this one's for the boys...

I couldn't leave the boys out of the crayon roll up fun.  I found several super cute boy prints at Fabricana and here's my first boy-inspired roll.  This one (as well as the Strawberry Fields print) are available in my shop.  Cars and trucks print (as well as another precious print combo for girls) coming soon!

minky love (and hate)

Minky is something you've probably seen (and fondled) before, but had no idea what it's called.  It's a super soft, fleecy type fabric that you see in many baby projects these days, mainly blankets.

A few months ago, I bought some minky in order to try my hand at sewing some ribbon sensory blankies.  Man, this stuff is NOT fun to sew with.  It is slippery and stretchy at the same time - and once perfectly lined up seams pucker and drift apart easily.  So while I love the softness of the fabric for babies, sewing with it is a pain in the butt.

This the ribbon sensory blanket I made for my little man a few months ago (the minky is the brown dotted fabric you see on the back).  You can buy minky plain or dotted.  Babies seems to love the dotted texture for blankies.

This put together this cute pink number for a friend who recently had her second little girl.  I used plain white minky for two of the squares on the front, and the brown dot minky on the back.

I also got really ambitious and made a minky change pad cover for the change table.  Lots o' work, but love the result.  Have to make another since the fleece ones I used for my daughter are all a) girly colors and b) washed and worn to within an inch of their lives.

The possibilities for minky in baby sewing are endless - bibs, blankets, burp cloths, stuffy toys, sheets (now THAT would be some work).  Any other fun ideas you'd like to see in minky?

cute crayon roll up

Anyone who has toddlers knows that you need something to entertain them when you're out and about - restaurants, waiting at the doctor's office (which I do a LOT of lately being over 38 weeks pregnant!).  My girl LOVES to color and draw, and up until now, I've been throwing her crayons into a ziplock baggie in the diaper bag and heading out the door. 

I made a few of these super simple crayons rolls over the last week and L loves hers.  It has spots for 16 crayons (or slim markers, pencil crayons, etc), and she is able to open and close it herself with a simple, colorful elastic closure.  It's completely machine washable as well.  I'll be adding these to my etsy shop soon, and will try to put up a tutorial in case you are interested in making some yourself (including cutting fabric, I can whip one up in under half an hour - a perfect naptime craft!)

 

thee best chocolate chip cookies ever!

What's a pregnant lady days away from delivery to do when the weather is shoddy, she can stand for maaaaybe 10 minutes at a time, and has a squirrely toddler to entertain?  MAKE COOKIES OF COURSE.  I have been using this same chocolate chip cookie recipe for at least the last 10 years.  I think that it came off of a chocolate chip package, and I believe the secret to the crunchy outside/gooey inside yumminess factor is using shortening, not butter or margarine (although I insist on using margarine in my brownies, but that's another post!)

Allie's Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
Combine the above ingredients. 
Add:
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir until combined.
Mix together the following dry ingredients:
1 cup white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add to wet mixture.  Add approximately 1 cup of high quality chocolate chips (we buy the Chipits in the huge bags from Costco).



Drop by the teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes at 350F.  Eat warm with milk (of course).

My assistant and I whipped up a quick batch this afternoon.  I think she enjoyed them:

 Did we eat the whole bowl?  You betcha!

simple car seat canopy

I've been pulling out the baby gear from storage the last little while (and remembering the insane number of C and D size batteries all these gadgets take!) in preparation for our little man's arrival.  We went with gender neutral prints for pretty much everything (the 1-2-3 Tea for Me Exersaucer was the exception, but I bought it in a moment of weakness when our daughter was 5 months old, cutting her first teeth and hubby was on a business trip to China). 

Our carseat from last time around is still good - you know that carseats 'expire' like sour milk, right?  I decided to whip up a simple car seat canopy to keep the sun, rain, and germy strangers' hands off the kiddo.  I would use a receiving blanket over the seat last time, but this looks so much cuter.  I used the same fabrics I bought for his baby quilt (which is nearly finished as well - stay tuned!!).  

The project turned out to be really simple.  The finished canopy is about 35x40 inches, and I used the interior print to make the handlebar attachments, which fasten with velcro.  It only took a couple hours to put together.

The nursery is almost finished - once we've got everything ready, I'll post some pictures. 

my first treasury!

I made my first treasury on etsy!  Click on over to have a look :)

Pinwheel treasury

canada day fun

Happy Canada Day everyone!

I have just discovered pinterest.  If you haven't heard about it, here's a bit about it (from the pinterest website):

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.


I haven't had too much time to play around yet, but it looks like it could get addictive.  In honour of Canada Day, I pinned a few Canada Day inspired photos and ideas at the link below.  Click on over and see if you likey.  If your 'pinterest' is piqued (tee hee, sorry, couldn't resist), you can request an invite from me.

http://re.pn/b/gheh