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Another Tote

So, it has been quite a while since I have done any sewing/crafting. Mainly it's because I just didn't have the motivation.

Claire had regressed to waking 3 or 4 times a night and it was really wearing on me. I think it was because she was getting one of her first molars.

Now she is back to waking once or twice a night. It is better but not great.

Anyhoo -

A friends birthday was the motivation I needed to make something and I had mentioned to her a while back that I might make her a shopping tote for her birthday. I couldn't not follow through.

So, a week and a half past her birthday I gave her this:



I did the straps a little differently than on the last tote and I actually wasn't that happy with them. The fabric ended up bunching up a little bit so there is a little gather in one of the seams that really bothers me.

So, if I make another I think I will go back to the first way of doing the handles.

Tote Bag

I have a friend who is an amazing photographer. She has done pics of Claire a couple of times now and they are always so wonderful.

See some of her work on her blog.

She recently did some one year pics of Claire. So I decided to make her a tote bag as a little thank you.



My thinking was that she could use it for a reusable grocery/shopping tote. I'm all about the reusable tote now. I hate those plastic bags. The only problem is that I feel a little silly carrying one into Target with 'Kroger' emblazoned on the front. Hence the need for a pretty green 'green' bag!

I didn't use a tutorial or pattern but I had read a bunch of different tote techniques online and then kind of made my own pattern.

I hope she likes it.

Baby Shower Cards

It seems like everyone I know is having a baby!

Well, not really but several friends are having babies soon. Hence the need for a couple of baby shower cards.

I had a gift bag that kind of had this square motif so I used that as inspiration for a card design.

They turned out pretty good. On the first one I didn't print out the IS FOR ahead of time so I wrote it with a marker. I'm pretty unhappy with my pathetic handwriting.



For some reason I wasn't as happy with the color combination on the second card. I don't know what it is but something seems off.

Baby Shoes

Ever since I saw this tutorial on Stardust Shoes, I have been wanting to make my own pair of baby shoes.

Claire is pretty much beyond the stage of wearing shoes like this. And, let's be honest, she is barefoot most of the time anyway now that it is summer.

So now is the perfect occasion since I am attending a baby shower. I have to say I love making baby stuff and these shoes are no exception.





These were not too hard to make. The directions were very clear. I couldn't find any bonded fleece though so I used two pieces of craft felt since I have a ton of it from when I went on a felt shopping spree earlier this year.

The hardest part was sewing around the edges when attaching the front and back to the sole. But, I managed to get it done and the results were pretty cute.

These just might become my standard baby gift.

Baby Gifts

I have a baby shower to attend next Saturday so I've been trying to make up a couple of things for the new baby.

I don't think the mom-to-be is going to read this before the shower because, well, I'm pretty sure nobody is reading this.

The baby is of an unknown gender which was a little difficult for me to find a fabric that I was happy with. I had this ABC flannel in my stash so I decided it would work.

First a bib, the front is the ABC flannel and the back is a very light blue terry cloth.





Then I found a tutorial linked from Sew, Mama, Sew for a little diaper and wipe case. Here is the tutorial.






I made it a little different from the tutorial in that I added batting inside all the pieces so it is a little fluffier and has a little more weight that way. I used fabric from my stash for this as well.

I did have to make each of these items twice before I got them right. The bib had a way way too small neck opening. It wouldn't fit around Claire at all. I tried to modify it, but it just wasn't working out so I made it again.

The diaper case I had almost finished when I went to rip open the button hole and ended up riping all the way through the fabric. I had used a red piece of fabric for the pocket the first time which I actually thought was cuter but I just didn't have enough left to make the pocket the second time. I tried to fix the thing but it was just not happening. Oh well.

It seems like I'm always having to do things a couple of times before I get them right.

Something Healthy

This carrot is a little more healthy than the other felt food I've been making.



But, it's still pretty darn cute.

Baby Quilt

Here is a little baby quilt I made a while ago for a friend at work. It's a jungle print fabric that I thought was pretty cute for his little boy.

Father's day card

Here's a little card I made to give to Ryan from Claire for Father's day.


He said he really liked it.

It originally had another tool in the big pocket but I'm not sure what happened to it. When I went to scan the card just now it was missing.

Birthday Dress

Claire needed a special outfit for her birthday. I just assumed at first I would buy her something. I looked all over online for something cute with ladybugs on it. I found something on ebay that was pretty cute and I thought about buying it.

Then Ryan mentioned that I should make her a dress. I was a little leery because I have never actually sewn any baby clothes or really very many clothes at all. But, I found a cute pattern and some cute fabric and decided to go for it.


The pattern sizes were listed as 12M and 18-24M. I decided that I should make the 18-24M so it would fit Claire all summer.

After spending quite a bit of time putting it together and sewing the skirt to the bodice 3 times before I finally got it on right I tried it on Claire. The dress was huge. I had to make it all over again in the 12M size. And hey, I only had to sew the skirt on twice on the second dress!


Then there was a big internal debate about the color of the contrast band at the bottom of the skirt. I had originally bought a black and white polka dot print for this since they had no red and white at the store. But when I got home, I realized I had a scrap of red and white polka dot that would work for the band but not nearly enough to do the pantie. I eventually decided to go with the red & white but at the last minute add a black & white ribbon trim. Then I did black & white panties. It turned out really cute.


I ended up putting a black & white band on the first dress I made and gave it to my niece to wear. It fit her just fine. I can't believe I actually thought it would fit Claire.

Here they are together in their matching dresses.