So. So. Sew.

I.AM.BACK.

Remember THIS poor pitiful post?
Well, I made it.
Lately, I have been creating.

Most women feel terrible in their 3rd trimester. I don't. Month 7 and 8 are good to me.
{Let's not talk about 9}
 But, 7 and 8--what a blessing.

My house is cleaner.
My creative juices start to flow.
{My back starts to hurt}
Oh wait. Staying positive...Good.

I also spend most of my time HERE.
A pregnant girl could spend a fortune.
But, since I promised my Manly Man I'd create and stick to a family budget...
I "window" shop online.
{SEE!? I do have self control!}

Anyway, for the past few weeks I've noticed these CUTE CUTE CUTE little things called
Binky Blankie's.
SUPER.CUTE.
So many to chose from. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.
But, as I looked and looked and searched for the RIGHT blankie for this little boy...in the back of my head I kept thinking...
I could just make my own.

Hmmmmmm.

So. Saturday night...on our 3 year anniversary date...my husband and I stopped at a JoAnn's---
OK.
Truth?
We parked the car.
I went to JoAnn's.
Manly Man went to Dick's Sporting Goods.
Seriously.
They are RIGHT by each other.
As if God Himself designed it.
I could hear the Angels' sing!

It should ALWAYS happen that way!!
Anyway, that's for another post.

Yes. JoAnn's. Walked in. Grabbed some fabric out I came.

So, here are pictures of my craft.

SIDE NOTE:
I DO NOT...I repeat...DO NOT consider myself a seamstress/sewer/one who works with sewing machines and KNOWS what they are doing.
I craft.
Therefore...I can work WITH a sewing machine.
Am I good?
no.
When I start do I think I am?
yes.
After 5 mins do I get upset with myself for thinking so much more HIGHLY of myself when it comes to the sewing machine?
yes.
Do things go wrong?
all the time.
Can I cut material straight?
not on my life.
Do I sew straight?
um. no.
So. if you can say YES to MOST of these questions...Feel free to stop reading.
{Or keep reading for some deep rooted laughter}
But, I created something and the WORLD needs to know.
So...keep your laughing to yourself.
And if you have any pointers...after I have this baby...I'd be interested in hearing them!

Here it is....The {NEWEST} Baby Nolt's blankie.
{Name to come...one day!}

These are the two fabrics I picked out. LOVE THEM. The light green is SO soft. I just picture my little boy with this little blankie and can't wait to meet him.
I didn't want this blankie BIG. And I really wanted it small. Something he could hold in his hands and not get lost in...or drug on the floor. I THINK when I "cut" it out I made it 18 inches by 20.5 inches. Don't ask me if that is even right. Math and I never get along. :)

Then, after that, I sewed all the way around it...right sides together. {seriously, in sewing class in Jr. High I NEVER understood the term RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. I honestly thought it meant the RIGHT (not left) sides get put together. JUST last week (no joke) I realized they meant the "prettier side fabric--aka--the RIGHT side together.} I might have laughed for a a long time at myself over this. And I still might be laughing now.
AND, if I'm wrong with my "pretty fabric" being the 'right' side...then I'll laugh again.
But, now it makes more sense.
See? Beginnner.

I didn't get a pic of it...(SORRY) but I left about 2 inches open and pulled the fabric through the 2 inch hole. Then, ironed it.
I then, attached the ribbon that will be used as his 'paci holder.'
You will see what I mean...in pics to come!

Then, I got really REALLY really creative. The front fabric had squares on it and I thought it would look cute if I added a quilted look. So, I just made {somewhat} straight lines with my sewing machine. Have I mentioned that I married into a Horse and Buggy Mennonite family...and ALL of them know how to sew? And make quilts. And quilt quilts. They do it for a living.
Pretty sure, this blankie WILL NOT be at any of our family events. They can spot 'hand-made' MILES away...and take delight looking over every little fine detail.
Sigh.
Moving on...

Here is the ribbon I put on the end of the blankie. And is also where my 1st mistake was that I noticed.
Oh...2nd.
My 1st was cutting out the material and the two fabrics didn't measure up.
Who cares. I didn't even try to fix that...
And apparently I didn't try to fix the ribbon either.
I am a GET IT DONE girl.
The main reason I took that pic was just to show you my mistake.
{Love me anyway}

And, so, my blankie is almost complete.
I still have some things that need to be done to it.
For one, I need to decide what paci I want to use for this child.
{Or what paci he wants!}
So I'm waiting to finish the ribbon and attach the paci.

Now, some may ask..."Are you even sure your child will take a paci?"
And I answer..."I don't know."
But, from past experience, Easty took his paci day 1. Loved it. And to this day, still LOVES it.
He hides them around our house, and when he thinks I'm not looking he goes and finds one and sucks on it.
(My rule for him now is paci's are only at bedtime, church, and car.)
{He has other ideas}

And, from the ultra sound we had the other day, this baby was sucking the whole time.
WHOLE.TIME.

So, I THINK we will use a paci...
If not, then I'll cut the ribbon off and just use the blankie.

And, my friends, that's the final picture...showing you that I can craft. Use a sewing machine and have a blankie turn out in SOME form of a blankie.
Pretty sure these puppies wouldn't sell on Etsy...but for my baby boy...it will work just fine!

OH...and how much did all this cost me?
$4.00
That's right.

$4.00

The ones I wanted were about $20.00

What a deal!

Spark-less

I know.
2 posts in 2 days.
Is this a streak?
Who knows. But. I've got something to write...and my son is napping, and my Manly Man is working and can't listen.
So...I take the next big thing.
My Blog.

After 2 days of thinking and reflecting...I have figured something out about myself....
I am spark-less.
Now, don't jump all over and get worried. Don't call my mother.
It happens from time to time. And I have figured it out....

Let's go back....a year ago.

A year ago I was HERE. 
A TERRIBLE place to be. But, I recovered. And don't even miss my gall bladder.
After that, I let my creative juices start to flow. I found great deals on things and updated them and now have them in my house.

All fall and into winter I did this....Create. Create. Create.
I LOVE who I am when I am creating. Things come alive to me that I never thought would...and I LOVE it.

Then, in Nov. we moved to our NEW house.
MORE creating. I had to pick out paint and our great Master's team came and painted my whole house...from top to bottom. (and some great friends came too)

Christmas came.
MOOOOORE creating. I was in the kitchen baking.
Decorating my OWN house.
Enjoying Easton's 1st Christmas.
Making presents.
Wrapping presents.

And then...I got pregnant.

No, pregnancy isn't a bad thing. And we planned on getting pregnant. But, my body completely changes when I get pregnant.
I lose Spark.
I crave SLEEP.
I don't care.
I let things go {living room. kitchen. closets. crafts.}
Little things slide. {small things that build good qualities in my baby}
And, I lose myself.

Now, don't cry. It's just a season. Losing yourself can be hard...but I have learned in the past that I do find myself again. But it does take time.

And, it usually doesn't come back until 3 months after labor.
{Sigh}

But, it does come back.

It might even come back sooner...because today I realized that SOMETHING is MISSING.
And it's my SPARK.
Things that make me MORE creative.
More enjoyable.

I told my Manly Man today...(while he was listening) my head and heart are missing being creative...
My body is not. I'm just STILL too tired to start something new.
{Sigh}

And so...My talented SISTER and our BFF RUTH ANN and myself are taking a little GIRLS' WEEKEND GET AWAY. Well...kind of. A friend of ours is getting married in Mississippi. (The state...not the river...many get confused.) and my Sis is the Photographer for the wedding. I am coming along to hold my sweet new {and only} neice LIVIA while her mama works. And, Ruth Ann is coming---just because!

So, while there will be MUCH baby holding...and lazy days in Mississippi...I plan to FIND my spark.
I may even wander into a Jo Anns, or Hobby Lobby and just breathe.

So...next week if you see me painting flowers and rainbows on our house...I FOUND it...and just needed an outlet to create!

Oh...to create!

Tristan's Birthday gift!

My sister's little boy turned 1 yesterday. Such a FUN day filled with family and friends. We had pizza after church, then opened gifts and drove up to MN to a indoor waterpark. We had a blast. So much fun without naps. ALWAYS a good time. ALWAYS. Today: rest. AND: NAPS. For everyone.

BUT, before naptime...I want to show you what we gave Tristan. I found this little beauty at a PRE garage sale. My friend told me she was getting rid of it at her garage sale in two weeks. I told her I neeeeeded it NOW. And so: I owe her $3.50. That's right. I'm in debt 3 dollars and 50 cents.

Before: where the creative juices start flowing!

I looked in my paint stash that I have...and found this red. I stole borrowed the paint from my parents for my wedding---and years later---have never returned it. AND, so, my rule is...after almost 3 years of then not asking for it or about it...it's mine.

Next, after the paint dried...I got my Cricut out and in yellow and blue cut and mog podged Tristan's name on the front of the chair. All paper I used was from my NEVER-ENDING scrapbook paper collection that I have.

AND, since I'm a "retired" teacher I always want to promote READING...so I found a cute little boy reading a book and put it where Tristan can see it! Maybe one day I'll come to Beka's house and find him reading in his little chair. Auntie can dream!

Next, I took a trip with a friend to a fabric store. I brought along some samples of yellow and blue paper and started looking for some amazing fabric to make a little seat cover. I jumped up with glee when I found this fabric. MATCHED.PERFECTLY. I couldn't wait to get it home and sew. (I SOOOO need a craft room. ALL this was done in my kitchen...so you can imagine the sight!) Oh, I paid 1.50 for the fabric I used.

The final project! I spent a total of $5.00 on the WHOLE project!
Only it was lacking 1 thing:

A cute little boy to try it out! We couldn't WAIT to give this to Tristan. AND, yesterday he LOVED it! Sat in it for a whole 3 mins...and for a 1 year old...that's HUGE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY T! Auntie loves you so much!

A hint!

My little nephew turns 1 on Sunday! Here's a PEEK at the gift I made him!!! Can you guess? I'll reveal the WHOLE project next week! Til then, HAPPY GUESSING!

Crafty

I love crafts. AND, I love to give homemade gifts to people. But, I never post them on here because I'm always afraid people will see the flaws of homemade. So, this morning, I'm branching out, and showing the world just how much I love to craft. Flaws and all.....

Today is the 1st day of school around here. As a former teacher myself, I LOVED the 1st day. Excited...with a little bit of don't want to leave summer. So I thought the teachers needed a TEACHER SURVIVAL KIT: Everything they need to make it through the school year....well, almost.

1st up...magic wands:
(OH, not only do I like to make things, I don't like to spend a fortune on them...and there are not alot of craft stores around here without driving 30 miles...so we look at our house.)

I find kabob sticks...GREAT for wands. Now to cover them up so they don't look sooooo boring.

I found my mom's hot glue gun a few weeks ago...let me tell you, HOW did I live without it? Glue the tip...

Apply the ribbon...and twist all the way to the end. SIMPLE.
Glue the end. PRETTY WAND!
Now for flare!

Use some other ribbon and tie it to make some flare. Perfect.

I gave them 3 things...water that said: May you always have energy. And, I also gave them sticky notes that said: May you always stick to your job....and...

The wands said.....May your Fairy God Mother always be with you. (by far my favorite!)

I packaged them up with a pretty bow....

AND, have gifts for my 5 teacher friends.
They were a big hit!