Little One Shoes

I posted pictures before of these awesome little shoes.

Since then I have made several pairs for all the new little babies that have been entering the world. While I used a pattern and tutorial that I found here, there are a few modifications I made, and I thought I would explain them in more detail.

What you need:

About 1/4 yard main fabric and lining fabric

Coordinating buttons

Velcro

*Modifications in bold.

First, using the pattern, cut out two of each piece in the main fabric and lining fabric.

On the larger pieces, put right sides together. On the sole piece, put right side out.

Now, sew a seam where the red line is on the above picture on both shoes.

Turn the larger pieces inside out and press flat. Now sew closed where the red line is in this picture, just enough to keep the two pieces together.

Now time to do the topstitching. I somehow didn't get a picture of this, but you can use the guideline from the previous picture (the one where it's inside out) to sew the topstitching. That's where you want to sew, but just do it right side out.

Now it's time to pin the two pieces together. You can use the markers that come on the pattern, or, just eyeball where you want the little flap to be. Right sides need to be inside, make sure the little flap is underneath.

Hand stitch the pieces together. (Make sure to keep the existing stitching on the inside of the shoe.)

Turn inside out and voila! You have shoes!

Sew your preferred button on the flap.

Velcro time. I usually sew the soft side on the flap.

Scratchy side on the shoe.

Done! Awesome!

Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to do. And they are so cute!

3 Months

I've made it past the first trimester!

Yea!

 I'm amazed how quickly this baby is growing. Or, more like, I'm surprised how fast I'm growing this time around. I already feel big, and I've only begun the growing process. I'm hoping to start working out again, which should help with the feeling big-ness.

 

Ryder has been such a good boy lately, and every day he becomes more and more of a kid, instead of a baby. We're already indoctrinating him to like the coming baby. This video shows him with a little 12 week model of a baby we got from our midwife. He's so cute!

Car Organizer: A Tutorial

It's easy to have a messy car with kids.

I have only begun in this adventure.

But there is help for the clutter that goes along with extended periods of time spent in the car.

A car organizer.

It may not look very glamorous, but it looks a lot better than toys, books and food all over the floorboards and seats.

What you'll need:

An over-the-door pocket shoe organizer (about as wide as a car seat)

Ribbon (and fray check)

1 thin wooden dowel, cut the width of the organizer

Eyelet kit

Coordinating thread

2 large pony beads

Note: one shoe organizer makes two or three car organizers.

First you'll cut the organizer to your desired length. As you can see, I only went two pockets down. You can make it however long you want it. Cut as close to the bottom of the pockets as you can.

Now, you're going to fold down the top to make a casing for the wooden dowel. Pin in place and check to make sure the casing is the right size.

Sew the casing, then run the dowel through.

Here's where the picture guidance kind of ends. I took pictures of the process, but somehow I deleted the pictures before uploading them on my computer.

If using the very top piece of the shoe organizer, there will already be eyelets to run the ribbon through.

But, if not, you'll need the eyelet kit. Mark a spot that looks good to you, and install the eyelets.

Cut a piece of ribbon at 25 inches. This leaves enough room to slip it over the headrest of the car seat. Fray check the ends.

Run the ribbon through the eyelets with the ends coming out the front. String the beads on and tie a knot around them.

And there you have it. A car organizer that is simple, inexpensive, and custom.

Car Seat Blanket: A Tutorial

My son was born in the heat of the Texas summer (and when I say heat, I mean 105 degrees). Needless to say, blankets weren't heavily used for several months. But my sister-in-law just had a little girl in January, so I thought that a blanket would be a nice gift. A blanket with ties that can stay on the car seat/stroller easier? Even better!

This project is so easy, I don't see why they aren't more common. Even a non-sewer could pull this off. You don't even really need a machine.

What you will need:

Baby blanket

(the measurements I give are based on a basic baby blanket you buy at Babies R Us)

Ribbon

Fray Check

Coordinating thread

Start by marking the spot for the ties with a pin. I went 9 1/2 inches down,

and 6 inches across from the edge.

So the spots will be about where you see the ribbons in this picture.

 Now trim your ribbons to the right length. I did 35 inches so there would be plenty of ribbon to have some pretty bows when tied. Make sure you fray check your ribbon so there's no fraying.

Place the center of the ribbon right in the spot you pinned. Now just sew a straight line up and down two or three times.

DONE!

Easy, right?

So simple and so useful.

Ryder had to check it out.

Along with this project, I had a few other things I made for my new niece that I thought I'd share.

Hooded towel. This was a quick project. I think I might make one for Ryder because he's already kind of outgrowing the little baby hooded towels. This one is a full-sized towel so kids can use them for a long time.

I used this tutorial:

http://prudentbaby.com/2009/10/baby-kid/diy-hooded-baby-towel/

Crochet ankle sandals. These look so cute on and are one of the quickest crochet projects I've ever made.

I used this tutorial:

http://misadventuresofhandmade.blogspot.ca/2012/02/barefoot-baby-sandals.html

Fabulous Tiramisu

My current favorite dessert is tiramisu. Who wouldn't love it? Coffee, liqueur, and creamy goodness. I always want to order some when we go to an Italian restaurant, but I'm always so full from dinner that I can't even think about it. So this year, for my birthday, I decided that I'd make tiramisu at home so I could enjoy it for days instead of one bloated evening!

Happy Birthday to me!

This recipe is from kraftrecipes.com. Look up "Philadelphia Fabulous Tiramisu." It's a cheaper version because it uses cream cheese instead of marscapone (can you say, "ridiculously overpriced?") but it's still extremely tasty. I'm sure if you really wanted to use marscapone you could substitute it for the cream cheese.

Tiramisu

2 pkg (3oz each) ladyfingers

(or one recipe of my homemade ladyfingers)

2 Tbsp instant coffee

1 tbsp sugar

1 c. boiling water

2 pkg (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. white sugar

2 Tbsp almond flavored or coffee flavored liqueur

2 c. whipped topping, thawed

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Dissolve instant coffee and 1 Tbsp sugar in boiling water.

Arrange half the ladyfingers in the bottom of a 13x9 dish. Brush half the coffee mix over the ladyfingers.

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add 1/2 c. sugar and liqueur, mixing until blended. Gently stir in whipped topping.

Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the ladyfingers.

Top with remaining ladyfingers; brush with remaining coffee.

Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over ladyfingers.

Dust with cocoa.

Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Voila! Sweet deliciousness.

Happy Birthday!

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Ladyfingers, Ooh La La!

One of my favorite desserts is tiramisu. The first time I wanted to make it, I looked around for the ladyfingers and couldn't find any! Granted it's been a while since that first time and even though I live near the not-big-city, I'm sure they have them now. However that first time I decided that I could make my own. Ever since, that's the way I prefer to do it.

This recipe came from joyofbaking.com. I don't have the exact link but I'm sure you could find it if you did a search.

Ladyfingers

1/2 c. flour

(the original recipe calls for cake flour but I just used regular flour)

3 egg yolks, room temperature

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 egg whites, room temperature

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

3 Tbsp white sugar

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper.

In electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and 2 Tbsp sugar on high speed for 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and pale yellow. Beat in the vanilla.

Sift the flour over the batter but do not fold in.

In a new bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.

Gradually add the 3 Tbsp sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

Stiff peaks!

Fold the whites into the egg yolk mixture in three additions.

Mix only until incorporated.

You can use a pastry bag, or for a quicker solution, just snip the corner off of a gallon ziploc bag.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag.

Pipe ladyfinger-sized wafers at least 3 inches long on the parchment paper.

Once you've piped all the cookies, sprinkle the powdered sugar on top if you'd like. I didn't because I knew I'd be using them in tiramisu.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but barely browned and are still spongy when touched. Place parchment paper on wire rack for a few minutes, then remove ladyfingers while still warm. Ladyfingers get stale if not used immediately or soaked in liquid, so freeze them if you want to store them.

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