Feeling crafty

I've been keeping my sewing machine busy lately...not sure why, but I've been having some crafty urges I guess. Thought I'd share my projects just for fun.

# 1: Baby shoes

You know those cute soft-soled baby shoes they sell for $20-30 (Robeez, etc)? I love them, but they just cost too much. Then I saw some for sale on etsy and thought, "how hard could those really be to make??" So I found a pattern online and it turned out to be pretty easy, actually. I haven't tried with leather yet, so that might prove to be more challenging but I made a couple baby-size pairs with corduroy soles (in boy colors, of course). Then the girls wanted some too, so I made some big ones for them to wear around the house. I just used the computer to make the pattern bigger/smaller and printed it off.

#2: Night-time training pants

Next, I really wanted to find a pattern for a washable pull-up type pant for Megan. She has been doing great at potty training during the day, but night time is a different story. I searched and searched online and found one I liked best. This one isn't a free pattern, but I decided to try it anyway and hoped it would prove to be a good investment. The first night she tried them out, she actually stayed dry (which I was thrilled about...if that was the result, it was TOTALLY worth it!). So we tried again the next night and it did work pretty well. Pull-ups can get to be pretty expensive so I think this will be a good alternative for us. I will say, she has leaked through on occasion, but on a normal night, it does the job. Here is a link to the pattern, if you are interested.

#3 She-Ra

Lauren was invited to a superhero birthday party and was having a hard time coming up with a girl superhero to dress as. The girls have been watching old episodes of She-Ra on Netflix lately, so when I suggested it, she got excited. Then I realized we would have to figure out how to make the costume. I found a simple dress pattern on a 99 cent sale and we went from there. Turns out, there was only one other person at the party who even KNEW who She-Ra was, but at least she wasn't dressed the same as all those other batmans and spidermans there :) Now she likes to wear it around the house, and especially while watching she-ra, she-ra (insert theme song here).

#4: Church bags

I've been wanting to make some bags for the girls to carry to church so I don't have to lug around a big diaper bag anymore (at least for another month or so). But they needed to be big enough to fit a folder or notebook in. When I saw this free pattern online, I thought it would be perfect. So I made them for Easter and supplied them with crayons, coloring books, blank notebooks, and folders with activities from the friend magazine. I also added an inside pocket for a little kleenex package and a couple of pencils. I pretty much followed the pattern online, but would suggest making the crayon pockets just a touch bigger. They fit in there, but since they are so close, the bag tends to bunch a little when it is stocked up. It was a fun little project.

#5: Burp cloths

Nothing too special about this project, but I am excited about it nonetheless. I just took some nice cloth diapers and sewed ribbon on the ends to make them more cute. Cloth diapers make the best burp rags!

Now I am working on getting the house organized and ready for a new baby. I'm pretty sure one of these days I'm going to run out of batteries and this "nesting" phase is going to end, but I will take advantage of it while it lasts!