Ever thought about turning tights into leggings? I have a bunch of tights that Sophia has grown out of and the weather is warming up. There is no need for tights this time of year but I do like the look of leggings under a dress. This is another super easy project: turn your tights into leggings. First, you will cut off the feet as close as you can to the heel. Next, pin under the cut edge of the tights. You can stretch the tights and use a sewing machine to sew the cut ends under or hand sew. Now you have turned tights into leggings. They look a little more finished when they are hemmed as opposed to just cut off. This is super easy to do. After you sew, the bottom might look a little stretched out. I used my iron to bring it back down. New pair of leggings! I showed you how to make these rose petal flowers last week. Here are a couple more I made. These look so cute on and are great for photographs. They would probably be best for little girls a couple years older that won't pull them off. If you would rather not make these, you can purchase them in the store. I made this flower out of the same material I used for the drop cloth table runner. You can also … [Read more...]
Infant Illness With Rash…What is Roseola?
Have you experienced your infant being ill and having a rash at the same time? Last week Kelly and I took Sophia to the park and after a little while we noticed she just wasn’t her excitable self…you know, the arms flapping, the wiggly legs, the high pitched hoots that all start when she sees the park. Kelly brought it up while we were there. I had to admit that something was amiss. The following day I had Sophia duty. Upon awakening from her noontime nap, she always lets us know she’s awake with a cry that says, “Hey I’m up! I’m down here in my room. Are you coming?” So I looked at the “ole video monitor” and there she was standing up in her crib looking towards her door. As I picked Sophia up, I immediately felt heat radiating off her flushed cheeks! “Hmmm, what has Sohia gotten herself into now?", I silently thought. A 101.8 fever! Tylenol was fast at hand and after a bit her temp mellowed to 99.6 or so. For the next 2 long days…fever, fever, fever and no others symptoms. She didn't have a cough, nor was she tugging at her ear. Her voice was fine, appetite remained good, and activity was as normal as could be…with a fever that is. “Could this be?", yep. … [Read more...]
Rose Petal Flower Headband
Here is another tutorial to show you on how to make a rose petal flower headband. I found this idea on Pinterest. It was on I Heart Nap Time. I have fun making flowers to put in Sophia's hair, even if they only stay in for 10 minutes. If they stay in long enough to get a picture, then I'm happy. I know that sounds a little ridiculous but I have fun dressing Sophia up with flower headbands in her hair! You will need some cotton fabric (enough to cut 10-12 2 inch wide circles), scissors, a pencil, a glue gun, button, elastic or headband. Begin by tracing something you have that's circular shape and about 2 inches in diameter. Trace 10-12 circles onto your fabric then cut them out. Place a small amount of hot glue on the bottom part of the circle (as seen in the picture). Pinch the other side to the glue and repeat with all the circles. Glue the petals together to form a rose. Glue a button in the middle and attach with glue to a headband. It's so hard to get pictures of her these days without her looking away or sticking something in her mouth! Pretty cute, I think. I love the bigness of the flower. I think the bigger the better. If you're not into making one, you can … [Read more...]
Feeling Thankful Today
I'm feeling thankful today. We have had beautiful Spring weather this past week. Sophia and I have taken advantage of some outdoor time at the park. The sun has been warm and the smiles seem to be more abundant than usual. This weather has made me feel especially thankful for so much goodness in my life. I realize how easy it is to get caught up in the monotony of life. The each-of- these- days is just like the other, sort of thinking. It’s easy to become complacent and to lose perspective. So quickly I can lose sight of just how lucky I am to have been born into the privilege of a loving and supportive family. It's easy to lose sight of the privilege I have had of being born in a country where I have had access to good healthcare, great education, and so much opportunity. I could have easily been born somewhere else with less of a chance. It’s easy to be greedy and to forget just how lucky I am to have food in the fridge, clothes to wear, a car to drive, a bed to sleep in, and so much more than the basic necessities. There are people who don't have any of these things that I often take for granted. It's easy to think I want more and to forget how much I really have. It’s easy to … [Read more...]
Decorative Felt Flowers
These felt flowers are fun to make. They are super simple and you can put them on anything. Glue a felt flower to a headband, hair clip, bag, hat, clothing, or top of a package for an added touch. They also make cute gifts after you have attached a felt flower to a headband, clip or bag. They really do look cute. All you need is some felt, beads and a needle and thread. Draw three flower shapes in three different sizes on a piece of felt, cut out your shapes, stack, place a bead on top, and sew together. Draw a leaf shape if you like, cut out, and sew to the bottom of the flower. It's that easy! Glue a flower to a hair clip. Attach a flower to a headband. Stitch a flower to the side of hat. Sew a flower on the front of your little girl's purse. You can sew them on a plain colored sweater, shirt, or dress. Also, don't worry about the flower shapes being perfect, just draw a simple shape and they look great even with imperfections. They don't have to be perfect to look good! … [Read more...]
Lampshade Makeover Idea
Here is a lampshade makeover idea. Here are the two shades and lamps. The before shade is on the right and the (partial) after (covered shade) is on the left. I've had these little Pottery Barn lamp shades and lamps for seriously 10 years. That's a long time for me to hold onto something! I held onto them for so long because at one time, they were really cute. After all these years, they were looking drab and needed a makeover. This is another simple idea for you on how to makeover a lampshade. You don't have to follow it exactly but maybe it will give you a little inspiration to makeover an old lampshade. I traced the shade on a piece of canvas type of white fabric. After I traced the shade onto the fabric, I cut it out and used a glue gun to glue the fabric to the shade. The shade is beaded, so there is no way to make the cover smooth. I think it turned out fine though. I glued the bottom edge in and then cut four slits in the top, put glue on the pieces and glued them down. The first picture in the post shows what the shade looked like after I covered it. I decided to coordinate the shades with the pillows I recently made. I cut four strips of fabric, created pleats using … [Read more...]
28 Favorite Free Fonts
There are so many great free fonts out there. I picked 28 favorite free fonts to share with you. These are the fonts I probably use most often. It is fun to create invitations, cards, or notes when you have a variety of pretty fonts to use. These are all free! Hover over the title of the font and click on it. You will then be taken to the web page where you can download the font. Most of these fonts come from dafont.com. This is a great site. It explains to you how to download the fonts and it has new free fonts all the time. Check it out and you can come up with your own favorite free fonts. … [Read more...]
Embellished Pillows
Pillows are fun and easy to make. In this tutorial I will show you how to embellish your pillows with pleated fabric. You can embellish other things with pleated fabric. You could embellish the front of a sweater or dress, a picture frame, book, or book mark with pleated fabric. You cold embellish a hair clip, headband, or make shoe clips. Okay, you get the idea! I just got a new chest for Sophia's room. I put it below her window and planned to make a cushion and throw pillows for it. I thought I'd make it look like a window seat. I still need to make a seat cushion but I just finished the pillows and I like the way they came out. I was inspired by Emily from Jones Design Company to embellish pillows with pleated fabric. I cut three long strips of fabric. You can use any kind of fabric you want. Or grosgrain ribbon would look really cute too. I don't measure too often. I'm just kind of that way when it comes to crafts. Sometimes it's not a good thing though and I end up having to redo things and it's a major hassle so I'm not recommending this. Anyway, I made sure the strips were all the same length and estimated how long I thought they should be. I spaced each strip out … [Read more...]
What’s New With Sophia?
What is new with my baby? It has been a while since I posted any pictures of Sophia. I have dozens but since she is moving all over the place so very few of them are of her not looking away or covering her face. She's wild, funny, full of energy and teaching us new things everyday. She loves to crawl around, show everyone how big she is, say Dada and Mama. What is new with my baby? Below are a few photos to show you. Recently I tried putting sunglasses on Sophia before we went outside and she didn't like it! I managed to get a couple shots while I held her hands down to prevent her from taking them off! It's not easy getting good pictures of her these days. We went to her Grandpa's Birthday party in Orange County and she loved being in the swimming pool with Dada and her step sister Lauren and step brother Devon. The first time she's been on her new bike she got for her birthday. I think she likes it! She had fun at the park, crawling around with Dada. This is the first time she's crawled on grass. She loved it! … [Read more...]
Make Playdough at Home
Have you ever made your own play-dough? It's easy to make playdough at home. And it's a great activity for kids. It's fun for them to get involved in the process and it is not as messy as you would think. The recipe is quick and easy and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. I found the idea on Pinterest. It is from this website (http://www.childcentralstation.com/2013/03/homemade-play-dough.html). What you will need: 3 cups flour, 1.5 cups salt, 6 tsp. cream of tarter, 3 tbsp. oil, 3 cups water, food coloring Mix all the ingredients in a big pot and stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the dough forms by pulling away from the sides. Knead the dough into balls until it gets the consistency of play-dough. Place the dough in plastic bags and add food coloring. I think this is the most fun part of this activity- squishing the food coloring into the dough. Make playdough at home and have fun! … [Read more...]
