Turkey Time

I know I am not the only one who has a new addiction to Pinterest. There are so many wonderful ideas being shared, spurring inspiration for new projects. I created a special board for my little man, and with the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner, here is the latest creation for him (inspired by a pin, of course).

Googley-Eyed Turkey Onesie
When I saw a similar product on Pinterest, it immediately caught my eye. I made a few tweaks so I wouldn't have to sew, and I added googley eyes to give it a little personality.

Front

Back

Materials Needed:

• Brown onesie
• Blue, green, orange and red fabric (I used bandanas)
• Large googley eyes
• Scissors
• Hot glue
• Patch Attach (if you're not sewing)
• Iron
• Bronze fabric paint and brush

Instructions:

1. First, wash and dry all fabric, including the onesie. Iron them once dry, if needed.
2. Draw a feather the appropriate size for your onesie on paper. Cut it out to trace onto your fabric.
3. Trace and cut out a feather from each color of fabric. Then cut out a triangle for the beak in orange and a wattle in red.
4. Since I wasn't sewing or finishing the edges, I actually frayed the edges of my fabric to make it look a bit distressed.
5. Apply Patch Attach around the edges of the back of your fabric pieces and allow to dry for 15-30 minutes.
6. Heat up your iron on the cotton setting. Place your fabric pieces on your onesie and use the iron to press them on. Try not to scorch the fabric and simply press until the Patch Attach is clear and the fabric is adhered.
7. Use hot glue to adhere the googley eyes to the front of the onesie.
8. If desired, use a small paint brush to detail the feathers on the back of the onesie with the bronze fabric paint. Allow to dry for an hour or so.

That's all! To be honest, I haven't attempted to run the onesie through the washing machine since it's been complete; however, I just plan to hand wash it as needed. Our little sugar bear will only wear it a few times, at most, anyhow. 

Best of luck on your next Pinterest-inspired creation!

Miracle, No More

We are going on night five, sans Miracle Blanket in our household. Unfamiliar with the Miracle Blanket? It truly has been a miracle. You can check it out here. But, since our sugar bear is moving into the "self-soothing" stage of his growth, we've decided to cut our strong ties with the Miracle Blanket.

For those new mothers out there who have ever had an ounce of difficulty calming your baby, I (certainly not an expert, but experienced, nonetheless) recommend two things: Happiest Baby on the Block and the Miracle Blanket. As cheesy as it may sound, the theories explained in the DVD paired with the blanket were life savers!

I believe a little after one month is when we discovered the two above products, and we're going on nearly seven months, now. I'll let you explore on your own about why these things work so well, but the Miracle Blanket technically goes up to 14 weeks. Ha! Since the doctor had no problem with us continuing to swaddle, and our little one seemed to love it, we just weren't ready to give up the Miracle Blanket at that point.

You may think, "Well, it says it only comes in one size ..." Very true; however, after doing a bit of thinking and research online, I easily adapted our Miracle Blanket to fit our growing baby boy. I'm not much of a sewer, so I actually used Liquid Stitch (Another miracle!). I simply purchased a yard of jersey fabric, undid the stitches on the bottom of the blanket and extended its length by adhering the new fabric with Liquid Stitch. Voilà!

So, at our six-month checkup, the doctor explained the importance of self-soothing for the baby. Yes, yes I knew it was inevitable. The truth is, I secretly love the serene time I spend with the little sugar bear, rocking him, singing our prayers and lullabies, and making sure he's fast asleep before putting him down for the night.  But for his (and our) own good in the future, we need to begin easing out of that process -- especially when he awakes during the night.

We chose to cut our ties with the Miracle Blanket at the same time. Why? Well, after doing a little reading, it stressed the importance of babies having their hands free to self-soothe, as they may want to reposition themselves or bring them to their face. In addition, we just plain needed to bite the bullet.

Overall, I'd say the process is going well. We've had more nighttime awakenings, but rather than picking him up and rocking him back to sleep, we simply give him a pacifier and pat him gently. And, I must say it's so sweet to see him snuggled up, without his arms and hands strapped to his side like a straight jacket. However, we will never forget the wonders of our dear Miracle Blanket!

Personalized Pumpkins

In an effort to savor the autumn season and celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to share the how-to of a craft I completed this fall. Some friends may have already seen these, as I distributed a couple as gifts. These personalized pumpkins are super easy and can be worked on as you have a few spare minutes in your day. 

Materials Needed:

• 12" wooden circles
• Wooden rectangles
• Wooden initial
• Autumn ribbon
• Tan foam sheet
• Orange, green, ivory, plum and glitter paint
• Paint brush and circle sponge brush
• Hot glue gun
• Tacky Glue

The colors used are not specific. I chose these shades of green and ivory, because I had them leftover from painting our nursery and coffee table.

Instructions:

1. Paint wooden circle orange (I used spray paint), letters plum (I used acrylic) and rectangles green. Set aside to dry.
2. Once dry, use your circle sponge brush to paint dots on the orange circles. Use green to paint a leaf and vine on your pumpkin. If you wish, add a design on the green rectangles (stems). Allow to dry.
3. Once dry, the assembly process can begin! I used the Tacky Glue to glue the letters onto the pumpkin so that hot glue did not ooze out from under the letter. I also used the Tacky Glue to adhere the stem to the pumpkin.
4. Take your ribbon and tie it around the stem of your pumpkin in a bow.
5. If you plan to hang your pumpkin, take two small pieces of ribbon. Knot them together at one end. Take the other ends and hot glue them to the back of your pumpkin stem.
6. Lay your foam sheet on a table and put your pumpkin on top of it. Trace around the pumpkin with a pencil. Remove your pumpkin from the foam, and cut out where you had traced.
7. Now, I used both Tacky Glue and hot glue to glue the foam to the back of the pumpkin. I adhered the foam so that the back of the pumpkin would have a flat and more sleek backing.
8. Finally, I sprayed the pumpkin with glitter spray paint to give it a bit of a shine!

You can view the back of the pumpkin to the right. For the ones I gave as gifts, I wrote a personal message on the back. Also, I made a miniature-size personalized pumpkin for a family who just had a new baby.

If anything is unclear, please let me know. Otherwise, happy fall crafting!

Sucker to Social Media

Why do social media outlets of communication often seem so personal to me, when, in fact, communicating with someone(s) without visual or audible methods can be quite the opposite?

For example, yesterday I was browsing through my Twitter feed when a post from Lady Gaga caught my attention. I had a very six degrees of separation type of moment. She mentioned that she was going to be surprising Emily-Anne Rigal with an award at the TeenNick HALO Awards. I immediately recalled my communication with Emily-Anne, as I interviewed her as a Woman with Purpose for The Leadership Institute-Women with Purpose. The topic was Mean Girls Revisited: Confidence and Bullying, you can check out the interview here.

Recognizing our connection, I instantly replied to Lady Gaga's tweet and told her how I also had a connection to Emily-Anne. Somehow, I thought that Gaga may have noticed my post amongst her 15,489,564 following little monsters ... think again.

I think it's because of recognition and thinking for a moment that we may actually be a part of "their" world that poor saps like I follow, reply to and wait in anticipation for responses back from our celebrity idols. What do you think?

Don't get me wrong, I think social media is amazing. It allows for lines of communication to be had that would never otherwise be possible. It allows for sharing of information and insight into one another's lives that we may have never otherwise been able to learn. Perhaps, every now and then I just need to give myself a reality check that Lady Gaga, Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres aren't actually my friends, they just allow me to share a piece of their fabulous lives.

My First is Five

Today, my first baby turns five years old. In early January 2007, a coworker shared photos of a bundle of new puppies looking for homes. After some thought (probably not enough), I decided to check them out and ended up  bringing home an adorable boxer mix, who I named Penny.

The name Penny came from a song my Granny used to sing to me Pennies from Heaven. The song always brought me joy, much like I saw my new furry friend bringing. My then boyfriend (now husband) swore I was nuts for getting her, but I set out to prove him wrong.

Five years, numerous home damages, several nights of cuddling, many brisk walks and uncountable licks later, Penny is as much a part of our family as any other member. She and my husband are inseparable, and our seven-month-old sugar bear can't get enough of her.

Happy birthday, Penny Poo Poo! We love you very much.

Feeling a Little Rusty

I've been unemployed for nearly seven months now. WOW. But, I still work for "the man." It just so happens the man is my baby boy. Toward the end of my maternity leave, my husband and I sat down and realized it may be an option for me to stay home -- something I hadn't really considered previously. After toying with the idea, I had to make the decision, much like ripping off a band aid, to just do it.

I love love LOVE my little sugar bear, but the decision to stay home and care for him around the clock wasn't easy. I also really loved my job as a public relations and marketing specialist at a small non-profit company, not to mention my coworkers rocked. But, when I became a mother, a new chapter in my life began, and like a book you just can't put down, I couldn't lend my attention anywhere but to my little sugar bear.

Nearly seven months in to motherhood, I am more well-adjusted to his "routine." I've begun to dabble in random crafts around the house and for friends. In addition, I miss utilizing my trained talent to write, design and advise for PR and marketing purposes. With that said, I thought a good place to begin getting my toes wet and further exploring these areas would be to start a blog.

I'm feeling a little rusty. My goal is to share ideas and stories, teach and be taught. Ready for the next chapter in the book of Danielle ... let the blogging begin!