quilts for kids

Sometime ago I found out about a wonderful program from Downy called "Touch of Comfort."  They send out quilt kits to willing volunteers in order to distribute quilts to children in hospitals all over the country.  It's a great opportunity to bless a child during a confusing and scary time, especially since they may not have their own blanket or lovey to comfort them.

I felt a stirring in my heart to help out.  Lately I've wanted to sew something for the babies I've lost.  But I was afraid that if I made a quilt in their memory, it would end up in a closet rather than be out on display.  This program seemed to fix that worry.  I could make a quilt and it could bless someone else as well as me.  Even though I wouldn't get to see that deserving child's face when they received the quilt, just knowing that it would help in some way was enough for me.

Another reason why I decided to take the plunge: our son had his own hospital stay when he was just under two weeks old.  Thankfully he got well, and will never have any memory of that time, but I sure do.  One of the memories that sticks with me is seeing older children walk down the halls while dragging their IV carts with them.  The pediatric floor was actually pretty cheerful for a hospital, but I remember thinking that no matter how much they dress it up, someone's kid is in the hospital, and it's just plain scary.

So I signed up online, and the kit came two or three weeks later.  I actually didn't get to really do anything with it for another three weeks; right around the time it came in the mail, I became slammed with Etsy orders.  Fortunately once things slowed down, it was no problem at all to piece together and sew.  The kit comes with pre-cut fabric (which I loved; the most tedious part of any sewing project is cutting the fabric!) and some instructions.  You donate the low-loft batting, coordinating thread, and the postage to send it back.  I found the instructions pretty straightforward, but I also consulted this tutorial at Make It and Love It since I'm more of a visual learner.  Here's the result!

 
How cute is that John Deere fabric???

The kit also contains a tag so you can personalize it a bit.  They let you name the quilt, so I went with "Built Strong!"

Whatever little guy uses this quilt, I'm hoping he'll know he's tougher than he thinks and he can get through anything, even the hospital.  :o)

I will definitely do this again.  Keep in mind that this is technically the first quilt I've sewn completely on my own, and that's saying something for how easy it is.  My only regret is that I waited too long to start it (they request that you send the completed quilt back within four to six weeks of receiving the kit), so I can't include a second quilt, something they also suggest since they're always in short supply.  Next time!

For more information on the Touch Of Comfort program, visit here.

more vinyl bibs!

Remember this teaser from my last post?

Well, I managed to install the snaps and velcro so I could finally list them on Etsy.  :o)

We'll see how they do.  I've noticed that the homemade pattern I've been using for this bib is a little snug around the neck of my own two-and-a-half year old, so I've been recommending these for 9 months to 2 years.  I'll have to make some with longer neck straps to ensure there's some that fit older toddlers (or those with not-so-skinny necks).  :o)

what I've been up to.

Gracious, has it really been over a month since my last post?  I've been doing a lot of sewing in the meantime, but mostly stuff like this:

As in, basically just that pair of shirts.  Over and over.  After I made this cute set for a friend, I listed it in my Etsy shop just to see what would happen.  Over the next month, I sold a dozen sets of them (eleven sales on Etsy, and one for another friend outside of Etsy)!  The last set I did requested a "big brother, little sister" combo so I got to use girly fabric again.  :o)

Plus, a couple weeks ago I made up another "vroom" shirt to try out on Etsy (I made one similar to this for Caleb a year and a half ago):

And finally, I took advantage of some fabric remnants and made a couple more vinyl pocket bibs:

I'm finishing up a few more bibs this weekend to build up my inventory in that section of my shop, so that's exciting.  I could have finished them up this afternoon, but installing snaps is not a good naptime activity.  My son can sleep through my sewing machine, but I doubt he'd be able to stay that way if I busted out the hammer and just went to town.  Here's a sneak preview: 

Thanks for reading!

goodwill finds

Today I went to Goodwill and came across a major score.

How awesome is this vintage globe???  I've seen older globes used as home decor on Pinterest and magazines, and I really like the look.  Now I have one of my own for the low price of five bucks.  I can't find a date on it anywhere, but at least a couple of places on it give me a clue.

Yep, that's the USSR.

And yep, that's Burma.  So of course this globe isn't really educational (other than for history!), but I still think it's a cool find.  Not to mention it's in fantastic shape; no scratches or dents anywhere.  Right now it's sitting on top of my china cabinet in the dining room.

If we ever have a special room just for homeschooling, the globe might be cute to put in there too.  Again, pretty much just for decorative purposes.  :o)

I also finally knocked out a spray paint project I've been meaning to do.  One thing you can almost always find at thrift stores are brass candlesticks.  I found this pair for a few bucks awhile back.

And no, brass is not my thing.  But I liked the shape of these.  So I got a bottle of spray paint in "Ivy Leaf" and gave them a couple of coats.  I wanted a nice distressed look (not a glossy, plastic-y look), so I didn't bother using primer first.  Well, that, and I didn't even have primer at the house!  I gave them awhile to dry and here they are.

I looooooove them.  You can see little imperfections on them, where maybe the paint didn't get in a groove or maybe a slight stain on the brass showed through, but that's the way I like things.  I want to find more of these candlesticks in different heights and do different colors for every season!  For now these lovely green ones will do fine.  :o)

fun with veggies

In an effort to eat more vegetables, I tried a few new recipes over the past week and I loved every one of them.  I even have high hopes that maybe one day my husband will also partake in one or two of these.  :o)

First, baked zucchini sticks with sweet onion dip.  This one is a bit more labor-intensive than what I normally do, but totally worth it.  The dip tastes better after at least an hour in the fridge, too.  The recipe for this can be found here.

Next, roasted green beans with parmesan.  This recipe is SO simple.  Roasting the green beans makes them nice and crispy, and really, not so much like green beans anymore.  And even parmesan cheese from a can is crazy-delicious after it gets all browned in the oven.  I ate these with leftover sweet onion dip and it was almost like eating a snack version of green bean casserole.  YUM.  You can find the green bean recipe here.

Finally, baked squash chips.  No kidding.  A friend at church has a garden, so yesterday a bag of yellow squash was up for grabs.  I got three small ones and decided to try this recipe today.  The trick is to use a cooler oven (200 degrees) and just leave them in there for 2 or 3 hours (mine took around 2 and a half).  So they're super simple to prepare, it's just a waiting game until they're done.  They're worth the wait though because they really do get crispy like normal chips.  They just shrink a lot, so the amount you see in that picture was seriously from three squashes (and of course I ate all of them!).  Next time I'm going to season them better; I was paranoid about putting TOO much salt on them, but I don't think I put enough on there.  I might try some pepper or garlic powder next time too!  You can find the recipe here.

I'm very excited about these new recipes and how well they turned out.  Even if they take a little work beforehand, they're worth it if only to help me eat a little better.  Enjoy!

vintage-inspired tray

So I'm still pretty tired most of the time; it's discouraging, but my husband reminded me last night that my body has been through a lot during the last six months, so maybe it's still just doing its best to recover!  Despite this, I've been able to tackle a few projects as my energy permits.  One of these is a really cute vintage-inspired tray.

I found this "beauty" at Goodwill last fall.  Gorgeous, right???

It's okay, you don't have to say it's gorgeous.  Total sarcasm over here.  But it was only a couple of bucks and I saw some potential, tacky decoupaged flowers and all.

A couple of months ago, I spray-painted it red, and then promptly lost interest.

Probably because I wasn't sure where to go from there.  Then pretty soon after I found some really cute cardstock on clearance at Jo-Ann and got inspired.  Unfortunately I was fresh out of Mod Podge.  So yeah, this thing sat in my hallway closet for awhile, and I came across it yesterday and thought, "Hey, I have Mod Podge now.  Let's finish this thing.  So I did!

I kind of like it.  It was awkward trying to Mod Podge that piece of cardstock down because the sides of the tray/frame/whatever it is are kind of high, so there are a couple of air bubbles.  But I think it just adds to the charm.

Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.  It doesn't fit above my cabinets so I can't display it that way.  For now I might just prop it up on the kitchen counter.  One day I want to get a couple of small shelves for the kitchen wall for stuff like this and that way I can get some counter space back.  :o)

Unrelated note.  I've also been on a cleaning/organization kick.  My house was seriously neglected for over a month.  I did laundry and the dishes, that's about it.  And even then my husband had to help out a lot.  So the past week and a half has involved me undoing the damage, so to speak.  But it led to a pretty decent looking pantry.

As well as a pretty decent looking guest bathroom closet.

And yes, that's the best picture I could get of it.  If you've been in our guest bathroom you know how small it is.  I'm just glad I finally corralled all our first aid/medicine supplies, as well as our bathroom cleaning supplies.  And I used containers I already had.  Score.

And finally, a revamped fireplace mantel.  Since the frames don't match, I'm going to say it's "rustic eclectic" style.

Looks better in person.  This was actually inspired by me having to move a couple of the sharper-edged frames up to the mantel.  Yesterday my son was throwing himself all over our couch and ended up half-falling over the arm of the couch onto the end table.  Doing so caused him to cut his forehead on a picture frame.  Yikes.  I knew it was scary because my husband said "Wow, are you okay??"  Usually he just says "Aww, you're okay."  I was so relieved that it was just a surface cut (didn't even bleed), and that it missed his eye.  Thank You LORD!  This boy makes me so nervous but I know he must have a few angels standing by just for when he horses around and hurts himself!

So my next big project is our guest room.  It's basically where stuff we don't want or don't know what to do with goes to die.  During my last two pregnancies, I was actually excited about cleaning it out since the new baby would need the nursery and my son could move into our guest room.  I planned out his "big boy room" in my head and played around with different furniture layouts.  Of course when our babies didn't make it, I lost all motivation.  But I think I'm going to clean it out anyway.  Even if it remains our guest room/office for the next year even, I think it will do me a world of good to "prepare for rain," so to speak.  If anything it'll make me feel better to get rid of the clutter!

Wow, long post.  Thanks for reading!!  :o)

Linked up to DIY Under $5 at A Little Tipsy!

big brother, little brother

So after a little hiatus from sewing (or really any crafting of any kind!), I'm glad to say I'm back!  I finished up this cute "big brother/little brother" combo for a friend this past weekend.  She's expecting a baby boy in a couple of months, and she wanted matching shirts for him and her older son.  We first set up this order over a month ago, I'm ashamed to admit; it actually happened the same week we found out our babies didn't make it, but I wanted to take on this project anyway, thinking it would be a good distraction.  I was right, except I wasn't counting on all the fatigue I would have to deal with in the coming weeks.  Luckily this friend was very understanding.

The "big brother" shirt was inspired by one I had made for Caleb last fall right before our second miscarriage.  I had kept the homemade stencils, so I just used the same lettering again.

For the "little brother" shirt, I had to basically freehand tinier letters since it was a smaller area to work with.  The nice thing about baby and kid clothing is that your letters and designs don't have to come out perfectly to be cute.  :o)

I was afraid that I would get sad making these shirts, but I honestly enjoyed it.  I think the shirts reminded me of Caleb's big brother shirt and the fact that we got through that miscarriage last fall, so we'll get through this one too.  You never truly "get over" losing babies, no matter how early on it happens, but with God's help you can find ways to cope and to move on as a stronger person.  :o)

Linked up to Creations by Kara!