Toddler Bedding - Fitted Sheet

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a tutorial. My sewing skills simply are not to the level where I should be instructing anyone on how to sew something. Instead I would call this a guide - or perhaps an idea, a jumping off point. This is something that I did that maybe you can try out on your own and improve upon (trust me there is tons of room for improvement!)

Little Lucy is quickly growing up and while I would like to keep her in a crib forever - the reality is that Baby Boy is soon to arrive and the crib will need to be needed in the nursery. My friend up the road offered to give us a toddler bed (and a lot more - little man will be mostly outfitted by her son's hand-me-downs) and I set about to find just the right bedding. This proved to be a difficult task. I have come to find that there are not many bedding sets that I like. Most of them are pastel pink or purple, and usually feature Dora the Explorer or Disney Princesses. I also had the option of ordering online from the states - but all the sets that I really liked were going to cost me over hundred dollars plus shipping and duty on top. Don't get me wrong, I love my little girl, but she is only going to be in this bed for a year or two and her bedding should not cost more than my own! So having come to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to find the perfect bedding set, I decided to make it! Yep, 30+ weeks pregnant and caring for a toddler and I was going to make toddler bedding. Isn't it funny what nesting syndrome will do to your brain?!?

So where do you start when you want to make your own bedding? Head to Pinterest of course! On there I found a tutorial for for making a fitted crib sheet, and figured I could make a flat sheet no problem so I was all set. Then it hit me - why start from scratch when I can start with a pre-made sheet set. That way I would know that I was getting quality material for bedding so that it would stand up to washing wear.

This is what I found at Walmart to start with. I love the fushia sheets and they work well with her room as it is already an accent color in the room. I decided to get a double set and that way I will have enough material to make two matching sets. I also got the double sized flowered blanket and will use it to make two thick blankets for the bed instead of a quilt or comforter. As soon as Lucy saw the blanket she wanted to hug and cuddle it so hopefully it will make it easier to lure her into bed at night?!?

The next thing I had to do was set it in my sewing room for about a month. Sitting there tempting me and always at the back of my mind - it kept me motivated on my other tasks that had to be completed, but man what a tease!


Finally the time came when I could get started. Below you will find the steps and pictures to show you how I tackled the fitted sheet. (If you are an avid sewer you may want to stop reading now as my method is far from conventional and/or correct.)

Step 1: I cut the double fitted sheet in two. I was lucky that the elastic parts of the sheet were the whole width of the mattress and coincidentally the length of a crib mattress is almost exactly the same length. 

(This isn't a great picture but hopefully you can see that the bottom elastic is intact.)

Step 2: From there I put the sheet onto the crib mattress inside out and pinned the two corners. This was to make the sheet fit right to the mattress - the same as when you buy them in the store. You have to do it inside out or you will end up with an exposed seam...like I almost did! 

 

(Corners pinned and ready to be sewn.)

Step 3: Sew along the pinned line, trim threads, turn right side out and put back on mattress to examine handiwork - yay it looks professional :)

(Nice seam if I do say so myself!)

Step 4: Take sheet back off mattress and notice that the ends aren't even close to matching up. Take a break to think about how to handle this. (I recommend a short break - I took a few days and it really wasn't necessary!)

(See how they didn't line up...

...my scissors can fix that!)

Step 5: Cut the excess off to make them line up (see picture above). At this point I will remind you that I am NOT a professional, but it worked and in the end you will never actually see this part as it will be tucked under the mattress.

Step 6: Make an elastic casing down the whole length of the sheet. I made my casing go a bit beyond the corner seams to give a nice snug fit. I then sewed the casing, fed the elastic through and sewed the elastic in place.

Step 7: Trim any threads and put your new fitted sheet on the mattress.

(Little wrinkly but it fits!)

Step 8: Repeat steps 2 through 7 with the other half of the sheet. Pat yourself on the back because you are well on the way to saving money and giving your little prince/princess a personalized bedding set :)

Baking Queen

There are two main criteria that I look for when choosing a recipe. When I am looking for a recipe to make a meal the criteria are 1. is it easy and 2. can I name/am I familiar with all of the ingredients (and are all of the ingredients I need in the cupboard because it is 4:30...). When baking my first criteria is the same - what can I say? I don't do complicated - complicated usually makes a huge mess in my kitchen and ends up in the garbage. The second criteria when looking for a baking recipe is chocolate. If the recipe doesn't have chocolate, then really, what is the point? 

So today I am going to share with you two recipes. One is a tried-and-true recipe. The other was a first attempt but from the results I got, it is well on it's way to making it onto the tried-and true list.

First up is the tried-and-true. I have used this recipe for years (which makes me feel old when I actually stop to think about just how long I have been using it...). 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 lg. bananas, mashed
3/4 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (or 3/4 c. white and 3/4 c. whole wheat)
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. (or more) chocolate chips

Add sugar and slightly beaten egg to mashed bananas. Add melted butter. Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. (Either grease muffin pan or use baking cups.) Best served warm!  (Recipe is from Cooks.com.)

See how short and EASY the recipe is? You cannot go wrong with a recipe like this up your sleeve. They make a great snack or a quick breakfast on your way out the door! 

For some reason my muffins always come out looking lumpy - fortunately, they taste delicious!

The second recipe I am going to share used for ingredients - SO SIMPLE! I found it on Pinterest...surprised? Yeah, didn't think so!

Cake Mix Cookies

     1 chocolate cake mix

     2 eggs

     1/2 c. vegetable oil

     1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Mix eggs and vegetable oil until well combined. Stir in cake mix and add ins; drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 350 F. 

For this recipe I used a Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix and added both white and semi-sweet chocolate chips (I take my chocolate very seriously).

 I drool just looking at these cookies :)

And of course Mama's little helper had to get in on the taste-testing action - I would say they were a success!

Hope this encourages you to get into your kitchen! Happy baking!

It's a BOY!!

Back in April I mentioned oh-so-briefly that hubby and I are expecting Baby #2. Now that we know a little bit more about our little bundle of joy, I feel that I should do a post dedicated to him.

This is the announcement that we sent to our close family to share our exciting news! The baby's due date was originally the day before Lucy's birthday (though not planned at all - and probably couldn't have gotten the dates closer if we tried!). We have since had an ultrasound and the due date is now September 28, 2012.

Before we shared this announcement with our families, my step-father was the first person to get our happy news. It had been by his suggestion that we even started thinking about Baby #2. Just after Christmas he informed me that if we wanted to have another baby in time for my mom's 65th birthday in November, we better get busy (pun intended no doubt!). When we found out we were expecting and our expected due date we drafted a letter to him informing him that we had taken his advice but regretting to inform him that his calculations were off and the baby would be arriving in October, not November as he had figured out. I am so happy that I was able to share the special news with my step-father as he was very sick and passed away less than three weeks later. 

Now, on to less heart-wrenching baby details. On June 4 we went to 3D Miracles - 3D Ultrasound in Halifax to find out whether Baby #2 was a boy or a girl. We also went there when we were expecting Lucy and we loved that we could broadcast the ultrasound to our family and all find out together! It was very evident early on during the scan that Baby #2 is a BOY! Lucy came with us to the ultrasound and she was very interested in what the lady was doing to Mommy's belly (for a few minutes at least!). She got up on the stool by the bed and pointed at my belly and said baby. Then she lost interest and wanted to wash her hands in the sink! We are super-excited that we will have one of each - you know - to keep the numbers even!

Here is Baby Boy's first portrait! He even smiled for the camera :)

Once we found out it was a boy the planning began! The first thing my husband did was go buy a coin to start Baby Boy's coin collection. The first thing I did was go to the Carter's store and buy an adorable little boy sleeper (and a Big Sister shirt for Lucy). On the long drive back home Jason and I talked about names, the nursery and how Lucy was going to react to her new baby brother. 

My husband has really taken an interest in planning the nursery and you better believe we both have boards on pinterest dedicated to it! My husband has a love of muscle cars (and would love to own one himself someday...) so we are doing Baby Boy's room in a car theme. Below are a few of the DIY projects we have found for the room on pinterest. Click on the image to go to the site them originated :)

  

         How cute is this lamp. And so simple and inexpensive to make!

These are pictures of matchbox cars that you can purchase on esty. My husband has a collection of cars himself so I am going to take some pictures of them and frame them for the wall. My husband is quite excited for this project - I hope he doesn't think we are going to do some for our room...

We both really liked this initial art. The letter, however, will not be an M. Though I am sure you would like to know what the letter will be now wouldn't you. I will give you a hint - it is in the alphabet ;)

That's all for now - time to go get supper started! Have a great day!

Check out this Giveaway!

I use many sites for inspiration - but this site is so awesome that I could never aspire to make a hat nearly as gorgeous. Click on the image below to visit their store!

                       (this image is not mine - it is property of Love by CC Photo Props)

I am particularly in LOVE with the brim hats with the adorable felt appliques! And as luck would have it they are having a Birthday Bash Giveaway! Head on over to their Facebook page for your chance to enter!

                                    (this image is not mine - it is property of Love by CC Photo Props)

Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is fast approaching so I had to get my act together and get some cards made to send to the grandmothers. Jason's mother had requested some art with Lucy's footprints a while back after seeing a footprint butterfly on pinterest. So I figured now would be a good time to try it out. 

I would have liked to get some pictures of us actually making the prints with Lucy but with paint and feet involved I thought it best to just get it done. I had Jason help me with the project and we made sure it coincided with bath night (it also coincided with pizza night too because it generally requires a scrub down too!) I set out my supplies: washable paint (I use Crayola because I LOVE everything Crayola), white paper, paper towel (have a few already damp for quick clean-up). I had Jason hold Lucy on his lap and we tackled one foot at a time. I applied the paint with my finger, doing part of her foot purple and the other part pink. Then rather than have her step on the paper I set the paper on a book and pressed it against her foot as Jason held it out. I made four prints, so I reapplied paint after the second stamping. I cleaned her foot and did the same for the other foot. To make the feet look more like the wings of a butterfly I reversed them, so right foot on left side of paper and vice versa.  Using a permanent marker I drew in the body and face - I love how they turned out!

I will attach the prints to a coordinating cardstock card, write a cute message and have Lucy sign them (I think she may become a doctor when she grows up - her signature is illegible!)

Are you doing any great crafts for Mother's Day? I would love to hear about them!

A little weekend DIY

Growing up we had a growth chart on the wall in our kitchen. It was always fun to look at the different heights and to get measured. Unfortunately, when we did renovations, the growth chart did not survive my parents' attempts to salvage it. I also had a friend who kept track of her family's heights on the door frame - which was all well and fine, until she moved. 

For a bit now I have been looking for an idea for a growth chart. Thanks to perusing many craft blogs and pinterest, I found it! Here is a link to a similar growth chart I found on pinterest! So this weekend I decided to make my own. Learn how to make your own below :)

Step One: Research craft blogs and pinterest for many hours (and know that it is okay if you get sidetracked and find tons of other great DIY projects to tackle at a later date!)

Step Two: Go to the local hardware store and purchase supplies: a piece of pine 6"x8"x1", wood stain and staining supplies, spray clear coat. You also need a permanent marker and tape measure.

Step Three: In a well ventilated area, 

lightly sand your piece of wood and apply wood stain as per instructions. I used Fruitwood colored stain because I didn't want anything too dark. Also, I had never worked with stain before and didn't know how it would turn out so lighter seemed safer. I only did one coat and wiped it off after about 5 minutes and was happy with how it turned out - just do what works for you!

Step Four: After it dried, I used the tape measure to mark off every inch. I started my 'ruler' from 6 inches so that I could hang it on the wall above the trim. With a permanent marker I marked my lines. You can use black paint and a thin brush if you would like, but the permanent marker was a much easier! I did my foot marks 2 inches long and every quarter foot 2 inches as well. The other marks I did 1 inch long.

Step Five: Mark your numbers at the appropriate places on the ruler. For my numbers I printed them off the computer and then traced them with a pencil where I wanted them. Once I moved the paper I could see the indent of the number and traced and colored it in.

 

Step Six: In a well ventilated area, spray the whole ruler with clear coat.

 

Step Seven: (I have yet to get this far...) Attach hanging hardware on the back. Hang your ruler on the wall six inches above the floor. If you plan to place it in a high traffic area I would recommend maybe screwing it right onto the wall so it is more secure.

Step Eight: Measure your kids and/or yourself and mark them on the ruler. Don't forget to mark the date too!

I was also thinking that this could be easily personalized with family name or kids' names!

Did you do any fun projects this weekend? I would love to hear about them!

Farewell Picnik

For a number of years now I have been using an online picture editor to 'enhance' my pictures. I chuckle as I type the word enhance because for the longest time all I did was crop, add borders and add words to Lucy's weekly pictures. The program is called Picnik. Shortly before Christmas this year I decided that I would upgrade my free subscription to the paid Premium subscription. It was something I had wanted to do for a while and just couldn't justify paying the fee (all $30 a year...lol). Anyway, I upgraded and started playing around with some of my shots and proceeded to kick myself for not doing it sooner. Not long after the upgrade I received an email from Picnik informing me that the website would be shutting down and until it closed, all Premium features would be free! Yay for free upgrade!! (they refunded me my money for my subscription) Booo for closing Picnik!! Well, yesterday was the day for the end of my beloved Picnik - and now it is gone for good :( 

Thankfully the folks at Picnik were kind enough to suggest a few alternate photo editing sites. One site was Aviary.com. I didn't really check this one out much but do intend to try it out soon. I did check out the other alternate site that was suggested - Picmonkey.com. It was nice that there was no sign up to try out the site, though once I got using some of the features it became clear that they intend to run their site similar to how Picnik ran, they are simply offering everything free right now to get you hooked. Works for me! 

So if you are looking for a fun way to 'enhance' and play with your pictures - check out these sites! And let me know which you prefer (or maybe you have another option!).

 The top picture is unedited and the bottom picture was edited using the Premium features on Picnik.

The picture above is unedited and the picture below is edited using the new PicMonkey site.

Quick Update

So as quickly as I came into the blogging world - I was gone! Well not really GONE...more like, preoccupied! I worked full time for the month of February and most of March too which made family time hard to come by and creative time basically non-existent (so what would I even blog about right?) In the midst of working five days a week I got a bad sinus infection and Lucy had a bad cold/flu and croup. As we are finally on the mend and getting our feet back under us, my step-father passed away quite suddenly and we were knocked back down to our knees. Need less to say, the last few months have been busy, long and hard. And on top of everything Jason and I found out we are expecting baby number 2 in the fall so nausea and first trimester exhaustion have been my loyal companions! I am out of the first trimester now however and feeling great - almost like my normal self...only bigger :) So that has been my life the last few months and with spring here, the weather warming up and a little one on the way, I am super-excited to get back at my crafting and creating! Thanks for dropping by!

I.Am.A.Photographer

Aren't you? I love to take pictures, and I love to share them. I remember the first camera - a Christmas gift, I was in junior high, it was a Fuji Panoramic camera. It took special (ie. EXPENSIVE) film, but I loved it anyway. It took really wide angle shots, though in junior high I didn't appreciate this feature. I had this camera for probably close to ten years. I lost it (or rather I blame my then boyfriend/now husband, Jason, for losing it) on a camping trip. It was probably a year or two before I replaced this camera, and by that time digital was all the rage and coming down in price. I remember Jason balking at the price I paid for my Canon Powershot A520. It was over $500 with the memory card and accessories. You can buy it used on Ebay for 20 bucks today. It wasn't until a few years later that Jason finally admitted that it was a good investment. I still have this camera and use it for its video function once in a while. The camera I use most of the time now I received as a Christmas gift in 2009. It is a Canon Rebel XS. It is an entry level DSLR and I love it! Would I like to upgrade? Heck yes! But it's just not practical at the moment - someday though...someday!  For Christmas this year I got 2 new lenses for my camera and I am having so much fun with them. One is a portrait lens (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II) and the other is a zoom lens (EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III).

Sooooo, as I was saying in my title, I am a photographer. Don't get me wrong, I am not a professional photographer, nor a trained photographer. I am instead a creative, fun, play with shots, make you smile kind of photographer. I love to take pictures of all kinds of different things, but mostly these days I can be found shoving my camera lens in my little girl's face. As an infant she likely didn't recognize my face without my extra shiny black flashing 'eye.' I have also started playing around with some photo editing and am having lots of fun learning how I can enhance my shots :) Take a minute to check out some of my 'work' (sounds professional eh?), and let me know what you think! And after you have - pick up your camera (or cellphone) and go be a PHOTOGRAPHER too!

 (Lucy doesn't use a soother, she was always a thumb girl. But she was very interested in the soother she dug out of the bottom of her diaper bag from when she was an infant!)

 

Had to throw in a cat picture so you don't think Lucy is the ONLY thing I take pictures of!

Hats, Hats, Hats!

So last week I told you I had a hat obsession - not an exaggeration by any means! My journey into crochet was so that I could replicate a hat, that I had seen at a craft fair, for my daughter. I came home eager and excited for this new hobby that I will pursue and my husband says to me, "You know, it would probably be cheaper in the long run if you had just paid the $30+ for the hat." Well take note dear hubby cause I don't say this often, but you were right! 3 crochet hooks (all different sizes of course!), 7 balls of yarn, and numerous hours later, I still do not have the hat made that I originally NEEDED so badly, nor do I have the supplies on hand to actually make it.  I do however have a few other adorable hats finished and wanted to share them with you!

I made the little penguin based on a hat a friend of mine had for her little one last year. I plan to add a flower or bow to it to make it more girly.

 

 

 I love the look of the thick, chunky wool. And the red in the hat matches her pea coat perfectly!

I think she likes it too!