First painting since babies

To keep my creative juices flowing the past… gosh… nearly seventeen months, I have done mostly sewing projects with some preschool crafts thrown in there at times. But, back in February a friend asked me to do a painting for her for a Father’s Day gift. 

detail

This was the perfect project to get back into the swing of painting.  I had plenty of time, which was helpful since I’d only have twenty minutes here or an hour there to work on it.  It ended up taking a couple of months from start to finish. 

detail

I got it done and delivered probably six weeks ago and I had forgotten about blogging about it.  That is, until I pulled out my paints and brushes to start working on a couple of other little projects- another commission and a few personal paintings. 

detail

My kids are finally getting a little more independent, which will hopefully mean that I’ll be able to do some more painting!  Of course, I also have to clean, cook, run errands, do homework, and just remain sane, so I’m not anticipating being able to paint as consistently as I used to.  I sure do love it, though, when I get the chance. 

24X12 oil on canvas

This is more accurate coloring than the above photo, but it’s blurry. #ineedabettercamera

Turquoise baby dress

I have another baby shower coming up- for a baby girl.  I decided to try a technique I saw online that gives some texture to the fabric.  I did it wrong.  But, I liked the way my version looked, so I kept it.  I will try the technique again sometime, correctly.

The fabric is a cute floral that I got from my mom’s stash, so it’s very old.  Funny story.  I actually used this fabric as one of the main fabrics for a little boy’s birthday present last week (I made a superhero cape and mask).  I thought it was stars, not flowers.  Not the most masculine of fabrics to use for a little boy, but… oh way-ell!

I made a series of pleats.  Ironed them all to one side.  Sewed them down.  Brought every other pleat together with a couple of small stitches right in the middle. 

Then, I sewed it up, lining the bodice, adding some trim along the bottom,

and a big button on the back.  Easy peasy.

The button is actually not functional.  I am weird about buttons for baby clothes.  I sewed it on the outside and then used a snap for the closure.  

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a pretty simple, cute little dress.  I plan to make a diaper cover for it as well.  I thought I was making a size 0-3, but I think it’s more like a 3-6 month.  I tried it on my littlest (17 months at the end of the month) and it fit him just fine as a top.  So, I think it will work from about 3 months- 12 months or later, especially if it is used as a top as well as a dress.

Another baby shower gift

It seems like everyone is having babies right now!  It’s great!  My favorite things to sew are kids clothes- especially for other people.  Mid week I found out about a baby shower happening Saturday evening for a mommy friend.  She has a young son and new baby is a girl!    I couldn’t think about the gift too much because I didn’t have much time, so I went with another crocheted sweater and dress. 

The dress: It is the adorable Geranium Dress by Made by Rae.  I didn’t use quite as much fabric for the skirt as the pattern calls for.  I omitted the pockets.  And I added a contrasting band between the bodice and skirt.  Otherwise, I followed the pattern pretty closely.

The plan was to make a matching diaper cover using the lining fabric, but I didn’t get to that.  I got it all cut out, though, so I will probably finish it and give it to her later.

I sewed buttons onto the back for aesthetics, but I used snaps for the closure.

The sweater:

I used the same pattern that I used before, but I made a few little tweaks.  I, again, kept the sleeves short and added a scallop around the edges.  On the front edges, though, I added a row of dc stitches before the scallop, so that I could fold over to button.  I shortened the bodice to just 7 rows of bobble stitches.  I think that looks better with this fuller skirt dress.  And, I used 3 buttons, the same as for the dress.  

I’m sure there will be many more of these sweaters and dressed in the future.  I love the finished product!

Brand new baby girl

I have been sharing the baby girl things I’ve made over the past few months here, here, here, and here.  

The last little thing, before taking everything to the cute, tiny Baby Taytem, was a dress to go with this sweater

I decided to make a very simple, sleeveless A-line number.with keyhole backand contrasting trim and lining.
This is THE ONLY picture that I got with the sweater.  It looks a little funky.As you can see, I took out the bottom two buttons.  I thought the sweater hung better with just the one.  If it were over a onesie, I think it would look okay with the three buttons.  The shape of the dress, though, made it kind of weird looking.

Bonus!  Baby Taytem Oaklee Curzon was born Thursday, April 18- weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs 10 oz (one of my twins was 5 lbs 5 oz).  Here she is sporting the baby swaddler (for now it’s a swimmer, not a swaddler :/).  It will be a while before she can use any of the other things I made for her.

Baby shower 2 gifts

My sister is pregnant. (All three of my sisters were pregnant at the same time until last week, when Whitney had her baby girl) We just found out last week that it’s a boy!  Of course, I couldn’t be more excited.  We had a shower for her while we were in town.  I didn’t have much time to make gifts before going, so I will hopefully add to her gift pile by the time baby Lincoln comes. 

Little man suit:

With this one, I made the vest separate from the onesie.  That way, I think it will last a little longer.  She’ll be able to put a different shirt underneath, if she wants.  The bow tie is also removable and interchangeable.Swaddler:

…of course!  This one might be my favorite.  I love houndstooth, and turquoise, and fluffy fleece. (I have made 4 swaddlers, I think.  2 with flannel lining and 2 with fleece.  The fleece ones seem so warm and cozy.)Easiest baby blankie in the world:It’s quite cute, though.  It is literally two pieces of fabric (one cotton and one flannel) sandwiched between some homemade bias tape.  One quick seam around the entire edge= no turning or clipping corners.

Looks like I didn’t get a picture of the crocheted hat I made for baby. 
More to come.

Baby shower 1 gift

The day we left, a friend had a baby shower.  I made the gifts and got them packaged up before we left also. 

One onesie, three ways.  The bow tie is removable with a piece of velcro.

Little polka dot swaddler.  This has kind of become my go-to baby shower gift.  I hadn’t tried them on an actual baby before, though, so I hope it works.

I am going to try to modify the pattern, I think, for tiny babies.  I tried the floral/pink version on my sister’s brand new baby (5 lbs) and she just swam in it. It will be great in a month or so, though.

A matching hat and booties set.

The baby is due in October (in Rexburg, Idaho), so, even though I’m wishing for sun hats and flip flops, I think these will come in handy.

Next up: more baby stuff.

Bridal shower gift

We just got back from visiting family in Utah and Idaho.  While we were gone, a friend had a bridal shower.  Before we left I made this apron for her gift.  I actually made a his and hers apron set, but only took a picture of hers.

I found this pretty fabric and thought it would make a great, flirty, apron.  The boy version is a simple half apron with big pockets.  It is made from a matching striped fabric with the dark brown trim and ties.

I think it looks better on.  I hope she likes it!

Preschool Crafts: Tornado in a Bottle

I’m usually not sewing or painting or cooking or crafting.  Most of my time during the week is spent hanging out with my kids.  We generally do a craft (or activity) or two a week.  Sometimes we do these in conjunction with school- learning letters and numbers- but sometimes just for fun.  I was thinking I would start a little series to document the things that we’ve done.  It might be useful for someone else as well.

Liam has been obsessed with tornadoes lately.  At the end of his bath he likes to watch the water go down the drain.  He likes to watch the tornado that forms when he flushes the toilet.  He loves to watch the National Geographic show about tornadoes.  I knew this activity would be right up his alley. 

I’ve seen these done using soda bottles, but I thought the smaller water bottles would be better for Liam’s little hands. 

We fused the two lids together, drilled the hole, and filled the bottle with water, which he decided to color red- of course!He has been loving his tornado since we made it.  A friend came over on Thursday and Liam was so excited to show off his new toy.  He has also been telling everyone what a tornado is- “Dad, did you know that a tornado is a spinning column of air?” 

This was a perfect activity for my tornado obsessed boy.

Apron for Liam

Liam wanted an apron, so he could help me with dishes and baking. 

He wanted it to be “red, like Lightning McQueen.” I wanted to just use fabric from my stash.  The only red fabric I had was this striped fabric.  It is a little girly, so I opted not to use it as the main fabric.

It is very simple. 

I made an elastic neck strap.

And velcro on the back strap, so he can get it on and off by himself.

I think he likes it. 

Now I need to make one for Luke and Jude.

Here’s a story about a boy named Liam.

Liam is a sweet, sweet boy.

Let me tell you a story:  The other day Liam went to a friend’s house to play while I took the twins (with a friend) coupon shopping.  I’ll tell you one thing: If you ever get into couponing, and have a million kids, you will need a friend to help… and better yet- try to pawn off the oldest to another friend, because who really wants to meander down the aisles, searching for the best deals, with a whining three-year-old who would rather be doing anything else, even eating vegetables?  So, this day I was able to do just that- let the kid go play with a favorite friend.  We pulled up to said friend’s driveway and were greeted by a cute, happy-faced, friend, sporting fuzzy footie jammies.  She is adorable.  I sent Liam on his way, pockets stuffed with all sorts of hot wheels and McDonald’s- type garbage toys, secretly hoping that he’d accidentally forget some of them.  

My couponing friend and I went about our business and got some good deals at the first store.  We were just finishing up at the second store when Liam’s play date came to an end and he was dropped off to us there.  He came running down the aisle with a big wad of tissue stuck to his face.He got a bit of a cold the other day, stayed home from church on Sunday, and has been a little snotty ever since.  He doesn’t like the feeling of snot in his nose; and, since he can’t blow his nose very well, he holds a tissue on his nose All. Day. Long.  He did so at his friend’s house.  The snot mixed with the soft tissue and formed a sort of cast on his nose, so he was able to let go and it stayed attached.  Weird.  and gross.

That is NOT the sweet part of the story.  We finished our shopping, went home, and carried on with our days.  I got a text a little later from the friend’s mom, telling me of what took place just minutes after Liam got to her house to play. 

Remember, friend was in pjs.  Mom took friend to the bedroom to get dressed for the day.  Liam came in and asked, “what are you doing?” to which the friend replied, “getting dressed.”  Liam responded without missing a beat, “Why are you doing that?  you look great just how you are!” 

He is a sweet boy.

He does things all the time that make my mommy-heart fill with pride.  Some time I’ll tell you some Primary stories.  (We’re only 3 months into Primary and he’s already got some good ones.)

My friend text again and said that Liam is such a gentleman and that Mike must be a great example of that.  It is true.  I have some really great little guys, who are learning so much from their really great daddy.  I am a lucky gal.