Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Bed to Crib Baby Pillow


My boy Lukas loves to cuddle, so I hated laying him in an empty crib. Although I used to think that babies should always be in their cribs, Lukas somehow always managed to make it into our bed.  I guess, things change when you have your own kids. 

Our relocating didn’t help the situation either, as often the only place for him to sleep was next to us.  Now that we are settled in, though, it’s time for him to finally move to his crib for the long haul.  I know this won’t be easy, as he is already almost 14 months old, but he’s just getting too big.  

I needed something to make the change a little bit easier.  I’ve tried giving him a stuffed animal, but he just thinks they are funny and then throws them out of the crib. 

I know, however, that as soon as he wakes up, he starts reaching out for anything to give him comfort, usually a piece of my hair or a pillow that smells like Mommy and Daddy. 

Therefore, I decided to make him his own pillow.  This pillow he can use in our bed or his, so that it stays the same (and smells the same) no matter where he is. 

As you can see from the picture, it sure looks like Lukas likes his pillow.  Let’s just hope he likes sleeping by himself, too. 

How to:

1.  For this pillowcase, I used the material from an old beige sheet made of 400 count Egyptian cotton.  Lukas is used to our pillows, so I figured a sheet would be similar material.

2.  Next, I measured out a piece of material to fit the baby pillow that I bought at Ikea.  I laid the material on the table, put the pillow in the middle, and then folded it over the pillow making sure  that there was about 6-8 inches of overlap in the middle.  I decided not to put a zipper or a button as closure, but to use a fold instead.

3.  Next, I took the ends that will be part of the open fold and sewed them closed like you would the bottom of a curtain.  I doubled them over and sewed the hem twice. 

4.  Then I laid the material down on a table upside down, folded it over like I had over the pillow before with the material overlapping in the middle about 6 inches and pinned the edges together.  I sewed around all of the edges.  Then I turned the pillow back right side in using the open fold.  The pillowcase is finished.

5.  Finally, I drew a picture on the pillow of a dumptruck using fabric markers.  You can also fill in your picture with color, but I actually like the black and white of this picture.  Maybe someday I’ll let Lukas color it in himself.

6.  Put your child to bed on his new pillow and watch him sleep.  Zzzzz…

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Photo Calendar Wall Hanging

Do you make calendars for grandma and grandpa every year? We always make ourselves a copy as well.  It's so nice to look at the pictures throughout the year.

And yet, it's a calendar.  I won't be hanging it up again.  The year is finished. There will never be a 2011 again.  I should just throw it away.

But, I can't bring myself to trash it.  These are 12 pictures that I chose out of hundreds.  These are the cream of the crop, the best photos.  Hmmm....

Then I had a great idea. I decided to make a wall hanging.  Jonas's room is under the roof, so part of the wall is really slanted.  I love to hang up pictures, but I'm not about to hang up frames on a slant.  Not only is it too dangerous, but I don't even know how you would do it.  This calendar wall hanging is perfect for such a wall and the slant makes it easy for kids to see the pictures.

Jonas loves his wall hanging and often wants to talk about the pictures and all of the interesting places that we've seen throughout the year.  This calendar is so easy to make and looks great on a wall.  You can easily finish it in one afternoon or evening.

Here's the how to:

1.  Cut all of the pictures off the calendar so that they are the same size, usually about the size of a piece of paper.  Then punch a hole in each corner with a hole puncher.

2.  Lay out all of the pictures on a table like you would like to have them on the wall.

3.  Cut pieces of string about 6-8 inches long.  Then making sure your knots are about the same on every corner, tie the pictures together making a checkerboard.  Also, tie strings to each of the four corners.

5.  Pull your pictures taut across the table and then measure the distance vertically and horizontally.  Add an inch to each measurement and then drill holes in the wall (we have brick walls here) and screw in a hook facing outwards into each hole.

6.  Finally, take the strings which are tied to each of the four corners of your wall hanging and tie them tightly onto the hooks in the wall. Finished!  Doesn't it look fabulous?