The Professor's Present

It's the end of the world! And Xavier's birthday, so I thought I would shake things up this year.

I don't normally get Abby some birthday presents, so this year, I am starting a new tradition (I have been trying to create traditions for a few years now). I am going to take something of theirs, and revive it into something else. 

To kick this off, I converted a playmat, made by my mom, into a quiet book. 

Here's how...

 This is what the blanket looked like... 

First, I took the backing off (the bottom left-hand corner shows it), then I seperated the squares into strips, which is how my mom originally sewed them...

I had my awesome Mel to help with any seam ripping and creative layout...

 We took some of the squares off of the 3 piece strips, because not all of them had something the baby can play with. These are the first pages of the book, when you open it, which I left how they were...

 For the third page, I added a few buckles and will add a few buttons to hook onto...

 For these pages, I just added a piece of ribbon from another square, with a fastner, and sewed the velcro on that was ripping off...

 This is the front (or back, but I think It should be the front) which I got Mel to fringe a collar from a modified shirt, to create and X...

And this is the back, which I left as is (and if some of you recognize it, B, it's because it's from my 2002 Prom dress :) )

All in all, this was a pretty simple project for me! I'm very lucky to have such a great semstrest as a mother because all the ground work for this was already done! As a bonus, this was a lot of fun to put together for The Professor! Hope he enjoys it!

{Daily Odd Compliment: Is heaven missing an angel? If so, I'm sure you could find it.}

Tie into Wristlet

It's almost the end of the year again - crazyness! It means birthday party in 3 weeks and Festivus soon after!

So, now that we aren't knee deep in renovations, or scrambling to put our own house back together, I am getting into the gift making spirit! 

Here is what I did tonight... (here is where I got my inspiration)

First, I folded the tie to get an approximate idea of where I was going to sew it, then I cut off the excess.

Then, I sewed the unfinished edge of the tie...

Next, I folded the tie over, added the piece for the wristlet, and sewed it in place, to create a double pocketed wristlet... 

Buuuut.. the tie isn't wide enough, so when I sewed it, it no longer fit my phone and plastic. Oops.

Yup.

Oh well, it was practice! Off to Value Village to find wider ties! I will keep you posted!

{Daily Odd Compliment: You make me happier than when I see a well-groomed moustache. On a man, though, not a lady}

It's off to work I go

'Cause I love a rainy night

Every time it rains, I think of that song.

It's my last Friday off. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I have been off work! This week has been the most productive week out of the whole year. The first 6 months were spent sleeping/crying/getting through each day. The past couple of months were much better! I really feel privileged to have had so much time off! Thank you Canadian government! 

I really want to end my mat leave with a bang, but I feel like I have already done so much that there isn't a whole lot left to do! I decided to take out my sewing machine, and here's what I ended up doing today.. 

I went to Value Village and picked up all the parts for my Jean Grey costume.

(I bought a tank top to mod, but it's a little too tight - oops!)

I cut off the sleeves of the turtleneck to make forearm pieces. I then sewed them a little tighter, since they are going over a leotard, I knew I had to make them snug. I added an elastic at the top, as well as a couple folds to more accurately portray the cartoon version. 

Since my tank top idea didn't pan out, I modified the actual shirt. I cut the front and back in a v-neck, cut the armpits a little closer, and cut some side holes to be able to see the yellow leotard better. I also sewed up both sides of this to make it snug.

And lastly, I drew an 'x' onto the superhero belt. 

I thought about doing something for my legs, but there isn't enough material left from the shirt, so I may do something duct tape-esque closer to the day. 

I also attacked the front entrance. 

I finally put up my "A" hook (peg?) that I got as a present from one of my favourite people but that I have never gotten around to putting on the wall. I wanted a place to hang my purse, so this works really well! 

 Yesterday I went out and got this metal shelf to house our winter items. The bottom basket right now holds the Rollerblade related things, but will be replaced with the hubby's and I's winter gear. The Princess and Sesame Street pails are for the kids' winter gear (and baby crocs).

All in all, it's been a pretty productive day, and week! 

{Daily Odd Compliment: So you don't have a six pack. Or a four pack. But, damn, can you wear the shit out of a sweater.}

Husband Appreciation Day

I know there are a lot of jokes about husbands being slackers, but if that were always true, I think fewer of us would be married. 

And yes, I know the divorce rate is increasing, but they started off married. 

My husband has been gone for a few days now, and there are a few things I have accomplished since then, namely; I put an adhesive strip around the tub to seal it, I did all of our laundry, and I managed to attend the last half of church after having seen my parents do their half marathon. 

To be honest, I get a lot of stuff done normally, but I like to do even more when my husband is gone because I have less distractions, and I want to keep myself busy. 

I realise that this is sounding a little conceited, and that's not really the point - so I will get to the point. I used to not miss him as much when he went to Israel, or Belize, but now, I just want him to stay here. All the time. For some reason, while he's gone, the Brita water container is always empty, and the dog keeps bugging me to get let out. Weird. 

All this to say, I have a pretty great husband. High five to all of us smart enough to know how to pick 'em! 

{Daily Odd Compliment: 

You know in Home Alone 2 when the homeless lady in the park throws bird seeds at Harry and Marv, and they're like "No, not birdseed! This is bothersome!" That's so resourceful. That's like something you would do.}

Genius fix

One of my pet peeves is to organise something and then have a family member disregard my awesomeness.

I have recently realised, however, that maybe it's not their fault. I need to find better storage and organisation solutions. I am ALWAYS on the lookout for new ways to reuse or improve something! This may be my first post about specific organisational ways that improve my family life, but rest assured, it won't be the last! 

Here are my most recent 'ah ha' finds...

I know I can sometimes be a little picky, but I am especially picky about my towels. Who wants to use the same towel as their husband? I'm sure people do, and that's fine... but not for me! If I am ever unsure as to whose towel is hanging, I wash it - it's not worth the risk! What if I use a certain part of the towel to dry off my face?! Gross. 

Anyway, here is what I have come up with - clothespins with our names on it so we know which towel belongs on whose body! 

I am pretty proud of myself because I actually didn't steal this from Pinterest!

{ Side note (pun intended): I came up with this idea in the shower a few months ago, but because I had nowhere to write it down, I forgot about it as soon as I stepped out of the shower. My husband mocked teased me when I saw this shower note pad, but I really want one! A lot! }

This next one, however, is a modification of the tension rod under sink, which I did take from Pinterest. 

 The Professor currently doesn't have a closet because the closet space in this house was thought up by a bunch of nudists. Most of his clothes fit into his wardrobe, but there are still some pieces that I want to hang. So, I put a tension rod between the wardrobe and the wall - tada! I guess it's not the most original thing around, but hey - it works!

The last thing, really isn't that spectacular, but more practical. 

This bookcase is hiding (sorta) our billions of TV related cords. I put all the movies that were on the bottom shelf into a basket. I am just starting to get into hardcore babyproofing, so this is one of those things. Now, when The Professor is up and about, I can simply lift the basket onto the table and it's out of his reach. To the left of the bookcase, which isn't super obvious, but I wedged a mirror in between the wall and the bookcase to keep him away from the wires, and who doesn't love looking into a mirror?!

That's it for now! If you have some genius storage tips - please share! 

{Daily Odd Compliment: You're like Britney Spears before she married Kevin Federline. I don't think I need to explain myself any further.}

DIY Bridal Shower

This is my first time being a Maid of Honor, and definitely my first time organising a bridal shower! 
I tried to make as much as possible, to make it both affordable and personalised...

I started off with a theme... that was the easy part!

 Organising!

I asked all guests to keep that in mind when thinking of a gift.

I bought a few containers, and reused a few I already had, as Mel's gifts.

I had a wonderful vision of the sun shinning on the rooftop... red and purple balloons floating around... and the best cake ever...

I was pretty close! The sun shone for most of it. Once the rain started, we moved inside and had some yummy cake!

This is what the everything looked like...

I bought the green storage bin to house boxes of crayons I collected from the guests, for Wedding decorations. The storage bin and shower curtain I used as a table cloth, adhere to Mel's bathroom theme. I also got all the guests to sign the shower curtain with sweet words and advice so that Mel can be reminded how much we love her the next time she takes a shower. 

The frame and the purple striped box, I made. 
I went to bulk barn and got candy to fill 4 jars as prizes. I also made sure to get enough candy to use for the party favours. 
I also bought a set of 3 pink shallow dividers to house the utensils at the party, which match Mel's bathroom colours. 
Here's a little more detail...

 First, I roughly cut a rectangular piece of material, using the frame as a guide. Then, cut 2 smaller pieces and placed them in a diagonal. I folded the seams twice over, then ironed them (mostly to avoid changing out the thread in my sewing machine... and I would have had to iron it anyway... that's my logic).

 Next, I placed the 3 pieces together again, laid the cardboard into the frame, and cut the edges of the fabric more closely (that's the pile of scraps you see).

 Voila!

 I put markers in this pretty desk organiser at the party, which we used for the games. 

 Next, I made a cute little box, which Mel says she will be using for mail...

 I took a box of tissues, wrapped it with a pretty bag I had, and hot glued it into place. I left the handle because I thought it was neat and possibly useful.

That was pretty much it! It was a small group, so I didn't need a whole lot. 

Thanks for stopping by! As always, I hope you can draw inspiration and make fun things for your next party!


{Daily Odd Compliment: You're the cutest thing since animals decided to stop growing and started jumping into teacups. Which, I know, is a pretty recently phenomenon, but it is so darn cute.}

Serene lunchtime

Yes, serene.

The baby slept, so I sat outside in the sun, then made some lunch. As I ate, I watched

Easy A, which reminded me of when Jay and I went to see that movie on a rainy Friday, during our honeymoon in Boston.

I love September!

With both our birthdays coming up, as well as the bridal shower (coming soon to a post near you) and bachelorette party, there's lots of energy in our house! I almost forgot! JOURNEY!

I can't wait!

{Daily Odd Compliment: Your eyes are as blue as the ocean. Unless they're not.}