally I got some ring hangers and attached them to the back.

I love that I made something useful out of "junk", but I also love it because that crib was a little sentimental to me and now I can think of my babies when I look at it!

projects!

Finally feeling better from the flu we had last week! I had a few projects that I wanted to do and finally had the time, motivation and energy to get them done.

The first is a onesie for my soon to be born niece. At my SIL's baby shower they passed out a white onesie and asked us to decorate them, but all they had were fabric markers! Well, being the crafty snob that I am, I sat there thinking about all the cute things I could do with it if I was at home with all my supplies. I decided I would politely let her know I would do it at home and give it to her later, using the baby as my excuse, because I couldn't really be expected to produce something whilst nursing my baby, right? Well, they were on to me... I am a craft snob and they knew it! We had a good laugh about that!

The next one was freezer paper stencils. I have been wanting to try this one and have had the stuff for a while, but kept putting it off. It was so easy and quick!

My daughter has been obsessed with Mary Poppins lately and when I saw this image while looking for Mary Poppins costumes on the internet I knew I had to try it. It will be perfect for our Disneyland trip!

The last project was a blanket that I had gotten in the free diaper bag from the hospital. I love the jersey knit blanket, great for wrapping him into a little burrito! But it had the hospital name on the corner and I just didn't like it. So I made up a little applique with his initial on it. Here's the before:



Here's the after:

I have really missed being creative these last few weeks and now I have tons of motivation to get some of my other projects done, let's hope it lasts!