"Best Friends" Summer Pajamas {Free Pattern}

A little while back I saw Kate share on instagram a picture of some pretty awesome fabric. I knew I needed it. It must have been fate because Kelle from Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman contacted me and asked me if I wanted to try out some fabric from her new line "girl friends". You don't have to ask me twice. I mean one, I LOVE fabric (clearly) but two, look at this awesome print! I knew Abbey would be all over that! And she was she squealed with excitement when it came in the mail and she wanted to sleep with it. It was when she was begging to sleep with it that I realized it needed to be pajamas. Abbey was in need of some summer pajamas anyway. 

 I used the free pattern I shared back in December with a few changes...

 The first was the sleeve. I hacked it shorter and then I added a piping pleat. To do this fold up the bottom edge about 1.5 inches or more if you like.

 Then you will fold it toward the front side so the fold sandwiches in some piping. (piping edge up) Then sew along the piping edge.

 Fold the raw edge back to the back and top stitch in place. Now it is a nice little short sleeve with piping detail.

 I opted out of the notched collar and instead of the collar ended before the front edge of the shirt I made the collar longer and brought it all the way to the edge. I also added a little pocket.

 For the shorts you can simply cut them shorter and finish them the same way but I also added a little faux placket to the front just for kicks. I cut out a small rectangle and folded under all the edges and then sewed it down to the front. I added three small buttons to finish it off.

 I had enough fabric left over that I knew would make perfect little dolls. So I cut around the girls leaving seam allowances and then cut the same for the back piece.

 WIth right sides together I stitched around the girl leaving the bottom open.

 Then I turned it right side out added stuffing and folded the bottom edges in and then stitched them closed. I didn't worry about doing a fancy stitch I just sewed a line with the machine.

 When I was done I had a nice little collection of cute little mini dolls to match the pajamas.

 Abbey was absolutely tickled pink to have new pajamas and new toys.

 She had so much fun playing with the little princess dolls that are so small they fit in her pocket.

 The print just makes me smile, it is so cute, I kind of want all the other prints in the collection so Abbey can have a whole collection of little mini dolls.

Pretty sure she would be in heaven.

What I wish I knew... {Mombo review and giveaway}

This post brought to you by Comfort and Harmony. All opinions are 100% mine.

I think as parents we all reach a point where we could write a book titled "I wish I knew..." We could fill it with all the things we discovered along the path of parenting that we wish we would have known from the start. I think it is why we value the advice from other parents so much. Those who have already gone down that path. For me it was the reason we stumbled through the first time parenting stage, but handled things a little more gracefully with each kid that followed. At the top of the list of things I wish I knew would be products that you can't live without versus products you should skip. When I had Jude I remember buying the wipe warmer, I was sure that changing a babies diaper with a nice warm wipe would be much better than a cold wipe. I was sure in my mind that this would avoid all crying at diaper changes and it would be like a day at the spa. I was so wrong. Fast forward to the 10th diaper change in a day and the wipes are dry from being over heated, and I was just trying to get the diaper changed before I got whizzed on by a baby who could care less if the wipe was warm or cold, he just wanted to be dressed. A nursing pillow though? I passed on that. It seemed bulky and awkward and I didn't see the value. Let's just say after a year of shoving pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals under my arm to support my elbow, a nursing pillow was at the top of my list when I had Abbey. I am not joking when I say it changed my life. So when I was asked if I wanted to try out the Comfort&Harmony Mombo nursing pillow with Penny. I agreed. I still had my old nursing pillow but I was more than willing to try out a new one. 

I love the Mombo Nursing Pillow. It is the best nursing pillow It has a soft pillow on top, which is very comfortable, and it has a flat firm foam pillow on the bottom to help support you during a feeding and help support the baby. I also find that is sat really well on the floor due to the flat bottom. There is also a vibration option to help soothe baby. I know babies must like the vibration thing, we have a couple baby items that vibrate but Penny was not a fan of the vibration. Which is fine since it can easily be removed.  Penny loves belly time even more with the help of the Mombo because her face and body stay up off the floor. 

The Mombo is great for just propping her up so she can see the chaos that is her siblings playing and she has the best seat in the house for it. Even though at nearly 5 months I had to stop nursing Penny I still use the Mombo for all of Penny's feedings (which are about every 2-3 hours throughout the day and night) it helps support both of us even in the bottle feedings and I still feel like we have the bond, which is good because stopping nursing came pretty hard to me.  I also just love the look and feel of the Mombo, it is soft and stylish so it doesn't feel super out of place when it is hanging out in the living room. 

If you have a newborn or are expecting a baby I would check out the Mombo baby nursing pillows for sure. It is one of the things I wish I knew about back when I had Jude and I know I could not live without one now. 

They are available at Toys R Us and Babies R Us. 

You can check out Comfort & Harmony on Facebook and follow along with  Comfort & Harmony on Twitter for more information. 

Also we are giving away a Comfort &Harmony Mombo Nursing Pillow today! 

Entry is simple leave a comment on this post telling us why you want a Mombo. 

**Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway is open until May 24th 2013, please leave your email address so I can contact the winner. One comment/entry per person. Winner will be notified via email at the close of the giveaway to claim the prize the winner must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be selected**

 

 

Super Easy Peasy Baby Headband

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 With a "newborn" (she is almost 5 months old but I still feel like we are in the two week old chaos phase) I need quick and easy projects. Creating something feeds my soul but when I sit down to sew it takes me a week to make a top... yeah. So I LOVE a project that takes less than 5 min and honestly you don't even need a sewing machine you could do a few quick hand stitches and be done. Hence the Super Easy Peasy Baby Headband.  

 A cute turban inspired head band that is beyond quick and easy and super comfortable for a baby to wear. Which is great because my babies always loose their hair in a bit of an odd pattern and their cute little fuzzy heads look better with a headband.

 The cute little twist just adds a little something to the design and they are made from stretchy knit so it's super quick.

 Start with a scrap of knit. You want the stretch to run width wise. I made mine a couple inches (3 maybe?) thick and then the width should wrap around the head 2 times a little snug but not too tight. Then sew the strip so you have a large tube. You just have to sew the ends together you can do this with the machine or by hand.

 Then twist the big loop to make a figure 8.

 Twist the center so it has a full twist and not just one layer laying over the the other.

 Then pick it up and you will have a double loop with a twist in it.

 pop it on the head and you are good to go. A couple notes. This works best with a knit that has about 50% stretch (can double in size and return) It makes it a little more comfortable to wear. Think knit with spandex or rayon in it. Also knit that is the same on both sides or doesn't have a "wrong" side per say will be best so you don't have to finish any edges or worry about the wrong side showing. If you did use a one sided knit you could sew wrong sides together to create a long tube before sewing the ends together and then all the raw edges would be on the inside.

 Since they have stretch they will grow nicely with baby. Now it's time to go make one for every outfit :)

 Also Penny has already figured out the camera/phone deal and all smiles go away the instant she sees one... unless you put it off to the side and trick her, but then all the "smile shots" are out of focus. Hopefully she comes around to the idea of smiling for pictures.

The BIG Tote

 Hey guys! I am a wee bit late in getting this post out to you (with a coupon at the end) We went out of town and we tore our house apart the week before we left so it has been a few weeks of total chaos and we had really spotty wifi on vacation so I felt totally disconnected from everything, which I am not going to lie it was kind of nice to just unplug, but now I am way behind on posts, picking a giveaway winner and emails (sorry if you are waiting to hear from me) Anyway Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts contacted me about working with some new fabric from the HGTV Home Decor fabric line. Seeing how I buy about 80% of my sewing and crafting supplies from Jo-Ann (it's literally around the corner from my house) I of course could not say no to the opportunity. They sent me two of the fabrics from the line to work with and come up with a fun project. The fabric is a sturdy home decor fabric so it was perfect for making a big tote bag since I knew it would be durable and I needed a big "carry all" bag. (everything else I used was purchased by me from Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts)

 I wanted a leather/pleather bottom and I picked up some awesome faux leather in the remanent bin last time I was there which was perfect. I also used a large zipper, and some rope trim from the trim section for handles. I started by cutting large rectangles out the size I wanted my bag to be (and the length of the zipper across the top) I cut the outside layer a little short so I could make the bottom of the bag from the faux leather.

 Then I started by sewing the faux leather to the outside pieces so they were now one large piece the same size as the lining.

 Then sandwich the zipper between the lining and the outer piece. The zipper should face the outside piece not the lining (I had to unpick and re-do that...it happens)

 Then open that up flat and do the same with the other side of the zipper sandwiching it between the lining and the outer.

 Then with the lining right sides together and the outside pieces right side together sew along the outside edge skipping over the center where the zipper is, and leave an opening in the lining so you can turn it all right side out. (ignore the fact that the pictures are jumping all over the place and remember that we are tearing the house apart so I was moving where ever I could work for a moment :)

 Then so that the bag stands up flat, box out the corners by folding the corner and then sewing a straight line across.

 Turn the tote right side out and hand stitch closed the opening in the lining.

 Next I added the handles by cutting out little curved pieces from the faux leather and then sewing the trim down in the piece.

 Lastly to reinforce the zipper end and fasten it down I added a faux leather tab and then stitched it down in place with the zipper ends tucked in.

 Then I had a nice BIG tote that is lined and cute and can hold everything but the kitchen sink.

 The fabric is amazing to work with since it is so durable and will hold up really well to lots of use.

Even though I am so late getting you this coupon code you can save 10% on your HGTV Fabrics and Trims through tomorrow! They have some really pretty designs!