Mini Diaper Case

For when you don't need the whole bag.

This is the lazy-gal's way of quilting it.

I just used 2 1/2 in. strips of fabric left over from Ben's quit, pieced them together then used the decorative stitches on my machine to "quilt" the layers together. Some in red, some in blue. Then I bound it with some bias binding (store bought of course).

It's just big enough for a pack of travel wipe and a couple diapers. This will go in his pre-pre-school backpack, and with us on the road when we just don't need the whole bag.

♥ Julliana

Ultrasound {Framed Art}

I am obsessed with pictures, and I want them everywhere! Ben is only 2 years old and already his pictures take up over 35 GB of space. In additon to keeping images on the computer, I like to display them in my house.

But what about the pre-birth pictures? the ultrasounds? Well, I saw a super cute idea (and of course now I can't find the link) about how to show off your ultrasound pictures.

Cute, right?! This frame has been empty for years, and now it finally has a picture.

I created an .svg file, a .png file, and a .scal2 file for you!

Here's a quick "how to":

1. Find a cute paper...or print one off from your digi-scrap supplies (that's what I did).

2. Use the .svg or SCAL file to cut on the cricut. Or, open the .png file (resize) and print as a template on the back side...you can cut by hand, if you must. {note: i set my ultrasound opening scale to 4 inches wide. That helped me decide how big to print the copy of the ultrasound picture}

3. Print out the name and week, I did this on the same page as the patterned paper. I tore mine but you could use cute scissors, or stickers, or vinyl or whatever.
4. Add your picture! I'd suggest a copy of the original, but that's just me.

Done!

You can download those files here.

♥ Julliana

Artisan Bread * Yummy!

I love this book!

Artisan Bread in Five
Minutes a Day

I'm all about carbs and sweets. This book is perfect for me.

I never pay full price for a book, but for this one I did. I've had it for almost a year now and I love, love, love it! While it's not five minutes from start to finish, it really is about 5 minutes of hands on time, which is great!

I just mixed up a batch of the basic dough mix. It makes 4 loaves worth and you just leave it in the fridge. When you're ready to make something, pull out some dough, let it rise, bake it up and eat! Yum!

The only problem I've had with the book is that I sometimes don't know what I'm going to make with all the dough, so I just end up making loaves and rolls. So, I made a reference sheet for myself so I could see what I could make with each of the "mother recipes". Would you like a copy? HERE IT IS.

I'm off to eat some bread!

♥ Julliana

Felt Luggage Tag * Name Badge

I'm still on my felt kick...I've got tons of great ideas for it. Here's one.

A Name Badge/Luggage Tag! This one is for Ben's backpack. Some of the neighborhood mom's and I are going to run a "pre-pre-school" for the two-year-olds. Ben needed a name tag for is backpack and I thought a rocket would be awesome...and it is!

I just used some scraps from the quiet book and this applique pattern. The loop is just some store bought bias binding left over from another project. I sewed some velcro on the back so it could stick to the felt of the rocket.

The possibilities are endless...and I may have to make one for his diaper bag. These would also make awesome gifts!

♥Julliana

ABC Quiet Book {E & F}

E is for Egg

For this page I free handed a large egg, which was then cut into two parts. The bottom part was sewn onto the base page just around the outside so as to leave a pocket. The top half was attached only at the top, but I did continue the blanket stitch all around just for looks. I also zig-zagged the bottom so it looked like a cracked egg. I added some of the rough Velcro to close the egg. I sewed it to the top which allows it to stick to the felt of the bottom egg.

Inside the egg pocket I placed a sunny side up egg. This was also cut out free hand. I was going to put a chicken in the egg, but thought that might be disturbing to an older Ben (and maybe a bit confusing since we don't see chickens come out of our eggs at home).

F is for Feathers
Inspired by Dr. Suess: Big F, little F, what begins with F? Four fluffy feathers on a fiffer feffer feff.

So for this page I made bird with fluffy feathers. It isn't really interactive, but I figured it would be okay to just have a texture page. Ben can fluff the feathers, pet the bird, talk to it...whatever...its cute.

front   |   back

I hot glued the feathers to the back of the page after feeding them through a small slit. I also covered the hot glue with another piece of felt, hoping this will help with security...the last thing I need is Ben ripping out feathers (and probably throwing them around) during sacrament meeting.

One tool that I find very important is my fabric pen. I have an air disappearing one, which means it will fade in a short while...about and hour (its the purple ink seen behind the embroidered words). I use this to write the words and then "trace" it with back stitches. I also use the fabric pen to trace my pattern pieces onto the felt and cut them out. There are fabric pens that are water disappearing...but then you have to get the felt wet and let it dry. I'm too impatient to wait for that!

♥ Julliana

ABC Quiet Book {C & D}

C is for Counting
For this page I made numbers that could be used for counting. I attached some ribbon with fun beads that Ben can slide back and forth...one of his favorite activities.

A few pointers: 
* Be aware of where the grommets are going! My bottom one was supposed to be on top of the "4" so I just fudged it down a bit...not a big deal, but something I'll watch out for in the future.
* think more carefully about length of ribbon. I wish the "5" would have been closer to the margin so I had room for a longer ribbon. Plus, that would have solved my grommet issue.

D is for Dinosaur
(a stegosaurus to be exact)

This page is meant to help Ben with lacing ... we know he loves putting things "in" so I thought this would be right up his alley. I couldn't find green shoelaces, so I just used black. That's really the only thing I would change.

I used my eyelet punch from my scrapbooking supplies to make the holes for the grommets - it worked perfectly! Be sure to purchase the eyelets with the setting tools. I was going to buy the really cute multi-colored ones, but they didn't come with the setter...next time I will, since I now have one! Plus, using a hammer is always fun!

♥ Julliana

ABC Quiet Book {A & B}

We're trying to teach Ben about being reverent during Sacrament Meeting...we're hoping to get him to sit on the bench through the whole thing. So I've been trying to come up with quiet toys that will keep his interest and be "Sunday only" toys...I might even have to craft a bag for them - but that's for another day.

So, I'm working on making an ABC Quiet book out of felt. So far I've make A and B. I thought I'd share as I go, so you can make one too. I'd also love to hear your ideas - the hardest part for me is coming up with ideas for each letter.

Some things to note about felt:
1. It's cheap! You can buy it 4/$1 or even 5/$1. I just stocked up on a bunch of different colors so I wouldn't have to keep running back to the store all the time.
2. It's easy to work with. The only thing I wish I could do is cut it on my cricut. Instead, I cut out the patterns on the cricut out of card stock then trace it onto the felt and cut with scissors. It's really not that bad.
3. Attaching the felt - you can use fabric glue, sewing machine, or hand sew. I went the hand sewing route because I wanted it to look handmade, and I needed something to do while I watch TV.

A is for Apples

For this page I made a tree with apples that you can pick and place in the basket. I sewed magnets into the apples (between two layers of felt, plus some batting) and then placed some magnets under the tree. I was worried that Velcro might still be a bit loud for church.

B is for Bees
Super creative I know...but I think it turned out pretty cute!

For this page I made the beehive and some flowers. The idea was that the bees would go collect pollen from the flowers and then return tot he beehive.
Suggestion for improvement: I decided to use velcro on this page instead of magnets, because they were going to be back to back and I worried about the magnets from "A" interfering with magnets from "B". What I should have done is not put the velcro on the page and just put the rough Velcro on the back of the bees. Instead, I accidentally put the rough velcro on the page. If I had put the rough Velcro on the bees then they could have "stuck" anywhere on the felt. Well, I'll know for next time.

Other Letters:
I'm still trying to figure them all out but here's what I have so far.

A: Apple
B: Bee
C: Counting (1-5)
D: Dinosaur
E:
F: Fish (feed the fish)
G: Garden (pick flowers and put in vase)
H: Hands, on a clock
I: Igloo, or Ice Cream Cone
J:
K: Kite
L: Letters (in a mailbox)
M: Musical Notes
N:
O:
P: phone
Q:
R: Road, cars can "drive" on
S: Sandwich, build your own
T: Treasure (pirates chest with treasure in it)
U: Ukulele
V:
W: windmills, or weather (four season)
X: X ray, arrange the bones
Y:
Z: zebra, place stripes on

Let me know if you have any letter suggestions for me.

♥ Julliana

Mother's Day Gift.

Front Cover. I'm obsessed with silhouettes...this one was done on the cricut!

Yes, Mother's Day was many months ago, but I figure I might as well share. I made mini-scrapbook albums for my mom and mom-in-law, and of course for myself. Here's how:

I love seeing all the colors of all the pages.

First, I do all my scrapbooking digitally, so I did that like normal. Then when I was finished with his 2009 pages, I created a photoshop action that would automatically resize them into 4x4 then create a "page" that was 4x6 so i could print them out as pictures. I just got them printed at Costco.

For the most part I've laid the pages out chronologically.
Some pages are two page spreads, so some pages had to be
moved a round a bit.

I cropped them down square. Then came the hard part - layout. I figured out the order and glued them front to back. Finally, I borrowed my friend's laminator and laminated them all. They are pretty sturdy pages which is exactly what I wanted.

So fun to see how small his hand is.

I had an extra page in the back, so I helped Ben make a hand-print. Mine is slightly smudged...but it shows how "easy" it was to make.

This is a nice thick brag book, about 1 1/2 inches.

Oh, and I punched a hole in the upper left corner and ran a binder ring through it. I think it turned out super cute and I love to look at it. I still need to get his 2009 book printed out (as a book) but this works for now.
♥ Julliana