Covered

LOOK what came in the mail yesterday...

 YES! Diapers! I ordered just two, to see how I liked them, as I haven't been able to find a local store that carries them. It soooo different looking at a picture online and actually holding a product in your hand. And from the cloth diapers I have been able to do 'hold in my hand' style research on... WOW, these things are like the Cadillac of diapers. They are the BumGenius Elemental AIO organic diaper. They are FANCY.

 This inside part is super thick... and oh, my so soft! I just kept squishing it and touching it. I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't mind underpants made out of that soft stuff... I mean, if something is going to be touching your bum, it might as well feel, good right?
Oh, and here's the best part. Never diapered a child before? The packaging had super helpful instructions:

 Har har. Definitely filing this for future use. My Husband especially was pleased with the detailed instructions.
Anywho... I had to try them out, but have no test child. So Martin (who was our lovely carseat guinea pig/model) volunteered his bum.

 They go on basically just like a disposable would, only you have snaps instead of tape/velcro closures. They come off similarly as well, only coming off you have an extra step... dealing with the poo. We'll get into that issue at a later date, but for today...

 TA-DAH! Doesn't Martin look great in his fancy cloth diaper?
I know that... Martin is only a stuffed bear, but I liked that the diapers fit snugly around even his tiny shape. The leg openings were a bit big, but this well-loved bear's legs are barely holding on by a thread anyhow, so I think it will make a difference when there is an ACTUAL CHILD in them.

Martin also likes that he has color options and an adorably fluffy bum. (He's a vain bear)
Okay, enough with the bear, I know I'm a dork. And WAY more excited than I should be about diapers. But I have high hopes and good expectations for our cloth diapering experience. I've got the husband on board now, and he seemed impressed with the diapers when he checked things out last night. The worst thing about these specific diapers is the price tag... which is why I really wanted to see them before investing in a full set. But I am impressed with the quality (and softness!), and I feel confident about the decision to go this route.
We put all our cloth diapering needs on our Amazon.com Baby Registry and we are crossing our fingers and toes that our friends and family see that on there and might help us put a dent in that necessary expense (even thought diapers seem like a less 'fun' gift to give someone.)
Just a few more months and we will give these things a spin for real... Woo-hoo!

Pinterest Challenge: Project #4 And Wrap-up!

This post should probably be sub-titled: We hot glued EVERYTHING to this wreath.

SO! Are you getting tired of baby projects yet? If you aren't, you are in luck, becuase I have a ton more coming. If you are, you are in luck... because this one is in no way baby related! YAY.
This project has been over a year in the making. No joke. It's part of the Pinterest Challenge, but it's from back in the day when my personal pinterest use was more like a word document where I posted links to things I wanted to remember... (long before I knew of the wonders and ease of pinterest!)  
(Okay side note again about what was it even LIKE to be crafty before people had the internet-- yes, I know I am showing my age here, but I have pretty much had access to computers as long as I can remember, and access to internet since middle school-- but seriously, old school crafty people are hard core because they either had to be original or go to a lot more trouble to find and steal other people's ideas. I mean, right now... If I wanted to silver leaf a side table, all I would have to do is type it into google, and about 50 images and tutorials would pop up.  Easy as apple pie... which oh man sounds really good. I was thinking about making one this weekend, I think thats going to have to happen. I love fall. Wait... what was I talking about? Crap, I think I just tangent-ed my tangent. Awesome.)

Source: thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Anywho... well over a year ago I found this lovely wreath. I liked it because it was simple, unique, and mostly because it was square. And I wanted one. Bad enough that I bought the supplies to make it. And... then I didn't. And fall came and went, as did Christmas, and I packed up my fall decor when Christmas went up and forgot about it, until a couple weeks ago I found the same image on pinterest again and though... YES! It's going to happen this year!
So last night Amy Lee came over and we crafted late into the night. But I knew I wanted to get this done for my final pinterest challenge. So let me assure you that this project was, in fact, completed (not much) before midnight on the 30th of Sept... qualifying it for the challenge, by decree of those strict strict rules.

The original inspiration included a tutorial, so check her's out if you want a how to. But it's mostly something like this: Cut a square out of foam board, glue leaves to it, done!
We got fancy and added sparkly berries. And I didn't have a nifty wreath hanger, so we improvised with some gold ribbon. But then I was all, wait, what do I tie the ribbon to? And Amy asked if I had any 3M hooks or tape. Um... no? But I did have a glue gun all hot and bubbling... So uh... you can see where this is going. We hot glued the ribbons to the top of the door, and crisis averted. Because it's so light, it holds easily to the door, but the hot glue peels off with minimal damage (just in case you were wondering.) Win.

 Glued to my door. I love it. It was late and dark out, but I wanted a picture of it from the outside too. Becuase it is made of foamboard and paper leaves it is nice and lightweight and THIN, meaning it fits nicely between our storm door and front door. But it did flop around when you opened the door... nothing a little dollup of hot glue couldn't fix. Yup we glued it to the door. Again.

 I told you we hot glued EVERYTHING to this wreath. Or this wreath to everything. Or something.

Here's a close up, I know it's a little busy, but I kinda like it, and I like how colorful it is. And I am proud that I actually finished it this year. Yay. And thank you Amy Lee for your wreath gluing help. :)
Happy Fall!

...........................................................................

And... That, my friends, wraps up the Pinterest Challenge. I am glad you followed along, and I love those of you who participated! It's my hope that we all learned something from this, becuase here's what I learned: Pinterest (or the internet, or creative blogs...) can be a great resource for inspiration, but they can also be a worthless time-suck if you never stop clicking and start doing. So my personal challenge is keep it up. To continue to let the inspiration be just that-- inspiring me to create and be wonderful things-- and not just stop with a computer click. Amen.

Pinterest Challenge: Stacia Partied!

(I apologize in advance that you will have this song stuck in your head the rest of the day.)

So it's a small world, (after all) and it's amazing how people can appear and reappear in your life over time. Like... Stacia. Who was a floormate and friend my freshman year of college (I think I may have bummed a ride to walmart and church with her a time or two...) but after that year, she left the school and I didn't figure I would ever see or hear from her again. Well her life took her to CO and landed her at the same church (and bible study) as my Grandma, and also the home church of a mutual friend Danielle, who's blog we both read and through which we became re-acquainted. Whew! Did you follow that? (yeah, me neither... really.) But anyway, we are now bloggy friends and... she likes to sew and be crafty and make things for her kids, and when I issued the the Pinterest Challenge, she was already pinning and planning a DIY party for her kiddo...
Fate. Or small world. Or great minds thinking alike. Or sheer coincidence that I want to claim so life seems more exciting.
Anywho... Pinterest Challenge projects:
She made really fun Very Hungry Caterpillar invites, that were sent out in 'bug jars'... so cute!

As well as monogrammed aprons:

(notice the Eric Carle print? I LOVE that so much...)
And also bunting, everyone's fav... which got recycled as decor in her sons room after the party-- smart idea!

And... last but not least some Butterfly and Caterpillar artwork that kiddos created at the party:

So very fun! Oh goodness, what did people do before they had the internet to peruse for genius ideas and inspiration? Did people have to come up with their own ideas? Sounds awful to me. I'm glad I have limitless resources for party planning these days! :)
I'm also glad Stacia picked some fun projects, and it looks like the party was a success!
Soooo... yay! Good work. To see more pictures, and explanations and original links to her inspiration, check out Stacia's blog Five of Spaids.

You can also check out the rest of the Pinterest Challenge if you haven't been following along closely already. This has been so much fun, and great to see people getting stuff done and inspiring each other!

Pinterest Challenge: Project #3

This is... sort of an incomplete project.
It all started with my chevron rug obsession for Baby P's room. When I decided a rug would be too much for his room... and I saw this on pinterest:

Source: beesquarefabrics.blogspot.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I knew what to do. I was going to make a chevron quilt for my baby. But I wanted it black and white. Can you make a black and white baby quilt? Grandma Sass would say adamantly, NO. But I say... why not? Aren't babies supposed to be stimulated by black and white patterns or something?
Yeah, I've totally been reading my baby books, can you tell? Someone is a prepared mama.
But back to the quilt... I tried to figure out if straight black and white would be too boring? (it would.)
I didn't want to add a lot of color/print (mostly because I didn't want to pick something out, and i wanted high contrast) but when I was at the fabric store I found this white on white print with different size dots on it... they looked like bubbles, I loved it... but they didn't have enough of it, AND it was stained on top of that. UGH. So I settled for a small white on white dot print that was similar. I bought my black and I was ready to go.

I have to admit, this project made me really nervous. Even though I have a couple baby quilts under my belt, the only time I have pieced together a quilt top like this was with my grandma, who passed away almost two years ago now. I was a little bit scared about my skill level in completing the process... but also about my emotional level. It took me a few days to power through it, I am not going to lie, I stopped for a cry break once or twice (but that could also be prego hormone related, who knows?). But I had Granny's cutting mat and quilt square/ruler things... so I felt confident. :)
Once I was home and cutting a million little squares I was all, "Meh, this is boring" UGH. Too much little dot going on, needed more interest. So I went to a DIFFERENT fabric store where I found some large white on white polka dots. Perfect!

 So here are all 126 blocks cut out and stacked up ready to be laid out. I laid it out across the bed in the basement/spare bedroom. It was bigger than I thought it would be. My husband came home and said, whoa did you mean for it to be that big? My mom came over and said, whoa, did you mean for it to be that big? No... I guess I didn't know how big it would be. The pattern said crib size which I was assuming was the yard-point-five-ish size blankets my grandma always made, but I guess crib size is 45x60 in case you were wondering and that's big.

My mom came over for our weekly date, and she quilted away on her Baby P quilt, and I worked on mine. Oh, man, I love my serger. I was flying through this thing. I don't know what the official stance is for quilters and sergers vs. sewing... but the serger was awesome and FAST. And I am all for awesome and fast. Plus, Granny made all her quilts with a serger... so if I am doing it wrong, I'm doing it wrong like Grandma! (And I am totally okay with that.)

Then, because this was done on point, I had all these little triangles to trim off the edges. (And the trimmed portions were just like bunting, Erin, you would have been so excited! :) haha) And my mom insisted on including me in the pic, because she is all... you will want pictures of you working on your baby's quilt someday for the memories, and I am all... but won't I have the quilt for the memories? Anyway, here's a pic of good ol' prego me cutting away. Yay. (and please try to ignore the unmade bed-- it was holding the quilt pieces-- and the laundry in the background.)

And... then I had a quilt top! Which is as far as this post is going to take you, because that's as far as my pinterest inspiration/tutorial took me.

Here's a close up so you can see the different dot patterns (and not judge my 'slightly off' row there toward the top... or the fact that it's kinda wrinkly, but, hey once it's quilted you want it to wrinkle anyhow, right?)

Soooooo... now all I have to do is figure out how I want to quilt the thing (anyone experienced have suggestions? I don't think I want to do stippling... I am still undecided about what to do.)

Anywho... there is the top for Baby P's Chevron quilt from Mama! I will, of course, post pictures when it is fully complete.

Pinterest Challenge #3? Check!

And be sure to check out the rest of the Pinterest Challenge projects and Amy Lee, Erin, Jessica and Stacia... some of them I have featured, some of them just keep posting more and more great stuff on their blogs! Awesome, no?

Pinterest Challenge: Amy's Organization

Amy Lee and I have been friends since... middle school? Maybe grade school? Anyway, long enough that we know way too much about each other to ever be enemies, because that would be dangerous. But that's not the reason we are still friends (I think... ). Anyway, Amy Lee is crafty and creative and has her own lovely blog Made With Love where she shares her stuff... and lots of recipes involving cake and soda for some reason. I love her, and love the fact that she participated in the Pinterest Challenge... and she definitely surprised me. I thought she'd be all about making some jewelry, or cute top, or shoe bling... but she got all organizational on me and grabbed pinterest inspiration to clean and organize. Look:

Dirty Little Secret

I bet underneath your sinks is not that clean and organized, is it? I kinda feel ashamed of my under-the-sinks now. Great.
But the Accessory Queen didn't stray too far fro her true self because her other project involved organizing bags:

Purse Hoarder

Yeah... I totally need to do this too! Just get all those bags in one location and accessible. Great Job Amy!
You should totally head over to her blog for more pictures and explanations and all that good stuff. or check out all of her Pinterest Challenge Projects and Plans ...there were quite a few more projects listed on that initial 'Challenge Accepted' post, so leave her some love and encouragement to keep working on all of those. (Because the fire pit looks really cool, and I want to be invited over for s'mores. Just sayin'.)
(Also, She could use some love and followers... becuase she regularly posts stuff worth reading. It'd be worth your time to click the 'follow' button... is all I'm sayin')
*Edit: I swear this happened for real just like this... moments after posting Amy's purse organiztion project today I got an email in my inbox from REAL SIMPLE titled "Shower Hooks as Purse Organizers" several moments of confusion followed as I tried to figure out if REAL SIMPLE was reading my blog... or Amy's... or what in the world was going on... but it turns out it is an unrelated coincidence and more evidence of the fact that Amy Lee is so legit even my favorite magazines have to go to her for great ideas and trend setting. True story. It really happened just like that. I wouldn't lie to you.

Also... if you haven't already, check out what Jessica, Erin, and I did for our Pinterest Challenge. Lots of great fun stuff! And Erin has since completed another project, and I am just in love with this HP inspired tee:

HP Inspired Shirt for Little D

Isn't challenging ourselves fun? Yay!

Pinterest Challenge: Erin's Fall Projects

My good friend Erin also decided to take on a few projects for the Pinterest Challenge! Erin and I are pretty similar... we are both creatively minded, but sometimes... a little too creative... which means often we have the greatest intentions, but not the greatest attention span to get things done. (You think that's a fair assessment, Erin?) Anyway, she took on the challenge with 5 projects in mind... and successfully completed 3 of the five. To which I say, GOOD WORK!

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

I actually got to participate in the project above. We made apples... lots of apples... LOTS and LOTS of apples. I might never like caramel apples again. Okay, that's false... I totally wanted to eat them the whole time. Anywho, I think it's awesome that all of Erin's projects are fall-ish as well, as I was so ready for fall MONTHS ago.

Felt Leaf Garland

Although I would probably keep this garland up year round... It's super cute and fun and a happy addition to her bathroom.

Black and White Wreath

I love how this wreath is classy and fun all at the same time... and including the picture at the bottom of Little D (Who is definitely not that little anymore...) is just perfect.
Go check out Erin's Blog for her descriptions and info on the projects she created, as well as links for her inspiration (and the recipe for those yummy looking apples!) And while you are there you should leave her some love and encouragement to complete those other two projects... because I bet they would be pretty amazing as well, and who doesn't love encouragement?
Thanks Erin for playing along, and great work! You are a rock star! :)
Also if you haven't already check out the rest of the projects for the Pinterest Challenge and send my your progress!

Pinterest Challenge: Jessica's Crib Skirt

Just this morning, my friend Jessica posted pictures of some of her latest projects on facebook. Lots of lovely, fun stuff... mostly for her new little boy, Gavin. (He's a cutie!) One of her projects she completed was for the Pinterest Challenge. Yay!
Using inspiration and tutorial she found here:

Somewhat simple crib skirt tutorial

She whipped up her own version that looks like this:

Here's a close up where it peeks out the bottom of the crib:

And the cute and funky little insert/pleat detail in the front (I love the animal print! So cute!)

Great job, Jessica! It looks so awesome! And as a bonus tip, Said Jessica about her project "I learned the hard way, 'Thou shalt always prewash and dry thy fabric. Forever and ever amen.'"
Hmmm... thats good advice that I try to fly past sometimes...
You can check out the other stuff Jessica has made HERE and her blog Pink Sparkly Singer. I would like for her to TOTALLY bling out her sewing machine so 'Pink Sparkly' could apply to that singer as well... Just sayin'. :) Thanks for sharing your project Jess!

P.S. Jessica also made the quilt draped over the side of the bed... which I think is amazing.

I hope to have more projects to share with you guys soon! You are fabulous, keep doing your thing! :)