Did you know that the craft apron pattern is now on sale on my Etsy and Craftsy site?
Yep! You can now make your own craft half apron!
The picture says it all, in completing the apron, you'll be able to put in a 9" zipper, wrap around ties, belt loops, and 6 pockets!
I created one for myself a while back, and I didn't have the belt loops, and boy, did that apron keep sagging on me! It was to the point of annoyance! So, I created belt loops for the ties to keep it from sagging.
I'm excited to present this pattern!
Tou can purchase it for only $8.50 at Etsy and Craftsy.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about the pattern, don't hesitate to contact me!
This is the first one that we had the boys play in. Child #1
was so excited! He couldn't WAIT to get his snow suit on!
We had a lot of fun! The boys had a lot of fun eating the snow too!
As for everything else, I am currently creating a pdf pattern for the craft
show apron. I will be sending them to my
testers soon (if you’re interested in becoming a tester, please go here).
Yes. it's true, I will have a Black Friday sale. I am part of the Craftaholics Anonymous' Handmade Black Friday. I can't tell you my code or the coupon until 12:01am Eastern Time on 11/23/12.
But I wanted to tell you that it's one of my biggest sales.... ever. Yes, EVER! I know, you're anxious, it's true. Start thumbing through the pages because you do not want to miss this awesome deal!
I plan on taking more pictures tonight, and listing more tonight and tomorrow! I'm so excited! I hope you are too! ;)
You know how I have a tutorial for toddler pillow covers,
right? If you didn’t, it’s right here.
I realized that some people may find it useful, but some,
who do not have a sewing machine, know how to sew, etc. may want to purchase
one.
I now offer the pillow covers in my Etsy shop. It does not include the pillow, you can choose
between 7 different types of fabrics.
I did say to allow 3 – 5 days for me to
make, but if you need it sooner. You can always contact me; I can usually make
it within 24 hours.
In the descriptions, I mentioned what kind of pillow I have
purchased for my boys. The pillows are
from Home Elegance. The reason why I like them is that they are non-allergenic
and machine washable. I also noticed
that they don’t go flat as quickly. I don’t remember what brand I used before,
but they were poly-fil, and they went flat within a week.
So if you don’t have time, know how to sew, or have a sewing
machine, now you have an opportunity to purchase this super cute pillow!
I just finished three totes last night. I'll be listing them sometime this weekend. I need good sunlight to take photos, which the only time is the weekend for me.
They are similar to the one that I donated to Art Unleashed, except these have two small pockets under the zipper!
I am debating on just listing one, and having the other ones go to a consignment shop.
So? What do you think? :)
I'll be starting on some other totes with different fabrics soon. I'm trying to get a collection going on soon!
I'm not sure if you've noticed at the side, there is a button for TangoPony. We are both a part of KCEtsy Street Team (it's pretty awesome, and you should join if you're in KC)
Feel free and spill the salt, walk under the ladder, break a mirror... because it's your lucky day on this Friday the 13th!!!
40% off your entire purchase. I think that's pretty awesome! Stop on by, check out what I have in store for you!
I used disposables with Child #1 and we started cloth diapers with Child #2.
The options are out there and lots of people have different things to say about it, and it’s completely up to you on what you want to do. I do not look down on people who do the things that they do. There are daycares who do not take cloth, and there are people who just rather not use cloth. Cloth does take a lot of time, especially when the baby is young and needs changes more often.
I started using cloth to help save money. We were spending a lot of money on diapers with two kids when they're under 20 months! And Child #2 is allergic to disposables, as we found out later.
1. Diaper Pail. We got the Diaper Champ from my sister-in-law who didn’t need it anymore, and we bought a big box of tall kitchen trash bags. It was the original Diaper Champ, so, I'm not sure what the new one is like. It worked pretty well. Like any trash can, it would start getting stinky a day or two before trash day.
2. Wipes!!! You’ll be wiping a lot of bottoms! I don't think you need a picture of wipes. I like the thick ones as the kids get older.
3. Changing pad / blankets. We did not purchase a changing table. We didn’t have room for one and we didn’t think it was necessary. Since we’re always on the floor with them, with their tummy time and such, we just change them on the floor. We just changed them on the carpeted floor with a changing pad underneath them. I thought the water proof ones would work well, but it didn't. The moment my child "squirted" everywhere, the pee would run right off onto the carpeted floor. So, it was pretty pointless. I just used blankets. We had gotten a lot from baby showers, so, I put them to use! If the blanket gets dirty, I just wash it with the baby clothes. No big deal, right?
4. Butt paste. S is a brand kind of a guy. We used Destin. Every baby bottom is different. What works on one baby, may or may not work on the next. Destin worked fine on Child #1, but didn’t do much for Child #2. Aquaphor worked the best on Child #2. We also used Aquaphor for some eczema spots.
5. A little basket. We have a little wooden basket that we got from a baby shower. We put in all the essentials in there. Diapers and paste, and it was just easy to get to than having a box of diapers that the diapers came from. You can find some good cheap ones from Target or Walmart. It doesn't even have to be wood. If you want compartments, you can always find it at baby stores.
1. Diaper Pail. We got a kitchen trash can from Walmart or Target, and got a large pail liner (picture above) and put it in the laundry room. It will get pretty stinky after a couple days, so, I got a deodorizer to help with the smell.
2. Drying rack and clothes pins. You need to dry the diaper shells somewhere! I bought a cheap wood one from Walmart, and wood cloth pins.
3. Wet Bag. A bag for all your dirty diapers when you go out or for daycare! There are lots of cute handmade ones on Etsy. It looks like they're selling them in big box stores, like Kohls.com like this Little Luxe Transportation Zippered Wet Bag.
4. Cloth Diaper Friendly Butt Paste. We LOVE Grandma’s El! S loves the one that comes in the tub. I’m indifferent. GroVia’s Magic Stick didn’t do much for our boys, it didn’t create a thick enough of a barrier from the bottom to the diaper.
5. Wipes. Either disposable or cloth wipes. We don’t use cloth wipes, I haven’t found a system that works best for me yet.
7. Toilet Spray. I highly recommend this! It's not easy to scrap poop off of diapers, and the sprayer makes it easy. If it's too strong, spray it in a 5 gallon tub to help with the over spray. That sounded terrible, huh?
8. BioKleen's Bac-Out. This is really nice. It helps with the strong poo scent (I did not say it’d get rid of it, it just helps), and poo stains. They have coupons on their website.
9. Large Bath Towel. We have a HE front loader, which is not the best washer for cloth diapers. So, I would soak the bath towel with all soaking wet diapers to help weigh the washer bin down so this lets the washer “think” that it’s fuller than it is, and it adds more water to the bin.
10. Renting the diapers for first 8 weeks. This is really helpful. Since Child #2 was a premie, he didn’t start wearing the newborn size until he was 4 – 5 weeks. We ordered our rental from Abby at Itsy Bitsy Bums, you should too. She’s awesome. So, after the newborn stage, we moved on to other diapers.
11. Cloth Diapers. This is all really your own preference. We started out with GroVia's hybrid, but it didn’t seem to work out very well for our boys. During Black Friday, I bought lots of different kinds of diapers to try out for a good price. I like the Rumparooz, but my boys have thunder thighs, so, it was super tight on their thighs. The one that both S and I like is BumGenius (picture above), it was easy, and simple to use. We also like the fact that they have a one year warranty, which I have used. They have great customer service. I have heard that some babies are allergic to the microfibers of the diaper. So, I say if you can wait until Black Friday or if the company has return policies for used diapers, then buy a few to try what works best for your baby and you. Make sure that your husband will like the diapers that you will be using. S thought the concept of the GroVia's hybrid diapers were too much of a hassle. When the boys were in the hybrid diapers, we just changed the whole thing, shell and all. I personally like the hook and loop, because i can't seem to figure out the snaps, they'd always get loose. But be warned, the hook and loop doesn't last as long, so you'd have to replace the hook and loops.
For other moms out there, what have you used that is an essential to diapering?
I started making key fobs about 4 years ago. This is going to sound silly on why I started making them.
I took a day off from work one Friday. I really don't remember why, I think I had something going on. I thought that I would go to Target, and get a few things. You know, run errands before stores get too busy.
As I walked by the clothing area, I stopped by and looked around, glanced, picked up a few clothes, put it back on the rack, etc... I walked around the grocery side, cleaning supplies, etc. After I was done looking, shopping, I walked to the registers, and realized... oh no! my key! where is it?! At this time, my key was just on a split ring, I usually put it on my finger... it was gone! I had absolutely NO idea where I put it! I was panicking! I back-tracked where I walked, looked at the clothes that I looked at, went through the grocery area, the cleaning supplies, etc... no where. I was totally freaking out at this point. I'm a bit paranoid too, I was thinking the worst... what if someone took the key and is stealing my car RIGHT NOW!... totally not probable, but you never know!... right? lol.
I went to customer service, the lady said they'll let me know when it shows up. I was still panicking.
So, I called Steve, at least I had my phone on me! He came by with a spare key and I drove home... freaking out to myself. I seriously called that Target like every half an hour! I was sure that they were tired of hearing my voice!
It was about two hours later, I called again, and they said that they found it. It was hooked onto a hanger!
The key must have been on my finger, and it slipped onto a hanger. Oh my goodness!
Yes, this is my silly story of losing my key at Target.
Below is the picture of the fabric I have for the key fob that I am currently using. This is the second key fob that I've used since the crazy panicking moment at Target. Now I have another for all my member cards. They're easy to find in my bag, and I can just put it on my wrist and still have it in my hand.
Whenever I get the boys from their car seats, I can loop it on my wrist without trying to figure out where to put it (especially if I'm wearing a dress)!
Don't be like me and lose your keys!
From now to April 15, use code "KeyFobs" in the message to seller, and I'll refund 20% of your total key fob purchase! Don't put it in the Coupon Code, it won't work, make sure you put it in message to seller! I'll refund it after the purchase! I promise!
Buy one for yourself, buy one for your friend, buy one for your mom or sister! Stop by the shop and pick out your favorites!
I'm so terrible at posting these things.
I'm strange. I get really shy when I talk about my hobby.
I need to get out of my shell. So, it'll take me awhile... please be patient with me. :)
KCEtsy is the Street Team that I am a part of on Etsy.
For the holiday season (from Thanksgiving to Christmas), I am donating 5% of my sales to Harvesters.
Everyday bag - Floral Paisley
Check out other KCEtsy team members that are donating too!
Since I didn't do a "Happy Friday" last week... I'm going to try to remember as much as I can. :)
1. I got to spend time with many of Grandma K's family and friends. The memorial service was on Friday, Nov. 11. It was a beautiful memorial service. I, personally, knew that Grandma K was a wonderful person, but after hearing so, so many people talk about her really touched me. She will be greatly missed. Sundays and Holidays will not be the same without her. I got to meet S's Aunt's family, Aunt Kathy, and many others. Hanging out with them was great too. Just bunch of great people! Of course they are! They're family!
2. I ran a 5k on Nov. 12. It was for Girls on the Run over at Town Center Plaza. I've been sick, mostly congested. Unfortunately, I have no been running to keep up with my time. But I was determined to run.
There were so many kids there, I had to try to keep up with them! They were so fast!!!
I'm glad that they were, because I ran my best 5k yet!! 30:51 seconds! S and the boys waited for me at the finish line. It was cute to hear D tell me that he saw me running :)
3. I'm so proud of C. He's been starting to talk a little more. He's still working on a few syllabus, but I think it's getting close! Apparently he's been saying 'purple' 'sit' 'blue' at daycare.
4. I made apple crisps for the first time. they were delicious!!! I would post pictures, but I ate them all! :P
5. If you didn't know I am part of the local street team on Etsy called KCEtsy. I've been calling around empty spaces to see if we can have a craft show. One of the places called back! I'm super excited. I'm going to take a look at the space on Monday to see how many people we can fit in there! I'm really hoping to share the exciting news that we'll have a craft there on Dec. 3!!
As some of you know, I donate 10% of my sales to preventcancer.org ... but it's not enough. I want to help more...
A lovely lady that we know from church has cervical cancer. We heard about this awhile ago. Her symptons have gotten worse throughout the time that we heard about it. The doctors can no longer treat it and that the treatment would only feed to the cancer now, because the cancer has spread to her organs... and a few days ago, she found out that the cancer has spread to where her bowel movements will not work... the doctors gives her 2 weeks left...
Two weeks.
Two weeks.
Only two. What would i do in my last two weeks of my life?
I was thinking that Steve & I would visit her during this really hard time, but I rather have her spend that time with her 3 and 5 year old sons, and her husband.
It frustrates me, and it really makes me ache for her. I just cannot imagine, and don't want to know and feel how hard it is for her to not be able to see her sons grow up, to be a teenager, meet their girlfriends, and watch them enter adulthood...
It really make me so sad and upset all at the same time.
Please, which ever religion that you go with, please pray for her... that a miracle will cure her.
To learn more about cervical cancer, please check out these sites:
