I suppose it's time to wake up the blog. It seems to have hibernated through the summer and fall. Alas, I am back. So let's just get right into it.

In my last post (way back in the spring... whoa), I mentioned how I had a few projects on the go. Some birthday gifts and some home projects. As it turns out, the home projects aren't quite finished. I have come to the realization, that, we are a family who has all these great ideas, plans and intentions; however, we rarely finish anything. That's just how it is. And as a result, my craft room is not finished. In fact, it's barely even started. In the meantime, you can check out my pinspiration for the craft room here. I have also set up a temporary crafting corner in my guest room. I'll post some pictures once I vacuum. This place is a mess.

Another home project that we (haven't) finished was the bunk beds in lil' Sprout's room. I took some shots of the progress and figure, hey if it's good enough for us, it's good enough to show you. So here it is:

We essentially turned lil' Sprout's closet into bunk beds. Here is his closet.

And here is no closet. As it turned out, we had to completely tear down the existing closet and start from scratch. His existing closet was not big enough to house a mattress.

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The beginnings of a bunk.

Ta-da! The top bunk is a single bed and the bottom bunk is a double bed. Perfect for sleepovers.

We also added windows in one wall.

The bunks are great. Lil' Sprout still sleeps on the bottom bunk for now, but he does like to climb up every now and then to check things out up there.

The birthday gifts were much smaller projects, and so, they were actually completed. For my niece, I put together an apron and floppy chef's hat.  It turned out great!

If you remember, I mentioned in my last post that I made a headband for my sister in law. After a few prototypes, that is, once I got the fit right, it turned out beautiful. It's difficult to make a headband for someone when you have no exact measurements, and even more so if you want to keep it a surprise. Eventually I had to tell her about it so she could try it on and I could get a better idea of how it would fit. You can check out the pattern I followed over at Gleeful Things.

A few other things that I put together lately include: 

• two Frozen inspired apron style costumes for another nieces' birthday (a step-by-step tutorial can be found here)

• mini trick or treat bags for lil' Sprout and his cousins for this past Halloween (I just sorta winged it, but used this video tutorial for the words on the bags) 

• and a little dress as a Christmas gift for someone special. You'll have to stay tuned for that one. Hopefully sooner rather than later this time.

So tell me, what crafty things have you been up to lately?

Less Mess

I'm excited to post about the DIY/Sewing project I did over the weekend. Lately, I've been watching a series of posts from IHeart Organizing, specifically the "One Month to a Cleaner Home" challenge. I was browsing through thinking how I should actually clean and/or organize a space of my own rather than sit in front of the computer just wishing my house was organized.

As I was looking around to see what I could wanted to organize, my eyes fell upon the top of my refrigerator. It was a mess! There were bottles, papers, old batteries, miscellaneous cat items and the list went on. Above the refrigerator were three small doorless cupboards. There was just more junk in there, and without doors to cover the mess up, it just added to the clutter on top of the fridge. I came up with the perfect idea to tidy the spot.

I purchased some fabric and made a small set of curtain panels. I already had a curtain rod somewhere in the basement. I figured, I would purge some of the mess and hide any remaining mess behind some curtains.

It was a success! The top of the fridge is now beautiful and clutter-free. The curtains give it an even cleaner look. I'm so happy with how it turned out. Here are the before and after photos:

Doesn't it look great? I'm so happy with it. I love the fabric too. Not only does it match my kitchen perfectly, but I got it for a steal of a deal because the fabric store is having a closing sale.

Curtains are a great way to cover exposed areas. They are also one of the easiest things to make. I'll show you how I made mine and hopefully, it will inspire you to make some for yourself.

First, measure the area you want to cover. Also, never assume that everything is equal when you are measuring. For example, the first two cubbies in my project were 14.25 inches long while the cubbie on the end was 15.5 inches. Once you have your measurements, add at least an extra 1/4 inch for the seam allowance (maybe more depending on how you finish the edge).  Also, you will need to add a few more inches to the top of the curtain panel. I added about 2 inches. This extra fabric will fold over to become the tunnel for the curtain rod to feed through. Depending on the size of the curtain, you may want to add more fabric.

Next, cut your pieces. In this project, I used a serger to serge the edges of the fabric to prevent it from fraying.

Now, we need to make the edges nice and neat. Fold the edge over, press, then sew it. I cheated a bit here. Ideally, you should fold the edge over twice so you don't see the serged edge. It just makes it for a nicer appearance. Since no one would see that side of the curtain panel, and I was working during a nap (with limited time), I just sewed the serged edge down. Finish three edges, leaving the top edge of the curtain unfinished. This will be done a little differently to incorporate the curtain rod.

This is how it should have been sewn.

 For the top, you will essentially do the same thing that was done for the other three edges, however, you will fold over a much larger amount of material. I folded about 2 inches.

Only sew the long edge and leave the ends open to allow the curtain rod to go through. Next, secure the hardware for your curtain rod. I put my curtain rod inside the cubbies. Feed the curtain panels onto the rod, then attach the rod to the hardware.

Voila! There you have it. Now your messes can be covered up and no one will be the wiser :)

I've learned a lot from my first DIY/Sewing post. In the future, I will take more pictures. I think everyone appreciates lots of pictures for step by step instructions. I also need to keep the lighting conditions in mind; especially since I'm only using a cheap camera. And finally, I feel that my sewing pictures will be better once my crafting room in complete. I'll post some pictures of it when it's finally done. It's a work in progress... a long work in progress.

So tell me, what areas in your home have you organized and how did you do it?

Our Lil' Sprout

My husband and I have been married for almost 3 years now. Our tulip life together is expanding. In June 2012, I gave birth to our son, let's call him lil' sprout. He is, as any mom would  say about their own child, the best thing in the world. It wasn't until after lil' sprout was born that I really got into anything and everything DIY. It started with lil' sprout's baptism outfit.
At our wedding reception, while we were dancing the night away, my dress kept getting in the way (seriously, I tripped over the damn thing twice). Now, make no mistake, I did love that dress; however, I also love bustin' a move. In the end, the dress had to be sacrificed, and so, I summoned my husband to get the scissors. Yes, we cut off the bottom half of my mermaid style wedding dress that night. I was free at last! It was so liberating.
I kept the dress (both pieces of it). I had an old sewing machine passed down to me. I pulled that beast out one day and, with the distant memories of a home ec class from high school, I starting stitching. I grabbed a onesie of lil' sprouts' and used it as a template. The feeling of being able to upcycle (a portion of) my wedding gown into a baptism outfit for my son was so gratifying. This little white outfit already had some history to it. The day before the baptism, my second hand (or third or even fourth, yes it was that ancient) sewing machine finally kicked the bucket. I still had plenty to do in making the baptism suit.
After my husband calmed me down, we headed out to buy a new machine. I ended up with a fairly basic model but there seemed to be so many functions compared to my ol' hand-me-down. Back to the basement I went. I worked into the wee hours of the morning with my best friend and hubby by my side. This is where things went a little down hill. Lil' sprout was about 3 months old at the time, so I was already running on little to no sleep, staying up late just made things much, much worse.
As we were putting the finishing touches on the suit, I realised that the snaps in the crotch were put on completely wrong, and as a result, they made the legs super skinny. There was no time (and certainly no energy) left to fix it. Lil' sprout would just have to think skinny thoughts while being welcomed into God's community.
The next day, we struggled to get him in that suit but somehow managed to squash him in there. The poor thing. The ceremony went well. Friends and family came by for a small after party. As soon as we got home, we yanked lil' sprout outta that thing and into something much more comfortable.
I put forth a lot of effort (as well as blood, sweat, and tears... lots and lots of tears, as my husband can attest to) and produced something special. As terrible as that outfit turned out, it was still one of my very first projects and holds a little place in my heart. The experience helped me learn from my mistakes and pushed me further. I started making homemade cloth diapers, baby booties, hemming curtains, making pillowcases and now I am a pinterest addict. I love finding new things to sew. It's a great feeling to be able to hold something you made, no matter how pitiful it may turn out.

So tell me, what sort of things do you enjoy making?