Felt Baby Shoes

I made the cutest little pair baby shoes out of felt and embroidery string. Aren't they darling? They look like mini moccasins. I found a great step-by-step tutorial with a template here. They are hand stitched and are pretty quick to make, once you get the hang of it. The trickiest part was adding a small strip of elastic on the inside, to help keep them on little feet. 

I added a ribbon for putting them on and buttons on the back. 

You could make any color combination, for a boy or girl. 

I made these for sweet little Oliver. I died when Hilary sent me this photo of Oliver wearing them for the first time. Too. Cute. They may be a little big, but he has time to grow into them. 

Now Chancho wants a pair. Make that two pairs. 

Baby Shower Gifts for Baby Boys

This week I attended two baby showers, both for two sweet friends, both having boys, and ironically both last names beginning with "W". Sometimes I stick to the baby registry, and sometimes I like to make up my own gift and include handmade bibs and burp cloths. You know how much I like assembling gift baskets! This time I just got two of everything. 

I like when a reusable storage container is part of the gift. I found baby blue rectangular bins at Target, the perfect size to hold a few items. 

Like a pack of diapers and wipes.

Layer in some tissue paper at the bottom and start arranging the goodies. 

I found these adorable plush dinosaurs at Target too - so cute! 

I made each baby a pair of "manly" bibs and burp cloths. I love this fabric that I found at Hobby Lobby, in argyle and plaid.

These little boys will be stylish! 

Everything fit perfectly! I skipped the cellophane this time, but you could wrap the entire basket or add a ribbon.

I made a tag for each with scrapbook paper, to hang from the box handle.

Two cute baby boy baskets, with both practical and handmade gifts. I can't wait to meet both baby "W's"!
 

Embellished Kitchen Towels

I got this cute and easy idea from my new friend Katie, whom I met at Triple C (Coffee, Crafts & Conversation). She made some of these adorable fabric embellished kitchen towels and they're for sale at her Etsy shop. The minute I saw them, I wanted to give it a try. What a nice gift these would be. 

I found 2 white 100% cotton hand towels at Walmart (.99 cents each). You could use the ribbed kind or bar towels. These are a little softer, like terrycloth. Pick out the fabric you want to use - you only need a rectangle as long as the towel, the width is up to you. Be sure to wash both the towels and the fabric first.

I started by ironing the fabric and measuring it face down on top of the towel. The finished size of mine were 14 inches long by 5 inches wide (so I added about 1 1/2 inches all the way around for folding under). Fold and iron the seams. 

Turn the folded and ironed fabric over and pin in place to your towel. I started 3 inched up from the bottom. Then sew all the way around and you're done! I like to use a zigzag stitch.

Here's the green one hanging on my stove. 

And the yellow one hanging in the bathroom. These would be great for the kitchen or the bath. 

The simple addition of fabric turns an ordinary towel into one that's beautifully customized and instantly pretty in any room. 

These would make a great hostess, housewarming or anytime gift. I kinda want to keep them for myself!

More Baby Bibs and Diaper Burp Cloths

I have been sewing up a storm lately for some very special babies. I have quite a few friends that are expecting, so I jumped at the opportunity to make some more bibs and burp cloths for gifts. I found a burp cloth design that I like much better, that involves using cloth diapers and sewing a fabric panel down the center. The tutorial can be found here, at Chickpea Sewing Studio.

I started with a 12 pack of 3-ply cloth diapers that I found at Target.

I washed all of them, as well as my fabric, in mild detergent and removed any fuzzies.

 
Then I measured and cut the fabric for the center panel. I found that 19 inches by 7 inches works well.

I turned the fabric over, folded and ironed each short side to be about 1/4 inch shorter than the cloth diaper ends. Then I folded the long sides and ironed them as well. It just depends how wide you want your fabric panel to be. I tried to make it as wide as the center panel of the diaper, however, it won't be perfect.

I turned the ironed fabric right side up and pinned it in place.

 Then I sewed all four sides with my sewing machine, using a medium zig-zag stitch.

The result is an adorable diaper burp cloth. Perfect for catching all of those messy burps and feeding spills.

I made a bib to match, out of one of my favorite fabrics for baby girls in brown with cute little pink, purple, blue and green owls.

I also made some sets for baby boys with this adorable tan, blue, green and red owl fabric. Owls are all the rage these days, in case you haven't noticed. I love them!

Some polka dots too.

This floral set is one of the fabrics used in Madelyn's room. She should be arriving any day now....

Bibs and diaper burp cloths are so cute and relatively easy to make. From what I have heard, Mom's love them. The bib instructions can be found here, also at Chickpea Sewing Studio. Make sure you print out the paper template at 100%, or else you will have tiny bibs.

I can't wait to see my friends babies wearing these bibs around their little necks! Keeping their clothes dry and clean.

Cinnamon Honey Butter Recipe

I found a recipe for Cinnamon Honey Butter at Fly Through Our Window, a beautiful blog. I like cinnamon, I like honey, and I like butter, so I decided this edible gift project was way too cute not to try, so I did. I think I had more fun decorating the adorable little glass jars and designing my own gift tags than actually mixing up the butter! It made a great Christmas gift. I brought some with us to my in-laws, and we went through 2 jars at breakfast!

Ingredients/Supplies:
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup of honey
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
4oz. canning jars (or larger size of choice)
Square fabric scraps
Raffia, ribbon or string
Tag

I used my hand mixer and whipped the butter. Then I added the powdered sugar, then honey, then cinnamon. Continue whipping, scrapping sides, until blended and creamy smooth. Spoon into jars. What could be easier? And so delicious? I love it on toast.

 DOWNLOAD AND PRINT *FREE* TAGS BELOW

 

Baby Bibs

I really enjoy making these adorable baby bibs and giving them as gifts. I recently had my first order for some boy's bibs (pictured). They are perfect for baby showers, and quite stylish I might add! If you are interested in some custom made bibs for your little cutie pie, or as a gift, send me an email. I love making these.

Baby Bibs & Burp Cloths

It had been years since I used the sewing machine that my Mom bought me when I was in about 9th grade (thanks Mom!!). So I decided this was the year I was going to join the sewing community and learn how to make real things (besides pillows, which was my limited specialty back in the day. And of course scruncci's) The first project I was inspired to tackle recently were these baby bibs and burp cloths. Lately there are a lot of glowing mom-to-be's that I know, so what better gift than some home-made goodies? I got the idea here, from my first blogging friend's site (thanks Larissa!). She used the adorable pattern found at Chickpea Sewing Studio. They were pretty easy to get the hang of. I used velcro instead of attempting to master snaps just yet. Be sure to wash your fabric first. A stronger cotton fabric for the front works well, and I used white terry cloth for the back. There are so many cute patterns that I could envision making adorable sets with. The burp cloths were about 17 x 9 inches, but you can make them narrower or shorter if you like. I added a thin layer of batting in between the fabric and the terry cloth for the burp cloths. I even got to see one of my bibs in action this weekend at a baby shower. Looks like it's working!