Swim Robe

Swim/beach robes are very popular right now. I first found them on Made and when I decided that I would make one for Zack, I went there to purchase her pattern, only to find that the largest size was a 4 and I figured Zack would need a 5. I looked through patterns at JoAnn's and found a McCall's pattern (M4643) that was similar and McCall's patterns happened to be on sale for $.99 each. Score! I let Zack choose a beach towel at Walmart (carefully steering him away from ones featuring large pictures such as Transformers or Spiderman. . .), bought 2 for $3.84 a piece, then went to work cutting them up. The pattern ended up only going as large as a 4, so I added to the pattern to what I guessed would be a 5.

He's loving his new "suit" and has worn it all day. Not too bad for my $10 investment, especially considering I've seen other blogs talk about creating them because store-bought versions are running as much as $70. I love that I can put it on him when he gets out of the pool and it will stay on him.
It ended up being a bit big, but that's fine because it will hopefully work for this year and next that way. I'm glad to know he'll have something that will be easy to put on and take off, something to keep him warm when the wind picks up and he comes out of the cold water at Bear Lake next month.

Tic-Tac-Toe!

The other day I came across this post for making a tic-tac-toe board. I thought it was adorable and the idea of having a game to take to the beach or out on the grass or even camping was appealing to me. This is easy to throw in the wash if it gets dirty and it eliminates the need for a writing implement, which is always a good thing for Lena since her implement tends to stray to objects other than paper-- in particular, her little sister. I am always on the lookout for something I can make for Zack, since he tends to be at the bottom of my "to sew for" list-- not because I don't want to, but there's so little to sew for a boy. I made a few changes to my version, mostly dealing with the pocket and how I made the lines (I used ribbon instead of fabric).

I picked up a twin sized flat sheet at Walmart for $5, some felt for about $2, and some gross grain ribbon. So, for under $10 we have a new game that I hope will last for a long time. I let Zack choose all of the colors and he coordinated very well. I know it looks patriotic, but that's a complete coincidence with the time frame. Without further ado, here is my version of tic-tac-toe.

Zack's favorite letter is "X" because of the sound it makes. We are learning phonics currently. His favorite color is also red, so it there's no question which letter he wants to "be."

He loves playing the game and wants to play it with everyone. Tricia played a few games with him today.

Is it any surprise that X wins a lot around here?

Here is the change I made to the pocket: rather than sewing a pocket onto the sheet, I folded up the bottom edge and created 3 pockets. One pocket to store the x's in, one for the o's and the other so that I can fold up the entire game like a quillow. The X and O that are on the pocket haven't been confusing to him as far as playing the game and getting 3 in a row, but I could see how they might be.

Here it is folded up and ready to be put away. The one thing I wish I had done was to put felt letters on this pocket to say "Tic-tac-toe." Especially since I am now having visions of creating more games in this manner. I may still add them on, but I can't use my machine to stitch them down now, so it will have to be hand stitching or fabric glue.

This is one project that I feel was definitely worth the time to make (it probably took me 3 hours to make). So, if you're looking for an easy project for the kids around your house, try this one out. It's been a huge hit here.

Jumping in a Little Late

I'm itching to piece and use up some of my fabric stash. I discovered this quilt along and thought about it a few weeks ago then put it out of my mind. Today I've decided I'll go ahead and do it. I've never made a kaleidoscope quilt, but it's simple and should go fast-- unless I decide to really stick with the QAL dates. I'm loving some of the fabrics and designs that some of the other participants are using, in particular this quilt using black as the background.

My Pottery Barn knock-off mirror ran into some last minute painting issues, so it will be another couple of days before it's finished. I'm hoping to have the last coat of paint on today, glue down the mirrors and cross bars tomorrow, then clean up and post a picture Saturday. Fingers crossed that it goes as smoothly as that.

Bun in the Oven

We recently threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Jenna. I was in charge of the food and thought I would make her a scrapbook page to put in little baby's scrapbook using some of her pregnancy pictures and tie in the food. I had a few ideas for "themes" for the page, but I decided on Bun in the Oven so that we could make cinnamon rolls. Mainly because they are easy to make in large quantities and there were a lot of invites sent out for this shower. I meant to get a better picture of the page on the food table, but I forgot, so please ignore the ironing board.

The day before I headed up for the shower, there was a post on Bump Smitten for a bun in the oven shower. My first thought was "If only this had been posted a week earlier." Of course, the MIL didn't let that stop me. I showed her the page and she brought me boxes and put me to work making an oven for our buns. I was pleased with the way it turned out. The only thing she didn't have on hand for me to use was the curtain rod that we used for the door handle.My gift to Jenna was some name art to hang in the nursery. My MIL sent me fabric "samples" that Jenna was using while making her crib sheets, curtains, etc. and I used my Silhouette to cut letters out of the fabric to create the name art. I wish I could say this was my original idea, but I copied it from this blog. Instead of using ric-rack for scallops along the edges, I made some triangular picots for a more masculine look.

For the Girls

Remember my mother's day bracelet for Nikki? Lena fell in love with it. She really wanted me to give it to her. Instead, we took a girls trip, just the two of us, and went to pick out some beads for a bracelet of her very own. As soon as we made it back to Grandpa's house she wanted me to start working on it. She patiently waited for it to be a birthday gift (reminding me every now and again that she would really like a bracelet for her birthday) and finally received it today. To reward her patience, I made her two bracelets. This first one seemed fitting of a little girl.

But, I think the thing that really made her love Nikki's bracelet is how it sparkles in the light. So, I made this second bracelet with glass beads that will sparkle. The picture was taken indoors, so you can't really see how the light makes the beads sparkle.

Before Lena's bracelets were an inkling of a thought, I had decided to make her a dress. I ended up making her two. Little girls are just so much fun to make things for and I couldn't stop once I had started.

I also made her a matching "pretty" to go in her hair.

We celebrated Jenn's birthday today as well and I made her a cute sign using embroidery and needle punch (didn't take a picture), as well as a beaded bracelet. The bracelet didn't turn out quite how I had planned, since the beads change colors depending on the angle you look at them and what they are next to. I still liked it and I like that it is something that she can wear with a lot of different color options. Forgive the poor picture quality, they were taken inside (at night). The differences in colors between the two pictures gives you an idea of just how different the bracelet looks in different light, though.

I'm pondering making some more bracelets and putting them in an etsy shop since I really enjoy making them. Time will tell.