Cheap Custom T's for a Persnicky Kid

My first son wore anything you put on him as long as he had his socks.  He loved and still loves his socks.  Sure he had some favorite t-shirts, but for the most part, he just didn't/doesn't care.  My second son is VERY particular, and it isn't about tags or some kind of physical discomfort, he wants to wear something that he likes - that represents him.

Now, I am a mom who gladly accepts hand-me-downs, and keeps clothes that I buy to hand down to my younger children.  With my second son, I have a kid that isn't so keen on hand-me-downs unless they fit his likes.

What is a mama to do?

Free New Kitchen Table

We, or rather I, have been looking for a new kitchen table for a while now.  We are by no means poor, but let's say we are relatively frugal, and I wasn't interested in paying much for a new kitchen table that my children would use their silverware as implements to distress the tabletop.

Our old table had reached its capacity at 6 with the leaf, and we are a family of 5. 

That didn't leave much room for guests.  And while we are relatively boring, we do like company.  Our lovely little house couldn't handle a table at its every day length of more than 6 feet, so we were limited in our low budget choices.  My father had a coworker who was moving, and he was very generous to offer to purchase her dining room table, but it measured a whopping 6 feet 8 inches.  Those 8 inches would have blocked the door to our hallway.

Most Awesome Stencil Ever

 This has to be one of my favorite stencils so far.  It took me several nights to complete all the cuts.  But the end result was worth it.

I found this awesome art on pinterest (the better image on right).  Now the artist, Stephanie d'Entremont, has several incredible Star Wars pieces, but the R2-D2 one really intrigued me.

I could wax on and on about all the things that I love about this piece of art, or I can get to the good stuff - pictures.

Jeans Leg Scarf

I have had 2 reactions to my Jeans Leg Scarf:  “Um, that’s the leg from a pair of jeans.” and “That is so cool!”  Now, I am paraphrasing, but both quotes sum it up. 

When I saw my inspiration, which also used a jeans leg, I thought, “Cool idea!”, which is why I made mine.  So here is hoping you like it just as much as I do.

Materials

• A pair of old, thrifted or - hole in the crotch so they are ruined for just about anything but scrap jeans
• Some cool coordinating fleece to line the scarf and keep it warm
• Kamsnaps or other closure element
• Sewing machine, scissors, rotary cutter, straight edge, thread, etc.

Cloth Diaper Snap Replacement

ACK!!!!!!  If you cloth diaper, you may be like me and have experienced the devastation of pulling out your cloth diapers after a wash and discovering one of the snaps has expired in its loyal service of keeping poop and pee from exploding.  While I was cloth diapering my second son (2011), it happened to me.

I was devastated.

All I could think about was $18-$20 (depending on what diaper you bought) that was wasted, UNTIL, I did a search on the internet on how to repair a cloth diaper.  I found a very helpful youtube video, in which the lovely cloth diapering mama, not only showed me how to replace the snap but also showed me not to be afraid to do so.  She also provided a URL to the snap setter and snaps that she used from Kamsnaps.com.  For just under $20, I would be able to replace any snap that decided it was done working with poop.  They even have free shipping, if you spend enough.

I Did It Again - Flat Book Shelf #2

If by chance, anyone was wondering what happened to me in the past few months, being laid off on maternity leave should explain it all.  While I didn't stop being crafty, it sure put a kibosh on the time I could devote to my blog.  While THE job is still elusive, I am currently working a relatively steady contract job that pays well.  (Prayers and good vibes from any willing to give them, are greatly appreciated.)

My daughter's room is the smallest of our 3 bedrooms, and with a single bed, crib and dresser/change table, there just wasn't any space for a bookshelf.  Well before my daughter joined our family, I had decided that I wanted to build a flat bookshelf like the one I had already built for my boys' room.

While similar in many ways, the space behind the door in my daughter's room was a bit larger, so I made the bookshelf deeper by using 1x4's by the side rails instead of 1x3's.  I also changed up my materials list a bit to save a little cash, and I had learned a few things while building my first bookshelf that I put to good use on this project.

DIY Rubberband Bracelet Loom

My son saw the rubber band bracelet that my niece made for her Uncle's (my husband's) birthday and wanted to make one too.  The problem at the time was that my husband's birthday is about a week before our 3rd child was born.  There are now 3 in our family of 5 with a birthday in September, my husband, my second son, and my new daughter.  Who would have thought?

To make a long story a little longer, my son kept asking (badgering really) to make a rubber band bracelet, day after day.  Being a new mom and so tired I felt drunk, my usually fairly frugal self, would have been satisfied to just buy one of their looms, already!  Unfortunately, during my weekly sleep walk through Walmart food buying trip, I could find the rubber bands but not the stinking loom.

Petal Towel Wrap

I don't know about any of you, but those hooded towels that are sold for infants are not very useful.  Sure, they may be useful for a month or 2, but your baby quickly grows too large for it to cover her effectively.  As a mother of 3, I only used these towels on my first when the novelty was still new, and I still cared about cute over functionality.

Don't get me wrong.  I still love cute!

But if it's a choice of cute or functional, I definitely choose functional.  This is one reason why I make so many things rather than buy them, because I can make them to fit my specifications exactly.

So, when my little girl (#3) came home, I was splitting the extra large hooded towel (basically a regular towel with a hood sewn in the middle length-wise) between my 3-year-old and the baby.  I am not against sharing, but when the baby spit up or peed or worse on the towel, I didn't have a good replacement for my son.

Make Your Own Cloth Diaper Wipes

When the birth of my third child was looming I made several cribs sheets especially for her and a few friends who were also expecting, and I was left with tons of 8 inch x 8 inch squares of perfectly good fabric.  I couldn't think what I could make with them, but I also couldn't bear to throw away such good fabric.

What to do?  What to do?

This is a question I ask myself a lot, and usually, I have too many ideas - more often than not my ideas require me to buy something new.

Well, not this time.  My good friend Margaret gave me several yards of yellow terry cloth a while ago, and BAM!  Some pretty good looking DIY cloth diaper wipes.

Bad Velcro Bib

Disclaimer:  I did not make this bib.  I made it better.  :)

If you have kids, you have bibs, and there are all kinds of closures: snaps, velcro, and bad velcro.  There is a lot to like about this bib, including the side closure, which I love to have on my bibs.  What I don't like is the bad velcro.  It is always falling off my baby because it won't stick to itself, but it always sticks to everything else, especially in the wash.  Boo!


Since I had my third child 3 months ago, I have been crafty, but the bigger projects still elude me.  Between feeding and napping and just trying to keep the rest of the household working, I don't have much time for the bigger projects... yet.  So, today, I had a moment of brilliance, and I was going to solve my bad velcro problem for good.

My solution:  KAM snaps.  (My KAM snap setter has to be one of my favorite crafting tools.)

I examined the material of the bib and determined that the fabric of the bib would be sufficient to handle the stresses of a KAM snap closure.

Before You Trash It

Recently, we just had our 3rd child (You can read about her amazing VBAC delivery.), and since we do things slower than other folks, the baby seat that our oldest used was older than the recommended 5 years.  It had been used twice - with our oldest and our second, and besides being subject to the rigors of weather (hot and cold) while installed in our car, it also endured almost 6 years in our attic.  So, when I pulled it down for our third child and the stickers practically fell off of it, I thought it might be time for a new car seat for our newest little angel. 

When I went to look into giving it to the Goodwill, I discovered that they would no longer take it because of its age, and then when I looked to recycle it, I found that in my entire state (Virginia) there was no recycling program for car seats.

Iron and Ironing Board Holder

It is sad, but my iron was a fixture on my mantel for years, and more recently my ironing board was a fixture in my family room because putting it 'away' would require time and effort that would need repeating too frequently to bother with doing so. 

How do you make more storage in a house that already feels full?

You make it to fit, of course.

Please disregard the hideousness of my ironing board cover.  That is a project for another day.

Moving on, I had some hidden space behind the door that leads to our mudroom/laundry room/back door and most used exit - i.e. this door is almost never closed, so it will effectively hide my ironing board and iron storage solution. (In my next home - and maybe in my next life - I want a craft/office/laundry/storage room, maybe even a room for each.)  

My VBAC Story

My adventure begins with my third pregnancy.  Having had two beautiful boys via c-section, I never felt like I was missing anything because I hadn't pushed a baby out of my vagina, however, when I became pregnant for a third time and started doing research, I was very frightened by the prospect of a 3rd c-section.  The more I read about repeat c-sections, the more frightened I became.

What is really scary about my journey, is how my then OB refused to consider a VBAC based on a relatively small increase in the chance of uterine rupture, but offered no comparative stats on the dangers of a repeat c-section.  When I asked if my OB knew of any practice in town that would considered a VBAC after 2 c-sections, I was given a very small, hypothetical list.  Unfortunately, since they wouldn't do a VBAC after 2 c-sections, they didn't educate themselves on who would. 

To put it mildly, I was very disappointed.

After doing more research, I found the midwives at VCU, and I was so grateful that I did.  While they could not guarantee a VBAC (no provider could), they were willing to give it a go, which is all I was asking for.

Not So $10 Ledges

About 2 years ago when we were redoing our kitchen, I made these ledge shelves inspired by Ana White's $10 Ledges.  I originally wanted to use them as storage for spices and our olive oil, but once our vent hood was installed, there just wasn't room for them, at least not as I had originally intended.  Since mine are made of yellow pine (harder wood) and I used a 1 x 6 for my platform instead of a 1 x 4, my ledges cost more than $10.

Needless to say, they have been hanging around and taking up space for about 2 years.  I thought about cutting them to make them smaller.  (They are 4 feet long.)  But since I had painted them with Annie Sloan's chalk paint, that made it tricky.

Do I repaint?

Stick it in a corner so you don't see the cut?

What to do?

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

I have written about using freezer paper stencils before when I posted about my Star Wars Birthday T-shirts or any of my fabric paint projects so far, but now I am back with a written and picture filled tutorial.

First, you need to find an image or create your own image that you want to turn into a stencil.  My youngest son just loves trains - Thomas the Train, diesel trains, electric trains, steam trains, any type of train, really, so I tried my hand at drawing a train.

Holey Jeans to Shorts

I am guessing that if you have children, this is a familiar look - holes in the knees.  These were almost new jeans (really, I know because I bought them new), in which my son managed to put holes within a 3 week period.

How do I know?

Because we were on our yearly 3 week vacation.

I purposely brought these pants because they did not have holes in them, and we were visiting my in-laws.  I know it is not the most important thing, but if you see your mother-in-law once a year, you don't bring holey pants with you.  :)

Stitched Jeans Bracelet

Yup, there it is - another upcycled jeans bracelet.  (remember my multi-wrap beaded jeans bracelet?)  Low key and simple, and not particularly fashion-like photography since I had to take the picture myself. 

This bracelet is mine.

I made it for me and my rather simple ascetic.  Don't be fooled.  I can dress myself up pretty well, but I like jeans and a t-shirt the best, or better yet, yoga pants and a t-shirt.

Easy Fabric Paint T-shirt

Have you ever wanted to use fabric paint?

But you are intimidated by having to use an exacto knife and don't trust yourself to be able to use it to make a satisfactory freezer paper template.

All is not lost!

You don't need mad exacto knife skills to make way cool freezer paper stencils.  All you need is a cool paper punch.  Fiskars and Martha Stewart sell loads of different lever and press punches of all different shapes and sizes.  I grabbed a few coupons for Joann's and picked out 2 press punches, a large star and a small star.

Thomas the Train Double Riser

If your children are fans of the wooden Thomas the Train sets, I am sure you have plenty of experience with their wooden risers - both the good and the bad.  They allow your children to build bigger and better, AND they are also not particularly stable, especially, if you double stack them.

I revealed how I solved a few issues in this post, Thomas the Train Bridge Tutorial, involving permanently attaching a track section to 2 single wooden risers.  Simple and yet so very helpful.  I am not sure how much my boys appreciated this change, but I sure appreciated it as it stopped a lot of whining and crying because the track broke, yet again.  Screws and glue are good for that.

So, when my oldest recently started combining the single risers to make double risers (which they are meant to do, unfortunately), I experienced a similar problem as before - the track broke.  Grrrr.

Boo.  Real stable, right?

Tutorial: Baby/Toddler Duvet Cover Part 2

I mentioned in my DIY Your Own Pottery Barn Pillow post that I had a matching duvet cover coming, and here it is.  This tutorial makes the Baby/Toddler Duvet Cover Tutorial even easier.

 Do your kids have any special interests or characters that they like?

There are so many great fabrics to choose from.  You don't have to settle for whatever the kid's stores want to sell you for too much money.  I bought my Star Wars fabric from Joann's at 40% off 4.5 yards.  If you play your coupons right, you might even get 50% off your desired fabric, which is likely way less then what you would pay a the store. 

Who's with me?!