I’ve made the mistake of making Wesley some really neat cakes for his 3 birthdays. Now the pressure is on to keep up the amazing performances, if not take it up a notch each year. Here’s how I made this year’s cake. We did a Lightening McQueen party this time around.
Posted in other crafts
Ok, well it’s not quite finished yet but I’m crazy excited about what I have so far!!
I have a bag/tote addiction. Which is sort of crazy since I hate carrying purses, but since growing up (or at least reaching an age where I *look* grown up) I’ve started carrying something with me. Well that and having kids, now I’ve got to have things with me even if I have the diaper bag! Etsy was an addiction for a little bit, I absolutely love this lady’s bags. I own 3 of her bags, 1 was even custom made for me, I feel so special. I try not to check her site too often, I just want it all!!
I’ve become inspired by her style and started to design my own bags. This is the first one I’ve actually got to sewing. I’ve got a stash of fabric I’ve been collecting for almost a year. The teal coloured pocket is actually a dishcloth I found on clearance. The strap I have set aside was a thrift store find, currently it’s a belt but that will change. There’s a panel on the back with 2 pockets, lined in a different colour even! I’m so proud. Perhaps tonight I’ll have a chance to sew the lining. Fingers crossed, I might even get to put the strap on and sew it together!
I’m putting these on my to do list!
Found at Happy Together, we have a store bought set but I’d really like to make my own. I’ve been keeping some special clothes I remember Wesley wearing, that Nate has now worn, perhaps that would be a good use for them. I was going to quilt them, but it might work for both projects!
I really like that I can use up scraps of material to make them, and that they are soft. After falling while putting Wesley to bed in September, landing on a wooden toy, splitting my knee open and getting 7 stitches I’m in the market for soft toys!!
1. No matter how clean you think the juice pouches are, there’s still juice in them.
2. Those things are darn slippery! Even just sewing a straight line. Backstitching is even trickier.
3. The air will be filled with the yummy aroma of juice while you stitch.
4. No matter how well you think you dried the pouches they will still be wet inside.
5. Removing stitches from juice pouches leaves little holes :/
My husband has had this backpack since before we met. It’s traveled a few places with us, around Cuba, Europe, and North America. However, it’s time is done. But before sending it on it’s way I decided to strip it of all the usable buckles and clips, which turned out to be quiet a bit! Now to get crafting and make use of them.
Is it still environmentally friendly or recycling if you go buy the juice pouches specifically for the craft?
My son drinks apple juice, which we water down about 80%. He doesn’t need more sugar and he’s a bit of a drink snob and won’t drink anything else, especially water. I won’t let him drink Kook-aid, I don’t need the hyper aftermath, but I do need these juice pouches!!!! Maybe I can buy the neighbours’ kids some, supply them with free drink as long as they harvest the garbage for me.
Today I found one in a vending machine I used, so I brought it home to wash out and add to my collection that was drying on the counter. Wesley got one while Trick-or-Treating, which I poured down the sink and washed the pouch. I’ve got my cousin on collection duty, her son takes them in his lunch. Once I return to work back in the classroom I’m sure I’ll be able to snag some more to bring home. I’m dying to try making a lunch bag with them, I’ve found tutorials for the bags/purses and it’s all simple enough, but first I need to keep collecting!
PSSSSHHHHHH!!
We’re pretty new at this Trick-or-Treating here but I know how it goes. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the constant mind changing about what costume he wanted to wear!!! First he wanted to be Spiderman, so off I went to get a costume, which turned out to be waaay to big when we got home. So I headed back to exchange it and Wesley decided he wanted to be a firefighter. We had the hat at home, borrowed the coat, and I set to work to make a hose, complete with spraying water!!
I made the hose from craft foam and sparkily pipe cleaners.
Hat and orange fleece pinney with ducktape.
Thursday night’s party he dressed in his firefighter outfit. He didn’t seem to like it and ended up taking the costume off before the end of the party. I suggested he could be Bob the Builder, he seemed excited, I set all the things out for his playdate in the morning and figured that was his new costume. Then Friday before we headed out the door, with his hard hat on, orange pinny and hammer in his carpenter pants, the garbage truck pulled up next door. He was mesmerized by (he usuallay is) but as it crushed the couch our neighbour left out, off came the hat and away went the hammer and Wesley became a garbage man!! Thus his Halloween costume was born!
garbageman Wesley
Before I was even pregnant I was looking for a neat nursery theme/idea. When our first son was born we were house sitting for my in-laws so we didn’t really get to go all out and create a baby room. The second time around I fell in love with the idea of a room based on the book Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and with the lovely artwork by Anita Jeram. I had seen an entire crib set on ebay before but once pregnant I searched and searched, finding nothing, I realized that I should have gotten the gently used one I had seen, even though it had been $150 AND we weren’t pregnant.
I found crib sets listed online but always hit some lame ‘out of stock’ message or notice. I forged ahead thinking I’d just sew the bedding. However, I had terrible luck finding fabric. I debated using solid colours for the bedding and use themed accessories decorating the room instead. On ebay I found custom made knobs for the dresser with the characters on them and a light switch plate. I found wallpapers and murals but they were crazily expensive and shipping to Canada was atrocious! I decided I’d just use my projector and paint my own mural.
Finally, as a last ditch effort, I emailed the publishing company. I told my story and asked if they knew where I could get bedding or fabric if need be. A very nice Rob emailed back, the reason is sketchy in my mind now, but something about the one company that printed the fabric and bankruptcy. It appeared I was out of luck. I kept looking hoping to find something used or hidden away somewhere. Then one day I randomly got an email from Rob again. He said they were going to have some sort of big show and would be cleaning out the warehouse and he thought there might be some stuff tucked away that could help me. He promised to email when the show was over. Sure enough he did and sent pictures of all that he had found, and it was a ton!!!! He had an entire crib set, wall stickers, a blanket, a lamp shade, the 2 little stuffed hares, a diaper holder . . . it was amazing!!! There were even colours to choose from!
My mom made the little embroidered picture for me when I was little, a little teddy bear goes in the bed. I snuck in little nutbrown hare.
We didn’t know what flavour our little bundle was but I figured I’d play it safe, and knowing my husbands family I was sure it was going to be a boy. So I took everything he had that was green, gender neutral and the diaper holder which had a blue band at the top but I figured I could remedy that if needed. Since the items were kicking around in the warehouse helpful Rob just had to make up a price he felt was fair. So for the bargain price of $170 USD plus shipping, I was able to decorate the entire nursery!!
There’s the rocking chair cushions, window panel above sheers, and the awesome Pottery Barn book shelf.
There was only one issue. When the box arrived I realised that the ‘crib set’ was really a set for a small cradle! I had to do some creative sewing. Luckily there was enough bumper pads to cover 3 sides of the crib and I just had to sew one extra panel. There was a fitted cradle sheet set I wasn’t going to need to I used that to create the panel, along with cushion covers for the rocking chair and a window treatment. Too bad my son’s too little to appreciate it all!
Diaper holder and crib bedding.
Posted in other crafts, sewing
Tagged crib, Guess How Much I Love You, nursery, wall stickers
I love my mom, but she made me an ugly prom dress. She worked really hard on it, it’s well made but it’s also a hideous colour and fabric. I don’t know if she was trying to save money but I hope that fabric was the last little bit left in the bottom of some crazy sale bin so no one else had to wear something made out of it!
one step in, sequins sewn on
So I’m not sure why I even have it around anymore, I remembered it was stuffed in a box, yes since 1994! My sons and I have some halloween parties to go to so I dragged it out to transform it into a costume. I’m going to be . . . . the tooth fairy!!!
flashy T for toothfairy
Since the dress was here it’s been a pretty cheap project – sequins $1, tule $2.49 (-25% thanks to my fabricland card), magic wand $1.50, wings $8.98, crown $1.50, and bright pink wig $8.99. Defiantly, will need a finished picture posted!
hem with sequins, tulle and felt applique molars
I’ve made one scarf in my life. I remember it was Thanksgiving weekend and I was at my Nanny’s house for turkey yumminess. I spontaneously decided I wanted to learn to knit, after years of watching her make little slippers, and asked her to show me. With some extra supplies she had lying around I started to work on a scarf. It was really simple, just knit a straight line. Despite the simplicity, I still found myself heading towards a triangle as I somehow added stitches to rows here and there. I remember pulling out an awful lot of that scarf and having to go back and reknit rows! My husband thinks it’s ‘ugly’ but I love that I made it myself and that I was able to learn something from my Grandmother.
So, with that adventure behind me I’ve become inspired to give it a go and make a scarf, this time I’m going to crochet so I know I’ll be able to handle it! I stumbled across this, while reading through my RSS and clicking and clicking around, I found do you mind if i knit with this gorgeous gem of a scarf! I must have one.
So with a sale on at Michael’s my friend and I have invested in, for now, 6 different colours so I can begin madly making squares! My friend is the knitter, she has tried to jog my memory on how to knit but it didn’t seem to work, and she has made my son a cute little sweater (after I bought the pattern thinking I would attempt to make it) so the least I can do is return the favour in crochet form!
While Vanessa seems to have used about 43 colours in her scarf, I’m starting off smaller. Here’s the colours we picked up last night, one is Lionbrand Vanna’s Choice – Terracotta, the rest are from Loops & Threads Impeccible worsted. We grabbed 5 of those ones, Cadet, Fern, Heather, True Taupe, and Rouge. Now with a 3 year old and a 9 month old in the house I may have my head in the clouds thinking I can get not one, but two!, scarves done before June, but I’m going to try!!
In Halloween news, my sons and I are going to 2 parties and I’ve decided to dress as the Tooth Fairy. I’m finally going to put my prom dress that’s been sitting in a box to use!!
