Heirloom pillows.

My father's mother passed away earlier this year. I didn't know my grandma very well but just by looking at the few crochet pieces that I have of hers I can tell she loved to crochet, and the woman was good at it! After seeing this tutorial and a few other pillows online featuring crochet doilies I knew I'd finally found the way I wanted to showcase some of her work. I had thought about framing them on top of bright colored mat board, but I love how these turned out. The blue one I made for my Dad. The other I made for myself to add something special to our bedroom decor. This was my first attempt with piping. I found this online video very helpful for attaching the piping, though I just used my zipper foot and shifted my needle rather than using a piping foot. I found this video helpful for meeting the ends. I had fun with this. I love the look of piping and will definitely be using it again. The ribbon on the back, so pretty, came from my husband's grandmother's stash that she let me sift through the last time we visited.

It was really neat working on a project using something that my grandma had worked on and created, a collaboration of sorts. I think they turned out beautifully. It's something that I will treasure for years to come and I hope my Dad will as well.

Morning Chores Color Sheet.

* I noticed a couple typos after I posted this yesterday. All is fixed now. Please excuse my sleep deprived brain.

I made up this chore chart today for my two oldest, ages 5 and 3. They've been getting up at what seems like the crack of dawn. So I figure they might as well be productive instead of pestering everyone else who would like to sleep for half hour or so. If you'd like to do the same just click on the image for the full size, save it to your computer, print, let you kiddo color it and make it their own, then hang it up in their room. We'll see if it works together :).

* This chart is designed to fit on 11x17 paper

Thrifty finds for my dining room!

Our local thrift store has half price Saturdays, and every now and again I pop in there and check out the linen section. I always seem to find something fun and I love the thrill of the hunt. I've been wanting to make a set of napkins for a long time now but just couldn't bring myself to use up my lovely fabric for napkins...plus I didn't feel inspired to do all that hemming. So I was super excited when I found these fun vintage napkins in such great shape! I love the kitschy designs on them. The patchwork print reminds me of Holly Hobbie. I'd like to add some solid ones to the group and then I should have enough to get us through a couple of days before needing to wash them up and use them again :). I also found this great table cloth. I have no idea if it's truly vintage or just styled like it, but for $2 it was a steal! The colors match perfectly with our dining room and kitchen. It's fun to pull it out and change the look of the room a bit. And If I ever get tired of it, or it gets too stained, I'll make some matching aprons for me and my girls :)

1 old towel = 1 door mat + 1 dog mat

I did a little more crafting out of necessity yesterday—which also got the tune "Mother Necessity, where would we be?" stuck in my head. Anyone else grow up with Schoolhouse Rock? Love that series. Moving on.
My parents are staying with us for a few months (and are such AWESOME help with the kids!) and along with them came their dog. He's sweet, but we needed a mat by the sliding glass door to wipe doggie (and kiddie) feet as he came in and out. We also needed a designated spot for his food and water in the kitchen. So I grabbed an old bath towel from our linen closet, cut it up, added some pretty fabric (vintage mid weight cotton), and came up with these. The binding had something against me on both of them. I resigned to a less than perfect job there since they were just floor mats. You'll notice I did not include any close-up shots :). They do their job and look much nicer than the ugly torn old beach towel and dish cloth that previously took their place. The door mat has an additional layer of towel between the top and the backing. The dog mat is backed with towel which makes it nice an absorbent when the dog, or more commonly my 15 month old, sloshes water around.
I really like the versatility of the dog mat. When my parents leave, taking their dog with them, I can use it as a counter top mat to dry dishes or even a changing pad for my littlest. Tucker seems to like the new home for his dog dishes. I'm pretty sure it makes his food taste better when eating off of such a lovely mat ;).

Baby Boy Belt.

My littlest little guy just transitioned clothing sizes, but it was a matter of length rather than width. His new jeans would gradually slide down his little rump and would eventually be found laying on the floor somewhere in our house. Inspired out of necessity and all the boyish posts I've been reading, I made him this little belt. I used some duck cloth that I had on hand, a bit of 1/4 inch elastic, and some ribbon to add a bit of fun. The elastic provides a little give as my little man walks, runs, climbs, and crawls around. The closure is just some Velcro which makes for easy entry while changing diapers throughout the day. You'll probably notice that I finished the end of the strap the wrong direction. Avoiding any possible reason to rip the seam I just added some coordinating ribbon I had laying around and made it look "intentional". At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it :). The belt ended up being slightly wide for these jeans' belt loops, but fits perfectly in his other pants. I'm planning on making him one more, slightly thinner one, to cover all our bases. I've already had requests from his older brother and sister to make a belt of their own. This marks sign of success. And most importantly I don't have to hunt for the little ones pants while trying to get all four kids out the door.

I didn't use a tutorial to make this, just took some measurements and went with it. This looks like a great tutorial though and has been sitting in my to-do list for quite a while. I'm sure I'll test it out when I get to making my older kids their belts.

A Vintage Crib and Some Sheets.

Please do not use pictures of my children. Thanks!

My mother-in-law gave me this vintage mini crib. Isn't it so cute? I love the styling and the size. I also love that my husband slept in there when he was a wee one and now his little one gets to sleep there too. And how about that mattress?? Totally fun. Kinda sad when the mattress is cooler than the sheets you made :). I made these up from a fitted sheet that I thrifted a little while back. I actually had four crib sheets started but only got these two finished before our sweet girl arrived. I referenced this tutorial on MADE, found it very helpful, and just adapted using my own measurements that I took from the mattress. The little bunny doll (sporting some Amy Butler on the back) is a free pattern from Wee Wonderfuls. I made her for Miss Audrey while still pregnant and have full intention of making her little bear friend. This was a really fun project and I love how it turned out. The last pic is just for fun because I think my babe is pretty darn cute, and looks especially sweet in her little crocheted bonnet—which is also handmade, but not by me. It was my sister's when she was a baby. My mom recently found it while going through some things. There's a little sweater that goes with it that is still a bit big, but looking forward to using that as well. It's so fun getting to use things that have a history and let them relive a bit :).

*I actually found time to sit behind my sewing machine a bit yesterday! Working on a project for my smallest little guy. I'll be ready to share soon!