Baprons!

My new favorite baby gift and item to sew..... a bapron! I saw this tutorial a long time ago at craftiness is not optional, one of my favorite crafting/sewing blogs. I hadn't gotten around to making one, but with loads of baby showers and my own baby starting to eat baby food I knew it was time.
The bapron is great! It's a mix of a bib and an apron. From experience it is perfect for Emma when she eats. It covers a great deal of her, but because her arms go through it she can't pull it up and put it in her mouth as easily (which she loves to do with bibs).
I did mine a little different than the tutorial. Instead of backing them with flannel I backed mine with a terry cloth. I found it to be much more absorbent for food and drool. I also made Emma's with oil cloth. Having a slick front really helps at the table. I can just wipe it clean and we're no longer staining every bib she wears with carrots and peas.
Here's a look at how the baprons I made for gifts turned out.

I also made some burp cloths with the remaining fabric to go along with the bapron.

(sorry I haven't taken a picture of Emma's. You'll just have to trust me that it's really cute!)

Baby Showers

Well if I was a little behind on my other blog, I'm really behind on this blog. Our fall has been busy so far, and there are no signs of it slowing down. The Lord is truly blessing other families around us by adding little ones to their clans. I've had the honor of helping with three shows recently. I already posted the pictures of the watermelon shower I helped with in early August.
Most recently I helped throw a double shower for my sister-in-law and a dear friend. They're both expected their little boys at the end of November. I helped throw the shower with two other friends, Lauren and Lori. To be honest I didn't do much with this shower to help but it was so cute. We used teal and orange, served pies (for the little cutie pies to come), and the guests brought books to help start baby's library instead of cards.
The second shower I helped with was for a friend that is expecting twins the first of December. She is having a little girl and boy! The theme of the shower was Noah's Ark (get it, two by two). We had so much fun with this shower. I made a rainbow cake. We served an "ocean" themed punch. We had animal crackers, pigs in a blanket and other cute "animal foods".

Here are some pictures from these showers.

Fall Smell

I, like most, love fall. I love the leaves changing, the cooler weather, the football, the feasts, the clothes and the smells. Unfortunately for most of us in the south east we don't get any of that until nearly Christmas. I still try and enjoy fall by making some small changes around the house. A fall table runner, a new wreath on the door, different music playing (because we all know different music fits different seasons) and usually a fall scented candle. 

Personally I'm a huge fan of Bath and Body Works Slatkin & Co candles. They have a wonderful aroma but it isn't too strong. (I don't like to be knocked over by a scent when I walk into a room) The best part about the candles is that they are seasonal and the smell lasts as long as the candle. I find too many candles stop smelling after a short amount of time. The worst part about these candles, the price. $20 for a large candle. I don't know about you, but I think that's a lot of money for a candle. Luckily Bath and Body Works tends to have sells, buy one get one free. It seems worth it, when an extra candle could be saved for Christmas or a gift or something. Unfortunately this sell hasn't happened for quite a while around here and I've been really wanting a fall smell in our house. What to do?!?

Make my own fall smell! I have heard of many people "stewing" things on the stove for open houses and such. And let's be honest, our houses usually smell the best when we've been cooking something yummy. So, I thought, I'll "cook" something fall smelling.

First I thought about what fall smelled like to me. (I realize that all this fall smell talk is starting to sound ridiculous) Fall smells like pumpkins, cinnamon, pine and a few other wonderful things. So I started to gather. Here's my recipe

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp pumpkin spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 lemon wedges

1 tbs vanilla extract

(Honestly I didn't measure exactly, but this is my best guess)

I put all these ingredients in a pot and added enough water to cover everything. I placed the pot on the stove and am letting it sit on low. After it stews for a while you can turn the stove off and it will still smell nice. I'm sure a crock pot would work just as well. You might need to add water occasionally, but the house smells amazing! Now I realize this won't keep as long as a candle but it is certainly a cheap, quick fix for that fall smell until my next candle sell. I wish I could somehow post smell to the blog, but this picture will have to do. 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Warning: Remember to be cautious when leaving the stove on. Don't go too far and keep it on low.

An apron for a friend...

A sweet friend of mine said she had been looking around for an apron, but hadn't found one she liked (let's hope she likes this one!) and wondered if I could make her one. She said she wasn't picky, didn't want anything to frilly and that she like the things I had done in Emma's room. This was my first apron (I'm guessing when she asked me she didn't know I had never made one before, oops!). I found a few tutorials on line, but I wasn't thrilled with any of them. I did find some dimensions I liked and then kind of made it up from there. I picked the fabric up at our local Hancock Fabrics and got to work. I think it turned out pretty well for my first time!

I put some pleats into the bottom of the skirt, I think it helps with the fit and look.

The top is my favorite. I made it to be a sort of draw string. One size can fit most and it gives it some nice rushing. 

The tie could rap around front too.

Hope you like your apron, Brandy!

A Watermelon Party

This weekend we celebrated a sweet friend and the soon to be arrival of her little one. Nancy Hart and Josh are dear friends that we've made since being in Greenwood. They are expecting their bundle of joy in September and so we wanted to shower them with gifts and well wishes. They are letting the gender of baby be a complete surprise, so blue and pink themed showers were out of the question. After thinking, and of course consulting pinterest, a watermelon themed shower seemed the perfect idea for an August baby shower.
Watermelon is just too easy and delicious! It was great for a baby shower, but it would be great for a child's birthday party or a just because you love summer and watermelon party! Since it was so hot and we were having random rain showers it was better to have it inside, but it could be a lot of fun to have outside too. Plus, with kids it would be good to keep the mess outside and you could incorporate some fun watermelon games (seeding spitting contest, relay type games, etc.)

Here are some of our watermelon decorations and food....

Watermelon cupcakes (Vanilla frosting and white cake with red and green food coloring. I added mini chocolate chips to look like watermelon seeds)

Sorry the pictures are dark....

Green and red gingham fabric on the table with the watermelon cupcakes and red candies. The banner above the doors has "baby wicker" on it. The banner was made up of scrap book paper.

Easiest decoration in the world! Watermelon balloons, just put black "seeds" with a sharpie on the red balloons.

Green and red tissue paper pom poms helped take up space and add color.

It isn't pictured but we also had watermelon! I used a melon baller for the first time and we had lots of little balls of watermelon. The rind of the watermelon was hollowed out from making the watermelon balls so it became a great serving bowl for the fruit. The watermelon had a lot of great juice too, so we had watermelon juice for one of our beverages.

The shower was a lot of fun and Nancy Hart got some wonderful things for little one. The watermelon theme was a hit and I'm sure I'll be having another summer watermelon party again!

Studs

I love wearing earrings, but I mostly wear little studs. They seem to be more convenient and go with my clothing and style a little better. Also with a little one it is nice to know she is less likely to pull on a stud versus hoop earrings or ones that dangle.
I'm a true southern girl and wear my pearls a lot, but outside of that it was hard for me to find studs that weren't just diamonds or pearls. There aren't a lot of options that are cute and different, so I made my own.
Here's how they turned out....

Teal and Bronze Flowers

Greek Blue

I'm sure I'll be making more earrings in the future.

A Few Things I've Made

Here are a few things I've made over the last year. Mostly these things were made for Emma, but that just makes them all that much more special. Gift giving becomes a lot more fun when its homemade too!

Emma's Baby Quilt

First baby quilt I made

Emma's Crib Skirt

Memory Game

Packaged Memory Game

Emma's Mobile

It's a Girl Wreath, used at the hospital and on our front door when we came home.

Emma's nursery. Embroidery hoops were used with extra fabric for wall art.

The Onesie Dress

Floral Onesie Dress

Blue and Gray Onesie Dress

A New Blog

As my other blog, Working Title, has become so much about our growing family (which I love!) I decided to start a new blog that was devoted to things I'm creating/crafting. I do love my family so much and having a blog helps other friends and family keep up with us. I also really enjoy making things. Whether I'm taking something old and making it new, or sewing or gluing (hence the title of this blog) I would love to share those things too!
Mostly I'll be posting finished projects, but sometimes I'll post some step by step projects too. In my next post I'll put a few things that I've already finished, just to catch up. Then I'll begin posting as I create.
I've always loved to make things. When I was little I loved to color and then I realized how much I liked to cook. Just recently I learned how to sew (still learning) and I'm always excited to make more and learn more. I'm constantly inspired by people and places around me. I hope this blog might inspire some of you!