Let's Play Mail

I can’t take credit for this creative idea at all. I saw the idea both here and here. It’s a “mail center” for Kate to play pretend mail. She won’t get the concept of it for at least another year or two but I saw the idea and found the mailbox and couldn’t wait! I got the little red mailbox at Target in the $1 section in the front of the store. It was around Valentine’s Day… so they may be out by now, but I hear you can get them at Michael’s as well. To make the pieces stiff I used pellon, which is just like a really sturdy felt. It was behind the cutting counter at Joann’s. I used scrap fabric and embroidered the sayings, names and stamps. You could make these really fast if you used a fabric marker instead of embroidering. I enjoy having something to do while I watch TV, so I didn’t mind embroidering. I also was very minimal about how many postcards I made. I plan to make more “pieces of mail” and envelopes too, but I think I’ll wait until she actually wants to play mail. Right now she’s into taking the pieces out of the mailbox and putting them back in. She’s also fascinated by the Velcro. I used sticky Velcro to hold the names and stamps in place. This was very simple, fun and inexpensive. We try not to spend too much money on toys (especially big, tacky, plastic ones) so this provides some new entertainment until winter is over and we can go outside! And then hopefully next year she will have fun “sending mail” to all her favorite people. Because, unfortunately, many of them live too far away!

Sew Organized

So this is nothing creative or crafty, but it is simple and does have to do with sewing! We’ve been busy around here trying to be happy it’s still February. You know, being sick, traveling, studying, being sick, going to the doctor, crying, being sick… you get the idea. I also have been organizing! My sewing/miscellaneous closet has been in desperate need of an organization makeover. I should have taken before pictures! So thanks to an old hanging sweater storage, now I have a place to fold and store all of my extra fabric and scraps instead of throwing them in one big messy pile. I like to look in the closet a few times a day just to marvel at how neat it is. Sometimes I get OCD about these things, sometimes. There are a few projects in the wings though! Hopefully I can get some done before we leave again on Thursday. At least we are going to a warmer climate! Some sunshine would definitely be helpful!

For my lil' Valentine

One of kate’s favorite toys to play with are balls. She is figuring out how to throw them and chases them all over the house. When I saw the homemade balls that Alicia made with this pattern, I thought it would be a quick and easy Valentine gift for Kate. Of course I couldn't wait until Valentine's Day to give it to her {and we will be out of town} so she had fun chasing it around the house today while I cleaned the kitchen.

Challenge Accepted

When Kate was first born my mother in law Leslie came to stay with us. While she was visiting she helped me sew my first dress. Not for me of course, but Kate. That dress we sewed is still too big for Kate, but I’m looking forward to her being able to wear it. After Leslie left she sent me a package with all the materials I needed to sew this pink dress (pattern, fabric, thread, zipper, etc) and included a note that said “Your next sewing challenge; should you choose to accept it.” Well a year later, I finally accepted the challenge! It was a lot of fun and easier than I expected. Patterns have always intimidated me for some reason so I usually just stick to projects I can make up as I go. I have to say though, now I will do a lot more pattern sewing. It was fun! I taught myself how to sew a zipper (which also isn’t that difficult) thanks to youtube.com. Who knew they had sewing tutorials!? {Seeing someone do it made much more sense than reading instructions. }

The best part is—it fits! She’s got a little room to grow but by the time it warms up it should fit her perfectly. I feel like I am learning and improving—so thanks Leslie for the challenge! Who knows, maybe one day I will be able to sew a dress for myself… although that doesn’t seam very simple.

"Bebe" Bed

Kate loves her new “bebe”. She has started giving it nice wet kisses too! For her birthday we gave her a new doll bed for her bebe from ikea. I painted it white and thought it would be fun to make a quilt to go along with it. Although this project may have been more for me than kate—she doesn’t quite get that the “bebe” goes in the bed—hopefully in a few more months she will like playing with the doll bed. For now it looks pretty cute in her room. Paul’s mom, Leslie, helped me pick out the fabric while we were visiting in Denver and I’m happy to have some left over for future projects. {maybe doll clothes?}

The quilt was very simple and came together quickly. For the mattress and pillow I used a piece of fabric and batting. Having kids makes for a lot of fun sewing projects, but having a little girl makes them even more fun!