You're My Cup of Tea!

This corny little play on words is so perfect for my hubby. I think
he'll appreciate that part. I'm wishing I'd decorated the tea pot a
little bit. I'm open to suggestions! Gotta get it done "under the
radar" by tomorrow night!

Thank you cards 1&2

I recently joined Stampin Up as a demonstrator to get my quality
stampin & scrappin' products at a discount. Theirs stamps, inks,
papers, & other consumables compliment my Cricut very well! These are
my 1st two SU cards. Sorry the 2nd one is sideways. I don't know how
to fix that on my phone yet.

I am so excited! Hubby tajes his next trip 4th of July weekend. It's a
tradition that when he's gone 3 days or mire, he gets a personal note
from me for each day he's gone. He really enjoys the handmade cards.

Not Your Grandma's Cloth Diapers!

When I was pregnant with Lil Miss, I decided I wanted to give cloth diapering a try. I knew it would save us a LOT of money, not to mention would be better for her skin, AND keep a ton of waste out of landfills! Something about mommyhood just makes me want to do whatever I can to make the world a better place for her to grow up in!

I had a very old fashioned book from the used book store day to day baby care. It showed how to fold diapers and pin them. However, the diapers in the book were large and square. Mine, which were given to me, were rectangular. I had no idea how to put them on, which led me to the story that unfolds in a previous post. In that post, I told you I would share my adventures of the newer kinds of diapers...so as promised, here it is!

After giving up on good ol' Gerber plastic pants, I ventured into the local baby boutique one day in search of ONE new diaper to try. The plastic pants had become hard to find. The prefolds are available at Wal-Mart but I guess most people buy them for burp clothes and don't need the covers.

Here are the THREE diapers I left the boutique with that day:

This is a fleece cover. It works like magic! It goes great over the pre-folds or the flannel pocket diapers I made for her. I stuff a pre-fold into the pocket and then wrap it up with this fleece cover and everyone stays dry! It's a little on the bulky side by the time you get all of that on her, but it's worth it in the end. She looks super cute, toddling around with her fluffy butt!

I'm in the process of making one out of a pink camo looking fleece I bought at Joann's. One will be a pull on and I'm going to try a wrap style like this one too.

I also have aspirations of repurposing a fleece blanket that wasn't made quite right into a skirty. It's basically a skort. Stay tuned!






This is a Happy Heiney One Size Pocket diaper. I had told the boutique owner I was looking for an All In One (AIO), for their daddy and daycare friendliness. She pointed out that pockets can be just as daddy/daycare friendly if you just pre-stuff the dipes for them. The one size feature also means they will last longer because we won't need to keep buying new sizes. See the snaps in the front? It's kind of hard to tell but there are three columns of them. The right and left column are hidden by the fullness of the diaper. You can snap those up to make the diaper smaller. The waist is also very adjustable. Pocket diapers give the flexiility to add more inserts for more absorption such as nap and night time. This diaper is a great investment, but I still look for similar, less expensive types on eBay!



This is my absolute favorite diaper so far! It's called a JamTots Berry Plush. The outer part of the cover is made of minkee, the softest, cuddliest fabric in the WORLD! The inside of the cover is PUL, which has become the gold standard of waterproof liners in cloth diapers. It's flexible/soft and breathable. The soaker has a layer of minkee that goes against baby's skin, and seven layers of organic hemp fleece. The soaker is incredibly absorbent. Plus, it snaps in and out. You just change the soaker and reuse the cuddly-soft cover unless it gets soiled.

This diaper has been great for night time. We haven't had any leaks or blow outs. Plus, I love snuggling with her (well I love snuggling with her anyway) when she wakes up in the wee hours to nurse.

You can find great cloth diapers and more online at Kelly's Closet. Right now you can get free shipping (those words are music to my ears!) on orders over $49!

My Unintended New Year's Resolution!

When I was little, I used to suck my thumb. To hear my mom tell it, it was a hard habit for me to break. They tried all kinds of things, including bribery. I agreed to stop and mom was going to take me to get my ears pierced. Well, evidently the trauma of getting my ears pierced led me back into the comfort of thumb sucking!

I eventually got over it I guess. But not long after, picked up the nasty habit of biting my nails. I can even remember sitting in my bath tub at the house I mostly grew up in. I was biting them and Mom told me to stop. I then put my hands under the water and proceeded to pick at my nails. Ha! Like she couldn't see my hands under the water! Anyway, she said, "Don't pick at them, either!" or something like that.

I just turned 34 years old this month. This has been a very long habit. I've tried to quit, but it's SO hard because your hands are always with you! Mostly I do it and don't even realize I'm doing it. I don't even know WHY. I've tried getting acrylic nails, but managed to get to those too. Mostly if I found an edge that was lifting, I just had to get in there and "help it along."

A few years ago, one of my lower, front teeth chipped. I don't remember now if it was from biting my nails or something else. I got it fixed, but it soon chipped again and took even MORE of the tooth with it. I was devastated and hated my smile. Not long after that, I bit on something that shouldn't have had anything hard in it, but it did and it chipped a TOP, front tooth! Now I REALLY hated my smile!

The crappy dentist I was going to (not the same one who "fixed" the 1st chip) wouldn't even attempt to fix the chips due to their location. Being the front teeth where we bite down and pull on food, he was sure they wouldn't hold. The last time I went to him, some of his equipment started to fail and he opened up something in the floor and tried to fix it with me in the chair! It was so dusty and awful, and a spaghetti factory of wires and hoses, I just couldn't bring myself to go back.

My husband recommended his dentist to me. He's on our dental plan, so I decided to give him a try. I was ecstatic to learn he was willing and able to fix my teeth AND it would be covered (in part) on my dental plan because it was restoration, not cosmetic! Wahooo!

While I wish they were whiter (but am not yet ready or willing to give up coffee), they are WHOLE again and I can smile more confidently.

The unintended consequence, and New Year's Resolution that came out of all of this is that I can't "feel" my nails when I bite them because of the composite in the places where I normally bite! So, whenever I go to bite them, I stop myself because I realize I can't feel it. I'm sure if I persisted, I'd figure it out. But for now, the composite stops me long enough to realize what I'm doing and STOP.

My Diaper Stash Part II

Here are some pics of the first set of 5 or 6 diapers I made for Miss M before her arrival. I got the awesome, easy, FREE (one of my FAVORITE words!) pattern, called Rita's Rump Pocket. I will be using this pattern to make some waterproof dipes soon. I got some nylon (like windbreaker jacket material) that I'm going to sandwich between the flannel layers so I don't need a cover, thereby reducing the bulkiness! Stay tuned for more on THAT adventure.

For now, here's some pics. Remember, she wasn't here yet so I used my Army Teddy Bear to model some of them!



Oopsie! I guess I only have one pic! Sorry about that! I'll take some more and add them later. Til then, Happy Crafting!

Tiny Tush Elite Diape Giveaway!

I have been getting back to cloth diapering Miss M...mainly when we are home. I have not gotten brave enough to push it on her day care provider yet, though I'm sure she wouldn't mind, or to use them when we are out. I guess I'm still looking for "the one" what I feel confident enough to do that with!

I love trying different types of cloth dipes. I have gotten some good ones on eBay. There is a cover I especially like. It has a purple print on the outside and PUL on the inside so it just wipes clean if needed. It fits over the dipes I made her OK. I love seeing her bubble butt when she is wearing cloth! Her walk is also especially adorable in cloth!

Well, in my quest to find THE perfect cloth diaper, I found that Tiny Tush is giving away a Tiny Tush Elite diaper to each of THREE winners! I love the fact that it is an "AIO" (all in one). To me, that makes it more like a 'sposie, which would make converting day care and daddy a little bit easier! It's also a one size, which means it will fit Miss M and her brother or sister (should she have one someday) for most of her diapering days!

If you have considered cloth diapering, why not head over to Tiny Tush and enter the giveway! What a great way to give them a test drive!

Birthday Card ala Cricut

My aunt's birthday is coming up so I thought I would make her a card.
I was low on inspiration but my trusty bff helped me. She designed the
coffee background paper when I told her my aunt likes starbucks. I had
the cream colored cardstock on hand so it worked out great!

The bottom line kinda resembles a ransom note but I'm hoping she won't
notice!

Made with the Cricut Journey cartridge

My 1st Cricut project

Miss M's Christmas Dress

I decided to make Miss M a Christmas dress similar to the one I made her for Thanksgiving. I didn't quite get it hemmed before we left for my mom & dad's, so Mom finished it up for me. She also added the "bling" to the front pocket. I think it makes it even cuter and will work great for Valentine's Day! Of course, it will be more of a blouse on her by then, she's growing so fast!

It's made of a red cordouroy with sparkles that my friend had in her "stash." I also made the shoes to match out of a pattern I found on Etsy. Of course they didn't stay on her feet, but it was fun making them anyway. It helped that I had low expecations of her keeping them on her feet!

You can kindda sortta see the shoes in this shot:


Her Grandma (my mom) made her this adorable Sunbonnet Kids quilt. She worked on it a long time. Each of the blocks had an embroidered Sunbonnet kid.