Hooded Towel

My friend, Laura, is expecting twins:  one boy, one girl.  When my son was born, almost ten years ago, my sister made him one of these hooded towels, and he still uses it at age nine.  It has proven to be a lasting gift that has gotten a lot of use.  I prefer the hooded towels made out of these thick towels because the ones that most companies make for babies usually do not soak up as much water, and are just kind of a wet mess after use.  These, in contrast, are so snuggly.

Here's how to make them:

1.  You will need a regular sized bath towel, one wash cloth, matching thread, and a sewing machine.

2.  Cut the tags out of the wash cloth.  The wash cloth will be the hood of the final product.

3.  Fold the wash cloth in half, inside out.  Measure with your pointer finger on the folded edge.  This is where you will start sewing.

4.  Sew from that point, all the way to the corner, forming a triangle.

5.  Fold the triangle away from the front of the hood and sew it down along the edges.

6.  Do the same thing to the other side of the hood/wash cloth.

7.  Turn the hood right side out.

8.  Fold the towel in half.

9.  The center is on top of the red and yellow pin located in the middle shown here.  Fold about a pointer finger's distance to meet the inside, center of the towel.  Pin the towel in place and do the same thing to the other side.

10.  Lay the completed wash cloth/hood on top of the center where pins are located, making sure to center as well.    The front of the hood should be on top as shown.

11.  Sew all layers together, except for the front of the hood.

12.  I like to finish the inside with a needle and thread to keep all the layers from showing, plus it will give the hood and towel connection some extra strength for durability.

See how much prettier that is now!

My son modeling the finished product. 

Thanks Laura for having twins so I could have the privilege of making these towels.  Fun stuff.

http://www.cafepress.com/DreamQuartet

Diapers and Divas

I have a crazy fun group of friends.  One of our thirty something buds (Cyndi) is having her first baby soon, and we are all overjoyed as a result.  We decided, together, that we were going to have a lot of fun at her baby shower and, of course, get crafty with it.

The theme was Diapers and Divas.  Everyone invited is part of the TuneTown Show Chorus, and we are a bunch of divas for sure.  The hostesses (Anderson, Lynn, Kim, Lindsay, Shauna, Jen, Ashley and myself) wanted to make sure we expressed that.

My friend, Lynn, used her cricut, some ribbon, and a few feathers to come up with fun banners and a WOW diaper cake.  Check it out:

The cupcake decorating was my project, along with the bakers of the cupcakes, my friends Lindsay and Shauna (and I'm pretty sure Lindsay's husband got involved in the baking as well).  We were all proud of our group effort to get these things made at a low cost to everyone.  

I made the cupcake toppers out of some scrapbooking paper, clip art, popsicle sticks, glitter glue, and some hot pink curly ribbon.  I chose to make homemade icing just because I can get it the consistency I need for it to be.  The recipe is one I have been using for years, and it comes from my Betty Crocker cookbook:

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (give or take)

4 T milk

The original recipe calls for some lemon extract, but I don't use that, and the frosting was a big hit.  I didn't have a fat frosting tip, so I just cut the end off of a pastry bag I had.

Here is a closeup of the final product.

Great decorations, crazy games, a beautiful home (Kim), and the nuttiest friends ever made for a fun Diapers and Divas Day.  We can't wait to meet our new little diva, Nora Gracelyn, who is due in another month.

My Motto

Share your talents and reveal to others their own.

I adapted this motto from something I was reading online one day.  The article was actually about financial stuff and things, but I don't really remember.  I just felt like the adjusted statement above said what I wanted others to know about me. 

I believe that God gives us each our own unique talents and that we need to share them.  At the same time, I know that many of us have abilities we don't even realize are there until someone helps us find that potential and build on it.

There are few things in this life that give me as much joy as seeing the pride on people's faces after they have completed a project they didn't know they were capable of.  When they have finished their task, they have tangible evidence that they have achieved something.

This blog is a forum for me to share the things I come up with using everyday, simple objects.  My hope is that others will want to join in the fun and share your projects with me as well.  I'm always looking for new ideas.