Baby Woodland Elf Hat

I made this darling little hat to go with a friend's baby shower gift. It turned out so pretty I really had to talk myself out of keeping it. That wasn't too hard considering I have a boy baby, and his giant brain has already taken his head well beyond newborn size, but I just liked looking at it. I loved how it was modern and kind of Victorian at the same time. I got the feeling like when you look at your child and think "wow, I made that."; in a lesser sense of course, but still very satisfying. 

Anyway, back to the hat. (I shouldn't blog at night; all sorts of randomness comes out.) I got the pattern from Amy Karol's book Bend the Rules Sewing. I absolutely love this book, and her blog Angry Chicken. 

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 The hat was really simple and was easily finished in a couple of hours. I used a fleece fabric since I didn't have wool, and it turned out beautiful. I really like how the ties curled up, and look like little ringlets. A lovely little gift for a lovely little girl.

More of my beautiful models!

Yellow, Pink, and Green Baby Shower!

I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for my sis and her darling little Lysi back in January. Everything turned out so beautiful and we had so much fun!

 We set up a crafting/sewing table with a stack of baby items for the guests to pick from, and we asked that everyone re-fashion at least one thing. We had paint, a glue gun, ribbon, sewing supplies, and more!

The food was wonderful! I was so lucky to have great help in the kitchen.

These Martha Stewart tissue balls were perfect over the table and bar, and they are so easy to make!

Here is the beautiful cake my mom made for the party.

 

We had a Mommy Suggestions Board where guests could pin their best mommy advice.

And candy dishes everywhere!

My mom had these wonderful 64oz mason jars, we filled then with candy and put a jar candle down the center to make lovely decorations.

The baby bath made a perfect ice bucket to chill the "milk"(Pina Colada!), juice, and sprite.

The guests stayed busy at the craft table, and the creations were amazing! We also kept them busy with several games: Drink the Bottle, Mom Memory, Diaper Draw, Guessing baby's weight (since she was already born), and Sock Match.

Every guest did something unique and special!

Epiphany Jan. 6, 2011!

Epiphany morning!

 This year we continued our tradition of opening the stockings on Epiphany, but since we were out of town for Christmas we decided to give the kids their gifts from us and Santa on this day as well.

 We also had some gift exchanges planned with the family here, so it was the perfect occasion to have a party!

Princess Lulu

 We had my parents, sister/brother in law, and all the kids over to open the gifts and share the King Cake!

Homemade King Cake, yum!

PT and Popi

Immy

JP

Immy, JP, and Banana

(Almost) Everyone had a wonderful time!

Happy Three Kings Day!

Cuteness!

She calls this sleeper her "doggies".

Chocolate milk monster

He is just so cute!

Colorado 2010!

Buckled in and ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's!

Christmas 2010!

Happy 1st Christmas PT!

No time like the presents!

Legos!

Petshop!

We loved the Denver Museum of Nature and Science!

Reindeer kiss!

 

Dinosaurs!

Immy

Mummies!

 The kids were so excited about every single thing! Mummies, dinosaurs, animal dioramas! Everything! They had watched Night at the Museum the night before, so they were convinced that everything comes to life after dark. "Better not stay to late, mom."

"Take our picture in front of this!"

This is Immy's "I wanted my picture in front of the Llamas." face.

JP was so excited about the cheetah! I think he thought it was Baby Jaguar from Diego.

Aunt E, Grandpa, and Grandma

SNOW!

Lulu

Immy

JP and Uncle T

Headed home after another wonderful visit!

No-sew Nursing Tops

I have been making these no-sew nursing shirts for myself since my first baby was born. 

I realized right away that nursing in public was sometimes a necessity, and pulling my shirt up not only showed way too much belly, but also made it obvious that I was nursing; two things a shy new mom didn't want. At the time I found lots of lovely nursing shirts and dresses online, but they were out of my budget. I started making these as a cheap alternative to the expensive ones I saw online, and after a while I found these to be so convenient and versatile that I wore them nearly everyday! I hope this idea helps you as well!

This is a really easy project and requires no sewing, so it is very fast! I often end up making one of these on my way out the door in the morning! 

*This post does contain (modest) pictures of the nursing shirt on, just so ya know.*

1. Grab an old tank top out of your closet and put it on. 
2. Take a pen and mark a dot at the top outside edge of each breast on your shirt. Then mark the bottom inside edge the same way. 
3. Take the tank top off and cut from top dot to the bottom dot. -This does not have to be perfect, no one will ever see it, and the baby doesn't care. When you are done it should look like the picture below.
4.  Put the shirt on (with a nursing bra underneath, not a tank top as seen in the pics.), and layer it with a shirt that has either a low cut neckline or buttons down the front. This also works great with low-cut and button down dresses!
5. You are done! When you need to nurse/breastfeed just pull the top shirt to the side, and feed the baby through the "new" cut shirt. Your chest and stomach will stay well covered (Though you may still want to throw a blanket over your shoulder for a little bit of privacy.), and you can focus on your sweet little one without feeling like you just put on a show!

cut shirt

 

What it should look like finished (minus white tank underneath)

Layering example #1

Example #2

Example #3

Pull aside to nurse/breastfeed