Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Storm Before the Calm Before the Storm

 The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activities and various home improvements. I have been nesting for several months now, and my very dear husband has been indulging my insatiable desire to have things *just so* before the baby comes. My nest-feathering instincts, however, have resulted in quite the upheaval with regard to living arrangements!


Dahlias in the garden -- this summer of endless rain has been good for something!

Re-doing our kitchen and guest bathroom floors has been on our list ever since we bought our house. We had a decent laminate hardwood in the kitchen area, but it was apparently installed by five-year-olds. Five-year-olds who decided it was a good idea to cut big squares around every door jamb, and then fill the resulting gap with chunks of flooring. Really, it was that bad. We had linoleum in the guest bath; for the record, I loathe linoleum, but I'm not (quite) such a spoiled brat that I need everything to be perfect right now. This linoleum, though, was so gouged and destroyed that it really was in need of a re-do.

A few months back, as I contemplated my expanding middle, I realized that: A) My belly was not going to get any smaller before the arrival of a newborn, and B) If our master bathroom re-do was any indication, I would be the one actually laying the tile, and Pablo would be mixing, fetching, cutting, etc. It works out great that way.

So if the tile was going to be laid, we needed to do it right away, before my belly expanded even more. Off to Lowes we went, and soon the tiling was underway. And oh, reader! The kitchen tiling is not perfect. Far, far from it. Okay, not too far, but please don't examine the joints too carefully if you come over for tea. At any rate, it's done, and it has improved the space immensely. We're not exactly living in a multi-million dollar mansion, so I'm not going to stress (too much) over a few squiggly spots.

Now, we have made several interesting discoveries during our time in this wee house of ours. I've mentioned the knife in the kitchen drain, and there have been various other curiosities to make us wonder what on earth was going on in the minds of the former homeowners during their time here (for instance, why is the word "HELP" scrawled inside the cabinet in the guest bathroom? Or is it really that hard to paint behind the freestanding over-the-toilet cabinet?).

But this discovery? This one takes the cake. As we pulled up some of the laminate wood flooring in the hall outside the bathroom, we came to the threshold of our carpeted living room. And that's when we realized that they had installed hardwood in the living room, too -- and then at same later point covered it with carpet! Seriously, who does that? Our living room carpet was horribly stained, and starting to buckle (and we hate carpet, anyway). The laminate underneath looked okay, as far as we could tell by pulling up the carpet and padding at the threshold and peering into the depths. So after much deliberation, we pulled out the carpet. Good grief, it was a veritable sandbox under there! Actually, two sandboxes -- one on top of the carpet padding, and one underneath the padding and on top of the laminate. Which just reinforced our desire to never, ever install carpet of our own free will.

And I thought discovering "wood" under the carpet was limited to more mature homes!
Our fears that the carpet was covering some hideous damage to the flooring proved unfounded, much to our relief. The room was outlined in holes from the carpet tack strips, and there was a beautiful squiggly line of adhesive with tufts of carpet padding still attached. But, with the laminate we had salvaged from our kitchen re-do (removed for the previously mentioned appalling installation job), we thought we could pull up all the flooring in the living room and adjoining dining room, and relay the entire thing.

Incidentally, it has also become a sort of game for us to wonder how much money we'll "earn" when we tear something out. It seems that every time we undo a previous "improvement" (can you hear the sarcasm?), we find anywhere from 10 to 50 cents in small coins. As it happens, our flooring project coughed up 65 cents. *wink* We also discovered an ancient pill, which we identified as medication used for both ADHD and narcolepsy. Still not sure how one drug can treat both of those conditions...

While it took much longer than we expected -- but what self-respecting home improvement project doesn't take longer than expected? -- we managed to salvage just enough flooring for the dining and living rooms. Oh, how happy I am to see the last of that carpet!


One of my favorite mysteries so far -- that little (unfinished) threshold was
glued to both the tiny strip of carpet and the laminate flooring. The closet it
belonged to actually had two layers of carpeting!

So now? Our living room furniture is still scattered around the house, awaiting the installation of quarter-round. And we still have the entire living room/kitchen/dining room area to paint, plus we have plans for sprucing up the kitchen cabinets. Oh, and painting the guest bath and re-installing the toilet are high on the priority list, too!

The home improvement storm is far from over, but once the storm has cleared, almost all of our cosmetic improvements will be done. And then we'll have a little calm and a chance to rest before the "storm" of welcoming our precious little one into the world. But that's a storm I'm much more excited to weather!


Monday, August 27, 2012

Twice as Nice

With some friends expecting twins, it was time to indulge my crafty side once more. But with one of the twins being a boy, my crafty side needed a little kick start. Not that I have anything against boys -- on the contrary, I am very fond of the one I've been blessed with! But they *are* a bit more difficult to sew for.

Fortunately, the parents of these twins are vibrant and eclectic, and it didn't take long to figure out something that they would (hopefully!) like.




I am now of the opinion that suspender onesies with bow ties (or regular ties) are a must-have for baby boys. I did add some carefully secured buttons, since this is a 0-3 months size and little guy is not likely to have figured out how to try to chew them off by then.




Bow ties aren't very tricky, but I did make it easier on myself by finding a great tutorial. I think I ended up shortening mine quite a bit, since I didn't want it to stick out quite so far. Oh, and I stuck with needle and thread, and skipped the glue. Grosgrain for the suspenders, and voila!

For this little gentleman's sister, I did a bit of browsing and saw a number of necklace onesies for baby girls. Ric rac from the stash, some appliqued "beads," and a bit of grosgrain later...




And, of course, two coordinating pacifier clips. These are quickly becoming a go-to baby shower gift for me, because they're simple and so-very-useful. Notice the mustache pacifier? It took some tweaking and finagling, but in the end a piece of felt stitched around the pacifier rings did the trick. And apparently the little chap's mom has been looking for a mustache pacifier. Score!


Speaking of sewing for babies... I have a bit of that I need to do today for the current inhabitant of my bump!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Lace, At Last

Before I was married, my then future mother-in-law brought back a few yards of lace for me from Puerto Rico. Beautiful, creamy lace, perfectly feminine without being too "girly." That lace has been languishing in my stash for probably three years now, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

And last week, that opportunity came knocking.


Finally in the 3rd trimester! It's still too soon to start counting down the days... 
But I am. *wink*

After realizing that I can't sew all of my maternity tops from my tunic pattern (well, I could, but it would be rather boring), it was time to come up with something else. Starting with a blouse pattern that was *not* darted in the side seam, I tweaked and fiddled until I had a custom sleeveless top. Just two pieces -- front and back -- with endless possibilities for variation. The front neckline can be pleated or gathered to take in the fullness required for wearing ease. The simplest finishing option is a bit of bias tape around the neckline and armholes. A simple hem and a belt, and it's done!

But this blouse needed something more.

More, as in a false placket, mother of pearl buttons, and self-fabric ties. Oh, and lace. Lace, at last!




The fabric is a cotton shirting that I bought at JoAnn's, after waiting patiently for a 50% off Red Tag sale. I love the woven stripe-and-diamond pattern; it's subtle, but adds a lot of texture. I think I intended it for a Regency gown at the time, but it's been several years and I don't foresee making one any time soon.

The lace is a perfect match, tucked into the placket and into the self-bias around the armholes and neckline. I opted for a gathered neckline for this blouse. Two fabric ties are concealed under the placket, providing just enough shaping. I'm finding in this pregnancy that I much prefer "shapeless" tops that can be cinched in with a belt of some sort. "Permanent" waistbands (whether elastic or not) have a tendency to be too tight, too loose, too high, or too low. Already I need to re-do a belt I made earlier in my pregnancy, as it's become a bit too snug around the ribcage to be comfortable while I'm sitting!

Little did I realize that this post would turn out to be quite the process:

  1. Make blouse
  2. Make beige camisole to wear under blouse (to conceal navy blue maternity skirt panel)
  3. Iron blouse
  4. Set up camera on tripod
  5. Go back in the house to get the camera remote, which the baby made you forget
  6. Take pictures
  7. Check results and take more pictures
  8. Tote camera and tripod back into the house
  9. Rub Tiger Balm on the seven mosquito bites acquired in as many minutes while taking pictures outside 
  10. Upload, edit, and resize photos.
  11. Write blog post. Though I'm considering including this with Step 10, just because an even ten is so nice. Oh well. At least eleven is symmetrical.



Anyway, there's another incarnation of this blouse (linen and flutter sleeves!) just waiting to be worn and photographed. And considering that I'm getting closer to the finish line, I think it might be time to stop making maternity blouses. Unless I can't resist, that is. 


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

DIY Frugal Disposable Baby Wipes


Whether you use cloth or disposable diapers, you need baby wipes in some shape or form. And while I may be completely sold on cloth diapering, as I've confessed before, I'm still not a fan of cloth wipes! They're fine for wet diapers, but messy changes make me shudder. However, once I finished the stash of giant wipes refills that I'd stockpiled (they were great deals with sales/coupons), I knew I was going to have to find a better solution. Yes, there are deals and coupons for wipes, but even the "unscented" wipes are loaded with chemicals, and I don't really want to have to keep up with all the sales to find a decent deal. 

After some browsing around the internet, I came across the idea of making your own disposable wipes. There are various instructions, but most of them involve soaking half a roll of paper towels in a tub of water. Some advise adding tea tree oil to prevent mildewing, and others include ingredients like baby body wash/shampoo, lavender, etc. I knew I wasn't going to try the wipes-in-water, since I'm not a huge fan of standing water (and adding stuff to the water to keep it "fresh" doesn't appeal to me). Plus, added ingredients equals more steps/complication. So I decided to try "dry" wipes instead. 




In the photo above you can see the rather simple solution to my wipes dilemma:


  •  A roll of Viva paper towels, cut in half on our miter saw (Viva is super soft, and also very strong). You can also use an electric knife, a little hand saw, or even a large serrated knife.
  • A peri bottle filled with filtered water and some baking soda -- I think I bonded emotionally with this wonder-bottle in the weeks after giving birth! *wink* It works so much better than a spray bottle for wetting the baby wipes (and for dozens of other purposes, for that matter!).

You can also sort of see my extremely expensive changing table in the picture. How many baby changing tables come with an "Extra Rinse" cycle? Granted, this changing table probably cost several hundred dollars new (I'm not sure, since it came with the house), but it includes soothing vibrations (AKA the Spin Cycle) that Little Man finds very amusing during diaper changes. With cloth diapering, I've found changing diapers on the washing machine to be convenient and economical (the dryer would probably be easier, but since our laundry closet is barely big enough for both appliances, I use the dryer top to store our laundry baskets). A folded bath towel from our stock of gym/spill/work towels does the trick as a changing pad -- it's super soft, and when it's soiled I can easily toss it in the laundry basket and grab another one.

Anyway, back to wipes...

When it's time for a change, I pull a few sheets off the roll, place them on an old Cool Whip lid, and squirt  some water in the center to wet them. The only disadvantage is having to pull off the sheets before each change -- I'm thinking a paper towel holder might make that task easier.

So how much do I save?

The going prices for Huggies and Pampers baby wipes (purchased in bulk) on Amazon.com is about $0.02 to $0.03 per wipe. That's about what you'll pay in store with a sale and a coupon, or for a store-brand wipe. The natural brands like Seventh Generation run about $0.04 per wipe.

My 6-pack of Viva paper towels cost a little less than $9.00 at Walmart -- I've seen better prices on sale, but haven't managed to grab one yet. Each roll is cut in half (12 rolls total), and each roll has 100 sheets. That equals out to 3/4 of a cent per wipe! Considering that I'm also avoiding wiping chemicals and preservatives on tender baby skin, I think it's a win-win. Granted, I think I use *slightly* more homemade wipes than store-bought per change, so I'll estimate my total cost as a penny "per wipe." I've cut my costs by half (at the very least), and I don't have to worry about finding great sales.

I'm much happier with my homemade wipes, too -- I can control exactly how wet they are, and now find that store bought wipes are often too dry for my taste. I go through my water fast enough that it doesn't go stale, but if it did I can just dump it and refill it.

I could cut costs even more by purchasing a cheaper brand of paper towels, but I love the flannel-like softness of Viva -- as well as the durability! The last thing I want is for a cheapo towel to disintegrate while I'm wiping up a major incident! *wink*

I keep a few packs of disposable wipes for travel purposes (my local Publix accepts the Winn-Dixie baby club coupons I receive monthly, so a 72-pack of unscented wipes is just $1.15), but I've found it so freeing to have an option that's cheap, healthy, and effective, even if there's no sale!

So yes, this is not the most eco-friendly solution in the universe. And yes, I am trying to use more cloth wipes for wet diapers. But for me, this is a frugal solution that works, and works well.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Little Bitties


Little Bitty ballet flats for a friend's little bitty lady. Red sueded leather on the outside, moleskin on the inside, all tied off with a satin bow.




Because every girl should have a pair of red shoes once in her life!