Finally Ready!

It should seem obvious by now that I'm more than ready to have this little girl who's been growing in my belly for almost 39 weeks. Her lovely little room, however, hasn't been ready until this week. It's been a serious work-in-progress. While I took my time with Charlotte's nursery, it was finished a couple weeks before she was born. I've been burning the midnight oil around here lately, trying to get everything done before Millie arrives! I know it could be another week, but I've felt all along that she'll be early. How early isn't exactly up to me, though!

Her room was more work than Charlotte's was mainly because I was already pregnant when we moved into this house. Not only was I pregnant, I was still in the first trimester and feeling sick most of the time. Oh, and I had another baby to take care of! So, pregnant, sicky, and mama to big sister....kind of throws a kink in things! Because we obviously wouldn't need her room to be ready for a while, it became the catch-all room. Which basically means if I didn't want to deal with certain boxes or pieces of furniture, that's where they ended up. So when it came right down to it, we had a lot of boxes to go through and furniture to move or get rid of. 

Just to give you an idea...

There was a lot more in here  (top pic) when we started clearing things out!

Pretty sure it took 2 months for this kind of progress. LOL

And then I had to actually make her bedding. I really procrastinated on this one way too long. I didn't order fabric until November. I had honestly planned on doing it earlier, but money has seriously been tight around here lately. I don't really even know what happened... It was just like all of a sudden - no extra moneys! Anyway, ordering fabric took forever. Then it took me a while to work up the nerve to start. Cutting fabric is seriously nerve-racking because once you cut, you can't take it back!

Bumper fabric

Quilt fabric (this was pre-cut for me! ;))

Also, I've never made crib bedding before. I've done a few quilts and other small projects, but nothing like this. Suffice it to say I was really nervous about it. Thankfully, I have a seamstress for a best friend and she walked me through it. Pretty sure there were a few times she wanted to come through the phone and smack me. ;-) I freaked out a lot and bugged her with a ton of questions. My brain doesn't work the way hers does, first of all. Second, I'm pregnant and my brain just does not work the way it used to! 

Long story, short: I have an awesome best friend who sent me instructions, texted more instructions, and Skyped/FaceTimed for even more instructions. Oh, and she also let me borrow a foot for the sewing machine that ruffles things. If not for her....well, I might have thrown in the towel before I even got started.

And now, after weeks of hard work and late nights, here is the final product! I did the quilt first, because I had fabric for it first. =) Though not perfect, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. 

The bumpers took the most time to cut out, but were probably the easiest part to sew. I wish I'd known that going in, because I probably wouldn't have put it off for so long!

And finally.... The crib skirt!! Putting this thing together was a huge pain. Cutting it, and even hemming it, wasn't so bad. But getting it just the right way onto the fabric that goes under the mattress? Ridiculous. 

I have to say that, even with help, I'm pretty darn proud of myself. ;-) It's definitely not perfect, and there are some things I would love to change, but I did it. It's done. 

                        I'm ready to see her in this bed!

Sew Crazy

Apparently I've gone on a little bit of a sewing craze since finding out I was preggo. I was going through drawers in the dresser I'm going to use for baby girl the other day and decided I'd rearrange things a bit. So naturally I pulled out all the stuff I've made. I really didn't realize I'd done so much already. =P

Here's {almost} all of what I've made:

Since you can't really see all of it {because holy wow at all the pink!}, I'll break it down for you. Here, we have four rectangle burp cloths. All but one are pink on the front...and all of them have pink flannel on the back. =P

4 more burp cloths. 2 rounded and 2 square-ish. The square-ish ones were a preggo brain accident. The rounded ones match a quilt I made.

Rag quilt and super cute and girly blanket:

Apparently I did a better job on the pink blanket than I thought, because it's the perfect size for a crib!

 {Side one}

{Side two}

Here's a little sneak peek of the quilt I'm currently working on. All I have left to do is bind it, but I have no desire to do so at the moment. That's mostly because it'll require me to be in the floor pinning it together. Big preggo on the floor, pinning fabric....not really a good combo.

Last, but not least, I made a diaper clutch!! I mostly followed this tutorial, if you're interested. I goofed a little on the one I made, but it turned out okay I guess.

If nothing else, at least the fabric is really cute!! And, hey, it will get used. So I guess it's not a total loss. ;-) I'm sure I'll think of a few more projects to do before she gets here, but I think I've done all the sewing I'll need to for her for right now. I think. 

That said, I just got told that they increased Joe's WLC by one week...so I get to spend 21 days a month before my due date by myself ,which could mean more projects to keep me busy. Start praying hard that baby girl won't decide to show up too early. He'll be here on the island, but I don't know what will happen if I go into labor while he's in the field... And I really don't even want to think about it. 

Oh and it looks as if he won't be able to go to at least one of the two child birthing classes I have scheduled... :-/ I have to have a partner to go with me too... Anyone want to go?!

Friday Project

Joe had today off, but he chose to spend the day at the range, shooting with his battle buddies. {I won't even mention that he's going to be at the military range on Monday.} That left me plenty of time on my hands today. So after some urging from Melissa, I started on a craft for my kitchen.

You see, I bought some coffee themed fabric almost a year ago and I'm pretty sure I've only used it once. Sad, isn't it? Although what I made with it was pretty darn cute:

Melissa and I got to talking about what I should make and she mentioned a dish drying mat. I don't do the dishes much anymore {thank goodness!}, but my pots and pans aren't dishwasher safe. We have a small drying rack in the opposite side of the sink, but that gets crowded sometimes. Plus, Melissa also mentioned that once Baby gets here I'm likely to have pump parts and bottles that need to be hand washed. Dish drying mat it was!

So I ironed my fabric, cut up and old {and really ugly} towel, and then cut my fabric. I made mine 18x14, but I almost wish I would have made it bigger. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes. It's really simple to make, but if you want a tutorial this is a pretty good one I found via trusty Google. ;-) In the tutorial she uses one piece of fabric and a towel, but I used two pieces of fabric and sandwiched the towel in between the two. This is how mine turned out:

Front (or top...)

Back

{Just pretend you don't see my crooked stitching.}

Oooooh.... Aaaaaah.... ;-)

I think it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! I've thought about going back and tacking it all together (think big X) but I can't decide. Anyway, I like. =)

Then Melissa suggested I make one for my SIL. Anna told me recently that she's decorating the kitchen in her new house around the potholders I made for her for her birthday.

Well, I just happen to have some scraps of that fabric leftover! So I made her a dish drying mat today too. =)

Front

Back

For hers, I did just as the tutorial I posted above did. I thought I'd have enough to do one like mine, but I didn't. Hers is simpler, and a little less bulky than mine but I think it'll do the trick just fine! 

I think it'd also be cute to take a bunch of scraps and do a patchwork one. I'd do that, but none of my scraps go with my kitchen and I'd kind of like things to match. So I guess I'm just going to have to figure something else out for them!

Anyways, these are really easy to make. If you're looking for a good project or just find that you need one, definitely go make one!

Latest Creations

{I know, big shocker that I'm not posting about Osama bin Laden today huh?}

I have been busy working on sewing projects pretty much all weekend! On Friday, I worked on my nephew's quilt for a while before I gave in to my allergies and parked my toosh on the couch. On Saturday, I finished the quilt! I know I said I wouldn't post a picture until it arrived in NC, but... I'm too impatient for that. Plus, I sent my SIL a picture of it this weekend. That counts for something, right?!

Front {frayed side}

Back {non-frayed side...except for the edges...}

I had a few issues with this quilt, but none were too bad and most of them got corrected... ;-) The hardest part about this quilt was sewing around the outside, curvy edges. Fortunately, it's not that big of a quilt since it's for a little one. =)

And, just because...I need to note that those photos were taken with my iPhone. I'm beginning to wonder why I even have a point-and-shoot camera.

After I finished the quilt, I decided I would try making another headband. I was going to attempt to attach a ruffle to a plastic headband, but...I wasn't really up for that challenge so I stuck with the elastic. =) I used a little bit longer piece of fabric this time, and made it about 2 inches wide instead of 3. I think that made it look much better. What do you think?

Both headbands.

I really think I like the gray one better...just because it looks a little nicer. I was going to wear it today, but I {again} felt that it made me look 12, so I went for something simpler instead.

You really can't even see it in this picture. It's just a simple headband...that you can't even see in the picture. But I was so proud of how my hair looked that I had to document it! Haha. =)

This afternoon, I decided I would finally sit down and make a makeup bag. This one is for my mom for her birthday...next week. I actually want to make one for myself, so I decided that if this one was a big fat FAIL, no harm would be done. And if it turned out alright, happy birthday to Mom! Lucky for Mom...this is one of the best looking projects I've done recently.

At first, I wasn't sure about the way it looked but after some reassurance from the bestie I decided it was fine. 

Inside - I had to give Mom some pink. =)

I learned how to hand stitch a couple weeks ago,

so I stitched the opening closed by hand just to prove I could. =)

 The biggest accomplishment:

A perfectly sewn zipper!

Oh yes. =) I am quite proud of myself, if you can't tell. I'm honestly surprised that I had no problems with this zipper at all. This is my 3rd or 4th one so I guess I'm getting the hang of it after all!

This has been a very busy sewing weekend! I didn't really plan it that way, but that's alright. =) I also purchased some Americana decorations from Etsy this weekend. Yay for fun mail and decorations! This is going to be a busy week for mailing packages... I guess I'm making up for not being able to send any to Joe anymore. =P

Hope y'all had a great weekend too!

P.S. It's May!!!!!! Another month down!

WINNER & Manic Monday

Oh my gosh, y'all. I had a fantabulous (but very busy) day! First though, I have to announce the winner of my 400th post giveaway!! =D 


This actually took more effort on my part than I was planning. You see, I just noticed that my blog doesn't have those handy-dandy numbers next to each comment. *sigh* So, I had to copy and paste them into a doc so I could figure out who the winner was. =P After that and hitting up trust random.org, we have a winner!!!!

So who is lucky number 37? Let's see...

JG!!!! Congrats, girlie!!! =D And be sure to email me because I don't think I have your new address. =)

❊❊❊

So, now that we've covered that, I can tell you about my awesome day! =)

I started off the day with a nice little Skype chat with my bestie and her little one. Then, I got ready to go to a little sewing party at Miranda's! She's been wanting to learn to sew and Annie and I were more than happy to help. Miranda offered to make us lunch (for 2 girls with deployed hubbies, this is pretty much amazing) and Annie made some amazing cupcakes. I brought myself and my sewing supplies. =P Go me. Haha!! 

Quite possibly the best cupcake I've ever had.

The best part? I got to take one home with me! Score! ;-)

It was so much fun! We were all wearing our comfy clothes (aka yoga pants) and pretty much lazed around. We had lunch, we chatted, we played with Miranda's little boy...and finally we got to sewing! Well, Miranda got to sewing. We took her machine out of the box, showed her how to thread it (which I think is almost the hardest part of sewing) and helped her get started. She chose to embellish a burp cloth with some yummy Amy Butler fabric for her first project. So stinkin' cute! It took her a while, but it turned out really well. =)

Miranda workin' hard! =)

I worked on a little blankie for my littlest nephew today too, but I didn't get very far. Must. work. harder. Seriously. The kid is going to be here next month! Auntie Sarah needs to get to work! =)

After my fabulous sewing party date, I headed over to California Pizza Kitchen for Chantal's birthday dinner! {Happy birthday, Chantal!} It was so much fun. =) All of our/her friends got together for a very yummy dinner. I was instructed by my hubby to eat pizza for him. Since I had such a, um, carb-heavy lunch I wasn't too hungry but I did manage to eat 2.5 pieces of pizza and almost a whole slice of her Reese's+chocolate ice cream cake from Cold Stone. It was soooo good! 

Needless to say, I'm going to have to seriously work out tomorrow. I was so bad today!! Actually, I think I said earlier that I've been "such a fatty today." =P When I finally got home, I found these on my doorstep when I let Jasper out. (I felt bad for him too. I left at like 1100 and got home around 1930... Sorry, puppy!)

Yup, the hubby sent tough boxes! I was super excited until I remembered that he didn't send me the keys that open the locks. *sighs and shakes head* You just gotta love him though. He did say that he was going to send them to me, but who knows if he really did? =P I should probably send him an email and ask, huh? I even got out the keys we have to other locks that look the same to try to open them... We bought a set of three, so I was really hoping these were the other two. No luck. Here's hoping I get them soon!

Oh, and my mom sent me a picture of her. She just started working at an elementary school as a paraprofessional and got her picture taken. Now, when she asked me if I wanted one I was like, "Really, Mom? A yearbook pic? Great." I was pleasantly surprised by this one though! It's a great picture of her, and she rarely poses/likes to be in pictures.

It's great, right? [Insert "you look just like your mom" comments here.] This might be the best picture of her I've seen in a loooong time. If only because she always protests when anyone tries to take a picture of her. =P

So, that was my day. Now I think I'm going to take my sugar-overloaded self to bed. 

Makin' Progress!

On the sewing front, that is. =)

After I watched my beloved Sooners play [and BEAT] the AF on Saturday (*wink, wink*), I was able to Skype with Melissa and get some much-needed instructions on how to finish that sewing machine cover I was working on. Apparently, I had sewn the ribbon on the wrong side. And not just the wrong side either, the completely wrong side. Like the back. How I managed that I have NO idea. But, we managed to fix it and move on with our lives. =) Here is the end result:

TaDa!

This is where the ribbon was supposed to be the first time. =)

This was the most...interesting part. I had to sew the 2 sides together and pin and sew the top so it wouldn't look funky.

 If Melissa hadn't told me what to do, it probably wouldn't have turned out so well. Now, my sewing was still pretty crooked but I think it looks pretty good. And, if nothing else, it serves the purpose of keeping the machine dust-free. Plus, the fabric is super cute! I'm pretty proud of myself if you can't tell. ;-)

***

I took this photo yesterday and just had to share. It was about 5:00 or so and it was barely sprinkling out. It's really common around here for it to be raining and still be sunny out, which results in some pretty awesome rainbows. Kind of like the one I saw when I let Jasper outside yesterday. =)

Isn't it just gorgeous?! Can you see the double rainbow too? =)

Love. It. 

***

I started reading Nicholas Spark's new book the other day. You remember, the one I got in the mail. =)

I'm only on chapter 6 so far, but I am loving it!! The main character has what I'm sure is a very interesting back story. I've only learned a little bit about her past so far, but it's interesting. It isn't quite like the usual stories he writes. If you've read anything he's written, (or everything, like I have...) it sort of reminds me of The Guardian. Not the story line, but the suspensefulness of it. Like I said, though, I'm only 6 chapters in. It might change. I thought I'd share my thoughts so far since most of you commented about wanting to read it. You're welcome!! =)

***

Here's some just plain 'ole randomness for you. I checked my Donut of Misery the other day and was met with a new quote! Yippee!! I was getting tired of seeing "Still a long, long way to go" (gee thanks for that!) so I quit checking it for a while. When I saw this new one it just made me laugh. =)

I don't really understand why this was on my Donut of Misery, but at least it provided me with a good laugh!

Hope y'all had a good Monday! Anything had to be better than mine...

Adventures in Sewing and a Tour!

Tonight, I finally put my new sewing machine to work!!! The first project I attempted tonight is a cover for my sewing machine. I gotta keep it shiny and dust-free. =) And I have some super cute fabric to use. With some help from Melissa, I got started. She gave me the first step or two via Skype and then she ran off to bed. She's 5 hours ahead of me, so she's allowed. Plus she's pregnant. Hehe. Anyway. She went to bed and I got started...

I had a couple issues when I started. One was just my stupidity and the other, well, I guess the other was operator-related too. =P The material didn't feed through the machine very well and I kinda sorta forced it through. That worked for like 5 seconds. And then the needle broke!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaah!!! Once I realized I'd broken the needle, I got really discouraged. I threw the material aside, grabbed my phone and computer (the things that travel with us when our hubbies are gone...) and decided it was time for dinner. So, I reheated some alfredo and garlic bread and sat down...for 2 hours. Then I got bored. I decided maybe I should give it another go. It's not like the machine didn't come with a manual! 

With the help of the user's guide, I realized that the needle probably broke because 1) the material is kind of thick and 2) forcing it through was NOT a good idea. Who knew? ;-) I got out another needle - a bigger one - and replaced it. I rethreaded the machine and I was off. It worked! The material was feeding just like it was supposed to and the needle didn't break! Woohoo!! This is the result of Step 1 of the sewing machine cover project.

Left side

Right side

Looking good so far, right? Well, with the exception of my incredibly crooked sewing. And cutting. I'm sure these will improve...eventually.

After that, I decided that I needed to make an envelope pillowcase. I've been wanting to make one of these for quite a while. I Googled and came up with this amazing and easy video tutorial. If you want to make one of these (and you own a sewing machine) you seriously need to watch this video. I almost cried it was so easy!! The hardest part for me was measuring and cutting the fabric. The pillow I used wasn't the same as hers so that was part of my problem the other part is that I just really can't cut straight! Other than that (and my also crooked sewing), it was so simple! I don't know how long it took me because I wasn't watching the clock. Plus, I'm a newbie so it probably took me longer anyway. Alright so, here is the before of my pillow sans-pillowcase:

Yeah, it's one of those smooshy pillows with the microbeads. I sleep/cuddle with it, and the beads are coming out of a whole I can't find. Annoying. Which is why it needed a pillowcase!!

Tada!

It's not a perfect fit, but it'll do! 

See? So much better!

I'm also planning on using the tutorial to do one - or possibly both - of the pillows on my couch. They're kind of blah and need some color. Now to find the right fabric!! I really can't wait to do more! =D 

{Aren't you PROUD, Melissa?! =D}

***

Now, for the tour part of this post. I've seen several other bloggers give a tour of their home and I decided to do one for you guys. I mean, I've uploaded pictures of our house since we moved in, but I think you can't really get the full effect unless you take a video tour!! It's really the closest thing to a real-life tour. And since none of you are very likely to visit in the next 2-3 years, you'll have to settle for the video! Enjoy! {Bonus points to whoever can count how many times I say "Okay, so..." =)}

***

Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot about this!!! After taking the video of our house, I took Jasper to check the mail. He loves to go check the mail. =) When I opened our box, there was a locker key in it. Hmmm...wonder what that could be?! I opened the locker and found this in it!

It's something I ordered from Barnes & Noble just a few days ago... What is it you ask? {If you follow me on Twitter, you already know what it is. ;-)} It was this beauty!

Squeeeeeeeee!!! =D

If you haven't noticed, I am a SERIOUS Nicholas Sparks fan. I own every. single. one. of his books. Most are in hardback, but the first ones I bought are in paperback. I need to fix that. My goal is to have all of his books in hardback. Basically because he's one of two authors that I really love. {He was my first author-love. LOL!} Anyway. I love all of his books and as soon as Melissa sent me the link on B&N's website, I ordered it! I ordered it like 6 hrs before it released, so I got the early-order discount. In the end, it only saved me about $5-$6 but hey, I saved something. AND I saved a trip to Honolulu. That's always a plus. I'm just really not a fan of driving downtown. =) I haven't started reading it yet, but I definitely will! I'm sure I'll love it just like all the rest. 

Well, anyway, I hope y'all had a good Friday! Happy Weekend!!