finding ways to use cooking, crafts, and hospitality to be a blessing for others

Tuesday, June 5

Baby Bibs

A friend of mine gave me a set of bibs and asked me to embroider her little girl's name onto them.  Since I do not have an embroidery machine I did some machine-applique and hand-stitching.  I am so happy with the results!



Sunday, June 3

Pie Contest

I woke up early this morning to bake a pie for the church picnic we had this afternoon.  As an added plus I decided to enter it into the pie contest.  I've never done anything like that before so it sounded like a fun challenge.  I did not win but I am excited to have baked what I think is a lovely looking and tasting pie! Recipe here

Little man helped me cut out some stars.
It is what I like to call an Independence Pie. 
It has blueberries and cranberries- perfect for July 4th or Thanksgiving.
 We had a great time!  G was a bit tired but hung in there and seemed to have fun!

Saturday, June 2

Travel bags

Last fall when I traveled with Gavin for the first time I was surprised how many different things I needed to pack. It became obvious to me that I wanted a way to better organize all of his loot.  So, for the first trip I used large paper bags...
 For another trip I tried adding tags to our existing duffle bags...
Finally, I decided to make a set of tote bags to designate for different contents with a zipper or draw-string close.  So, I looked up some tutorials online and then winged-it.  This is what I came up with...
To make a bag:
I folded 1 yard of fabric in half and then cut it in half (1 yard = 2 bags).  With the 1/2 yard of fabric, I folded it in half and sewed shut 2 of the 3 sides (The 4th side was a fold and used as the bottom of the bag).  For the 3rd side, I sewed on a zipper and it became the top of the bag.  With that, the project was complete!  Easy Peasy!

I made 7 zippered pouch/bags and used a different color of ribbon to distinguish the contents:
* Green: Food Accessories (bottles, bottle brush, plates, spoons, bibs)
* Blue: Bath Time
* Black: Sleep (pjs, blanket, pacifier)
* Brown: Diaper Changes (LOTS of diapers and wipes)
* Purple: Toys
* Yellow: Clothing
* White: Laundry
We used these bags over Memorial Day and I loved how helpful they proved to be. I used a polka-dot denim fabric and did not line the bags since denim is pretty durable on its own. I also used a reinforced thriple stitch on the bags since they are made to hold some weight. If you are looking for a way to organize baby travel, I recommed this!