Update

I really have been sewing the past few months, just not posting about it. So here's a look at a few things I made for Christmas. First up, the coat.... I have a love/hate relationship with this coat I made for Lindsay. I'm happy with how it turned out, but it was not at all what I was going for. There are quite a few things I would do differently now that I've seen how it fares with a toddler wearing it. It was definitely fun to sew and I'm excited to try sewing more coats/jackets. 

It's made out of fleece with a cotton lining. I made fabric covered buttons out of the same cotton fabric. My favorite part is the hood, it turned out much better than I expected. And I was so happy that it fit her great! 

Next up are Jack's Christmas gifts.  He requested monkey basketball pajama pants.  I searched high and low for monkey basketball fabric and finally had to settle for fabric with basketballs on it.  I also made him a batman belt (after a few failed attempts) and some Batman wrist cuffs.  I don't know if he even cares or likes the Batman wrist cuffs, but I was so stinking happy with how those turned out, they came together exactly how I envisioned them.  

 

Here's my model showing off the cuffs, they drown him but he thought they were pretty fun to eat!

Super Hero Art

For Jack's birthday a couple months ago, one thing I wanted to surprise him with was an update to the ABC art in his room for something more fitting for a SIX year old!  I got these fun super hero images from my friend Erin and started looking for ideas on how to display them.  I didn't really want to use frames because they would be bound to get bumped and I could envision one falling and shattering.  I'd seen an idea on Pinterest for covering foam with black fabric and attaching your image so it looked like canvas art.  I decided to go this route because the pictures would be lightweight and less formal looking.  After shopping around, I ended up buying actual canvas (11x14) on sale at Micheal's and still wrapped them with black fabric since I had a yard and didn't want to deal with painting the edges of the canvas.  This is where I experienced some trial and error, but after three tries, everything was hung for the final time and it's held up well.  Here's my newspaper template to space them evenly and make sure they would be level...

And finally the finished product...


Excuse my phone pics, but you get the idea.  I learned that spray adhesive wasn't enough to attach the print to the fabric, but a dot of hot glue in each corner has kept the photos in place.  I also learned you have to use a staple gun to keep the fabric super secure to the canvas--duct tape wasn't enough.  I ended up attaching these to the wall with velcro so even if they get bumped, they don't move and so far it's the perfect kid-friendlly art!  More explanation that you wanted to know, but this blog needed an update!  I can share the super hero images if you're interested.

A few baby gifts

Sweet baby Nash is here so a few welcome gifts were in order.  Before Wade was born one of my husbands co-workers gave us a bunch of their old baby stuff.  One of the items I inherited was a bassinet.  I had always thought it would  be fun to have a bassinet because they are so cute, but kind of a waste of money when I already had a pack and play for my baby to sleep in.  So I was so excited to have one just fall into my lap, but there was only one small problem...it was ugly!  So after a lot of trial and error I finally managed a decent looking recovery.

 Doesn't he just look so comfy in there?  I really love how it turned out!  I'm really sorry I don't have any before pictures, but it was pretty bad.  It was pastel green with this lacey ruffle all around it, just gross. 

It's definitely not perfect, but certainly looks a lot better.  Basically I deconstructed it, sewed over the pieces, and tried to put it back together as best I could.  There's a little plasticy(?) foam pad the baby sleeps on and I don't know what used to cover it because when I got it there was nothing.  So I made a comfy minkee matress cover and that's probably my favorite part.  If you want to know, the fabric is Riley Blake.

For another gift I made a plush raccoon.  I used this great tutorial.  It was a very easy project and took no time at all to put together.  I mostly used fleece so he was ultra soft and cuddly and felt for the accent pieces. Mine turned out a little smaller than the tutorial, I don't think I printed the pattern out correctly.  But it turned out to be a perfect size for a newborn!

And the final gift was actually for babys daddys birthday, even though baby will be the one to wear it.  It's a jersey (kind of) with his name on it.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I hope his dad likes it as well. 

This is probably my biggest sewing accomplishment yet.  I have this kind of hatred for gerber onesies, I don't know why, I just don't like them.  So I tried to make my own, and I think it turned out pretty awesome!  I traced a 6 month onesie I had and sewed them together with the help of this tutorial.  I made bais tape out of jersey to give the edges a finished look and that was by far the hardest part.  The name and number are freezer paper stenciled on.  I think I may have to make this a tradition and make him a new jersey ever year so he'll always have one that fits!

Welcome Baby Nash!