White Watch Inspired T-Shirt Bracelet [NO BRAIDING!]

I love the white rubber woven watches that are so popular right now. Thanks to my darling sister, I now own such a watch. Before I received her wonderful gift, I crafted this white watch inspired t-shirt bracelet to imitate that trendy look. [NO BRAIDING!]

What you'll need:

2 one-inch fabric strips cut horizontally from an old t-shirt. I used a lightweight knit with a little stretch. Avoid using the hem of the shirt, but keep the side seams intact, so your strips will be loops.

What you'll do: Follow the photo tutorial below (because in this case, pictures speak louder than words).

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Linking up at Between U & Me, Tattertots and Jello, Positively Splendid, Lines Across My Face

Baby "Box" Car Adventures

The first several weeks of winter spoiled us with unseasonably warm weather. Picnics at the park, afternoon walks, and lots of outdoor play filled our days. Sure we wore jackets, but the sun and warm temperatures made it feel more like early April, not early January.

Last week winter finally came. The moods of those inside the house reflected the gray dreary weather outside the house. The Bean Sprout was fussy, the cat was irritable, and I was bored. We needed an "active" activity to entertain us. It was time for baby boxcar adventures!

After looping an old bed sheet through the grip holes of a diaper box, the Bean and I were soon racing up and down the hallway on our baby friendly race track. The diaper box glides quite well over our carpeted hallway. We were both laughing and giggling in no time. 

When we were tired of racing, actually, I was the only tired one (sprinting with a baby is exhausting ;) it became a vehicle for gathering stuffed animals and toys. Climbing in and out of the box was another source of entertainment. Eventually, she discovered that the box made a cozy little reading nook.

Who knew a diaper box could provide such fun? At the end of the day, the box was tattered and torn and placed in the recycle bin. But that's the best part about this activity, there's nothing to store and nothing to clean up. And in approximately 12 days, we can embark on another adventure when the next box of diapers is emptied :-)

Check out my other activity/craft ideas for reusing diaper boxes here.

My Sunday Morning Playlist

My iTunes library contains a wide variety of artists and genres - Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Garth Brooks, and a disproportionately large collection of alternative rock hits from the late 90's. In addition, I listen to a lot of Christian music. 

The great thing about Christian music is that it spans all genres. Whatever your music style, you will likely  find a Christian derivative. For example, there is Christian Rock, Christian Pop, Christian Rap, etc. The following playlist, however, is specific to praise and worship songs.

This playlist is a collection of favorites that remind me of Sunday worship. This playlist begins with contemporary worship songs and concludes with classic old church hymns. These songs make me happy and we listen to this playlist periodically throughout the week, not just on Sunday mornings.  I hope you enjoy!

Praise and Hymns Playlist

Song - Artist

Love the Lord - Lincoln Brewster

Lead Me to the Cross - Chris and Conrad OR by Francesca Battistelli

Revelation Song - Phillips, Craig and Dean

Your Grace is Enough - Matt Maher

Creed - Rich Mullins

Mighty to Save - Jeremy Camp OR by Laura Story

Blessed Be Your Name - Tree63

Christ Is Risen - Matt Maher

Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster

Like a Child - Jars of Clay

Come Thou Fount - Jadon Lavik

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) - Chris Tomlin

How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin

Great is Thy Faithfulness - Chris Rice OR by Discovery Singers A Cappella Hymns

It Is Well With My Soul - Chris Rice

How Great Thou Art- Carrie Underwood

For the Beauty of the Earth - Chris Rice (piano only)

What a Friend We Have In Jesus - Brad Paisley (guitar only)

Toddler Pillow and Stay-Put Pillowcase

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Envision an old lumpy-dumpy pillow shoved at the top of the linen closet - that's how this project began. Add to the picture a young toddler who's ready for her first pillow. This is the story of how I made a toddler pillow and a stay-put pillowcase, from an old pillow and a t-shirt.

I found this awesome t-shirt (representing my alma matter) on the clearance rack at TJ Max. Not willing to cut up one of my own MIZZOU t-shirts, I knew I just had to buy it for this project. Plus, for only $3, it was cheaper than buying fabric from the craft store.

Because the size of my project would be dictated by the amount of fabric available on the shirt, I began with the pillowcase, saving the pillow creation for the end.


Stay-Put Pillowcase
1. First, I cut along the sides to separate the front from the back of the shirt. Then I straightened up the sides and top. Don't cut the bottom of the shirt.

Before I continue, let me explain the "stay-put" part of this pillowcase. This type of case is less likely to slip off during the night because of its non-traditional opening. Two partially overlapping pieces of fabric create the opening along the backside of the pillow, not the edge of the pillow. 

We will not be cutting the bottom edge of the t-shirt because this nice hemmed edge will wrap around to the back side of the pillow.

Anyways, back to the project...

2. Fold the bottom edge up over the front until the shirt's logo is centered on the remaining fabric underneath.

3. Measure the distance between the top of the shirt to the point where the two layers begin. Add 3-5 inches to that number (depending on how much of a fabric overlap you want). This is the length you will cut the second piece of fabric. The width of the second piece will equal the width of the first.

4. Using the other half of the t-shirt, and starting at the hem, measure and cut your second piece of fabric. 

5. Layer and pin the two pieces of fabric with right sides together. The two pieces should have at least 3 inches of overlap. 

6. Sew along three pinned edges and invert.

The pillowcase is finished!

Toddler Pillow (made from old lumpy pillow)

1. Cut open your pillow and remove the filling. Save the filling.

2. On the fabric of the old lumpy pillow, roughly trace a rectangle approximately the size of the pillowcase you just created. 

3. (Note: Because the pillow will always be hidden inside its case, I took the easy route and didn't worry about appearances or hiding the seems. Feel free to modify this step if you desire a more cosmetic look.) 

Pin and sew with your stitches landing right on top of your traced outline. Leave a generous opening for restuffing the pillow. 

4.  Cut excess fabric from around pillow. Refill the stuffing. Sew shut.

You're finished! Now go put that pillowcase on!

Linking up at Lines Across My Face

Upcycling Old Shirts into Baby Pigtail Hats

Yesterday, I found this awesome hat tutorial at The Winthrop Chronicles. In her tutorial, Sarah demonstrates how to transform an old t-shirt into an adorable baby/toddler hat. Inspired by her creativity, I made a few slight changes and created a pigtail hat.

These hats are quick and easy to make (even for a beginner sewer like me). To illustrate how simple they are to make, let me just say that as I begin to type this post,  my daughter is still napping and I have three completed hats by my side.

Plus, by repurposing old clothing, it's also a free project. Gotta love free!

The first hat I made, the brown one, follows Sarah's tutorial fairly closely. I used an old cotton/cashmere blend sweater (formerly my husband's) and used the zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine.

I heeded Sarah's advice in step two and inverted my sweater before sketching a pattern. I also pinned the two layers of fabric before I cut (both layers at the same time). I used the side seam of the sweater to minimize the amount of sewing needed.

Then I had a brilliant idea: make a hat with two knots on top. You see, I'm totally infatuated with my daughter's new piggie tail look (because her hair has only recently become long enough). I absolutely love her piggie tails! So, I cut my next hat pattern with bunny ears, for two knots on top.

When my hat model awoke from her nap, I was able to snap some pics of the hats in use. I'd love to show you her excited little face when I first put on the hat, but short winter days =  minimal light = slow shutter speed = happy active baby looks blurry. Nonetheless, here are a few pics I snapped during a still moment.

The pink hat (shown at top of page) is my favorite of all. It started out as an old swimsuit coverup with a thick elastic band at the top. An elastic band that was apparently too thick for my fabric scissors because the handle snapped right off! Seriously?!? Those fabric scissors were only a few months old! Fortunately, I was able to finish the project with my regular household scissors.

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The Funniest Email (from my mother)

Before I was a stay at home mom, I worked at an imaging clinic as a sonographer. When my maternity leave ended, I briefly returned to work for a few weeks before beginning my days as a full-time stay at home mom. On one of those last few days of work, I received the following email from my mother, who was watching our then 12 week old daughter.

Dear [daughter] and [son-in-law], I thought you would like to know that [your daughter] now weighs 5 pounds less than she did this morning.  I had decided to sort through the mail, so I put her in her carseat, so she could watch me.  Luckily, I had the good sense to put the little washcloth underneath her first. She was sitting there, happily talking to me and straining to "fart".  You know what they say...."never trust a fart"! So after a few minutes, I thought I should check her.  Sure enough she was wet on her back side.  So I picked her up and "squish".  Bad idea!  Lots of poop oozing out! So I ran her downstairs, to the changing area, to check things out.  I observed what appeared to be about one gallon of orange sweet potatoes in her diaper (and out of her diaper)!  Between trying to get her clothes off, and her kicking and waving her arms around, she/we managed to get her covered in orange poop from head to her little piggies.  She was still as happy as a lark. So I reach for the wipes.  Oh shit!  Only two wipes left!!  All that did was smear the orange stuff around and coat the rest of her body real good. Luckily, I found her dirty laundry - burp cloths.  So I smeared it around a bit with a dry cloth.  Not good enough. I decided she needed a bath.  How will I do this??  Hmmm..... I'm pretty sure that [your little brother] did not clean the bathtub or the kitchen sink while I was in Europe.  So that means, I need to clean the sink first. Luckily, [your little brother] is in bed sleeping.  So, I wake him up and give him the baby who is wrapped in a cloth burp diaper, because she is still orange. (Go Netherlands!)  He doesn't want her, so I set her on his carpet and he watches her safely from his bed, while I run down stairs to clean the kitchen sink. I decided I needed to put something on the bottom of the sink, so she doesn't slide.  But I have no clean towels, because no one washed towels while I was in Europe.  Luckily, [your sister] had washed all the dog towels after she gave the dogs a bath.  I chose one to line the bottom of the sink. I also found the baby shampoo and a wash cloth. I ran back up to [your little brother's] room, where he is still watching her from his bed and marveling at her orange glow. I pick up the orange one, and bring her downstairs to the kitchen sink.  I set her in gently.  "What's this?", she wonders with a worried look on her face.  I just keep smiling and talk faster.  This entertains and reasures  her.  Now she is quite happy to relax in the bath. Afterwards, I wrap her up in another dog towel.  These towels are my old towels from college.  They were used for a while as camping towels, but they got too old and thin for camping. Now they are dog towels. From now on, we will refer to them as, the "poopy baby towels". Anyways, your little sweetie is now clean and smells really good. I decided to wash her hair, while I was at it.  This episode wore her out though, because soon afterwards, she fell asleep in my arms.  Now she is having sweet (potato) dreams. Love, Mom My co-workers and I just about died laughing!  And although not from the described event, the following photo depicts a similar situation occurring later on that month.