Nursing Cover & Wipe Container

It has been much harder to craft with my new little guy but I was still in need of some essential cute baby items.  First, I had to have a nursing cover.  Blankets, nursing, and me don't work very well together.  Alex and I are much to clumsy to figure it all out still so I needed something that would stay up around my neck and also a way to look down at him and figure it all out without exposing myself.  Luckly my friend Leslie and other fellow bloggers have already ventured out and made one that I was able to copy off of.  It wasn't too hard I just had to think about things a lot sometimes before I sewed them.  Tutorials are a huge help!  There is a loop of wire at the top so I can look down at Alex and I also put in a few pockets on the inside to help me store anything I want.   Here is the two tutorials that I used to help me:  Mama Monster and Our Side Notes.  

I also decided I needed a cute travel wipe container.  I can't take just some plain old white container into the mother's lounge at church!  This project was SO easy and requires absolutly no sewing and little cost.  Just some fabric, trim or ribbon, batting (which isn't required), and a hot glue gun.  I think I might start making more for all the upcoming babies in our ward!  Here is the tutorial that I used to help me with the container at Make Your Own Baby Stuff.

What do you do on bedrest?....YOU CRAFT!

My sewing machine and I have had a lot of time together over the past few weeks!  I am quickly running out of fabric and I might have to break out of the house and get some more so I have more projects to do.  I have also gotten to know my Mod Podge pretty well.  I was able to make a few Christmas presents which saved us some money this year.  I still can't post all of the Christmas gift crafts that I did because a few of them haven't been delivered yet.  

I made my in-laws a quilt this year with a lot of help from my mom over Thanksgiving break.  She let me use a big portion of her fabric and she helped me cut and sew it together.  Which saved me time and money.  I am VERY greatful for her help on the quilt.  I even got Mike to tie the quilt with me so he could say that he participated in some way on his own parents gift!  

I FINALLY got around to decorating the letters for my nursery.  I took all of your ideas and combined them.  I painted them each a different color that matched as closely with the nursery colors as I could.  Because of the shape and curves of the letters I knew it would be hard to get one piece of paper to fit well on the letter so I decided to do a collage of paper.  I also knew I couldn't find paper that I would LOVE or have the ability to spend a lot of time looking so I improvised and used from my scrap pile.  I mod podged the scraps on and then did coats of mod podge over top.  Thank you for everyone's ideas.  
I also made myself a few burp cloths from some extra fabric that I had.  They are a great way to use up small scraps of batting that I had left over from my parents rag quilt.  I have many more projects left on my to do list that luckily I have all the time I could ever want plus some but now I just need some more skill!

Crafts Part 2

Here is the gift I made for Justin and Janelle this year.  Actually it is for their new little girl that won't be able to use it for a while. I have seen several of them on the internet and thought they were cute.  You attach bows and barretts on the ribbon and I added hooks to the top portion for ponytails and such.  Hopefully they will get some good use out of it as Allie gets older.  

I also made a quilt for my parents this year.  I wanted to do something nicer because of the help my mom gave me on my in-laws quilt.  I decided to make a rag quilt for them but I ended up using homespun fabric instead of flannel because I didn't like the flannel fabric they had available.  I decided I DO NOT LIKE homespun fabric for rag quilts or to sew with at all!  The quilt turned out cute but I had lint EVERYWHERE even before I started to cut the seams, and I am still finding the threads all over my house.  After I washed the quilt to get the edges to frey I didn't like how extremely worn it already looked.  It took a lot more time to make because I had to put batting in between the fabric and with flannel I don't have to do that.  It looks good but I think it could have been much better with flannel.  

I made a gift for one of my friends that is having a little girl at the same time Alex should be here.  It was so much fun to make something with pink and purple.  I just decided to do a little rag quilt and some rag burp cloths.  I messed up when I was cutting the burp cloths and cut them too short but I'm sure they will still work to clean up anything that can come out of a baby. The burp cloths have a little batting inbetween the flannel.  Both items took very little time to make and I've decided that they make very good but affordable baby gifts.   

Secret Santa and Ordaments

Here are a few of the crafts that I've been working on for gifts over the past few weeks.  I can now post these because I've handed them out.  After Christmas I will have a bunch more if I can ever get them done!

This was a gift I made for my work's secret Santa.  I just used mod podge, paper, and stickers.  It was VERY simple once I figured out what to do.  Unfortunately, I couldn't ask her what her colors were because it was a secret Santa gift.  

In my recipe group this month we all made ornaments to give to one another.  I found these stars at Michael's for 25 cents and then painted them white.  I then used mod podge to put the cute Christmas paper on.  You can't tell from the pictures but the paper has glitter on it.  I just drilled a hole through the top of the star and used thin twine to tie it up.  (Yes, that is my grandma couch from the Goodwill!)

These stars where a very simple ornament to make and if you had specific colors for your tree you could make some cute decorations for next year (or this year if you fast!) I was able to make 12 of these fairly quickly.  

Baby Quilts

These are a few quilts that I have recently made.  I've decided I love making baby quilts.  They are small enough that you don't hate them by the time you are done AND you don't have to buy as much fabric which helps when you're on a budget.  

This first one is my latest one.  It is a rag quilt style that I wanted to try out.  I thought the flannel fabric was adorable and according to the Internet it is supposed to be an easier quilt to do (I don't necessarily agree!)  I first decided to do a 1 inch seam allowance because I thought it would look better after I cut it and washed it but when I had planned it out, I only planned for a 1/2 inch seam allowance in my mind.  After I had everything sewn together my quilt was MUCH small than I wanted. I had also noticed that I messed up in a few other areas too. I decided that it was better to rip the quilt apart and do it again than not be happy with the final project.  I am so happy that took the time to make the quilt better because trust me it looks MUCH better.  The quilt itself wasn't too hard but cutting each of the seems on the quilt isn't fun for those of you who are interested in doing your own.  You should see the lint on my floor!

I did this fleece quilt from extra material that I had.  It was supposed to be one of those really fast, just throw together type quilts but I kept doing things that are above my experience level which I then proceeded to mess up on.  This is one of those quilts that I will be fine if it gets dirty because trust me there are a lot of mistakes!

Flannel Blanket

I got this great idea for a flannel blanket and decided to make some gifts for family. To make your own double sided flannel baby blanket, you need 1 yard of flannel for the top, 1 yard of flannel for the bottom, and a spool of thread. Cut the two pieces of flannel so they are equal sizes and straight/squared up on all sides. With right sides together, sew all the way around the edges, leaving about a 5 inch hole for turning it right side out. Flip the fabric right side out, push the corners out until they are square, then press the edges smooth and flat using an iron. Using a decorative stitch, sew all the way around the outside of the quilt. This should seal the hole used to turn the quilt right side out. Such a simple but very cute blanket. Thanks Jennifer V. for the idea!

Baby Quilt

After finding out that I was pregnant, I was excited to start on a baby quilt. I had a lot of knit fabric left over from my children’s sewing class that I decided to use. After I put the top of the quilt together I decided I didn’t want to tie the quilt so I took it down to my moms over the weekend and we quilted by hand. This was my first time ever quilting and I think that I’m hooked. I’m still not very good at it but the baby quilt still turned out really cute.

Chicken and Red Lentil Soup

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 small carrots, finely chopped
2 large ribs celery, finely chopped
½ large onion, sliced
1 ½ cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
¾ cup red lentils
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups chicken broth
1 ½ teaspoons tomato paste
2 cups water
Sliced green peppers, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cumin, and pepper flakes. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened. Stir in the lentils and place the chicken on top. Add the broth.

In a cup, combine the tomato paste with a small amount of water, then stir into the vegetable mixture. Add the remaining water. Partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the chicken from the pot, place on a cutting board, and cut into shreds. In a blender or food processor, puree 2 cups of the soup, then return it to the pot, along with the shredded chicken. Evenly divide the soup among 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle the scallion on top for garnish.

Creamy Chicken Paprikash

8 ounces whole wheat linguine
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons ground paprika
1 ½ cups broccoli florets
1 cup fat-free sour cream

Prepare the linguine according to package directions. Drain and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the pieces begin to brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, and 3 tablespoons of the broth to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the onion is tender. (Add more broth if necessary to prevent burning.) Stir in the paprika and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the remaining broth, then add the chicken and broccoli. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir the sour cream into the chicken mixture. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through. (Do not boil.) Serve the chicken over the linguine.

Cilantro Mayonnaise

This is great for wraps or sandwiches. Roll up turkey, lettuce, peppers and cilantro mayonnaise for a great snack. It is also a really good vegetable dip.

¾ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
¾ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 small clove garlic

Place the mayonnaise, cilantro, lime juice, soy sauce, and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.