Petal Pillow

This happy little pillow was just the right sewing project for these chilly wet-weather days.



Made with a vintage sheet and all the scraps I could muster. Buttons came off a shirt that was destined for Goodwill (how is it you can never find two matching buttons when you need them?) Instructions were given via Lemon Tree Studio.

26 Weeks

Not very long now, especially if I think about K coming at 38 weeks. That is a mere 12 weeks away!

Here are the updates to the nursery so far:


Curtains are hung (IKEA).


Alphabet letters are hung (had from K's nursery).


Rocking chair is slip-covered (need to adjust and alter); ottoman is temporarily covered with a gifted hand-knit blanket; artwork is hung (Charlie Harper calendar).


Boppy is out (and makes quite the lion mane).


Belly is undoubtedly out and makes for quite the conversation starter, which usually goes something like this: "When are you due?" "March." Conversation over. Why do people ask, really? I am tempted to buy and wear one of these every. single. day....

Felt Play Envelopes

These are adorable for slipping little love notes and drawings. With removable stamps, the possibilities are endless. (I know some little girlfriends who will be getting a set of these for the holidays!)

Tag

This was SO much fun to make, and I love how it turned out. I went tag crazy! But that's kind of the point, right? via pinterest, yay!

I made something off Pinterest!

These felt band-aids were just too cute and easy. I had the beige felt on hand and sewed on Velcro for the white pad (the scratchier of the two sides) so it could stick to stuffed animals. I didn't follow a tutorial, just cut a rounded rectangle out of the felt, a little larger than a normal-sized band-aid. I also reused an Altoids tin to keep them in.

The kid loves them, and has been carrying them all over the place and in the car. I was worried she might be a little too old for them (and made them with little brother in mind) but that's so not the case. I'm glad :)




Poor bear had "surgery." Imaginative play at its finest.

Yarn Bowling

Finally made some t-shirt yarn for a project. Turns out it's really easy and the kiddo was excited to get involved too. The super long strand became a tug-0-war rope, a jump rope, and as a ball, well, the possibilities are endless...

Don't Eat the Turkey, Just the Guts

Saw this great idea for the kids for Thanksgiving on Honest to Nod.

First you stuff a paper-bag turkey with popcorn. Hot glue it shut, and add on some drumsticks:



Give the kids a knife and let them carve it open. (I love how K is making a stabbing motion along with her cousin!)



Surprise! It's like a Thanksgiving pinata, minus the stick!



All was quiet for a few minutes while the adults put final touches on the real meal. We were thankful, and so were the kids.

Gathering...

This week:

Grandmama so generously sent a changing pad cover that will surely be the pièce de résistance of the room. I've also received buckets of other items from friends as their babies have outgrown them. That will be another post to come!


I made a giraffe stuffie. I'm thinking he needs a mane and tail, maybe of felt? I know not where I got the pattern, moons ago....


Sewed some burp cloths (the backs of these bad boys are pieces cut from a t-shirt) tutorial c/o made by rae....


...and here we are at 21 weeks!

Halfway There

In the last week:

We found out it's a BOY!



Little boy and I have grown quite a bit.



Lambie the lovey has a little brother, too. It's for the baby from Grandmama, just as lambie was. I hope he loves it as much as sister loves hers. :)

Lunchbox Notes

I don't put them in every day, nor would I ever buy pre-printed notes, but occassionally I put a note in K's lunchbox that I hope brings a smile to her face and lets her know I'm thinking about her. When I saw these printable Halloween labels online I knew exactly what I would be using them for during the month of October.

Spooky Stuff

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween....


Q-tips skeleton


Día de los Muertos Suncatchers

Boy Blanket and a Belly Shot

I'd like to say that by crocheting such a boyish blanket I had some kind of epiphany as to the sex of my avocado-sized belly snatcher, but that wasn't the case. I actually had a really groovy rainbow baby blanket in mind, but Joann's completely screwed up my order (and by screwed up I mean cancelled it, just as the yarn went OFF sale). So, with an itch to make something NOW, I turned to what I had, which is yarn that's almost as masculine as the first one was feminine, and made this bad boy:





It only took a couple hours (double crochet works up fast), so if it turns out this little avocado is actually a girl, then back to the hooks I go. I do love this yarn though - the blanket is as snugly as a teddy bear - and it's nothing fancy, just Red Heart Soft in Icy Pond.

And now, the bump:


(interesting tid-bit: my stomach was the size it is now at 20 weeks with K. hmm....)

Adding On and Clearing Out

Kennedy's portrait of me, September 18, 2011.

Our household is all atwitter as of late. We are expecting another baby, due St. Patty's day, 2012! Along with all the joy and talk of names and wondering if it's a brother or sister, also comes a lot of thinking about space planning and all the "stuff." We always saw ours as a starter home, and it has served the needs of two grown-ups, one child, two dogs, and, at one time, a cat, very well. Very tightly well. Never in a million years did we imagine bringing another child into our tiny space. I take that back, we imagined it, then quickly said, "we'd have to move." Now here we are, entering the second trimester, with the housing market being where it is, and there is a very slim chance of us leaving. So, we adapt!


Luckily, we have three bedrooms. Unfortunately, two of them are so tiny you could not fit full sized beds in them and expect to move around. (I honestly eyed our master closet as a potential nursery, it is so big. If only there were a window!) We will clear the smallest of the two rooms, which is currently our office, for the nursery. and move the computer to a work area in the dining/kitchen. It's going to be cozy, that's for sure.


In the meantime, I repeat to myself the following de-cluttering mantras: "LESS IS MORE. ONE THING IN, ONE THING OUT. YOU ARE NOT YOUR STUFF. YOUR STUFF ENDS UP OWNING YOU." Since this isn't our first rodeo, we know how little babies actually need. We also know how hard it is resist the cute little stuffed monkeys and the soft blankies during those trips to Target for diapers. It is going to be very interesting planning for this little leprechaun!


A starting place - the hall closet, new shelves installed:

Floor Cushion

Instead of an expensive bean bag chair or a store-bought pouf, I decided to sew a floor cushion for the little (big) one. Hopefully it will get some use. :) I consulted a wonderful tutorial from Living with Punks for the construction.

The best part is the piping -- it was actually exciting to try my hand at something new, and it wasn't half as bad as I had feared! Dare I say I see a bolster pillow in my future???





Matches her comforter!

Turning Child's Art into Embroidery

From this:



To this:



I simply traced the design in pencil onto lightweight fabric. She got very excited each time she checked in and saw another element finished. My favorite part is the lit windows :) Oh, and the "worker" on the roof of our house (???). The most meaningful element, and the one which prompted me to choose this piece to embroider, is the hearts. Her drawing has come a long way this summer and hearts are her favorite go-to symbol all of a sudden. I heart her hearts!

Ooblek

If we're not gettin' gak-tastic, we're busy making this concoction (called "Oobleck" by some). It consists of

• 1 1/2 C. Corn Starch
  
• 1 C. Water
  
• Food Color

Mix ingredients. When pushed or tapped or knocked on, the mixture appears dry and solid. When held and dripped, it's a liquid. Like magic!

Of course, we "painted" ourselves with the corn starch as well. (It reminded me that old-timey Cornsilk powder from the drug stores.)



Neat food coloring design.



It makes a terrible mess, but this science experiment is totally worth all the clean-up.

Wonders of the World

It just so happens we had to make a last minute day trip to New Braunfels, TX from Austin. What family entertainment could we conjure up along the way to make this trip a mini-vacation? Why, Wonder World, of course! None of us had been and we had no idea what adventures were in store:

from a 150 feet foot deep cave ...



to the top of a too-tall lookout tower...



feeding crazy-eyed deer...



and best of all, the gift shop.



Jackalope! Oh, the wonders we witnessed that day. This was actually hysterical compared to the fainting goats they had corralled outside. Look away, kids. Look. Away....