Making Bean Bags

Let the 1st birthday related posts begin! We are going pretty low key when it comes to presents, seeing as he is only turning 1 and his brothers already own 75% of the toys on this planet. I did want one of his gifts to be homemade. I have been so good about doing that for my niece and for other friends and family but not so much with my own boys. So I decided to make him some bean bags...nice and easy but lots of fun for a 1 year old!

What you need:
~ Fabric
~ Beans. I used small white beans (no really, that's the name on the bag!) and it took about 7 1/2 cups worth.
~ Something to cut with
~ Something to sew with

Let's get started:
You'll want to start by cutting squares out of the fabric(s) of your choice. I wanted 10 bean bags made from 5 different colored pieces of fabric so I cut 4 5inx5in squares out of each piece of fabric for a total of 20 squares. I used a rotary cutter just because it made cutting nice and easy but good ol' fashion scissors work just as well:

I decided to make my bean bags a different color on each side so I matched up my color combinations and begin pinning squares together (the right side of the fabrics should be touching):

Now to begin sewing. You could easily do this project by hand but it is of course much faster if you have a sewing machine. You are going to want to sew along 3 sides of your square, leaving one side open so you can fill them:

Flip your square right side out and fill it with beans. I used 3/4 a cup, you can adjust that based on how full you want your beanbags:

You ready to finish 'er up? Fold down the open side and pin it shut. Then sew across the top and voila...you have yourself a beanbag!

I love this project because it took minimal time and very few materials. I am hoping that Isaiah loves them as much as I do!

Aren't they pretty?

If you are wanting something a little more elaborate, check out these counting bean bags.

This project was featured over at The Happy Housewife, Attempting Aloha, and Play Pennies:

Big Boy Capes

 I finally finished them!! The capes that were originally intended to be big brother gifts for the boys once Isaiah came. The ones I had all but finished the night before I was scheduled to go into the hospital and couldn't bring my 38 week pregnant, super swollen ankled, stressed out mama self to finish. So three and a half months later they are finally done. I didn't quite get the enthusiastic response I expected from the boys. Actually, that's not entirely true. Nathan was super excited and Jordan was passed out on the couch due to his cold. Nathan kept trying to wake him so they could play "Super Nathan" and shoved Jordan's cape in his face the minute he woke up. So needless to say, my cape crazy middle child did not respond too enthusiastically. But a few hours later when he had rested and spunked up some he got really excited about his Super Jordan cape.

I pretty much did this off the cuff, as has been the case with the majority of my sewing ventures. I did follow a measurement guideline I found here, but pretty much went from my heart. They aren't perfect but they are made with love for my two favorite superheroes:)

Nathan's cape

 

 

The lining of Nathan's cape (robots)

Jordan's cape

The lining of Jordan's cape (dinosaurs)

Nathan's first reaction

Super Nathan

And he's off!

Super Jordan (and his sidekick Baby!)

So cute!

Diaper clutch/changing pad

I know, I JUST posted some of my latest projects but the boys took an amazing nap today and I finished the diaper clutch so I thought I would get on and post it while I am at it. I got the idea for this from this blog and followed her instructions exactly, so I am not going to bother to post a step by step of how I did it. Mine doesn't look quite as good as hers, but I am confident with a few more attempts I will get it down. This is going to be a shower gift for a friend of mine who just had a girl. Hope she likes it:)

The changing pad:

 
Diapers and wipes ready to be rolled:

Roll #1:

Roll #2:

It's a clutch!:

Diapers, wipes and changing pad all in one and ready to go:

This project really was super easy and cheap to do. I am planning to make one for myself, I need to get some boy fabric though because I have tons of girl stuff from making things for other people. Guess it's another excuse to go to Joann's;)

Getting Crafty

I have always enjoyed doing crafty stuff and find that I usually go through spurts of time where I like to do lots of projects and then do nothing for awhile. Right now I can't get enough of Michael's and Joann's and I have been reading dozens of blogs full of great craft ideas that I want to copy. One of the things I finally picked up this month was crocheting. I tried a year or so ago when my mother-in-law gave me some of her stuff but couldn't seem to get it and tucked it back away. I recently decided that I was not going to be defeated by those tiny needles and gave it another whirl. What do you know...it wasn't hard at all! So I have been crocheting sweet little baby hats for Isaiah. Although I know he will be born very close to summer, babies always need hats:)

I also have been teaching myself to sew (my first sewing project) and finally did something with a pattern. I have been using this great book called S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop. This book not only walks you through everything you need to know about getting started with sewing, but includes 25 projects, 10 of which have patterns included. The project I chose was a purse that I am planning to give my sister-in-law for her birthday. This project gave you the dimensions of the pattern but you had to trace and cut the paper out yourself. The first one I did (on the right) turned out small so I actually re sized the pattern to fit what I was wanting. The one on the left is the final product. I am happy with how it turned out!

So this is what I have been up to lately. I have more projects in the works. Plan on finishing a diaper clutch later today that is for a friend's baby shower. I will post pictures and a link to the site where I got my instructions from. I am also halfway done with a tutu for my niece's 2nd birthday. Fun stuff!!  I can't wait to share when they are done:)

My first sewing project

A few years ago my mom bought me a sewing machine. I must admit that I was excited at the idea of learning to sew but didn't get around to it for sometime. Last year I bought this awesome book that walks you through sewing and gives tons of projects for beginners, including several of the patterns. I bought the fabric to start some projects but yet again, everything sat for awhile. One project I was going to do was an apron so I had bought some brown fabric and some pink fabric with brown polka dots on it. When I got pregnant I started noticing all of these nursing covers around and thought that would be a simple project to tackle so I decided to use my apron fabric for that.

I decided to wing it and just looked online to get some measurement ideas. I actually made the length into the width because I like my stomach to be covered when nursing (I think that bugs me more than the idea of my boobs showing!). It is also reversible and has a pocket on each side to hold things like breast pads, binkies and spit up rags. I have some ideas for how to improve on these in the future but I am proud of my first go around. I must admit this looks like it could double as an apron so I didn't stray too far from my original project idea. Here are pictures of both sides of the nursing cover. I would have put it on for the pictures so you could get a better idea of what it looks like but I was all scrubbed out and ready for bed when I took the pictures and didn't feel like exposing myself in that way:)
 

The nursing covers I looked at online used metal rings for the neck straps to make them adjustable. This is something I would like to incorporate into my next cover. Any other suggestions on how I could make this better? I think I could probably make it smaller too, it is kind of mammoth. I just really wanted adequate coverage!