Our Tiny House

From throw to curtains....

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:24:30 -0500

I was at Ikea with my kid and after eating our cheap breakfast and playing in all the kid room setups, we headed down to As-Is section. I found a black and white throw for 6 bucks, marked down from 14.99. I bought it and during nap time the throw went from this

to this

They are super basic. I just measured, cut, serged, and sewed. There is enough of the throw left, I might make a hand towel or two.

Agreed.

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:00:35 -0400

Agreed.

Finally got a clothesline, now I get to dry the diapers outside!

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:46:17 -0400

Finally got a clothesline, now I get to dry the diapers outside!

We had a great Father’s Day. Pancakes for Breakfast,...

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:59:00 -0400

We had a great Father’s Day. Pancakes for Breakfast, Church, Bike Ride to the Library, Hibachi Dinner. Elliott is a lucky girl to have such a great Daddy.

We celebrated our 5th Year of Marriage on June 2nd. We spent...

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 21:56:25 -0400

Red Velvet Cake with a handmade card

A backyard concert featuring our friend.

We celebrated our 5th Year of Marriage on June 2nd. We spent time at the library signing up for the summer reading program and eating free ice cream. Then we watch the French Open during Elliott’s nap. We tried to eat Tapas but had to settle for burritos because of time constraints. Then my lovely sister babysat Elliott while she slept so Ethan and I could attend a backyard concert put on by people from our church. It was amazing. Our friend dedicated a beautiful song to us. We finished the night at home with a bottle of wine we purchased in France that we had been saving and a red velvet cake I made. Best Anniversary Ever!

From an oddly shaped $2 thrifted DKNY sweater I made an easy to...

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:58:36 -0400

From an oddly shaped $2 thrifted DKNY sweater I made an easy to wear cardigan! I just cut, fused, and stitched it up.

Happy Mother’s Day….

Sun, 13 May 2012 19:45:04 -0400

Happy Mother’s Day….

Felt Food for a Friend...

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:51:06 -0400

Elliott’s friend turned one back in March. Her mom told me she was getting a play kitchen, so I decided to go felt crazy and make some food. She got some paste, Ravioli and Farfalle (Bowtie) with homemade bags. I used the bags they put wine in at the grocery store. I cut a window and taped in some plastic.

And then I made a banana that actually comes out of the peel. It was the thing to make, but looks the most intricate!

The carrots are just some orange sweatshirt material I had laying around and some green yarn. I just stitched, stuffed, and crocheted.

Then some cute little strawberries with green tops.

And some fried eggs for good measure.

Sadly, we were sick the day of the celebration for Elliott’s friend, so she received them on Elliott’s big day. I hope she likes them and they treat her well in her new play kitchen. I will have to take the time to make Elliott her own set of food, too.

A Yarn Heart I made from scrap yarn I rolled into little yarn...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:55:18 -0400

A Yarn Heart I made from scrap yarn I rolled into little yarn balls and a wire hanger. I found the inspiration on Pinterest.

She climbs into her chair and reads. It makes me laugh to watch...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:20:13 -0400

She climbs into her chair and reads. It makes me laugh to watch the process of her getting in and out of the chair.

Setting World Records....

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:46:18 -0400

We are going to the Great Cloth Diaper Change today! It should be fun!

Rocking Chair Makeover...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:18:57 -0400

My dad fixed up an old rocking chair for Elliott’s nursery before she was born. I have loved having it to nurse her in, to rock her to sleep, but it needed some light padding. I had been sitting on a old folded blanket and it would slide and shift, making the rocking experience less than ideal.

I finally finished these tie on patchwork pads. They work great, are just the right about of padding, and are bright and cheery, like Elliott’s room.

I used mostly fat quarters, 10” fun squares from my local quilting store, and scraps I had laying around from the Christmas ornaments I made.

I covered the back of each pad in a fun blue print, so if I want to change the look, I can just flip them over and tie them back on.

The ties are just bias tapes sewn closed from the same material as the backing fabric.

Now I can sit a bit more comfortably in an already comfy rocker, no more adjusting or sliding around!

Happy 1st Birthday Elliott Louise! Today is her birthday,...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:02:22 -0400

Happy 1st Birthday Elliott Louise!

Today is her birthday, yesterday was her party. She enjoyed every single second of it!

You are invited....

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:35:24 -0400

Elliott will be one year old soon. So I had to start planning her birthday party. I came up with the idea of having a Book Birthday Party. Elliott truly loves looking at books, flipping through them, back and forth, upside down, right side up. She loves them. She has gotten to the point where I am not afraid of her ripping pages in non-board style books. She is happiest with a book in her hands. So…thus the theme.

I made invites!

Starting with my favorite card stock, I decided to put Elliott on the cover with some of the pics I have of her reading her books.

I went to my local grocery store and printed 3 x 3 pics of Elliott at the Kodak Kiosk and then just cut them into strips.

I laid the strip of pics on the card and marked dots where I would be sewing them on. Two in each corner and one above and below where the pictures meet.

Then I threaded a needle with some embroidery floss, poked a hole in each dot and sewed. The right picture is the back of sewing.

And this is the front.

Then I just inserted a strip of pictures!

Now I just hope people show up to the big event!

Gifts for a baby girl....

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:20:29 -0400

My cousin is having a baby girl in May. I decided to make her some handmade gifts for her baby shower.

I made an Elephant. A sock bunny. And cloth teething rings.

The Elephant was my favorite. Elliott loved it too. I might have to make her one!

The bunny is just made from an inside out baby sock, Elliott has several and LOVES them. The teething rings were a bit of a challenge. I had to devise my own method of stuffing them.

I used a funnel, stuck the tube on the end, and used a pencil to shove the stuffing through the funnel into the tube. This was much easier than the suggestion of the tutorial, which was to stuff tiny pieces in one at a time.

In the end, I believe my cousin loved the presents and I enjoyed making them with love.

Terrarium love....

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:28:01 -0500

Per request of my sister Adri, I made her a terrarium to go under this cool glass lid she owned that she didn’t know what to do with.

To add interest, I took a wine cork and made a few slices and laid them in among the plants like a secret path.

Adri seemed to like it, and now her lid has a purpose!

Tea (Towel) Anyone?

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:02:15 -0500

Inspired by Pinterest, my friend Alynn has started to host Pinterest Craft Nights. We have had two so far and I love it. I took the lead on this past Monday night’s craft. We designed and sewed our own tea towels. I bought flour sac cloths from Walmart (I try to avoid Walmart, but they were the only ones selling them) for a buck each and brought my abundance of fabric. We cut, ironed, sewed, fused, and sewed some more. It was fun, everyone made three towels. We for got to take pictures of everyone’s towels before we left, but here are the ones I made.

These are from the craft night.

Someone wanted to sneak in the picture!

And this one is the example I made to show the girls. I made it on a terry cloth towel from the dollar store. (I made it before the dreaded trip to Walmart for the flour sac cloth.)

I want to make more of these, they are quick, fun, and the possibilities for decorating them are limitless!

Here is the original blog I got the idea from, which I promptly pinned!

Saying Congrats with a card....

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:34:29 -0500

I made this card for my sister-in-law. She is graduating from a doctoral program of the medical kind. She is amazingly smart and beautiful! So I made her a card to let her know how proud we are of her.

Where is Oprah when you need her....

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:54:25 -0500

Lately I have read several blog posts like this post and this one, by moms who basically hate on moms who craft/sew/knit/cloth diaper/make baby food or enjoy being at home, mothering, and spending their free time being creative. These women seem to think that just because some moms choose to knit a sweater for their kid and use cloth diapers then we look down on everyone that hasn’t done the same. And the ultimate sin is blogging about your “perfect” life.

I just want to say, I sew/knit/crochet/bake/craft/create/quilt because I LOVE it. I enjoy all of these activities. I wish I had more time in the day to do all of them. I blog about my crafting because I like sharing the things I have made. Just like I enjoy looking at blogs and seeing what other people have created.

I am tired of reading about moms defending their non-craftiness or hating on people who enjoy DIY-ing or be a homemade homemaker kind of mom. Moms like me don’t do the things we do to make other moms look bad or feel jealous, we don’t do it and then look down at your because your baby has on a disposable diaper and a store bought sweater. I do the things I do because this is who I am and who I have always been. I have always loved creating, whether it be with puzzles, K’nex, yarn, fabric, creating elaborate Barbie houses with my sisters, building a log cabin with my dad for school, or building forts with my friends.

What is that cheesy saying Oprah always used to say, “Live your Truth” or “Remember your spirit” or something. Be who you are, do what you can/want/enjoy with your life and your family. Stop judging and stop feeling so judged. We all have our talents, be proud of yours, I am proud of mine.

I made my friend’s baby girl a quilt. It was...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:32:00 -0500

I made my friend’s baby girl a quilt. It was a collaborative effort. She picked the fabrics, I helped her edit them, then I did all the making/quilting/sewing.