Infant Car Seat Covers

During the past week, I've been busy sewing custom orders including infant car seat covers. The recipients of both of these covers are expecting girls which sent me in search of pink fabrics.

The first has a beautiful floral print on the outside with a complimentary solid pink on the inside.

The second cover has an elegant brown damask print on light pink background. The inside is solid brown.

Halfway through I discovered a flaw in the fabric print. It affects only a small area just behind the handle. Enough that I didn't want to send it as custom, but also small enough that you almost wouldn't see it. Thus, I finished it and am listing in my Etsy shop at a discounted price.

Thankfully, I had enough of the print fabric remaining (and I've checked it carefully!) to make a second cover and complete the order. Sewing that is next on my "to do" list.

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Little Fairies Stroller Blanket

One of my projects for this week was sewing a stroller blanket to list in my Etsy shop. I've accumulated quite the stash of fabrics in the last year and need to work through some!

This pink flannel called "Little Fairies" was one of those fabrics. Such a cute print. I paired it with a very soft white minky dot fabric.

The overall blanket size is 28" x 30" - thus the "stroller blanket" name as it's just the right size for use in the stroller, car seat, tummy time or even sleeping. It's close in size to Dylan's Cars blanket (also flannel/minky dot) that he's slept with constantly for the last year.

Supplies: flannel; minky dot; thread; ribbon tag.

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Etsy Treasury Feature

I was thrilled yesterday to see the newest addition to my Etsy shop was featured in Baby Boys Baby Blues treasury by leenieb1233.  I just began adding crayon rolls to my shop after getting requests following the one I made recently for Dylan.  My Leaf Print Crayon Roll is the far left in the 3rd row:

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sandy toes

Earlier this week, I bought a digital template from my good friend, Laura.  I finally had a chance to play with it yesterday.  Seems Dylan's sandy toes were still on my mind from Monday's Shoot and Edit post.  I grabbed that shot plus two more, did a few edits and dropped them into the template.

Supplies: First Parade template from Laura Edwards Design; Ellie Lash's Detour kit; Kitty Designs's Cherish kit; Stamp Act and Arial fonts.

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Airplane Party

As I mentioned in a post last week, Dylan had a special party with his playgroup friends.  I had a lot of fun planning and putting together the airplane themed fun.

The invites were a hybrid design.  I put together the text, cloud paper and airplane in Photoshop.  Printed it out on photo paper and adhered it to the red flat card.

Supplies: photo paper; Kitty Designs's Cherish kit; photo of airplane party favor; Arial, Marker SD and Nancy fonts.

I chose simple brown bags to hold the party favors:

I folded the top over and sealed them with a personalized sticker I created in Photoshop:

Inside each bag was a small wooden plane:

Aren't they just adorable?  I found a sweet woman on Etsy (WomanWoodworker) that makes these by hand.  I ordered an extra one for Dylan because, of course, the party boy needed one too. 

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Party Inspiration

Dylan and I celebrated his birthday with our playgroup friends on Tuesday. I knew early on that I wanted to do an airplane themed party for my little guy. While I'm still pulling together photos from his party for a post, I though I would share a bit of fun inspiration I found on Etsy:

What birthday boy (or girl) wouldn't love a crown to wear on their special day?

Airplane Theme Felt Birthday Party Crown by betterthannormal

Super cute party invite:

Custom Printable Birthday Invitation for Boy - Airplanes & Helicopters by scrappyllama

These would make fun party favors:

Airplane Up Up and Away Glycerin Soap Party Favors by brownbagbathbars

And how about this cool favor box idea:

Large Airplane Single Favor Box by favormakers

This looks like a great idea for future parties when Dylan and his friends are older. I love coloring. :)

Printable Coloring Page - Vintage Airplanes by hjrdDesign

And I also love cupcakes which is what attracted me to these fun toppers:

My Little Co-Pilot Airplane Customized Party Cupcake Toppers - TeaPartyDesigns

When the party is over, the cake is eaten and the presents have been opened - there is one important thing left to do. The thank you notes. Love this idea for kids that are learning to write:

Airplane Fill in Thank You Notes by bugabooannouncements

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Sneak Peek

A little sneak peek at something I'm working on for my Etsy shop ...

And, a peek into my new craft space ...

The room is slowly coming together.  I am loving all the natural light from the big window right next to my desk.  This was definitely a great change to make.

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Nursery Progress

The almost completed nursery:


I still have a few small details to add such as photos over the glider area. But for the most part it is ready and waiting for our little boy.

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It's a Jungle in here!

| Credits: vinyl decor by Single Stone Studios.

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Nursery Peek

We're still working on getting the nursery together. Here is a peek of the recent progress:


Credits: Owlet photo by my dear friend, Wanda Hart; Giraffe vinyl decor by Single Stone Studios.

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Busy Evening

Last night we made our second trip to Best Buy this week. Our all-in-one printer recently died (amazing how much you realize you need a printer when you don't have one) and we had finally purchased a new one on Sunday. Once we had it hooked up, it was obvious it was a lemon. It sounded as though every internal piece was scraping. The cats both were bug eyed and looking around trying to figure out what thing was causing such a dreadful noise. Then to top it off, there was a spot under the scanner glass so every scan came out with a dot on it. The employees at customer service were easy about the exchange and the new printer works perfectly. On top of that, we were able to leave our old printer for free recycling. If you have any electronics that need recycling, I definitely recommend checking out their program - for us it is far more convenient than driving to the local county recycling center.

After we returned home, I spent some time making Cat Squares for the 2 orders I had yesterday in my Etsy shop. A little shot of the work in progress (that awful checked fabric in the background is the ironing board cover - I hate it, but that $10 board & cover have lasted me 10 years now so I can't complain too much):

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Thank You Very Much

Fun little card I made earlier this week for my Etsy shop:


Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; miscellaneous cardstock; American Crafts patterned paper, ribbon & rub-on sentiment; staples; Making Memories metal rimmed tag.

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Monday in a Nutshell

* It was back to our normal routine. Hence the photo of my Starbucks bag packed with my lunch & water bottle.

* Shipped out my latest Etsy sale - a cute Dubble Bubble t-shirt bag.

* I broke "the news" at work to my boss. Everyone else will find out tomorrow except for the one coworker who happened to be there after hours.

* Went to the monthly ladies night dinner with the group from church.

* Received another positive update on my mom from my stepfather. Small improvements, but making strides.

* Got home around 9:30pm and my sweet husband surprised me with new windshield wiper blades and put them on the car. This is huge because I've fussed for months that I need some new ones (the old pair were smearing) but kept forgetting to buy any myself! Knowing that rain is in the forecast for the next 2 days, Trent wanted to be sure I could see. :)

* Fed the cats their canned food dinner (spoiled!).

* Posted my Project 365 photo to Flickr.

* Off to bed!

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Weekend In Review

I fought a headache the entire weekend that turned into a full blown migraine early yesterday afternoon. Between the pain and the loopy effects of the medicine, I spent my time napping and relaxing. Finally feeling almost normal this morning.

The previous 2 days were quite busy so maybe I needed that rest. Friday afternoon I took both cats for their yearly vet check-up. That was quite the adventure, but worked out well. Our only change is trying new dry food (suddenly neither are interested in what I've bought the last couple years - even Chester, aka 'piglet' because he almost never turns down food) and increase the amount of wet food they get each day (Cali has lost weight again).

That night we had Trent's sister and fiance over for dinner. They are always fun to see. After dinner we girls chatted about wedding details while the boys watched football. :)

Saturday morning I spent a bit of time sewing. I finished a custom order of t-shirt bags to ship today and made this cute Dubble Bubble Gum bag for my etsy shop:

Saturday evening we attended the NCSU / USF football game. I took this panoramic during the pre-game activities. It was a gorgeous evening and full stadium once again...well, at least until the rain came. It started slowly in the 2nd quarter. Then poured! The rain continued in a cycle of slight rain to downpour through halftime and most of the 3rd. Thank goodness Trent packed ponchos for the two of us. I'd guess 90% of the crowd was gone by the time the rain stopped. We left with about 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. The score was 41-10 and not in our favor. Oh, well, there's always next week. ;)

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T-Shirt Bags

Feeling a bit under the weather today. I've caught whatever is going around and spent yesterday getting some R&R. Couldn't even bring myself to craft which is a sure sign I'm sick.

Thought I would share one of the projects I worked on over the weekend. These shirts were sent to me for a custom t-shirt bag order. Cute designs - perfect for bags. I hope the owner enjoys them. :)

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Crafting Again

I had fun playing in my scrap room last night. Although I didn't scrap, it was wonderful to have an opportunity to relax and create.

I made a new t-shirt bag to add to my Etsy shop:

And packaged my latest order of Cat Squares. I was asked to send the pair as a gift and include a note to the recipient. Here's a photo of the card & ribbon I added to the standard packaging: Supplies: notecard from stash; Studio G stamp; Staz On black stamp pad; Marvy Le Plume marker; American Crafts ribbon.

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Q&A

I've gotten a few of questions recently that I thought I'd address in a post. Afterall, there never really is just one person in a group that is curious about something. :)

How I added text with strike through (ie, this) in my Weekend in Review post:

Use this HTML code: <strike>grocery shopping</strike>
Your text will look like this: grocery shopping

The inside of the Pretty Tote Bag has a pocket made of the striped fabric. Here's a photo I grabbed from JustUsGirlz shop:

Oops. I guess I didn't post the best photo of the California T-Shirt Bag. I took a couple of new photos & added them to the listing on Etsy. Here's one using it as a beach bag:

The Making Memories patterned paper on the Pink & Black card is from the Boho Chic line - Multipack Olivia 6x6 pad. It was part of my Big Lots shopping spree back in May.

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Pretty Tote Bag

Yesterday, Trent picked up a package waiting for me at the Post Office with this fun tote in it:


I bought it from JustUsGirlz shop at Etsy. So perfect for summer. :)

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Organizing the Closet (again)

Trent & I spent last Saturday shopping at the outlets in Myrtle Beach since it was overcast and rainy most of the day. We both needed some new clothes and found many good deals. However, fitting the new stuff into the closet once home was going to be challenging as it was overflowing. I decided to set aside time this weekend to go through my clothes.

Before I started:
The shirts stacked above the drawers and those hanging on the bottom are mine. What a mess! Between those 2 spots and the bottom 2 drawers, I managed to clear out enough to fill one big box to donate.

Here's the same area after:
The space is small so it's awkward trying to get a good shot. I have some other shelves to sort through to the left of the drawers. Hopefully I'll get to them tomorrow. It is nice to have some breathing space in there again.

While sorting through my clothes, I came across a cute striped tank top I bought about 4 years ago and had never worn. Oops. It sat too low on me so I had planned to take up the straps. Instead, it disappeared into the closet until I came across it yesterday.

And, as you can probably guess from the photo, it took on a new life last night as a bag. Totally adorable.

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California T-Shirt Bag

I found this fun, summery t-shirt on sale at Old Navy last weekend and knew it would make a fun bag. Such a great size for shopping or a beach trip. Perfect print for the latter as well. :)

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