Baking Basket

Our niece had her 11th birthday party last weekend. We decided kind of late that we would go and I went out the night before and picked up a gift. I knew what I wanted to get, I just hoped it would still be available. A couple weeks earlier I was walking around Joann's and I saw a book called "Almost Too Cute to Eat." It's a book that shows how to make cute little snacks--cookies, cupcakes and other sweets--the perfect gift for a girl who likes baking. I had only seen one copy though, so I was happy to see that it was still there. Along with the book I got a couple packages of candy melts, lollipop sticks, cupcake papers and big colored sprinkles--some of the supplies called for in the recipes. And I wasn't sure how to wrap everything so I bought a small basket, too.

Now to put it all together! Here are all the supplies I used:

I didn't measure anything in the store. Fortunately, the basket was just big enough to hold everything. It was a little tight, but I think gift baskets look better when they're full--makes it look like there is more in it. I already had a cellophane bag at home so I dug that out and some matching blue ribbon. The bag was a little wider than the basket though so once it was tied I taped the bottom corners of the bag toward the back so it wouldn't stick out. I also trimmed a few inches off the top of the bag so it wasn't overly tall. I think it worked pretty well! Here it is when finished...

It was the first gift opened by the birthday girl and she seemed pretty excited. Hopefully she has fun making all the cute little sweets!

Bunny Ears

I was looking at patterns on Etsy a while ago and came across a few for little fleece hats. So cute!

I bought a pattern that makes five hats--bunny, bear, cat, cow and monster. And the pattern ranges in size from newborn up to 8 years old.


I wanted to make one for baby girl and I thought if it turned out well maybe I could make one for Parker, too.  :)



The first one I tried was a newborn bunny hat. There were only three pattern pieces to cut out and it took about 30 minutes to make, from start to finish--gotta love quick projects like that!  :)





The ears stick out a little more than I thought they would, but it's still pretty cute. I may try making another one with the bear ears

Fun with Foam

I was looking for some new ideas for toddler activities and I came across one that I was sure Parker would enjoy--pushing golf tees into a styrofoam block!  :) I found the idea on Pinterest (of course!) and thought I'd try it, since it only took two supplies. I was at Michael's last week and picked up a small block of styrofoam, about the size of a brick. I was pretty sure we had some tees at home with our golf bags.

When I went out to get the tees later they seemed a little sharp and I started re-thinking the idea...I didn't want Parker to hurt himself trying to push them in. But as I set them back down I noticed a small bag of golf ball markers. They're also made to stick into the ground, but the tips are plastic and rounded so there'd be no danger of him poking his little fingers.

I set the block on the table with the bright colored markers and Parker immediately became curious. I set him in his chair and showed him how to push the markers into the foam. His eyes lit up and he couldn't wait to try. He loved it!!

The markers were small so I stayed with him while he was playing just to make sure he didn't put them (or his little foam-covered fingers) in his mouth. He put the markers in and then pulled them out over and over. And over. He didn't want to stop! He played with it for almost 45 minutes straight before he put it down, and even then it was more because I was wanting to stop.

The only problem with foam is that it makes a mess. Even with the plastic wrap on the foam, it still left 'crumbs' everywhere so when he was finally done playing I threw it away. I think next time I'll let him push the markers into a lump of playdough and see how that works instead.
I love finding new things for him to try! It's fun to sit and watch him concentrating so hard on something.  :)

Purse

I had my sewing class on Thursday and the project was a purse/tote bag. I went fabric shopping the week before and almost picked out brown corduroy and coordinating cotton for the lining. Then I put it back, thinking that almost all of my bags are black or brown. Not that that's bad since they're all different, but I thought I should try something else and use fabric that was a little more bright. So I picked this...

I'm not sure what I think of it now that it's done! I wanted something bold, but the bag turned out bigger than I thought so it really stands out. Guess it's fun for those days I'm wearing mostly black or grey. It'll add a little color.  :)
And I do like that it can hold a lot. I went next door to a birthday party today with Parker and my new bag easily held his diapers, wipes, changing pad, extra pants and his water cup, as well as a few things of my own. If I decide not to use it for a purse, it would make a fun diaper bag for baby!


The pattern is called "Grommet-Go-Around" and it's an easy bag to make. A few of the steps were a little confusing so thankfully our instructor showed us some shortcuts when making it. I'm thinking I might tweak the pattern to make it a little smaller and try again...but maybe with a more subtle fabric.  :)

'New' Shirt

A few months ago Kyle took me shopping for new maternity clothes! It was fun picking out and trying on some new things. I ended up getting several shirts and a couple pairs of pants. Although I've been wearing most of those clothes this summer, there was one t-shirt that always seemed a little big. But we both liked it so I went ahead and got it, hoping it would fit better once I had a little more, uh...girth.  :)
But I tried it on this week and it's still a bit loose. Wearable, but not the best fit. I wasn't sure if I could still return it after having it so long so I decided to make a minor alteration instead.

Here is the shirt. I love the print and the colors but it was too loose in the middle. I needed a way to gather it under the bustline. I tried sewing a piece of thin elastic across the inside, but it didn't look right so I picked it out. A lot of the maternity tops we've seen are empire waist style with a belt or ribbon around them, which I opted to try with this shirt.


I bought two yards of 5/8" red ribbon and got out a package of ivory embroidery thread and a needle. I tried on the shirt first to figure out how far down to put the ribbon...on me it was 6-3/4 inches from the top of the underarm seam.











Making the loop was simple. I pulled the needle through, knotting it inside the shirt. Make one big stitch the width of ribbon, then knot it again on the inside of the shirt. It made a perfect loop to hold the ribbon in place.

Once the ribbon was threaded through the loops I lit a match and melted the ends slightly to keep it from fraying. That's it!

Here's a picture of the shirt now...

Maybe not the perfect solution but it works. I wish I had thought of doing something like this sooner so I could have gotten more wear out of it!   :)

***

My other sewing time this week was spent making a double-sided blanket for baby girl. We'll probably use some of Parker's blankets too, but just so they're not all too boyish I made this one super girly--pink with kittens on the front and white with pink dots on the back.

Can't wait to wrap baby in her new blanket!  :)