Rice Bag Hot Pack

I thought I may find a hot pack useful for achy muscles and pains in the coming weeks with Baby's arrival quickly approaching.  This bag is filled with rice, and only takes 2 minutes in the microwave to warm.

 I found a tutorial online showing how to make a rice bag foot warmer: http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2009/02/tutorialrice-bag-feet-warmer.html.  I like how this bag has a slipcover because you can remove it and throw it in the wash.  This project was quick and easy, and would be a thrifty gift!

Fancy Burp Rags

I just finished a project I'm really excited about!  I made some fancy burp rags for Baby. 

I got this idea from another blogger, Kate, at http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/2010/11/bucket-o-burpees.html.  She shows how to make a "Bucket-o-Burpees", which would make a great baby gift!

I used the Kushies brand of flat washable diapers for the white flannel.  They come in a pack of 6 for $15.99 at Sears.  I was able to cut them each in half, so that would make 12 burp cloths.  If you use scrap fabric for the remainder of the project, the burp rags work out to roughly $1.30 each.

If you are looking for more instruction on how to make these, you can check out Kate's blog at the link above for a step by step tutorial.

I owe my mom a big thank you because she serged all the edges for me on these burp cloths... which made this project super easy!

This has been one of my favorite projects so far! 

Girls LOVE flowers!

Wouldn't you agree that girls love to accessorize?  Lots of babies and girls wear headbands with big flowers on them, and they look super cute!  So, I thought this could be a very affordable gift to make for my 6 month old niece.

I found some artificial flowers at the dollar store and pulled them all apart.  I threw away the stems and all the plastic pieces so all that remained were the fabric flowers.  I think I may also make good use of these flowers on homemade cards.. a less expensive alternative to what you might find in a scrapbooking store.

I found some soft headbands at Walmart - 6 for $4 (sized for little girls).  The flowers I got were $1 per bouquet (I bought a few different colors so I could have a collection for future projects).  So this ended up being a very inexpensive project.

I arranged the flower petals and sewed them onto the headbands.  Easy!!  I also of course had to add my own label to the headband.

 I can't wait to see my niece modeling her new flower accessory!  How cute!!

Fabric!!

One thing that makes me excited about sewing new projects is choosing the fabric!  I love finding cute and original prints. 

I recently ordered some fabric online from the "Fabric Shoppe" at http://www.etsy.com/shop/fabricshoppe. 

Since I'm a beginner sewer, I don't have a very big stash of fabric yet.  One thing I like about this online shop is that you can order "scraps/stash builders" where you receive a variety of cute prints at a discounted price! You don't know which prints you will receive... but this shop has so many great designs, I was happy with ALL of the fabric I received.  All of the pieces were also a good size... great for lots of the projects I have planned.  Now I actually have a selection of prints to choose from!

I was so excited to get this surprise of prints in the mail!

First Project

I finally got one of my projects completed!  My mom came over yesterday and helped me make a nursing cover.  It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be... and I'm just learning!  The cover was quite inexpensive to make (I'm estimating no more than $10 - much less than any you would find online or in a posh baby store).

I was very excited to receive my custom made fabric a couple weeks ago from www.spoonflower.com as well!  So... I added one of my very own labels.

Tutorial for making your own labels:  http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/2011/03/300-clothing-labels-for-20.html

Coming from a mom-to-be... this would also make a great baby gift!

So... I've started a blog!

Lately I've been researching how to make cute little trendy items for our baby arriving in a couple months (to save $$'s), and I've been discovering the world of blogging.  So many share their ideas and projects online - I found this quite intriguing.  Some are really quite creative... and this has inspired me!

There are so many neat baby items out there... but you could also spend a fortune on all these things.  I already have quite a few cute projects I'm excited to start (and save money) that I will be sharing in the next few weeks while we anticipate the arrival of our little one!  I also hope to share some of my other interests and thrifty ideas with you as well.

I thought a personalized logo to put on my projects (whether I use them at home or give away as gifts) would be quite cute and make my projects my own.  I got this idea from another blogger - Kate (www.seekatesew.blogspot.com).

You can read her tutorial on making your own labels at http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/2011/03/300-clothing-labels-for-20.html.

I followed her tutorial and ordered custom fabric online at spoonflower.com.  Making labels yourself might seem time consuming, but it does appear to be cheaper than ordering custom labels from somewhere else.  

I'm very excited for my fabric with my labels imprinted to arrive!!

This led me to the discovery of a photo-editing web application: www.picnik.com.  Spoonflower uses this application with their website so you can design your own fabric.  You can use many of the editing features for free... but if you're willing to spend a little (about $25 for a year subscription) you might find it worthwhile upgrading to a premium membership depending on how useful you might find their tools.  I know we will be taking lots of pictures of baby... so this might come in handy with birth announcements and editing many cute photos!!