Birthday Balloon Wreath

This was a fun and easy project.  I wanted to put one together before Alison's birthday party.  I think it is adorable and will just add to the festivity decorations.

First I used this tutorial for the wreath base.  If I were to make this again I would have bought a thicker tubing.  To attach the balloons was extremely easy, I used this tutorial.  It probably would have looked better on the wreath form she used, but I am cheap, so I went the cheaper route.  Anyways, this was a project I could do while holding a baby, cute and fun :)

Carseat Cover Tutorial

This was another item I HAD to make to make life with a baby easier.  I used this tutorial, but modified my design some.  But her tutorial explains everything very well, it all came together very quickly and I am happy with the results.

Carseat Swaddle Blanket

So its been a while since I've updated anything.  Little Alexis came into our family 9 weeks earlier than expected and we spent almost 6 weeks busy with life and vising her in the NICU.  Unfortunately her coming early put me WAY behind on the projects I wanted to get done before she came.  But I am slowly trying to get some things done.  Who needs sleep anyways :)

So a project I finally got a chance to do today was a Carseat Swaddle Blanket. 

I knew I HAD to have one of these when I saw them.  What a great idea.  I used this site for the tutorial.  Simply search "carseat" on her blog and you will see the tutorial.  She has a great pattern that you can use and a video tutorial, please only use for personal use, this is her pattern, so its not fair for you to get rich off of her design :).  Look over her tutorial first, because I am only going to explain some of the changes I made. 

First, her pattern did not go together as precisely as she said it would, or I just didnt do it right, either way if yours isnt perfect, don't worry, it'll work.  I think this size is great for a newborn, but I think it could be a bit larger for an older baby.  I would probably add an inch all around the pattern if I were to make it again.  I also did not add the batting to the inside.  I did not want to make it too thick.

I also did not cut the verticle holes for the carseat straps.  Actually I did cut them, then decided I didnt want them on so stitched them closed again.  I realized there was a better way to put it in the seat.

Cut the hole for the buckle, and just slide the blanket under the shoulder straps.  This works really well, and I think it will be nicer than having long holes in the blanket.

This is what it looks like with baby inserted :)

Now wrap the little one up.  Alexis is only 6.5lbs, so you can see why i think it could be just a tad bigger... there is still room for her to grow, but I cannot imagine this still working when she is closer to a year.  We will see.  Anyways, this was an easy project, and I think it is going to make life much easier!

Applique Patterns.

I wanted to share a link to a lot of patterns for appliques.  These are made by someone else and asks that you do not use them for re-sale purposes, just for personal and gift purposes.  But I wanted to share.  You cilck on the link to the octopus or rocket and it will take you to a bunch of appliques.  I did not create these, just wanted to share for others, please respect the owners wishes to only use them for personal uses.

Car Organizer

One thing that I have learned since being a parent is that it is almost impossible to keep your vehicle clean.  I am always hearing it from Bob that I need to clean mine.  Even though I keep a bag for toys, they still end up everywhere.  Plus the distraction of a little girl asking me to grab things while driving down the road.  I figured it was time to make some sort of organizer.  I got the idea from here, but just sort of made it up as I went.  So you have a few options of patterns. 

You need to find a fabric you want for your backing.  I used a purple linen.  Then the fabric you want for your pockets.  I picked a decorated lycra, so I also used binding so it would not stretch too much.  If you use cotton you shouldnt need the binding.  So here is the list (you can adjust as you need to.  If you like where I made the pockets use these sizes, if you want your to be a different sizes or places just adjust that):

2 - 17"x25" of the fabric you want for the back.  (I measured the back of my seet to get these sizes)

1 - 17"x25" of fusable interfacing.

2 - 2"x6" in the backing fabric (for tabs to hang organizer from)

1 - 17"x10" Lycra piece (bottom pocket)

1 - 17"x5.5" (top pocket)

2 - 6"x7" (center pockets)  I decided to use a contrasting cotton fabric.

22" elastic

Take one of your back pieces and adhere the interfacing to the wrong side of it.  This will be the piece you put all the pockets on.

Take your two 2"x6" pieces.  Iron both in half, then fold each side to the center.  The top one is done, the bottom one is showing the process.  Once they are ironed, top stich over them to hold them closed.

Take both of your lycra pieces (17"x10" and 17"x5.5") and top stich your binding to the top long side of them.  If you decide to use cotton (much easier to work with than lycra) just hem the top side. 

For the top pocket put the right side of the lycra to the right side of the linen and measure down 7".  Pin and stitch the pieces together.

The bottom one will be stitched together later on.  Place the wrong side of the lycra to the right side of the linen.  I knew I wanted a side pocket that was 5" from the right edge.  So I just did a straight stitch there to hold the lycra to the linen. 

Measure in 4" from the edge of the top of the linen.  Pin and sew your hanging tabs on here.  You should measure your vehicle seat to see if you need to adjust how far in the tabs are.

I wanted my top pocket to have 3 different pockets.  I did mine at 4" and 8" in from the edge.  Just pin in those places and do a top stitch going vertically on the pocket to separate them.

Now its time to make the cotton pockets.  I decided to use the cotton becaues I wanted a couple small pockets that were sturdy.  There are a few ways to do them, but this is how I did this time.  Using your iron fold down the top of the cotton 1/4" then another 1/4".  Top stitch over those to hem the top.

Then fold in the two sides of the pockets 1/4" and iron.

Sew those pockets on by putting right sides together of the cotton and linen.  Meausre where you want them to lay.  I went 6" down from the top pocket.  Stitch the botth of both pockets.  Then fold them up and do a top stitch along both sides.  It will look like the picture above. 

Now its time to attach your elastic.  This will keep the bottom of the organizer tight against the back of the seat.  I meausred up about 1.5" from the bottom and then sewed the elastic to the top of the bottom pocket.  Measure your car again to see where you should attach this.  My elastic was also 22", again measure around your seat to see how long you want yours to be.  You will want this to be tight. 

I didnt take pictures of the next step, but put the right side of the other piece of linen towards the right side of the piece with the pockets.  Pin them together, and stitch around the whole piece.  Leave an opening so you can turn it right side out.  I did a straight stitch, then a zig zag stitch.  I left my opening at the top since the bottom had the pocket and all that.  After you stitch it around trim off any excess fabric around the edges.  Turn the piece rightside out, and push out all your corners.  I find that chopsticks work great for this.  You will then have the above picture.  (note the elastic is folded to the back, and make sure your tabs are layed down when you attach them. 

Now go around the entire piece and top stitch around the edge.  This will close your opening at the top and make the organizer more secure.

Pull your elastic over the seat and push it into the opening where the back of the seat meets the seat part.  I used a piece of ribbon to tie the top from tab to tab around the head rest.  Make sure it is tight on there.  You are now ready to fill it up with the necessary toys!

I made the bottom pocket larger so it could hold books.. The top should hold Alison's Ipod and sunglasses, adn then small toys in the middle pockets.  I wanted to use the lycra becuase not only is it pretty but it will stretch with the toys.  It will give Ailson a better chance to fit in those odd shaped toys (like dinosaurs) into the pockets.  I am hoping this will help her keep everything picked up and my floors more organized!

Hanging Mail Organizer

In the past year I have not found a good place in our house to keep mail organized.  I hate putting bills in a drawer afraid I will misplace them.  I was lucky enough to find this tutorial which was the answer to what I needed.  She did such a great job explaining how to make this wall organizer that I did not feel any need to add to it or change anything.  Visit her blog if you would like to make one of these for your house. 

Big Rolls

These are my absolute favorite rolls.  I hate sharing the trick, but since I always get asked I figured I would go ahead and share on my blog.  If you don't follow my blog you lose out because these are the best.  If anyone has ever visited Lambers Cafe, these are about as similar as you can make at home to their Throwd Rolls... Not the same, but similar... So here is what you use.

Rhodes frozen white dinner rolls.  You can get these absolutely anywhere..

They are individually frozen, so just spray a muffin pan with PAM, and drop two frozen rolls in each.  Losely place plastic wrap over these, make sure it is lose so they can rise.

Let the rolls sit for about 6 hours.  To the point where you think that they have risen too much.  These are actually just a little smaller than I like mine, but we ran out of time.  I would not go any smaller than this.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until light golden brown. 

Pair with your favorite meal and enjoy.  We had smoked brisket so this is what inspired some good "home-made" rolls!  Enjoy!