Mixing it up

Sometimes I like to mix it up. Instead of making a pregnant women a baby blanket with ties. I made my friend, three sheet like super thin soft, baby blankets. She just had a baby, so she has a summer of swaddling?! How does swaddling work in the summer? I don't know I decided thin baby blankets are the way to go. I've only had winter babies.
She wrote me the nicest thank you note. Something to the effect of at the previous baby shower we were both at (for a different girl) she thought I was so funny so she decided she had to become my friend. I really appreciated that, because I always feel so out spoken at showers, I talk WAY too much.

About a month after the shower

I finished this blanket only about a month late.

Yes, this is basically all I do. Make baby blankets, with two kids I don't have anytime to do anything other than make presents for everyone who is reproducing.

Mother's Day cards

These are the cards we made for grandma's for Mother's Day, it was last weeks family home evening. I made the photo corners so the grandmas could frame the picture if they so choose, or just keep it on the card. It was a PAIN! I thought the corners would be fairly easy, but after 16 corners, I wanted to cry. I took little squares and folded them diagonal twice, so they you get a triangle, and glue them together except for one of the pockets, then glued the back on to the card. When you opened it up inside there was a pocket holding more pictures. Plus a card that said Happy Mother's day, inside J signed his name, and I wrote his sister's.

My son's flower arrangement

I think my father in law taught my son to pick weed flowers and give them to me. I love it, it is the only flowers I get. The other day, my son picked these, and wanted to put them in water for me. He picked out my beloved jars.

Matching Accessories

I decided about a month ago my daughter needed fancy pacifier clips. I made two, and my son lost one and it is still lost, I'm beginning to doubt we'll find it even when we move. Here is the non lost one. I love it, unfortunately my daughter does not love pacifiers, she use to like them sometimes, but even that is a stretch these days.

I had left over pink coral from the pacifier clip and paired it up with left over 6 mm light pink pearls from the birthday present necklace, so I made this bracelet. I love it, wear it non stop since I made it.

Doesn't every mom and daughter need matching accessories?!

Baby Bracelets

I started making my daughter baby bracelets, and got a little carried away. I made a set (comprising of 1-3 bracelets) of bracelets to match each one of her dresses.

They are just so fun to make, since they are only 4.5 inches long, I can whip one out while watching The Office, or a set of three out during a movie.

to be continued...

New Blankets

My daughter still likes to sleep like a burrito. Since its warming up I thought I'd make some light blankets. They are super easy, I bought two pieces of a yard and quarter, light calico cotton, and hemmed both of them, and then I had two large light weight baby blankets. You could probably make these blankets without any sewing if you knew how to use hem tape. Here is the finished product. Fancy I know.

Here she is modeling the blanket.

Here is the second blanket, being modeled.

They were patterned after this blanket that was created many a years ago.

This is a sewing project for a beginning sewer. Since all you have to do is take your iron and fold the edges of the material over twice so you don't see any raw edges, pin for convenience and sew. I always get compliments on these three blankets, because they are big, soft, light and versatile. Anyone who has shopped for babies know that the only lightweight blankets available in stores are barely bigger than 28 inches by 28 inches, incomparison to these which are about 45 inches by 45 inches, depending on the size of the hem. I spent $3 on each piece of material, and about 20 minutes.

Easter this time

This is the second to last holiday apron, come October I'll make a halloween and I'll be done. My son loved the pattern on this material. The flower is actually from my daughter's headband accessories, its on a clip and fully removable.

I am super happy with this apron, because it has a ruffle on the bottom. I'm in a big ruffle mood, I blame it on having a baby girl. I only learned how to make them last fall.

The pockets are purely decoration, but I could probably fit a hard boiled egg or two in them. They are suppose to minic the rabbit's ear pattern. I don't think I succeeded.

St Patty's Apron

I realize this post is a little late, but here is a continuation of my holiday aprons.

My kid thinks it funny to stand on my material/projects, he finds it equally funny to stand in front of pictures when he isn't suppose to be the subject. When he is suppose to be the subject he hides.

I liked anita's apron so much, I copied trim on this one.

How we roll

This is my son all ready to visit his cousins. His stuff animal puppies in a sack I made him, inside a sling I made him. Dressed in camo, with a backpack full of clean underwear.

I made him the sling with scrap of material before his baby sister was born, in case he got jealous I was holding the baby too much. He could careless if I'm holding her, but he does like caring stuff animals around the house in his sling.

More babies

...means more blankets. We met my husband's nephew, well our new nephew this weekend. And brought him this blanket. Don't worry, its not just hens, there are roosters too (I think).

Now here it is in a wad. Yup, I think his mom liked it, they are big chicken people on my husband's side.

Summer/Spring Door Hanging

I wanted some easter or something hanging, but didn't want to spend much. I had been putting it off buying something, but I also really wanted to display some fake floral Gerber daisies in my house since the headbands, because I thought they were just SO pretty. I wanted them in all their long stem glory, and didn't have a vase nearly tall enough. Then the other night as I was falling asleep it struck me! I had to go the store the next day, and I created this! For only 5 dollars, all the Easter wreathes were at least $15. Plus I can keep it up until fall.

It makes me so happy to see them from inside my house. I asked my little brother if he liked them when he came to visit me. He said, when he pulled up he could see them and he thought, I'm at Lesli's house. Yeah I know I fish for complements.
I also bought this fake grass when I was at the store. I have a thing for fake grass lately. According to JD this duck's head is on backward, I always thought it was looking over its shoulder. Maybe I just have a thing for perfect grass, and our real stuff outside the rental is anything but perfect.

Rag Quilt

I cut out material for a rag quilt when my son was around 10 months old (now three years old). I was about 5 months away from getting my undergraduate degree, I knew I wouldn't finish the quilt then, so I picked unisex colors. I just barely sewed it a few weeks ago. Here it is.
I love the yellow and green together I didn't realize I would love it so much.
Here are the instructions in case anyone wants to make one. Click to make big. Either I'm nice like that to share it, I have a flagrant disregard for authority.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

For our celebration, I pulled out 5 left over unfrosted cupcakes from my son's birthday from the freezer, and we frosted them with green frosting. We had way more frosting then cupcakes, so we also decorated graham crackers. I'm a fan of frosting and graham crackers. I will admit this was a selfish celebration, I got two new frosting tips last week, and wanted to try them out. First was the basket weave.
Second was the grass/hair tip. This is my favorite tip. Does this look like grass?We also got out the other tips, and played around with the leaf one.I gave my son a chance to decorate his cupcake, before he got too bored with my fun.
It took me forever to figure out how to make a shamrock with the leaf tip. I finally figured out to do it backwards.
My son resurfaced to eat shamrock graham crackers. He remembered they were called shamrocks, from a St. Patrick's Day book we got from the library, it was very informative. We learned all about the catholic/irish holiday.
Here are some finished products of the shamrock graham crackers.
I was thinking it would be fun once my kids were in school, to send them these in their lunches on Saint Patrick's Day. I always liked the holiday a lot, since my middle name is Erin, and my parents always told us our last name was Irish, although I'm not sure if I believe them, I think it might actually be English.
We finished off the day eating, potatoes. Are potatoes Irish? My husband was telling me about the Irish during Europe's Potato famine, so in my mind we needed potatoes.

Mother Daughter Braclets

These are my catch up jewelry posts. I wanted to my daughter to have a bracelet for her baby blessing. I begged my husband to make it for me, and he obliged. I designed it though. Four little 2 mm pearls in between 4 mm red coral. To match the holly berries on her dress.

If you look close you can see both of our bracelets.

This makes it easier to see.

Luckily I got my own too.