Baby Girl's Mini Birth Day Album

Some of you may remember my little guy's birth day album.  Well, I really wanted to make our little gal something similar.  Here is what I came up with!  If you like it, make sure to read my note at the bottom of this post to find out how you may be able to make a similar one of your own!

If you like what you see, then come create one with me!  If you are local to my area I will be teaching a class THIS COMING FRIDAY at our local scrapbook store, Simply Scrapbooks.  We will be making a mini album very similar to this one AND a two page layout!  The cost is only $25 and that includes all your supplies (minus your essentials such as glue, paper cutter, etc.).  I will have most of it pre-cut for you and all ready to create!  You can go HERE to see a picture of the layout and album.  (Sorry it isn't the greatest picture.  Our store has had issues with posting things online and having our ideas taken for things other than personal use.)  To sign up all you have to do is stop by our store or sign up online HERE!!!  You only have until Tuesday to sign up so hurry there are only a few spots left!

P.S. Don't have a girl?  This could also make a great gift for someone who does!!!

Baby's got a new blanket!

As promised, here is my first quilt I have ever made!  I swore to myself that I would never get into quilting.  I already have too many hobbies and creative things I enjoy so I told myself that quilting was something that I just wouldn't allow myself to get into.  Well, after searching a little for a pretty quilt for my baby girl I just didn't find anything I liked.  I found a Liberty of London scarf at Goodwill for $3 and thought it was the perfect pattern for a quilt.  So I paired it with some fabric from an old skirt of mine and a doily.  Baby girl's got herself a pretty quilt to play on!

There is something you should know about me when it comes to sewing.  I just kinda learn as I go.  My mom is amazing when it comes to sewing anything and everything and she has definitely taught me a few basics.  The truth is that I am an experiential learner, meaning I learn best by actually doing it myself.  I have perfectionistic tendencies but I am definitely NOT a perfectionist.  Therefore, this quilt is definitely not perfect but it is made with love and that is what matters to me.  

I would offer to show you a tutorial, but I think you would be much better off seeing the tutorials that I found help from.  Here are links to the tutorials that were most helpful for me:

Sewing square pieces together by Suzanne over at Notes from the Patch (this is technically not a quilting tutorial but she does a really good job showing you how to sew square pieces together).

Machine quilting tutorial over on Anyone Can Quilt

Quilt binding tutorial from The Little Red Hen (this was SO much easier than I thought it would be!)

The picture above shows you the back.  It is just solid in the Liberty of London print.

One big lesson I learned from this first quilting experience: DON'T GO CHEAP ON YOUR BATTING!!!  I got the cheapy stuff and it just isn't as cozy as I was wanting it to be.  That's okay because I really only intended this quilt to be for her to play on.  Anyone out there have any good advice for me about batting?

Sneak Peak

Stay tuned...I may have just made my first quilt using this scarf, an old skirt, and...yep, you guessed it...a doily!

Girly Bibs

As promised here our some girly versions of these bibs.  I think this ruffle one is my favorite!

Although I LOVE the lace on this one!

But this one is fun because....

...it's reversible! 

Baby & Toddler Boy Bibs

A special friend of mine had a beautiful little baby boy recent so for her shower present I thought I would try my hand at some baby bibs.  I had been wanting to try making a bib for so long and I was happy with how they turned out.  I made them reversible so if one side gets dirty then you can just turn it around or if one side just matches his outfit better.  Because of course his bib HAS TO match his outfit.  *wink*

Another special little boy just turned one so for his birthday I made him some bigger toddler bibs.  Although, I forgot to take a picture of the second bib before I gave it to him, but here is one.  You can see the other bib and an AMAZING fabric scrapbook made by my dear friend here.

I found these cute snaps...kinda look like jean buttons.

And you can bet I am working on some girly bibs for my baby girl right now.  Pictures coming soon!

My BIGGEST sewing project EVER!

Yes, I do have more doily projects to share with you, but I have been dying to share what I am calling my BIGGEST sewing project EVER!  This was a project I was determined to finish before my baby girl was born and I did (although, I still have a few things to add to it).  My little guy's 2nd birthday was a couple months ago and this was his birthday present from my husband and I.

I'm so excited that this project was featured on Ohdeedoh!  See it HERE!

I had seen so many cute felt card table forts on etsy and wanted to make one of my own.  My husband bumped it up a notch to make it extra large.  He built a rectangular structure that measures about 80"x 40" x 40" using pvc pipe.

My little guy is very into anything having to do with trains so I made two of the sides a train station and the other two a little more girly for when my baby girl is old enough to play in it too.  (Yes, I know, I still need to add the hands to his clock...one of the things still needing to be finished.

If you are thinking of making one of these for your own kiddos this is a little TIP for you!  USE CLEAR THREAD!  It saved me from having to match threads and change out my threads every time I wanted to sew a different color felt.  Changing my thread and threading new bobbins is probably my least favorite thing about sewing.

Can you tell my little guy loves it?

Doily Pillows

So my couch was in need of a little facelift.  As mentioned before I have a recent obsession with doily's so I thought maybe they would look good on a pillow.  Delicate and simple.

Do you see now where I got the scrap for my previous project?

And here is another one...I wasn't quite as happy with this one...kinda looks like snowflakes...not really what I was going for.

To make these for your own home see my previous post and use the same method as I did on my little gal's onesie (which by the way was featured on One Pretty Thing and U Create...see it here and here!)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Doily Onesie

I know what you are thinking..."She cut a doily???"  Yes, but this was actually a scrap leftover from another project which I will show you later.  This simple onesie was a quick and easy project with a cute result.  I was very happy with how it turned out..its very delicate and girly.  

All you have to do to make this project for yourself is fuse your scrap of doily to a simple onesie and hand stitch or machine stitch to keep it in place.  Is that easy or what?

Check back soon for  some other doily projects...I have a recent obsession with doilies.  You will see!

It has been WAY too long!!!

When I first started blogging I was determined never to go more than two or three weeks without blogging...I've now gone *gasp* over FOUR MONTHS!!!  I can't believe it is true!  Is anyone out there still reading my blog???  Before you start to question my commitment to the blogging world let me show you a picture of my excuse as to why I've been gone so long.

Meet our new little gal!

She is now almost 2 months old (although she is only 2 weeks old in this pic) and I can't believe it!  Time is flying by!  It has been quite an adjustment for all of us around her to go from being a family of three to a family of four, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, although she was born February 18th, I spent my last trimester "nesting" and trying my best to keep up with an active toddler boy while carrying around what felt like a bowling ball inside my belly.  And now we have spent the last couple of weeks trying to settle into our "new normal" as my husband likes to call it.  All that to say, blogging got put on the back-burner so that I could focus on my family.  I have TONS of crafty goodness to share with you and am hoping to get pictures taken and share them with you all soon!  I have been doing lots of sewing lately (something about having a baby girl has made me and my sewing machine connected at the hip) and I am dying to scrapbook all of the baby pictures I have been taking (if only I had the time to go through them all).  

If any of you readers are still out there, thanks for sticking with me!  I'll be back soon!