Happy Birthday Ben!

Today Ben is one year old. He celebrated by skipping daycare and spending the day with grammy. He joined Josh for lunch and had dinner with grandma Sherry and grandpa Steve. Between all of that, I gave him his first haircut (just a little off the back) then quickly finished up his birthday present that I have been working on since a little after Christmas - Ben's Barn! It's a felt playhouse that fits over a card table.

The front is made to look like a barn door and he has a lamp on one side and a mailbox on the other. The mailbox opens and has letters that he can put through the opening. I made the lettering by printing the words "Ben's Barn" and then using that as a pattern to trace onto the felt.

One side has a vegetable garden with corn, radishes, onions inside pockets made to look like soil. Some of the vegetables have jingle bells sewn into them and others have crinkly plastic or other textured fabrics on the inside. The stems are bendy and made by sewing pipe cleaners into felt tubes. The corn is woven white and yellow corn, just like the corn we grew in our garden last summer.

The other side has an apple tree and a corral which holds his stuffed cow. The apples come off with velcro, and I may make pears or oranges to stick on there some day.

The back is our pond with velcro fish, a dragonfly, and cattails.

The inside is much less complicated, mostly covered in book pockets. 

I also used clear plastic sheeting to make picture frame pockets around the top of each wall.

And curtains for each of the side windows. The tiebacks are also tied around the legs of the card table to keep everything in place a little better.

And he has a fireplace in back. I still need to sew around each of the windows and trim the bottom a little. He absolutely loved playing with his barn. He crawled in and out through the door several times, then pulled all of the books out of the pockets, the apples off the tree, then crawled back in and out a few more times, trying to see if he could get his head through the mail slot. 

Felt is so forgiving and it is very much like using construction paper. Nothing was turned and top-stitched and everything but the lettering was cut freehand without doing much of any measuring. I sketched out my plans and I must give credit to my blog-spiration here. You will see many of her ideas repeated throughout my playhouse project, (mailbox, mesh in the windows to keep your kid from climbing through them, tree and garden ideas, etc.) and I am so grateful for her blog and sharing her creativity with the rest of us. She includes a lot more details about how to make each section and templates that make it possible to completely repeat her process.

I custom fit this to our small card table. I believe she used her dining room table, and somewhere she mentions that with felt, it is a little tricky to manage that much fabric when you are in the final stages of putting everything together. Because I did the inside and outside, I had a tough time managing the weight of the final project when I was sewing the finishing touches. I still need to go back and fix a couple of things and it's going to be tricky to keep the fabric from breaking the needle or pulling in the wrong direction.

I didn't use any patterns or templates, so I don't have any of that to share on here, but I think the best part about the barn is that I used features of our own farm and home. Ben's barn was the single biggest crafty/sewing project I have ever attempted and I think it was a big hit.

This is from his first haircut. I figured while I had the good scissors out I might as well cut a few of the long places in the back. I already don't like how old his haircut makes him look.

Pajama Pants From Sheets

A little over a week ago I went to the end of the nearby Catholic church yard sale. I was handed a large brown paper grocery bag and was told I could fill it for three dollars. I piled the bag full of sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths for all kinds of repurposing and sewing projects. The first that came to mind was the pajama pants pattern from Weekend Sewing. The sheets were a soft, old and broken in muslin, perfect for pajamas. I took a strip off a pink tablecloth to make the drawstring (sewing then turning with my bobkin), and using the same pink for the cuffs. For a gift, I made a second pair and plan on making a matching drawstring bag out of the remnants as the gift bag. I have big plans for the rest of the sheets and tablecloths as well. My goal is to set aside (at least) two hours per week to create, sew and craft during the school year. We will see how that goes.

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There is no way Ben will still fit in this Halloween costume in October, so I figured we'd put it on and take some pictures now, while the pants barely squeeze on.

Make Your Own Baby Food

Ben has only really played around with food and we haven't been feeding him every day, but he absolutely loves it. For several weeks he has been grabbing spoons, cups, and any other dishes or food he can get his hands on. We used our good friend Darby's yellow squash to make Ben's first baby food. I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds with a spoon, then placed it on a cookie sheet with about 1/4 inch of water. I baked it for about an hour at 400 degrees and it was total mush by the time that hour was up. I probably could have taken it out sooner, but it was so easy to scoop out into the food processer once it cooled. While pureeing it I added enough breastmilk to make it very runny, then I poured the mix into ice cube trays and froze.

I did the same process with green beans a week later, except I used the steamer to cook them. I put wax paper (left over from my cereal boxes - thanks Alma :) over the ice cube trays to prevent freezer burn, and then I poped them all out the next day and dumped them in a big tub that used to hold animal crackers. We have plenty of room in our deep freeze, and now we have about 40 baby food ice cubes.

We got the green beans from a friend that sells at the farmer's market. I'm determined (for now at least) to only feed Ben locally grown, fresh vegetables. We haven't really grown anything that's baby food friendly just yet, so I'm relying on our farmer's market for now. I even bought some of those purple beans, (like green beans) and steamed some of those for Ben's baby food. They taste just like green beans and even turn green when cooked, but they looked neat.

Ben absolutely loves green beans and bananas. He's fine with the squash and avacado, and he hated the peaches. I think they were too tart. I might thaw one squash cube with a green bean cube and mix them in order to use up the squash. I mixed some squished banana with the peaches and that went better too. So much food ends up all over him and the chair (and the floor), but at least he's enjoying himself.

Curtains for Ben's Room

We are still struggling with getting Ben to take naps during the day, so I decided to make curtains for his room. I scavenged around our basement and found the box with our wedding table cloths (they were just serged blue and white striped heavy fabric). They were very easy to make, and I even had enough to sew lining on the backs. Here are the great directions I used. I followed them pretty closely, but changed the top because I couldn't figure out her directions on that part. I just folded over the top, sewed a line at the fold and another four inches below to make the tube where the curtain rod goes. Total cost - $0. We'll just have to wait and see if this helps our napping situation any.

eBay 101

Throughout the summer I've been having an online yard sale through eBay. I know a lot of people consider selling stuff on eBay to be a real pain, but it's not that bad if you do everything in steps. Here's what I did.

1. Gather everything you want to sell and put in one place. I used the guest room bed.

2. Take a couple of pictures of each item. If there is a front and a back, then be sure to take pictures of both. Lay clothes flat on the floor and stand above them (I stood on a chair for some, to try to get a realistic picture of the shape of the clothes.)

3. Load all of the pictures onto your computer and crop (using Microsoft Office Picture Manager or any other photo editing program). Crop photos to eliminate anything other than the actual object you are selling.

4. Weigh everything you are listing inside of a box or whatever packaging you are going to use. Mark the weight somewhere on the package so you don't have to weigh again when it's time to ship. When you list an item, you will need to know the weight in order to determine shipping. We use a kitchen scale. For heavier items, you can stand on the bathroom scale with and without the box and subtract the difference.

5. Download Turbo Lister, free software through eBay. With this software you can type all of your listing descriptions and go back and edit later, and then when you are finished you can load them all in eBay at the same time.

6. Type out all of your listings. Include measurements in addition to sizes for all clothing. Measure and describe as accurately as you can. If it's a popular product then go to the manufacturer's website and read what they say about their product. You can quote the company if you give credit to them on the page, or you can use their pitch as inspiration for your own.

7. Set all of your auctions to last 7 days (the longest you can wait without having to pay extra) and load them all on eBay.

8. I also start almost all of the listing prices at $0.99 because you pay the smallest listing fee and people are more interested in listings that start low.

9. At the end of the week, eBay will send you an email for each item listed and whether or not it sold. On this email will be a button that says "send invoice." Click this to let the buyer know how much to pay.

10. Package everything, address and mail. If you have a scale and know the exact weight of your items, then you can print your own shipping labels through Paypal. If you catch your postman then you can save yourself a trip to the post office. Otherwise, take everything to the post office to ship, but not until after you have received payment.

That's pretty much it. I've made several hundred extra dollars this summer which has made a bit of a dent in the mountain of medical bills we have received for Ben's surgery. I've sold mostly clothes, shoes, purses and books. I sifted through our house and also received some "donations" from family members. Some things just haven't sold this summer after listing a couple of times, so they went to Goodwill yesterday. It is rewarding to see my cleaned out closet and our slightly less full bookshelf.

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I made Ben another set of pajamas that match his newest diaper. Again, Josh picked out the fabric. Ben is refusing to lie on his back these days. He flipped over sooner than I could get the camera.

Sewing Cloth Diapers

I would love to photograph and explain how to make cloth diapers, but I have yet to master the skill myself. It is hard! I have printed online patterns, made patterns based on this explanation, traced around diapers I liked and tried to make patterns off of those, but I've yet to make a diaper I'm very satisfied with.

The first one I made, I used fleece inside and out, and left a pocket for a microfiber insert. The diaper really doesn't leak as long as he's not wearing any other clothes (due to wicking). However, the rise is too low in the back so he's got a plumber's crack a lot of the time, which could prove to be a problem.

The next one I made is also fleece lined and has a pocket with another layer of fleece, then a layer of cotton on top. The cotton ends up wicking a lot of the moisture, so even with an insert this diaper needs a cover. It is way too big and bulky right now, (I pulled all of the bulk to the front so this picture would look cuter), but it will fit better down the road.

The most recent diaper I've tried uses actual PUL. PUL is the waterproof polyester laminate that most cloth diapers use. It has a fleece lining, a layer of PUL in the middle, and flannel on the outside. I also left a pocket for an insert in this one. The PUL was very thin and see-through and only worked well as an in-between layer.

Making cloth diapers is tough. I've had a very hard time managing the elastic, sewing through velcro. The sticky kind ruins needles and everything else, and I can't find the sew-on kind big enough. I finally found PUL in Springfield, at Handcock Fabric on Glenstone. They also honor Joann's coupons, so I had a 50% off one item coupon I used to get 1 yard of PUL at $5.50. The best deal on elastic I've found is at the FM Store - 9 cents per yard. I still don't have a pattern I really like. It seems like the serger always messes up around the tabs and they never look the same, even if I am really careful about cutting both sides the same. Considering all of the time it takes (me, at least), and the cost of materials, I'm not entirely sure if it's worthwhile. I do think it would be fun to make at least one diaper that fits Ben and looks cute too.

My friend Jenn posted her directions here. Printable diaper patterns can be found here.

All I can say is, good luck.

Cloth Wipes

We have started using cloth wipes and making our own wipes solution. There are several wipes solution recipes here. We are using 2 cups of water (boiled in the teapot first to prevent mold), 2 tbs baby wash, 2 tbs baby lotion, and 1 tbs olive oil.

With cloth diapering, it was less convenient to have one part to throw away and one to wash. It will be easier to put everything in the same diaper pail and toss it in the laundry.

I bought two washable diaper pail liners and I use a smaller kitchen trashcan as the diaper pail. For now, we have 3 diaper changing areas - one in the living room, one in our room and one in Ben's room. It's really not as much of a hassle as it sounds

I've seen all kinds of ways of making cloth wipes and I used old towels, t-shirts, and some fabric remnants to make different kinds. Mine are terry/t-shirt, terry/flannel, t-shirt/flannel, and flannel/flannel. I don't really know which kind I like best just yet, but all of them work so much better than disposable wipes at cleaning up messes.

I've saved a couple of the plastic boxes from disposable wipes and I can fit about 12 cloth wipes in there, then I mix the solution and pour it over the top. I have noticed that the wipes are cold, but not anymore than the disposable ones were.

They wash really well and it's hard for me to imagine buying more disposible wipes again. I wouldn't have even considered cloth diapers or wipes had I not met other people doing the same. It's amazing how our mindset is focused on purchasing disposable everything. I wonder how many other disposable things I could replace if I really put my mind to it...

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We attended Grandma Elsie's funeral today. The service was nice and you could tell that my grandmother was very loved. After the family lunch at the church, we had a rough trip home. Ben was not interested in sitting in the car for another several hours and we had to stop several times. We were all exhausted by the time we made it home.

How To Turn 5 T-Shirts Into a Rug

While researching ideas of what to do with old t-shirts, I came across several websites suggesting rag rugs. I combined a few methods to try to come up with the easiest (not necessarily the prettiest) way to make one. In italics is what I learned through trial and error with my first rug.

1. Cut a t-shirt under one arm and cut off the sleeves and collar.


2. Tear t-shirts into 2-4 inch strips. You can use the sleeves for shorter pieces if you want. You may also want to cut around the print on the front of the t-shirt. I didn't and you can see the color difference in a few places, but I mixed gray and white t-shirts so it blends in for the most part. Consistency helps with making a less lumpy rug. The thicker the strips, the sloppier it looks, thicker the rug, and quicker it is to get done.


3. Knot (or sew for a neater look) three strips together and anchor somehow. (I shut that part in the coffee table drawer to hold it. The rug weighs the braid down later. It helps if the three pieces are different lengths.)


4. Begin braiding. When you have about 5 inches left of t-shirt, lay in another piece of t-shirt. T-shirt material, when ripped, will curl into a tube naturally. When braided together the next piece of t-shirt will hold itself in place. This is why the three pieces need to be different lengths, so you don't try to start three new pieces at the same time. Another option would be to sew the ends of the strips together (about 3 at a time) to keep ends from sticking up here and there.


5. After a few yards are braided you can start sewing the rug together. I used a large blunt yarn needle so the needle would thread through the braid and not through the fabric. I also used two layers of crochet thread. I would recommend something stronger if it were going to be in a main living area.


6. Lay out the braid and then fold over the end to make a sharper corner, then sew together. I started off sewing it to loosely, then went back and pulled everything and got it too tight. It takes a little experimenting to get the rug to lay flat.



7. Continue to fold over the edges until the braid will lay flat when curved around the edges. It is important to lay the rug flat on the floor or table while sewing it together so you can tell if it is truly laying flat.


8. Continue tearing, braiding, adding strips of fabric, and sewing onto the rug until it is the size you want. I could only add one or two yards of thread at a time so it wouldn't be too difficult to manage.


9. When your rug is the size you want, weave the ends into the pattern and sew around it. Tie the string off on the back. I found a loose loop and tied it off onto it so it wouldn't show on the top.


10. All done! It fits perfectly below the sink in Josh's bathroom where it seems to always be wet when I want to brush my teeth. I hope it washes well. It didn't up laying as flat as I'd like, but it is good enough for our bathroom. We really need to redo our bathroom cabinets.


There are certain ways to sew it where it could be reversible. Mine is definitely not. There are strings and knots across the back and places where I doubled back and redid sections. In future rugs, I might try one that is reversible, but I was pleased with a rug that looked satisfactory from at least one side. I also think the higher contrasting gray looks better than the light gray I started with, but it's not bad for a first try.

Ben is truly back to his old self. He needed a little Tylenol today but without the scar there is no way you would guess he had brain surgery less than a week ago.

In Search Of...

I am starting to think crafty now that summer is starting and the days are longer. I have been thinking more and more about re-purposing and minimal sewing, inspired by my friend Katy. I would like to try making cloth baby wipes, unpaper towels, embellishing / repairing our tattered burp rags, and maybe even making a rag rug. My main goal is to be able to do all of this through recycling fabric (specifically re-purposing old clothes). So for my family members saving junk for me like I was living in the great depression, here's what I'm in search of...

- egg cartons (for our host of eggs we will have at the end of summer)
- empty paper towel rolls
- rags / tattered towels / washcloths, even those with stains are ok (for unpaper towels)
- old flannel receiving blankets (for baby wipes)
- torn up blankets, sheets or quilts (for potholders)
- newspaper (for the garden)
- old t-shirts and cotton clothes on their way to Goodwill, including those torn up or stained (for rag rugs or possibly some of the above)
- empty plastic wipes containers
- old fencing, lumber, and sheet metal (as per Josh's request)

I'm going to experiment with different fabrics in making wipes and unpaper towels. I am currently thinking for the baby wipes, that terry cloth on one side and flannel on the other would be the best. As for the unpaper towels, I'm not sure. I am looking at getting a snap press and using terry cloth on one side and flour sacks on the other.

I took my sewing machine to a man who may be the oldest man in Ozark today. He wasn't sure if he could get her running again (it's my grandma's and hasn't been turned on in at least 15 years). I'm borrowing a sewing machine table from my mother-in-law and the Serger from my mom for a little while, so I hope to have a re-purposing factory taking place soon.

*The unpaper towels I'm talking about are kitchen towels that you can wrap around a paper towel holder and snap together. As opposed to using paper, these can be thrown in the wash and reused.

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Ben is doing better. He's going without any hairnet now, and the swelling around his scar has really gone down. We still aren't allowed to wash his hair yet, so he still has some surgery gunk in his hair.

Fruit Trees!

We have debated the best time to plant our fruit trees, but we happened into a 10% off deal at Orscheln's, so we went for it. Today Josh planted two pear trees, two gala apple trees, a Jonathan apple and a golden delicious on both sides of the driveway. We already have a lone peach tree and we need to get another to allow for pollination so we can have fruit. The trees we planted are third year, so in the next couple we will hopefully have our first fruit!

We joked about what a commitment fruit trees are, but it will be so worth it the first time we take a bite of apples we grew ourselves. I feel the same way about all of the time and effort we are putting into the poultry and garden.

Ben's surgery has been postponed until Thursday because the anesthesiologist is attending a funeral tomorrow. The waiting is killing us, but we are making the best of nice weather to keep our minds occupied.

This afternoon Ben and I went to the Dickerson Park Zoo with a good friend of mine. It was such a beautiful afternoon, I believe everyone else in Springfield had the same idea. It was pretty crowded, but still fun. Ben slept through the whole thing, and I was worried about the bright sun, so he spent most of the time cocooned in the stroller like this:


The bartering has been going well. So far I've traded this:

3 of my mom's shirts (that she doesn't want anymore)
new package of eyeshadow (from couponing)
30 prefolds and a snappi (I'm not using prefolds anymore)
a wool diaper cover that felt too scratchy for me
a changing pad cover
the other half of the fabric from the wrap I made a few weeks back
and $30

for this:

10 Bum Genius diapers (my favorite kind)
4 all in one diapers, one yellow, one blue, one green, and one with lemons print fabric
2 wool home-made dryer balls (supposed to be great with preventing static and reducing dryer time)
a new pair of Robeez baby shoes and socks

The Bum Genius diapers cost about $20 new, so that alone made the trading go well. It takes a ridiculous time to wade through all of the listings, but I absolutely love the idea of mailing stuff away that I don't need and getting stuff in the mail that I want, without exchanging much money at all. The $30 I did spend was out of my Paypal / ebay earnings, so I'm still not dipping into our bank account or anything. In the next few weeks I'll get a Paypal debit card and I will pay for all of the shipping out of that account too.

Bartering is awesome.