Adventures at Naptime: Activity Kits

I made these for the kids when they come visit us and the new bubby at the hospital- they are a gift from the baby, and will hopefully entertain them for a few extra minutes!

Adventures at Naptime- No Sew Heart Applique

Let me preface this by saying that I did in fact sew a few stitches on this heart appliqué.  

If you don't have a sewing machine you can either a) skip that step, or b) sew them by hand.  

I just like to know that it's a little better adapted for wear-and-tear with some mechanical reinforcements. :)

So, here's how to make your girly-girl a Valentine's Day shirt on the cheap!

1. Get yourself some Heat-n-Bond Lite or Ultra.  

Ultra is best if you're skipping the sewing part.  

I live for this stuff when machine monogramming.  Check out products at Sweetish Baby.  :)

2. Cut out a square of the Heat-n-Bond and follow the directions to iron it onto the back of your fabric. The square should be about the size of the appliqué that you want to make.

3. I used Word to make a heart template.  You could get crazy and free-hand it.

4. Use your template to cut out your shape- I like to secure it using a spray adhesive to prevent slippage.

Peel off your backing, and you're ready to go!

My daughter chose this ruffley pink fabric.

5. Iron on your appliqué.  This would be your last step if you're going no-sew!

6. It's going to hold up better if you can stitch a few- I used my machine, but hand stitches are just as nifty!

7. Trim those edges..

Oopsie!

And then ask your cutie for a photo-shoot.  I'm sure she'll indulge you!

Those boots are to die for.

Nailed it.

Bam.

Adventures at Naptime- Nursing Pancho

I saw this on Pinterest last time I was nursing a baby- and wanted to buy it.  But could never find the original source of the photo to purchase it!  

So, I'm pregnant again.  

And I refuse to succumb to terrible nursing covers with terrible backfat/boob coverage any longer. 

 I thought to myself, "I will make that elusive nursing cover myself.  And I shall call it The Nursing Pancho."

Here's how I did it.  Please.  Do not judge my sewing skillz. I work more from an image in my mind than by directions or dimensions.  Plus I'm working on very limited time, as it is naptime here and I have approximately 1.5 hours to get crap done + this.  :)

K, buy 2 yards of a jersey cotton on clearance.  I paid $5/yard for this gray at Joanne's fabric.  

Fold it in half horizontally. 

Or, for you stuck in Kindergarten like me- "Hamburger Style."

Now measure your wingspan.  

OK not really- measure from the middle of your collarbone to where you want it to fall.  

I wanted it a little below my elbows.  No particular reason.

Fold your fabric so you have this length doubled up on itself. 

My "extra" leftover is on the right.

Whack that leftover fabric off.

This folded closed edge will be the top of your pancho- where your neckline will be.

Now pin where you want your seam. Notice my "closed" top edge is at the top- this is where your shoulders and neck will be.

(Note: you could totally skip all sewing steps and make a seamless pancho.  But then you still run into some boob/backfat coverage issues.)

Don't make your pancho too tight- we don't want to smother a perfectly content nursing baby.  

I pinned my seam about 4 inches from the edge- you can ALWAYS sew a new seam further in if yours ends up too baggy.

Notice my little perpendicular pin at the top for a pseudo-sleeve. 

Get to work-

Whack off the excess - but don't cut too close to the seam!

Now repeat for the other seam on the opposite side.

Hint: try to match the arm seam placement from the other side. :)

Now, here's where it gets real scientific.  Chop off a neck-hole. 

You could get all over-achiever and fold your shirt in half to ensure a symmetrical neckline. :)

Be careful not to cut too much- this is the size I made mine, and my neckline turned out really large.  

Which is fine so you can watch that baby nurse. 

Here's an attempt at a final outcome picture- I will have someone snap a shot of me actually nursing a baby under it in about 5-6 weeks!

Engineering Prints Project

I've had a black and white wall since our first Europe trip when I was 22.  

It gradually evolved after we got married, had kids, etc.  And it was starting to look scrappy to me.

A few months ago I came across THIS idea on Pinterest.  

Massive black and white photos for, like, pennies at Staples! 

Mental note: do this ASAP.

I'd intended to do it exactly like the genius from Sugar Bee Crafts did it- by applying it to foam insulation board, etc.  But I chickened out at the last minute and decided to step it up a notch and use canvases.  Guess what?  Hobby Lobby has canvases 30% off this week!  Plus I used that 40% coupon on one of them each trip. :)  

So, it did end up costing a little more- but I still scored big bargains AND I knew the final product would be a higher quality.  Plus, I would screw up cutting up that foam board so many times I'd waste just as much money as I'd spend on canvases.  

So, justified.

So, without further adieu- here's how I did it, and what you can expect yours to look like when you do it,since you won't be able to resist the project either! :)

Paint the edges of the canvases black- it looks classier. 

And I learned after applying one print that you should also paint the inner edges black, too.  Otherwise you'll have white peeking through where it's not adhered perfectly.  

And trust me, it won't adhere perfectly- just brace up for that you psycho perfectionists.  :)

Using some sort of spray adhesive (I had leftover Loc-Tite I bought at Lowe's from my upholstered headboard project, but Elmer's makes one you can grab at Hobby Lobby when you get your canvases). 

Spray the edge of the canvas and corresponding edge of your super huge photo- align as well as you can and plop it down.

Let that dry for a second you so have one secure adhered edge like the picture above.  Then liberally spray the rest of the canvas and back of the print- try to get all the way to the edges.  

Carefully lay your print down and smooth it down with something flat- I used a level-thingy.

Aaaahhhh- Paris.

Careful to work with dry paint, and wash your hands frequently after touching the ink- Dax now has black streaks on his forehead!

This is mid-project chaos.

I'd given Ada the paper scraps from cutting out the pictures, and her work area looked a lot like mine when I came in to check on her!

Now you're ready to hang them!  Some of them I had to go in with Elmer's school glue to get the edges to stick a little better.  Just FYI.

Professional photo by Rob Milton.  Who will probably cringe when he sees his shots blown up on 24x36in computer paper!  But they really don't lose a ton of quality.  I would stick to 18x24 for amateur or even phone pictures (YES!  Phone pictures and Instagram shots worked!)- but if it's a GOOD professional shot, 24x36 will be fine.

Notice some of the bubbling- especially in the one of sweet Ada at 3 weeks old.  Now, some of that is the blanket wrinkled up in the actual picture, but you can definitely tell it's not flat.  It doesn't look THIS terrible in real life- but again, perfectionists beware!

If you're hanging them on the stair wall, get prepared.  

Either be a good, patient girl and wait for your husband to get home.

Or be at least 5'9", and try not to be 8 months pregnant.

I can FEEL my mom cringing at this picture of the stool I stood on while hanging a few.

Here's a big picture shot of the big pictures! :)

Love it. Love it. Love it.

(Stop analyzing my spacing, alignment, angles, etc.  I'm not changing it! Mostly because I refuse to touch up the walls where I scraped black paint or nailed 6 holes.)

The Finished Study

And by "finished" study, I really mean "no-longer-the-armpit-of-the-house" study.

Remember these lovely BEFORE shots from THIS post about our new house, the decor, and the projects?

Embarrassing. This is what you see as soon as you step in the front door!

Gulp.

Well, thanks to my new ultra- 90s armoire I purchased from Craigslist, I can proudly post a picture of the cleaned up war zone!

Much better.

Sighs with relief.

I love it!  Thankfully it was already white, so I didn't have to lift a finger to deal with it.  

Well... Casey, Steve, and Drew had to lift fingers to move it; but I personally lifted no fingers.

The armoire in all its glory!  Although I can totally picture this piece in a room decorated with pastel seashells and pink and green water color paintings in 1992- I still LOVE it!  

It is exactly what I was looking for.  

Casey had to REALLY bite his tongue when he found out how what I'd bought- but he just couldn't visualize it in our house.  But (of course), I was totally right.  It's perfect.

Notice the hidden shelf to the left- perfect place to stash computer paper, cardstock, and laminating sheets.
That's right, laminating sheets.  All I asked for for my birthday was a laminating machine, and CHA-CHING!  My mommy got me one! :)

 I will one day become a Pinterest sensation when I 

formulate the perfect solution to organizing this junk.  

But for now, I am patting myself on the back for being able to shove it all in there without breaking it.

I blogged about our old study organization HERE a few years ago- although I love and miss that peg board, I am going for something a little more grown up now. 

I am 30 after all.  :)

Hey, I know where everything is.  That's all that matters.

Oh yeah, here are those fabric covered canvases I briefly discussed!

Again, get on your phone and pull up the Hobby Lobby 40% coupon.  

Purchase the most massive canvas you can find. 

Return 2 more days and purchase more canvases. (You can only use the coupon once per trip)  

Find some fabric you like (These were all clearance outdoor fabrics at Joanne's, but I also like the "duck" fabric at Hobby Lobby- which is typically pretty inexpensive)- 

and get yourself at least 2 yards of each.

CAREFULLY align and cover- I used a staple gun. 

Perfectionism is not in my nature, so this was difficult for me.

A beautiful view of the Northwest corner of the house :)

And here I sit, blogging about it all!

Oh, and I lied a few posts ago when I said I was done crafting for at least a month.  

We are going to Lowe's after nap time today for foam insulation board 

to paste these Staples engineer prints to- 

and make a massive black and white wall for the staircase.  

I'll post AFTER pictures soon!

UPDATE: it's finished!  See it HERE.