Tag/Lovie Blanket

Again, lots of babies this year. So more tag blankets. So easy to make.

Absolutely love the birds and butterflies.

The backs are always something soft.

Rose minky swirl in aqua and minky dot in white.

Lots of new boys this year.

Super hero tag blankets for them with rugged ric rac and cotton strapping.

Baby Bibs/Apron Take 2

I have a lot of babies to sew for this year. Already three have been born and I think I've got at least 6 more to come this year. And if a certain sister-in-law wants to make any announcements I would be thrilled. Just saying. No pressure. :)

Black Friday 2011 JoAnn fabrics was having an awesome deal on flannel. I didn't know what I was going to do with it but I couldn't pass it up either. So glad I didn't! I've been making tons of bibs from my stash.

I've made these bibs before. Check out my previous bibs. I made some without the pocket front. My husband thought they needed a pocket front. On a few of the last ones I sewed I added a pocket front.

Black Polka with Hot Pink backing

Snap closure at the neck

And they can be reversible.

I fell in love with this fabric and knew just who I wanted to use it for. Kristyn is expecting her first girl and I think she will be adorable in this birdie/houndstooth fabric while she is eating her peas and carrots.

Again, totally reversible. A few with pocket front. To catch peas and carrots.

What got me started sewing these again was finding some already cut out in my stash. They would be below. A few for the boys in my life.

And you don't have to have coordinating fabrics.

Go ahead and line it with the same fabric or a plain white lining.

I have plans to make a ton of these. So far I have made 14 in the last two days. Super easy and fast to make.

Super Hero Baby Shower

My friends and I put together a Super Hero baby shower for our friend Shannon. She has three girls and found out that her fourth is a boy! Very exciting.

Our next plan was to use decor at the shower that could be used in her nursery. We crossed our fingers that she would like this plan because it was all a huge surprise.

I made a quilt and told her that if she would like I would make a bumper to match. Their last name starts with 'Z'.

I used black piping to outline the Super Z.

The back has a vintage Captain America comic book print I found at JoAnn's.

Her sister-in-law created the burp cloths and cutest shirts with super hero graphics. Another friend mod podge the wooden letters. There were enough letters to create two different names depending on what she chooses. During the shower every time some said "name" we would change the letters.

Another friend took the storage cubes and created super hero graphics for the fronts. Perfect for all those action hero toys that will be throughout her house soon.

Then there was the food! Thank you Cricut for helping to create these food tags on the mini pancake stacks.

And again, the Cricut cake was used to make the Captain America cupcake toppers.

Another friend made the mini cinnamon rolls. So yummy. I believe that she used the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls but then put them in a mini muffin tin to cook. Another friend made fresh granola that topped raspberry yogurt and she also created french toast kabobs with fresh fruit and two different syrup choices.

I stood near this quiche stand during the party. So good.

And the panels, painted by Samara, up on my wall.

Do you see that smile below? That is one happy mama! We love you Shannon and are so excited that we get to meet and hold your baby boy soon.

Super Hero Wall Art

Here are the panels that were created for our friend Shannon's baby shower. We decided to use decor for the shower that she could use in her nursery.

To create the panels I picked up 2' x 4' MDF panels that were about a 1/4" thick and 1" x 2" x 8' pieces of wood to nail to the back.

I cut the panel in half so that it was square.

Nailed the 1x2"s to the back. This gave me something to nail the hooks into.

Then they were primed. If I did them again I would not use a spray paint primer. I did not like the coverage. Also, be prepared to sand after priming as it can raise the wood grain.

At this point I passed them off to my super talented friend Samara. She found some inspiration on Pinterest and got to work.

Love these panels!

Little Man Hobo

I found my little man's costume while browsing Pinterest. The original can be found at Coolest Homemade Costumes and was posted by Courtney K.

This costume cost me all of 3 bucks for the face paint. I sewed a few patches on his jeans, the hubby made the sign out of a diaper box, and my mom made the cap.

Nap Mat Tote

I was in Target the other day and saw this nap mat on the end cap.

What really caught my eye was the price tag.

Clearance for $2.24. Regular $8.99

So I bought two. I have two kiddos so it made sense at the time. Now I wish I had bought them all!

I picked up some beach towels at a yard sale for $1 each. I had planned to make Julia a beach robe. Instead I thought I would make a cover for her mat. My mother was recently here for a visit and I told her my plan. She suggested using jeans for one side. She said it would make it easier to dust off after lounging at the beach or park.

I made Julia's rather quickly. It fits pretty snug around her mat. Like I need another person to help me stuff it in.

For Tyler's I decided to square up my jean fabric a little better. By the way, if you don't have old jeans lying around waiting for projects head to your local thrift store. My friend Tiffany recently bought jeans on the cheap. But to get more for her buck she found the largest men's jeans that she could. Very good tip!

I cut three legs off of my pants, squared up the sides and then sewed them all together to form one giant rectangle. I also cut my towel down to the appropriate size. For Ty's I just grabbed a towel from our own beach stash as my yard sale ones were a little too girly.

For fun I embroidered Ty's name onto his mat cover.

I also created a loop/handle so that when the mat is folded up it is easier for these kiddos to carry it around.

His and Hers

"Ready to go mom."

Not shabby for $5.50.

I really wish I would have bought more of the mats. Would make a cute gift if you add a favorite book, coloring book/crayons, or a pair of sunglasses. You could even add a pocket to the mat cover.

Cowgirl Birthday!

My Daughter's 5th Birthday party.

First off, most of the ideas for this party were found on other blogs. I'll do my best to give you some links for some beautiful ideas and pictures.

The Kid's tables

1. S'mores on a stick and Rice Krispies on a stick were placed in $2 Target tins. I wrapped the tins with burlap and a little yarn. I used Styrofoam to hold the sticks and covered it up with roasted peanuts still in their shell.
2. The same burlap used on the tins was also used as place mats.
3. Instead of plates I used pie tins. If you wash the pie tins a few times in the dishwasher they start to get a nice patina.
4. I found some fabric in my stash to tear into napkins. I folded the napkin, stuck a fork in it, and wrapped it with red rafia. This was placed above a blue bandanna along with a Sheriff's badge from Oriental Trading Company.
5. Wrapped in red tissue paper and tied off with a tag that read "Saddle Up Partner" were bubbles for big kids and mini playdoh for the little kids.
6. The tablecloth is a drop cloth from Home Depot.

The red barn siding is from Oriental Trading Company. I wrapped it around my patio which helped to keep the eating area contained.

I did rent a few chairs. They were only $1 each so I couldn't resist. One side of the table sat on chairs and the other side of the table sat on hay.

The Food Table

1. In the center of all the food was the cupcake tower. I made a mini cake for my daughter to top off the tower.
2. I used pictures from her photo shoot on the table.
3. Kids Menu: Lil' Smokies, Mac N Cheese, strawberries, watermelon, and all the sweets they could muster.
4. Adult Menu: Basic Beef Dip and Italian Beef Dip, Potato Salad, watermelon, strawberries, chips, deviled eggs, and a green salad that I forgot to put out on the table. :)
5. Sweets: S'mores on a stick, Rice Krispies on a stick, we attempted Mini Caramel Apples on a stick, chocolate chip cookies, cowboy hats, and the cupcakes.
6. Cowboy hats (edible) are just below the cupcakes. They are Pringles dipped in chocolate with a rolo on top.

I'm not a baker and I saw the cutest fondant covered cake. I was inspired by this cupcake stand and I tried to do a mock version of this cake by covering boxes with fabric and covering it with cupcakes. I used my Cricut to create the toppers. What I love about this tower is that once the cupcakes are gone I still have cute fabric on the table instead of an empty hole. I saved my boxes for future parties. You also don't have to cut cake! I plan to use the fabric to make my daughter an apron.

The guests received cowboy hats on their way into the party. We also had mustaches for the boys or anyone that wished to wear one. Some of the dads had fun. At their seats they had a bandanna and a badge.

And the big surprise of the party....we rented 2 ponies!

Our birthday girl

You might be able to see the hay we set up (behind my daughter) for a photo booth type area as seen here.

While the pony rides were going on I had a few activities planned to keep the kids occupied while waiting in line. We played "Snake in my Boot", decorated cookies, I had coloring pages and crayons ready, and a "Pin the Badge on the Sheriff" game.

My daughter's cake. See, I'm not a baker/cake decorator by any means.

"Pin the Badge on the Sheriff" created with the "Paper Dolls" cartridge for the Cricut.

Apparently you could see through our blind fold! Haha!

I loved the cookie decorating and so did the kids. My friend baked sugar cookies in the shapes of boots and longhorns. The child picked out which shape they wanted, an adult iced it for them, and they got to pick out their decorating toppings. I had small containers to put their toppings in so they could decorate at their seats. This also meant that I didn't have to buy multiple sets of toppings. I would totally do this activity again.

That was a pretty big party for me to pull off. I couldn't have done it without some really great help from 4 wonderful ladies (and their hubbies!). Her next few birthdays will be a little more low key. Today she told me that she would like a Barbie party for her 6th birthday. I think we can do something simple for that.