she's arrived!

Gemma Hazel
January 22, 2011, 9:38 am
8 lbs 4 oz, 20 inches

valentines 2011

We are ready for Valentines Day!

A lot of the same decorations from last year.

I made the "LOVE" banner February '09 but I still really... wait for it... love it!

Same with the puffy heart garland (which I just realized is totally crooked. Ez keeps pulling on it. I'm lucky he hasn't broken it!) The wreath is new this year. As are the apothecary jars holding m&m's (don't expect those to hang around long!) and decorative red balls.

Also new are these cute hearts. Idea from Martha. I thought they would be a fun project with the kids... not so much. There are lots of steps, many of which they can't help with. They got bored quickly and disappeared upstairs to play.

But the kids are quite taken with the finished product.

Honestly, so am I! They look so pretty in the sunshine.

Happy {early} VALENTINES DAY to you!

labor crafts

My baby is currently seven days late. Which I guess is normal for me. My first came on time but then I had to be induced with #2 and #3. I am trying to be patient and give my body time to go into labor on it's own. I prefer natural childbirth and dislike being induced. That being said, I can only be patient for so long! I have an induction set up for the 26th.

On Monday night I got the idea that if I made something for the baby that she would be motivated to come out. Silly, I know. I decided to try the swaddle blanket from Prudent Baby. I cut it out Monday night and Tuesday morning contractions started! The contractions continued all day and were mostly mild so I was able to finish the swaddler as seen here modeled by Sutton's bear, "Star". After 14 hours the contractions faded away. I have never experienced false labor before (btw, I take offense at the term "false labor" nothing about that day felt false!) and I was very frustrated. I may have cried. A lot.
A word about the swaddler tutorial: I am really happy with how it turned out (well, as happy as I can be not being able to actually try it on a baby) but the tutorial lacked specific measurements which I found very frustrating. I also had to modify it a little bit since my fabric had a directional print and I didn't want the cute little trees to be cut on the diagonal. I was able to able to figure it out and even created a pattern so I can easily make more. If I like how the swaddler works I will definitely make one or two more for myself and several as baby gifts and I'll post the pattern for all of you.

In between all my useless contractions I also wrapped another thrifted wreath form. This time with white cotton yarn for Valentines Day.

I made two different sized fabric yo-yos (my first ever yo-yo project!) from scraps that had red and pink as the dominant color. A narrow red ribbon twisting up one side finished it off.

Hopefully tomorrow I will share the rest of the Valentine's Day decorations. I've got to distract myself somehow, right?

DIY tufted headboard

This a 'sort of' tutorial because I forgot to take pictures of a few steps. It's pretty straightforward though.

I have wanted an upholstered headboard for ages but lacked motivation to make one. With nighttime feedings right around the corner I decided now was the time.

This was our bed before (on a different wall) we've had it for several years. The bed is from IKEA. I didn't hate it but the headboard was so low it wasn't comfortable to lean against and made nursing a baby pretty awkward.

In theory the hidden nightstands are cool but the casters under the nightstands are so small they don't roll on carpet. You have to have wood floors for them to function properly. Had we known this we wouldn't have purchased the bed since our bedroom is carpeted. I don't like the look of the nightstands being out so we just ended up not using them at all- a lot of wasted space.

We considered selling the bed and buying a simple bed frame and supplies to make an upholstered headboard but in the end we decided to just use what we had. We flipped the flat surface of headboard onto the existing headboard. The pieces were the exact same length and width so it worked perfectly.

After securing the pieces together I drilled holes for the button tufts using a 1/2" drill bit. Being that the bed was from IKEA and made from something that isn't actual wood, it was incredibly easy to drill the holes.

Here is the back view:

Here is where I got sloppy and forgot to take pictures.

Using spray adhesive I glued a 1" thick foam (24" wide) piece of foam to the front of the new headboard. I then covered the foam with batting wrapping it around the sides and top and stapling it in place with a manual staple gun.

After this point I was stuck. I couldn't find the fabric I had envisioned for the headboard. I couldn't even find anything out of my price range. It was disappointing. One afternoon Michael and I were wandering around Target and he happened to come across a shower curtain on clearance for $5.98. It was barely large enough to cover the headboard but it worked! I wanted something with a little more texture but this was the exact color that I wanted so we went with it.

I wrapped the fabric around the headboard and stapled on the back side starting the the center top and bottom and sides. Continue stapling the fabric pulling taut but not so taut that it puckers or indents the foam and batting.

For the corners I just folded and tucked until it looked right and stapled.

The tufts were a little challenging to get perfectly level and evenly spaced. This is what worked for us. Keeping it level with floor, poke an awl through the hole (from the back) until it is just pushing against the fabric on the front. Put a straight pin right where the awl is. Remove awl. Repeat for all the holes. Using a measuring tape measure the pins for even spacing. Adjust as needed. It may seem like a lot of steps but if the buttons are even slightly off it's very obvious!

Make your buttons. I used 1 1/2" size.

With embroidery floss (cause that's what I had on hand) threaded through a long needle I pushed the needle through the hole making sure it came out in almost the exact spot where the straight pin was. String the needle through the button and then back through the hole (very close to the entry point of the needle) pulling taut. Staple the strings to the back of the headboard a couple of times then pull in the opposite direction and staple a couple of times for extra security.

Repeat.

I am really happy with the results! It is so comfortable to sit against (which is what I am doing as I type this!).


Cost break down:
Foam & batting $20 (purchased during a 40% off sale at Hancock Fabrics )
Fabric $6
Buttons $10

We already had the spray adhesive, staples and embroidery floss.

Total: $36.

Hello 2011!

Now that the house has been de-Christmased and everything is clean and uncluttered, I am ready to face the new year!

If you have been around for awhile you will remember that last year I made a long list of resolutions that coincided with my 31st birthday. I actually managed to accomplish one or two but getting pregnant really messed up my goals (lose weight? ha. hahahahaha.). Not that the pregnancy was unplanned, I think I just forgot how pregnancy can usurp everything else going on in life.

Anyhow, last night for Family Home Evening we discussed our family and individual goals for 2011. I decided to go easy on myself this year. My resolutions are:

1- have a baby
2- survive being a mother of four.

They're no fail resolutions! This baby will come out (at some point) and I have no choice in surviving... I will because life goes on!

All kidding aside, I didn't want to set unrealistic goals or have too high of expectations for myself. I do, however, want to do more than survive. I want to live and enjoy this time in my life and continue to learn and grow.

At Church last Sunday the congregation sang the hymn "More Holiness Give Me". This is a hymn I have sung many many times in my life but seemed to really come alive to me on Sunday. I have decided to use this song as my inspiration this year. My moto or theme, if you will.

More holiness give me, more strivings within.
More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin.
More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care.
More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord.
More pride in His glory, more hope in His word.
More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief.
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.

More purity give me, more strength to o’er-come,
More freedom from earth-stains, more longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom, more uses would I be,
More blessed and holy, more, Savior, like Thee.

I hope that if I can keep these words in my heart and mind that by the end of 2011 I will be closer to being the kind of wife, mother, friend, sister, and daughter that I long to be. To be honest though, some days it may include me gritting my teeth and muttering "More Holiness Give Me" à la George Costanza's "Serenity Now!" :)

So there you have it, my "goals" for 2011. Are you going easier on yourself too or do you have a list of resolutions a mile long?

p.s.- I have this CD and it has a beautiful version of "More Holiness Give Me". You can take a listen here.

christmas morning

I know Christmas is over and everyone is currently talking New Years resolutions but I couldn't finish up the year without sharing Sutton's reaction to the doll house. Especially because it wasn't exactly what I had been expecting.

This is what our house looked like Christmas morning. The doll house is obviously for Sutton. The basket ball hoop is Ezra's, he is our little athlete and has LOVED the hoop so far. It looks like we don't love Liam, our oldest, since there is no large, non wrapped present for him but he is only interested in Legos and Star Wars and Star Wars Legos so all of his presents were under the tree. :)


Sutton came down the stairs, tossed the "babies" she was carrying for her brother and walked to the doll house. She said, with complete nonchalance, "It's a doll house. I like it."



This from the girl that when her Dad announced yesterday we would be eating pancakes for lunch, her eyes grew huge and she squealed. I definitely expected her to show more excitement but she played with it all that day and in every spare moment since so I think it is safe to say she loves it. It is actually being loved and enjoyed by all the kids. Liam and Ezra try to play with her but Sutton isn't super keen on that though because Ezra tears everything apart and Liam gives the barbies swirlies in the pretend toilet.

Sutton is now the proud owner of eight Barbies (she had one, she received six hand-me-downs and a brand-new Barbie from my sister). She plays with all of them at the same time. It's like a sorority house for princesses!

mod doll house plans

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that you all have enjoyed a safe and happy Holiday season!


I finally finished the template for the doll house. I didn't think it would take so long but we have been spending every spare minute with family! Not that I am complaining, we've had lots of fun. I even had a couple of hours of good contractions today. Maybe this little one will arrive a little early. That would be a first for me!



A few tips:
1- I bought a 4'x8' piece of 1/2" plywood and was barely unable to get all the pieces cut from that one piece of plywood. Luckily, we happened to have a scrap piece of MDF on hand and didn't need to buy more wood but if you make a dollhouse from this template you will need more than one piece of plywood if you don't have some scraps hanging around.

2- Michael cut all the pieces with a jig saw but a table saw would work well too.

3- The top edge of the side wall (D) needs to be mitered slightly to match the slope of the back wall (A).

4- The back wall (A), side wall (D) and the front wall (E) are all secured to the top of the base piece (B).
5- To assemble the house we used 1" finishing nails and a hammer. It is much easier if you have someone to help you with this part. Michael and I laid the base piece top down and pounded nails into the wood (about 1/4" from the back edge, side wall edge and front wall edge) just until the nails were barely visible on the top side of the base piece.

With the pieces on their sides, I lined up the back wall (A) with the base (B) where the barely visible nails were while Michael hammered the nails down. We continued with each wall piece. Measure and mark where the 2nd floor piece (C) will go and again hammer the nails into the wood until barely visible, hold the 2nd floor (C) into place and completely hammer the nails down. The roof pieces (H & I) were last were done in the same manner. Lastly we installed the interior walls (G & F).

6- Our cuts weren't perfect. Once the house was put together there were lots of gaps at the roof line. The house was secure but it didn't look pretty. I used caulk (make sure it is paintable!!) to fill in the gaps knowing it would never be noticed once the house was painted and wallpapered.
7- We eye-balled the window placement once the house was all put together. The windows are about 9"x6.25" except, of course, for the triangular window which is as wide as the other windows but only a few inches high and the long edge of the window matching the angle of the roof. The windows were cut out with a jig saw.


Cost break down:
furniture- eBay $15
vintage kitchen- eBay $29
bath fixtures- eBay $17
plywood $20
paint- sample from Lowes $3
carpet- sample from carpet store $2
linoleum- Home Depot $3
faux tile bathroom floor- Hobby Lobby $3.5
scrapbook paper for wallpaper- Michaels and Hobby Lobby $7
wood beds- unfinished wood pieces from Hobby Lobby $8
mod podge (with coupon)- Hobby Lobby $4
Krylon plastic spray paint $9
flowers for flower boxes- Walmart $3
1x2 wood for flower boxes $2

Total $125.50

Quick links to the other dollhouse posts:
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4


If you make a dollhouse for your little one I would love to see it!