Bucket List Project #3: Dish Mats

My third project was supposed to be molded crayons.  Well, I ordered some super cute candy molds to use but they still haven't arrived so in it's place I decided to make myself some dish mats.  Our dishwasher is as old as our house (which isn't that old in house years but really old in dishwasher years).  We are trying to make it work a little longer before we dish out the money for a new one!  So, in the mean time the counter above the dishwasher looks like this:

Where I put all the dishes I rewashed, or washed instead of waiting all day for the dishwasher to decide to finish washing one load.  Oh, and there's always those pots & pans that need to be hand washed. 

I originally was going to follow this cute tutorial over at Toad's Treasures but I was too lazy  busy and wanted something quicker... you never know how long nap time is going to be with 2 kids!

So, this is what I ended up doing.

Gather up the following supplies

First, spray the back of the terri cloth hand towel.  Wait about 5 minutes (refer to directions on spray can).

 Lay flannel fabric face down on work surface and carefully lay the terri cloth hand towel with sticky side down ontop of flannel.  I started at one end, smoothing out wrinkles as you go.

Cut the edges off the short side...makes the next step easier.

Not pictured, I surged around the edges.  If you do not have a serger I would recommend using bias tape as an easy way to finish the edges. 

Here are my fnished products...which took me no longer than a half hour for 3!

And here's my dish area with my new dish mat! 

These are super absorbant! 

Bucket List Project #2: Fused Bags

Ok, so I thought I already posted this on Saturday... I had it scheduled, at least I thought I did.  When I went in to blogger today I noticed it still said draft...so sorry!  I really was sticking to my schedule.

 For my second Bucket List project I made this cute little basket

from my abundant collection of Target bags that I've been collecting just for this project!

For fusing techniques I referred to this post and this post.

Here's how I made this little basket.  I took my sheets of fused plastic bags and cut them into 1" strips the length of the bags.   I chose to use 2 different colored fused plastic.

You'll have a pile of 1" strips.  You'll need a total of 12.

Now take 8 strips weaving them together to form the base for the basket.

Here comes the tricky part.   Start by bending the sides up to help hold the woven middle area together. 

Then using a little hot glue to hold the strip in place & bending at each corner, weave your bottom strip.

Once all the way around, glue the strip in the same place you started it.

Repeat this for 3 more strips. To finish the top, fold down the ends of the upright spokes and tuck them into or fold them under the weaving beneath.  I used a little hot glue to hold the top row of weaving together where needed. 

Now you have a very useful little basket...and the bags you used are not sitting in a landfill.  Win-Win!

Bucket List Project #1: Bleached T-shirt

Yay, I am so excited about my new series.  I am going to be getting so much done this month!  My first project was super easy & didn't require anything that I didn't already have at home.  I first saw this project here on Under the Sycamore.  My 2 year old I was not ready for my 2 year old to be given a squirt gun with bleach in it.  You should check out her post... great photography & lots of fun!

Here is my recap of my project.

1. I traced different shaped cookie cutters onto freezer paper which I cut out

2. and ironed to the front of a cheap blue T-shirt I bought for $1 at Walmart!

2. I also put a layer of freezer paper inside the shirt the bleach wouldn't bleed through the shirt

3. I used an old squirt bottle to pour about a cup of bleach into...I wanted to be able to throw it away once this project was over.

I took the shirt to my front porch and hung it on the railing with some heavy canned veggies.  Then squirted the front, making sure to saturate the area around the freezer paper stars.

Then I rinsed the shirt in a tub in my sink and threw it in to a washer that was already full of soap and water and ready to agitate.

My second shirt I bought at a yard sale for almost nothing.  I decided to try a different technique.  I used a plastic cookie cutter that I stole from my son's play dough stash.  I used the small end of the Bleach Pen and wrote out RAWR means I Love You.  Then, pressing firmly on the cookie cutter, I filled in the edges with bleach.  I let this soak in for about 5 minutes then took it to my sink & rinsed it really well with the sprayer.  Then washed in the washing machine.  (Please note that I also put freezer paper inside shirt to keep the bleach from soaking through)

My little man wearing his new shirt:

Check back Saturday for my next Bucket List project!

Bucket List & New Series

Have you noticed my 'Craft Bucket List' toward the bottom of my right sidebar?  It's been there for a while...to be honest I've just about forgotten about it!  Well, I'm getting that spring itch where you want to clean out every closet & declutter. No, I'm not pregnant!  My garage sale pile is growing by the day so little by little my house is getting in order.  Now it's time for crossing off some projects & cleaning out my fabric & craft stashes.  I'm taking the month of June to do the projects on my 'Craft Bucket List'.  I figure if I do 2-3 per week I won't get burned out so here's the tentative schedule:

Bleach T-shirt

Fused Bags

Dish Mats

Molded Crayons

Wine Cork Message Board

Boy's Page Hat

Car Pillow

Felted Soap

Flat Front Shorts

Lap Tray

Storage Cubes

Hanging Storage Container

Cowl-neck shirt

Mystery Project picked from one of my gazillion bookmarked favorites

So, stop back tomorrow for my first project: Bleached T-shirts!

Monthly Onesie Stickers {free download}

I have a friend who is due pretty soon with baby #3.  Her shower is this coming weekend.  When I started thinking about what to get or make her I was a little stumped because this is baby #3, they don't know the sex yet, and they have one of each gender already.  So, there really isn't much she needs.  I think most people are getting her diapers...you can NEVER have too many of those!  But I wanted to do something more fun and I am so excited to share what I came up with! 

I've seen these on Etsy & thought they were a great idea (secretly wishing I would have done this with both my boys).  Since they needed to be gender neutral and since I already had some images from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (I'm getting ready for my little guys first birthday!) I went with that theme.  The thought crossed my mind to go ahead and adhere these to some onesies but I resisted because babies grow at such different speeds.  Both my boys had doubled their birth weight by 2 months!  So, even though a set of onesies with these images would be more fun to give, I decided to give them as 'sticker's in a drawstring bag with directions on how to apply them when needed. 

I used these to print the images on.  I think the clear version would be better in case you want to stick them on a colored onesie.  I already had the white stickers so that's what I used.

 First, download and print the following images on your sticker paper.

The documents below are for personal use only.  Please use them to make gifts or for your own enjoyment but under no circumstances may you sell these documents. 

Sheet #1 (months 1-6)

Sheet #2 (months 7-12)

Here are the instructions that I put with the gift.  Right click on the image and save to your computer. 

I had the perfect fabric to make a cute little drawstring bag to put all the stickers in and here's how I made it.

1. Cut a piece of fabric 11"x 5"

2. Fold in half with right sides together and sew up both sides.  Stop about 2" from the top on one side to allow a place for the drawstrings.

3. Fold the top down and inch and iron. 

4. Sew 3/4" or sew from the top all the way around.  One side will have the opening for the drawstring.

5. Using a saftely pin feed a piece of ribbon through the opening you left at the top.

6. Cut out all the stickers.

Punch a hole in the instructions, place the stickers in the bag and tie with a cute bow.

You've got a really thoughtful & fun gift!

Enjoy!  Please leave me a comment if you use these- it brightens my day :)

Traveling with Baby: Feeding Time!

Yesterday I mentioned this blanket clip I made that matches my awesome diaper bag!

When I was creating my packing list I wasn't sure what to do about bringing bibs.  Even though we were only going to be gone for 3 days that's a minimum of 3 bibs a day.  Then the thought of nasty, dirty bibs caked with food in my suitcase- some of them 3 days old- eww!

What about my travel bibs? Again, what to do when they're dirty?  They are good for a dinner out not days of eating out.  I needed something disposable.  Sure, I could have bought some of these.  But I was already rushed for time finishing up my diaper bag and really didn't want to make a half hour trip, hauling 2 kids into a store just for what is basically a napkin! 

My easy fix was to add a couple snaps to the blanket clip & ta da it is now a bib clip!  Attach a napkin from the restaurant.  I threw in a bunch of these disposable changing pad covers (which I actually bought with my first son and still have)!   They can be used for so many things!  I figured besides covering germy changing station surfaces I could use one as a bib if need be! 

Here's my little man modeling one of the multi use pads & blanket clip as a bib.  What I really loved was the size was ample enough to cover his lap.  It seems these days 1/2 his food ends up there!

Here is the clip before snaps... great for keeping a blanket on your child especially in a stroller.  I ended up really needing this because I was not prepared for the cold & rainy weather we had during the graduation!

I added a button set about one inch down from the fold and another 2 inches down.  This gives me more options for how long/short I want it. 

Here is a shot from the underside.  The snaps are kinda hard to see. 

These clips are so easy to make.  There are probably a gazillion tutorials out there so I won't go into too much detail.  I cut 2 strips of fabric 1" wide plus seam allowances and about 14" long. Put the 2 pieces right sides together and sew around 3 sides leaving one open so you can turn it right side out.  Once right side out top stitch 1/8" around all sides closing the end you left open.  Add suspender clips on both ends by folding the fabric over a 1/2" or so and using a triple stitch to make sure it doesn't come apart.  Once done, fold in half and add a set of snaps about 1" and 2" from fold...try it on your child and decide where you want them.

I wish I would have known how great these things were...every mom with young eaters needs one!

Traveling with Baby: Diaper Bag

So, I am just returning from a little trip to Denver for my sister's grad school graduation.  To make this possible, since my husband farms on the side, we each took a kid.  This was my first time ever flying with a child.  Man oh man I learned a lot from this experience.  I thought I'd share my experience starting with this awesome diaper bag I made for the trip. 

I used this pattern from Sew 4 Home with a few changes.  The exterior fabric was Michael Miller Laminate Bicycles Gray.  The interior was a waterproof PUL fabric.  The accent fabric was a blue gingam. 

I would recommend NOT using a laminate fabric because it's a pain!  I could use more words to describe the frustration I had but I'll keep this G rated! 

I added a phone pocket to the chest strap... and I used it a lot!

Here is a close up of the knot where the two straps come together.  This is nice because you can control the length of the strap.

Here's a peek inside the bag.  I loved the swivel key clip...made it easy to not loose my keys.  I also was able to clip a pacifier in this too!

Look at ALL the pockets!  This bag has major storage- great for travel!

The original pattern called for a button closure but I hate buttons so I added a flap and 2 magnetic snaps.  I loved the magnetic snaps but in retrospec I would have just put them along the top edge and not added the flap...one less step.  This was the first time using the magnetic snaps and even though they are so easy to install I made the mistake of putting the tabs through all layers.  So to hide the tabs I hot glued some fun orange buttons on them! 

Here I am modeling the bag (on self timer).  You can get an idea of the size...perfect as a carry on!

I made a matching blanket clip that my older son is modeling (ignore the funny face...it's the best I got!).  More on this later.

On a difference note I had to give you a peek at my new tie and belt set!

You can choose from a real tie or tie onesie.  I love this blue gingam!

Here's the link for the listing with the real tie and this is for the tie onesie.

Here's my little man modeling the tie... the best I got with a self timer!  I really need to teach my 2 year old how to use a camera!!