Jul 25, 2014 | Green Living
I had a few maternity shirts with those lovely belly stains on them…
in other words “not fit to donate or sell.”
Looking at the shirts I thought that there was a lot of nice, soft, material in a maternity t-shirt, and the backs of the shirts were perfectly fine
so I started searching for free patterns on Pinterest.
Now, I am not an expert at sewing so I wanted something very easy to get back in the swing of things.
Found this one for a baby Cap Sleeve Dress on Shwin & Shwin that was adorable and thought I’d give it a try.
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Cutting out Bodice from Maternity T’s
(was debating putting those molas on the dress) |
Aimee is 4 months old tomorrow, but large for her age. She’s about 15# and 29″ long so she’s wearing a 6 month size in most everything, even larger in some because of her height. This free pattern was a size 12-18 month, but looking at it I didn’t think it was that huge so I made it to size.
I used the backs of two maternity t shirts in the end, a teal green one and a purple one.
For the skirt I didn’t follow the pattern because it didn’t fit on any of the shirts right. I ended up taking the purple t shirt and just cutting off the bottom of it all the way around (about 10 inches long) and then gathering that and sewing it on the bodice.
My first attempt revealed that the bodice was way too long as well as the skirt, but width was fine.
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| “Mom, this is too big!” |
So, I cut the skirt off the bodice and cut length off of both, then resewed.
This was perfect. BUT, my stitching wasn’t very straight and seam showed on skirt…
SO
I used the binding that had been around the top of the teal v-neck t shirt and cut it off to make a belt of sorts. I stitched it on using a decorative stitch on my machine and black thread. I left the ends hanging like a real belt, and then made a fabric flower out of the purple fabric.
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| Floppy Flower and Belt Detail |
To make the flower I just cut the end of a sleeve off at about three inches
then folded it and sewed a basting stitch and gathered it into a rough flower. Then I stitched those stitches together on the back and hand stitched it on, gathering where I thought it needed it.
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| I think she likes it! |
It was really quite easy to work with jersey. I’d been scared to try but think making t-shirts for her would be so simple. I have several other dresses cut out from patterns I’m making myself, so I’ll keep you posted!
Apr 10, 2014 | Green Living, Motherhood
I am a cloth diapering gal.
With our oldest we used what we could find and afford (old time prefolds and plastic covers)
With our second we could afford a few fancy covers
With the third I used mainly G Diapers
and now
I’m experimenting…
We are using mainly G Diapers with cloth inserts, but not sure how good they will fit later on.
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| Cute G-Diaper Baby Bum |
I have a few fancy covers (Rumparooz, etc.) that I really like with the Indian Prefold cotton diapers,
but they are still too big for my little one’s rump.
The G Diapers are so expensive (for the cloth inserts anyway) and I might try to make a few to see how they work. I don’t like the disposable/compostable inserts anymore. Not sure how they are different from when we used them 9 years ago, but they don’t seem to absorb anything and get the covers all wet. Yuck. I really like the cloth inserts, they are made from Hemp and cotton, so they absorb really well.
For wipes I got the Prince Lionheart wipe warmer on Amazon. I like the wipes that came with it alot. I’d also ordered some Thirsties wipes and they seem to be really pilly, don’t like them very much.
If you live in central Arkansas you can find all kinds of cloth diapering options at The Green Corner Store downtown. They even have consulting and gently used diapers! (Plus you can get some Loblolly ice cream while you’re there!)
My honey made me a beautiful clothesline last week. I know, strange thing to get excited over but I am! It’s on a pulley system so I don’t have to get down off the back porch!
So cute to see those little diapers flapping in the breeze.
I’ll keep you posted on how this journey goes!
Jun 13, 2013 | Green Living
One of the motivating factors for moving to this new house was the wonderful yard.
The plan is to have a little urban garden where we don’t have to buy produce (at least all summer and spring.)
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| Back Side Yard- Tree Fort is almost complete! |
Planning is not easy. We have 3 lots, which is just a hair shy of an acre!
I keep changing my mind about what I want and where I want it and I believe I’m driving my husband crazy showing him pictures on Pinterest or yet another gardening book.
The kids and I went to the Splash Park last week and afterwards stopped at the Bernice Garden in the Quapaw district. (Of course our main reason was to get some of Arkansas’ best ice cream at Loblolly Creamery…)
The gardens are so cute!
Beautiful sculptures and structures made from reclaimed and re-purposed materials,
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| There was a tiny baby Praying Mantis on her finger! |
Paths made from broken bottles,
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| Phone Pole & Chicken Wire Trellis for Clematis |
More ideas.
So far I’ve planted two apple and two peach trees in the back. I want to get about six more fruit trees for the front yard. And the chickens are loving their new space…
I’m not sure our garden will have much yield this year if we even get the ground tilled, but next year?
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| Side Yard- Spot forVeggie Garden |
Apr 20, 2013 | Green Living, Uncategorized
“Green is the prime color of the world,
and that from which all loveliness arises.”
– Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Tulips in downtown dog-town,
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| Sliding down the green hills, |
A king on his patch of green,
A friend searching for greens in the backyard,
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| *Sweet baby dove |
Just some green love that made my week sweet.
*I know, she’s not so green…
My boys found this sweet baby dove and we thought she was a goner. The second day we put her outside to get some sun and her mama and papa came down to greet her! So sweet. We put her in a bush and they’ve been taking care of her.
Oct 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
The kitchen is coming along…
Very (VERY) Slowly…
Cabinets are in and painted (but without doors until next week)
Undercabinet lights (LED) are in. Haven’t picked lights for ceiling but not in a rush.
I am not going to put pictures on until the doors are on!
We’ve decided on butcher block countertops for several reasons:
- They are pretty
- The green factor (we’ll use an oil finish and use a company that uses sustainable woods etc.)
- Toughness factor- just have to sand to get dings and such out
- It’s pretty cheap
Not sure about the countertop for the island though. I wanted something I could roll dough on, that was cooler like steel or marble but the prices I’m finding are crazy!
Trying to decide on a backsplash now.
I want recycled glass tiles I think. Maybe some handmade tiles for accent. To keep costs down this is the way to go. I found glass tile from $3-$9 per square foot which isn’t bad.
For the glass I’m waiting on some samples from a company we used for our bath remodel in our current house (we used Hakatai Emerald blend and it’s beautiful.) LOVE their tile and it wasn’t expensive. Also considering ordering from myknobs.com if the shipping ends up being cheaper.
The handmade accent tiles I’ve found on etsy and on earthsongtiles.com I really like.
Debating these now:
