T-Shirt Tie: A Five Minute Project

I love the instant gratification of this project, and the results are pretty sweet, too. I have seen these online and at craft shows and had to give them a shot. I made one for our almost-two year old, and a baby onesie to match. If our new little nugget is a girl, then I already have a gift made for a baby boy.

Here's what you need:

-plain shirt or onesie

-onesie tie pattern from Crap I've Made or your own drawing

-small fabric pieces for tie

-Heat n' Bond

Here's what you do:

For awesome, pictoral instructions, I suggest using the link to Crap I've Made. If you're a renegade like me and like to wing it, here are the quick instructions:

1. Cut a tie shape out of fabric and Heat n' Bond. (I cut mine in two pieces, the knot and tie)

2. Following the directions on the Heat n' Bond package, iron it onto the tie material and then iron your tie onto your shirt.

3. Zig-zag stitch around the tie to secure.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by,

Robin

Too much inspiration + a Homemade Book

Though this blog shows no proof, I have been creating a few fun things here and there lately. However, there are not many hours of daylight for me to capture a decent picture of my creations, and I do not possess the skills for great artificial lighting. What's a girl to do? Share my lame sorta-crappy photos so you get the gist of the project? Or possibly tear my eyes away from Pinterest and the insane amount of inspiration there and get to shooting some photos? Probably the second. My list of projects to finish is getting to a ridiculous point as well. I have approximately a dozen to complete for the holidays. Eek.

I am sure there are lots of creative people just like me who struggle with the same issues. I am determined to stop this little cycle and get to creating and shooting. Here I go on my road to being a better blogger: Practice taking more pictures and make the stuff I find online.

Here is one of the projects I have on my to-do list:

It is from Kimberly Petersen's typepad--a homemade boardbook. Cute, huh?

My little guy loves books, especially ones with great pictures. I plan to put together one of these, but using a Shutterfly book. Why? Because Pampers Village (great site to subscribe to--coupons and rewards, etc. without buying anything) sent me a code for a free photo book from Shutterfly. You want the code to make your own? Of course you do! Free photo book code: GT82-859P-GW04-8NKK54

Thanks for stopping by!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I used to love those oven-ready pot pies from freezer section. You know, the ones with a day's worth of sodium and enough calories and fat for a couple meals. This recipe is reminiscent of those, except better, as it's mostly homemade and much better for you. I whipped this up in about fifteen minutes and loved it.
I actually made two--one to eat, and one to freeze. Ingenious, huh? Wasn't my idea, that's the way the recipe from "Simple and Delicious" had it. But smart thinking on someone's part.

Ingredients:

-4 cans cream of potato soup

-4 cups cubed cooked chicken

-4 cups mixed vegetables of your choice

-pie crust

Directions:

Cook or warm chicken in a skillet. In a separate bowl, mix soup and vegetables. Add chicken and stir together. Fill equally into 2 pie pans. Cover with pie crust. Flute the edges and cut slits in the top of the pie. Bake for 25 minutes at 400.

For the frozen one, when you serve, you have to thaw for thirty minutes, then keep the pie edges covered loosely with foil. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then reduce temp to 350 for 60 minutes. Dinner is ready without any prep!

Pink and Yellow Baby Shower

A couple weeks ago we hosted a baby shower for a good friend. My mom and I had a great time planning and decorating for the pink and yellow themed party. Here are the pictures from our little get-together.

Here is the food table--lots of good eats, including the creamy lemon squares I made. Will post the recipe soon!
Barb made this ribbon topiary. We found the inspiration on Pinterest, and it turned out awesome! The new mama took this beauty home to decorate the nursery.
Here's the reason for our celebration. How nice that she dressed in coordinating colors for the party.
Here's the new mom. She is glowing, huh? She's holding a nursery decoration made from a framed scrapbook page by Barb. Inspiration also found on Pinterest. The animals are cut from Cricut's "C is for Critter." She always embellishes her work, which adds the perfect touch. Notice also the rosette pin from baby washcloths. Made that beauty myself. How? Rolled up and loosely sewed a washcloth, sewed a pin back on to it. Way cute for our new mama to sport.

Last, some fabric garland to jazz up the party and to leave with the guest of honor. So easy. Excuse me, My Buddy, you are in the shot.

Homemade Shower Cleaner

My bathtub floor is white again. I have Martha Stewart (via Pinterest, of course) to thank for that. Here's a quick, easy, and cheap way to scrub the tub using stuff you probably already have on hand.

Source

Here's what I used:
-1 teaspoon dish soap
-1 cup baking soda
-water

Just mix the dish soap and baking soda, then add water until it becomes a paste. Using a scrub brush or rag, get busy scrubbing. You will be impressed with your results, plus there is no strong cleaner smell.

Thanks for stopping by,
Robin

Great Gift for the Mama-to-Be

Is this a blog about babies, or about crafting, cooking, and miscellaneous fun? Both, for now. My mom and I have been crafting up lots of good baby goodness so it's only right that I share these. One of Barb's latest creations: a pregnancy calendar for yours truly. She made me one with my first baby, and I missed the daily tidbits and kept losing track of how far along I was (I know, pathetic), so she whipped out a new one.


A pregnancy calendar is a great gift for an expecting girlfriend or relative--think "very long advent calendar that counts up to 40 weeks." Each day has a little piece of information to read. Some are lame, like "Moms may be feeling tired." Really? No way! Others are fun and interesting facts about the baby's development.


To make, Barb downloaded the calendar from Just Mommies, printed it, mounted the paper on to cardstock, added embellishments and a cardstock cover, then bound it all together. If you don't have a binding tool, you could adjust and use metal rings or twine.


Thanks for stopping by!
Robin

Bird Mobile

You were thinking of a avian-inspired vehicle when you read that title? Our nursery is a multi-colored mix of polka dots, stripes, owls, birds, and whatever else our toddler decides to drag in there. This mobile, which I constructed with help from both mother and husband nearly two years ago, has yet to be hung above the crib. It currently hangs from the curtain rod. Cute, but not its intended purpose. I am determined to get it up before baby number two uses the crib.

Here's what we used:
-stuffed bird pattern (PDF) and scrap fabrics, stuffing
-thin rope to hang birds
-thicker rope to suspend mobile
-hot glue
-two wooden hangers
-drill/pliers, screw


Directions:
1. Sew the birds according to the pattern from Lollychops
2. Using a pliers, straighten the hook of the top hanger. Unscrew or use a wire cutter to remove the hook from the bottom hanger.
3. Drill a small hole through the center of both wooden hangers. Secure them together with a screw.
4. Hot glue rope to the top of each bird, hang onto hangers and secure with hot glue.
5. For the top, thicker rope, we knotted it, hot glued it, then wrapped it in a coil. It's sort of a hodge-podge process--whatever is secure and works for you.

Yes, my photography skills are lacking in these photos. There are only so many hours of natural light these days. You get the gist, though.