Love Hate

I have a love hate relationship with my sewing machine. Sometimes it works and sometimes I end up with a big nest of a mess of thread. My friend gave me a tip to keep from getting a nest and guess what? It worked! So I have been sewing again. 

Last night, I decided to make matching bow ties and hair bow for church today. I was happy with how they turned out. Iva loved being able to match Charlie. She cries for a tie every Sunday and was so excited she got to wear one on her head today. Silly girl. 

Tonight, I decided to make bandana bibs for Henry. He is a drool machine (and spit up monster.) I want to go to the store and get more fabric to make more. I think they are cute and they are super easy to make. (Although it took me a couple tries to get the size right. I don't know how tiny the tutorial lady's six month baby is, but the first bib I made wouldn't even fit around Henry's leg- maybe Henry is just huge. The second two are perfect for now and a couple months from now.) 

 

Summer Projects

We are loving summer break. Shawn is doing a research fellowship so he is gone from 7- 4 or 5 most days, but when he gets home, he is home! There is no studying or homework. We have really enjoyed this little break and can hardly believe school is about to start up again (and from what I hear MS2 is worse with studying for Step 1.) We have packed a lot of little projects into this summer. My favorite though is definitely our litle herb garden.

Shawn did all the hard work- he broke down the pallet, sawed, drilled, stained and cut the wood. Then did the metal to hold the mason jars. All I did was tell him what to do (sort of), fill the mason jars with dirt and plant the seeds, and make the vinyl labels.

The herb garden turned out awesome. And I LOVE it. I love seeing it in the corner of our kitchen. I can't wait for everything to grow so we can start cooking with it. And to just see the green... plants make me happy. 

Projects, Projects, and More Projects...

I have serious spring fever right now and decided to do a couple of little projects. 

First up... A play table for Iva. I found a solid wood table on Craigslist for $5 that needed quite a bit of work. It had been chewed on by a dog and was in major need of a sanding and paint job. 

I decided to paint it yellow to match Iva's chest that I had repainted. I still had paint left over so it was perfect. I sanded it (the chewed legs needed some work) and primed it. 

After it was sanded and primed, I painted it using my favorite chalk paint. (Paint and plaster of paris mixed together.) Then sealed it with polyurethane acrylic. 

 

I am quite happy with the way it turned out. It is perfect for little Iva. It has a few imperfections here and there so don't look too closely. I figure when it gets colored on with marker (because I am sure it will one day) the imperfections will just blend in. (Now I just need to find a little chair for it.)

My second project was a little smaller. Liz was giving some things to DI and I decided to snag these mirror candle things. 

I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but knew I would figure out something. And after picking up Iva's play necklaces a billion times, it hit me- a hanger for her play necklaces. 

And yep, I decided to paint them yellow. I am on a big yellow and gray kick right now in case you couldn't tell. (They are the perfect gender neutral colors for her and Charlie's room. I still have grand plans to paint their cribs gray.)

All I did was a little painting, a little sealing and replaced the candle holders with knobs. 

I can't wait to see her little necklaces hanging on them. I am sure she will be pretty excited to look at her self in the mirror. She always is :)

DIY Chalk Paint

I have been spending too much time on Pinterest lately. Since moving, I have all these projects I want to do. 

The first one is to redo our kitchen table. It was originally my mom's table and has made it's way through sisters and now occupies our kitchen. I want to try and use homemade chalk paint to redo it. Shawn thought it would be a good idea to practice on something else first. 

Well, it just happens that when we moved into the townhouse, they had left behind this old chest of drawers. 

We decided to use it in the kid's room. We quickly realized it was a little stinky and needed some tlc. After some sanding, bleach, and lemon oil the smell was gone. And I decided I might as well paint it. 

Pinterest taught me to check the paint stores for mistinted clearance paints. So that is what we did. I found this perfect pale yellow and decided to tackle making homemade chalk paint. 

It actually was super easy. Just mix plaster of paris with water until it is smooth. Then add paint (3 parts paint to 1 part plaster of paris.) It was really easy to work with and I love the antique/distressed look it gives to the chest. Just sand a little here and there to scuff up and use a wet sponge here and there to add character. 

The last step was to seal it with a wax. After reading all about the wax and how much buffing it would require, I decided to use a polycrylic top coat instead. It was easy to do, but changed the color a little bit. Overall, I love Iva's chest of drawers- the picture doesn't do it justice :) I just can't decide if I should leave the original handles or try and find new ones...

Now I am ready to do the kitchen table. Shawn told me I am not allowed to do it while he is out of town this weekend (I think he is worried baby boy is going to come if I even move) so it will have to wait for now.  

6:30 and still in my pajamas!

I knew today was going to be a good day when Iva slept in till 9:45. It is now 6:30 and this is what I have done so far...

Rode our new (to us) exercise bike, changed a million diapers, changed Iva out of her pjs (and only because she spit up on them), finished sewing Iva's dress, took Dug outside twice even, ate Halloween candy and oreos, blogged, Skyped Grammie and Grampie, talked to Kate on the phone, did dishes, and snuggled Iva. It has been my kind of day!

Our new bike... it is awesome and from the 80's.

Watching me finish her dress and, of course, sucking her hand. 

The front of her dress.

And the back... now I just need to sew a matching diaper cover.

Snuggling those chubby cheeks while skyping ... and my hair is still curled from yesterday ;)

Crafting...

Another craft project done- making owls for baby Iva's mobile. They turned out pretty cute. Iva is more interested in the shadows than the actual owls.

Up next... Learning to knit or crochet. You can learn anything off YouTube, right?

Hair clips...

I am slightly obsessed with hair clips for Iva. I never had a good place to keep them. Well, I was on Pinterest and found a solution. And it was super easy. Now I just need Shawn to hang them up :)

Pinterest...

At its finest. I learned the sailor knot today. I googled it and a special thanks to troop 7 for have step by step instructions online.

Thanks to Meg cleaning out her old T-shirts :)

And yes, I made matching mommy and baby headbands. Can't wait for a chance to wear them.

Routine Made Easier...

Shawn and I have been trying to establish a bedtime routine for Iva. One of the steps is reading a book. Tonight we hung her book shelves. And I love them. Now we just need more books for the shelves.

A big thanks to Laura (she kept an eye out for the shelves), IKEA and pinterest. Oh and Dr Seuss (we got a bunch of free books on his birthday.)

Owls.

I am slightly obsessed with owls... I needed a craft when my niece, Morgan, came and visited... the result... owls to hang above the baby's crib. The color is slightly off in the pictures, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

While I was framing them today, Dug decided to get into a little trouble. He chewed up the root beer box and then played floor hockey with the cans of root beer. Maybe I should watch him a little better :)

Notice the cardboard hanging out of his mouth!

Diaper Bag... CHECK!

Dug felt really left out today while I was working on the diaper bag... he needed some extra attention... so of course, he jumped up on my desk so he could be in on the excitement. He stayed right there to see the whole project through.

The front of the diaper bag- it is hard to see in the picture, but the patterned part is three different pockets. Two small ones and one big one.

The back of the bag- it has a velcro pocket across the whole back.

I even took on the challenge of sewing the optional interior pocket. I am glad I did. It will be nice to have a zipper pocket on the inside.

I need a new project now that my diaper bag and blanket are done... Or I need for Meg to come visit so I can work on her dress..