tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37836580168455496122024-03-13T23:21:15.900-07:00Our Lovely BungalowLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-17730376583566933372013-07-31T17:22:00.000-07:002013-07-31T17:22:58.472-07:00Emma's 1st Birthday PartyMy big girl turned 1! I can't believe how fast this past year went. Emma is growing up :o) We had my family over for her birthday, a small gathering as not to overwhelm her. We had a hot air balloon theme as I mentioned in a previous post, with bright, cheerful colored decorations.<br />
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For the garlands strung from the chandelier and across the wall I sewed paper circles together I cut out with a 2 inch circle punch. I found the striped tablecloth at Ikea, and the striped party hats at Target along with the plates and napkins. I deconstructed one of the party hats and glued pink polka-dot fabric to the hat and added some green fringe for a special hat for Emma.<br />
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I also made a small smash cake for Emma with a tiny banner hung between chopsticks with her name. <br />
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She didn't do so much smashing of the cake, but a rather confused what is this sticky stuff on my hands?!<br />
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We did a little present opening:</div>
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And then some pictures in the backyard with balloons:</div>
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Happy Birthday Emma!!!</div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-91041289015339986232013-05-16T11:53:00.004-07:002013-05-16T11:55:02.380-07:00Hot Air Balloon DecorationsEmma's first birthday is fast approaching, I can't believe it's already been a year. The year has flown by, but at the same time it seems like Emma has been part of our family forever. I decided to get a jump on decorations since free time is hard to come by with a little one beginning to walk around. Since she is too young to tell me what she would like as a theme for her birthday I decided on hot air balloons because I think they are fun and cute........next year Emma I'll let you pick :o)<br />
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I searched the internet and Pinterest for hot air balloon party ideas and came across a lot of fun stuff. I found a site that made hot air balloons out of paper lanterns. Since we used quite a few paper lanterns for our backyard wedding that were sitting in the shed just waiting for another use I already had the basis for our hot air balloons. I found some fabric in the colors I was using for the party and got to work sewing the balloons together.<br />
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I found the idea of using paper lanterns for the balloons on the <a href="http://www.fabricpaperglue.com/2013/04/try-this-hot-air-balloons.html">Fabric Paper Glue</a> blog. I also used this cute hanging hot air balloon cut-out on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/121703432/hanging-hot-air-balloon-customized-for?ref=sr_gallery_31&ga_search_query=hot+air+balloon+party&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto10&ga_search_type=all">Etsy</a> for design inspiration:<br />
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I decided to make three hot air balloons with one larger balloon and two slightly smaller ones. I first measured the circumference and height of the paper lanterns to determine the number and length of fabric strips needed. I then measured and cut strips of fabric including enough extra for seams. For the larger balloon I decided to try to imitate the design above so I cut strips to cover half the height of the balloon in different colors. For the other two balloons I measured the strips to cover the length of the entire lantern.<br />
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I then sewed all the strips together so they formed a tube:</div>
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And sewed a hem along the top and bottom edges. Here you can see the inside and the hem pinned:</div>
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I meant to use the top and bottom hems as channels to pass a string through to be used to gather in the ends, but that proved difficult. The plastic needle I was using to shuttle the string through the channel would get caught at each seam where the fabric folded back on itself and snapped at one point when I was trying to work it through. So I ended up loosely handstitching a string through the hems for gathering.</div>
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Then I slipped the fabric over the paper lantern and pulled the gathering stitches tight at both poles.</div>
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And here Emma is showing off the balloon:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QBf0zPe3pSg/UZUjOqDIUTI/AAAAAAAABaY/YM9eqWeouv4/s1600/Emma+balloon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QBf0zPe3pSg/UZUjOqDIUTI/AAAAAAAABaY/YM9eqWeouv4/s400/Emma+balloon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next I hung a small basket removed of it's handle using twine. It took a little bit of work to get it level. I also added decorative ribbon along the center seam of the large balloon. Brian then helped me hang the finished balloons. Or more like he hung them while I called out directions, "a little to the left, no too far, back a little".</div>
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Here is a view of all of them:</div>
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I figure after Emma's birthday part we can move them in to her room as decoration. Now on to the next project for her birthday party :o)Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-70266136837231677652013-04-26T12:20:00.001-07:002013-04-26T12:20:51.125-07:00Super Hero CapeAs part of my shower gift to the mom-to-be I made a super-hero cape for her older son. He has to this point been the only child so I wanted to do something to include him in the festivities and to help make him excited to be a big brother. He is really into Superman, so I decided to make him a similar style cape with his initial, "P", and "Super Brother" on it.<br />
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I bought some red satin fabric at Joann's for the cape and used felt I already had for the "P" emblem. I also bought iron-on letters for the "Super Brother" part.<br />
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I first got to work on the "P" emblem. I made a shield shape out of blue felt with a slightly smaller shield in yellow. Then I drew a "P" on black felt to fit into the yellow shape and cut it out. To give it a finished look and to hold everything in place I sewed a border close to the edge of the felt layers. <br />
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The red satin fabric I cut in a slightly tapered shape so the neck part wouldn't bulge too much when gathered for wearing. I then sewed the shield on to the red fabric by stitching a border close to the edge of the blue felt.<br />
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Then I ironed on the "Super Brother" letters. The package of letters I bought only had two "Rs" so I modified a "B" and the "Rs" to get 3 of the same "R" shape.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4JBVaA9n9aQ/UXrK91hUNHI/AAAAAAAABWc/qngDeeXQtM4/s1600/Finished+Cape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4JBVaA9n9aQ/UXrK91hUNHI/AAAAAAAABWc/qngDeeXQtM4/s400/Finished+Cape.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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I had two pieces of the satin fabric so I sewed the right sides (shiny sides, the one with the writing) together leaving a large opening at the bottom for flipping everything right side out and two a 1.5" gaps at the top for stringing ribbon through for wearing. I then topstitched around the the sides and bottom of the cape to keep the fabric from shifting and to close up the opening at the bottom. I also stitched 1.5" from the top of the cape to create a channel to keep the ribbon in place. I then strung 1.5" black and white stripe ribbon through the channel at the top of the cape for tying the cape on. </div>
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And here we have the finished cape with "Super Brother P" showing it off :o)</div>
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My friend loved the cape and so did her son. She told me he wore it for the rest of the afternoon :o)</div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-65781374477344025402013-04-22T11:36:00.002-07:002013-04-22T11:36:37.711-07:00A Super-Hero Themed Baby ShowerMy good friend Samantha is expecting a baby boy in about a month so there was a baby shower to plan! I along with my other good friends Vicki, Bonnie, and Monet all played hostess for the special day. Sam and her husband decided to decorate the nursery with a super-hero theme so we stuck with that theme for the baby shower. It was a co-ed party so we also decided the super-hero theme would be guy-friendly too.<br />
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I was mainly on decoration duty as it was something I could work on ahead of time as I'm an out-of-towner. In a previous post I showed how I made<a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2013/02/tissue-paper-pom-poms.html"> tissue paper pom-poms</a> in super-hero/comic book colors (red, blue, yellow, and black). I also made a couple bunting banners out of comic books and poster board. I cut pennants out of poster board in red, yellow, blue, and black. Then I cut slightly smaller triangles from comic book pages that I glued onto the poster board pennants.<br />
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I then used duct tape to string the pennants together. I found some fun red and white chevron duct tape in Target's dollar area, but only one roll, so I had to use red duct tape for the second banner. I placed the pennants comic side down onto the edge of the duct tape to prevent creases (as I figured out after the first banner) and then folded the duct tape in half with the pennant stuck between.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B4uLEUhcMDk/UXV_dIX_4cI/AAAAAAAABWE/npDs_QCLPWM/s1600/Tape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B4uLEUhcMDk/UXV_dIX_4cI/AAAAAAAABWE/npDs_QCLPWM/s400/Tape.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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And here are the two finished banners:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xKAq7f5DQVc/UXV-PPteLLI/AAAAAAAABWA/GUV324TYjms/s1600/Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xKAq7f5DQVc/UXV-PPteLLI/AAAAAAAABWA/GUV324TYjms/s400/Banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also made a "Baby Shower" banner, similar to how I made this <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2011/10/boo-tastic-banner.html">Halloween banner</a>, using comic book pages.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wj3bk8ln9Co/UXV4R9pPIbI/AAAAAAAABVA/MsXg2UQnVCM/s1600/Baby+Shower+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wj3bk8ln9Co/UXV4R9pPIbI/AAAAAAAABVA/MsXg2UQnVCM/s400/Baby+Shower+Banner.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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I found plates and cupcake wrappers at Michael's that I thought fit the theme. Vicki baked and decorated some yummy lemon, strawberry, and chocolate cupcakes. I also bought a cookie cutter from <a href="http://ns2.knextion.com/">The Cookie Cutter Company</a> that Bonnie and Monet used to cut-out sugar cookies and label with words like "Pow!", "Wiz!", "Bam!". The cookie cutter is actually a spider web but I thought it would work for the action bubbles in comics.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8dKLDyuKb8Y/UXV4VQOtfxI/AAAAAAAABVQ/dLzfD6lTfdo/s1600/Dessert+Table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8dKLDyuKb8Y/UXV4VQOtfxI/AAAAAAAABVQ/dLzfD6lTfdo/s400/Dessert+Table.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Bonnie, Monet, and Vicki set-up a candy station for party favors:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4eqomT_IdGg/UXV4WzuLoUI/AAAAAAAABVY/d7Ng8_778kg/s1600/Candy+Table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4eqomT_IdGg/UXV4WzuLoUI/AAAAAAAABVY/d7Ng8_778kg/s400/Candy+Table.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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............they also made a city backdrop for the food table..................<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vWBk59qE9iE/UXV4UsYfszI/AAAAAAAABVI/a1IbSK-gNVY/s1600/Cityscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vWBk59qE9iE/UXV4UsYfszI/AAAAAAAABVI/a1IbSK-gNVY/s400/Cityscape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And Vicki made a super-hero diaper cake!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hj0vDfka7io/UXWAQ1ZQUmI/AAAAAAAABWM/tkrm4Ec_lpU/s1600/Diaper+Cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hj0vDfka7io/UXWAQ1ZQUmI/AAAAAAAABWM/tkrm4Ec_lpU/s400/Diaper+Cake.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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All-in-all, everyone had a good time and our friend Sam appreciated the love shown to her and her soon to arrive baby boy. And us girls had a fun time party planning! :o)Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-7214927194097552492013-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:002013-02-21T09:59:28.578-08:00Tissue Paper Pom-PomsA few of my friends and I are throwing a baby shower for another friend of ours with a super hero theme. I was excited to have a decorating project to work at so I got going on some decorations right away. I headed over to Pinterest to browse for ideas and came across tissue paper pom-poms. I figured they were cute and I could make them in primary colors to go with our super hero/comic book theme.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UHIoC09Oxgo/USUmEFEb6jI/AAAAAAAABTs/S3kPpxduECY/s1600/Poufs+finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UHIoC09Oxgo/USUmEFEb6jI/AAAAAAAABTs/S3kPpxduECY/s400/Poufs+finished.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I followed a pin to a<a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/265163/pom-poms-and-luminarias-how-to"> tutorial by Martha Stewart</a> (wouldn't you know). I couldn't find tissue paper in the size she recommended, everything I found was either square 20"x20" or 20"x16". What I did learn from this is it is best to start with rectangular sheets of tissue paper as square sheets resulted in pom-poms that were not as full looking.<br />
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So following the instructions I stacked 8 pieces of tissue paper together (either the 20"x16" or the 20"x20" cut into a more rectangular shape). My first attempt, I didn't quite read the directions correctly and folded each individual sheet before stacking them together..............yeah, that didn't quite work out so well, my pom-pom wasn't very round or full.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YMr97u-mJ3w/USUmBbi160I/AAAAAAAABTg/Vf3DTD-sbiQ/s1600/Paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YMr97u-mJ3w/USUmBbi160I/AAAAAAAABTg/Vf3DTD-sbiQ/s400/Paper.jpg" width="318" /> </a> </div>
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I also found out it's important to fold the tissue paper across the longer length (i.e. so there will be more folds, not long folds). Once again when I did it the wrong way my pom-pom failed to be the nice round and full shape I was hoping for.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhiHMjqSEIY/USUmApsE4RI/AAAAAAAABTU/fuT-VKsjE-Y/s1600/Fold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhiHMjqSEIY/USUmApsE4RI/AAAAAAAABTU/fuT-VKsjE-Y/s400/Fold.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After the sheets were folded (the correct way), I used floral wire to wrap around the center of the tissue paper, with enough excess wire for hanging.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy5AnuUc7LY/USUmI7n8t6I/AAAAAAAABUM/36_GQM92LD4/s1600/Tie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy5AnuUc7LY/USUmI7n8t6I/AAAAAAAABUM/36_GQM92LD4/s400/Tie.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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I then trimmed the ends of the tissue paper to points. You can also make the ends rounded for a softer flower like pom-pom, but per the super hero theme I wanted the pom-poms to look sharper, like "kapow!" poufs if that's a thing :o)</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NuSeLVvpxr0/USUmJD-C0aI/AAAAAAAABUU/ptuHhYnftEA/s1600/Trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NuSeLVvpxr0/USUmJD-C0aI/AAAAAAAABUU/ptuHhYnftEA/s400/Trim.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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And here you can see how it looks when the folds are stretched out:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uOi6zp616OY/USUmBGLyibI/AAAAAAAABTc/h_bSjlHm9N8/s1600/Fan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uOi6zp616OY/USUmBGLyibI/AAAAAAAABTc/h_bSjlHm9N8/s400/Fan.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Lastly, I separated each of the eight layers of tissue paper to form the pom-pom.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dj-NVCaPPDU/USUmIcugVRI/AAAAAAAABUE/vEyhGpaTOqk/s1600/Separate+sheets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dj-NVCaPPDU/USUmIcugVRI/AAAAAAAABUE/vEyhGpaTOqk/s400/Separate+sheets.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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And then I had a pom-pom:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cCc3cpiqD1c/USUmFJ91TSI/AAAAAAAABT0/OxaxWsB6rtQ/s1600/Poufs+finished3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cCc3cpiqD1c/USUmFJ91TSI/AAAAAAAABT0/OxaxWsB6rtQ/s400/Poufs+finished3.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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...........or "kapow!" poufs. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uWC4IrOBnR4/USUmFoVi0qI/AAAAAAAABT8/sau4f7wkqjU/s1600/Poufs+finished2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uWC4IrOBnR4/USUmFoVi0qI/AAAAAAAABT8/sau4f7wkqjU/s400/Poufs+finished2.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-91615455202686348242013-02-13T18:00:00.000-08:002013-02-13T18:02:21.889-08:00A "LOVE" BannerFor Valentine's Day I made a couple small banners to hang in the living room side windows. I wanted something simple that I could do in between time spent entertaining Emma :o) So I thought bunting with a few pennants would fit the bill.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4CKhwezKnxg/URxAHPhdvwI/AAAAAAAABRU/1ej7XBbkE7w/s1600/Done+1st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4CKhwezKnxg/URxAHPhdvwI/AAAAAAAABRU/1ej7XBbkE7w/s400/Done+1st.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I first decided how large I wanted to make the pennants and made a template:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goYS5Ewn2fw/URxAM6OdG3I/AAAAAAAABR8/tsctis4NJZE/s1600/Pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goYS5Ewn2fw/URxAM6OdG3I/AAAAAAAABR8/tsctis4NJZE/s400/Pattern.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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I then used the template to trace four pennants on white fabric folded over at the top of each pennant:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fq9tTeiw4Ug/URxARrUNSLI/AAAAAAAABSk/kK86tW0lMOk/s1600/Trace+Pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fq9tTeiw4Ug/URxARrUNSLI/AAAAAAAABSk/kK86tW0lMOk/s400/Trace+Pattern.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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I cut out each pennant through the two layers of fabric, keeping the fold intact (uncut). I printed out the outline of letters for the word "LOVE" (minus the "O") in a font I liked and traced them onto the pennants, then I filled them in with silver paint:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7IDvmp-dJuE/URxAR2B0N5I/AAAAAAAABSo/nSR6llOZfuQ/s1600/Trace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7IDvmp-dJuE/URxAR2B0N5I/AAAAAAAABSo/nSR6llOZfuQ/s400/Trace.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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And for the "O" I cut out a heart from pink felt:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--C6JTFlYPJY/URxAHBuEcsI/AAAAAAAABRQ/-wHFwQv2mrs/s1600/Felt+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--C6JTFlYPJY/URxAHBuEcsI/AAAAAAAABRQ/-wHFwQv2mrs/s400/Felt+Heart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then glued it to the fabric:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NtldVvuKfLw/URxAG2VMO3I/AAAAAAAABRM/tdjEvn0N4tY/s1600/Glue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NtldVvuKfLw/URxAG2VMO3I/AAAAAAAABRM/tdjEvn0N4tY/s400/Glue.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Adding an embroidery back stitch to give it a quilted look:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YvLa2SywXK8/URxAQ9ElDjI/AAAAAAAABSc/J424kCeSzK8/s1600/Stitched+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YvLa2SywXK8/URxAQ9ElDjI/AAAAAAAABSc/J424kCeSzK8/s400/Stitched+heart.jpg" width="400" /> </a> </div>
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I then pinned the folded over fabric together, lining up the edges:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a3NvHHGotNI/URxANWKJ0pI/AAAAAAAABSE/aA58lKEwBTg/s1600/Pinned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a3NvHHGotNI/URxANWKJ0pI/AAAAAAAABSE/aA58lKEwBTg/s400/Pinned.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And sewed the two sides together, the width of my sewing machine foot, thick enough to fit twin through for stringing the pennants:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIqUxnaYQMg/URxAOc7iVXI/AAAAAAAABSM/2c9DD2SSOcE/s1600/Sewing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIqUxnaYQMg/URxAOc7iVXI/AAAAAAAABSM/2c9DD2SSOcE/s400/Sewing.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Here are the finished pennants:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNGdBfFnVGI/URxAKbUFvRI/AAAAAAAABRs/dOtiA9t8KzQ/s1600/Painted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNGdBfFnVGI/URxAKbUFvRI/AAAAAAAABRs/dOtiA9t8KzQ/s400/Painted.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Then it was just a matter of stringing the pennants on twine and hanging the banner in the window:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eBkl83NBiAE/URxAK3bpvlI/AAAAAAAABR0/kXqMqO0fTqE/s1600/LVE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eBkl83NBiAE/URxAK3bpvlI/AAAAAAAABR0/kXqMqO0fTqE/s400/LVE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also made a banner for the other window:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UB2NqzeW_0o/URxAJdb1HkI/AAAAAAAABRk/ts3T6mJgrIs/s1600/IU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UB2NqzeW_0o/URxAJdb1HkI/AAAAAAAABRk/ts3T6mJgrIs/s400/IU.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A fun, simple project for the holiday :o)Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-15901046437386056342013-02-07T10:55:00.000-08:002013-02-07T10:55:35.780-08:00YHL Thrift Shop ChallengeLast week one of my favorite blogs, <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/">Young House Love</a>, issued "<a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2013/02/the-macklemore-thrift-shop-challenge/">The Macklemore Thrift Shop Challenge</a>". Basically the challenge was to go to a thrift store "with $20 dollars in my pocket" as the Thrift Shop song by Macklemore states and:<br />
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1) Take a picture at the thrift store with $20 in my pocket<br />
2) Spend the $20 however I want and take a picture of what I buy (the whole $20 does not need to be spent).<br />
3) Find an item referenced in the lyrics and take a picture.<br />
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I was a little weary of flashing a twenty outside the thrift shop, more because I just thought it would look strange to any passers-by than any fear for my safety. So I took a picture of $20 in my pocket as I was heading out to the thrift store :o)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VzQ2egyapc4/URPXsSqJ_wI/AAAAAAAABQY/VLMje9MoUGI/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VzQ2egyapc4/URPXsSqJ_wI/AAAAAAAABQY/VLMje9MoUGI/s320/20.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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.......... and when I got there I put the $20 in my wallet :o) I went to the Thrift Store Outlet since were having lunch around the corner at Subway so I thought I'd pop in while I was near.<br />
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They were having a Saturday 30% off sale so I was in luck. I found a few items for $10.46. And also a stack of luggage for the scavenger hunt portion of the challenge (#3).</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-usl6GyikNMQ/URPXrjUdmvI/AAAAAAAABQM/OW-JoEFv_G8/s1600/Luggage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-usl6GyikNMQ/URPXrjUdmvI/AAAAAAAABQM/OW-JoEFv_G8/s400/Luggage.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div>
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And my find for $10.46:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Oyg1Xaoa39Q/URL_Ta24sFI/AAAAAAAABPc/OhB6-AtwgSs/s1600/Thrift+find.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Oyg1Xaoa39Q/URL_Ta24sFI/AAAAAAAABPc/OhB6-AtwgSs/s400/Thrift+find.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A carved wood jewelry box, a wooden rabbit, and a metal jewelry stand. I saw potential in each one, that with a little paint they could look nice. The rabbit was a bit questionable, but I thought it might work for Easter decor. I just had to do something about his mouth, it looked like he might have once had a life as a vampire rabbit..............Eeekkk!!!:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVAzTD7wV1E/URL_SnyBuKI/AAAAAAAABPU/of3ImLoaRSE/s1600/Rabbit+zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVAzTD7wV1E/URL_SnyBuKI/AAAAAAAABPU/of3ImLoaRSE/s400/Rabbit+zoom.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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So with a little paint, I transformed my finds:</div>
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And the rabbit doesn't look quite so scary, he's just carrying a bushel of lavender in his little blue basket :o) </div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-88559547345450484362013-01-30T15:19:00.000-08:002013-01-30T15:19:36.631-08:00Letter From the PresidentEmma has her connections! She received a letter from the President and First Lady welcoming her to the world and wishing her a long and happy life :o)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FhOSgzufBJY/UQmJx4MzvnI/AAAAAAAABNQ/vMCILZ-ddr8/s1600/White+House+Letter2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FhOSgzufBJY/UQmJx4MzvnI/AAAAAAAABNQ/vMCILZ-ddr8/s400/White+House+Letter2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A month or so ago, I read that you can write to the White House Greetings Office for different occasions (births, weddings, birthdays, etc.) and they will mail you back a card from the President and First Lady. I thought that would be fun to include in Emma's scrapbook that I'm hoping to finish for her first birthday (fingers crossed!).<br />
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I found the info for where to write and what needs to be included on the letter to the President <a href="http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/consumer/a/greetings.htm">here</a>. And lo and behold Emma received a letter addressed to her from the White House! The only place her name appears is on the envelope so be careful opening it if you do decide to write the President :o)<br />
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Here's a picture of the announcement we sent with a picture of her on election day:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UbeOOd-922k/UQmo3lqcSCI/AAAAAAAABN0/23UxsIUZzSw/s1600/White+House+Request.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UbeOOd-922k/UQmo3lqcSCI/AAAAAAAABN0/23UxsIUZzSw/s400/White+House+Request.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Regardless of your political leanings I think it is a fun little memento to have. I've heard other places like Disneyland also do something similar.<br />
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I also sent for a birthday greeting for my Grandma Dorothy who will be turning 95 this year! But don't tell her it's a secret :o) <br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-22414113593038023602013-01-29T19:41:00.001-08:002013-01-29T19:42:00.901-08:00Baby MessesGetting anything done with a baby under foot is nearly impossible! Well, I could have wrote this post a while ago but I was trying to get more bibs and burp clothes done to show all the fun fabrics I chose. I actually didn't finish them all but figured it was about time I got this post up! Fitting in a few minutes of sewing here another few minutes there I was able to find time to work on sewing some bibs and burp clothes for Emma. As she has started the solid food eating stage and teething we have been going through a lot of bibs! And using all those bibs I have designated certain ones my favorites. The ones where the snap is on the side of the neck are easiest to get one and off a squirmy baby. And some velcro they use on bibs is not nice! If you don't get the velcro tabs adhered together perfectly the rough velcro will scratch the babies neck..........poor babies!<br />
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So my goal was to save Emma's neck from velcro scratches and make it easier on me to whip those bibs on and off in a jiffy. And I also decided to make some burp clothes in coordinating fabrics, because Emma does not like clashing fabrics...............and I had the extra fabric and burp clothes are our friends :o) Someone gave us a stack of hand-me-down flannel burp clothes before Emma was born and I took them somewhat hesitantly thinking "I guess we can use them, we have tons of bibs!" Those burp clothes have become our prized possessions, they follow Emma everywhere! So new mommies.............you can never have too many burp clothes, they will be your new best friends :o)<br />
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As I was saying, with more baby messes has come the need for more mess catchers a.k.a bibs and burp clothes. I traced an outline of the bib style I liked on poster board, with a little extra for a seam allowance.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ptqa8Js4UDE/UQhdu0I3BTI/AAAAAAAABKU/LOKQaPrfIEc/s1600/Bib+trace+pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ptqa8Js4UDE/UQhdu0I3BTI/AAAAAAAABKU/LOKQaPrfIEc/s400/Bib+trace+pattern.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I then cut out the pattern and used it to trace an outline on the flannel fabric I wanted to use. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MnO7ejvU3rs/UQhdmqFUUyI/AAAAAAAABJg/xbxi3nJJPXE/s1600/Bib+Trace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MnO7ejvU3rs/UQhdmqFUUyI/AAAAAAAABJg/xbxi3nJJPXE/s320/Bib+Trace.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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And then cut out the bib shape from the flannel and also some cotton terry cloth I for the back side of the bib.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EEqlJn1x6Sc/UQhdpMspqkI/AAAAAAAABJw/zae-7zZbcQc/s1600/Bib+cut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EEqlJn1x6Sc/UQhdpMspqkI/AAAAAAAABJw/zae-7zZbcQc/s400/Bib+cut.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I then added one side of the snap to the upper right corner of the flannel fabric. Here you can see the "receptacle" (I'm not sure what the proper term is) side of the snap on the right side of the fabric.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k8N4IRxXp44/UQhd3ujW1DI/AAAAAAAABLA/veAiCG3w9Vg/s1600/Female+bib+done.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k8N4IRxXp44/UQhd3ujW1DI/AAAAAAAABLA/veAiCG3w9Vg/s320/Female+bib+done.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With the back side of the snap on the wrong side of the fabric which will be inside the bib after sewing.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Lpb5kTSscg/UQhdrX1gJKI/AAAAAAAABJ4/aiFNiC_Es0w/s1600/Back+female+bib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Lpb5kTSscg/UQhdrX1gJKI/AAAAAAAABJ4/aiFNiC_Es0w/s320/Back+female+bib.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next I sewed the wrong sides of he fabric together, leaving a couple inches open at the bottom of the bib for turning the fabric right side out.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYxrNyyKexk/UQhdsoMkBCI/AAAAAAAABKE/9SaDwKvwTag/s1600/Bib+sew+together.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYxrNyyKexk/UQhdsoMkBCI/AAAAAAAABKE/9SaDwKvwTag/s400/Bib+sew+together.jpg" width="266" /> </a></div>
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I then cut notches in the fabric around the curves so when I flipped the fabric right side out the curved edges would be smooth. (Here's a picture from when I made the burp clothes as I forgot to take a picture when making the bibs).</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6_hO90s8iLA/UQhdzN4phqI/AAAAAAAABKo/MiRme7vnHmM/s1600/Burp+edge2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6_hO90s8iLA/UQhdzN4phqI/AAAAAAAABKo/MiRme7vnHmM/s400/Burp+edge2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next I flipped the fabric right side out and used an invisible stitch to close up the hole at the bottom.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0UsTUhKRWI/UQhd-CtSpxI/AAAAAAAABL0/n_MBmcc20oc/s1600/Right+side+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0UsTUhKRWI/UQhd-CtSpxI/AAAAAAAABL0/n_MBmcc20oc/s320/Right+side+out.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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And top-stitched around the edge of the bib:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1lo2aathjo/UQhduxXWDAI/AAAAAAAABKQ/K81iY6-JCzY/s1600/Bib+topstitched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1lo2aathjo/UQhduxXWDAI/AAAAAAAABKQ/K81iY6-JCzY/s400/Bib+topstitched.jpg" width="265" /> </a></div>
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And finally added the other side of the snap to the top edge of the bib:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85LZIwcmb5U/UQhdsOB1AVI/AAAAAAAABKA/8jXwszJIhzM/s1600/Bib+snapped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85LZIwcmb5U/UQhdsOB1AVI/AAAAAAAABKA/8jXwszJIhzM/s400/Bib+snapped.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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For the burp clothes I followed a similar procedure. I traced a burp cloth we had for a pattern, used it to cut out two pieces of flannel fabric. Sewed the pieces, right sides together, then flipped the fabric right side out and sewed up the open end. Lastly top-stitching around the edges. Here are how a few of those turned out:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rW_kKFwySvY/UQhdz1auU5I/AAAAAAAABKw/6R4x6nsJ-Ow/s1600/Burp+finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rW_kKFwySvY/UQhdz1auU5I/AAAAAAAABKw/6R4x6nsJ-Ow/s400/Burp+finished.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And lastly, the most important part, quality control:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-31bcSrcJCHE/UQiV26eh33I/AAAAAAAABMc/oSiKuI3MnCw/s1600/31+Weeks+Sweet+Potato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-31bcSrcJCHE/UQiV26eh33I/AAAAAAAABMc/oSiKuI3MnCw/s400/31+Weeks+Sweet+Potato.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qkV05ISzQzU/UQiV3ZEWQXI/AAAAAAAABMg/qNfqCo4UDVA/s1600/Oatmeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qkV05ISzQzU/UQiV3ZEWQXI/AAAAAAAABMg/qNfqCo4UDVA/s400/Oatmeal.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-22252543926041177842013-01-07T17:37:00.000-08:002013-01-07T17:37:03.977-08:00A Softie Doll for EmmaFor Christmas I decided to attempt to make a doll for Emma. I found a tutorial online for a softie doll that seemed do-able from <a href="http://60piggies.blogspot.com.ar/2008/10/softie-doll-tutorial.html">Seventy Piggies</a>. I also Googled "softie dolls" and found a wide array of dolls. I fell in love with the dolls by Charla Anne, especially her "<a href="http://www.etsy.com/transaction/72232233">Little Red Riding Hood Doll</a>". I decided to try to adapt the pattern and tutorial from Seventy Piggies to make something similar to Charla Anne's dolls. The whole process I wondered if I would ever have a finished product that would resemble a doll.............and in the end everything came together, and Emma seems to like it!!!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tyOGoHX41p0/UOoisfU_WGI/AAAAAAAABGw/yWsz8lBiDM4/s1600/Emma&Doll2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tyOGoHX41p0/UOoisfU_WGI/AAAAAAAABGw/yWsz8lBiDM4/s400/Emma&Doll2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used the pattern from Seventy Piggies, modifying it a little. I first cut out a circle for the face, two small circles for the cheeks, and hair all from felt:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GQ0LlJsvvmA/UOoikeZoqlI/AAAAAAAABGc/6pkGgSToMbs/s1600/Cut+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GQ0LlJsvvmA/UOoikeZoqlI/AAAAAAAABGc/6pkGgSToMbs/s400/Cut+face.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's how the hair will look on the face:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RlzfdSAw64/UOoivmL4l3I/AAAAAAAABHM/pFeCCcv-FWk/s1600/Face+Parts+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2RlzfdSAw64/UOoivmL4l3I/AAAAAAAABHM/pFeCCcv-FWk/s400/Face+Parts+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used fabric glue to attach the cheek circles and then used a <a href="http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2008/05/31/beginning-embroidery-stitches/">back stitch</a> to add a swirl design:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sa5UNfocDHA/UOoimTkiXRI/AAAAAAAABGg/hCt-BzpfaxA/s1600/Cheek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sa5UNfocDHA/UOoimTkiXRI/AAAAAAAABGg/hCt-BzpfaxA/s400/Cheek.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Here you can see the finished cheeks:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgH1yUfhkdo/UOoify_WDQI/AAAAAAAABGM/jyOacTRddac/s1600/Cheeks+Finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgH1yUfhkdo/UOoify_WDQI/AAAAAAAABGM/jyOacTRddac/s400/Cheeks+Finished.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then traced out the fabric for the hood, trying to account for the seam allowance: </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AEoWDKRqkI/UOoi_rkWVEI/AAAAAAAABH0/njzMuAucl48/s1600/Hood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AEoWDKRqkI/UOoi_rkWVEI/AAAAAAAABH0/njzMuAucl48/s400/Hood.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next I stitched eyes, a nose, and mouth:</div>
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I glued interfacing to the back of the face to provide stiffness to the face: </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzLu9vTaHuY/UOojCB2FXFI/AAAAAAAABH8/5q3Aw-ZkfkM/s1600/Interfacing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzLu9vTaHuY/UOojCB2FXFI/AAAAAAAABH8/5q3Aw-ZkfkM/s400/Interfacing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I glued the face to the hood fabric and back stitched around the perimeter of the face to secure it to the fabric.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nWKgvnCF7Bw/UOojIUD9RqI/AAAAAAAABIc/uzit2nYkhQw/s1600/Stitched+Face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nWKgvnCF7Bw/UOojIUD9RqI/AAAAAAAABIc/uzit2nYkhQw/s400/Stitched+Face.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then glued the hair to the face and back stitched around the perimeter. I hand stitched all the details of the face because I have a hard time controlling the sewing machine around curves. So I figured the best approach for me was to hand stitch even though it took longer :o)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9VYGtQNZqRg/UOoizkp17uI/AAAAAAAABHE/5H5vQJjknhI/s1600/Finished+Face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9VYGtQNZqRg/UOoizkp17uI/AAAAAAAABHE/5H5vQJjknhI/s400/Finished+Face.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used the pattern from Seventy Piggies for the arms, hands, legs, and feet with modifications. I made the sleeves of the dress shorter and the arms/hands longer and an even width the entire length. For the legs/feet I made them narrower and the legs (stockings) longer with shorter boots. For the dress I drew a narrower neck to match the narrower neck of the hood fabric. I also made the dress have more of a flare. For the picture below all the pieces are in pairs.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zptUE9B35QE/UOojEM_ozaI/AAAAAAAABII/vg7Q6cs72y8/s1600/Parts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zptUE9B35QE/UOojEM_ozaI/AAAAAAAABII/vg7Q6cs72y8/s400/Parts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then used my sewing machine to sew the head piece to the dress piece, placing right sides together for both the front and back sides of the doll. And then I did a top stitch along the dress edge to hold the seam down. Here's a picture after I sewed the head to the body. You can also see the back side of the hood fabric after back-stitching the hair on.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAAVBoB3Vjs/UOojHFFRZpI/AAAAAAAABIU/7fzLnva5Pq8/s1600/Stitch+Back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAAVBoB3Vjs/UOojHFFRZpI/AAAAAAAABIU/7fzLnva5Pq8/s400/Stitch+Back.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then sewed the arms to the sleeves and the legs to the boots with a top stitch on the sleeves and boots, respectively, to hold the seams down. Here you can see that I did two seams (green) for reinforcement when sewing the two arm pieces together and the top stitch is also visible (pink):<br />
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Next I stuffed the arms with batting, tearing off little pieces and stuffing them down firmly into the arms. Then things got a little tricky. I don't have many pictures of this process because I was just making things up as I went along. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to turn the head right side out after I sewed the back and front of the hood together because of the narrow neck. I decided to make things easier I would just sew the head first and then the rest of the body with the arms later for easier maneuvering. Here I have everything laid out to see how I wanted things placed.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7LC8wNc78hg/UOs6X_GQKaI/AAAAAAAABI8/etMTG9uP-zc/s1600/Doll+Preview2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7LC8wNc78hg/UOs6X_GQKaI/AAAAAAAABI8/etMTG9uP-zc/s400/Doll+Preview2.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
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Once the the back and front pieces of the head were sewn together and the head flipped right side out, I sewed on the arms one side at a time. This took me a few tries of sewing, flipping everything right side out and finding that an arm was too low or even folded back into the body at one point. So I removed the stitches and tried again. I also used a pin to scrunch the batting down into the arm I was working on below where I was stitching so I would have room to maneuver my sewing machine foot. And eventually I had success!!!<br />
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I don't have pictures of this part because as I said before I was just making things up as I went and was in a zone :o) For a more detailed order of things you can follow the <a href="http://60piggies.blogspot.com.ar/2008/10/softie-doll-tutorial.html">Seventy Piggies</a> tutorial. When I attached the arms I continued sewing down the edge of the dress around the bottom corner and in towards the leg position a bit. I left an open edge along the bottom where the legs would go to flip the arms and head right side out and to stuff the doll body and head with batting. </div>
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As I did with the arms, I put small pieces of batting in one at a time packing them in with a pencil as I went. Seventy Piggies said to use small pieces to prevent lumps in the body so that's what I did. When the body was stuffed with batting I stuffed the legs and then pinned them in place and used an <a href="http://quilttaffy.blogspot.com/2008/07/invisible-closing-seam-tutorial.html">invisible stitch</a> to sew the dress bottom together. When I got to the legs I just stitched across the bottom of the dress with a leg sandwiched between. I couldn't figure out how to make this stitch invisible, but that's ok, Emma will be able to tell it was hand-made by her mom (among other "details"!).</div>
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And in the end, somehow I had a doll!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cADjFpRwNRs/UOoi58rpP3I/AAAAAAAABHc/wmlJ7VeDW9g/s1600/Finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cADjFpRwNRs/UOoi58rpP3I/AAAAAAAABHc/wmlJ7VeDW9g/s320/Finished.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I also added a little removable cape along the neck. </div>
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And Emma approves, she really likes playing with the legs:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4CdIKrNKAnw/UOoiqCBsjbI/AAAAAAAABGs/EaijRwTi_xo/s1600/Emma%2526Doll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4CdIKrNKAnw/UOoiqCBsjbI/AAAAAAAABGs/EaijRwTi_xo/s320/Emma%2526Doll.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hehe! Success!!! :o)</div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-37591241179026379752012-12-24T12:12:00.000-08:002012-12-24T12:12:37.027-08:00Pictures With SantaHere are a few of Emma's pictures with Santa (Brian dressed up as Santa!). We took them through the local baby store with <a href="http://www.snapshotsisters.com/">Snapshot Sisters</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIk666ExGGw/UNizt1bzdAI/AAAAAAAABE8/29xZj7z2Nd0/s1600/adroable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIk666ExGGw/UNizt1bzdAI/AAAAAAAABE8/29xZj7z2Nd0/s400/adroable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CTKzsINpT_Y/UNi0l7NDU_I/AAAAAAAABFM/0I1Cakgn8Xc/s1600/littleemma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CTKzsINpT_Y/UNi0l7NDU_I/AAAAAAAABFM/0I1Cakgn8Xc/s400/littleemma.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Et6j4zEiWQ/UNi1D3y92UI/AAAAAAAABFU/QjlMs84ybJo/s1600/sweetgirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Et6j4zEiWQ/UNi1D3y92UI/AAAAAAAABFU/QjlMs84ybJo/s400/sweetgirl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here's one of Emma for Halloween, also by Snapshot Sisters. I also got in the picture :o)<br />
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We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! </div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-51069754313689114282012-12-21T13:32:00.000-08:002012-12-21T13:32:05.811-08:00O' Christmas TreeI've already blogged about the ornaments Emma helped with this year for our tree but have yet to show the tree. So here it is:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARe5B2yHziM/UNTTEGMIdnI/AAAAAAAABEI/X-VQo3ChGPU/s1600/Christmas+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARe5B2yHziM/UNTTEGMIdnI/AAAAAAAABEI/X-VQo3ChGPU/s400/Christmas+Tree.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I've noticed we have tons of ball ornaments! Probably because I can't resist the price! Here's a cute picture of Emma and Brian checking out the tree when we first brought it into the house:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RF4RIwN95GU/UNTTIH7A9DI/AAAAAAAABEY/aFK-xNztsPc/s1600/Emma%2527s+Christmas+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RF4RIwN95GU/UNTTIH7A9DI/AAAAAAAABEY/aFK-xNztsPc/s400/Emma%2527s+Christmas+Tree.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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And once again Brian and I each bought an ornament for the tree this year. I picked a four pack of felt birds I found on one of our Ikea excursions:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--6PAJnUhptQ/UNTTCefvqjI/AAAAAAAABEA/lsemJPnFRRI/s1600/Bird+Ornament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--6PAJnUhptQ/UNTTCefvqjI/AAAAAAAABEA/lsemJPnFRRI/s400/Bird+Ornament.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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We saw this cute little owl at Target and I said we had to get it since Emma was an owl for Halloween. So Brian "picked" it as his ornament for this year :o)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rN-twbLisfE/UNTTJ4QeNLI/AAAAAAAABEg/ULoVQRutFzQ/s1600/Owl+Ornament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rN-twbLisfE/UNTTJ4QeNLI/AAAAAAAABEg/ULoVQRutFzQ/s400/Owl+Ornament.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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And Emma's ornaments were all the ones she helped to make. Next year she can pick out her own :o) Here she is in her jumper, she has a front row seat view of the tree.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N3EjRMdeE7o/UNTTGLq4PaI/AAAAAAAABEQ/1k5r0bMLBPE/s1600/Emma+%2526+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N3EjRMdeE7o/UNTTGLq4PaI/AAAAAAAABEQ/1k5r0bMLBPE/s400/Emma+%2526+Tree.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-45451511772499925672012-12-18T10:09:00.000-08:002012-12-18T19:17:46.987-08:00Christmas SweetsTo celebrate the holidays the past couple of years my friends and I have gotten together for a cookie party. I usually like to try new recipes along with old favorites and also make enough for my family too. This year the new additions are Fleur de Sel caramels (not really a cookie but still a sweet!) and Turtle cookies. The caramels I had made before as wedding favors and the Turtle cookies just looked delicious so I had to give them a try! I made the caramels first using a <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fleur-de-Sel-Caramels-230778">recipe on Epicurious</a> as the Turtle cookies called for caramels.<br />
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The tricky part of the caramel making is to wait until the sugar browns before adding the cream mixture. In one of my previous attempts I added the cream too early and the resulting caramels were a light tan color rather than a deep caramel color. This time I had success, and after cooling, cut them into bite size pieces.<br />
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I sprinkled half of the caramels with Fleur de Sel to make them look fancy:<br />
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The other half I coated in semi-sweet chocolate I melted with heavy whipping cream and then sprinkled with Fleur de Sel:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OhpBjY6a5s/UM_tb5q2U8I/AAAAAAAABC0/eobFliU7N6w/s1600/Chocolate+Caramels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OhpBjY6a5s/UM_tb5q2U8I/AAAAAAAABC0/eobFliU7N6w/s400/Chocolate+Caramels.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then wrapped each individual caramel in wax paper and they are ready to enjoy :o)<br />
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For the Turtle cookies I followed the recipe on <a href="http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2012/09/insanely-delicious-turtle-cookies.html">The Kitchen is my Playground blog</a>. These cookies may be my new favorite, they are DELICIOUS!!!! I had to hide them away or they might not have made it until Christmas. I can't wait to share them with friends and family!<br />
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I also made sugar cookies and plan to make some pecan ball cookies with recipes found here on a <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2010/12/christmas-cookies.html">previous post</a>.<br />
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I love Christmas time with all the goodies!!!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-25821162848478134592012-12-17T13:09:00.000-08:002012-12-17T13:09:40.407-08:00Salt Dough OrnamentsI thought it would be fun to make some sort of ornament with Emma for the Christmas tree this year. Knowing she's not too coordinated and wouldn't understand my instructions I needed something easy! I found a pin on Pinterest for salt dough ornaments that I thought just might fit the bill. The dough was simple enough to make, the tricky part would be to get Emma to spread out her hand for me to make an impression of it in the dough. But she did a great job and we ended up getting some ornaments!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKtEn58yRgo/UM-E9oyRvhI/AAAAAAAABBg/R93VVGhvNYA/s1600/L-Hand+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKtEn58yRgo/UM-E9oyRvhI/AAAAAAAABBg/R93VVGhvNYA/s400/L-Hand+Tree.jpg" width="266" /> </a></div>
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For the dough:</div>
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2 cups flour</div>
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1 cup salt</div>
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1 cup water</div>
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Mix the ingredients together, adding enough water to form a dough. Knead by hand for several minutes to make sure it is well mixed. If the dough is too sticky to work with add more flour, if too dry add more water. </div>
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Then roll out the dough pretty thin and make your hand (or feet) impressions and cut out using either a large cookie cutter or glass. <br />
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I also used my metal punch set to stamp in Emma's name and the year. And make sure to use a straw or some other sort of instrument to make a hole to string ribbon through your ornament for hanging!<br />
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The first round I rolled the dough out too thick and when I dried them in the oven they puffed up a lot as you can see here, the one on the right puffed up deforming the hand shape a little :<br />
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So I started over and rolled the next round a lot thinner and it worked better as you can see from the hand print on the left. I also made sure to prick the dough over the entire surface with a pin before baking. To harden the ornaments bake at 200F for 3 hours. <br />
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I painted the dried ornaments with craft paint and glitter glue to outline the hand prints, as you can see from the dough picture above, the impression was not that visible but painting helps to define the print. And I used a sharpie to help define the name and year stamp.<br />
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I then sprayed both sides of the ornament with gloss spray paint, strung some ribbon through the hole, and hung them on the tree!<br />
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I had some left over dough so I used cookie cutters to cut out some shapes and let Emma have some fun finger painting (which consisted mostly of me putting paint on her hands and letting her grab the ornaments). I thought these would be cute little gifts for family from Emma :o)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dt-abbfJ-cI/UM-E4I9rBzI/AAAAAAAABBI/2j78lU9HtDo/s1600/Finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dt-abbfJ-cI/UM-E4I9rBzI/AAAAAAAABBI/2j78lU9HtDo/s400/Finished.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-19803278805115776302012-12-08T10:41:00.001-08:002012-12-08T10:53:56.196-08:00Our Family Christmas CardWe DIY'd our Christmas card this year since we had a cute little family addition. A little after Halloween we took family pictures in the backyard. I knit Emma a red and white striped beanie and put some red overalls on her and we were all set. It's really difficult to get a good picture of everyone when one person hates being in photos (me) and you have a baby interested in everything around her. We did get a few good shots, and most importantly a cute one of Emma!<br />
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I ordered through Shutterfly online which I've used for photobooks before. I chose a card template, uploaded our pictures and it was as easy as that. Within a couple weeks we had our cards ready to send out to friends and family :o)<br />
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Here's our family card for this year:<br />
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5x7 Folded Card</div>
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View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-87618745071941829652012-12-07T17:44:00.000-08:002012-12-07T17:44:00.429-08:00The Starting of TraditionsSince this is Emma's first Christmas I thought it would be fun to start traditions that we could continue each Christmas. A while back either on a blog or maybe Pinterest I came across the idea of gifting the kids pajamas on Christmas Eve so they can wear them to bed that night and wake up Christmas morning in new pajamas. I thought that was a fun idea and I even remembered to do it this year which is a miracle considering that I have been operating on little sleep the last 6 months! I don't know if kids will find this as exciting but I thought it sounded fun!<br />
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So a few weeks back there was a sale on pajamas on Carter's website so I ordered Emma cute red and white striped footsy pajamas. They have a Santa face on the backside and little Santa faces on the feet. Emma actually wore them a little early as our local baby store had Santa pictures last weekend and the kids were supposed to wear pajamas. <br />
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Since Emma will have on her new pajamas on Christmas Eve when Santa will actually be stopping by I figured for her Santa pictures she should be wearing them too, to keep things real you know, haha. Brian actually got to dress up as Santa for the pictures although his face won't be visible. The photographers came up with the idea to have a parent dress as Santa to get a Santa picture without tears for younger kids. So Brian put on the Santa outfit and I tried to get her to smile so hopefully we have a few good photos to share soon!<br />
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I also thought it would be nice if we read a story on Christmas Eve with Emma in her new pajamas and what better story than "The Night Before Christmas!". I found a really nice copy with beautiful pictures on the Barnes and Noble website on sale. When it arrived I wrote a short inscription inside the front cover and wrapped it up with the pajamas.<br />
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Here are her cute pajamas, they say "My 1st Christmas" on the front :o):<br />
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And "The Night Before Christmas":<br />
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And I wrapped the arms around the book in a hug :o)<br />
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The book will be something we can read every Christmas Eve. I also thought it might be fun to take a picture each year reading the book as new kiddos join the group and include those inside the cover. Christmas will be so exciting now with a new little one to celebrate with! </div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-88547796131741123642012-12-02T11:24:00.000-08:002012-12-02T11:30:42.407-08:00DIY Christmas StockingsAs this year will be Emma's first Christmas I decided to try my hand at sewing her a Christmas stocking. I initially bought fabric at Joann's I thought was fun and something that she would enjoy as she grew up, i.e. nothing too childish since I wanted her stocking to be something she used for many years. After making the stocking I decided I wanted it to be slightly larger so it was back to the drawing board. But instead of beginning again with what was left over of the fabric Brian claimed that stocking as his own so I had to find new fabric for Emma's stocking AND now I had to make stockings for the WHOLE family. But it all worked out because I found really cute Christmas bird fabric I liked even better for Emma on <a href="http://quilthome.com/index.php">QuiltHome.com</a>. For some reason birds make me think of Emma, like Snow White or something :o)<br />
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And here you can see how all our stockings turned out. Most of the fabric I bought at Joann's but the fabric for Emma's and the cuff on Bailey the cat's came from QuiltHome.com. And since we don't have a mantel, the knobs on my desk will have to do for hanging.<br />
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To make the stockings I found a tutorial online along with a pattern on the <a href="http://fabricworm.blogspot.co.nz/2010/12/christmas-stocking-tutorial.html?m=1">Fabric Worm</a> blog. The following photos are of the initial stocking that is now Brian's. I printed and cut out the pattern and then laid it out the in the approximate size I wanted. <br />
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Then I filled in the gap with a sheet of paper:<br />
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And then cut the addition to follow the curve of the stocking, making the top piece a little wider than the original pattern:<br />
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For Emma's stocking I not only made it longer as shown in the pictures above but also about an inch wider on each side. </div>
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Here is a picture of the fabrics I used. The batting I had on hand from another project I never got around to and an off-white muslin for the lining (I forgot to add the muslin for the picture, but it's just a plain fabric).</div>
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I then cut two stocking shapes out of each of following: the red and green Christmas fabric (so the two good sides would have toes pointing in opposite directions), the muslin lining, and the batting.</div>
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I then sandwiched the Christmas fabric, right sides together, between two batting pieces and pinned everything into place. Next I sewed the pieces together with a 1/2 inch seem allowance leaving the top of the stocking open. </div>
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After I finished sewing the batting to the Christmas fabric I trimmed some of the excess batting around the toe and heel for easier turning of the stocking right-side out. Then I pinned the lining pieces together and sewed them with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Brian took an action-shot of me actually sewing the lining together at this point.</div>
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Leaving the seam on the outside of the lining (no turning inside out), I then stuffed the lining into the stocking between the two pieces of batting (so the seam is now hidden).</div>
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For the cuff, I wanted it to be a little longer than what the tutorial called for so I measured the fabric to the desired length.</div>
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I then cut batting to that length and followed the instructions on the Fabric Worm tutorial by sewing the short sides of the dot fabric together with the batting along half.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kTxoPkTTWGc/UKxWAJUrYiI/AAAAAAAAA-M/BitQ0YWybqI/s1600/Cuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kTxoPkTTWGc/UKxWAJUrYiI/AAAAAAAAA-M/BitQ0YWybqI/s400/Cuff.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I then folded the dot fabric down around the batting so the batting was sandwiched between the folded dot fabric. (The Fabric Worm tutorial explains this a bit more clearly with pictures.) The cuff was then stuffed into the stocking with the raw edges of all fabric, lining, batting at the top. I had to adjust the seam allowance on the cuff a couple times before it would fit flat in the stocking without any bulges. I also added a loop of green ribbon for hanging, placing the ribbon loop-side in to the stocking between the lining and cuff fabrics along the back seam of the stocking.<br />
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I then sewed all the pieces together. At this point the stocking was very thick so make sure you are using a sharp needle on your sewing machine. My needle was a bit old so had a hard time piercing all layers of the fabric (the needle actually bent and I had to replace it!). After everything is sewn together, flip the cuff out and fold it over the stocking and it is ready for hanging. </div>
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I bought some iron-on embroidered letters to add names to all our stockings. The larger letters for Emma's name were individually purchased from Joann's and the smaller letters for "Mom", "Dad", and "Bailey" came from Michael's on an alphabet sheet of letters.<br />
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And once again, here are the finished stockings!</div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-88600824851050633462012-11-20T10:43:00.001-08:002012-11-20T10:43:38.442-08:00Windowsill PlantersWe have two small windows on one wall in our living room that overlook our side yard. They also provide a nice view to the neighbors house and a partial view of the street :o( Although we want a bit more privacy I didn't want to add curtains because the windows offer a lot of light in the morning and I like the molding around the windows so I didn't want to cover them up.<br />
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Here you can see the view of our neighbors house out the left window:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_JbY4fbXeBk/UKvLcT2aQXI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/EbTRMAdcXRs/s1600/Left+Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_JbY4fbXeBk/UKvLcT2aQXI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/EbTRMAdcXRs/s400/Left+Before.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And out the right window is the street:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OfraDz1RIk0/UKvLgO_QnRI/AAAAAAAAA9o/l5xKZbEzm7M/s1600/Right+Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OfraDz1RIk0/UKvLgO_QnRI/AAAAAAAAA9o/l5xKZbEzm7M/s400/Right+Before.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My plan of action was to move the planters I had on the windowsill in the kitchen to these windows in the living room. I bought new planters at Ikea for the kitchen that I hope to plant herbs. The sad thing is I also had to buy a few more succulents to replace the ones that had either died or were on their last leg. Yes, my watering leaves something to be desired as I cannot even keep succulents alive! And I work with plants for my job, but at work watering is in my schedule so those plants I remember to water :o)<br />
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Anyway back to the project at hand. Here is the right window with the new planter of succulents:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TNoiShCfIg8/UKvLev5N6YI/AAAAAAAAA9g/w_szZW1pPEM/s1600/Right+After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TNoiShCfIg8/UKvLev5N6YI/AAAAAAAAA9g/w_szZW1pPEM/s400/Right+After.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can see it adds a bit more privacy, but mostly it adds a bit of greenery to the room. You can also see the little sun-activated mobile prism Brian received from his grandparents that he enjoyed as a kid. Emma loves to watch the rainbows float across the room and it also is quite entertaining for Bailey the cat!<br />
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Here's the left window:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5iAEOMig2hs/UKvLa2DKaNI/AAAAAAAAA9I/4dulVzqMn84/s1600/Left+After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5iAEOMig2hs/UKvLa2DKaNI/AAAAAAAAA9I/4dulVzqMn84/s400/Left+After.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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And a closer shot with a figurine we received when we were married, just for a more artsy angle:</div>
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Yeah, maybe not much more in the way of privacy, but I think it adds a little decor to the windowsill at least and I can pretend about the privacy part ;0)Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-1939237023252774332012-10-31T14:54:00.001-07:002012-10-31T14:55:11.419-07:00Happy Halloween!Since this was Emma's first Halloween I thought I would try my hand at making a costume, well part of a costume. I really love the knit owl hats I've seen on Etsy so I decided Emma would be an owl for Halloween just so I would be able to buy one of those hats! After looking at the different owl hats I found one on another website for a bit cheaper so I went with that one and bought some striped black and white leg warmers on Amazon. I made the "feather" onesie and wings myself :o)<br />
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Here she is, doesn't she look so cute!<br />
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For the wings I followed the directions on <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/911340/bluebird-halloween-costume?czone=holiday/halloween-center/halloween-center-costumes&center=276965&gallery=274791&slide=911340">Martha Stewart's website</a> for a bluebird costume. I chose felt in similar colors to the yarn used on the owl hat. I made the wings slightly smaller for Emma, so I adjusted all the measurements down to 2/3 the original size. I didn't worry too much about getting the shape the exact same as the website, just approximately the same and trimmed any overhanging felt after gluing all the pieces together.<br />
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I then attached the elastic and velcro to the underside of the wings with fabric glue.<br />
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For the "feathered" onesie I cut out "feathers" from the orange and white felt remaining from the wings. I staggered white "feather" rows with orange "feather" rows and glued them directly to the onesie.<br />
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I also glued the corresponding velcro piece from the wings to the shoulder of the onesie to help hold the wings in place.<br />
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And there you have it, my first attempt at making Emma a costume. The wings only lasted for picture taking before those had to be taken off, but she was fine wearing her onesie all day and doesn't mind the owl hat!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-9987418079920485262012-08-17T14:33:00.001-07:002012-08-17T14:33:56.546-07:00Little BirdiesA while back on a shopping excursion to Michael's I came across these cute wooden bird ornaments. They were carved out of wood with legs and feet made from metal wire. I bought a few of them as I thought they would be fun to use as decorations.<br />
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I didn't want to hang them so my first task was to remove the metal loop from the back with needle nose pliers. I then filled in the hole with wood filler and sanded it smooth.</div>
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I painted the birds in fun colors with craft paint I had and set them out on the shoe cabinet by the front door for a cheerful greeting as you come or go. <br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-74508528491551294982012-08-09T10:53:00.000-07:002012-08-09T10:55:30.348-07:00Revamping an Ikea Shoe CabinetHi Everyone! It's been a while since my last blog post! The last couple of months have been quite hectic because we have a new addition to our family. Here's introducing our new baby girl Emma!<br />
So my days of late have been occupied by feedings, diapers, and trying to elicit baby smiles :o)<br />
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Back to the blogging business! When we get home first thing we do is kick off our shoes, so inside the door we had sneakers, sandals, work shoes, slippers all scattered around the entryway. We were in desperate need of something to store all our shoes! On a couple other blogs I've seen shoe cabinets from Ikea so we started our search there. We found one we really liked but it would not fit the dimensions of the space we planned to put it as it would be too tall and cover a light switch. The cabinets that would fit were far from attractive and since it was one of the first things you would see entering the house we wanted something that would look nice.<br />
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We looked around at other stores but didn't find anything that would work. We contemplated building a cabinet ourselves but couldn't figure out how to make the bin drawers that swing down and out to open. We decided the easiest thing to do would be to buy an inexpensive cabinet from Ikea and modify it. Well, make that two cabinets to fit the width of the space where we planned to have it.<br />
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So here we have the beginnings of our cabinet. As with everything at Ikea it came in a box and we had to assemble it.<br />
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Well, Brian assembled it :o)<br />
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And here is what one completed cabinet looked like. Not too exciting.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0rvaDRlX-U8/UCMByNv7mDI/AAAAAAAAA4w/CdFurXKRik0/s1600/Original+shoe+cabinet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0rvaDRlX-U8/UCMByNv7mDI/AAAAAAAAA4w/CdFurXKRik0/s400/Original+shoe+cabinet.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned before to fit the space we attached two of the cabinets together (and because I have a bit more shoes than would fit in one cabinet!).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKoZzPDMPXI/UCMB4tn0EeI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/bhOiWqiN4FQ/s1600/Two+combined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKoZzPDMPXI/UCMB4tn0EeI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/bhOiWqiN4FQ/s400/Two+combined.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After that was done we moved on to making the cabinet look nice. We wanted the cabinet to have a sturdy (i.e. not cheap!) furniture feel so we added a larger wood top and trim and beadboard to the fronts of the drawers and sides.<br />
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For the top we couldn't find a piece of wood to fit with 1 inch overhangs all the way around so we combined to narrower pieces of wood. We attached them together using a Kreg jig to make the connections invisible from the top. Brian first used the Kreg jig to drill pilot holes on the underside of the wood.<br />
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Then he attached the two pieces with screws.<br />
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Here's a closer view of a pilot hole and screw. The Kreg jig provides a nice angled hole for attaching two side-by-side pieces of wood that will be invisible from the top surface.</div>
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Next I sanded the edges and the point where the two boards came together to make everything smooth and flush. Then it was time to attach the top piece to the cabinet. Brian glued the top down and attached it from the underside with
screws. He made sure everything was firmly held while the glue dried as
you can see by all the clamps and weights :o)<br />
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We bought beadboard and some craft wood strips from Home Depot to add some style. To the front of the drawers Brian added the beadboard and wood strips for trim using Liquid Nails glue.</div>
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To the corners he added thicker wood pieces along with the beadboard and craft wood strips on the sides, glueing and clamping everything in to place.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jq0OjwAB9I/UCMB2MJUzII/AAAAAAAAA5I/wnWzX04ACP0/s1600/Trim%2526Beadboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jq0OjwAB9I/UCMB2MJUzII/AAAAAAAAA5I/wnWzX04ACP0/s400/Trim%2526Beadboard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once everything was attached I filled in any gaps with wood filler, sanded everything smooth, and painted the whole cabinet white with Annie Sloane's chalk paint. We also bought bin pulls from Home Depot, in the Martha Stewart style that I have used on a couple other projects. So here we have the finished product:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pE6UgIIocr8/UCPzUKlwwMI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/77tEZv5hNFQ/s1600/Finished+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pE6UgIIocr8/UCPzUKlwwMI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/77tEZv5hNFQ/s400/Finished+copy.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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A big improvement over how it looked in the beginning!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKoZzPDMPXI/UCMB4tn0EeI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/bhOiWqiN4FQ/s1600/Two+combined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKoZzPDMPXI/UCMB4tn0EeI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/bhOiWqiN4FQ/s400/Two+combined.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's a closer look:<br />
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And here it is in action, hiding our shoes!</div>
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It was quite a bit of work but I LOVE it!!!</div>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-74997189359936452312012-05-17T20:46:00.000-07:002012-05-17T20:46:01.077-07:00Updating an 80's DresserThe last few weeks have been busy with preparing for the baby. After our baby shower (which was so cute, thanks guys!) we found that we had more baby clothes than we knew what to do with. We received so many cute baby outfits and hand-me-downs from two friends who recently had babies that we definitely needed a dresser for the baby.........woohoo, painting project time!<br />
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When my parents came up to visit we scoured the local thrift stores to find a dresser. We ended up with one that was the same style as one I grew up with in the 80's, the off white paint with gold embellishment. So, it would definitely be needing a paint job!<br />
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Here we have the before picture of the dresser in all it's glory:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UX7Io_Dp8eQ/T7W_D3aLVTI/AAAAAAAAA3o/tBHjBdUlewM/s1600/Dresser+Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UX7Io_Dp8eQ/T7W_D3aLVTI/AAAAAAAAA3o/tBHjBdUlewM/s400/Dresser+Before.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I got to work removing the old drawer pulls, roughly sanding all surfaces for better primer adhesion and then applying the primer. For the color, I was going to go with leftover Martha Stewart paint in "Peony" that I used on a <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2011/07/from-drab-to-fab.html">nightstand</a> already in the room but Brian complained that the color was too much like flesh color, the crayon that you never really used. Personally I liked the color but sometimes you have to compromise so I found a color that was a little darker that Brian approved of, Dutch Boy's "Nantucket Red". They didn't have no-VOC paint at Orchard Supply where they carry Dutch Boy paint so we went to Home Depot where they color matched it and mixed it up using Behr Ultra's no-VOC paint. I also bought my favorite Martha Stewart pulls that I previously used on our dining room <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2010/12/cabinet-completion.html">corner cabinet</a> and are using on a project still in the works.<br />
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So I applied two coats of "Nantucket Red" and attached the handles and we had a new dresser!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-755XrL1gNNs/T7W_CEICOQI/AAAAAAAAA3g/gZR-75c67Ys/s1600/Dresser+After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-755XrL1gNNs/T7W_CEICOQI/AAAAAAAAA3g/gZR-75c67Ys/s400/Dresser+After.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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The colors not really a red, closer to the "Peony" that I had wanted to use, but Brian says there is a difference and likes the color so that's all that matters ;o) And it adds a bit of femininity to the room as we had kept most of the decor gender neutral up until this point. I also added some leftover <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2011/04/adding-some-style-with-shelf-paper.html">shelf paper</a> from the dining room corner cabinet to the drawers for a bit of contrasting color:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8UFMSDOzP_Q/T7W_IWJxYlI/AAAAAAAAA4A/XS7gTp--nBU/s1600/Shelf+paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8UFMSDOzP_Q/T7W_IWJxYlI/AAAAAAAAA4A/XS7gTp--nBU/s400/Shelf+paper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We still have quite a bit of organizing to do but here is how things are coming along. We placed the dresser in front of a window with the <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2012/04/bunting-banner-for-babys-room.html">bunting</a> I made recently. You can also see the alphabet rug that I fell in love with and had to have :o) I still need to re-organize the bookshelves with some baby items and find a new home for our old stuff. One of the neat ideas for the baby shower was to have people sign books instead of cards so the baby has her own library started so I'll be filling the bookshelf with those. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ws6tomGf2yY/T7W_FScYa3I/AAAAAAAAA3w/MYGk_vpAP40/s1600/Front+Window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ws6tomGf2yY/T7W_FScYa3I/AAAAAAAAA3w/MYGk_vpAP40/s400/Front+Window.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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On the opposite wall is the "flesh colored" night stand with more baby books and the butterflies:<br />
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And then we have the crib and all sorts of baby items that need to find a permanent home!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-12owO4NqB7s/T7W-6TvW6xI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/kst-6xbGQlM/s1600/Crib+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-12owO4NqB7s/T7W-6TvW6xI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/kst-6xbGQlM/s400/Crib+wall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So things are slowly coming along but are still quite a mess, but compared to before things are a lot better! Hopefully we can get everything done in the next few weeks before the baby comes!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-3550964990860218962012-04-23T22:01:00.000-07:002012-04-23T22:01:37.314-07:00A Bunting Banner for the Baby's RoomThis past weekend I worked on a bunting banner for the baby's room. I found several fabrics in bright colors and followed the directions from a <a href="http://www.ourlovelybungalow.com/2011/08/bunting-banner.html">previous post</a>. I had wanted to string a couple across the walls in the room but as the walls already had decorations I decided to make two smaller banners and hang them across the top of the window blinds.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-77DybRiExQI/T5YxwDynzDI/AAAAAAAAA24/Q_pf7yNoWBA/s1600/Banner+2+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-77DybRiExQI/T5YxwDynzDI/AAAAAAAAA24/Q_pf7yNoWBA/s400/Banner+2+window.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's a closer view to see more of the pattern:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O29eDjI1gEU/T5Yxxp53fZI/AAAAAAAAA3A/CfHvcKXD0go/s1600/Banner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O29eDjI1gEU/T5Yxxp53fZI/AAAAAAAAA3A/CfHvcKXD0go/s400/Banner+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And the banner across the other window:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qj4mU6i5RWw/T5YxuhVo9cI/AAAAAAAAA2w/HHmeU2wueKk/s1600/Banner+1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qj4mU6i5RWw/T5YxuhVo9cI/AAAAAAAAA2w/HHmeU2wueKk/s400/Banner+1a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also hung two cute racks we found at Ikea:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FzzAOJD4wF8/T5YyFOb1tuI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/qPAsRKiI3AM/s1600/Hangers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FzzAOJD4wF8/T5YyFOb1tuI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/qPAsRKiI3AM/s400/Hangers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So that's how the baby's room is coming along. A little less than two months to go!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-85339969525357366322012-04-08T11:02:00.000-07:002012-04-08T11:02:53.737-07:00A Butterfly WallScouting for ideas of how to decorate the nursery, I saw a pin on Pinterest where paper butterflies where adhered to a wall as if in flight. I thought it was a really fun idea and had some butterflies left over that I got from Michael's for our wedding so I decided to use those. I bought some poster putty from Joann's and adhered small pieces to the back of my butterflies. The poster putty is nice because it can easily be removed from the wall but seems to hold very well at the same time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jfYW18er9Y4/T4HMwuQIbhI/AAAAAAAAA2g/GA96opjQ30I/s1600/Supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jfYW18er9Y4/T4HMwuQIbhI/AAAAAAAAA2g/GA96opjQ30I/s400/Supplies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
So here's the back of my butterfly with the putty attached to the underside. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--irmYnlgVyM/T4HMobiV4aI/AAAAAAAAA2I/rOONj_VuyAI/s1600/Putty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--irmYnlgVyM/T4HMobiV4aI/AAAAAAAAA2I/rOONj_VuyAI/s400/Putty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And then I placed the butterflies to look like they were swooping across the wall.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bO9AWrT0Ydk/T4HSlayqAII/AAAAAAAAA2o/Id7a0h462S4/s1600/Wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bO9AWrT0Ydk/T4HSlayqAII/AAAAAAAAA2o/Id7a0h462S4/s400/Wall.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Here's a closer picture where you can see the pretty patterning on the wings.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T6xDUyyzApY/T4HMrvxmSTI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/pZ2wN1LHqFY/s1600/Zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T6xDUyyzApY/T4HMrvxmSTI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/pZ2wN1LHqFY/s400/Zoom.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
I also plan to use some more of the butterflies to make a mobile over the crib for the baby, but I have yet to start that. I'm still in the planning process of how I want to make it. We had initially bought a large umbrella-like leaf from Ikea that I was going to use but when I assembled it, it was huge, like cover the whole crib huge! So I'm deciding whether to try my hand at shaping a smaller wire leaf to use or just going with a basic round shape for the mobile. We will see where my creativity takes me!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783658016845549612.post-15074778288261402762012-04-02T21:49:00.000-07:002012-04-02T21:49:57.418-07:00A Yarn Egg GarlandBy now you have probably heard of the site Pinterest. It's a way to keep track of things that catch your interest on the web, sort of an online scrapbook, and you can see what other people find interesting too. Whenever I need some inspiration I'll go on and see what other people are pinning. Recently I saw a pin of Easter eggs made out of yarn. The pin didn't link to a how to site, but I googled "yarn eggs" and found a few sites. <a href="http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2011/04/yarn-egg-surprise-tutorial/">Simply Modern Mom</a> had easy to follow directions that I added a couple of tweaks to use things I had on hand (because I forgot to buy things at the store.....oops!).<br />
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First to get the egg shape you will need some small balloons like water balloons. These were impossible to blow up by mouth so I found a cheap balloon pump at Target to help out with this step. I got Brian to fill the balloons because I'm always worried they are going to pop on me! I did the the tying and releasing air to get desired sizes. I didn't worry about getting them all the same size, but Brian was going a little overboard on the balloon filling so I had to release some of the air, we weren't going for dinosaur size eggs! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MOa6kiEyqPs/T3p3zgJHpNI/AAAAAAAAA0o/5VLw7nh6mGU/s1600/Balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MOa6kiEyqPs/T3p3zgJHpNI/AAAAAAAAA0o/5VLw7nh6mGU/s400/Balloons.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a pretty messy project so I put down wax paper over my work surface. Simply Modern Mom suggested rubbing the balloons with vaseline to prevent the yarn from sticking to the balloons at the popping step. I didn't have any vaseline so I used vitamin E oil I had, I figured the main point was to prevent sticking so figured oil would work?? Then I prepared my yarn soaking glue mixture. I used a mixture of 3:1 water to craft glue and made sure to mix it well. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OUpx4CdTETs/T3p31Fop3QI/AAAAAAAAA0w/Dt9wVHsOfUs/s1600/Glue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OUpx4CdTETs/T3p31Fop3QI/AAAAAAAAA0w/Dt9wVHsOfUs/s400/Glue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>I bought a few colors of yarn that I thought were Easter colors (and were cheap at Walmart). Not the normal pastels, but fitting for the brighter decor of our house.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FevfJynPJVU/T3p3-lgvMbI/AAAAAAAAA1g/zUMlk43SrKc/s1600/Yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FevfJynPJVU/T3p3-lgvMbI/AAAAAAAAA1g/zUMlk43SrKc/s400/Yarn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I measured out the approximate amount of yarn to use by wrapping it around my hand. Depending on how dense you want the yarn to cover the "eggs" you can use more or less than I did. I wrapped the yarn about 30 times around my hand. I also wore gloves because as I said before, this is a pretty messy project!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7pXBXk8tF7o/T3p32QhXM3I/AAAAAAAAA04/lYcZbO8Q2t4/s1600/Measure+Yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7pXBXk8tF7o/T3p32QhXM3I/AAAAAAAAA04/lYcZbO8Q2t4/s400/Measure+Yarn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Then I soaked the yarn in the glue mixture. I squeezed out any excess liquid before wrapping it around the balloons.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XLhSzYMTk8M/T3p39MReTrI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/D5c2-r86vNA/s1600/Yarn+Soak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XLhSzYMTk8M/T3p39MReTrI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/D5c2-r86vNA/s400/Yarn+Soak.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I wrapped the yarn around the balloons randomly trying to criss-cross over the entire balloon surface. When I was all finished with the wrapping I dipped the wrapped balloons in the glue mixture to make sure all the yarn was soaked. Then I left them on the wax paper to dry for 24 hours. I also rearranged them after a couple of hours because excess glue formed puddles on the bottom of the balloons.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KlNfKLBjXV4/T3p35jtMntI/AAAAAAAAA1I/5BoiR8wHo-4/s1600/Wrapped+Balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KlNfKLBjXV4/T3p35jtMntI/AAAAAAAAA1I/5BoiR8wHo-4/s400/Wrapped+Balloons.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
After 24 hours I popped the balloons. I held the tied end of the balloon and popped them using a pin. I found the faster the pop the better as slowly deflating balloons sometimes pulled the yarn in with it collapsing the egg shape. For a stronger egg I think using more yarn would be helpful, but the amount of yarn I used held the balloon shape pretty well.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rhOyH6ztjWo/T3p37gBAL5I/AAAAAAAAA1Q/WLm1cbgGgLg/s1600/Yarn+Balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rhOyH6ztjWo/T3p37gBAL5I/AAAAAAAAA1Q/WLm1cbgGgLg/s400/Yarn+Balls.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Lastly, I strung the eggs on a piece of yarn, tying the eggs to the yarn to hold them in place and hung the garland up in a doorway.<br />
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</div>So cheerful and festive!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03154184564312032980noreply@blogger.com0