Finally!

I have been waiting to write this blog for 2 or 3 weeks.... possibly longer.  Seriously, it's been building up inside of me!  BUT, I couldn't!!!  I've been planning a baby shower for this lady:

 Photo by Ashlyn Expressions

Christa is one of my best friends here in Virginia, and I didn't need to be spoiling the surprise of all of the cuteness by letting her see the pictures on my blog!

The theme was Showered With Love, and I got a whole series of printables from Hostess With The Mostesst.  I got the download for free due to a sponsorship from Huggies, but you can still go to her blog and download them if you want to for your own shower.  I love HWTM, and was thrilled to get my hands on all of her super cute stuff to throw an epic shower.  I also ordered some pictures from her recent maternity photo shoot to decorate with.  Then I enlisted the help of our amazing friend Beth, and we were ready to go!

Beth and I got together for a craft night where we made a diaper cake, cut out a bunch of little raindrops and umbrellas and clouds, and planned the menu (based mostly off of "baby sized" food).

We had three games, one was to guess how many pieces of candy were in a mason jar, another was to guess the value of a basket full of mommy necessities, and the third was to guess the circumference of mommy's 37week pregnant belly.  We also had everyone write a wish for Christa on a raindrop to attach to clouds.  At the end we put the raindrops and clouds in a album she can add pictures to later.

We had so much fun!  Baby Esther is allowed to be born now :-p

My Mom Thinks I'm Crazy; Wedding Gown Conversion Saga Part III

This will be the last update on the Baptism Gown for a bit, I'll be taking a break from it for about 3 weeks (read as 2 paychecks...)  But here you go:

That is all the cut pieces from my dress!  Yikes!  Bodice (front and back), sundress skirt, full length gown, all the beaded applique that I painstakingly took off with a seam ripper in one piece, and buttons.  Now it goes neatly into storage until I can buy a white sheer fabric and some trim.  Then I get to cut out all those pattern pieces again!  So it's folded up, the pattern is rolled up, and both are tucked away for a bit.

Now to work on something completely different :-)

My Mom Thinks I'm Crazy; Wedding Gown Conversion Saga Part II

I finished drawing my pattern for Evelyn's baptism gown.  It really isn't hard at all!  First you find a dress you want to base your pattern off of.  Now I want Evelyn's gown to convert to a sundress for the reception after the service, so I needed two dresses.  One was a sundress in a 9month size and the other was Joe's baptism gown which I only needed for the skirt. Below is the sundress I used.

Next you need wrapping paper.  Yup, that's the key.  Any kind of paper will do, some use grocery bags others butcher paper, but I like wrapping paper.  Especially Hallmark wrapping paper.  It's not the cheapest option, but it has a grid on the back that makes drawing your pattern super easy.  See!

 

Trace the dress using the grid to keep everything straight and then grab your tape measure to make your seam allowance.  I like a very generous seam allowance, and usually measure out about a half inch. I traced the bodice, and the two skirts.  Then I cut the bodice in half, I will cut the fabric for the front along a fold so it stays symmetrical.  Then I trace the half twice to make a left and right side of the back adding an inch along the center seam on each piece so I can put buttons and button holes.  Here are all the pieces.

And a close up of the bodice pieces

I'll start cutting actual fabric next week.  I'll be cutting every piece twice because the dress will have an organza overlay.  My wedding gown didn't have organza or chiffon or any other type of sheer fabric, so I'll be setting this aside until that can be purchased.

But there you have it, a pattern.  Not so difficult is it?

Being Thrifty Results in Pure Awesomesauce

Literally, I made this Awesomesauce

That, my friends, is 128 loads worth of laundry for a buck fiddy. ($1.50)

Our last trip to the commissary was exhausting... excruciating actually.  Everything is just getting freaking expensive, and well, we're not gonna take it!  At least, not if we can help it which in this case we can :-)

I saw the idea on Pinterest first, and it linked to here. Read that in detail if you want to know the process, cause I'm too lazy (read as nap time is almost over) to type it all out myself.  I will say this, while it was very easy to make, you do have to follow the instructions TO THE LETTER.  Don't cut corners, don't try to use different sized mason jars, don't try to substitute ingredients, don't get impatient.  It takes time, but it was oh so worth it!

The initial cost IS more than $1.50.  I already had quart sized mason jars, but had to buy a full box of Borax, and Washing Soda, and the bar of Fels Naptha.  BUT all those things are super cheap, and the next few times I make the stuff I will only need to buy the Fels Naptha at a whopping 97 cents.

Here's the best part, the stuff works AWESOME!  Seriously, whites whiter, colors brighter, all that crap Tide tries to tell you in their commercials!  It gets the stains out of my cloth diapers better, it is super gentle, and doesn't have a strong smell (even though it totally stunk up my kitchen and made my eyes water while it was on the stove).  It works by just putting one spoonful of the stuff right in the drum of my HE machine with the clothes. 

Easy Peasy, Super Cheap, Win.