Mr. and Mrs. Clause Silhouette Pillows {a tutorial}

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?

I pinned Toby Fairley's Saint Nick pillows last week because I thought they were adorable. I am a really big fan of holiday decor that is well integrated into your existing decor. Unfortunately, this Christmas, Tobi's pillows are not in the Sabbe family budget. So I decided to get out the ole' freezer paper and give it a DIY go. I added a Mrs. Clause and I'm really excited about how they turned out.

 I found some free clip art online and used Illustrator to create these templates. 

I made two envelope pillow cases. I did buttons on the back of mine, but for a super easy, button free tutorial see here. Tip: if you do decide to do buttons, wait to add the buttons until after you have stenciled. I ended up having to cut my buttons off and then sew them back on...bad planning.

Here are all the supplies you need (plus an iron) I use Jacquard Textile colors for my paint. 

This color is 106 True Red.

I am not the first person to do a freezer paper stencil, but here is a refresher. Trace the silhouettes onto the freezer paper, glossy side down, and then cut them out of the center of the sheet.

Iron the pieces onto the pillow case, make sure all the edges are smooth and flat. Place a magazine inside the pillow case (the paint will leak through) and paint. I then removed the freezer paper and used a small artist brush for touch ups. 

Let it dry overnight and ta-da....

I was too lazy to do the knife edge with an accent color, like my inspiration, but I like the buffalo plaid peeking out on the backside.

And because I already had the fabric and buttons, the total cost of this project was $3 (the fabric paint)

It really was such an easy project!

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Remster

Like a hipster, but way cuter.

We had a play date this morning with my good friend Audra and she happened to mention that her sewing machine has a monogramming function. (cue record scratch) Hello, I already knew she had a Cadillac machine. I used it to make button holes for Remi's coming home outfit. But I didn't know it monogrammed! So while my little man napped this afternoon I borrowed Audra's machine (we're also neighbors) and instead of returning design related emails (sorry if I owe you an email, getting on it now) I wrote on things! So fun! 

Hide your scrubs Mr. Sabbe. It' taking all the will power I have to not write "baby daddy" on a pocket and slip it back into the stack:)

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We've Been Making Stuff

 First up... popsicles. We bought these little forms for $1 at Target and have been pretty proud of our creations. This week we did fudgesicles, i.e. we froze chocolate pudding. It was delish.

See my tiny kitchen!? Ahhh, city living.

A couple of weeks ago I made this bag for a friend for her birthday.

I even found some left over little tags from back in the day. 

I made a couple of onesie/burp cloth sets for some new mamas at church.

 Such an easy/always cute project.

And I made some little booties, for our newest little lady friend. I used the trusty ole' bootie pattern.

We're actually hoping she's not just a lady friend.

subtle right?

This was my first attempt at freezer paper stencils.

I decided a heart was more appropriate than a circle.

The biggest lesson learned is, you cannot touch up fabric paint. There were a few spots that did not get paint, so I tried to fill them in. Those spots dried darker than the rest, so I kept on painting. And that's why it looks like this...

I need some sort of crafting sign that says "quit while you're ahead"

And lastly, here's a pic of the Sabbe men chatting it up on Skype. I love technology.

Not really craft related, but we did make him.

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Sewing Day Two {Shirt to Bubble}

In my efforts to participate in the Kid's Clothes Challenge I made my guy another little bubble, this time out of an old dress shirt of mine. It never fit well and has pretty much been hanging in my closet for three years.

So I cut up the fabric, pulled off the buttons, and re-used them to make this.

I had the green fabric left over from a previous project. I really wanted it to fit him now, but he was having a somewhat sensitive day yesterday, so I didn't wake him to measure.

Hopefully by the time it actually feels like Spring here, it will fit.

Is he not the cutest little pumpkin ever?

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Weekend Sewing {One for the Ladies}

Remi went to visit his newest friend Noa this weekend. He wore his seersucker pants his mama made him and brought Noa a little something to match, just so when they go on playdates people know they are together:)

If you haven't noticed, he's big on fist pumps.

I signed up for Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Challenge this week. I needed a little handmade motivation, I work better in groups. Check it out...

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I Made Him the Boy Bonnet for Easter Church

He was not a huge fan. His daddy promised him he would not have to wear these types of clothes for long,

although I have been given permission to make another boy bonnet for the Fall. After seeing the original tutorial, Mr. Sabbe approved a second round using an old flannel shirt his grandfather gave him. Hopefully the little Mr. Sabbe will approve as well.

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Baby Tutorials {for my boy}

First of all, I made this blanket in about 5 minutes last week in my sewing class.

If I had a serger, I would make blankets for every single baby in the world.

Here are some other things on my list

more baby pants, because I don't think it's ever going to really be Spring here

Can you believe after all the baby shoes I've made, my guy has zero.

This tutorial has served me so well over the years.

I'm really liking the shape of these burp cloths, makes the most sense of what I've seen so far.

Freezer paper stencils have been on my list for a while. How adorable is the guitar tutorial?

Dana is amazing and there are two things I want to make from her arsenal of tutorials.

the 90 minute shirt

and this recycled sweater vest

Also, he has a large shelf in his nursery, so I though some of these soft boxes would be nice

And for Easter, I think he might need a manly version of one of these.

39.5 weeks. Can you believe it?

This is before the anesthesia prom I told you about last weekend.

Dancing did not induce labor.

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Tell the World I'm Coming Home

No, no baby yet. But I did finish my little guy's "coming home" outfit.

Thanks Audra for letting me use your machine for the button holes! (mine is terrible). If you are looking into buying a new machine, a good automatic button hole function can make your life a lot easier. I used the pattern I mentioned here. I think it turned out sweet, although I give a mid level rating to the pattern and directions. I think I might make him a boy bonnet to go with.

I've already bought fabric to make him two more.

Green seersucker for Easter and black and white gingham just because I love it.

I enjoy staring at my new little creation. I make Mr. Sabbe stare at it with me.

I cannot imagine how much we are going to enjoy staring at our boy.

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Weekend Forecast

We have a jam packed weekend lined up. I am scheduled to teach a sewing class at the BCAE both this and next Saturday. I secretly thought I would be in labor by now, but looks like that's not going to happen. So 5 hours on my feet tomorrow it is, which may actually help the cause. I switched up the apron pattern for this next session and I'm excited to see how they all turn out. I would model it for a better photo, but it doesn't really fit my huge belly correctly.

I am working on a tutorial I will share for this one. I think it turned out really cute.

In other sewing news, I hope to get some time to sit down and make one of Susan's breastfeeding covers.

I have had the supplies for weeks.

Saturday night we are going to an event for Mr. Sabbe's work, also known as the anesthesia prom. Again, I didn't think I would make it. But I'm excited to see how this thing is going to work it out on the dance floor...

Don't you love how my belly is so big that I did not even notice that the hem of my skirt was flipped up all day?

I think I'm really funny and these days I have been re-enacting a lot of preggo Amy Pohler SNL scenes to make my husband laugh. Here is one of his personal favorites...

Have a great weekend!

p.s.

Can I blame one other thing on being pregnant? I have skimmed over some of the post that I have put up in the past couple of weeks, including this one, and the amount of typos is hilarious. So sorry if typos drive you crazy. Although I've always been guilty, I am at an all time high these days. One time, at the firm I worked for in Memphis, I sent out an email where I let spell check change the word definitely into defiantly, over and over. As you can imagine, it came off quite confusing to my co-workers and clients who were copied on the email. Bear with me, my brain should be back soon. Or who knows, maybe I've lost it forever.

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Nesting Mania + my stroller

True Story: I woke up at 5:30 this morning and made a bassinet sheet.

One of the baby gear purchases that I am most excited about is our stroller. Strollers are a big deal up here. I have done more research on strollers over the past nine months than I did for colleges when I was in high school. Here were my requirements...

not too big

not too heavy

tires that can go over snow

easy to fold into the car

lockable front wheel

can convert from a *bassinet to a regular, front facing stroller

can fully recline from the front facing position

can hold a car seat

good undercarriage storage

joggable

*I really, really wanted a stroller that holds a bassinet. I know I will only use it for a couple of months, but I think it's the cutest thing in the world. The Bugaboo is pretty much standard issue up here, but it didn't meet two of the requirements- it does not fold easily into the car and you cannot jog with it....and it cost $1000.

So the winner was....the Mountain Buggy Swift.

with the carry cot

The biggest thing for me was one stroller. Our apartment is waaaay too small to have multiple strollers. And in the spirit of saving space and getting the most bang for our buck, we plan to have the baby sleep in the carry cot while he is still in our bedroom. I purchased the Jolly Jumper rocking bassinet stand to hold the cot. And this morning, at 5:30 am, I woke up and decided I needed to make sheets for the cot....I think I'm in full blown nesting mode.

I made this very similarly to how Dana made her crib sheets.

I added the elastic across the middle to make sure it did not slip off.

I found the fabric at Fabric Corner earlier this week. It's 100% cotton and very soft.

I think it looks like a little picnic basket. I cannot wait to take my little man for a stroll.

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Around Here

Remember the DIY cat box building I made when we first moved to this apartment? Did I ever tell ya'll that it did not really work out? It didn't. For some reason my otherwise very tidy cat would pee off the sides of the box, and onto the cabinet floor. It was probably on purpose to let me know she did not like my crafty idea. I miss that sassy cat.

But as I told you last summer, we have a hopelessly ugly bathroom. I will say, our last apartment bathroom was probably worse, but this one is no good either. You can tell it has been re-tiled in the past 10 years and my big question is, what is up with the ole' cup and toothbrush holders still being there? Since when has anyone used a toothbrush that actually fits inside of one of those things? Ours was rusted and so, so ugly that I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed to rip it off the wall. Both of them. And so I did and last week I grabbed this little guy from Ikea to cover up the holes my impulse decision left in the tiles.

I threw in some mason jars for organization and a hand towel and I like it very much.

I also decided this week I would give a custom boppie cover a try with some left over nursery fabric.

I bought a waterproof liner a couple of weeks ago and used it as a template. I will tell you, it seemed like an easier project than it actually turned out to be.

In other news, I hit a column parking at the OB dr. this week and managed to do $1500 worth of damage to our car!....going 1 mile an hour! Thanks goodness we have collision insurance and thank goodness x2 that I married the kindest man on earth. Better news, my baby bubble is coming along very nicely and last night my sewing instructor opened my eyes to the wonders of the twin needle. My world will never be the same.

Last thing, I have several more remnant fabrics to post, I just do not have time to take pics today.
I will do one more post with everything early next week. Have a nice weekend!

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