How To: Simple Baby Booties



Sweet little slippers for our upcoming arrival


Since I have FINALLY had some energy and free time this weekend (this whole developing a life inside of you thing is NO JOKE!), I decided I would do some crafting. Some crafting turned into a marathon day of gluing, painting, jewelry-making, photographing, brainstorming, organizing, sewing, you name it! All in all, my idea of a fabulous day!

My first project was finishing up the baby slippers I had started weeks and weeks ago. I have wanted so badly to make baby slippers similar to the ones my cousin, Kristin made for my nephew around Christmas time. After I found the pattern and instructions online (which I will happily share with all of you!), I got started with pinning and sewing and making a few of my own adaptations. Here is a great webpage that will take you through the process step-by-step and also includes a pattern for the slippers themselves.

Since I am not the most gifted hand-stitcher, I decided to match the thread I used to sew the slippers to the color of the fabric as best I could and create smaller stitches than those shown  in the instructions (in other words, the less people able to see my stitching, the better off we all are!). In addition, since I am having a girl and she will be the recipient of these slippers, I decided to sew ribbon along the upper edges of each pair of slippers to create a cute bow that could be tied in the front.



Black and gold slippers for baby girl to rock out during Steelers football season




Sweet little pink booties with white ribbon




Probably my favorite pair-gray felt slippers with purple ribbon.







Easy to Make Accent Pillows Using Upholstery Samples

Awesome accent pillows using fabric samples

I have zero shame in admitting my love for and possible obsession with craft stores, but my most recent trip to Joann Fabrics proved that my constant observation and shopping was not done in vain. My husband and I recently bought new bedspreads for the bedrooms of our new house but were not willing to spend the money on the accent pillows that went with the bedspreads. On my trip to Joann’s, I spotted a huge area in the middle of the store with fabric samples. I high-tailed it over to the samples to see if they would work for the pillows I wanted to make and to check on the cost, only to find that they were $2 each. Not bad! As I began to dig (‘cause the good stuff is ALWAYS at the bottom), the fabulous salesperson informed me that they were all 50% off, making them $1 each. Score!!! I snagged three samples that would match one bedspread, three to match a second, and a few I thought were too cute to pass up, despite not knowing what I could use them for.

Here is a picture of what each fabric sample I picked up looks like



I bought two yards of gray fabric for the backs of the pillows and cut out and pinned the fabric to the samples as soon as I got home. After running the sewing machine around the edges of the pinned fabric, leaving a gap of about three inches, I used Poly-fil for stuffing and hand-sewed the pillows shut. I could not be happier with the result!

Completed pillows with bedding in bedroom #1

And in bedroom #2