stitch markers

I needed some stitch markers for this granny square I was making, so I used some paper clips, which worked just fine, but I wanted to make them a little cuter so I curled the ends.

then I looked online to see what other wire stitch markers were out there that people were making and I found this post for making simple markers.  I like how cute and little they are :)

the plastic coating was a little finicky to work with and would tend to split on the cut ends, so I think next time I'd be a little more careful and score the plastic with a blade first and then clip the wire so it doesn't split and peel.

all in all I'm happy with how quick they worked up and the use of stuff I already had on hand.

 

such a big boy!

Jack is growing up so fast - faster than I remember Leo growing!  at 2 months Jack was in the 90th percentile for weight, 75th for height, wearing 6 month clothes, eating what feels like all the time during the day, and now he's sleeping all by himself in his own room!!

Leo 5 months

Jack 2 months

Jack has been a much different experience than Leo was.  Jack latches and eats really well and slept pretty good through the night to begin with.  he was staying in bed with us so I could feed him through the night without getting up since I didn't need to get up for a bottle, but he kept getting bigger and when he started fussing more in his sleep I looked into some white noise to hopefully keep him calm and still so Matt and I weren't falling off the sides of the bed!

 an article I read said babies who are 4 months old reach that "magic" weight of 11 lbs. and don't need to eat so much at night anymore... Jack was over that at one month old!  I have noticed in the last month he doesn't eat as much at night so I got a Soundspa Lullaby and tried putting him in his crib one night with the rain sound going.  he went down without a fight and slept so well! :)  I woke up missing him in the middle of the night (he'd been asleep for about 3 hours) and heard him fussing a little on the monitor.  he wasn't awake and would probably have put himself back to sleep, but I needed him to eat.  I fed him and he went right back to the crib for another good stretch.  he is even fine in his room for naps during the day.

we're at a week of sleeping in the crib now and so far it's going great - which I'm happy and sad about.  I'll just have to get used to waking up and seeing him through the monitor instead of looking right at his sweet little sleeping face next to me :(  sometimes, after Matt leaves for work and Jack wakes up hungry I go bring him back to our bed to nap for an hour or so until it's time to get up, which is gonna bite me in the butt later, I'm sure! 

crochet rocks

I crocheted over some river rocks with embroidery floss.   turned out a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I just made a circle and then branched out with chains from there until it was big enough to cover the rock, then I decreased around the rock until I got to a stopping point or ran out of embroidery floss.  if you need more details than that, here's a post that explains how to do it.



the idea was to use them as weights for napkins or paper plates outside on picnics, but I think I'll put them in a glass container until we're out and about again.

I like how the backs look, too.  it's a little harder to crochet against the rock but once I realized it didn't have to be super tight I managed to make it work and stopped scrubbing up my hook.

smiley Jack

we went to Oklahoma to visit Nana over the weekend.  Jack did awesome on the car ride there and back, and was so good while we were at Nana's house.  he's been real smiley and giggly lately so I'm glad she got to see :)  Leo had to stay home with Matt, but it was nice getting out with Jack and my mom.

Jack is starting to stay awake longer during the day and enjoys when people make faces at him, so we've been "playing" more.  Leo doesn't like to share his space with Jack so I've been entertaining Jack at tummy time since he's not even aloud to watch Leo play with trucks!  I'm hoping that passes soon.

 



granny squares

my mother-in-law needed some help with a granny square pattern recently, so now I'm in a granny square mood!  I found this cool bobble spiral pattern that I really like :)  this would be cool to make really big and use as a baby blanket or something.

for now this is finished, so I think when I expand more of the pictures on my walls I'll just hang this up as filler until I collect more pictures.  maybe I'll frame it... I dunno.

baby Jack

he's finally here :)  Jack just couldn't wait for Monday to be induced, so I wasn't able to have my doctor there for the delivery, but it was alright.  I was glad for it to be done and over with and home before Monday!

1/11/13 3:40pm

8lbs. 15oz. 21in.

my posts will be put on hold until I come up with some time to do something other than feed, change, and sleep!

on his way

I was worried I wouldn't get Jack's room or other projects done in time, but I was able to accomplish the things I wanted to do after all!  now we're just waiting...

I finished up my basketweave blanket - something I really wanted to have in the hospital.  I love the color and texture.  it's a nice and simple pattern and I would definitely crochet another one.

we all got sick right after Christmas so I had time to work on it while laying around for days - what an awful time to be so sick :(  worst. holidays. ever.  at least I was kinda productive while I wasn't able to do anything?

I updated the old nursery walls with some contact paper stripes and jackalope cut outs, as well as some new frames for the wall above the crib with antler letters in them.

I cut wood grain contact paper down to 2' sections to make it easier to put up, and did dovetails to join them together with the grain going in opposite directions for contrast.  I really like that detail :)

I didn't sew any bedding this time and just bought new sheets, bumper, and blanket from Target.  I used the same crib skirt, and found the stuffed jackalope online.

I put up a floating shelf for when Jack's big enough to get into things and we need to keep stuff out of reach.  we got the shelf unit when it was Leo's room, but he regularly emptied the shelves and we lost a lot of books (or rather, pages of books) because of it.  it'll hold things like stuffed animals, blankets and burp cloths until he doesn't need it, then maybe I'll take it for myself  O:)

I really like the lamp I found (maybe I can have this too when Jack's done with it!) and added a "hidden" jackalope crest inside the shade.

I got a little pop gun to put on the wall above the changing table.  I think that was one of the hardest things to find!  World Market - who would have thought??

we're all so excited to meet Jack and I can't wait to bring him home to his new room!

pilled fleece

I was given a ton of hand-me-down clothes for my boys.  as I was going through them all I came across a cute little fleece pull-over.  I was gonna toss it aside because it looked pretty well worn with all the pilling, but I thought I'd try to see if I could un-pill it.

I took a lint brush I got from the .99 Store and brushed the fabric until it was soft again.  some spots that were a little worse (the under sides of the sleeves and armpits) I used the hook side of velcro that was on the back of the brush.  after a washing it looked a little pilled again but it was still soft and it wasn't nearly as bad as it started out.  I gave it another once over with the brush and it softened back up quicker this time.

before

after

I doubt I would do this every time I wash it, but maybe for going out I'd give it a brush again to freshen it up.

sound ornament

I was going to try and make an ornament for the grandparents this year with Leo's prints or something on it, but I just didn't have the time.  I did happen to see this post a couple of days before Christmas and thought I might be able to tackle it in time - which I did, just didn't get pictures of them all!

I grabbed some fabric ornaments from Target and voice recording devices from Build-A-Bear.  Leo wasn't cooperative when it came to getting him to say something, but I managed to get them done Christmas Eve.  it's not fun if you're not cutting it close, right?? :\

we'll see how well it holds up in storage and I might try again next year when he's more likely to say more things and possibly on command!

glasses

I saw this cool project for etching the bottom of a pint glass.  I thought this would be a perfect gift for my sister-in-law's boyfriend.  I used clear contact paper with my Silhouette (this machine makes so many things so much easier!), etching cream I got from Hobby Lobby forever ago, and a set of 4 small tumblers (the bases were bigger than regular pint glasses) that I got from Target.

 

as happy as I was at how well the first one came out, I thought I'd make each glass different.

I googled warnings and came across some to use,

and Matt helped out with this one - of course ;)  we're fans of The IT Crowd so I couldn't turn down one involving Rohypnol!  gotta love Moss :)

this one is probably my favorite.  it's a bit of a departure from the original idea, but still fits with the recipient's humor.

these worked up quickly and were surprisingly easy to do.  I've etched glass before and for some reason it was a big headache, but this project went very smoothly and I am excited to give them away :)

bread pudding muffins

being as absent minded as I've been lately I bought a loaf of bread, forgot I had it and bought another!  I'd usually freeze the extra loaf for later, but I noticed the date on the older bag said November 30 :(  it wasn't moldy, didn't smell and was still mostly soft, but the thought of "expired" bread made my sandwich taste bad to me even though it was probably fine.  I figured I'd make cinnamon toast, French toast or just regular toast out of it, but remembered I haven't made bread pudding in forever! I laid out all the slices to make it really dry and stale and made this recipe from Joy of Baking.

I used craisins and raisins, but I forgot to grab pecans at the store and forgot to add the apples (never tried that before and was curious to see how it would taste, oh well!) but it was fine.  doughnuts are still my favorite to use for bread pudding, but the plain wheat wasn't too bad once I put the sauce on top - that's really what makes any bread pudding wonderful!

for the sauce you'll need:

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter

1/4 cup whiskey (Jack Daniels is our favorite)

just enough water to make it liquid

heat a sauce pan up and pour the whiskey in - carefully! - and let it smoke to burn off the alcohol.  toss in the butter and let that melt before adding the sugar.  stir constantly, adding water as needed to make it nice and liquid.  pour over the bread pudding before serving.

lil fuzzies

I wanted to make something soft for Jack to wear in the hospital, so I did a chunky hat and booties from some fuzzy brown yarn I had and a 9mm hook.  I felt like I was doing it blind because the stitches just sorta disappear, but somehow they came out okay!

I made Leo some booties that were too small for his big feet, so I went a little bigger on these, but watch Jack have smaller feet!  at least if they're big he can grow into them.  I used this video tutorial to make them.

for the hat I did it like the newsboy hat by making a circle and then doing straight sides down from there and just finishing it off when I thought it looked long enough.  I like how the big hook and double crochet give it texture, but it's not too hole-y looking with the fuzzy yarn filling in the spaces.

this set took me much less time to make (maybe about an hour total) and I absolutely love them!