DIY: Bibs & Burp Cloths (and a great pillow tutorial too)

My husband and the pups headed out to the lake this weekend leaving me an empty house and lots of time.  I took the opportunity to tackle some sewing projects on my list - specifically the roman shades for the nursery.  Since the sewing machine has been collecting dust lately I thought it best to warm up on some practice projects - bibs and burp cloths.  Once I started on those I just couldn't stop.  I still have yet to start the roman shades.

They were actually so easy to make.  They are a great beginner sewing project and perfect for scrap fabric.

For the bib I used the Purlbee's Liberty Bib pattern.

I used several different fabrics that I had laying around.  Cotton for the front and then either a terry cloth, fleece or soft blanket material for the backing.

Once I cut out the pattern I laid my fabric with the right sides facing each other and then folded the fabric in half.  I also folded the pattern in half and laid it on the fabric with the folded sides facing eachother.  I traced the pattern with chalk leaving enough of an allowance for a nice seam.  Oh and note in the middle picture that before tracing I did pin my fabrics together so they didn't move as I traced and cut out the pattern.

Once the bib is cut out unfold it, repin along the edges and sew all around making sure to leave at least a 2 inch gap for pulling your bib right side out.

Once the bib is right side out, sew along the edge again making sure to sew the gap closed.

Add a snap or some velcro to the neck and you are done!

 The burp cloths are even easier.  I just cut the same cotton fabric and the same backings and sewed them the same way I did the bib but in varying sizes.

I actually am excited for my baby to drool and spit up so I can use these adorable burp cloths. 

My last quick project before tackling the roman shades was a pillow for the glider in the nursery using the same fabric as the roman shades.

I love how this fabric looks in the room.  I think the roman shades will be perfect in there.

I have tackled pillows before using a zipper but this time around I decided to follow the tutorial from Jenny Steffens Hobick blog.

I will never make a pillow any other way.  It literally took me minutes to put this pillow case together!  I'm already looking for fabric to recover every pillow in my house.

Here is a view of the back of the pillow.  You can kind of see the slit where the pillow slips in. 

I hope you give some of these projects a try.  Especially if you are new to sewing and looking for some easy projects to practice.

I will be back soon with some updates on the roman shades.

Instagram week 15

The nesting has begun!  I had another garage sale this past weekend where I got rid of all our clutter and my entire craft room - including my letterpress letters.  I feel like I can breathe again in this house.  And I am another $250 dollars richer.  Add that to the $200 from the first garage sale and I have $450 extra dollars to spend on the nursery!!  

Speaking of the nursery, with the junk from the garage sale gone I pulled out the sewing machine and started working on the roman shades for the nursery.  An update will come soon.  Since the sewing machine had been collecting dust lately I thought I would practice with some fun bibs and burp cloths and well - I couldn't stop.  I also made a pillow for her glider out of the roman shade fabric.  That gives you kind of a peek at one the shades will look like in the room.  I also found some adorable baskets on wheels to use as her hamper  - maybe.  Still deciding.

I tackled the typical pregnancy craving by making homemade pickles.  They are delicious!  

Lola and I also started our new workout regime.  LONG walks.  That is all these big girls can handle.

On the docket for this week - furniture painting.  Not looking forward to it.

Hope your week is more promising!

New Pumpkin Baby Hat Pattern on Etsy

I have been knitting like crazy for Baby K.  I just can't stop.  I have been knitting for everyone else's babies for so long, it is so fun to finally be knitting for my own sweet little girl.  So far it has been mostly hats.  I think she will have a hat for each hour of the day for the first year of her life.  Good thing she is due in the fall or she would totally roast.

I just finished knitting her a pumpkin hat for fall.  I can't wait to see it on her.  It will be perfect for when we take her to the pumpkin patch, apple picking and even for Halloween.

You can make the same hat for your little one too.  The Pumpkin Baby Hat is the newest pattern added to Sweet Pea Knits on Etsy.

It is a super easy and fast pattern and has so many uses.  Use red yarn instead of orange and make a strawberry or apple.  Use purple and make a little grape.  One pattern - so many different hats!

Here are some of the other hats that I've added to Baby K's closet.

For football season with daddy!

I love these colors!

I also love these colors.  Now I am working on one in navy and light pink.

A super soft and sweet hat for the hospital maybe.

And her Bears hat or she can support my alma mater and workplace.  But really it is for her couch time with daddy!

Instagram week 14

It's been a pretty eventful week but once again my phone remained in my purse for most of it.

I have a baby shower coming up in a few weeks and I was given the task of finding some baby photos for it.  I just had to share them.  The one on the right is Bran and the one in the towel is me.  I've been looking at those lately wondering what our little girl will look like.  Like her daddy?  Like her mommy?  Or will she have her own individual look?  I'm really curious if she will inherit the Keith lips.

The fabric for the nursery curtains finally arrived but I hated it so it was quickly returned in favor of the fabric hanging on the crib in the pic above.  The first print was just too small and too pink.  I'll be sharing all about the nursery, roman shades and all, when we get there.  

We babysat my parents dogs this weekend and had a little party in our backyard.  Jake, their Berner that is the same age as Lola kept escaping on car rides.  He has a lot of energy!

I finished my fabric storage.  More on that soon.  I made some Roasted Red Pepper Pesto - highly recommend trying it.  It is great over warm pasta.  The recipe is from my friend TheFauxMartha - check her out.

We also toured the hospital where we will be welcoming baby girl Keith in just 2 months.  It was great to see everything but it made it so real.  Just two months!

Lastly, I spent a lot of quality time with friends this weekend - even did some fun shopping!

Have a great week!

my pregnancy must-haves

I'm 30 weeks into this pregnancy and while I am sure I have not experienced all that pregnancy will have to throw at me, I have acquired a nice list of "must-haves" that have helped me get through to this point.  I realize that we all have different pregnancies and preferences so what I love you may hate but here is what has worked for me.

The Belli Skincare line for mommy & baby.  A totally safe line of skincare products for all stages through labor, post-delivery and even for baby.  My favorites are the Fresh Start Pre Treatment Scrub, Elasticity Belly Oil and All Day Moisture Body Lotion.  I have super sensitive, reactive skin and all the products I have tried have been truly soothing and effective.  I'm a user for life.  I also recommend buying it at dermstore.com.  Free shipping!

EOS Lip Balm for those dry, chapped lips.  I think I love these mostly because they are so adorable but they really do leave my lips moisturized for a long time.  So many other brands seem to dry my lips out more in the long run rather than moisturize.

Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt (Raspberry Fudge Chunk) for all my summer ice cream cravings.  What would a summer pregnancy be without those two great men Ben and Jerry?  I could eat one of these a night - easy.  I don't - but I could and if this heat continues I just may reach the point where I do.

Vic's Popcorn is my go-to snack for something a little healthier.  The lite white popcorn is so yummy with just the perfect amount of saltiness but totally guilt-free.  I do believe they recommend that pregger ladies snack on popcorn....at least I read that somewhere and have totally held on to it.  Sometimes when I need to indulge a little more I get the white cheddar.  Oh it is so good!  And the best thing about munching on popcorn is it makes you thirsty so I drink WAY more water.  Which leads me to my next must-have.

Lifefactory Water Bottle for staying well hydrated, especially on the go.  These are glass bottles that are easy to clean and maintain (machine-washable baby).  I love the rubber sleeve that makes it easy to hold and protects it from falls.  Most of all they are just so pretty.  They also make the best baby bottles.  I can't wait for baby k to use those.

Maxi Skirt to stay cool yet still feel totally cute and stylish as the bump grows.  Unfortunately I found this on Jcrew's website this morning and it is already sold out and totally off the site.  Crazy.  I love the maxi skirts because they are easy, most have elastic bands, I know I can wear them post baby and I think they are so adorable.  I also love maxi dresses but I think the skirt is much more flattering on me - personally.

Gap Pure Body Tanks are my go to top right now.  They are so soft and comfy and look great with maxi skirts.  They fit my body (and bump) well and are nice and long.  I wear these ALL the time and have noticed that they wash and wear really well.  They are not fading, stretching or looking worn out. The pure body short sleeve shirts are just as amazing too.

Gap Pure Body Pullover and Racerback Bras I live in right now.  The summer heat means less clothing and more skin and for a pregger lady with an ever expanding chest that is not always a good combo.  Instead of wearing a tank under lower cut dresses or tops I throw one of these on and feel covered up, cool and cute.  They are t-shirt material and breathable so super comfortable to top it all off.  They need to make these into breastfeeding bras for me.


So there you have it, some of my pregnancy must-haves.  Although as I look back through this list anyone could enjoy any of these.  Not just the preggers.  Maybe you'll find something new to try.

Instagram week 13

I am an instagram failure.

When I want to be creative and instagrammy my life is so boring and when something worth instagramming happens I totally forget.

I'll keep working on it.

In regards to last week I was super excited to pick up two mini filing cabinets for free.  So excited to DIY these into some serious fabric storage.  Well I did start the process so I'll update everyone soon with the project.  

I also dropped a bunch of items off at my mom's garage sale.  Most of the items were from my craft room that I emptied to make way for baby.  I did well though and made $200 which is going right back into the nursery design.  Speaking of nursery design we put together crib.  I am in love with it.

Leave it up to Ben & Jerry to provide me with my latest pregnancy addiction - raspberry fudge chunk greek frozen yogurt.  I cannot put my spoon down.

Unfortunately though I ended the week with a nasty cold.  I really haven't had a cold this bad in a very long time.  I don't know if it is the pregnancy or just this particular cold but hopefully it leaves my system soon.  The cold did give me some knitting time and I made baby k a pumpkin hat for the fall.

Oh and for you knitters, the pattern for the pumpkin hat will be in my etsy store soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Nursery: paint on the walls

The nursery is finally cleared out and painted!

(Benjamin Moore - Stonington Gray)

My amazing husband braved 2 days of 102 degree heat to paint it for me.

I felt so terrible watching him suffer up there with all the windows open with the heat and fumes but it turned out great and I am so grateful.  It is definitely my favorite room in the house and it hardly has anything in it.  Oh and just to let you know the wicker chair is out of there.  It is just to show where the glider will be.

We still have some work to do of course.  The doors need some paint and hopefully some fun detailing. Oh and the brass has to go!

The crib arrives this week and goes on the right side in that little alcove below.  I'm also working on some new roman shades for the room.  I'm thinking pink/coral.......

Once the crib arrives it is full decorating mode.  

So excited!

Here is the scheme we are going with.

Instagram week 10-12

So this is a bit delayed but I have really good excuses....an extended trip to Scotland and then a 4 day power/internet outage upon our return so now that life is back to normal I am doing a massive update.

So in the past few weeks we visited Scotland, celebrated the 4th, witnessed a massive storm or microburst that knocked out power for several days, painted the nursery and survived the heat wave of 2012.  Phew....time for things to settle down.  Just in time for my third trimester.

Baby K: week 28

WELCOME TO THE THIRD (AND FINAL) TRIMESTER!!

Week: 28

Baby K: Baby K is the size of a chinese cabbage weighing about 2 1/4 lbs. and measures 15 inches from head to heels.  She can blink her precious little eyes which are now sporting some eye tiny lashes which she is fluttering in true girly fashion - well at least she is opening and closing her eyes.  She is waking and sleeping at regular intervals and even sucking her little fingers.  The best news though is that while her lungs are still immature she could survive outside the womb with a lot of medical help.  Let's hope she stays in there a bit longer though.

Nausea:  None.

Swelling:  It is starting.  Like clockwork the third trimester has brought swelling in my feet.  

Aches and Pains:  A little bit of back pain at the end of the day.  I really cannot complain about it though.  I am getting really sick of sleeping on my side - my shoulders and hips are constantly aching.  Flipping frequently to switch sides helps a lot. 

Cravings: Everything.  I am always hungry!

Aversions:  None.  I wish at this point there was SOMETHING I didn't want to eat.

Bump: Moving.  I am now able to watch her move around.  The lumps and bumps have arrived.

Looking forward to:  The cribs arrival!  

Missing the most: Running.

Pregnancy milestone:  Painting the nursery and moving some of her furniture in.  The crib arrives this week and then it is full nursery decorating mode.  Cannot wait to get this nursery finished!!

home from the homeland

Our Scotland trip has come and gone and taken June with it.  I can't believe it is already July and this trip we have been anticipating is already over.  Life better slow down soon or I am going to wake up tomorrow with Baby K heading off to college......ahhhhh.

Fortunately we should still have 18 years and many more trips before that happens.  They just may not be to Scotland.  This was a very fun and special trip we took with Bran's family to visit his relatives there.  His grandparents came over from Scotland soon after they were married but have remained very close with their family and so have we.  I hope we can introduce Baby K to everyone someday and show her the homeland but in the meantime these photos will have to do.

Customary stop in the town of Keith on our way to Spey Bay.

Next stop, the beautiful Faskally House.  It is an old family estate turned Christian camp.  This is where we gathered as one large family for the reunion.

It was perfect and although the weather wasn't it was still beautiful to walk around along the river and countryside.

On our way back to Aberdeen we stopped by my favorite castle, Dunnottar Castle.  The castle of the Keith clan.

It is so beautiful overlooking the sea with steep cliffs on most sides.

And finally I have to share some cute cows that modeled for me.  They aren't the native highland cows that I was hoping to find but they are still pretty funny.

good memories from a great trip.