Sewing: Peacock Dress

My husband just bought me a sewing machine on Wednesday. I was so excited that I ran to the fabric store and got some stuff for my first project! :)

I decided to make a little sundress for my youngest daughter. I wanted a really cute retro kind of print so, I picked up some super cute pink peacock fabric. The first night I set up my pattern and cut all of the pieces out. 

Then Thursday was my first day to start putting everything together, minus the details like the buttons. Since I didn't buy them yet.

It really didn't take me that long to get back into the swing of things, even though it has been about 15 years since I last touched a sewing machine. I got all four pieces of the dress together, I decided not to do the appliques that they included on the pattern. I think that the pattern is cute enough without adding to much to it. I picked up the buttons earlier today and will be putting them on the dress when the girls are down for a nap. I'll share the final dress with you when I am all done. But this is what I have for now:

Crocheting: Learning the Basics - Tech Cozy Project

Well, now that I have become comfortable with my single and double crocheting skills I decided to move forward in my class. The next step was our first project - the Tech Cozy. I decided that I didn't need a tech cozy since my Kindle already had a case (and I had other ideas for it) so, I went ahead and turned mine into a cozy for my sunglasses.

I don't know about you, but I am constantly misplacing my sunglasses. Sometimes even multiple times in one day! So, with the cozy I hope to be able to make them easier to find as well as clean. Madison just LOVES to play with them and put little smudgy fingerprints all over them. This is where the cozy comes in! It will make it easy to wipe those fingerprints off before I even put them on! :)

I found this tutorial in the class very easy. The steps were easy to follow and the project is easy to adjust to any object that you want to conceal in it. As Linda Howell suggested, I will be making these for gifts and I'm sure they will make their appearance on my etsy site as well! They are just too cute to not share!

Here is the first pictures of my little cozy (and yes, I need to get some more colors for my projects!).

Cellphone Holder

While I was working with Madison, I did have a little time to make something. I found this really cute little tutorial on Pinterest.com for making a Johnson & Johnson lotion bottle into a holder for your phone when it's charging. 

I decided to give it a try since I had just emptied a bottle. I went to the store and picked out some really cute  retro type fabric and some Mod Podge. 

I followed the directions on how to cut the bottle so that it would have a spot for the wall socket and charger to connect. Then gave it a light sanding so the Mod Podge would stick to the bottle and started to apply my fabric. This was the first real time that I had ever used Mod Podge so, I will probably do things a little differently when I try this project again. But I am pretty happy with how it turned out. :)

Mommyhood - Losing the Pacifier

Well, you have probably been wondering where I have been for a little while. The past two weeks, I was on a mission to rid my daughter of her pacifier! She will be 2 years old in just two short months. So, I did not want to wait any longer.

Surprisingly it wasn't as hard as I thought it was. Madison must have been ready to give it up. Once I made the choice that she wasn't going to have one anymore, I spent a whole week of sabotaging it. I poked a small hole into the pacifier every day. This would make it gradually not work the way that it used to any more. She made the choice herself, to not really use it as much after awhile.

Then the second week I made the rule that she couldn't have it during nap time anymore. And at bedtime I told her about the Pacifier Fairy, and how she was going to come on Friday and take her pacifier away. She would then give it to another little baby that needed it, since she was now a big girl and didn't need it anymore. She kept saying okay when I told her this story, but I was unsure on if she was going to be okay with it come Friday.

Surprisingly she was okay with! She asked for it once, and I reminded her that the Pacifier Fairy was coming to take it away. She made a little pouty lip but rolled over and went to sleep. I was so proud of her! I was sure she was going to wake up during the night asking for it, but she didn't wake up at all!

So, I am proud to say that Madison is now pacifier free! :)

Next comes turning her seat around in the car and potty training! :)

Baby Barefoot Sandals

Yesterday I took my first stab at a pair of baby barefoot sandals! I crocheted them using a white yarn with a little sparkly string in them. They came out super cute! I made them to fit my youngest (Sienna) who is now 3 months old. I decided to put a little crocheted simple flower on the top of them to add to the cuteness!

It was pretty hard to get a picture of Sienna wearing them, since she loves to kick her feet. I'll try to get a better picture later. 

My oldest (Madison) who is almost 2 also wanted to wear them. So, I put the teal pair on here. She thought they were super fun! Since they were made for a 0-3 month old, they didn't quite make it around her leg like they did for her sister. But they still came out super cute! 

I will be making a bunch of these to put up on my etsy site for sure! :)

Cause Bracelets - Cervical Cancer Pictures

Here are the pictures of the Cervical Cancer Cause Bracelets that I made last night! This time I made one into a key fob!

Gifts: Diaper Cake

Well, I finished and gifted the baby girl Diaper Cake that I was working on. It has rave reviews! I made it using size 3 diapers, various toys, hair clips, and outfit and baby washing supplies. I even added one of the Boo Boo Bunnies that I make!

I'll let the pictures tell you everything! :)

Cause Bracelets - Cervical Cancer

I got the yarn in to make my bracelets for Cervical Cancer today so, I made up a couple to sell on Etsy. Again, all of the proceeds from these bracelets will go to charity. I will be making the donations from all of my cancer bracelets to the American Cancer Society, unless I get a large order for one of the causes. Then the proceeds will go to that specific cause. :)

I will take and post pictures of the Cervical Cancer Bracelets tomorrow! :)

Next up, pink ones for Breast Cancer!

Etsy: Cause Bracelets - Multiple Sclerosis

I just put up a listing on my Etsy.com account for the MS Cause Bracelets that I have made! All the proceeds from the sales will be donated to the National MS Society!

I also received two orders for bracelets supporting Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer! So, please keep an eye out for those as well! 

If you have a cause that you want to support or just want a bracelet let me know what two colors you want it in, and I will gladly make you one! :) 

These bracelets can also be used for many other things! They have an awesome curl to them when untied! I used one as a zipper pull for my Kindle Fire!

When you get a chance head on over to my etsy site to check them out! :)
Cause Bracelet Etsy Site

Crocheting: Learning the Basics - Second Session

Once I became confident on the Single Crochet Technique that was discussed in the first session. I moved onto the second lesson: Double Crochet.

Well, the first time I tried to get through the lesson Madison (my Toddler) was running around, so I couldn't put mu full attention into the lesson. This time I waited until both of my girls were down for their naps. This time I was able to put all of the attention that I needed into the lesson. I didn't get confused by the technique, which was a little different then how I was originally doing it.

Now that I know how to do a real double crochet I am hoping to be able to apply it to some patterns. I believe the next lesson that they are going to teach us is how to make a tech cozy! :) What a perfect little project, I have tons of things that I can make a cozy for! :)

Here is my double crochet swatch that I created for the lesson.

Gifts: Diaper Cake

Well, I have purchased and started making the Diaper Cake for the baby shower that we are going to next weekend. I really enjoy making one of these with all of the super cute things for baby! :)

So far I have created the three layers with the diapers and secured them with beautiful satin hot pink and purple ribbon. I like to use Size 3 diapers because babies tend to stay in that size longer then Ns, 1s and 2s. Plus, everyone tends to gift the smaller sizes to the Mommy-to-be anyways.

The next step that I have to do is to put all of the cute little things on the diaper cake. But for now I thought that I would share a teaser picture! :)

Gifts: Boo Boo Bunnies!

Well, today I got the rest of the supplies to put together a project for baby shower that I am going to soon. I decided that I was going to also make one of my cute little Boo Boo Bunnies to go with it! What Expecting Mommy wouldn't want one of those super cute little bunnies to help them make their future babies boo boo feel better?!

Here are some pictures of ones that I have done previously!

I can make these with any color scheme that you would like! The two Boo Boos shown above where made for a baby shower. Mommy didn't know what the sex of the baby was so, I used a nice yellow and green ribbon for a more neutral look.

Crocheting: Learning the Basics - First Session

Well, I completed the first section of the crocheting class on Craftsy.com. I have to say that it was really easy to understand and follow along. Each section pauses during and after the section so you have plenty of time to play around with what you are doing. You can also pause it yourself and make comments to the teacher and any fellow classmates that are also watching the class.

The first section that I went through talked about the Chain Stitch and Single Stitch. I have to say that they opened my eyes to new creative ways to use the Chain Stitch as well as brushed up on my Single Stitch technique. I took what I learned in that section and followed my first pattern!

The pattern that I was following was one for a Cup Cozy that I also got off the website in the patterns section. It was a free pattern that I got, and boy was it easy to follow now that I have a working idea on how to read the pattern now! Here it is in all of it's first pattern glory!

Crocheting: Learning the Basics

So, I signed up to take a class to catch up and improve on my crocheting skills last night. It's through a wonderful site called Craftsy.com. I have a feeling that I will be making a lot of stops to that site for the various adventures that I plan on doing. 

I was going to take a class at my local craft shop since I like the first hand learning. But after going back and forth a few times, I decided to take the online route. Not only was it cheaper for the online class, but I can also go back to it again and again for no extra charge! That was a big plus for me since I am a Mommy.

I plan starting the first part of the class when both of my girls are laying down for a nap. I will be sure to keep everyone update as I make my way through the class. There are a couple of projects that we will be doing including tons of Granny Squares and a Tech Cozy! 

Crocheting: Double Stitch Afghan

My second project was started shortly after we moved to California. All of our stuff was packed into a moving truck that was making its way from one coast to another. So, I didn't have much to do here while Madison was taking for afternoon nap.
To help take fill up some of that down time, I started a blanket for our new arrival Sienna. I was hoping to have it completed before she was born (which gave me about six weeks to complete it) but I was a few weeks late. Better late then never, right!?
Since I had already "mastered" the single stitch, I decided to move onto the double stitch. This I have to say is much faster to do then the single stitch. I also feel that I had a better finished product as well.
Sienna's blanket is a nice rectangle shape with no craziness to it. I was able to keep the tension consistant throughout the whole this as well. Very proud of myself, and she really seems to like it. :)

Crocheting: Single Stitch Afghan

My first project that I decided to start with was a simple single stitch afghan for myself. My husband is such a blanket hog when it comes to curling up on the couch to watch a movie. So, I decided that a nice lap blanket would be a prefect project to start with.

My plan is to complete whole projects using one technique at a time. This way I can get used to doing one kind of stitch at a time before moving onto the next stitch or a crazy pattern. This afghan was originally started when we lived back in NJ. I started it a couple of weeks before Christmas. I wasn't too serious about doing it when I first started. But I stayed with it until it was finished.

It's a little lopsided while I was trying to get used to how I held the yarn, how tight I did the stitches and just the technique itself. That is another reason why I wanted to start out with a project that was for me, because I wouldn't mind if it was a little crazy. Although my Mom always told me that a hand-made gift that is a little lopsided is a wonderful gift, because it has lots of character! :)

Here is a close up of the blanket. I used a Lion Brand Homespun yarn.

About This Mommy...

Hello everyone! My name is Robin and my family and I live in wonderful Irvine, California. My husband and I moved here with our daughter Madison (1.5 years old) when I was just 6 weeks away from the due date of our second daughter Sienna.

It has been a crazy ride, finding new doctors, unpacking, giving birth and getting used to staying at home with a toddler and a newborn every day. But the ride is one that I am enjoying, and yes it is taking some getting used to as well. I used to be a full time Graphic Designer when we lived back on the East Coast. So, staying home with my girls is a big adjustment.

I don't know if it's the nostalgia of home that brought me to the decision to take up crocheting again. But I have already finished  two afghans since March! My Mom taught me how to do a simple single stitch afghan back when I was about 10 years old. I dabbled with it here and there. But never really took a true liking to it like I have recently. I've even decided to take some classes to bring me up to speed on the different stitches and how to read patterns!

I'm very excited about it and can't wait to jump right in! That is where this blog came into play. Why not through all of my dabblings and doings on a blog to share with everyone! I'll be posting about things that I have done with the girls as well as stuff that I have done on my own.

Please feel free to come back and check up on when this Crafting Mommy of Two has been up to! :)