The Birthday Squiggstravaganza Part I : The Great Tissue Paper Deluge

I love crafting, like seriously love it. Nothing brings me more satisfaction and joy than creating something pretty out of a few disparate supplies, that's probably why a baby was a no-brainer for me, it's basically the ultimate craft project. In fact the only thing that pales my love of crafts is my obsession with birthdays. I don't know why, but having your own personal holiday is the best thing ever to me, anyway:

With Miri's first birthday fast approaching like any good craftaholic i had been pinning for months planning the ultimate rainbow/kaleidoscope party that this magical little cherub deserves: The Squiggstravaganza!
It's her first and i'm gonna set that bar high!

The first order of crafty business is decor so i chose a couple of simple projects utilizing the cheapest and most versatile of all craft supplies: Tissue Paper.

Oh the tissue paper, i hoard that stuff and yet my stash dwindled as i measured and cut and hot glued and repeated.The project?

Tissue Paper Birthday Number

Oh it's cute and i love the kind of furry texture i created by cutting all those little flowers with pinking shears. But it took A LOT of tissue paper. However much you think you'll need add 2-3 packs and you'll be close. This took the equivalent of about three 24 sheet packs, and it is pretty much the easiest number! If you are doing a more involved number like four or eight or, lord help you, ten, go ahead and buy 5 or 8 packs and return what you don't use, if any. 

Now had i retrieved my holiday supply tote from the top shelf in the back closet earlier i would have diversified my colors and perhaps saved myself a return trip to the party aisle at wal-mart. But Alas i did not. 

Along with a deluge of tissue paper you will also need quite a bit of time, and a sympathetic spouse/friend would be helpful. The size and effect of your tissue 'flowers' all depends on how you cut them. I cut 4-5" squares with zigzag pinking shears.

Cut

Stack

Crumple

"Helping"

I started by painting my foam board number in case any backing peeked through, that ended up not being an issue.

Make enough flowers/poofs to get started then trick some poor soul into making more for you while you glue. The good thing about this technique is that it is so forgiving, crumple and glue and it's oh so fancy lookin'. 

I started by gluing around the edges, then filling in.

Day 3

And voila! A few short nap times later you have a great big fancy pants birthday number that only costs a little bit of your sanity.

Fortunately, my other tissue based project was much quicker to put together and actually a refreshing break from all those little poofs.

Tissue Tassel Garland

70! 70 tissue paper tassels Ah Ah Ah!

 

First cut your rectangles, i did 4" x 10" approximately, you can guesstimate here i just knew i wanted 10 rectangles per 20 x 20"sheet of tissue.

After your rectangles are cut, fold them in half vertically so you have some squarish things.

We experimented looking for the quickest way to turn out 70 of these bad boys to make a 20ish foot garland, (if you only need 5 feet 25-30 tassels ought to be plenty). Cutting by hand is the obvious method but it's time consuming, so i stacked and cut several at a time which was a lot quicker but it was difficult to get nice even strands and then it hit me: paper shredder. 

We have a little home office jobby for shredding...well nevermind. 

To get the auto-feed function on the shredder to recognize the delicate tissue my hubby had the stroke of genius to fold a piece of notepad paper over the raw edges.

Then we shredded raw edges down and stopped with about an inch left intact at the top. < that bit is important

Like so

In order to get our shredder to cooperate one of us fed the paper stacks in while the other person manned the switch: On....wait until you are in inch from the top then off and reverse to get the paper back out. Was it troublesome? yes. Was it fun and ridiculous? also yes.

Once unfolded/ untangled they should look like this (approximately): 

Next each little frilly thing needs to be rolled up with the fringe at either end.

 Folded over

 and taped leaving a little loop to string them together

With two people working on these we knocked them all out in one evening, I strung them on a hemp cord and hot glued them in place about 3" inches apart. My favorite thing about this project is it's versatility. These can be made in any color for CHEAP, and you can play with the scale making them huge for a big statement (maybe the end of chair rows at a funky wedding) or tiny for topping a cake. String them as close or far apart as you like! 

I definitely needed something like this after the tissue paper monstrosity at the beginning of this post.

Anyway, Miri's party is tomorrow and the whole clan is coming into town (including my bestie The Real Housewife of Greenville! :D ), so i have to get baking! 

Stay tuned for our next installment: The Birthday Squiggstravaganza Part II: Almost Rainbow Cake!

Book Pocket / Organizer Tutorial

This project just kind of occurred to me to solve a specific problem i had, but I ended up creating something super versatile for a problem that a lot of moms have: where am I going to put all this stuff?

Bibs, diapers, wipes, lotions, burp cloths, socks, headbands, pacifiers. This easy hanging organizer can be customized to hold pretty much any assortment of baby supplies you need to stash.

My particular storage issue was board books, Squiggs loves to 'read' her books at bedtime and they usually end up under her crib somehow.
I needed a place to stash them so their easy to grab for a bedtime story and put up out of the way when not in use, and just as importantly it needed to be cute and match her crib set.

Oh look, i found a book under the bed.

For this project you will need:

- At least one fat quarter each of two coordinating fabrics OR one half yard of a single fabric.

(I bought a half yard of each fabric and had enough to make two organizers)

- Your preferred closure for the hanging straps: KAM Snaps, sew-on snaps, velcro, buttons, etc 

-Basic sewing materials: matching thread, safety and straight pins, measuring tape, ruler, iron.

 Since this project is so versatile it has no pattern but is easy to customize to your particular application using a couple of measurements: First i measured for my width and strap placement, measure for your desired width and add 1" for seam allowance (1/2" on either side).

I decided on 18" wide with straps at either end and one in the middle

 Then measure for strap length and again add 1" for seams

7" + 1" = 8" Straps

Now the tricky part. 

The size is entirely based on where you're hanging the organizer and what you want it to hold so feel free to customize this part based on your needs, just remember to add your seam allowances. 

I decided on a 6" pocket and a 10" finished length, so my dimensions were: 19" long X 17" high.

Draw out your square or rectangle or whatever, and cut one of each fabric.

 

Then draw and cut your straps: Pick your finished width, double it and add seam allowance. 

I wanted 1" wide straps so i should have cut 3 strips that were 8" long and 2.5" wide, but i didn't, i forgot my 1/4" seam allowance *face palm*

This should have been 2.5" x 8"

All pieces cut and soon to be ironed

 Next fold your straps over lengthwise with right sides together and sew your straps closed. 

I didn't want to recut my straps so i sewed them up with a napkin edge serge to close them without losing too much width, but if you remember your seam allowance a regular seam is fine.

Then use a safety pin to turn them right side out.

Press the straps flat with the seam on the under side

Then tuck in about 1/2" on one end of each strap and top stitch them closed.

 Now that the straps are made we're really moving along. 

Lay out your 'inside' fabric and pin your straps in place along the top, seam side down. 

Come in about 1/4" inch more than your seam allowance to prevent the straps from getting caught in the side seams.

Tack your straps on at the top and move your pin to the bottom of the straps to keep them in place while you sew up the rest of the seams.

Another tricky part:

If you are using a single directional print for your outer fabric like i am you will want to place it on top on your inner fabric upside down. When you fold up your pocket at the end the pattern will be right side up!

See?

 Place your two fabrics right sides together with the straps sandwiched in between and sew all around edge leaving a 5"(ish) opening at the bottom. 

Make sure your top edge seam is wider than
the stitching where you tacked down your straps.

 Clip your corners like so for a nice crisp square corner when you turn right side out.

Reach through the opening you left and turn the whole thing right  side out, being careful of the pins left in the straps that can now come out.

Push your corners out nice and square and press the whole thing flat.

Pull the bottom edge nice and straight paying special attention to that opening, fold the raw edges in to make an even edge and top stitch along the entire edge.

Now with your outer fabric side down, fold from the bottom up to create the pocket.

Pin the sides together with edges even and top stitch. Don't be stingy with the backstitch at the top and bottom of the pocket to make a very strong seam.

To create multiple pockets mark where you want the dividers and topstitch them down.

I wanted two 9" pockets so i just sewed a seam right down the middle.

 Lastly fold your straps over and attach your closures. I used KAM snaps (the plastic snaps on cloth diapers), but you can use sew-in snaps, buttons + button holes, magnets, velcro, the list goes on.

Finally hang, fill and enjoy one less thing to worry about finding a home for!

Life By The Nines

Hello Friendlies,

I am returning from baby hiatus after 9 months of hands on motherhood and I feel like I have finally hit my stride, for now. They say it takes 9 months to grow a baby so give yourself 9 months to adjust...okay maybe only I say that but it's true.
Since we last met I have retired from formal employment for the continuously whirling carousel of childrearing. I am still navigating the precarious balance of baby/husband/home/self maintenance that makes up my new job and as a typically(read: previously) organized, type A personality I have had to come to terms with the fact that I can't do everything. But that's never stopped me from trying.
With that on my mind I have decided to refocus this blog from pregnancy (y'know since i'm not anymore and that would be boring) to more of a creative outlet where i can devote a little time to my sanity, without which nothing else would get done.

So I invite you to follow along as I share my experiences in cooking and babying and crafting and sewing and ... probably some other stuff, as a full time mom and part time homemaker.


And to be fair to the original intent of this blog here is a quick little catch up on the Pineapple Squiggs:

Welcome Baby Squiggs!

Actually, it's: Welcome Miriam Patience!

Our squiggly girl finally arrived at 2:36 a.m. on Wednesday July 2nd at 7lbs 9oz and 19" long.

She didn't want to come on her own and was drinking up all her amniotic fluid, so after all the natural tricks we could think of a round of Pitocin was ordered and she made her entrance just a few hours later.
We both came through in good shape considering how much work it is getting born and at 10 seconds old she was calm, alert and a champion nurser.

Squiggs' official name has been an area of mystery and intrigue basically since we discovered she was a 'she'.
A few weeks ago 'Miriam' reappeared on the active name list and quickly rose to first place, but then our favorite middle name choice suddenly seemed inadequate next to it. We had a few back up middle names we were kicking around but nothing fit quite right. 
After spending 36 hours in the Hotel California (read: hospital birthing center), with so little progress i was sure we would have to start forwarding our mail, Jamey turned to me during one of our many laps up and down the hallway and said "how do you feel about Patience?" "It's perfect"

Miriam's Week of Firsts

First Check Up - 2 Hours Old

First Nap with Dad - 2 Days Old

First Dress Up & First Day Home - 3 Days Old

First Outing to the Pediatrician - 4 Days Old

First Bath Time (Not enjoying it) - 4 Days Old

After First Bath (Feeling a little better about it)

39 Weeks - The Official Countdown Post

For the last six weeks I have been working, nesting, cleaning, sorting, shopping and peeing a lot, so I haven't had much time to update. I figured now that i have a little extra time i should go ahead and take care of one big post since it will probably be the last one before we announce Baby Squiggs' debut!

Friday the 13th was my official last day at work, i thought it seemed like a bad omen but then i ended up working 30 minutes late so everything was totally normal.  I had to take a picture because i don't remember my desk ever being this clean.

An empty desk is...weird.

Today we finished our to-do list with the last few items packed in our 'Go Bags', the carseat bases in both cars and the co-sleeper all made up.

Ready to go.

The nursery is also fully stocked and ready:

Changin' Station

Feeding Station

Squiggs has also been doing a lot of getting ready in the last six weeks, mostly by growing much bigger and even kickier.

39 Weeks Oh Snap!

The next time we update here will probably be with an official name (we have a favorite but I don't want to jinx it) and an official arrival announcement!

33 Weeks

So, Life Amirite?

Anyway, our goal for April of getting the apartment downsized/organized was pretty successful!
I even hit a good sale at the grocery store and whipped up 6 crockpot freezer meals as a test run.


Yum.

If only I had a bigger freezer.

Next, May is all about Baby Stuff and even before the shower this weekend we are already off to a good start thanks to some generous friends and the Mom-In-Law/Queen-Of-Craigslist.
I can't wait to get Squiggs' tiny wardrobe set up and show off all the adorable baby clothes we have already been given!

Just s few nursery items from the haul

And speaking of Squiggs, here she is in all of her squiggly 33 week glory:

 

33 Weeks