Thermofax Screen Printing

     I've always wanted to learn how to screen print and recently found a very easy and economical way to do it.

    Thermofax screen printing!

     Super easy, and even easier on the wallet.  Also, babies look cute in hermit crab onesies.  ;)

Here's how:



TONS of possibilites.

Vinyl and the Giant Pot

     I've had an idea for awhile now about some onesies that I wanted to start carrying in the shop, so over the past few weeks, I was able to start ordering the supplies to start getting the project underway.  Heat transfer vinyl came in first, and while looking through a Silhouette group, I discovered permanent vinyl as well... which led to an order of a variety pack of that... as well as a heat press to top the whole thing off.

     Thank goodness I have an understanding husband.  My crafting addiction not only makes me pick up new hobbies left and right, but to dive in headfirst.  I do not know the meaning of dipping my toes in the water.

     So anyway, my heat press came in last week!  I was so excited (and, frankly, a little intimidated) to get started.  Usually, it takes me awhile to let the idea of using new equipment, but with this, I just went for it.  So glad I did.

     I started off by using the Silhouette to cut some heat transfer material, then booted up the heat press and knocked out some onesies with the artwork I had chosen.

The kiwi bird shirt, I kept for Liam and used it as a tester.

That poor shirt endured more wash and abuse in the past few days than you would believe.  However, I wanted to test the limit of the heat transfer material and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the durability!

     After trying out the heat transfer material, I wanted to give the permanent vinyl a shot.  My first project was a travel mug for Cam's swim coach.  Cam's coach has been a phenomenal teacher and really made a difference in his self-esteem.  He went from not being able to swim at all, to being ready to go on the swim team!  Unfortunately, his teacher is leaving soon, so we wanted to show our appreciation with a gift he could remember Cam by.

Front of travel mug (with white paper so you can see the design better).

Back of mug.

     He seemed really happy when Cam gave it to him, so I'm happy that it was well-received!  Cam took his swim test and passed with flying colors.  So proud of him!

     After using and abusing the kiwi bird shirt, I felt ready to knock out the onesies for the shop.

    Please excuse the horrible lighting, it was 11 o'clock at night and I was wiped out.  They look a LOT better when you can actually see them....

     ...and even better when being worn.  ;)

     I fell in love with the brown sugar glider onesie and decided to keep it for Liam.  I think he liked it too... at least he didn't scream like he did with the Dr. Seuss hat.

     To finish up the week, I took the kids to the new TJMaxx store that just opened up.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot there, but we did discover the biggest pot I have ever seen in my life.

     As any good mom would do, I stuck my kids inside, pretended to make "children soup" and snapped some pictures.

     Of course, Cam was too "cool" to get into the pot; however, the little guys had a BLAST!

Random Projects

     Liam is growing so fast!  The kids all adore him, and the cats are really starting to love hanging out with him as well.

Booger "kissing" Liam.

     He's even starting to smile!

Liam's gummy grin.

     With four kids and almost zero free time when they're awake, I've made nap time my crafting sanity saver.  I created my own hat pattern that makes double-layered hats with hidden seams and worked it until my crafting-OCD tendencies were completely satisfied.  So I made some hats to add to the shop:

And then I made some more:

And then I made a million more.  :)  All-in-all, I came up with a nice selection for the shop.

     In between hat-making and various other craft projects, I've been trying to figure out creative ways to use up all of the eggs that our ladies are now laying.  With five chickens, we're averaging 4-5 eggs a day.  That means a LOT of scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs omelets, quiche, egg soufflés and whatever else I can think of.

     I really wanted to start carrying a variety of onesies in my shop as well, since my favorite, absolute FAVORITE, thing in the world to make is baby stuff.  If I hear that someone is having a baby, it's ON.

     So I placed an order for onesies, and I plan to add them to the shop after they've received the Spicy Pinecone treatment.  ;)

     I also have a friend that is an absolutely fantastic artist.  I asked him if I could use his artwork for my kids (just my own personal use) so I could use it to make them some t-shirts.  He was totally cool with it and gave me the go-ahead, so I took an afternoon, my Silhouette and some printable heat transfer paper and went to town.

   Optimus Prime, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Wall-E.  Each kid got 3 tees and all of the older kids (unfortunately, while Liam will look fantastic, he does not appreciate fine t-shirt art as of yet) just completely lost their minds when they saw them.  Scarlett immediately had to put on her TMNT shirt and get her picture taken.

     Finally, just today, I went to Cam's school because they were having a Locks of Love donation today.  I didn't know that we'd be getting our hair chopped off in front of hundreds of students and almost the entire school faculty!  I was a little surprised, but the kids got a huge kick out of seeing all the hair getting lopped off.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the event because I was juggling a baby and a toddler and my son was in the crowd, but trust me when I say that it was horribly crowded, bright, and HOT outside.

    I did, however, get a picture of Scarlett holding up a bag of my hair afterwards, once we were allowed to come inside.

  And a nice crossing guard was kind enough to snap another picture of me after the donation, while a hairstylist cleaned up my new 'do.

    At this point, Liam was NOT happy in his carseat and insisted on being held throughout the haircut.  I swear, I think that every woman at the event passed by and tickled his toes.  He adored it.

Playing Catch Up

     It's been a crazy few weeks!  Between dealing with a newborn, trying to keep the house from looking like it was hit by a tornado, and getting everyone off to school and set in a routine... we've been busy!

     Anyway, here's a look at what we've been up to around here.

     First, the kids had to start the school year.  The first day is always the most exciting!

    It was Kai's first year of school and he was over the moon about riding the bus.  We love our bus driver to pieces.  That man is great!  Always in a good mood and ready with a wave and a smile.  The boys adore him.

    Also, our chickens are laying eggs like you wouldn't believe.  I expected a few eggs here and there, but we're getting 5 a day!

Scarlett's chicken, "Ballerina".

     The chickens do have kind of a prankster side to them.  They love to escape from their chicken enclosure and walk up to the back door to tease our cat, Rango.  I swear sometimes that chickens really can and DO laugh.

    With all these eggs, we have to find creative ways to use them.  Omelets for dinner, hard-boiled eggs for snack and packed in lunches, and an egg-souffle' creation that actually turned out quite yummy!

    Between all the running around, there is still time for us to goof around.  This mustache is still something that we love to run around with.  Who would have thought you could get so much enjoyment from a little piece of felt?  I recommend felt mustaches and glue dots to everyone.  :)

     Luckily, I've been able to catch a few spare moments here and there to keep up my crafty addiction. First, I wanted to whip up a Dr. Seuss hat for Liam.  The first fitting didn't go so well.

    Liam kept moving and it slid down over his eyes.  Being the great mother I am, I had to snap a photo before quickly removing his unintended blindfold.  ;)

     When I finally finished, I was so proud and excited to finally get some of those adorable baby shots I've always admired online.  I had visions of sweet, sleeping Liam with an adorable Dr. Seuss hat.  Instead, I put it on and he hated, HATED this hat.

    Once he calmed down, he then wouldn't stop trying to eat the pom-pom.

   You wouldn't believe the amount of "outtake" photos that I have with this hat.  I tried everything.  Finally, I was able to snap a quick shot of him being peaceful and calm.  Success!

     We haven't touched the hat since.

     I have gotten some sewing done.  A few of my friends are having babies and I wanted to make them presents as a surprise.  Everyone loves non-bill related mail!

    So I made some hats for my friend having twins.

    And a blanket for my friend having a little girl.

     Then, I got all hopped up on a sewing high and whipped up swaddles and burp cloths to put into the Etsy shop.  I adore bright colors and beautiful patterns.

     So that's what we've been up to.  I'm back into a routine and should be posting with more regularity now.  Hope everyone else is doing well too!

Gauze Swaddle Blankets

     I guess the nesting urge has kicked into full-gear.  I went on a sewing spree this morning and finished the remaining 8 (out of 12) gauze baby blankets that I had planned to knock out.  Holding back 3 for the baby on the way and ended up listing the rest in my shop. 

All finished!

     At one point, my table was COVERED in swaddling blankets!  Once they were complete, I wrapped them up to take pictures for listing them in the shop.

Wrapped and ready!

Maxi Dress and Baby Birds!

     I first heard about the release of the Emmaline Dress pattern from Violette Field Threads when it was announced on their Facebook page.  I fell in love instantly and had to try it.  I ordered the fabric (same as in the pattern picture I saw, it was too pretty and I just had to have one like that for Scarlett) immediately and knocked it out this weekend.  The pattern was really easy to read and I can't wait to get started on some of the others that I picked up in the pattern bundle.

     I just had to get her dressed up and get some "action shots".  :)

Hamming it up.

Back of the dress.  (Checking out the chickens hiding in the zucchini.)



     Also, do you remember those eggs I posted a picture of in an earlier post?  They hatched!  We've got baby birds!  Three of the four eggs hatched.  They're so cute.

    

     With the baby birds hatching, the weather heating up (sometimes TOO hot), and the garden starting to produce baby zucchini... I can't help but get excited about the upcoming summer!

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear" Book and Burp Cloth Set Giveaway!

********Contest Ended- Congratulations, Meredith!********


     Since I've been busy whipping up a bunch of baby stuff, I thought it would be fun to do a baby-themed giveaway!  At our house, the Eric Carle books are a huge hit and one of our favorites is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

     The prizes for this giveaway are a "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" board book and a set of 3 burp cloths.  The burp cloths are made with 100% cotton fabric that is sewn onto Gerber pre-folded 3-ply birdseye cloth diapers.  The fabric embellishment extends down the middle of the cloth diaper, leaving white areas on either side for additional coverage for burpy babies.

Photo showing the embellished fabric-covered middle of the cloths.

    

       The giveaway starts today and ends midnight on the 23rd.  See, there actually are some good things that start on Friday the 13th.  ;)  Open to US and Canada.

Baby Blankets Galore!

     I've been working on a lot of baby stuff recently to get ready for the newest addition to our household.  Of course, after my last child, I had given all the baby stuff away thinking that we were done.  (Go figure.  Isn't that how it always goes?)  Been scrambling to catch up and wanted to start off with some baby blankets.

     The first one I made:

    This was in case the baby was a girl.  Used 100% cotton for the top part, and then a fuzzy material found in the "minky" aisle for the fluffy underside.  Also, my new labels came in!  Was so excited to have those arrive and couldn't wait to start attaching them to everything.  :)

    This was before I opted for an elective ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby.  That's when we found out that we were actually having a BOY!  Yay!  Another excuse to start whipping up different blankets.  I gave the fuzzy blanket to my daughter after she saw it folded and tucked away in my closet and started petting it like it was a fuzzy animal.  Looks pretty on her new toddler bed.  For once, she actually made her bed this morning.  (Knock me over with a feather!)

    Anyway, onward to the boy blankets:

     Both are lightweight blankets with 100% cotton top and soft flannel underside.  They were both super quick and easy projects and a great way to make the kids' naptime really productive.

    Finally, on my list of baby "done"s, is my first knitted project.  To those out there who knit on a regular basis, I salute you.  This was my first knitting project and seemed to take FOREVER.  Used two strands of yarn to knit with and it still took me four days to complete a single washcloth.  Still have two more to go.

     Currently working on knocking out a few more burp cloths.  Definitely in full-on "nesting" mode.

    Keep an eye on the blog, I've got a giveaway or two in the works.  Will be posting in the next week or so.