Monogram Baby Blanket

My sister had a baby 6 weeks after I did.  I can't even tell you how fun it has been to first of all be pregnant the same time as my sister, but also we both had little girls!  Girls are just so easy and fun to make things for.  This is my sister's first baby and my first niece.  So I bought the stuff to make a blanket for my daughter and decided to just get double and make one for my niece as well.  These are so easy and quick to make!

To make one of these on your own, you will need:

1/2 yard of minky fabric

1/2 yard of a knit, fleece or flannel fabric (a soft cotton would work as well)

4 yards of ric-rac

Some solid colored fabric ( I used some pink knit fabric I had on hand)

Wonder under (or some kind of double sided adhesive backing)

First thing you need to do is lay the fabrics down and make sure they are the same size and that the cuts are straight.

To make the monogram, you can print out a giant letter "a" then pin it to the pink fabric and cut it out.  Before you cut it out though, attach the adhesive backing to the pink fabric.  It will make it so that it is a little more stiff and easier to cut out.  Once you have the letter cut out, iron it onto the knit fabric wherever you think it would look best.  I like the bottom right corner.

Sew the ric-rac to the top fabric.

Put right sides together of both the minky fabric as well as the knit making sure the ric rac is on the inside.  Stitch all the way around making sure the edges match up.

Leave a space to make it so that you can flip right side out.  Make sure to poke the corners out and pin the opening shut. 

Then take a top stitch around the whole blanket to finish it off.

The last step is to do a top stitch around your monogram.  It will help keep the blanket together and it keeps the monogram from falling off.

In the end, you have a simple and cute blanket that fits just right around your new little baby and is the perfect size to put on the baby in the car seat!

I also made some bigger blankets as well.  I used the same intructions, but used one yard of both fabrics and 5 yards of ric rac to make it.  It is a great size that will fit your child for a lot longer.  These really make great gifts!

DIY Toddler Leggings

 I have seen all sorts of tutorials around for baby legs.  Don't get me wrong.  I like baby legs because they make it easier to change diapers and I love seeing a little thigh poking out the top.  BUT I also hate them because they don't stay up well and they end up being more work than they are worth.

About a month ago, I had an epiphany.  Leggings.  I know it doesn't sound that original, but hear me out.  I found some knee highs in the women's section at Target and the wheels started turning when I laid them down like this.

Do you see it?  I realized you could make leggings from a pair of $3 socks so easily!

Here's how you do it.

Begin by cutting the toe off of the socks.  I found it was best to cut them out at the same time so they were exactly the same. 

Next, make a cut down the bottom side of the foot of the sock.  It should start where you cut the top off, and end right where the heel should go.  Do that on both socks.

You will need to pin the right sides together next.  The best way to do this is to start by matching up the middle and pinning up both sides one after the other.  Then sew along the edge.

Turn right side out and it will look like this.

Last, take some elastic and measure around the waist of whoever is going to be wearing these.  My daughter had a measurement of 17 1/2 inches without stretching the elastic.  Pin the elastic into the top of the leggings so that the sock is folded over the top of it.  Then simply do a zig zag stitch all the way around (sewing on top of both the fabric and the elastic).  The zig zag stitch makes it so there is a little stretch.

 Put them on and let your little one enjoy the cuteness.

I also did some grey ones that I love.

What do you think?  It's easy, inexpensive, versatile and so so cute!

Finger Puppets

I mentioned in my previous post I made some finger puppets for Lillie. I got the pattern from Amy @ the Idea Room. They are super easy and fun to make. I love them, and so does Lillie.

They are perfect to have in Lillie's church bag.  The only down side is that she loves to bite the eyes.  I let her play with them for 5 minutes and the next thing I know, the eyes are all bent and crazy looking.  I think I will be supervising the play time a little more closely until she stops her biting.  (She gets it from her dad.  He was a biter as a kid.  My mother in law has told me stories of holes in car seats and bite marks everywhere because of my husband.  I am just hoping she grows out of this stage soon.)

Well, they were cute for a while.  The good news is that it was really inexpensive to make and really easy, so I can just replace the ones that are beyond repair. 

Kids.  sheesh.