That Productive Second Trimester

I've been a busy little bee over here today. I think it's true what they say about the second trimester of pregnancy, lots of energy and motivation. I had it today for sure!

Here's what I got done:

 

 I finished 3 new coupon organizers that I started yesterday at Trisha's. We had a really fun day sewing together. Work is a lot more fun with someone to talk to.

I made 4 new cloth napkins with the cutest piggie fabric ever! (Nick loved them, by the way.)

I completed a very cute little floppy hat for the baby. The pattern I used is TERRIBLE, but the fabric's pretty great. I saw those ballerinas a couple weeks ago and had to go back for them, hehe. So cute!

 I also made 4 new Crochet Hook/DPN Rolls. Did you know I recently added these to my shop as a new item? They're pretty fun to make because they don't take hours & hours to finish. I'm working on the sewing pattern for them now too.

And my last little project for the day was to cut out a little onesie from this adorable stretchy fruit fabric. I love this stuff, I've got enough to make a few things out of it. I'm starting with the long sleeve onesie since my baby is coming at the beginning of the cold season. I hope she likes it. haha

Not bad for a day's work, eh? Wonder what I'll do tomorrow...hmmm?

Making Room for Baby

I'm sure you're all dying to know what I've got planned for the baby's room, right? I don't want to keep anyone from sleeping at night so I'll give you a quick preview, haha. (I apologize in advance for the wordy post).

As I mentioned before (I think), I already had fabric collections picked out for the baby, boy or girl. Now that we know it's a girl, I've placed the order and received a delicious box from Fat Quarter Shop (LOVE that shop, btw. Can't say enough about their customer service and man are they fast).

Here's the fabric in all its glory...

Everything but the gingham is from the Dolly Dresses collection by Lakehouse. I decided I wanted to go with the fact that it's a girl but not with a theme or anything too princessey or anything like that. Just bright and cheerful with a feminine flair. I got a ton so I would have enough to make a patchwork bumper and a quilt to hang on the wall above the crib.

I'd said earlier that I might paint the room green, but after going through the fabrics, I decided on a periwinkle blue color. It's just going to work better with the rug we like and the curtain fabric etc.  I went with the color in the middle. I painted the room yesterday and I'm really happy with the color, it's not too blue and not too lavender.

I've painted 3 walls this color. The 4th wall will have white wood tongue & groove paneling, kind of like wider bead board, like this. I'm going to have white wood blinds and white trim too. The pink gingham you see above will be an upper gathered curtain that goes across the window with the white floral as curtains. I might add some rick rack or eyelet trim to the gingham curtain too, not sure yet. That blue floral on the bottom is going to be a crib skirt. I can't show you a picture of the crib because it's being given to us by a friend. It's a honey colored wood, very nice & simple, but I don't have it here yet.

 We got this dresser at IKEA and will place it along one of the colored walls with a changing pad on top. I can hide all my diapers & stuff in the top drawer. I might even use some of my fabric to make a colorful cover for the changing pad, we'll see how it goes.

I've already purchased some fun hand painted knobs for the dresser on Etsy. I'll show them to you when they arrive in a few weeks, but here's an idea...

We got new white closet doors as well (no more dark brown ones, eugh), I'll use two of the knobs on the closet too. Cute, no?

That's about all that we have lined up so far. I am still looking for a cozy chair. I kind of hate the usual nursery glider, so it's been tough. Not to mention the fact that Nick is 6'3" tall. Find a nice looking chair he can lean his head back on, I dare you! haha

I hope to pick up some fun artwork on Etsy too, but I haven't decided on anything yet. I know I love this..

and I saw this in a shop not long ago. I think it'd be so cute above the changing table/dresser.

So, that's how the baby room is shaping up. I'll post some piccies when I have them. It's hard to photograph a bedroom you know. :)

Here's a view of the bump at 23 weeks (disregard my face and hair, I don't photograph well and I don't exactly go get my hair done when I'm about to paint!). :) Too bad about the popcorn ceiling, let's just work with what we've got.

That's a home made belly band, btw. Yep, I'm not paying $20 for a stretchy piece of fabric. No sir.

Frost

We tried a new doughnut shop this weekend in Mill Creek called Frost. Their graphics are enough for me, everything is color coordinated in pink & brown ~ love that!

Though we rarely eat doughnuts, it was fun to go in and pick one. Can you guess which one's mine? hehe They were pretty good!

What's New, Cupcake?

Did I ever tell you about the book Hello, Cupcake? It's a really cool sort of cookbook with all kinds of great ideas for cupcakes that look like everything from dogs to TV dinners. I've never actually made anything from it, but I got the authors' second book anyway...

This one is really similar, just more great ideas. What's great about these books is that you use regular household tools and candy etc. to make everything. You don't need any special cake decorating tools.

 You know I'm a sucker for things that look like food. But these are cupcakes that look like a big sandwich!!

I think these would be great for a summer barbecue.

Yarn anyone? They didn't leave out the crafters. Pretty neat, huh?

 This weekend we had Trisha & her family over, so I decided to give What's New, Cupcake a try.

I started with a bunch of candy. I took some doing, but in the end I found everything I needed.

 **Note: Don't get distracted talking to your husband when you have taffy in the microwave, just sayin'. oops

  And here's the final product, I call them Ode to Panda Express. I think they turned out pretty good, don't you? haha

I look forward to trying out another idea from one of those books. These were really fun! (I think the broccoli was the best part!)

It's a Baby!

Our 20 week ultrasound went well yesterday, everything seems to be progressing fine and I am gaining just the right amount of weight (which is amazing considering my appetite!).

Here's one of the piccies they gave us. We got a whole cd of baby pictures to take home, haha. Can you see the baby's little face?

I guess you're wondering what the sex is, huh? I'll give you a hint....

I bought this adorable knitting pattern on Etsy last night from BEKAHknits. She sent it really fast too, I love that! Check this one out, omg!

So, yeah, it's a GIRL!!!

Of course, I already had fabric lines picked out either way. We'll be going with Dolly Dresses from Lakehouse. This is just a few of them. 

There are also polka dots, gingham, elephants and more colors too (periwinkle blue and grass green *sigh*). I think it'd be fun to paint the room grass green...that way it'll work for anyone once we get around to a second baby (I know, I'm a planner, I can't help it). Girly but not too frilly. You like?

Now, I gotta go shopping......

iCrochet

I was looking around online the other day for crochet patterns and I came across a couple really cute ones on the Lion Brand website. You have to sign up, but it's free and the have a ton of free patterns. Here's what I made:

A nice cuppa tea. Nick chose the tea color, he likes a lot of milk so it's kind of pale. I love the pattern, it's super easy and quick. I need a quick project every now & then. 

And for my future baby...

 a little caterpillar. I put a bell inside the head. It's just enough to make noise but not be annoying. I'm not a fan of noisy toys. We find out the sex of the baby tomorrow (yes, I'll be sharing). It'll be nice to refer to Boo Boo as a "he" or "she", and I can settle on my baby room fabric too! haha