Waterproof Carseat Stroller Blanket

One of the greatest things I bought for Gracie is a waterproof car seat & stroller blanket. One side is nylon, one side is fleece.

The fleece side keeps Gracie warm and cozy. (My little monkey was taking a nap, so sock monkey volunteered to model.)

The nylon side can be flipped up as a temporary rain guard from rain or snow...

There are also ties on each side, so that you can tie it onto the car seat or the stroller so those wiggly little feet don't kick it off.

(Come on, I can't be the only one that has had a blanket go sailing down the side walk because my future soccer player decided she was done with it!)

Although I bought my blanket, I couldn't help but think how easy (and cheaper!) it would be to make your own. So I made one for my dear friend Amanda who is having a new baby boy very soon.
And now I'm going to show you how to make your own!

You will need one piece of nylon, one piece of fleece. I also used a piece of white flannel, since my nylon was kind of see-through and you could see the polka dots through it. For some reason this bugged me, so I used the white flannel to make the nylon not so see through. It made for a thicker blanket, so you can definitely leave this piece out if you want and just use the nylon and the fleece.

 Cut each piece to size of 24" x 36". Lay them on top of each other. You want the nylon and fleece facing each other. (Again, if you want to skip the flannel you definitely can...in which case you'll only have the two bottom layers in this photo.)

 Pin them together all around the edge. Make sure to trim any excess so your fabrics line up exactly.

Next we need to add in the ties. Cut four pieces of ribbon, all equal lengths. I cut mine 14".

Measure down one of the long sides about 1/3 of the way down. It doesn't have to be exact. Take two pieces of ribbon and pin them in between the fleece and nylon layers. You want the ribbon to be inside the blanket at this point. Repeat on the other side. Make sure you put the ribbon on each side the same distance from the top on each side..

 Finish pinning your blanket together so that you have pinned all four sides. Sew around the edge, leaving a few inch opening at the bottom. Make sure your ribbons you pinned are tucked inside and you don't sew them back into the blanket. (You of course sew through the edge of the ribbon that you pinned...just not the loose edge that is dangling inside the blanket.)

 Clip the corners. Turn right side out, using a pin or your seam ripper to pick out the corners so they are as pointy sharp as you can get them.

 You'll see how your ribbons are now coming out the side of the blanket.

Press the edges so they are nice and flat. Fold under your opening a bit and press.

Top stitch all the way around the edge of the blanket, making sure you catch both pieces of the fabric when sewing your opening closing. I stitched 1/4inch from the edge, but you can really do whatever looks best to you.

 Again, be sure to move the ribbons out of the way when you stitch by them...you don't want to stitch them back to the blanket!

 And you're done! Tie that blanket onto your car seat or stroller and your little monkey will stay warm & dry.

 And even the slickest of Houdini's wont kick this blanket off! 

This item is probably on my top 5 favorite baby items list. Yes, I think it's that great! I have used it every single day, rain or shine, since it arrived in the mail months ago. I have also used it as a nursing cover by tying the sides together and just throwing it around my neck. I have thrown it on the ground when we were playing outside, since the nylon keeps the fleece dry from wet grass. I have thought about making a lighter weight one for summer with nylon and interlock too. So really, make one! For yourself, or the new mom on the block. She will thank you!! And you can thank me later. ;) Enjoy!

Sweater & pattern refashions

Even though we are approaching spring here in PA, it's still chilly enough for cozy sweaters. Gracie needed a few warmer clothes to get her through till the warm weather shows up, since she of course basically outgrew everything in her closet over night. So I whipped her up this little cutie:

I love a good refashion. I mean, who doesn't? It's free. I like free. So I went "shopping" in my own closet and found a turtleneck sweater that I never wore anymore. It never really fit all that great to begin with so I was happy to chop it up!

Using my "lil blue boo sienna dress" pattern, I took that worn out sweater and turned it into this little sweater.

I think it's sometimes overlooked that you can take a pattern and alter it just slightly to fit what you desire. Here I shortened the dress pattern and cut the sides straight down instead of angled out. It was a super simple adjustment and I didn't have to buy a whole new pattern. I guess you could call it refashioning a pattern to refashion a sweater? A confusing way to say, use whatcha got!

I used the bottom hem of the sweater and sleeves when cutting out the pattern, and used a portion of the neck from the original sweater. This saves so much time and keeps your refashioned sweater looking much more professional.

And to avoid hearing "Oh, how old is your little boy" one more time in the grocery store, I added a little bow with a strip of sweater. 

Since I have used the sienna dress pattern so many times, I was able to whip up this little sweater during Gracie's nap time AND have time leftover to waste with a diet coke and Pinterest. Win! 

Have a great day everyone!

Gracie's Valentine's Outfit

I have always loved Valentines Day! In our house it's just a fun loving day and so I wanted to make Gracie girl a fun & playful outfit that was all about love too!

I love dressing Grace in soft stretchy clothes. She's such a squirmy little thing these days, I want her to be comfortable! So I made a knit top & matching leggings. I hit a few snags along the way, so read on to see my quick fixes. :)

I made the top a tunic length...not quite a dress, but longer than a shirt. This is really the perfect length for babies her age, I think. Shirts ride up, and dresses get caught when she's trying to crawl around. Tunic it is! 

 I used an old gray t-shirt of mine that was too short, and some pink knit that I had leftover from another project way long ago. The t-shirt was so super soft, so it was perfect.

I used my LBB sienna dress pattern, and just shortened it a bit. Added little gray cuffs, because I think it's way easier (and cuter) than hemming the sleeve bottoms! 

I love my LBB patterns, but for some reason, the neck got all hockey on this when I finished. See? It was big enough for my head to fit through! 

So instead of scraping the project, or worse...taking the neck off and redoing it, I folded the neck down and made a casing for elastic. It cinched it in while still allowing lots of stretch to get her wiggly head through. 

 I was originally inspired by the ruffled heart on this project from make it and love it. So cute right? But since I was racing the naptime clock, I decided to go the easier route and just make a simple ruffled heart.

I used my LBB lil leggings pattern and made some leggings to match. I didn't quite have enough fabric to make them long enough for my long legged baby, so I cheated a little. Can you guess what I did?

I used a "crocheted" headband as trim on the bottom!

I just cut the headband in half, and had two pieces that were the perfect length to add to the bottom of her leggings. I just sewed it on before I sewed up the leg seams. And this way you don't have to hem the bottom of the leggings. Not bad for a 67cent headband from Hobby Lobby! (You can also buy this type of stretchy trim at Hobby Lobby...but I'm not sure the price.)

I think she likes her new Valentine's Day outfit! And Mama likes that it was basically FREE!

Superbowl: Patriots Party Dress

Being New England folks, born & raised, we sure do love our Patriots in this house!

Well, it's mainly my husband who loves them. Personally, I just like football for the guacamole & buffalo chicken dip. But I do love me some good team spirit.

And although our little Gracie girl will never be a New England gal born & raised, I'm pretty sure she's a Patriots fan too.

(I'd asked her, but she's not much of a talker these days.)

But fan or no fan, a new outfit makes the Superbowl that much more fun.

And ruffles make any more outfit that much more fun! (I might need a ruffle intervention...) But I mean really, how cute is a baby booty when covered in ruffles!

And some comfy knit leggings to keep those chubby little legs warm.

Add a homemade logo tee and we are all set for an afternoon of football, food, family friends & fun.

And while Greg has his eyes glued to the tv, I'm pretty sure mine will be on this little girl. But can you blame me?

Go Pats!!! We're rootin' for ya New England!

(I used peek-a-boo adele skirt for the ruffle skirt, & lil blue boo lil leggings for the leggings.)

A Halloween Costume for Gracie

There's a little pink monster in our house!

But this monster isn't scary. 

She has cute little ears, and pointy green horns. Googly eyes and a pretty pink polka dot bow.

She has a big green belly, and soft cuffed sleeves...showing off those cutest little baby hands!

And she has pointy clawed feet...

But no, this monster isn't scary...

We think she's pretty cute!!

(I made the basic shell of the costume using Simplicity 5720 as a rough pattern. I added the monster details...clawed feed, cuffs, green belly, hood, horns, ears, eyes, and bow...which I kind of made up as I went along! More pictures will probably follow after the big event...Happy Halloween!)

baby sweater dress

I was looking through Gracie's closet the other day and realized that she doesn't have any fall dresses. A little girl without dresses is like a day without chocolate. (What? Everyone doesn't eat chocolate every day?) So during that glorious thing we call naptime, I got to work.

I pulled out this old sweater from my closet. It's probably ten years old. (Wow, how did I get old enough to have clothes that old in my closet?) Anyway, the orange-y color is perfect for fall, the sweater-y softness is perfect for my little baby.

 I followed Ashley's tutorial at one of my favorite blogs, make it and love it to recreate the sweater to a pint sized sweater dress for my little lady. I only used the old sweater and a short strand of elastic..basically free!

 I love how the neckline (which is cinched with elastic) looks all ruffly. So girly. So cute!

And I love how soft and cozy it is!

The perfect dress to wear with these super cute bloomers that my mom sent down for Miss G...

Pop over to make it and love it to learn how to make your own!