Halloween 2013

Well another Halloween has come and gone.  I'd say it was another successful year with making the boys' costumes, although I wasn't sure about that until the day of treat or treating.  This second baby is kicking.my.butt.  I have zero free time and my "to do" list is a mile long.  As I check one item off, two more get added.  I wasn't sure I would have time to pull these costumes off before treat day.

Since last Halloween, Johnathan has been wanting to go as a ninja.  I really wasn't too keen on that idea.  I had no idea how I was going to make a "home made" ninja, and after all, his Halloween costume is all about me and what I can make and not what he wants to be....silly silly boy.  Each month, Johnathan would remind me how he wanted to be a ninja, and each month that went by I kept waiting for him to change his mind.  He never did.  Luckily though, he morphed a little, he went from wanting to be a ninja to wanting to be a ninjago (Lego ninja for those of you not into 5 year old boy cartoons).  Ninjago, now we're talking, I can work with a Lego ninja.     

So with a little help from my good friend pinterest, I cut myself a box and spray painted it bright red.  I traced a picture of the dragon onto the box and painted it with gold paint.  Finding the dragon image was the most difficult part of this whole project.  I used this dragon coloring page and had my hubby blow it up to the size I needed (don't ask me how, as I see it, this is one of my few benefits of being married, free tech support).  I free hand drew the eye on to the head with black paint.  Isn't this the cutest scariest (TOOTHLESS!!!!) dragon you have ever seen?  Oops, I forgot the teeth!  Luckily he never said one peep about his toothless dragon, he was too busy being a ninja (with his cute little dinosaur treat bag), even ninja's have mommies.

 

Oh and cute little Robbie.  Don't you just want to squeeze him?  I wasn't very excited about making a costume for him, I'm not sure why.  Maybe it was the work?  I mean, all this work to make a costume and the kid isn't even going to get me any candy.  What a waste.  But then, I thought of the most perfect little costume for my little pumpkin, a little gnome with a little red gnome hat.  Sometimes, (just sometimes) the picture I have in my little brain of my craft project turns out just like I imagined it in my brain, this was the ONE time.

 

Oh my goodness.  Look at that glare.  He glared like this the whole day.  I don't think he was as trilled about his costume as I was.  Someday when he is older I picture him finding this picture of himself and going, "oh yeah, I remember this day, this is the day I started to hate you".  Oh my little Robbie, certainly I hope that isn't true.  His costume was all about re-using and re-purposing. I didn't want to spend a single second making anything for him that I couldn't later use.  Therefore, everything had a dual purpose.  I made the hat and beard and the rest of his outfit was already in his dresser drawers.    His "beard" is also a bib (because we can always use more bibs).  I sewed it using the pattern I found over on Bit-O-Me.  It took about two hours to make.  If I wouldn't  have had an argument with my sewing machine, it probably only would have taken about an hour.  

Ericka: 0 Sewing Machine: 1 

I recovered a bit from the bib argument with my sewing machine because the hat (with the help of this tutorial over at Acorn Pies) took me 10 minutes flat.  NO JOKE!  It probably helped that it only had ONE SEW LINE.

Ericka: 1  Sewing Machine: 1

The kid's were not the only ones that had fun this year.  For the first time ever, my hubby and I dressed up as well.  Him as Drew Carey (natural) and me as Megan (Melissa McCarthy) from Bridesmaid's.  We had a lot of fun. He kept telling everyone he was "fat Drew Carey", I really think he should have said, "cute Drew Carey" (and no, I'm not kissing up, he doesn't read my blog).  I know I'm right, my hubby keeps getting cuter and cuter with age.  We just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary this week.  I love you honey (just in case he does read this)!

Now that Halloween is behind us and the weather is cooler, my focus has turned back to stamping and creating cards.  Oh how I have missed thee.  I'll be back later with a look at some holiday cards I'll be offering this year.  See you soon! 

Working Momma

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my boys are the cutest.  Yes, that’s right: THE CUTEST.  I know, I know, every mom thinks that about their own kids (and hubby).  I just started my busiest time of year at work and I only have a sliver of free time when we get done with dinner, dishes, bathes, etc.  Not fun.  I’m exhausted.  I went to bed last night at 8:45p.  Yep, 8:45p.  I apologized to my hubby for my tiredness, I felt bad that we didn't have time to talk, he replied, “Our marriage is better that way”.  Ha ha, but seriously, he also replied, “go to bed, you’re tired, I know you have to get up in the middle of the night to feed Robert”.  Ok, that doesn’t sound sweet, but it was really super sweet (especially for my non-gushy hubby) and exactly what I needed to hear.  This has been our life for a while now, me passed out on the couch before dark. I’m sure my hubby is secretly in seventh heaven at night having the house to himself.  

  

While we are just smitten with our newest little baby (he turned 6 months old today!) I have friends that are just as smitten with their own new arrivals.  In one of my social circles I was the start of the baby rush this year with my little guy being born in February followed by three of my friends having their babies each in March, April, and May!  Followed by another earlier this month.  Can you believe it?  Four babies in four months!  Five in 6 months!  So much fun!  The other four babies were girls. All girls!

You know, babies = baby gifts!  Lots and lots of cute baby gifts.  I thought I would share some of the gifts that I made for my friends and their newest family additions.  First up are burp clothes.  All first time moms need burp clothes.  I already wrote about how much I HATED my burp clothes the first time around.  The store bought clothes just don’t cut it.  They are small, awkwardly shaped, and non-absorbent.  I showed you the ones that I made for my new baby in THE LITTLE THINGS.  The ones I made for myself were made with flannel on one side and chenille on the other.  Since that post, I have discovered that chenille is hard to come by and is not sold in ANY local fabric stores in my area (so sad).  So the burb clothes I made for the April baby were made using pre-fold cloth diapers available anywhere (I happened to buy mine at Target).  

If any of you know me, you will know that I am painfully slow at deciding on gifts.  PAINFULLY.  I take a long time to buy gifts for people because I really want them to be personalized (as much as possible) and I want people to know that I put time and effort into their gifts (especially for new babies and weddings).   So that being said, I made these burp clothes for the new momma so they were not “girly girl” because I know this momma likes more gender neutral items.   I spent a good month shopping for the perfect fabric to pair together.  Not only does this fabric fit my requirement to be gender neutral but it also fit the new momma’s nursery theme of animals.   Nailed it.

It is hard to imagine but these are even easier than the burp clothes I made for myself.  I made these while trying to get my own baby out of my body.  It was day three of being overdue and I was sick and tired of being pregnant.  I thought a good sewing project might get my own baby out of my belly.  While sewing these I was dancing to Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake's skit, “History of Rap 2”.  Over and over and over and over again (seriously, no joke).  While I didn’t think the sewing would work, I thought FOR SURE Jimmy and Justin together would push that baby right out of me.  No luck.  I hope they won’t be offended, in fairness actual labor didn’t get that baby out of my belly either. 

Anyway, back to the gift.   Super easy!  After you wash and dry all your fabric (including the cloth diapers, the only time I hope to ever use a cloth diaper), you just cut a piece of flannel one inch longer and wider than the finished product you want.  I cut mine 18” by 6”, this allows for a ½” seam allowance on each side which I find much easier to work with than a little ¼” seam, but you choose what is easiest for you.  Press your hem, pin onto the diaper, and sew.  That’s it!  Like a said: super easy. I promise.  If you feel like you need more directions, check out this great blog post by Petite Lemon. 

You can make these faster than you could read this blog post (well almost).  Later I’ll be showing you a “girly girl” gift that I made for the next baby girl.       

Nursing Shawl

Do a quick search on google for "nursing covers" and your going to get {in my opinion} these dorky looking covers that do nothing but let everybody know exactly what you are doing; nursing a baby. 



Photo Credit: from craftsy.com

No offense, but I thought the whole point of a nursing cover was to conceal what you are doing. Let's face it, when you are wearing a cover that has loud child-like fabric on it, everyone is going to know you are nursing a little one under there.  Now, it isn't the end of the world that everyone knows your nursing (after all, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out) but I wanted something that was a little less obvious and would at least take a double glance to figure out.

photo credit: Misocraftyknits.com

With my first child, I just used baby blankets.  They work perfectly fine, there really isn't anything wrong with them, except the occasional slippage, otherwise they are cheap and easy.  

Photo credit: thecoterieblog.com

But thanks to pinterest, once I saw this modern nursing shawl on Coterie, I just knew I had to make one for myself..... because I just don't have enough going on right now. Insert large sigh here.  The shawl is simple, effective, and cheap.  Check. Check. Check. Bring it on.

Ignore the stalking cat



Ignore the stalking dog

If you can get past the dorky model (my cat and dog never did), you'll see a cute shawl that only took 20 minutes to create and $12.99 worth of fabric.  Totally worth the little time and effort it took to make! 

If you are thinking about making one yourself, DO IT!  It is super easy, just follow the directions on thecoterieblog.com site.  It was literally one sewing line.  It could not be easier.  The best part, it isn't dorky (just the person wearing it is but I can't fix that).  



Last Minute Gifts

Hi Everyone!  It is Christmas Eve and we're enjoying our family holiday celebrations.  With our son being four this year the holidays have been a lot of fun.  He has gotten into enjoying Christmas music and I REALLY enjoy listening to his versions of classics.  Feliz Navidad is Feliz Naneena and Jingle Bell Rock is Jingle Bell Rocks.  I often have "Dradle Dradle Dradle" singing through my head after I leave a room that had him in it.  Our Elf, Udie (named after the song in Dora the Explorer), has been finding herself in a lot of silly places and effectively working when the naughty bug kicks in. 

During this busy time of year, I don't find a ton of time to craft but I do squeeze some time in here and there.  I did hold my annual holiday gift giving class for my card class girls earlier this month.  It is always a popular class because it is a great chance to make quick and easy gifts for co-workers, teachers, neighbors, etc.  Earlier this month I showed you the chalkboard ornament that doubled as a gift card holder but today I thought I would share with you a few other gifts I made this holiday season.

I made this "Merry" banner using an old Little Golden Book that was Christmas themed.  I love Little Golden Books, they remind me of my childhood.  I remember having a shelf full of them.  They are also really cheap and easy to find now at thrift stores and used bookstores.  The letters were made using my slice machine.  I used the same concept I use for my superhero and princess banners, you can find those on my Etsy Shop (for those of you keeping track, the superhero banner is by far still the favorite over the princess banner!).  I also have this cute little "Merry" Banner posted in my shop if you are looking for a cute decoration for you or a loved one.

Next up is a little Petri dish (found at the Dollar Store) filled with Ju Ju Coins and  decorated with "Rudolph's Spares" on the cover.  I saw something very similar online (sorry, I don't have the original link) and knew we had to create this quick and easy gift in class.  It is just a fun way to package a little candy for your recipient.



This one is my favorite (and just between you and me, it won't be gifted to anyone because I'll be keeping it for myself).  It is some Peppermint Bath Sugar and smells heavenly.  You can find the recipe all over Pinterest.  I adapted mine and used some seasame seed body oil instead of the expensive almond oil that is hard to find.  It smells great and leaves your skin feeling nice and soft.  Half of the recipe was dyed with red food coloring and layered in the jar together to give it a nice candy cane look. 

Of course who would ever say "no" to a glass Santa filled with chocolates?  He is even harder to resist with that cute gift tag!  There is enough cuteness here to make you want to break that newly formed New Year's resolution before it even starts. 

Everyone could use a few more gift tags!  These use the hot trendy washi tape that you can find EVERYWHERE right now (including Target!). 

Next up: old school milk carton containers.  One is holding hot cocoa and the other is holding peppermint marshmallows.  Two neccessities when the weather gets cold around here.

And last but not least, I modified this coffee cup card template I saw on Stamsnsmiles blog so that the template opened from the top to hold a surprise gift card.

To make it even more special, I sewed up this quick coffee cup cozy on my sewing machine.  Seriously, this is a project you can have done from start to finish in under one hour (including the sewing time).  I used the cup cozy template that I found on Hawaiian Paper Doll but I did make it about 1/4 inch bigger on the top and bottom and about an 1/2 inch longer on each of the sides.

That's all for now!  I hope you and your family have a great (and safe) holiday this year!  See you soon, I got to take a break to get ready for Santa's big appearance tonight!   

No Spend Month Wrap Up

Family Shot: Halloween 2012

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted!  Geez, I've been busy.  I'm not even sure with what, I certainly don't feel like I have accomplished much in the last several weeks.  I guess growing a baby takes a lot out of you!  I've spent most days working my hinder off at the office and have come home too pooped to do much more than the basics.  Most nights I don't make it to 10pm, my husband would tell you some nights I don't make it till 9pm (I think there were a few nights that I beat the 4 year old to bed).   For those of you that are fans of Modern Family, last night's episode was about "pregnancy brains".  I've been experiencing a mild case of that lately.  Latest proof was found in my fridge tonight when I decided to store the ice cream in there last night.  I was really looking forward to eating that ice cream tonight.

My Pregnancy Brain sabotaging me.  I was looking forward to eating that ice cream.

We did make it through our "No Spend" Challenge.  No tears were shed but I have to say, I am so HAPPY it is over!  That was not easy!  We spent a total of $418.  Certainly, we went well over our $250 allotment but if I take gas purchases out of the picture (which I really probably should have done given that our cars are not an option), we only spent $254.  Woot!  Woot!  I'm going to call that a success!  We accomplished this by eating a lot of cheap simple meals.  Meals like: eggs, grilled cheese, lots of rice side dishes.  We also ate lots of staples from our pantry and freezer, some of them were past their "expiration" (do noodles really expire?).  We also rarely ate out (unless someone else was paying) and kept ourselves entertained by doing "free" stuff, like going to the zoo (we already have a membership), visiting with family, and playing outside at the park.

J as a Monster for Halloween 2012

I crafted almost exclusively using supplies that I already own, forgoing Papertrey Ink's product release on the 15th.   That's a HUGE sacrifice people, especially with the holidays sneaking up on us as fast as they always do.  I was still able to make my son's Halloween costume and stick to budget.  This year he was a monster. I spent a total of $9 ($7 on the sweatshirt and $2 on the ping pong balls), everything else for his costume came from my craft supplies already on hand.  I'd say the costume was a success and I'm super happy he decided against going as a frog, I had no idea how I was going to make that happen.  

J's cute monster tail

Our best week was our last week and a half, which I find to be completely odd since I thought that would be the hardest week of all of them.  We only spent $79 that week ($29 of that on gas).  I did exclude a $30 dog food purchase.  Our dog doesn't eat the way it is, I really didn't need to purposely starve him for the purposes of this challenge.  Don't worry, he was as happy as a clam, I was trying to prolong his food purchase as long as possible and he got cans of wet dog food that we had laying around the house.  For a dog that doesn't eat, I've never seen him so happy!  He had no problems eating on wet dog food days, what a stinker.

I'm happy we did this challenge.  I feel a little better going into this holiday season of spending with the previous month of "no spend" behind us.  This may or may not become an annual event for us.  I have almost a whole year to figure that out.

Sew Fun

Any ideas what this picture could be of?  It doesn't look like much, but trust me, it holds a secret.  I'll let you think about for a few minutes while I catch you up on the last few weeks of my summer.

I've been exhausted.  It is my busy time at work (my real job, not all this fun blog stuff) which means when I get home I'm too wiped out to do anything.  I've been too tired to cook nice meals and certainly way too tired to clean my house.  This all means, I've also been too busy to blog.

With the start of the school year means the start to some normalcy and more importantly a schedule in this household.  That means more time to craft and hopefully more time to blog about it. 

Speaking of the school year, here is my cutie on his 1st day in 4K.  Don't you just want to pick him up and squeeze him?  He is so darn cute (yes, I'm biased).  He's so happy to be back in school.  The transition to a new schedule has been a breeze for him, hopefully that trend continues. 

Alright.  Now that I left you are all in suspense for awhile, let me get back to the purpose of this post.  Any guesses as to what my latest sewing project was?  Couple hints.  It is for a one year old.  It has a multipurpose. It was super duper easy.   

It is a bag that holds a tea set and all the accessories needed to hold one fine afternoon tea party with all your doll friends.  When folded out the bag also turns into a double sided tablecloth for those high noon parties.   

I found some cute fabric at Joann's that had several different coordinating fabrics and picked out the three that I liked best (picking out only three of these cute fabrics was really the hardest part of this project).

Here are the coordinating cloth napkins.

And some placemats I made out of some pink felt.

My cats missed the memo that this was only for "pretend" and they were looking for actual tea (and the yummy food that usually goes with it).  Silly cats.

This was a lot of fun to make and a lot of fun to give as a gift.  If you want to try to make one yourself, check out Prudent Baby for all the details and great instructions. 

If you are looking for this tea set, it is from Amazon (B&N carries it too).  Two things that make it great:  it is made from recycled plastic and it doesn't have any "characters" on it so it will grow with the child longer. 

See you soon!  I'm going to go make myself a nice cup of {real} tea.

Road Trip Comforts

I just got back from a road trip, eh.  Guess where, eh.  No, not Wisconsin or Minnesota (good guesses though).  I'm back from the land of Canada.  We drove there.  With a four year old.  Fourteen hours each way.  Yes, I deserve a metal.  In truth it wasn't that bad.  My son did pretty good in the car.  I did make him a gift before we left to make life a bit easier {on both of us}.

I made him a leap pad cover (he calls it his ipad).   Santa brought this for him back at Christmas but the cover in the stores was sold out everywhere.  Sewing a case for it has been on my "to do" list for six months.  It is nice to finally cross ONE thing off that ever growing list.

You can find the pattern over at Pink Stitches.  Her instructions made it super easy.  The whole project took me a few hours from start to finish (counting my screw ups, I really should learn to read directions).

There is a front zipper pocket for all his little games.  As scary as a zipper is to this newbie sewer, it was a must for this project!  Those games are small and easy to loss and too expensive to replace.

I can't believe the zipper pocket was that easy.  Those suckers are a lot easier than they look (if you have never tried one, DO IT)!  Of course I used super hero themed fabric.  Don't you just love the super hero fabric?  I love it.  So does my son.

He has been totting it around ever since I gave it to him.  That makes this momma happy.  Some might even call me a super momma! *wink*