Last Minute Halloween Ideas

Party Bags


Garlands

Bats


Beards


Tutus


Cookies


More Cookies!


Table Decor

So are you the candy passer outer or the candy gatherer this year?
xoxo,
Rachel

Jersey Fabric + Newborn = Baby Burrito

I love having a Fall/Winter baby because it means lots and lots of blankets! I made these simple wraps out of double-knit jersey by using a flannel receiving blanket as a template and cutting my edges with my right-angle ruler, rotary cutter, and self-healing mat. You'll need a yard of fabric so you can cut it down to have perfectly straight edges. Mine measure about 33" x 39" once finished.

Each pre-washed blanket took about three minutes to make and has nice, clean edges that won't fray easily. They are perfect for swaddling because they have a little give, are thick enough to add an extra layer of warmth, and are soft on baby's skin. Perfect for this.

This is the original stroller blanket that I made for Sebastian three and half years ago. I used two layers and did some reverse applique for interest. I also folded the bottom layer of green jersey over the edges, sewed my hem, and then trimmed off a sliver on the very edge to reveal all three frayed edges. This blanket has held up well and still gets pulled out on cold nights. I was going to make Ruby a similar blanket but decided to simplify things and go for quantity this time around.

They roll up or fold up nicely for easy diaper bag storage and are absorbent enough to take care of a variety of messes that you're sure to encounter. Did I mention easy?!

xoxo,
Rachel

Pretty Things From RVA

Probably my favorite scrapbook kit from RVA to date. I love the faux Polaroid journaling spots that you can write love notes on, the Fall color scheme, and the card holder pages! All of these elements make me want to do a little art journal mini album RIGHT NOW.

Elsie's also added some pretty crocheted headbands, vintage boyfriend glasses, and the first installment of her 100 paintings project. Read more about it on her blog.

This large painting has been one of my favorites ever since I saw it in her studio during the RVA retreat. It's BIG!

It's rainy and windy here today and the road is completely covered in orange leaves from the tree across the street. It's kind of beautiful!

Today I'm finishing up the afghan, drinking lots of tea to keep this sore throat happy, and staying in my 'soft pants' as long as I want. Our midwife came for her weekly visit yesterday and said everything looks good. Ruby is still in a good position, has a strong heart rate, and has moved down enough to give me some breathing room.

If she happens to be born on Halloween, we'll have two holiday babies. It would really set us up for trouble if we ever have a third. How sad would it be for both of your siblings to have fancy holiday birthdays when yours just fell on a regular old day. I told Brett we'd have to try and time that for a February birth because there are like ten holidays that month. Better chances, right? HA! Believe me, we're not really ready to talk baby #3 yet.

xoxo,
Rachel

Very Vintage

I haven't been thrifting in ages due to a preoccupation with...um...having a baby, among other things, and have put PonyParty to pasture for a season while we enjoy other responsibilities that have been added to our schedules. Window shopping online has been a surprising substitute!

Here are a few of my recent vintage Etsy favorites.

Seaside Vintage

Becky Drolen

Vintage Avacado

Back Garage

Caffeine Queenie

Open Door Studio

Le Vintage Maison

Jess James Jake

Kitsch Cafe

Since we're taking a break from our own vintage sales we're now accepting blog sponsors who run vintage home goods stores! We've got a few spots left for November in both sizes so get in touch with Leigh-Ann if you've got a vintage store you'd love to share with Smile and Wave readers. More information about price packages and benefits here.

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. If anyone buys the yellow lotus bowls...tell them they were my favorite.

Why? Why Not.

It took me three hours last night to finally get a Boppy cover that fit and stayed closed. My first attempt was to create a regular pillow fold a little left of center. The concept was similar to how you'd make a slipcover for a regular square pillow but I could only get one side on. There wasn't enough give in the fabric to allow for room to stick the other side in. Thankfully I had used some mediocre fabric that can still be salvaged for something else.

I picked up this fabric on my trip to California in September. It's from one of my favorite quilt shops in Old Town Clovis. Someone is going to ask me who designed it but I've already thrown away the selvedge and can't remember. My apologies.

I used the fit from this tutorial after trying something else. I opted for vintage buttons instead of Velcro or snaps as the tutorial suggests and decided to use only one fabric rather than a soft fleece or chenille on the back. I didn't actually trace the pattern from the tutorial, just the concept of a fold over at the top, so I can't attest for the pattern's fit.

To get my shape I laid the pillow down on some fabric and gently pulled the fabric up along the sides and cut just above where the middle seam on the pillow would've been. It's a really rough way to get a good shape but it all pulled to fit. I had to take it in on one side to get things just right but it was a simple fix.

I should probably try to make another one for when this one gets baby juice on it but I'm not sure I've got the patience for more button holes at midnight. If you've seen another Boppy cover tutorial that worked for you, feel free to share. The best option may be to reuse an old cover as your pattern and work a zipper in. It's a great way to add another personal touch to the cache of baby accessories that make life with a newborn much easier.

xoxo,
Rachel

Baby Shower: Part One

I know Elsie loves me because she didn't make us do silly shower games last weekend like Guess the Mushy Candy Bar in the Diaper. GROSS! Instead we got to decorate cute onesies with some pretty fabric from her stash, eat the cutest homemade treats, and talk about babies! Here are some of the onesies from the shower. I love that I'll have a person in mind each time Ruby wears one of them!

I did a little Anthropologie inspired ruffle across the front of mine. You guys might have to stop me from adding little ruffles to EVERYTHING now!

I got a lot of gifts from our Target registry as well as some really fun handmade goodies! Here are a few things from the shower or items received in the mail recently. I also got some cloth diaper covers and those cute Mary Jane socks from a local girl in Springfield. BIG THANKS TO YOU ALL!

My friend, Katy, from high school brought along some caramel apples and these pretty flowers along with her gifts and they are strongly helping me deal with these rainy days. It seemed like everything from the flowers to gift wrapping to gifts were color coordinated. My friends have good taste!

I've been slowly but surely working on some items to stock up my Etsy shop while I spend my days staring at my new daughter and putting off laundry or dishes. I'm adding burp cloths made from vintage textiles, as shown below, as well as a new tutorial or two, and bringing back the quilt kit tutorial. They should all be available by the end of the week as long as I don't go into labor. I'll keep you posted!

Tomorrow promises us sunshine which means I'll get a decent picture of my ALMOST FINISHED granny square afghan. All 100 squares are joined and 2.5 edges have a border. I honestly never thought I'd get this blanket finished much less have it ready before Ruby was born so I'm feeling extra satisfied with this little project. I'd like to thank Hulu.com for all of those late nights keeping me entertained while I worked and my patient husband who held his tongue when I forgot to make dinner once or twice because I was almost done with row number six. And most of all, my thanks to Sebastian who hasn't asked me to make him one, too.

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. We've got a few spots left for November blog sponsors. Blog hits have kind of exploded in the last month and holiday shoppers are going to be looking for some fabulous handmade goodies so be sure to contact Leigh Ann before October 30th if you're interested.

Costume Ideas?

source

Stop by the Red Velvet Art blog to share how you're doing Halloween.

xoxo,
Rachel

The Longest Warm Up Of My Life

I played sports from Jr. high through college so I know the importance of warming up your muscles before you ask a lot of them. I've decided to hold onto the illustration that all of these contractions are just part of the warm up process. Things are happening slowly but they are still happening and all the work my body has been doing is getting me that much closer to the finish line. And maybe, just maybe, labor will be shorter because of it.

In related news, Elsie threw me the cutest baby shower on Saturday evening and it was so fun to hang out with some friends before Ruby gets here. I took my camera and then forgot to get it out and use it so pictures shall be borrowed from Elsie's feed when they are available.

Be back soon,

Rachel

I hope you're having a cozy weekend.

xoxo,
Rachel

How To Distract Yourself From Braxton Hicks

All images from Anny Purls' Photostream.

After three straight days of consistent contractions that were gathering strength and getting lower, I got a full day with about four thrown in altogether. FOUR.

Other than being thankful that every day is another chance to finish my to do list, I'm learning how waiting in anticipation of something that will cause you and everyone close to you to drop everything to take action to make sure all goes smoothly and never really knowing when that might happen because it could technically happen ANY DAY NOW, or three weeks from now if we want to get realistic, can leave you mentally exhausted at the end of each day and unable to hold a conversation with your husband about another weekend event that was scheduled with ROTC on her actual due date that he was going to have to get clearance to miss without getting all ferclempt and teary thinking noone is even going to be here to help me through contractions while I wait for the midwife and nurse to drive 30 minutes to my home to HAVE THIS BABY!

(deep breath)

That was how I felt on Thursday. I'm doing much better now that it's out of my system and DON'T WORRY FAMILY MEMBERS WHO READ THIS BLOG, Brett has been given permission to make up his drill weekend AND field training another time AND that two day trip to KC that has been up in the air for far too long with the Reserves will probably happen while Mom is here to help so that I'm not a hot mess while he's gone.

I've been meaning to share Sebastian's birth story to compare and contrast how different things have been leading up to due dates so far. I hope to get to that sometime soon. It's one of my favorite stories to tell.

Be back soon with pretty things.
xoxo,
Rachel

I Love Me Some Good Illustrations

The Bright Red Star found here.


Count to 10! also found in Yaelfran's photo stream.

xoxo,
Rachel

My Two Favorites

I spent about two hours yesterday afternoon trying to convince my son that putting clean pants on would be his ticket to getting to go outside to play. He decided to spend those two hours playing inside with his trains sans pants. I let him because I'm pretty sure I didn't like wearing jeans when I was young either. I spent a few good years of my life in stretchy pants with stirrups.

I spent about three minutes gathering up these beauties thinking I might turn them into fitted crib sheets. Then I remembered there were five other half finished projects needing more immediate attention. I sat on the floor of our dining room cutting and pinning vintage fabric to absorbent terry cloth for about an hour, stopping every now and then to let a contraction work itself out. I counted about 20 of them altogether today. Nothing uncomfortable or longer than 15 seconds yet but it was good motivation to stay on top of the prioritized to do list. You know, just in case.

xoxo,
Rachel

Sponsor Feature ~ Making Chicken Salad

Katherine of Making Chicken Salad continues to feature great tutorials on her crafty blog. The latest is a finger-knit rope that looks lovely as a holiday garland. She's provided great step-by-step photos to get you started. I guess I missed out on this technique when I was a kid but you can be sure I'll be adding some to our decor for Christmas.

While you're there, you'll also want to check out her new online craft class for great holiday gift ideas. Read more about it here.

Have you guys started planning for the holidays yet? I like to get my gift list started about now so that I have enough time to procrastinate before actually making/buying them. I've got Christmas decorations from last year that I'm still excited about but would like to accomplish an advent calendar of some sort and finish that quilt that I started. I can tell holiday decor ideas are starting to trickle into Flickr feeds. It's the best time of year for crafty eye candy! Expect a post on that soon.

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. If you'd like more info on becoming a blog sponsor see our ad inquiry page or contact Leigh-Ann for more details.

How I Deal With Feeling Overwhelmed

This morning I woke up with a sore shoulder, the overwhelming feeling that Monday had already started without me, and that I would never find the time or resources to check off even the highest priorities on my 'GET ER DONE' list before this baby showed up. How did I combat my anxiety? I rearranged.

If analyzed, it probably has something to do with feeling the need to have control of a situation and creating a holiday vignette on top of my pink cabinet did that for me today. Plus, it was about time to add a little more pumpkin spice to the inside of our house. I simply gathered what I had stashed away in various closets and drawers and after a few different arrangements, settled on this one. I stepped away feeling like I had accomplished something that wasn't altogether useless and was then able to move on and face Monday. It's how I deal.

I was at Walgreens tonight (Monday) picking up some items for our home birth that I was supposed to have purchased two weeks ago and wondered if it was really obvious to other customers that I was buying all of this stuff because I was about to have a baby. I laid my Vaseline, super absorbent maxi pads, rubbing alcohol, peroxide, Q-tips, and a few other unmentionable items from the same aisle on the checkout counter and blurted out, "I'm getting ready for the baby," to which the male checker responded..."Oh, yeah?"... (awkward pause)...

He was generous to offer up his own awkward commentary on his head cold drainage rather than remain silent and let me feel like I'd just given away too much information. Now me and checkout guy at Walgreens are a little bit more aware of each others' personal information than we'd like to be. At least I got something checked off of the list.

xoxo,
Rachel