Get Organized with Pretty File Folders

 After having baby #3, I realized I needed a better way of organizing all the paperwork I was accumulating for my kiddos. Originally I was stashing all the doctor visits papers, hospital paperwork, "school" paperwork, etc in one accordion file folder. It was getting way overstuffed. I decided to get them each a folder of their own. I love the Martha Stewart line at Staples, so I decided to get these.

I used my Silhouette Cameo (again) to personalize each one. The letters were cut out of vinyl, so they are easily removable.

Simple. :)

Tutorial: How to Make Decorative Wooden Blocks

Wow, it has been too long!!! I am grateful to all those who have stopped by in the past few months, and I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long. Where do the days go? I feel like from the moment I open my eyes to the last few minutes before I fall asleep, I am completely ON! Having 3 kids under the age of 4 is no easy job. Phew~ Anyway, hope you are all gearing up for the holidays. I actually got my tree up already! (yes, I am one of those people who starts listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving has even passed) ;) I will post pictures of the tree at a later time. Hopefully it won't be months before I do.

I am glad to be putting up a new blog post. Seeing those burp cloths on my front page for so long was driving me nutso. Well, these blocks are dear to my heart. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I started my dreaming and longing for a sweet baby girl. I began to make these blocks to decorate my nursery. And of course instead of making them gender neutral (I made them before I knew gender of my baby), I made them obviously for a girl. And then I had a boy. I held onto them for the next few years, but with each sonogram revealing that beautiful boy part, I knew that using these to decorate our nursery was a dream that wasn't going to come true. So recently when a good friend of mine had a baby shower for her baby girl, I knew I wanted to give them to her. (and if one day I have that girl...I will snatch them back...kidding...).

Materials needed:

-4"x4" cubes of wood
-sandpaper
-scrapbook paper
-Mod Podge
-dark brown paint
-sponge brush
-vinyl (used for letters)

*Since I made these so long ago, I don't have step-by-step photos. But I think it is easy enough without seeing the photos.

Steps:

1)  Have a nice employee at Home Depot cut the wood blocks for me. Use sandpaper to smooth down the edges and corners.

2) Cut the scrapbook paper into 4"x4" squares. (I used 6 different sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper so each face of the cube would have a different design.) Then glue them on with Mod Podge.

3) After it has dried, use a sponge brush to dab dark brown paint on the edges. This gives it a vintage-y look.

4) Cut letters (or whatever designs you'd like) from vinyl (I used my Silhouette Cameo for this part).

5) I didn't do this, but you could mod-podge it after you're done so that it has a more finished look. I kept them as is in case my friend wants to remove them...(translation: "or in case I have that girl and I want to remove them"...kidding....)

The baby girl's last name is Choo. And her first initial "A". Hence "achoo"....bless you~ ;)

Note: These are not for the baby to play with. These are for decorative use only. :)

Tutorial: How to make Burp Cloths

Burp cloths are a necessity with a 2 month-old. Spit-ups are inevitable...and oh does my baby spit up. I like to have lots of burp cloths on hand (since I don't like doing the laundry every day). Here are some simple burp cloths that you can make during your baby's nap. They also make great baby shower gifts.

Materials needed:
-Tri-fold cloth diapers (I got these on Amazon. I purchased the Regular 4x6x4 size.)
-fabric (cut a little bit bigger than the middle portion of the cloth diaper)
-thread

Steps:
1) Place your fabric on top of the middle portion of the cloth diaper. Fold the edges under so that it makes a neat rectangle covering the middle portion. Iron the edges.

2) Pin the fabric onto the cloth diaper.

3) Clip the corners a little bit so there is no fabric sticking out.

4) Sew using an 1/8" seam allowance (or at close to the edge as you can get it). Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and end.

That's it! Burp away~! :)

Tutorial: How to make Beco Baby Carrier Strap Covers

Recently when my sister-in-law was in town, she asked me to help her make strap covers for her Beco baby carrier. I see several tutorials out there for making sucking pads/strap covers for the Ergo baby carrier, but haven't seen many for the Beco. The Beco strap covers are not for the thicker part of the straps, but actually the nylon part that clips onto the bigger thicker part (if you have one, you will know what I am talking about). This nylon strap is placed right where most babies' mouths are, and when sucked on, they leave red marks on the side of your baby's mouth. Not good. So if you have a Beco, you will want to make these. :)

Material needed:

-Fabric

-Batting (I use Warm & Natural cotton batting)

-Thread

-Velcro

Steps:

1) Cut four 6" x 6"  pieces out of your fabric. Cut two 6" x 6"  pieces out of your batting.

2) Place two fabric pieces together (right sides facing together) and then a piece of batting below that.

3) Sew layers together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Make sure to leave at least a 2" opening for turning inside out.

4) Clip corners and trim off excess batting. Turn inside out. Poke out corners. 

5) Topstitch using a 1/8" seam allowance all the way around.

6) Sew velcro pieces in place. 

 

Look at it in action~! :)

 

Old Framed Poster turned Calendar

I know what you're thinking... another custom-made-calendar-using-an-old-unwanted-picture-frame? Oh but this is not just any ol' calendar, this custom-made calendar has a menu board on the bottom. AND a shopping list. ;) Yup, I put all three together. I've been seeing a lot of these on Pinterest and I've been wanting to make one...and I finally did it. Of course I did it at night when the kids were sleeping, so I didn't think of taking pics along the way. But here is the finished product.

I grabbed the framed poster from my friend awhile back. She no longer wanted it, and I knew one day it could be a beautiful calendar/menu board/shopping list. I first put two coats of some leftover paint I had. Then I wrapped the cardboard backing with some pretty Martha Stewart wrapping paper. Then my nifty Silhouette Cameo came into play. Did I ever mention I love this Cameo? I'm still learning how to use it, but it has been so much fun. With this project I finally learned how to do the whole print and cut method. This video was very helpful. (Note: Again, like with any of my other Cameo projects, if you have a Cameo and would like any of my templates, please let me know and I will happily email them to you.) Hope this will bring a bit more order to our lives. :)

Update: I wanted to show you the calendar in action. My husband had the brilliant idea of having a "rolling" calendar. What does that mean you ask? Well basically, once the week is finished, I erase it and add another week from the next month. So you can always look several weeks ahead. Still confused? Yes I was too when he explained it to me. Since I'm a visual person, I had to write it out for it to make more sense. I distinguish the two months by using two different colors. Hopefully it makes more sense to look at my calendar. If you have a dry-erase calendar, you should try it. I think it's pretty cool.

By the way, when choosing which dry-erase markers to purchase, I would get the Expo fine-tip low-odor markers. They seem to work the best. I also like these Bistro Chalk Markers (I got mine from Hobby Lobby using 40% off coupon). They have a more vibrant color (though it is a little bit messier when erasing). I tried the regular chisel tip Expo's...not so great. And the Board Dudes markers from Target were a fail too.

Anniversary Tree

Recently we celebrated my parents-in-law's 40th wedding anniversary. 40 years!! My husband and I have just made it to our 5th one. But hey, it was a busy 5 years, with 3 little ones, a move from CA to TX, and several job switches. However, we have nothing on my in-laws... 40 incredible years. In honor of their anniversary, my sister-in-law had a wonderful idea of getting them a tree that they could plant in their backyard. I drove out to the nursery in thundering stormy weather, and rearranged the car seats in my minivan to fit it in there. Note to self...take a pick-up truck next time you are buying a tree. It was worth the trouble and my mother-in-law loved it.

Mexican Plum Tree

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out different phrases and "ornaments" for the tree.

Baby Noah is here!

It has been a crazy 2 weeks. Baby Noah (our #3) decided to come 2 weeks early. We weren't quite ready, but we have been adjusting pretty well. I miss crafting/sewing/blogging, but am trying to enjoy this season as much as possible. I don't know how you moms of 4+ do it, because I'm barely surviving with my 3. Still trying to potty-train my oldest, my 2nd one is constantly whining and needing attention, and then of course there's the demands of a newborn. But having these 3 precious boys teaches me so much patience and grace (for my kids and myself too!).

With all this said, I will probably not be updating much in the next couple months. :( Hope you enjoy my older posts in the meantime. :)