New Blog!!

I have started a new blog. I am now a Pinterest pin revewer and do my own DIY tutorials. You've got to check it out. Follow my blog and follow it on Facebook. Tell your friends. Let's get the word out!

Now a CRAZY STORY:
So, I blog stalk many people, especially some big DIY bloggers here in Utah. I saw on this one blogger's site that there was a Utah bloggers meet-and-mingle going on this past Wenesday. I thought about going, but decided not to because I didn't want to go by myself and not have anyone to talk to. I'm not shy, but I don't feel comfortable going into a situation like that without knowing anyone, you know? Anyway, I went over to my neighbor Amy's house on Tuesday to hang for a bit and smell the Scentsy scents that were being discontinued to see if I wanted to get any of them. I asked her if she would want to go to something like that with me and she was up for any reason to get out of the house without the kids.

So Wednesday came, we got all cute, and headed over to the meet-and-mingle at the Riverwoods Mall. It was at this super-cute boutique and they had lots of fun little foods and crafts and decor. We chit-chatted with a few people here and there and then Amy saw a friend of hers, so we went and talked with her. She was chatting with another girl, who I ended up talking to for quite a bit. I told her about my new blog and she wrote down my info for it. She and her mom run NaturesKnockout.com  a natural beauty and living site. She was about the sweetest, cutest girl ever.

Later that night, I got an e-mail with a comment on my blog from her saying she loves the site. Next thing I know, she's pinned my site calling it her "new fav site..." and by the morning I had 800 hits through Pinterest. By the end of the day (yesterday) I had 1,300 hits to my blog. It is CRAZY the power of Pinterest. I know that my experience is just a small snippet of what people experience. I hope it keeps up. I would love for people to check in on my blog regularly so that I have the motivation to update it regularly. It was crazy and surreal and I'm beyond excited.

So check it out! Let me know what you think. Let me know if you'd had any good or bad experiences with Pinterest projects. I would love to have some guest posts. I've gone through the things I've done and have about 25 post headers done and waiting to be blogged about. 

Baby Quilt

I finished the baby's quilt today. I am SO glad to have it done. I have had the pieces cut out and most of it put together for a while, but it felt so good to get it put together and quilted. What do you think?

Front and Back: 

 Detail shot:

I also finished the crib bumper last week. Here's a picture of that with the crib mattress (and fitted sheet I made a while back. Yes, we still haven't put together the crib, so the mattress is just leaning against the wall.)

Crib Sheet and Mobile

I am just blazing through these sewing projects for the baby's room. I finished one of the crib sheets last night (well, technically this morning since I had to go buy some elastic to finish it off). This is the flannel sheet. I still need to make the cotton one, but they will look exactly the same.

If you're curious about how to make a crib sheet, it's super easy. If you have a normal sized crib, just cut a 70"x45" piece of fabric. Cut an 8 3/4" square out of each corner and then sew the edges of the cut-outs together to create the corners. Sew a 1/2" or so casing for your elastic and then thread your elastic through. I used 3/8" elastic so my casing was a little wider.

I also started working on some animals for the crib mobile. I cut them out of felt (using the zoo fabric as my template for the animal shapes) and sewed them together using a blanket stitch and embroidery floss. It went pretty quickly once I had it figured out. I am going to make at least one more hippo and maybe a giraffe for the center. I may end up with one more elephant and two more hippos. I'm not sure just yet, but I think they turned out pretty well for just winging it.

What do you think? 

Car Seat Canopy (with customizable tutorial)

Last night, while hanging around the house, I decided to get to work on my sewing projects for the month. I started with the car seat cover. I swear that EVERYONE here in Utah has one, which I don't blame them for. It gets cold and it gets windy, and I would want to protect my sweet little baby's face from that too. Most that I have seen are like this, but for $40 (or more) I can make one myself and make it better. Here's the finished product:

• I started by measuring the length across the carrying handle, plus an inch or so for hangover and hemming and from front to back (over the carrying handle and normal canopy), plus some extra for hemming and hangover. I got a measurement of 44"x48". I ironed and cut out the fabric. 
• I measured and marked the middle of the short side so that I made sure to drape it evenly over my car seat. I then guesstimated the curves and cut off the corners on 1/2 of the fabric. Then I folded it in half and traced/cut out the same curve for the other side. This gives it a nice, even drape in the front and allowed me to add that "something extra" (elastic) in the back. 
• I sewed my two pieces of fabric together (right sides facing in), leaving a hole to turn it right side out. 
• Before I turned it out, I draped it over my car seat one more time to see where I wanted the elastic to start and stop. I marked those places and then sewed about 1/2-3/4" seam (I just guesstimated) in from the original seam. 
• I turned the fabric out and found the holes where my elastic hole was. I threaded the elastic through (3/8" elastic), bunched the fabric until the right amount of elastic was in the back and pinned it on both sides. Just slightly up from the ends of the elastic, I secured the elastic by sewing a thick stitch pattern over it. 
• I tucked the end of the elastic in and ironed the edges of the fabric out so I could put a decorative stitch/sew shut any gaps left at this point. 
• With my leftover fabric scraps (cut from the corners earlier) I made straps by cutting out a square of fabric, folding it in half, and sewing it (right sides together), leaving one short end open. I turned it out, ironed it, and used the same decorative stitch as the canopy. I used snaps on my straps, so they were the last to go on. (NOTE: if you want to use velcro, I suggest sewing it on before you sew the strap in half so that you don't have stitches all the way through your strap.) 
• I pinned the straps onto the canopy equidistant from the center point and then sewed them on with the same decorative stitch that I used on all the edges. I made sure to put straps on both sides so that it can be reversible. Check it out: 

I love that with the elastic and nice drape in the front that it will actually keep rain/wind/snow/cold off of baby and not just look cute. (Although I think it looks pretty darn cute.)
Last night I also whipped up this little guy:

At my baby shower I received a monstrous package of 1100+ baby wipes (yay!) and it came with two cases, including this travel one. I watched a couple of YouTube tutorials of how to cover one and kind of blended them together to get this. I had some leftover camo flannel from one of the receiving blankets I made, so that is what I used along with some teal ribbon I had just hanging out. It was really simple and I think it turned out well, although Bryce said he was "underwhelmed" by this after seeing me whip up the canopy. I am going to have to get another of these travel cases (hopefully in white) and make another. 

Goals

I am finishing up a lot of big, important things very soon and it has gotten me in a goal-setting mood. Today I finished my oral repertoire exam, which is one of two 2-hour long oral exams that I have to pass before the School of Music will grant me my Master's Degree. I passed "with no question" so said my professors, which is a huge relief. One thing to check off the list. After class tonight, I am one paper and two more hours of testing away from being done. FOREVER. Its a great feeling.

So, back to my goals. I have decided that at the beginning of the month I am going to set some goals for myself to finish that month. I am a list person, so writing it out for the whole world to see will help me actually get some big things done. I think 5-7 goals a month is reasonable. Thats 1-2 per week, and especially since all of my big things are done except writing a final paper for my Philosophy of Music Education class and studying for my final oral exam, this is doable. Here are some goals I have:


April: 

1. Sew the car seat cover, fitted sheets (2), and crib skirt for the baby's room. 
2. Reorganize the kitchen/laundry closet
3. Organize/redo the baby's room closet
4. Walk for 1 hour at least 3 times per week
5. Send out thank-you notes from my baby shower

May:

1. Sew the quilt and bumper for the baby's room
2. Paint the baby's room
3. Put together all furniture/set up the baby's room
4. Reorganize the bathroom closet and linen closet upstairs
5. Clean all windows/blinds in the house
6. Pass final oral exam
7. Clean all light fixtures in the house

That's all for now. I will post these on my sidebar as well and cross things off the list as they get done. I know I still have a few months before this baby gets here, but I'm afraid time will fly faster than I want it to and I won't get things done unless I really commit and have to be accountable. I will be sure to post pictures of what I can (especially the stuff for the baby's room), so check back!!

Did it...

So I did buy the fabric. I am so excited! Especially since I saw there's a place to enter coupon codes when you check out, so I did a google search for fabric.com coupon codes and found one that worked for an extra 15% off of my purchase. I saved about $80 overall. Here are the projects I am planning with all the new cotton and flannel fabrics I got:

• Quilt: I figured out my own quilt pattern that's got simple strips of fabric on the back and squares inside of squares on the front. It will be simple, but will really show off the fabric.
• Crib Bumper: It is going to be squares of fabric pieced together so the baby has plenty to look at.
• 2 Fitted sheets: I found a pattern for this online and its SUPER easy. I am going to make one out of cotton and one out of flannel.
• Crib Skirt: It will be one main fabric with another fabric as the bottom border. 
• Crib Organizer: An easy, useful project that I saw online. The organizer will tie onto one end of the crib or the changing table and will have lots of pockets to keep the baby's things handy. 
• Receiving Blankets: I got enough fabric to make a few blankets for swaddling and such.
• Car Seat Cover: So everyone has these now and I think they're pretty essential...especially in Utah in the cool/cold months. 
• Multi-Use Blanket: I am going to make a 45x45" multi-use flannel blanket. It will be great for in the stroller, to put on the ground/floor and let the baby lay/sit on it, for times when the baby needs a little extra warmth or comfort, etc. 
• Nursing Cover: I decided not to pay for the Udder Cover when I got the code for a free one (not including shipping) because they didn't have a color/pattern that I liked. I am going to use my friend's to make a pattern and make one for myself.

Wow, that is a lot of sewing to do before this little man gets here. I am working hard right now to finish my Master's paper and get my recital ready, but after April 1st, I won't have much left to do except some studying and teaching. That will give me several months to work on these projects. I am very excited to transform our extra bedroom into a nursery!

AAAAH!

I just happened to hop onto fabric.com to look at the fabric we are wanting to use for the little guy's room to see that it's all on sale! If I was to buy it by March 7th I would save about $50 overall on it all. I was going to wait a few more weeks because my wonderful parents are going to be sending some money my way to get started with the baby purchases, but now I don't know what to do! Please, someone tell me what to do...tell me there will be a better sale soon...or tell me that I need to just buy the fabric. I just can't make the decision on my own. But, look how cute:

 What to do? What to do????

100

This is my 100th post!! So I would like to take the time to tell you 100 things I love/am grateful for.

1. Husband
2. My Mom
3. My Dad
4. In-laws
5. 2 Best Friends
6. Music
7. School
8. A Job (that I LOVE)
9. Sister
10. Brothers- and Sisters-in-law
11. The Gospel
12. My Cats
13. Health
14. The Temple
15. The Savior
16. All of my music friends that help grad school be bearable
17. My Teachers
18. Scholarships
19. Government Grants
20. A nice house to live in
21. Clothes on my back
22. Food on my table
23. Shoes on my feet
24. The Bible
25. The Book of Mormon
26. Living Prophets today
27. The gym
28. Hugs
29. Kisses
30. Unconditional Love
31. Crafts
32. A creative mind
33. Missed opportunities that help lead to better opportunities
34. Utah's love for community theater (which has allowed me 2 operatic roles outside of school this summer)
35. Opera
36. The Armed Forces that keep our country safe
37. Freedom
38. Christmas
39. Friendly neighbors (finally!)
40. 2 Cars, even though Bryce and I mostly share just 1
41. The Internet
42. Halloween
43. Setting Goals
44. Making Lists
45. Airplanes (even though my recent experiences with flying/purchasing tickets may have made me feel otherwise)
46. 4th of July 
47. Decorating
48. Teapots
49. TV--specifically some of my favorite TV shows, including:
50. Friends
51. Gossip Girl
52. Grey's Anatomy
53. and Anything on Bravo
54. Ikea (especially since we are still poor college students)
55. Bubble Baths
56. Massages
57. Manicures/Pedicures (and a mother-in-law who loves to get them when she visits)
58. Air conditioning during the hot summer months
59. Snow
60. That I can help others be better at something
61. Blogging/Reading others' blogs
62. Easter 
63. Chocolate
64. Thanksgiving
65. Movie marathons curled up on the couch
66. TV season marathons with Jess
67. Shopping
68. Hope/Planning for the future
69. Traveling 
70. Having to get up really early for something exciting
71. Staying up way too late
72. Talking on the phone to people I can't see often
73. Curiosity (especially from my cats)
74. Hobbies
75. Reconnecting with long lost friends
76. Facebook
77. A washer and dryer in my house
78. Watching sports on TV
79. Going to a baseball game
80. Babies (no experience with my own yet, but one day)
81. Being a girl
82. Lace, Ruffles, and Pearls
83. Video games to keep my husband occupied when I need to get something done
84. Having a really clean house (it doesn't happen often, but it feels so good when it does)
85. Generosity of others
86. Camping
87. Finding new craft ideas online
88. Playing games
89. InStyle magazine that comes in the mail once a month 
90. The Ensign
91. Real Simple magazine that also comes in the mail once a month
92. The Classical Singer website and all of the useful information it contains (including auditions)
93. A computer
94. Houston (which Bryce and I both miss terribly, although I don't know if we'll be saying that after we go home for 2 weeks in August)
95. Dreams
96. Funny Stories
97. Celebrity Gossip
98. Dancing
99. My iPod 
100. Sleep

Spring Cleaning

Although spring doesn't technically start for another week, I decided to start spring cleaning. I keep a very detailed calendar on my MacBook and last week I wrote up a cleaning schedule. Every Saturday (and Sunday, if needs be) I will deep clean/organize one section of the house until it's all done. I figured I'd start easy and from the top, so the attic it was. Four hours later... it is completely clean and organized. There is a small pile ready to go to DI and a few bags taken to the trash. The attic looks AMAZING! It was a disaster before. I was so motivated I almost started on next week's task, the extra bedroom. Instead, I spent the rest of my day working on crafts. Pictures so come soon on my craft blog.

Follow Me

You should all go follow my craft blog. I am posting how-to's, craft ideas, product suggestions and hope to have some guest bloggers soon. Send me your craft ideas/how-to's/pictures if you want to be featured on the craft blog. Tell your friends! Post comments and send suggestions!

Craft Blog

Take a peek at my craft blog.... it's happening here.

New Blog?

So, I have a ton of projects that I have done and am planning on doing. I really like doing before and after/detail pictures, but I don't put those up on here because it takes up a lot of room, plus I don't think everyone necessarily cares. Also, I need motivation to get things done, so I will take a poll. Along the top of the sidebar, I have a poll set up until next Monday... set up a new craft blog, or just keep blogging about my crafts on here? Thanks for the input!

Good point--I forgot to mention that this new blog would be in addition to my current blog about daily life.

New Crafts

So, I'm basically always on a craft kick, but this weekend I actually had the time to finish some projects that I had started. For each holiday, my friend Kileen and I have been making shadow boxes with some cute designs. 

We have also been trying our hands at some paper mache letters. Ki's boss had some cute ones that she had bought (for WAY too much compared to the cost of materials) for Christmas that said "SNOW". We decided to go for it for Valentine's Day. It took a bit of trial and error, but they turned out SO cute, in my opinion. I did my St. Patrick's Day letters today while I was watching the Olympics. 

And WAY back in the fall, I made this shadow box and fabric pumpkins for Thanksgiving decorations. I hadn't uploaded these pics from my computer until today, so enjoy!

Now it's time for me to get on to some quilting. I got an amazing deal on fabric remnants at JoAnn's today (not to mention the stash I already have), so I've got plenty to quilt with . 

Too Long

Okay, I am a horrible blogger. A LOT has happened in the past few months, I have just been too busy to blog about it. Well, first of all, I graduated from college and started my Master's Degree this fall. It is a 2 year program, so I should be done just about the same time Bryce finished is Bachelor's in Computer Science. Oh yeah, Bryce has switched from doing a computer science minor to majoring in it. He LOVES his classes. I am so happy that he has found something he really loves and is good at (and that will make good money). The semester has been flying by. About the biggest thing that has happened is that I was asked to sing a piece with the Wind Symphony. I was able to sing for the Instrumental Showcase, a shortened version for Homecoming Spectacular (which will be on BYUTV!) and I will perform it once more for the Wind Symphony concert this coming Friday. It was a wonderful learning experience and great exposure. I also have some fun craft projects I've been working on. I will get some pictures up soon!

I want that...

So there's this scene in Napoleon Dynamite where Uncle Ricco is trying to sell tupperware to this couple and he is going to throw in a ship (its like a mantle-piece or something?) and the wife says, "I want that" in this hick-ish accent. Any time that I see something I really want at a store or online, I always imitate her and say, "I want that." This morning I got the weekly JoAnn's fabric sale e-mail and....I want that: I LOVE to sew, but mostly just quilts and home stuff (curtains, pillows, etc.). Bryce asked me a week or so ago why I don't make my own clothes. I have tried before, but I must tell you, it is SO difficult to do a dress fitting on yourself. It is just dang near impossible. I told Bryce if I had a dress form (this is linked show you the ad) I would totally sew my own clothes because then I could just put my measurements in it and then sew away with much less discouragement. So, if anyone REALLY wants to get me an Easter present, here it is. I know.... I'll keep dreaming.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I LOVE the holidays. Here are some of our decorations:

This is the table arrangement that I made today. I found this adorable pot at Michael's. I made the arrangement with some poinsettias (red and white), holly, and berries. I also set my table with my cute new dishes and place-mats. (see below for more details)Here are our cute Christmas table settings:
This is the adorable gift that I got as my parting gift from The Crestwood. I love it because when Christmas is over, I can take my cute red and candy-cane striped candles and Christmas ball ornaments out and put some new candles and decorations in. Thanks, Suzette!! Good choice. (and it fits perfectly in the window between the kitchen and dining room)

This is the wreath I made. I bought a plain wreath and some decorations  and used ribbon and ornaments I already had and put it all together. It looks great on our white door, but the picture I took didn't show the detail as well.

I will be putting up some more pictures soon (Christmas tree, stockings, and other little decorations). Stay tuned.

Yay for a 3-day weekend!

Since yesterday was Memorial Day, neither Bryce nor I had to work, so we got a LOT done this weekend. Bryce doesn't work on Fridays so I took a half day to get some errands run. Bryce didn't really want to come with me to run errands, so Kileen and my sister Kristen came with me. Here's what we got done:

1. Picked up some assignments of Kileen's from campus
2. Picked up Kristen
3. Went to Kohl's and found some great deals (like my $25 electric skillet and 50% off ties for Bryce)
4. Dropped Kristen off because she was sick of being around married people
5. Went to JoAnn fabrics to pick up some fabric my mother-in-law requested that we bring over to England for her. Ki and I also were looking at the scrapbook stuff and thought we were getting an awesome deal on some paper packs, but really they just had them poorly labeled and only certain packs were 50% off.
6. Went to Wal-Mart to pick up some other things for my mother-in-law. We did find some great deals on scrapbooking stuff here.
7. Went by Ki's house to pick up her scrapbooking stuff and drop off her new goodies from our shopping trip.
8. Went back to my house and scrapbooked with Ki (while watching National Treasure 2) until like 1 in the morning.

On Saturday, Bryce and I slept in (which I really needed) and then cleaned house all day. We got everything in the house completely clean except for our extra bedroom, which still needs to be organized a little bit.

On Sunday, Bryce and I went to church then came home and took naps. My visiting teachers came over and visited for a little while and then Bryce and I worked out in the backyard some. We planted our 3 bushes and started preparing the ground to plant our new tree. Then I did laundry for the rest of the day.

Monday was a very productive day. These are all the things Bryce and I got done:
1. Took some old clothes to Plato's Closet
2. Went to Michael's to look for some bridal shower decorations to take to my mother-in-law, but had no luck.
3. Went to Wal-Mart to get milk, eggs, and a weed wacker.
4. Came home and finished doing all the laundry
5. Cut out the fabric for my dress so that I can finish making it this week!

I love 3-day weekends. You can get so much done! But now I'm tired.

Fajitas and Scrapbooking...what could be better?

Last Thursday we had Kileen and Gerald Smith over for Fajita night!! I had to work until 6 and we had them over at 7, so I was a little lazy and decided it would be better to just pick up some meat at Cafe Rio instead. I did grill up the peppers and onions and they were delicious too. Here are Ki and Gerald getting their plates together:
After dinner we just hung out. The boys played some video games while Ki and I Facebook stalked some people and looked at some people's blogs to get Ki inspired. Bry was showing Gerald one of his new games and Aurora looked very interested in playing some Grand Theft Auto.
On Friday, Ki came over again (sans husband and baby) for scrapbooking night! We had so much fun and got a ton of pages done. Ki is working on Aurora's baby album, which is turning out so cute, and I am still trying to finish my high school album. I am almost finished. I scrapbooked again last night and finished 3 prom pages, so I just have 1 more to do for that and then my final choir concert and then I'm done since I finished my graduation pages a few weeks ago.
These are all the pages I was able to get done on Friday. I have about 300 pictures from the musical we did my senior year, so it was really hard to narrow it down to what I really wanted to use. So, I finished up the musical with these 5 pages, but I had already done 3 or 4 before this.
Starting to scrapbook again has gotten me in a really crafty mood. I scrapbooked again last night and have been coming up with great ideas of other things to do. My next project (which I am going to be doing this week, hopefully) is making a dress. Bryce and I are going to England next month and while we're there we are going to the opera in London. I have searched everywhere for a sort of semi-formal dress to wear, but I haven't found one that I love yet, so I am going to make my own. I found a really cute pattern and bought the fabric. It is going to be so cute. I'll keep you all updated on the progress!

When Facebook and scrapbooking are not enough...

...you have to start a blog. Spending many hours a day in front of a computer often compells a person to want to do more than just surf around and stalk people on Facebook. So, that is why I started a blog. It is kind of like on online scrapbook. I use my scrapbook as a journal with pictures, so I decided why not blog? It is just a way to keep my family and friends in the loop about what is going on. I think this will be a fun project and will encourage me to take more pictures and remember the things that have been going on. With my scrapbook, I can get so behind and then I end up forgetting important things. I can easily just hop on my blog and type something new or interesting out so that it won't be forgotten. I am so excited to get started.