Etsy Shop Update

Despite my crazy Fall this year, I've still been trying to keep up with my Etsy Shop . Thanksgiving is right around the corner and then Christmas!! Since holiday shopping is the busiest time of year, I'm trying to get the shop stocked.

The bags are the same great design with more fabric choices.

I've also been adding more snack bags to match the lunch bags. More of these are to come.

Happy Fall and Thanksgiving next week! Where has the year gone?

Curtains - room #1

It has been somewhat of a whirlwind, these past 2 months, after moving into our new place. The first thing I wanted to take care of (Ha! I say that often, "the first thing") was the curtains. We have many outdated curtains.

In my oldest son's room the curtains weren't even dark enough for him to sleep - or block out the hot sun. This is a before shot. (If I were to have taken a picture of the whole room, you would see our tub, vanity and toilet that went into our "new" bathroom.)
The curtain rod really was fine to keep. The curtains needed to go. This window faces east and the first half of the day the sun cooks this room.
After:
I used a sheet! Honestly. It was cheaper to buy a set of twin sheets from Target and use for fabric than buy the yardage of fabric I needed for three windows in this room. I sewed blackout fabric behind the sheet. It's amazing what blackout fabric does. It really does live up to its name.

(This picture shows a little too much of the messy room)

A close up of the blackout fabric sewn into the curtain.

I used simple drapery hooks to attach to the wooden rings. this tutorial showed me exactly what I wanted to do.

A closer view of the fabric (i.e sheet ;)

These curtains cover 2 of the three windows in the room. I finished the third window's curtains last night, but need to buy a new matching curtain rod. They are hung on the old rod now, but can't open and close yet. The old rod is a pull cord and one panel can't exactly split in half to open.

I am also planning on making some pillows for my son's bed using some of the extra curtain fabric and a navy blue fabric to match his new bed spread and sheets. That will probably take me another 2 months the rate things are going over here. . .

Side Door Curtians

Our new house has SO many windows. It really has been a big - expensive - project to cover them or recover them. The curtains when we moved here were a bit outdated (i.e. lace gathering or screaming orange plaid). I described them to my sister as "church" curtains. They really are nice curtains quality wise, but they aren't modern or attractive.

We don't have air conditioning in our house and so at the end of the day when the sun comes in the west side of our house, things start to heat up. I purchased some blackout curtain fabric from Jo Ann Fabric. I started with the side door (below).

Before - Bad lighting, but this is our side door before I switched out the curtains. The heat at the end of the day would pass right through the glass. Also our neighbors could see right in at night if the light was on. Privacy and light coverage is what we have now!

After - Much better! That blackout fabric really does what it says it will. I was impressed. I have 11.5 more yards to help some other windows with heat and privacy. I'm planning on adding two strings/ties in from each end to tie the curtain up and make it more attractive in the winter months when the heat will be wanted. For now I just needed the window to be covered.

Wet Bags

Before I moved across the country, I had made a few wet bags to add to my Etsy Shop . I haven't had time to list them until now. My friend also asked me if I would make some for her and her new baby. It was a perfect reason to get my sewing room up and running sooner than later. I always love a reason to sew!


I have never been one to use cloth diapers for my boys, but I know many people do. These cute little bags provide a place to put the dirty diapers until they can be washed. Diaper bag or nursery, they fit right in.

I use these bags for swimming! I've been a swimmer all my life and transporting a wet suit home isn't always convenient. I've used many plastic bags and got many car seats wet. These bags have saved other things from getting wet and are a lot cuter than a plastic bag.

This is a smaller wet bag I made for my friend's diaper bag. I used Amy Butler Midwest Modern II collection - Garden Maze Sky fabric.

Below are images of the larger wet bag I made for my friends babies room. This bag will hold the bulk of the diapers. I wanted to make sure she could hang it where she wanted to I sewed in two snap closure handles on the top. I also added an invisible zipper for a nice finish.

Two snap handles

I'll be adding more bags to my Etsy Shop this week.

Finally arrived!!

We have been in our new place a week and a half now. Time flies!

We're getting unpacked and settled in nicely. Not to mention our only full bathroom has been ripped apart to be remodeled (by my wonderful husband). Because of redoing our bathroom, life has been a little more complicated. I have to keep our two little boys busy while my husband works.

My husband had a week and a half before he really started work, so we figured this was the best time to get it done. I'm excited and ready for it to be finished.

On a happier note my sewing room (yes!! I have my own sewing room now) is in the process of being unpacked and I'll be up and sewing in no time. I have a few projects that need to be done in a few weeks and so I'm going to be jumping right back into things.

My sewing room is our fully finished sun room. There are windows encircling the room. I need to get some drapes going pronto! I would love to sew them, but I might just buy some to get them in sooner (and honestly sometimes buying fabric and sewing costs more than finding a good sale somewhere).