"Seamingly" Thrifty Sewing - Part 1

One of the things I didn't get at my baby shower - (gasp - can you believe there was something that I didn't get in all that stuff?!?) - was a nursing cover. Sooooo my sister advised me to make one and I quickly agreed. I have heaps of fabric remnants in my craft room - so all I would need was an old double ring belt.



Said sister and I ventured then over to the thrift store to donate some clothes and books (thereby clearing out a smidge more of our house) and came across a heap of fabulous belts at somewhere around a hefty $0.50 each. I knew the raspberry colored one would be perfect for some of the old fabric I had. We also came across the most awesomest (yes spellcheck, that's a word) orange fabric that used to be an IKEA duvet cover for a twin bed. The fabric cost $5, and I scored another bright orange belt to match; then I was off to the races with a HUGE smile on my face for my purchases.

For nursing cover 1 - aka the "winter" nursing cover, I used an old curtain panel that I had made a few years back which had a more heavy-duty fabric. I already had sewed up the sides and even had spent the time giving it a muslin backing. Finishing the cover would simply be a matter of cutting away the hook end and stitching up the new open end.

Then I took the belt, cut about 8" off of the ring side, and sewed it in between the front layer and the muslin. Way too simple, and hello, it cost maybe $0.50.

So onto my "pricey" summer version of the nursing panel. This one used that fabu ikea duvet and the orange belt. I just cut away a square corner of the material (so that two of the sides were still stitched together) and sewed in the belt. The fabric is cotton and stretchy, light, and airy - and I made it intentionally smaller so I wouldn't be sweating with a baby and all that fabric. I did need both sides though to make sure it really did act as a cover. Heck, you could even use a large pillow case or two to make these.

This one was a portion of the $5 panel and the $0.50 belt. Even if I threw away the rest of the unused material, that's a far cry from the $35 one that all the other moms will be sporting at the park. AND it's green since it's reused stuff. (Hooray!)

And here's me modeling it on my very pregnant belly.

But of course it would look better on someone else. Enter my very willing (and adorable) model:

Just don't tell his dad - he's afraid that life as a model will ruin his street cred.

Outdoor Herb Garden!

The husband did something wonderful for me this week- he surprised me with my first raised-bed square-foot garden. I had visions that 2010 would be host to a full-on victory garden at our house; with my own homemade compost, herbs and veggies grown from seed, etc. But then mcNugget, the bathrooms and the heat got in the way.

When we got a slew of wonderful herbs as favors from my baby shower, I had a couple of doubles - and not enough window to put them in. So enter in the square foot garden. In under 30 minutes, he had constructed the 3'X3' bed below from scraps in our basement. There is something seriously sexy about being married to such a handy man... it just makes him so much more manly. Top that off with his ability to read my mind about the style, then make it appear for free - and without any nagging on my part... yeah, its better than an ice cream sunday to this 9 month pregnant woman.

So once it was built, the rest was up to me (since he was at work and I was desperately excited to get the project done). I actually went to the streets for the next step - and picked up the yellowed newspaper ads lying in the street from in front of my house and the neighbors (which had been bothering me for a few weeks). (Note: I cleaned up the neighborhood AND got weed-deterrent for free... self high-five!). Then I laid them out right over the grass and gave them a good soak.

Then I filled the plot with about 6" of soil, and planted my herbs. 2 basil, 1 chamomile, 1 marjoram and 1 mint.

Note the mint is actually planted in a plastic bucket since its so invasive (left column, center row... aka "Jan Brady"), it would have taken over the whole garden. This plant was a donation from my next door neighbor Kimmie.

As you can see, I still have 4 more squares to spread to, but I wanted to keep at least one of each herb handy in their pots in the house - which is all I had window-ledge space for anyhow. The whole project only cost me $10 in dirt - which if I had the energy, would have been free also using my compost. The build took Bo 30 minutes, and the rest took me an hour... and if a 9 month pregnant woman can do it in the first days of summer, anyone can! (Don't worry, I was really careful to do this in the evening when it was cooler and not lifting anything I couldn't... the dirt was 75% relocated by hand and cup, which is why it took me an hour!)

So now I just have to water and watch to make sure none of my little beauties get heatstroke or dehydrated. I'll keep you updated on their progress!

Workin' The Camera - Part 2

Here's another set of images I was playing around with. I didn't write down the settings for this, but I was learning a bit as I went along. Also, it seriously makes me want wine.

Shared photo book from Melissa

Click here to view this photo book larger

Workin The Camera - Part 1

Here's the latest progress on figuring out my camera. I went online and read about three features: ISO, Aperture (F), and Shutter Speed.

On one Yahoo post, it says to "Think of ISO as a bucket that carries 'light'. The higher the ISO the bigger the bucket. Think of Shutter speed as how fast you can dump that bucket of light to illuminate the subject you want to take a picture of. Think of Aperture as the hose that fills that bucket." It doesn't matter to the bucket how fast you fill it - it's always going to need that same amount of 'light' to be full.

I learned that the higher ISO will capture fainter light signals, but also fainter "noise" as well. This means that I'll want to use the lowest ISO setting possible to get the clearest images and use a tripod whenever possible in low light settings. ISO 100 is a typical "normal" setting to get the crisper images. You can see the first set of results here; in the first photo, my ISO was pretty high, and captured a bit of noise.


I tried again reducing the ISO - (which added better drama) and reduced the noise level. I only wish I could find my tripod with all our baby stuff and construction going on!

Then I started gaming around with the aperture and shutter speeds. If you think of the hose example above, we want the aperture to be larger - which oddly enough is denoted by the smallest number on the camera. Mine can get 'up' to a f/2.8. The f/2.8 would create those blurry-background images more so than the f/5 or f/8 - which are normally clearer.

For shutter speeds, the longer shutter speeds are better for lower light (lower speeds takes longer to fill that bucket with the little amount of light that exists).

And that's what I know so far. My mind is working overtime on remembering the bucket analogy!

And So It Begins

Our weekly appointments have started at the OB, and I have the best news! I'm 1cm dilated! I know, I know - many girls are 1cm for weeks on end. But I'm absolutely stoked that my body is getting ready for his/her arrival.

The doctor said that the baby is heads down, with the but at the top left and feet on my right. No word yet on how big mcNugget may be - other than the tape measure saying I'm "right on track" for the last few appointments.

On Monday, my work held a surprise shower for me (and I'm just glad my water didn't break there, because I was seriously surprised... like sweating from the adrenaline surprised). And with about 30 very generous people in attendance, we got an ish load of stuff... I really don't know where we're going to put it all!

With the hospital scare last week, the bags are now packed and we've been trained by the local fire department on how to properly install our car seats. Now it's just time to sit and anxiously wait!

Two other Baby Shower Details

Here's another photo-op of me enjoying my baby-shower, and an amazing diaper cake my neighbor gave me. I just found photos my family took of two other awesome baby-shower details: the centerpieces and our mcNugget sign.

Do you see the vases in the middle there? Lemons and limes are the best centerpieces. The vases came from my friend's wedding (mine are being staged for my cousin's wedding!)


And below is a shot of the mcNugget sign my aunt made at my mom's request. done up in our room colors, this is the cutest wall-hanging for our nursery! You can also see above my head the baby shower umbrella that my grandmom had handmade many, many years ago. Pink and blue, its a lacy cover for a standard umbrella. We have a white one for bridal showers. My aunt cleverly covered it in lime green taffeta.

Seriously, for events like these, the more home-spun, the better I think. I love knowing that people will go far above and beyond for me and now mcNugget too!

Pregnancy Venting

Last week we made our first trip to the hospital to get monitored. Unfortunately, it was because I was having SERIOUS gas pains. As in the I-couldn't-walk and had zero-desire-to-eat pain variety - and they lasted from Wednesday night until Saturday. After a few tears and godsend of a hotwater bottle, I'm feeling much better now.

The only flub was that no one told me if I had ever had MRSA (which I did thanks to a botched mole removal 2+ years ago) I would need to get a clearance lab done. No one told me this - not my regular doctor that treated me for MRSA 2+ years ago - not the dermatologist whos office I contracted it in then- and not the OB/GYN 9 months ago. Even though it was HORRID pain, I thank God I went to the hospital that day, and thank goodness for a thorough nurse. They said if we had waited to check in at the hospital when mcNugget was born without a clearance test, I would have been isolated from everyone - including mcNugget! So in turn for giving me the worst pains of my entire pregnancy, I got the warning notice and have now gotten my clearance swab. (not a fun test by the way - you have to stick a cotton swab so far up your nose it makes your eyes water). The test came back okay, as in I'm MRSA-free, and I have my 'all clear' paperwork.

Shower Favors: A Close-Up

The photos from the shower didn't do my party favors justice - here is a better photo of the basil plants now residing in my kitchen:

Wish me luck in learning to actually cook with them- I'm brand-spanking new to herb gardens. I am quite pleased at this opportunity to avoid having to buy basil from the "stupidmarket" that goes bad before I can use it though - its a great 'green' gift that way.

Gardening Success - Without The Work

I have abandoned my back yard for the most part. It's too hot right now for me to move and sweat to weed and dig and prune - yes, I'm using this time to pull the pregnancy card. But God gets it - and has decided to give me some returning buds anyway- regardless of the state of my patio plants and overgrown flower beds.

These lilies and trumpet vines were another set of handy models in trying to figure out my camera. I'll keep working on it; it was quite difficult in full sun to capture the colors; and I probably should have tried to use that up-close flower icon on my camera for these - since, well, duh, they were up-close flowers. :)

Even The Laundry Gets Cuter

A few years ago, I bought a baby-shower card for a coworker that claimed "even the laundry gets cuter". And I have to say, it is the absolute truth. I have always had a secret adoration for line-hung laundry; beyond the green aspect, it just really is calming to me. (Actually, I love 99% of all laundry tasks - with the single exclusion of hanging up clothes to put away). But now it's even more wonderful.

Camera Envy

I have camera envy. My sister Val just got a Nikon SLR camera for her graduation - and I'm totally jealous. She's a wonderful photographer just with a point and shoot, and after week one, she's proving to be even more now that she's better equipped. So I want an SLR so I can be just like her.

However, my two cameras are only a year or two old - the petite Sony pocket point cybershot and shoot 1 year, and the larger Sony Cybershot is from two Christmases ago - so I can't justify buying new. I considered trading the big one in, but cameras are so cheap now that they wouldn't give me much for a two year old camera anyhow. PLUS, I realized Val has taken classes in photography - where she gets what the heck an F-Stop is and what ISO means. I don't. So I devised that I really must not be using my cameras to their fullest extent - perhaps only 40% of the current cameras' abilities- and by golly, if I'm going to spend another $500 on a camera (plus accessories), I best know the basics of how to use it; otherwise, I might just let the big expensive camera sit on the shelf and let my pocket camera do all the daily work.

So I'm giving myself an ultimatum. If I want a better camera - go and figure out how to use the ones I already have. I know my larger camera has a manual setting on it - as well as a few others (P, A, ISO), where they set the priorities for how the camera does it's thing. I just don't have the skills to identify which buttons to push yet! So I have a few paths I'm hoping to use in the next year:

1. Take an hour-long class at the camera store in-town
2. Join the monthly camera club at the library
3. Photograph the crap out of everything to learn on my own - especially mcNugget!
4. Take a few week non-credit class at the community college or school district (assuming mcNugget will give me the time)

But before McNugget shows on scene, I'll have to look elsewhere for my lovely subjects. Trotter just happened to be close at hand (well, truthfully, he's never far from being underfoot- where as you have to go looking for Missy under a table). Here's some of the many faces of Mr. No-Pants himself - you can tell he HATES having his picture taken ;)

McNugget's Party

Last weekend I had the loveliest baby shower a girl could wish for! We had so many family and friends come to celebrate with us - from a cousin who flew in from Florida - to an old friend who trudged out with her 4 week old baby- I am constantly reminded of how blessed we are. If the friends and family weren't enough - we had great food and got TONS of awesome "presidents" to help us with mcNugget. Here are some of the details:

The super-delicious cake - raspberry swirl!

Me opening my presidents

The loot

The loot (again)

mcNugget's new adorable clothes

One of the best features was the favors - handmade, they had spices like basil, oregano, marjoram... with their meanings like "Love", "Virtue", "Joy" written on them and decorated with precious baby figurines.

Another super feature was the games - including the "price is right". I failed miserably (who knew sunscreen was that expensive?!)

It was really an awesome time- and I have to thank everyone for all the love and care they put into it. McNugget is already super blessed with family and friends, and I'm positive he/she can't wait to meet everyone in just under 4 weeks!

Some More Photo Fun

I was having a bit of fun with my photos from yesterday - what do you think?

Maternity Photoshoot

My sister Val and my friend Kelly spent the morning capturing me and McNugget on film (and disc). Here's a sneak peak of the best shots Val took from my camera. I have to get the film developed and the other photos from Kelly still, but I am too excited about these to not post them now! Thanks Ladies!