Babies! Babies! Babies!

It's been a long time... A really long time since I blogged. So sorry!

Apparently I have a six page long TODOLIST... Not a full six pages long, actually each page is divided into 2 categories, but even for me 12 areas to work on is a little crazy.

I've got a VERY bad habit of starting projects and then realizing that they will take longer than I expected. At that point of realization I sometimes give up and start a new project and then before I know it I have 10 unfinished projects gawking at me and very little desire to finish them because I've already found 10 new things I'd like to try. It's horrible. (side note, the projects always get finished, just not always as quick as I thought *wink*)
So this awful habit of mine spurred the writing out of the 6 page TODOLIST. I'm using lined paper in page protectors with a dry erase pen. I have it sort of rigged so that I can see all of the things I want to do over an unknown span of time and then I grab from those and put it on an "active" list. So I'm always adding to the "long term" areas but I've made a pact with myself that I can't start new projects until my active TODOLIST gets totally finished. I was super productive last week and got everything but 1 item marked off (I just counted, that list had 30 things on it - I did scrap the gardening/weed items though, so the list ended up at 25 - outdoor stuff is in a totally different ballpark and requires book reading and product purchasing that I just can't do right now.)

One of my categories on my TODOLIST is blogging and it keeps getting longer and longer, so today I decided I had better get back in the swing of things! And when I'm done here I'm going to work on incorporating my TODOLIST into my Calendar; I work much better with deadlines! I'm hoping to blog once a week from here on out - apparently it's what all the "real" bloggers do... go ahead and laugh at that one... 

Back in October before I left for Anchorage I finished up a bunch of projects but decided not to blog about them because they were all baby shower gifts! But they've all been delivered and opened and I can now share the goodies. For the sake of my TODOLIST I'm only going to share the finished products today and possibly do the tutorials another time. 

My friend Jenn is pregnant with a baby girl. We met in 7th grade and we've been friends since. She grew up in a military family and moved away after we graduated. I wouldn't call it "actively" but we've kept in touch over the years, which is a total blessing. 
I first saw this project on Pinterest but it was link to an inactive Etsy site, but I decided to have a go at it anyway. Now there are some things I will go ahead and eyeball, but a large football blanket is NOT one of them. So my cousin did a little research, found me an article on how to build a projector and off I went to find my supplies to create a pattern for this blanket... 

I have been blessed to have married into a military and football family. College football is our go to sport but we have been playing fantasy football with some of my extended family so I think we come full circle. When I went to the fabric store to buy fabric to make cutie-pie a blanket I decided that it was probably too great of a project to not make one for Jenn and her little girl too. I did not realize the fabric choice would cause such a conundrum when my hubby got home from work that day; you see, we are Husker fans and Jenn is a Longhorn fan... and although we are no longer in the same conference, upon seeing this football a sharp "Get that out of my house!" was heard =)

I did the tutorial photos with my Husker fabric - so you'll have to stay tuned if you want to see that one =) The hardest part of that project was cutting out the fabric. Minky is soft and wonderful but it has a stinking mind of it's own. One of these days I'll have enough money to buy myself a wonderful craft table that will be big enough to properly cut out fabric on! (hint hint...)

The next project I also found on Pinterest. I had grand plans of making more than 3 sets of these because they are SUPER easy and SUPER quick - perfect projects for my attention-span apparently (and I could cut out and iron while watching tv... brilliant). Alas my Adobe trial ran out before I got to these and because I was relying on my wonderful sis-in-law to make them on her Illustrator I didn't want to go too crazy... But I did make 3 different sets, I only have 2 to show you (I was probably distracted by Lark Rise to Candleford on Amazon Prime which is why I have no photos) I mapped out what size (estimated) each baby would be each month and then ordered onesies from Carters during a 50% off sale (score!) so that I had the right size in the right sleeve length. I got iron on transfer papers from Hobby Lobby and printed off the templates my sis-in-law made, cut them out and ironed them on. WAY EASY. WAY CUTE.

The other day when I stopped at Hobby Lobby I saw some appliques that you can peel on and off - GENIUS! I think that is an even better idea because they can be re-used AND you don't have to guess which size of onesie your babe will be in, just use one you have! And what a fun way to document your child's growth. 

Okay, last project. I ended up making two of these, one for me and one for my cousin. I found the tutorial for these nursing covers here and will possible do my own sometime in the future!

The tutorial is for a double layered cover and isn't designed to be reversible, which I thought it was (oh well). I might need to alter a few features, but I specifically made mine with the intent of being reversible - anything is possible. My cousin's is actually in a study outdoor fabric and only has one layer. I love the bright dandelions! I think it might be a little short so I hope she adds some lace across the bottom. And I really like how sturdy the fabric is, I'm glad we didn't add another layer of fabric. 

Choosing fabric for my cover was a pain - but I finally decided on a matching pattern in two colors (hey, we may not be ready yet, but we'd like another kiddo in the future and I thought blue and green flowers would work well for either gender!). Two layers of fabric is heavy, but I expected that. Cutie-pie and I got a little warm when we used it on the airplane ride to Anchorage and back, but I loved how sturdy (it stays in place on it's own, instead of me tugging on it) and how large it was - I wasn't worried about exposure...

So there you have it! Thanks for being patient in waiting for another blog post, AND for reading!!! 

I may tend to take a while in finishing up projects for myself, but when I work on things for others they tend to get done lickity-split - so if you have need of a customized or personalized gift for someone you know, please keep me in mind! And don't feel limited to projects you've seen me do - I love trying new things! In fact, now that I've finished this blog I get to go to the fabric store and get goodies for a NEW project... right after I work on my calendar! AYIEE! 

Happy Crafting!