Shopping Cart Cover & Crib Skirt

Shopping Cart Cover

I meant to blog about this several months ago, but simply forgot. This past fall, while nesting didn't exactly kick-in until a few days before Caleb was born, I did get into a super crafty mood with sewing. Most of the bedding and nursery items I saw on the Internet and in stores were extremely expensive. Who has hundreds of dollars to spend money on something your kid won't even care about?! So on the weekends, when I didn't have class and when mom didn't work, we'd get together and spend hours figuring out how to make all this cute baby stuff.

Crib Skirt

We made a shopping cart cover (featured to the left) and believe it or not, we took it to Food Lion, only to discover that it did not fit their shopping carts!!! But we've decided to keep it just in case it should fit other carts, or if I actually get in the mood to somehow fix it. I have seen several other shopping cart covers at Once Upon a Child for cheap so we may just buy one there instead.

To the right, is the crib skirt my mother and I made. The pattern we used was a bit girly, so we decided to use rick-rack that matched the fabric, however, we learned that we didn't need so much fabric after all since we were only using one color. And below is a picture of the crib skirt on Caleb's crib in his nursery, underneath one of the crib sheets we made during this time as well.

Crib Skirt on Caleb's Crib

It's been a while since we've made anything else. What with the weeks impending Caleb's arrival, I lost the motivation to sew anything else. However, now that I'm on maternity leave, I recently found some material I bought a few summers ago when I was in the mood to make blankets for some of my friends that I knew were having babies. So hopefully I'll be sewing those together soon and posting about them, too! 

What I'm Up To: Crib Sheets

As I've scoured the Internet in search of crib bedding for our little one, I haven't quite found what I was looking for--although truth be told I wasn't quite sure what I was searching for either. Until I stumbled upon this beauty of a nursery. I fell in love with the colors and not the theme of the room. So many websites have bedding that matches a theme instead of colors. I get tired of some rooms so easily (especially seasonally) so I decided to choose colors for our little fella's nursery rather than a theme, so that way I can pick and choose different pieces to  use or retire when I want. The colors we've chosen are gray, orange, lime green, teal/aqua, and bright blue.


Once we made a decision on the colors it was off to finding a bedding set we could use. I found a shop on etsy whose work I love, but when I asked for some prices, I decided that I could make my own bedding and not have to pay nearly as much. It wasn't quite the endeavor I was meaning to take on, but in the end it has been a wonderful experience; not only for me, but my mother as well. We decided to make the crib sheets (we made two) and have registered for a few others. I'm in the process of finishing our little one's shopping cart cover, something I hoped to have finished tomorrow. All-in-all the crib sheets are really easy once you get the hang of it!

Sewing Endeavor #3: a baby blanket

So a few weeks back, ok almost two months ago, my parents came down for a long weekend when my school had Spring Break. I always love it when my parents can come for a visit, but this time was wonderful because mom and dad hadn't been up in a while, and mom and I were sewing! For some reason, neither one of us can find the motivation to sew unless we're around each other, go figure! I won't drag this out, but I will say that making a baby blanket is so much easier than making baby clothes, well at least a snap-on onesie.

Me with my creation.

To the right is pictured the baby boy blanket I made. It was the first blanket I made it is so far my favorite! I have yet to decide if I want to keep it or give it away. This summer, since I'll have more free time on my hands with school not in session, I'll create a tutorial going step by step through the whole blanket making process. The blanket was soooo soft and comfy, that even the hubbs wanted to take a quick nap! I also created a little girls' blanket for a friend of mine. She didn't want to completely steer away from the color pink, but wanted to incorporate more purples in her little girl's nursery. So keeping that in mind I picked out and created the following (check it out) -------------------------------------->

See you next time for sewing endeavor #4!

Sewing Endeavor #2

The idea...

Instructions

I made this around the beginning of March, and have been meaning to blog about it for a  while. It seems that many couples I know are pregnant so needless to say "baby fever" has returned. As much as I'd love to get pregnant, now is not the time for us to be trying so instead I decided to throw myself into a project. I hadn't sewn since I made the Redskins pajama bottoms for my father-in-law so with this extra long weekend at my parents house I decided it'd be a great project for me and mom.

I honestly don't know where I'd be without the help of my mother in these projects. Though I manage to tackle and start the project on my own, I always need her help at some point or another in it, and without her I'd be lost! So thank you mom for your dedication and not giving up on me!

Follow-up of instructions

Final product, minus the snaps!

I've decided that if I could, and I am highly considering it, I'd like to start making more baby outfits, blankets, onesies, footies, etc. and of course give them as gifts as well as donate them to either a charity and/or hospital. Adam's grandma, Barbara Davis, knits baby hats and they are adorable, so I figured if she can do it then I could, too. I have completed two projects (baby blankets) since completing this little outfit and I plan to blog about them in the next few days, so be ready and thanks for following!

2:49 in the Morning and a New Year's Update

Here it is, 2:49 in the morning and I can't sleep. It seems that sleep is taunting me. I know I need it. My body knows I need the rest, and yet I am not tired enough to let my head hit the pillow. I have spent the past hour to hour and a half simply piddling and learning all there is to fixing up my blog. I think it looks ten times better than before, and I'm sure when I have my next fit and cannot sleep, it'll be in for another change.

I began another sewing project. It's actually a present for a friend of mine. I bought some baby material and am in the LONG process of making a onesie. Maybe I was too adventurous for this one. You would think that something so small and tiny wouldn't be too difficult. All I'm saying is dream big but keep the small stuff realistic and never ever be too proud to ask for help. I could surely enjoy the company and help of my mother for this one.

As for school, we are more than halfway through the year. In fact we have approximately 4 more months and then we're free to enjoy our summer! January was a tough month, I'm not exactly sure how I made it. God is soooo good though. I have joined a Bible study on Wednesday nights. The ladies are all older than me, by at least 20+ years, but I enjoy the company and wisdom of these ladies. This Bible study has also helped me get out of the complacent routine Adam and I have been stuck in. 

Oh and I do have an update to those New Year's Resolutions I made....
1. (I am continually) growing closer to God; though we all know when we make a resolution like this sometimes thereafter it seems harder....

2. (The only way I've been incorporating this is to visualize how my students see me and hear me throughout the day) To be conscious of the way I handle and represent myself so that others may always see Christ and never second guess where I stand


3. (Yes, in keeping with being honest, this has been a weak spot of mine and seriously needs to go into immediate affect!) To spend 10% of my time = 2 hours 40 minutes daily with the Lord and another 5% of my time = 1 hour 20 minutes of my time with my husband in devotion as well


4. (Have started re-memorizing and tapping into my memory of those verses once learned) Adam and I are going to start memorizing scripture (waaaaaay back in high school I was a part of a ministry and we found encouragement weekly by memorizing scripture and then sharing that with others as a tool for witnessing)


5.(I've been more active spiritually but have a long ways to go and physically, don't laugh, but yes I've been using the Wii much more and even discovered I had lost 1 1/2 lbs....definitely nothing to brag about but you gotta start somewhere, right?! I believe if I were to blog everyday and would truly "document" this journey I think it would help me be more accountable and work harder at becoming more healthy) Be active 1) spiritually ---refer to resolutions #1-4 and 2) physically --- I plan to start documenting weekly my progress in becoming healthier. I've noticed women who have blogs in which they document themselves growing throughout the course of their pregnancies, so I'd like to do something to that extent except with the idea of getting smaller and not grow a child within me.


6. (Woohoo! Adam got a raise and we've been able to pay off some more bills. Frugality is questionable....definitely need to work on it!) Financially I'd like to save up and have 10% as part of a down payment on a house -- this will mean living more frugally than we have been. (For those of you who are homeowners, what is a good ball park figure to save?)


7. (No finished products yet...haven't had time since time has been devoted to school) Finish projects! I am a pretty creative person (I love to knit, sew, scrapbook, paint, cook/bake, etc.) and I tend to start a lot of projects, but usually fail to complete them (minus baking/cooking endeavors) so this year I aim to be more productive.


8. (Praise the Lord!!! We prayed and prayed and prayed and finally decided that God's will for us was to go back to Redeeming Grace and it's been wonderful!) Find a church to attend regularly


9. (This is a work in progress....don't judge me) Take more photographs!


10. (Ok I set out to read not just the Bible but more literary works...I started Gulliver's Travels, but haven't got past Chapter 2) Read more! I have a huge collection of books sitting on a shelf that I've specifically set out so I'll make a point to read them!

It seems I've built a good appetite for sleep now that I've gone through and updated where I stand with my resolutions. Sweet dreams!


11. (Still a work in progress...) Blog more regularly!

Sewing Endeavor #1

For my birthday back in November I requested a rather pricey item. I figured that if my parents, brother, and husband all pooled together then I'd possibly get what I wanted. And guess what?! I got it! What is it you ask? It is none other than a Singer Fashion Mate!

This little beauty is amazing! I simply went to the Singer website www.singer.com and searched their products. Well if you notice while you're there, you 'll see that each sewing machine allows for consumer reviews. Based on what I looked at and knowing what I wanted to use the machine for, I figured this would be the best one for me. It features "70 stitch patterns, an automatic needle threader, a top drop-in bobbin, as well as a 25 year warranty" just to mention a few.  And so far, I'm giving it two thumbs up and a 100% positive review! So if you're in the market for buying a sewing machine be sure to stop by and give this one a look over!

Ok ok, so you've got the picture. This sewing machine is awesome, but what exactly have you done with it? Well I'll be documenting my progress on each challenge. This post is about my first sewing endeavor. I bought copyrighted Redskin fleece material and made my father-in-law a pair of pajama bottoms out of them. Check it out:

Sadly, my mother (who took these pictures) failed to send me the one of the finished product. If I ever get it I'll be sure to post it on here, but just trust that it turned out GREAT! And yes, my father-in-law LOVES them, too!