Baby Shower Gift

I made a gift for a friend’s baby shower. The bunny was made using this tutorial & pattern, and the blanket and burp cloth were made with my pattern and tutorial.

The bunny was my favorite part.

Quiero Perfecto

A few weeks ago I was at a MOPS meeting talking with one of the mentor moms about a few frustrations I was experiencing. She said to me, "It sounds like you just want everything to be perfect. It isn't going to be that way."

She's right.

But yesterday I had a day where I want everything to be perfect. The last few sewing and crafting projects I’ve done haven’t turned out exactly the way I imagined them {perfect}. So I'm frustrated. Other things I want to be perfect:

I want my kitchen to be perfectly clean, yet have a perfectly presented meal for dinner.

I want my kids to never have runny noses or food on their clothing.

I want them to nap (at the same time) between 1 and 3 pm.

I want all my craft projects to go perfectly.

I want my craft/sewing area to be perfectly clean.

I want my bathrooms to be spotless.

I want my kids’ toys to be arranged in proper order.

I want to be able to sit on my deck and enjoy my perfectly mowed yard with perfect landscaping.

I want a beautifully organized linen closet and empty laundry baskets.

I want to wake up feeling rested.

I want to have a relaxing Saturday morning with my husband and our kids play without crying.

I want to wear PJ’s that match.

The reality is:

I’m always cleaning the kitchen.

My little boy’s nose seems to be constantly running due to seasonal allergies.

My kids rarely nap at the same time.

I have to sand the shelf and end table I just painted and attempted to glaze to correct my mistakes and start over.

The zipper pouches I spent so much time on the past few days don’t look the way I expected.

I don’t know if the showers have been cleaned in the past two weeks.

It is raining outside and our grass is still patchy.

I’m exhausted when I wake up in the morning and race to brush my teeth and put in my contacts before my two-year old decides to jump out of his crib. [I’m trying to prevent him from learning to escape. Just a few more months, please!]

My husband is busy biking, running, playing his saxophone with a band, and too busy with his own pursuits for relaxing over coffee. Our kids whine and cry a lot.

None of my PJ’s match. I wear old t-shirts with shorts to bed.

So while I’m sitting here longing for a blog-perfect or magazine-page family, house and life, I wondered why we all long for perfection. Why do I spend my free time creating things? Taking pictures? Posting them online? Why do I clean my home, attempting to make it appear perfect? It just gets messy and dirty again. The laundry fills up. Another meal or snack has to be served.

Hygienic motivation for cleaning aside, I was thinking that we were all created {by God} to live in a perfect world. God placed the first two people in the Garden of Eden, which probably didn’t get dirty. Kids weren’t supposed to whine. Beauty and perfection abounded in this garden.

We’re all trying to recreate the beauty and perfection God intended for the world. We can’t do it and always fall short. Bummer. But that’s because we weren’t created to live in this world. If you confess Jesus Christ to be your personal savior, you can have the assurance that you’ll be surrounded by beauty and perfection for eternity.

There’s nothing wrong with making fun crafts and cleaning your home. The problem comes when it becomes an obsession and you can’t stand your house because it isn’t as perfect as a lovely picture you’ve seen on someone’s blog or in a decorating magazine.

Pattern Testers Needed

I am planning to sell a pattern for making a raglan shirt from upcycled t-shirts. I've made it several times for my little boy.

However, I want a few testers to try their hand at it before I try to sell it. This way, the testers can report any problems or quirks it may have!

This is my plan:
Email me to express your interest in being a tester.

I will send you the pattern (for free) in several emails which contain PDF files. (There are several variations...long sleeves, short sleeves, hoodie, kangaroo pocket...)

You print it off and make whatever variation you want from your own t-shirt stash.

Take pictures of the final product & send them to me.

Give me feedback.

Update: The shirt pattern is size 3T.

Winner of the My Memories Software

Thanks to my two entries for the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software. Random.org chose comment #2, so Stephanie, I'll be contacting you soon with your code to download your free scrapbook software!

Thanks for entering!

Next time we have a giveaway, I'll make sure it is some sort of crafty item! I got the picture that Monkey See, Monkey Do readers would prefer a crafty giveaway!

Covering a Photo Book

My 2 year-old loves to look at photos. I’d rather his hands not rip apart the scrapbooks and albums I’ve spent hours organizing and decorating, so I wanted to make him an album all of his own.

Note: You could follow this tutorial to make a cover for any type of book (journals, baby books, etc!)

I found this photo book for $.50 at a dollar store. It fits 4x6” pictures. The cover was ugly and I couldn’t insert a picture to cover it up.

Solution: I made a cover (out of old t-shirt scraps) to cover it up.

To start, I measured the book and added 1/2” to each measurement for seam allowance.

(1/4” for each seam.)

I cut one piece for the outside (I added a fabric stamp as an embellishment) and two pieces for the pockets. I made the pockets 4” deep. I would also recommend adding the button at this step. I did it at the very end and it was considerably more difficult.

With right sides together, I sewed 1/4” from all the edges to create the pockets.

I also used a small hair elastic to create the loop for the button. I just sewed it right on into the pocket so that when it is turned right sides out, the loop will be on the seam.

After clipping all four corners, I was done. Since I used a t-shirt, I didn’t hem any of the edges.

Flip the whole thing right sides out, press it flat, and cover your book!

Perfect for a 2 year-old.