I wouldn’t consider myself crafty – I don’t have a bunch of handmade stuff in our house, and Emma currently has 2 dresses that I’ve made her, even though I have enough fabric & patterns to make her entire wardrobe.

But in doing this office/playroom remodel, I’ve done everything I could to keep it as cheap as possible. I know cheap is often viewed as a dirty word, but I pay for good furniture and electronics and linens and then cheap out the rest. That’s how I roll.

So when I saw this tutorial for making super cute mousepads, I saved it in my delicious bookmarks for the day I would remodel my office.

Lo and behold, that day finally came, and I whipped this mousepad and coaster set out in less than 15 minutes.

And it was CHEAP!

cork boards – 4 for $1.00
fabric – free from my stash*
double-sided fusible web – $2.50

This set was made from one cork board (there were 2 coasters, but I put one on my bedside table) – and the fabric was stuff I already had, but *you could easily do a set of these from a fat quarter. Maybe even 2 sets if you squeeze everything really tight.

If cheap is a dirty word, then at least make something pretty out of it!

Twenty-four months ago, I looked like this …

27 weeks along

I loved being pregnant. Now, I was one of the lucky ones – no morning sickness, no obscene weight gain (34lbs), no stretch marks, light heartburn, little to no discomfort (other than my ribs). The only downside of being pregnant was that it couldn’t last longer. Oh, and the restless leg syndrome that had me putting bars of soap at the foot of our bed and doing crazy stretches at 3am.

on our babymoon to disney world

I understand if some of you now hate me and never want to read anything I write ever again.

And that’s okay. I understand.

I mean, you can hope that whenever I have baby #2, I’ll be sick as a dog 24 hours a day.

But please don’t.

Being pregnant for the first time was really amazing. In fact, it was so wonderful that I often think about trying for baby #2 JUST to be pregnant again. But then reality sets in, and I realize that we are paying our bills and that’s about it. Babies just don’t fit into the equation at this point in our lives. We’re okay with what starting our own business has done to our bank account, but we also know that having a baby right now just wouldn’t be smart.

But the actual point of this post was to say that twenty ONE months ago, I looked like this …

And then like this …

And then like this.

Even labor and delivery was a piece of cake …

6:15pm – water broke at our house
7:15pm – arrived at the hospital
11:45pm – got epidural
5:00am – started pushing
5:59am – Emma Grace arrived

Ever since then, life has been anything but easy.

But just as my pregnancy and then delivery was wonderful and amazing, so is our life with Emma.

She’s not the kid that’s going to entertain guests and make everyone laugh. She’s not going to be the kid who screams and yells to get attention. She won’t strive to be the center of attention or the class clown.

Instead, she will be the kid that everyone is drawn to because she’s so quiet. She’ll be the old soul that everyone falls in love with. She’ll be a listening ear and a strong shoulder for her friends. She’ll love everyone, no matter their faults or shortcomings. And she’ll be generous and kind.

Happy 21 months on this earth, my sweet soulful child.

You have brought us more joy and peace than we ever thought possible.

I really should be working, but I took a night off and made something for myself. It took about 4 hours, but once I start something, I have to finish it.

No, it’s not a piece of modern art. It’s a hanging organizer. It will eventually go on a rod (the top striped section is the rod casing) – but I tacked it up for pictures.

Want to see how big it is compared to the rest of the wall?

4 hours big.

Next project: craft apron. I’m constantly having to get up and hunt for scissors, marker, seam ripper, etc., so I need something to keep it all right there.

I plan on getting a lot more soakers made before November 1 (opening day!), but Emma’s naps have been a little shaky this week. I’m trying to get most of it done at night after she goes to bed, but I’m exhausted from staying up so late.

Anyway, I designed the pattern based on a few different aspects of our soakers that we like. So far, I’ve received positive responses, so I hope they all find good homes. I mean, Emma can wear the medium ones and she can grow into the large ones, but those newborn and smalls won’t be used for a long time in this house.

Although, when I finished that newborn one, I almost died from the cuteness.

I haven’t been posting much because I’ve been very busy.

Opening my store!!

Whudda thunk that I’d have my very own store after such a short time!?!?

I bought some space on Hyena Cart, which is

a collection of unique shops offering a variety of earth-, child- and family-friendly items. Each shop is individually owned and operated but is powered by the unique Hyena Cart shopping code.

I don’t have much “stocked” yet because I haven’t gotten it all made, but I’m on the calendar to open November 1, so I’ve got to get busy.

I designed and made this fleece diaper cover, which is a very big thing in the world of cloth diapering.

There’s even a panel inside to make it even more waterproof:

Anyway, I’ll post a link to my “store” when I get it all stocked. I’m so excited!

I finally finished my first full prefold order … she sent them to me undyed and plain, and here’s what I sent back to her.

Her daughter is a Piglet fan, so I’m hoping she really likes those Pooh and Piglet designs.

I’m working on a website and separate blog for this stuff, but Ken’s been busy with work and tennis, so it might be a while before I can get it up and running.

Coming up …
1. Pictures from Sydnei’s 4th birthday party
2. Pictures of our little teething, sitting, giggling monster

I shipped 2 pairs of BabyGams today. I was planning on getting more done, but I’m also working on an embellished prefold order, so things are moving slowly.

The first pair went to Melissa for her (so cute but not used) suggestion of Baby Long Legs! I hope her son likes them as much as I do!

The second pair went to Jennifer for her logo idea which sold me on the name Baby Long Legs. I heart argyle, so it was hard to let these go.

I’m also working on embellished prefolds for Shawnah (the ones I dyed pink last week), and they’re coming along. Slowly but surely. I don’t want to post pics until I’m done with them all, but here’s my little helper who refused to take a nap yesterday afternoon.

I went to the fabric store yesterday and stocked up on girly fabrics, which I love doing because I can use the leftover for Emma’s stuff.

So on that note, the little one is still sleeping, so I better get some lunch and get back to work.

Well, after working my tail off on some sewing items, I decided that I was tired of having to hunt for stuff. And, there was no where to put the little missus if I wanted to sew while she was awake. And, there was just too much junk in one room.

So … I moved some stuff out, moved some stuff around, and vacuumed up months of lint, thread, and scrap fabric.

Then, I mentioned to Ken that I needed some more storage space, and he remembered this huge bookshelf we had sitting in our garage that wasn’t being used. And it’s perfect!

I present to you — Le Craft Room

as you enter the room

my sewing corner

the bed doubles as a measuring/cutting table

the awesome bookshelf that keeps me organized (missing a shelf b/c of some lost doo-dads that hold the shelves in)

you-know-who’s spot (she was napping at the time this picture was taken)

It needs a little more cheerful artwork and whatnot, and I need a few more organizational items, but overall, I’m pleased. And I can find everything!

I’m working on dyeing and embellishing some prefolds for a friend, so I thought I’d post the progress here. She wanted all pink because she has a baby girl in diapers and one more girl due in December.

I decided to do 3 shades of pink. Unfortunately, the last batch was in while I was getting Emma bathed and ready for bed last night, so it stayed too long and ended up pretty much the same color as the 2nd batch. So she only has 2 shades of pink. Bummer.

Reminds me of Piglet, though. :)

It’s about 12:40am, but I can’t sleep. My brain just won’t quit. I know I’ll be sorry when Emma wakes up at, oh, 7:45 tomorrow morning. Oh wait — Ken’s always up and gets her first thing so I can sleep in a bit.

Being a mom is hard.

;)

So here’s what I’ve been working on today …

embellished prefolds – these are Emma’s, but I was experimenting with stitches to see which ones looked cleaner and worked the best. (ahem, straight stitch – I’m a simple gal)

I also made some bebe leggies for a Diaper Swappers mama …

I’ve got about 8 prefolds coming this week for me to dye and embellish for another Diaper Swappers mama, who I have become friends with. She’s been really easy to work with and has given me a lot of freedom. But it’s been difficult buying fabric with a boy in mind. I ended up with 3 different fabrics yesterday that had flowers on them — didn’t even notice. Oops. I just don’t want all trucks and trains, ya know?

Of course, I picked up a couple of yards of this fabric for diapers and possibly an outfit for Emma.

Yuck.