DIY Baby Burp Cloths

I recently made a set of these cute little guys for my big sister, Jenna as well as my dear, dear friend, Britney.

These are a fun, simple and affordable gift for baby showers, baby arrival, or just because!

Materials:

Birdseye Fabric

Ribbon

Quilt Binding

Matching Thread

I used a tutorial found on one of the blogs I follow, but I cannot find the link for the life of me now, so sorry.  But I will give a simplified run-down of what I did.

Now, I am a precise rule follower -- sometimes to the point of fault -- the first time I do anything, so at the end of this post I will also include a few points of things I will do differently next time.

1) Line up three layers of birdseye material, one on top of the other

2) You can probably cut two cloth widths from one stack... approximately 12 inches in width and 18 in length... adjust to your liking if you'd like them longer/shorter.

3) Run the long edges through the sewing machine, then turn the material inside-out / rightside-out... whatever you want to call it.

4) Cut and pin your choice of ribbon to line the inside third of the cloth -- stitch it in place then trim excess ribbon from edges.

5) Line top and bottom edges (the short ones) with quilt binding, pin in place then stitch and trim excess, carefully, as close to edge seam as possible.  Careful not to cut into the seam of your long edge.

Disclaimer: I am no seasoned seamstress... I just do it how it makes sense to me!  So if any of you reading this are going, "No, not that way!" I take no offense... if you know a better method then by all means!  =)

Ta-Da!

I think they're adorable and the mommies appeared to think so as well!  =)

Okay, now for the few things I would do differently...

1. One thing I did change after the first set was sewing the long edge and then flipping the fabric inside out.  The tutorial said to stitch then trim the excess with pinking sheers... I did that with the first set and it didn't go well -- frayed like crazy -- so I changed my method with the second set.  I believe it was a good call.

2. In the future, I would add some extra material to the middle section of these burp cloths.  Let's face it, we all know that's where the majority of the mess is usually aimed, and we could use some extra protection there.  ;)  I would have added it with the second set, but I didn't have enough material and had a deadline.

Alrighty folks, I think that's it! 

Let me know if you make some of these fun little guys yourself... I sure had a good time with them.

Now I must be off to see what our crazy pups won't stop barking at in the back yard... ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's try this look for a while

I've been frustrated with the set up of our living room for a while now.

To be honest, I never have put much thought into it.

This is mainly because when we moved in, we didn't have much so things were placed in practical locations.

Then we moved to Texas and my mom moved her stuff into our house.

Then we moved back and moved our stuff back in with her stuff... 

...then we bought more stuff in anticipation of losing her stuff when she left.

Needless to say, we were crammed in like sardines at this point.

Then mom left and I quickly moved things to where I thought were the only reasonable places for them...

but it never felt right.

Today, I am proud to say, genius struck!

It hit me while observing a conversation in our living room which closer resembled onlookers at a tennis match rather than family having a nice chat.

So after most everyone had taken flight, I roped my mom into helping me shuffle a few things around and we went from this:

To this.

It's amazing what a few minor changes can do!

We switched the chair closest to the dining room with the bookcase in the corner by the coat closet and moved the couch and other chair toward the far windows a bit in order to create a more functional, conversational sitting area.  I'm also pleased as this has opened up space between the living room and dining room areas helping to create a more distinct separation between the two.

I'm not pleased with how "blocky" and "in-the-way" the bookshelf seems, but this won't be a problem for long as it is soon to be replaced with one of these beauties...

...which my incredible hubby is going to build for me.

Simple, airy, decorative... I am so excited.

The rug from the old pic was left from my mom.  She didn't really have a place for it and we didn't have anything else at the time so she left it with us to use until whenever.  

Well while grocery shopping at Aldi the other day, I found this 4x6 brown shag rug for $29.99!  It's not as big as we ultimately want but it was a steal of a price and one step closer to the large brown rug we would like to find eventually.  So in the end, a small price for an "in-between" rug that matches a little better and makes us a bit happier... plus, when we replace it, this smaller rug will be the perfect touch to help cozy up my new office at school!

Well, overall, I'm happy.

Little changes making big differences... to me anyway.
Yay.


PS, while I was in the "rearranging mood" I decided to try a new look on the ol' blog.  I'm still workin' on a new header, but let me know what you think!

Headed Back to High School

Most students spend their lives dreaming of getting out of high school... I've spent the past several years of my life dreaming of getting back into it.

Good news, folks, I have just been hired into my first teaching job!

This school year, I will be teaching high school choir

...my dream!

Never, in a million years, did I think I would get a high school music teaching position my first year out of the gate.  Needless to say it is a BIG program with BIG responsibilities.  I'm sure I will have more than a few moments of "Ahhh... I don't know what I'm doing here!!!" along the way.

But I am pumped about the job, the kids I will be teaching and the faculty I will be working with and I am ready to dive in!

Wish me luck... wish me sanity. ;)

I already know this is going to be a year packed full of learning, making mistakes, relearning, exciting times, difficult times and best of all... making music.  =)

If you would, say a prayer for me as I prepare to step up into this program and attempt to affect the lives of teenagers through teaching music.