Lola Bea Diaper Bag

My sister-in-law is pregnant with her first baby and since I've gotten pretty good at sewing, I decided to ask her what she would like for me to make her. She narrowed it down to a few choices and I made the ultimate decision to make her a diaper bag. I found this AWESOME pattern HERE on Etsy. The shop is called Sew Much Ado and I loved the pattern. It was easy to follow. And the end product...well, let me show you.

Isn't it pretty?! I'm so proud of myself for making this and all by myself! Normally I have to ask my mom what she thinks the directions mean (over the phone, she lives far, far away :( ) but with this pattern I found it a lot easier.

There's so many things I loved about the bag. I love love love the ruffle on the front. And the magnetic snap. That was a first for me but it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be!

Then there's the pocket situation. Anyone who needs a diaper bag knows that pockets are ESSENTIAL. Look at all these pockets!!

And that's just on the inside! There are two more on the outside of the bag! Plus the one in the middle is a zipper pocket, which is awesome. And the pockets are big enough to stick some diapers and wipes in them. The elastic tops make the contents stay in the pocket, instead of flying around and getting all jumbled.

I  love how it turned out! I was a little sad to send it off, but hopefully my sister-in-law finds a lot of use out of it!

Sharing here: Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Be Colorful, Skip to My Lou,   

DIY Mickey & Minnie Invites

This year I decided to throw a combined birthday party for my son & daughter. Their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart. And since they're so little, they don't care yet.

I decided on a Mickey and Minnie-themed party, since we recently went to Disney World. Just as a warning, there will be lots of Mickey & Minnie projects on here in the very near future. 

Anyhooo.... what's the first thing you have to get done for a party?? The INVITES! 

I love how they turned out. I used a cookie cutter (I found at Disny World) to trace and cut out the Mickey/Minnie heads. Then I sewed on a half circle.

With a little paint and hot glue, they morphed into Mickey and Minnies!

To make the circle inserts, I used InDesign to design them. You could also use Photoshop. If you want the font, I used dafont.com to download. The font is called Waltograph. Also, I bought a circle punch from Joann's to make the little circles look all nice and circle-y.

 

$5 Baptism Gift

I work with the Primary at church and the other day we had a double baptism. Two sweet girls got baptized! It was such a sweet experience to share with these young girls. As a presidency, we wanted to give them something that would help them remember their special day. I came up with these:

Not only did they turn out cute, but they didn't break the bank! I got these frames from Wal-Mart for about $2.50 each:

I spray painted them and used this printable (I personalized them on Photoshop). I glued on a bow and they turned out cute!

And all for $5 each. Not too shabby.

Sharing here: Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, Rae Gun Ramblings, Southern Lovely,    

Mickey and Minnie Sweatshirts

My family recently went on a trip to Disneyworld and we were planning on a January trip, so I knew I wanted to make them sweatshirts. I found a cute Mickey sweatshirt on Target.com and when I saw it I thought, I could make that!

Mine doesn't look exactly like the one in Target, but I thought the sweatshirts came out cute! And it kept my babies warm, which was the most important part.

I started out with cheap, plain, black sweatshirts from Target.

Then I hand-sewed fabric onto the pockets. For the Mickey sweatshirt, I cut ovals out of white felt and sewed those on top of the red fabric. Then I made some binding for the hood. It's that easy!

For the Minnie sweatshirt, I found this adorable pink polka dot fabric at Hobby Lobby. I made a simple ruffle for the bottom. Again, I added binding to the hood. 

I loved them! It was some hand sewing, which can be annoying, but it was necessary to keep the pockets. And they looked so cute at Disneyworld!

Sharing here: Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Mercy Ink, DIY Dreamer, Daisy Cottage Designs,  

Changing Pad Clutch

A couple of months ago I told my friend (who was pregnant at the time) that I would make her any baby accessory she wanted. After searching Pinterest, she came to me with THIS idea. I've never made anything like it, but it looked cute and I was excited to start on it. 

Her tutorial is pretty clear and I remember it being easy to follow. This is one of my favorite projects. I think maybe because I love the whale print.

So let me show you inside:

You just lay your baby on the vinyl side of the mat (easy to wipe up in case of "accidents") and you have your diapers and wipes right there in little pockets! How nice is that?

A closer look at the pockets:

And then when you're done fold the pockets in, like so:

Roll it up, attach the loop to the button, and it's ready to go back in your bag! Pretty snazzy, huh? I was a little surprised with how big it ended up being, but it needs to be pretty big to be able to have a baby lay on it PLUS be stocked with diapers and wipes. 

Sharing here: 52 Mantels, Seven Alive, 36th Ave,What About, The Thriftiness Miss, DIY Dreamer, Lil Luna, Gingersnap Crafts, Mercy Ink, DIY Dreamer, Daisy Cottage Designs,     

Romantic Heart Wreath

I made this wreath for my mom when I went out and visited her a couple months ago. But when I thought of Valentine's Day, I remembered this wreath and that I had never shared it!

I found the heart wreath from a local thrift shop. That's actually a really good place to find wreath forms! Who knew.

The flowers I got at Wal-Mart. I just cut down the stems of the fake flowers and stuck them unto the wreath form. Make sure you cover it all up with the flowers. 

This would look so pretty with red or pink flowers for Valentine's Day!

Sharing here: Craft-O-Maniac,

Tomato Artichoke Soup (Twigs & Smores)

A long time ago my sister-in-law Chelsea and my Mom came to visit my house in Utah.  My sister-in-law had traveled with my brother, but he was out of the house one night and so it was girls night in for us!

Chelsea made this soup and croutons and I was forever in love with it.  I've made it many times since and every time I do I realize all over again why I fell in love with it in the first place.

It has layers of tomato, artichoke, onion, garlic and is served with crispy, parmesan croutons.  What is funny to me is that it looks very fancy and impressive but is super easy to make!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.  It is definitely a recipe I will have and make forever.

Tomato Artichoke Soup:

4 T. olive oil

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 T. minced garlic (I used 1 heaping tsp. of the jarred, pre-done stuff)

1/2 tsp. dried thyme (you can add a little more if you like)

15 oz can artichoke hearts, finely chopped

28 oz can diced tomatoes, with juices

4 c. chicken broth (one large box)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 c. sour cream (light is fine)

Cheese Herbed Croutons:

1/2 loaf french bread, cut into cubes

1/4 c. olive oil

1 T. dried Italian seasoning

1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese (this should be freshly grated from a parmesan wedge)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  For soup, heat oil in a large pot over medium to medium high heat.  Add onion and saute 5 minutes until softened.

Add garlic and thyme and saute another minute until nice and fragrant.

Add artichokes, tomatoes, chicken broth, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer over medium heat for at least 30 minutes (the longer you simmer this the more the flavors meld).

While the soup is simmering prepare the croutons.  In a large bowl combine bread cubes, olive oil, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and toss to combine.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Lay out the bread mixture and evenly distribute it in a single layer.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until bread and cheese gets light golden brown.  You don't want it burnt but you do want it to be toasted enough so that it has a nice crunch to it.  Check on it every few minutes. Set aside while you finish up the soup.

To finish soup add sour cream, stir well and simmer for 5 minutes.  At this point taste the soup and see if you need more salt or pepper.

Ladle into bowls and serve with croutons.  Don't add the croutons to your bowl because they get soggy really quick.  I like to serve my croutons on the side and then plop them in one by one as I take bites.  

Enjoy!

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