long tutu with satin sash tutorial.

For Witches Night Out this year we decided to dress up as rainbow witches. 

After a lot of people asking about our tutus I decided to throw together a quick tutorial.

We ordered a bolt of tulle here. We used anywhere from 30-40 yards for each tutu.

 Cut the tulle into 6" strips.  We found it was easiest to cut the tulle
into one yard sections, roll them up, and cut multiple yards at once.

 Taking two of the 6" strips tie the tulle onto a ribbon using the loop and pull
method. The ribbon will be hidden in the sash so the color doesn't matter.

 

 You will vary the lengths of the tulle. Some will be touching the floor others will be folded in half.

 We purchased 2 yards of satin and cut two 10" strips and stitched them
together making a 4 yard sash that is 10" wide.  Fold the sash in half inside out. 
Stitch the bottom and sides leaving the center open to put the tulle into 

Turn right side out and press your seam allowance. 

 Pin sash onto the tutu.

 The sash will cover the knots and ribbon.

 Sew on the sash.

Finished product. 

finally finished.

Once upon a time while in the evil land of Pinterest, I happened upon this quiet book.  I was instantly in love and knew Gage HAD to have one.  I had a quiet book growing up and still have it today.  I love handmade gifts and this one seemed perfect for Gage's second birthday.  So the obsession began.  I spent days looking up page ideas.  I loved everything about Shea's book, but knew I would have to change a few things to make it more "boyish".  I also knew I wanted to use fun printed fabric like Shea did instead of the commonly used felt.  This alone probably tripled the time involved in this project.  So without further adieu... I present to you Gage's quiet book. 



I used The Quilted Fish pattern for the general construction of the book, but designed most of the pages based on different things I found online.

I also added an extra page to the book because I couldn't narrow it down to 10 pages.

The first page I copied from Shea. The activity is pretty obvious... lace and tie a shoe.



The counting carrot page is directly from the pattern.  The barn page was inspired by this one.



The activity is counting and number matching.



Animal finger puppets to play with.



The eye spy page is also from the pattern.  There are matching magnetic pieces for each square. The dump truck came from Vanessa at Lella Boutique.  The dirt is soft and the wheels button on. 

 

This page was the worst page in my opinion.  It was extremely time consuming and tedious.  Not to mention that I did not have a single novelty fabric prior to starting this book.  Shea was actually kind enough to send me a few of the fabrics to help me out.  Thank you again for all of your help!  You were so sweet to answer all of my questions!

If I had to choose I would say these two pages are my favorite.  The suitcase was again inspired from Shea's book.  Instead of a dress up doll I loved the idea of Mr. Potato Head as seen here.

The suitcase holds all of Mr. Potato Head's pieces.

You can raise and lower the pirate ship's sails.  The robot page has a zipper compartment to store treats and the arms and legs are elastic.  I stole the idea from Homemade by Jill. 

The cookie dough and baking sheet is from Imagine Our Life.  She is a genius when it comes to quiet books designs.  You match the shapes on the dough page and match the colors on the baking sheet.



The last page is the mailbox page.  Again, the idea was from Shea, but I used this template. 
JD and I each wrote Gagey a short letter.



So there it is.  It isn't perfect, but there is a whole lotta love in all those pages.  Overall, I am happy with the way it turned out.  It was a fun project, but I am so glad it is finished!  Time to start brainstorming for Krew's.

The Making of a Quiet Book

Thanks to pinterest, I decided I wanted to make Gage a quiet book. Initially the idea was to give myself plenty of time so that I could give it to him for his second birthday. Well, once I started I became... umm... pretty much obsessed. Almost every night after Gage goes to bed I work on the book. I am having so much fun making this silly little book! I bought the basic pattern from The Quilted Fish. I really like the general construction of her book, but have modified or made up most of the pages based on things I have seen online. Anyway, here is the progress I have made so far...

I still need to buy an actual shoe lace for the "Chuck Taylor" page. I am working on making farm animal finger puppets that will live in the barn and stuffed carrots for the garden page.

Murray City Firefighter

JD is officially a full time firefighter/paramedic for Murray City! It has been an long journey and I am so proud of him. Before JD started testing I was completely unaware of how long and intense the hiring process can be to become a firefighter. It is an extremely competitive field; often times there are hundreds of applicants for one position. I am so grateful for all of his hard work. We have been so blessed and are so grateful for everyone who helped us get here.

I'm Guilty

So every now and again you can find great steals on The Gilt Groupe. Today was one of those days! I couldn't pass on these adorable Inntrax Twig Crayons. They were 50% off and they will go great in Gage's woodland themed room. It's never too early to start Christmas shopping, right?

{grateful}

This last week has been really hard for me. I have been extremely sick, and as hard as it is physically, it is the emotional part I have struggled with. I have not been able to hold and love on my baby boy and it is killing me. This week has however, opened my eyes to the generosity of my friends and family. I have always known my friends and family are great, but I underestimated how supportive and generous they all truly are.

JD had to work a 48 hour shift at the fire station this week and I knew I was going to have to ask for help with Gage. Admitting I need help is hard for me. I posted a comment on facebook asking if anyone would be willing to watch him for me. The responses were overwhelming. I broke down crying as I read comment after comment of so many people willing to help. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for my friends and family. You mean more to me then you will ever know. I hope I can be half the friend that you all are to me. I love you all.

Five Months

Gage is already five months old. He is so much fun! He rolls over both ways, from back to belly and belly to back. He can sit up on his own for short periods of time. He is such a good baby... we are so blessed. He sleeps from 9:00 until 8:00 pretty much every day. He smiles and laughs and couldn't make me any happier. I always knew I wanted to be a mother, but I never knew how much he would steal my heart. He loves his binky and puts everything in his mouth (toes, toys, and pretty much anything he can get a hold of). He loves bath time and splashes water everywhere! He is my world.

I got a dSLR for my birthday last year and have been practicing photography for the last year or so. I am finally getting to a place where I am comfortable sharing my photographs. Here are a few of Gage's five month pictures that I took last week. I do have to say that this adorable little boy makes it pretty easy to take cute pictures.