This afternoon I got started on cutting the squares out to the onesie quilt.  I took a picture of the first one I did (the owl outfit that Brody wore home from the hospital…we thought it was fitting since he was born on Halloween and it was sort of like a “costume”).  It was such a strange feeling going through all of his onesies and cutting each of them up.  Somewhat sad (my baby is growing), yet very excited about what they’re about to become (a forever kept quilt).  I can’t wait to present this to Brody one day (maybe when he has a child of his own as I know he could care less about it (being a boy), but his wife would think it was pretty cool).

As I made my way through the pile of onesies, I came across his onesie that he wore for Christmas and Valentine’s Day last year.  I already have on hand shirts that Brody will wear this Christmas and Valentine’s Day, so I thought it would be neat to take a picture of his shirt this year and his outfit last year.  Can you believe that the full size of the onesie is the length of the t-shirt he now wears.  Boy has he grown this past year.

Tonight I was able to first lay out the onesies in the order I wanted and then had time to sew them all together (I had to get them off of my office floor so Brody had a place to play tomorrow morning before his morning nap).   It’s a great feeling to get that much done already.  I still have quite a bit to do with this quilt, but so far, it’s a start.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress (with pictures).  Can’t wait to see the finished look.  As a reminder, here is the example of what I plan for it to look like when I’m finished.

Are you a grocery list maker?  I am, always have been.

In the past few years, I’ve started putting the paper pads on the side of the refrigerator and when we run out of something or there’s something that just sounds good, we write it down.  When it’s time to go to the store, I have all of my items wrote on the list already (minus the last minute staples that we’re not quite out of, but I know we’ll need within the week).

I even go one step further (I learned this from my Mom and love this idea!).  I re-write my grocery list in the order that the store is organized so I can walk right in, look at my list and not skip a beat.  I go in the order of my list and within minutes (ok, so quite a few minutes), my shopping is done and I’m at the check-out.  I rarely have to double back unless it’s an item that I hadn’t purchased before and I was guessing where it was located in the store.

And now, to make things even easier (at least for my husband), I have made a check-off grocery list.  I came across the tutorial last week and knew that I wanted to make this.  It’s SO easy!  It’s organized by areas in the store (dairy, frozen, cleaning supplies, produce, etc…).  The list is even customizable, so you can make it really fit your needs.  It was so easy to change.  I added things we often use and added a couple of extra blanks for each category.  I even added a “baby” category (again, making it meet my needs).

I haven’t started using it yet (just made it last night).  Let me know if you make one and how you like it.

Brody is invited to yet another birthday party.  I swear all of his friends are girls.  *sigh*

Most of the same people are invited to these birthday parties, so I’m trying to be unique with my wrapping for them all.  I purchased brown wrapping paper from The Container Store (my new favorite store that just opened in Raleigh a couple of months ago).  This wrapping paper is so versatile!  Last week we went to another girl’s birthday party and I used the brown wrapping paper and some wide pink and brown ribbon.  I didn’t think to get any pictures of that wrapped gift, but I think it turned out nice.

This time, I decided to go with a design that I saw on a recent blog post using a snowflake.   I don’t think mine turned out near as nice and the snowflake would probably look nicer on my white wrapping paper instead of the brown, but oh well.

I also used something that Jason just sent me the link too (he knew I’d like the idea and I love that he thinks of me).  I thought it was cute to personalize the gift and put the little girl’s name on it.  Had the snowflake been smaller, I would have preferred to put the name on the front of the package, versus the top, but I wasn’t redoing my snowflake (lazy, I know).

I saw a blog post last week on handmade Christmas gifts. I ran across a photo ornament that I liked.  My family just had their photos taken professionally when we were in IL visiting and each of the grand kids had a photo taken by themselves.  Bingo!  I’ll use those photos to make four ornaments for my parents to hang on their Christmas tree.  Perfect!

It was so simple to make, although I’m not completely happy with the end result.  The opening into the ornament is very narrow so I had to roll up the photo to stick it inside and now they won’t fully flatten.  It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not near as nice as the one shown in the tutorial.  I should have looked harder for the clear plastic ornaments.  I bought the medium sized glass ornaments (that’ll teach me).

So, here are pictures of my finished product.  Enjoy!

I’m working on a few more smaller projects before diving into the onesie quilt.  I’ll keep you posted.

Before we left for our trip to IL, I quickly made a “Sweetheart Journal” for my parents.  It was a very belated anniversary gift.  I had hoped to make it for their anniversary this past June, but just never took time to do so.  I loved the idea of this journal.

Sweetheart Journal
This little journal has a purpose for you,
Its use should be shared just between two.
Simply write a love letter, a poem, or a note
To the one you adore, love, and often dote.
Then, hide this book for your sweetheart to find
And wait for a reply that will tickle your mind.
Remember, to be creative and to have fun
You have only your spouse’s heart to be won.

Creative ideas could include: games (the dot game, tic tac toe), poems, letters, pictures, notes, comments about dates…

I found this idea on a blog called My Creative Stirrings.   The idea was found in a post titled, “Creative Wedding Gift Ideas – Can of Dates”, then had a list of 36 ideas to print off and put in this can.  This one was my favorite idea.

What I love about this journal is that there are no “rules” as to how quickly you have to pass it back and forth between each other.  It can be in ones possession for however long.  The whole point is to catch your significant other off guard and surprise them with this journal hidden in a special place for them to find.

Happy (belated) Anniversary Mom and Dad!  I hope you enjoy your journal and get lots of use out of it over the years to come.

I purchased some very cheap and soft towels from Target this past week to make a hooded towel for Brody.  The towel was $3.99 and the hand towel was $2.99.  Since you cut the hand towel in half, you could buy two towels to one hand towel to create two hooded towels (for a total of $10.97 plus tax).  Not a bad deal.  That’s less than $5.50 per hooded towel and they make a great gift!  I followed an easy tutorial.

I had some frog fabric on hand, so decided to use that as an accent for the hood of the towel.  I think it turned out cute.  Made it a bit more personal and definitely looks more hand made.  Now all I have to do is try it out.

And last week, I went to my friends house (thanks Lauren for your help) and she showed me how to make a tutu for my 4-year-old niece.  My niece loves to play dress up.  I can’t wait to see my niece in this tutu.  It was so simple to make (just very tedious).

So, there you have it.  My latest creations.  Next on my list (and this won’t happen until mid December), is making a quilt out of the onesies that Brody wore his first year (what memories).  I got them out this past week and some of them are so tiny!  He hasn’t wore a onesie since he was 11-months and now looks like such a big kid with his shirts and pants.  He’s growing up so fast and this quilt will be one way to preserve his first year.  Here is a picture of someone else’s onesie quilt that I’m going to try to copy using these fabrics (see below).

I found several fun things to give out at Brody’s party to all of the kids attending (cheap, fun stuff).  One of the last things I thought about were little pumpkins with the kids names on them.  I thought it would be a cute addition to their “goody bags”.  Something they could display for the month ahead and it still be in season.  And of course, they’re just the right size for the kids.

I found these cute little pumpkins at Trader Joe’s.  So cheap!  I got the names (vinyl decals) on Etsy (again cheap).  I applied the names last night to the pumpkins and thought they turned out great.  It’s so fun to get personalized things and to be able to do something so cheap is even better.  Here’s a pic of the pumpkins:

I’ve always wanted to make a stuffed animal so decided I would try it. I decided on a bunny (I just love those cute floppy ears). I drew out my own pattern on printer paper and traced it on some old shirts of mine that are too big for me to wear, but I love the color and feel of the fabrics.

I drew my pattern, traced them onto the t-shirts, and cut them out a couple of nights ago. Last night I put the whole thing together (and let me tell you, I had no clue what I was doing). Lessons Learned:

• Use a pattern already created (free tutorial online or buy one)
• Use actual fabric as the shirt material is very flimsy will definitely not hold up long
• Find something with directions to follow (less confusing)

So, here you have it.  Here’s the bunny I finished last night.  I put a squeaker inside (taken from another toy that was falling apart already).  Brody doesn’t seem to be interested in it, but has touched it a few times (to throw it to the side so he can reach another toy).  LOL!

So it dawned on me last night that I could do a quick fix on the handles of the bag (it would fix the wrong placing of them and the twisted one as well). The only problem is that there is now a noticeable seam on the strap, but it’s at least usable and no one would look like a complete moron while carrying it. LOL! Here’s my fix:

During Brody’s afternoon nap today, I made a tote bag. It was so easy and fun to make and I would be so satisfied with it if….*sigh* I only would have made it correctly. It was a “duh” moment (after I finished).

First off, I didn’t have enough fabric (only cut two panels for the bag instead of four), so I had to go with the closest fabric that matched (all already on hand). This tote bag is reversible, so one side will be all one fabric and the other side will be two fabrics (both of which I love).

Now for the really disappointing part (and I’m not sure I want to take the time to correct it, but will for obvious reasons not use it in the state that it’s in…would look like a moron out in public)….

I twisted one of the straps, which is the “no big deal” of the whole disappointment. The HUGE disappointment (and um, duh factor) comes into play with the straps in general. Look at the bag and see if you can tell what I did wrong. I completely sewed the straps in the wrong area (look at the photo of the bag hanging for a really good idea of what I’m talking about). *sigh* Such is life (and that’s what I get for trying to get a tote bag completely cut and sewn before my son wakes up).

Go ahead and laugh. I am.