A new level of functional crafting

My baby girl loves the Jenny Jump-up seat at her baby gym. So much so that my husband wants to buy one for our house! BUT, considering we have a tiny house and limited funds, it's something I can't personally justify.

HOWEVER...

You can make your own baby swing!

Gotta admit I'm a huge DIY fan, but this never occured to me.

What do you think? Would you make it?
Would you put your baby in one that someone else made?

Fat babies love costumes

Buzzfeed is always fun, and today a friend sent me a link to:

31 F**king Adorable Things To Make For Babies

There are some great things, and some "how the hell did that make this list?" things - but since 'adorable' is an objective label, I'm pretty sure I should let it go.

However, a few brought me to near tears...check out what made got added to my do list:

mermaid tail for baby!

Oak Leaf Pixie Hat

Sock monkey baby!!

UGH. so much cuteness.

Also a notable shout out to Totoro ! While I probably won't be making this (I happen to have some other Totoro item up my sleeve presently) it's absolutely worth a share.

pretty much requires me to smush my computer screen right now

Also worth mentioning - it was nice to see Shwin and Shwin make the list with their bow tie onesies! I just finished a few Sunshine dresses this weekend from their Sun and Surf collection contribution...pics coming soon.

It's also interesting that I'm already familiar with so many of the sites these items were collected from. Or more likely, a sign that I've been spending too much time web-trolling and not enough time actually crafting!

If you're craving more, check out this similar list, also by Buzzfeed:

29 Easy And Adorable Things To Make For Babies

(This one is way more my speed and again, makes me cringe to realize how much time I spend on the internet looking at crafts.)

Have you got any projects planned right now?


UPDATE: talk about MORTIFYING but I forgot to include a link to the Totoro costume - which was made by my secret online blog crush, Cherie of you & mie. She recently talked about her favorite made items on this other awesome blog and (perhaps not surprisingly?) she mentioned that the Totoro costume is the most visited item in her whole blog. I'm guessing because it is INCREDIBLY AMAZING. Just a stab.

Monster Face Pull-over

Another fun project with the kid!

A few weeks ago I saw this on my Tumblr feed:

SAKUN cat sweater with zipper mouth

AMAZING! (Also, I am now in love with Korean fashion blog seoulrhythm. check it out.)

I showed the pictures to the kid and it was a hit. So, naturally, we made our own.

with a few changes...

A few things I learned about doing a project with your kid:

• Plans go out the window I don't know about you, but my kid changes his mind every 5 seconds. I cut out the exact same shape of the cat eyes (in the same color!) only to have him ultimately decide to flip them upside down. He also decided that he wanted a giant brown nose. And then he didn't. Then he decided it was going to be a monster. The choices are endless - and I let him have free reign with creative choices so he feels like it is 'his' project. Ultimately, though, I have to cut it off so that we can actually finish the project. The key is trying to gauge that point correctly.
• It will never be 'perfect' And it shouldn't be! Perfection usually comes at the price of many tears and your kid not getting to be as involved as s/he should be. I have to remind myself to not be worried about the end product - that kind of professionalism is lost on him anyway. 
• Keep it cheap We made this out of scrap fabric, scrap thread, and a pull-over he is on the verge of outgrowing that is no longer a staple of his wardrobe. The only thing I actually bought was the zipper - $1.99 at JoAnn's. Since it's a novelty item and I wasn't sure if it would be successful or worn often, I couldn't afford to put much money (or time) into it. 

We had SO MUCH FUN. I couldn't get it completely finished before bedtime, but we had it all cut and pinned and I promised when he woke up it would be completely sewn. All in all it took just one evening.

And he won't stop wearing it. :)

New Yarns!

Thanks to WEBS year-end sale and my unbearable weakness for endangered yarns, I have a new batch of yarn to drool over!

And here is what I'm planning for at least a portion of it:
Purl Bee Chevron Baby Blanket

But back into the bin for now. Too many other things on queue.

New Purchases

Always love getting new materials!!

Here's some yarn I picked up to make more thank you market bags for my doula, midwife, and nurses who attended my labor:

doncha wish you could touch it!

Even more exciting - I went to Joann's to pick up some fabric with my husband. I got my husband to go to a fabric store with me!?!? WHAT!

Well it was actually for him anyway... I recently picked up an amazing floor mat for the kitchen sink area. (Memory foam! Padding for the feet while you wash the dishes - it feels divine.) Unfortunately, the fabric on top of the mat is disgusting - pills, doesn't feel good against bare skin, and is a dog-hair magnet. So Reed insisted politely asked that I make a cover "or something" for it, to which I snapped politely requested that he help pick out a fabric for said project. So to Joann's we went!

Since we were on a time limit (trying to run errands while the newborn sleeps is a fun game) I wasn't able to wander around the store much, but luckily we were able to find what we needed and an extra fun item in the remnants shelf:

It's a little hard to see the striping on the broadcloth but I promise it's pretty and matches our kitchen. The pink was a total score - because that is the exact material our current, store-bought changing pad cover is made from!!

Carters. Dig it. 

Ours is also green. BUT now that we know new baby is a girl...PINK IS ON THE TABLE!

I am also incredibly excited that I got these yard-long pieces of fabric for about $5 each. Remnants! Discounts!! Gotta love 'em.