Faux Chenille Baby Blanket

I love making handcrafted gifts for friends and family.  My recent creation is this gift set for my soon coming niece.  She's not due until June, but I love making these faux chenille blankets so much I had to make her one ASAP.  I hope she and her parents enjoy it as much as I have.  It has taken me a little over a week to put all the details together, but it came together nicely.  In addition to the blanket, I made a matching burp cloth and pillow with some of the left over fabric.  Jeremy bought me a ruffler attachment for my Bernina for my birthday and I love any excuse to use it.  It made creating the flowers on the pillow a breeze!

I found the tutorial from Dana at MADE before Christmas last year and this is my 5th one to make.  The others had rounded corners, this one is squared up, I can't decide which I prefer, but I will say, the rounded corners take a little more finesse when sewing the binding on.

Faux Chenille Tutorial

She uses several different colors of 100% cotton for her chenille.  I have done that, but most of the ones I've made have been a single color of flannel.  I use 4 layers of flannel plus the patterned cotton for the backing.  I've also used satin binding on all of mine.  It makes it so lovable.  Who doesn't like the feel of satin against their cheek?

And just in case you're interested, that other Dana from MADE has so many great ideas!  She's great!  If you need some inspiration, she's a great source.  Enjoy!

If you would like to order a similar gift set, visit my etsy shop and convo me what colors you'd like and any other special requests. 
ZsMommyMadeIt

A Few of My Favorite Things

Chazaq has worn an Amber Teething Necklace since he was about 6 months old.  He currently has 6 teeth and he seems to have done pretty well with it.  My most clear observation is a marked reduction in drool.  Plus it just looks super cute!

















I got one of these for a mommy friend of mine.  I need to get another for myself.  I like to wear jewelry, but I don't like my children breaking it or gnawing on my nice pearls.  This is a great solution for this season in my life!















And every mommy needs a bangle to go with her necklace!
















Neither of my girls were much into loveys.  Chazaq got a great little Tigger security blanket when he was born and he HAS to have it to sleep.  It's not easy to find a replacement.  My nieces have Douglas Blankets (not the exact one featured below, there are lots of options)-the bonus with these-you can always order a replacement easily.  Trust me, that is a BIG Bonus!
















In the search for the perfect sippy cup we have tried many.  Most have been found lacking in the spill proof department.   Over the last 6 years, the ones we have kept returning to are the Gerber Fun Grips.  they have stood the test of time and have been the ones we have used for the Z girls and have returned to again for Chazaq.   They are the best. 

Teacher Appreciation

Throughout my life I have had many teachers.  I have learned something from each of them.  I wish I could do a little something for each of them to show them how much they have meant to me over the years, but since that's not possible, I'm going to start by making sure the teachers that teach my children feel very appreciated.  The job they do is no small task and I want them to know I appreciate them. 

This year the teacher I get to recognize is Zion's Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Ranger.  Kindergarten is a very memorable year.  Zion has learned so much and has been challenged by Ms. Ranger to step out beyond what comes easy to her and to try new things.  Zion does many things well on the first attempt and being the perfectionist that she is, (I have no idea where she gets that from) gets frustrated when something doesn't come to her naturally.  Ms. Ranger has been patient and understanding and Zion has begun to flourish under her tutelage. 

I have found many blog posts from other moms who have shared ideas for honoring teachers.  Here is what we are doing for Ms. Ranger.  I got the template for the book mark from this great resource.

 Cute As A Bug Pencil Toppers

We made these with pom poms, pipe cleaners and googly eyes then hot glued them to the top of pencils. 

We added a few other goodies in our Teacher Survival kit.  Coffee is a must, a couple of note pads a little book mark and a gift card to Starbucks.

We tucked it all in and put it in Zion's backpack to be delivered to Ms. Ranger on Teacher Appreciation Day!






We've all got a teacher in our lives to thank.  Who helped shape you into who you are? 

Just Have To Brag On My Husband

New Year's Resolutions come and go and many times meet with disappointment year after year.  This year has been different.  Seeing success makes the resolution that much easier to hold to and gives renewed confidence to the victor.  In 3 months Jeremy has lost 27 lbs.  January was a rough start.  But in the last 2 months he has broken through his previous plateau and is gaining momentum.  He even put on a pair of pants this past week that he hasn't worn since our first child was born!  Way to go, Babe!  You're looking good!

Fall Decorations

I made these last Fall.  The girls helped stuff them with the batting and loved helping me place them around the house.  We  have little groups of them all over the house.  If you're looking for some fall decor ideas, this is a great project.  I made several different sizes and used some remnant fabric I picked up at Joann's.  You know you want to make them.  Go ahead! Thanks for the How To, Martha.


http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/fabric-pumpkins

Doll Houses

Since I was a little girl I have oo'd and awed over the doll houses at Hobby Lobby.  I can't wait till the girls are about 7 yrs old.  I think that will be a great time to start working on a bigger project.  In the meantime, I found a tutorial on So She Sews and fell in love with this little DIY doll house from Michael's.  We have spent the week sanding, sealing, painting and picking out carpet and wallpaper from my scrapbooking supplies (finally something gets done with all that paper!)  Last night I painted the final coats of Mod Podge and am anxiously awaiting Zion coming home from school so she and Zoan can play with them!  I think they'll be perfect homes for Polly Pocket and her friends! 

The fridge was made from 2 blocks of wood glued together and the stove was just a block of wood.  The tables are wooden spools with wooden discs glued on top.  The beds were some little wooden rectangles. All were found at Michael's.  I'm going to be looking for some other shapes to add a dresser for each and maybe some other fun things.  *Note to self make sure you use a SHARP exacto knife when cutting out the windows or just paint the side walls so you don't have to deal with that.  You live and learn!

Bath Crayons

I wanted to do something different than the typical bag full of candy to give our guests as party favors.  A few weeks ago I found some small spill proof bubbles at Target and bought a ton.  I added some party sized play dough but still felt something was missing.  I decided to revisit some bath crayons I made for the girls a long time ago and had Zoan help me while Zion was at school.  She loved helping me and I think even more loved that she was making something special for her friends. 

Recipe:
1 Cup grated Ivory soap
¼ cup warm water
Food Coloring

Tips:
*Grate the soap very fine, if it's too chunky it doesn't dissolve well in the water and doesn't retain the color of the food coloring
*Use lots of food coloring
*You can use cookie molds if you like, but we just rolled them into little balls. 

We let the crayons air dry for a day then put them in little plastic bags and tied them off with a twist tie.  The girls have been playing with theirs at every bath time.  Good Clean Fun!!!