Thing Thursday - Baby Presents!!

So within the past few weeks, THREE friends have had little munchkins :-P All little baby boys, and all SUPER adorable. And because I'm fairly impatient... I'm going to show you all what I'm giving each of these munchkins... but in the event that their mommy's read my blog... I'm not telling who's getting what :-P

SO:

A Merry Go Round Blanket (Crocheted) from Red Heart

It's a simple pattern, and really fun. There's so many ways you can change it up with different yarn colors, etc. It's made from Lion Brand Yarn's Baby Soft Sportweight yarn (100% machine washable and dryable - important here people...) and I got all nifty and used "Baby White Pompadour" which is a STRAIGHT yarn, but with one strand being a reflective shiny white. Too bad I learned the hard way that they don't sell it at MY Michaels. Ah well. HOWEVER, Since I don't like gauging, or really following directions, my blanket is not made TO the pattern... but it'll give you the overall idea on HOW to make this blanket. I started this one a LONG time ago... I'm not a very diligent "hooker" :-P

A Stuffed Turtle (from Make It and Love It)

This was made of cotton fabric I had left over from other projects. The red and green were from a gator backpack I never finished (and never had an intended recipient for anyway, so it's all good) and the blue is leftovers from my bean bag chair! All the pattern pieces fit together on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper (and it's free on her blog), so it's PERFECT for scraps you may have lying around. I WANTED to do the shell in Red, Yellow, Green and Blue... but I apparently have no yellow cotton in my house. I even contemplated cutting up something... to no avail though...  It still came out super cute! It doesn't take MUCH stuffing (although Make It and Love It stuffed theirs MUCH more than I did... I like squishy toys :-P) All-in-all... it probably took me maybe 2 hours? Not bad, considering I definitely didn't just "sit down and sew it."
 
A Car Seat Canopy (reversible even!) from Sweet 'n' Sassy Girls: A Mom Blog

(A special thank you to the Thrift Shop for letting me borrow a car-seat off the rack to take this FAB photo.

Yes, I'm aware it's a little blurry... it was time to go home, lol)

I really liked this project. Next time, I may not make it reversible, but solely because it's SO much easier to not have to line up the little tabs on either side and sew them together (aka, I'm lazy). The other side is a solid navy blue. It's made of seer sucker, since it's a summer baby - this way, Mom will be able to keep the sun off munchkin (and dirty fingers, and sneezes and curious strangers), but baby will still stay nice and cool. Having thrown it over my head... it's kinda nice in there! :-P  This one sewed up pretty quickly too - again, about 2 hours for the first go-round!  In fact, this MAY become my "standard 'welcome to the world' gift"... It used 2 yards of fabric, and basically 4 inches of velcro. Bean may get one of these with fleece on the inside and "windbreaker" material on the outside. You could even make it with just ONE yard of fabric if it was fleece (doesn't need to be hemmed) or if you hemmed or bound all the edges somehow (oooh... crochet bind the edge maybe?)

All that's left now is to write these mommies some notes and take a trip to the post office! Which means I better get moving, since it closes in an hour...

Anyone out there been doing any fun projects lately? Post a link in the comments so I can check it out!

-Betsy

Thing Thursday - Cool Blog, cooler giveaways :-P

 SO, I follow this blog called "The Blog Guidebook."  It's pretty schnazzy... about a year ago, this lady decided it would be a good idea to have a "phonebook" of blogs (kind of like the yellowpages), AND she was awesome enough to actually START one. So basically, you can go to this blog, find the category you want your blog in, and submit yourself, in hopes that more people will find you - FOR FREE. We all know how much I like free stuff, right?!?

WELL, they're "Turning 1" this month, and have decided to host a 30 Days of Giveaways to celebrate (using it's own blog, so as to not get everything super confused. AND, what I like the MOST about this giveaway, is that if you write a blog post ABOUT The Blog Guidebook and 30 Days of Giveaways, you can enter for EVERY DAY of the giveaways ALL AT ONCE! (There are more giveaways each day, by the way, that you can comment on to enter as well)

So you should go check it out, and enter along with me. I'll tell what I win if you tell what you do! :-P

-Betsy

Thing Thursday - Decision Deals

So I've been working on this baby registry thing. Part of me had decided I shouldn't really mess with it till the wee one was 24 weeks along... but as opposed to waiting ANOTHER 10 weeks, and possibly having it be a "job" then... I figured I'd play around and register for stuff as it popped into my head when I felt like it. You know... spread the joy (and the pain).

A while back, I found a Baby Bjorn Carrier at the Thrift Shop... marked for $5.00 (WHAT?!?!) Needless to say, I was not pregnant and didn't CARE! I was bringing that puppy HOME!  And when I went back a week later, THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE! I'm not sure what the cause for the run on Baby Bjorn Carriers was... but I was TOTALLY cashing in on it! So one carrier went "on loan" to my then-pregnant friend to try with her bundle when he arrived, and the other stayed tucked in the "spare room" closet... waiting for it to become the "future nursery" (they're good to different weight limits, so heck yea they're both "staying mine!")

When Hubby first saw it though, the following conversation ensued:

Hubby: I'm not wearing that.
Me: OK, well... what would YOU want in a baby carrier?
Hubby: Well... can I wear that one on my back?
Me: Not that I know of...
Hubby: Well I'd only wear it on my back.
Me: When WOULD you wear one? Should I really look for a hiking one for you?
Hubby: I might be able to handle that.
Me: Would you want a soft one, or one that had metal supports... like your backpacking backpack?
Hubby: Metal sounds good.

Ok, so with a "Back. Metal. Good." male mindset, I scoured the internet... what were the good reviews, what might he use, what would work for US???  And I picked out like, 5. Ok... so now which one do I GET (aka, register for)?!?!

And then... today at the Thrift Shop.... a Kelty Kids Back Country, self supporting, sun shading, big, blue backpack staring at me for... wait for it... $7.00!! I looked online at what the NEW Kelty would cost if I had gone with it... $250.00.

Thank you, Thrift Shop, for making that decision for me! (I'm fairly sure there was a little help from The Big Man involved too, so thank You too!)

I told Hubby I got him a present when he got home today. He didn't seem that excited at first when he saw it... and then the wheels started turning "We can take that, like, CAMPING. It can be our "outdoor high chair"... I can load stuff up under the kid's butt and we can REALLY camp!"

Yes Daddy. We can ;).

-Betsy

Thing Thursday - A Happy little package :-D

So you may have noticed my consistency of blogging has been a little off. And there hasn't been great recipes in "Food Friday" when it's made it's appearance... and I've mentioned fun projects on Facebook, but not shown them here... and that would be because I've been carrying around a little secret for a while. BUT, this little secret is not as little as it was anymore...

That little "Bean" has forced me into **Gasp!** Maternity Clothes! (probably this soon because I didn't lose the intended 20 lbs before the little life made it's appearance in this world) And so it's about time to give up the secret part so I can share things again ;)

So on a good note, I've begun feeling a bit better (knocks on wood)! And on another good note, I'll be posting up some cool clothes I've made and will be making to fit my growing belly! But I'm still not sure when "Food Friday" will be back... there WILL be one this week though. I'm gonna write it in a minute and schedule the post too, so I won't be lying to you ;).

As a side note of randomness: the smart-water bottles, filled to about 1/2 inch below the end of the domed top... makes a pretty good tornado bottle. Told ya: random.

-Betsy

Thing Tuesday?

In our neighborhood (whether it's allowed or not, being part of a Home Owner's Association), we get a lot of solicitors. People selling meat out of the back of a pickup truck (3 last year), selling bug-maintenance memberships, savings cards, coupon books, driveway seals... it's a little ridiculous. It drove me NUTS all last summer, and yesterday, the first of the season came by. It's begun. So once he was gone, I immediately went to the garage, grabbed a hunk of scrap wood, painted it, drilled some holes and hung it on the front door with some fishing line.

This WELCOME sign was not my first plan of action. I considered following through with last year's idea of a mail-slot with a "Solicitors will be shot" sign underneath and placing the (unloaded) shotgun in the front hallway so that I could peek the end out, and if the person then announced who they were (and I knew them), I'd open. Otherwise, they'd hopefully run away. That's a little excessive, but that's how many people came by last year!

I tried to tone it down a bit, and the signs I came up with before this one were:

"No Solicitors. I'm poor, but I still have a shotgun"

"No Solicitors. Yes, that means you." 

"No Solicitors. I have my own Girl Scout" 

"No Solicitors. I won't buy it anyway". 

Obviously, I went with none of them :) And the look on hubby's face when he came home to the "Welcome" sign with fine print below... was priceless. HOPEFULLY, I won't get any doorbell rings. And if I do, this year... I'm pointing to the sign, and closing the door.

-Betsy

Don't forget to check out www.somethingbetsy.com and find a photo to enter for next week's Monday Monday deal! Just make a comment on this week's Monday Monday post with the image number!

Thing Thursday - Recipe Calendar Tutorial

WARNING! This is a VERY long post... telling you how to make this:

A Recipe Calendar of your very own! 

Also, pardon my flash. My craft room is not fabulous at lighting, and to show detail... flash was required. Which means that not all these photos are fabulous. I'm sure you'll love me anyway.

If you don't care about how to make this... see ya tomorrow! OR, play with me from Monday's Post ;)

A number of people (mostly in real life) have said that they'd LOVE a recipe calendar. But I'm not interested in MAKING everyone recipe calendars... SO... I decided to TELL you how to make your own. Because really... if you know how to use your sewing machine and iron? it's not that hard.  I just ask that you use this for personal use only.

First things first... here's what you need to get/have.

2.5 yards of fabric, 3/8 inch dowel (I used oak), ribbon or string, yard stick (or long straight edge), measuring tape, pins, chalk, scissors, iron, a sewing machine (oh, and thread), and a paper bag.

**note: these measurements will provide you with a 29" wide calendar. This should JUST fit standard fridges. I gave myself some "wiggle room" with the tutorial version... and now it doesn't fit on my fridge :-/ (hence the "hang on the wall" photo). The measurements have been altered so it will fit on YOUR fridge though. :) Also, I laminate my recipes, so it's perfect for 4x6 recipes, but obviously, 3x5 cards fit well too.

Step 1: Cut fabric to 30 inches wide

Step 2: Hem the bottom edge by folding over once, and then again. I did this in 2 steps, but you can do it in one if you find that easier. I recommend a half inch hem, because it's easier to sew.

 Step 3: Prep your grocery bag by cutting the bottom off and up the seam.

Draw a straight line across the edge of the bag, then measure 5", 6", 13" and 14" from that line, and draw parallel lines. Cut into strips along the original line, the 6" line and the 14" line. These are now your "folding templates".

Step 4: Iron. The goal here is to crease your fabric, so steam is a good idea (and maybe even starch if you're so inclined). You'll line up the hemmed edge along the line on the 5" template strip, and then push up the bag until it's tight against the edge of the paper and iron the whole thing.

You'll then take the 5" template, and line up the creased edge. The crease you iron next should line up with your hem.

Then use your 7" template to form the next fold. You'll alternate between the 5" and 7" folds until there are 6 pockets. I recommend pinning your folds together after each 5" round, and re-pinning the two pins below it to catch the "new layers" that have been created since they were put in.

Note that you'll need to fold up some of the fabric when ironing the 7" creases

When you've completed 6 pockets worth, make sure everything is pinned securely. It can be a little tricky flipping the piece over and over, even with it all pinned, but give it a few go's and I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Step 5: Now, hem the edges with a half inch double hem again. I recommend pinning from the inside to the outside of the fabric to catch all the layers (and keep it from un-folding on you).

  Step 6: Sew down the edge, and repeat on the other side

Step 7: Once the two edges are hemmed, you can measure out the pockets. You'll want to be as accurate as possible here to get exactly 4" between each sew line. (If you have a better method than chalk... use it! and tell me!)

Step 8: When sewing the pockets, start at the edge of the top pocket... not the top of the fabric. And always make sure to back stitch to lock the stitches in. It's really beneficial if you're good at sewing straight for this step ;). I suggest going from "top to bottom" because it keeps the flaps from folding up under the sewing foot on the back side of the fabric.

 As you move across the fabric, roll the calendar to fit in the throat of the machine

When you're done, you'll have 7 pockets across and 6 pockets up and down, with a bunch of "extra" fabric at the top.

Step 9: I chose to have 3.5"  between the top pocket and the top of the calendar with a 1.5" pocket (plus 1/2" seam allowance) so I drew a line 5.5" above the top pocket. You may want to consider leaving more space if you plan on embellishing it (some suggestions are at the end).

 Cut the leftover fabric strip off along your line

 Step 10: Time to make our pocket! Iron down a half inch single fold hem (this edge will be hidden, so you don't need the double fold)

Then fold the edge down to make a pocket. The 1.5" pocket nicely fits the 3/8" rod. Pin the pocket in place, making sure that you fold the very corner under so it doesn't poke out on the final project.

 Sew the pocket down twice - your whole calendar and all your recipes will hang from this, so it's nice to have it a little extra secure.

You're essentially done! Slide the rod into your pocket

Tie some string or ribbon on to the rod, and hang! If you're feeling really motivated, you can drill holes in the dowel to thread the string through so it doesn't slide later. If you plan on hanging this on your fridge, then lace the string through the door (between the door and the fridge itself) and through the door handle before tying the second side on. The string will sit against the edge of the door frame (above the sealing strip).

Sadly, the little epoxy paper clips I used on my original one were a clearance item at Michael's I've not seen since. I saw them in Walmart a while back... but they appear to have disappeared. I saw something similar at Office Max as well. Now... Amazon is the best I can do :-(. Another option would be mini clothes pins with just numbers (for the more simplistic) or with things glued to them with numbers for a cuter look. You'll want at least 36 number pieces... a 1-31 and an extra 1-4 and 30-31 (Lets you fill in the last/first week of the month.)

Now... for those embellishment suggestions! I'm not a big embellishment person, But I probably wouldn't be against a little S-M-T-W-R-F-S above each of the days. OR, putting a bit of Velcro on (before sewing the rod pocket down) and making some month markers to change out. Other ideas for "fancy-fing" would be to use ribbon on the sewing lines, and/or as binding around the edges.

And make sure you make yourself some of my favorite "recipe cards" like...

Out to Dinner

Leftovers

Out of Town

Your local Pizza Joint and Chinese Place (with phone numbers)

I love being able to build my grocery list off this each week to make the most of the fresh food I need to buy, and to make sure I'm accounting for our time out of town or on nights we have other commitments! It also is great to reference back to, to see how overdue those leftovers are for the garbage :-P.

If you make one, let me know! I'd love to see yours and hear if you like it!

-Betsy

Thing Thursday

Have you noticed the time stamps on my posts this week? It is painfully obvious that I haven't SCHEDULED any posts? :-P. Will you love me anyway?

I was a little stuck on Thing Thursday until I started giving reasons as to why I was stuck. And then the GENIUS in me went "hey, chica! YOU BOUGHT A CAR!". Oh! That's right!  I gots a new car!  Now, most of you probably (don't) know that I had a Convertible Bug before...

But it's warranty was up, and VW's are EXPENSIVE to fix. We had planned on selling it this month or next (just in time for graduations) when I brought it in to the shop for a recall repair, an oil change, and to find out why the engine light kept coming on. Needless to say, the $600+ dollars required to turn off the engine light... significantly helped the decision to buy THAT DAY instead of a few weeks later.

I tried out the GMC Terrain and the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, and we went with the Sport. I like it... it has a SMALLER turning radius than the bug, but has a back seat that an adult could fit in (which means I can participate in car-pools now, not just mooch), and a trunk that actually fits all my groceries!! It also came with a FABULOUS warranty... so we'll be all set for the "why did THAT break?" moments for the next 10 years. Yup, 10.

Yes, I was sad to get rid of the bug. Yes, I cried. (Yes, hubby laughed at me for mourning a car). But this new one is growing on me. I was bummed Monday (when I got that sunburn) that I couldn't put my roof down (maybe it's a good thing the roof won't go down on this one...), but something about being tall enough to see over other car's hoods, and thereby being able to safely make rights on red so the cars behind me don't honk because I'm waiting for the arrow? made it easier to swallow. Plus... it's still a super cute small (looking) car. With 4WD :-P.

I really enjoyed my facebook status when I got home too: Bought a new car today. Who wants to buy some photos?!!? :-P

Made me giggle. 

-Betsy

P.S. Aren't you glad I decided to write about my CAR today, instead of the RIDICULOUSNESS that is going on in politics? Good, me too... cause I'm FUMING about it and would DEFINITELY say something I'd regret. I've already halted myself from spouting 3 or 4 times today. *shakes head*

Thing Thursday - SUPRISE Revealed!!

So... almost a year ago, I wrote about a surprise that I was working on. And I'm pretty sure I've dropped snippets since then (but can't re-find them on my blog). AND I CAN TELL YOU NOW!!!

Happy Birthday Gramma!!

From April 2010 to December 2010, I painted portraits of my cousins as children. Thank you to everyone who helped me collect photos of each of us at around 3ish! (you know, that age where you still look really cute, and yet you still look like you?)


It was SUPPOSED to be a present for her anniversary... but I wasn't done. Then it was supposed to be for Christmas... but they weren't all dry (and the frames weren't made...). BUT, I DID make sure that it was done for her Birthday! Which was this past weekend!! So the fam through her a party, and I got to give her these paintings :).  And she loved them :)

Love you Gramma.

-Betsy

Thing Thursday - Spidey!

You may remember me talking about The Spidey Project before... in random posts like this one about virtual shopping carts and this one about knitting. And more specifically in this one about... The Spidey Project. Well, they put their show on as scheduled on March 14th (not as much can be said for Broadway's version, but hey. Not everyone is as awesome as my friends are...) They got tons of press leading up to it... tickets sold out for both shows that night in one minute (combined) and I did NOT get one :(. HOWEVER, Justin is amazing, and has put up VIDEOS of the show!! It's in 4 parts, totaling a little under 1 hour. They are on you-tube, and let me tell you... it's an amazing show. It's not CATS... or Phantom of the Opera... but it's not supposed to be. It's kind of Avenue Q... but whatever... it's JUSTIN, and it's amazing. The music is unbelievable... the acting is phenominal, and really, Broadway? If you're listening? You really need to check these video's out and hire some of these actors. Especially Jon Roufaeal or Travis Nilan... but I might be biased there :-P.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

So take a peek, and tell your friends... they want to get 50,000 views by summer, and I'm SURE they can do it... with a little help from their friendly, neighborhood Spiderman... fans :-P.

-Betsy

Thing Thursday - Thrift Find!!

So I saw these shoes, and immediately thought of my blogger/real life friend Jessica. She's on a blogging/vlogging break at the moment (good for her!) but when she IS blogging... she's HYSTERICAL. And a super-duper thrifter. And I think... that she'll be jealous of these :-P

Oh, and so will my sister :-P... now I just need an outfit to wear them with...

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day... sorry these aren't green :-P Massive amounts of corned beef to be served this weekend here... no worries :)

-Betsy

Thing Thursday

So I've decided to stop being lazy for Lent. This is including things like: actually doing some sort of workout every day... flossing my teeth before bed every night... actually completing the things on my "to-do" list instead of pushing them off... and also, because I've decided it will be fun... blogging every day. There's all this STUFF I want to share, and all this FUN I'm beginning to find as I network through the internets...  SO, I've got themes for each day of the week to help me post. At least through Lent. Which started yesterday. Which is when I decided to do this :-P.

SO, HERE you will find a list of what's happening on each day here at Something Betsy. I'll probably just link there every day for the newbies who find the blog to see what my (fairly lax) rules are. And if anyone wants to join me in any of these fun games... feel free! There is one linky I'm going to enter each week, and for the others, feel free to post in the comments a link back to your blog on whatever THING or recipe, or sale or what-have-you that YOU'RE posting about!


Today, is my first Thing Thursday. So I'm sharing the yoga sock that inspired Thurdsay's being about THINGS. (Aka, random posts).

I'm knitting these myself... 

This might take a while.

-Betsy

Tea-pot sweater :-D

So the other day, I shared with you my (failed) attempt to knit a tea-cozy.  It ended up looking more like a hospital gown... not quite fitting all the way around, and a little short. It also had this odd... stem... on top. SO, I ripped it out and tried again :)

Isn't this much cuter!!

The project was done flat (not in the round) as an adaptation from this.  I learned to do the prime rib knit from the lovely "Meg" who wrote the patterns, but I didn't follow her tea cozy pattern for this project.

Since my tea pot had straight sides, I just knit in prime rib in enough stitches to make it around the pot (45) until it reached the top portion of the where the spout meets the pot. I bound off 3 stitches in the middle (21-23), and on the way back, used the loop cast on method to put them back on the needle. Then I continued with the prime rib stitch until I reached the height up to the lid. There, I switched to 3 rows of regular rib, then a few rows of knit two together (k2tog). I made sure the "hole" that was left would fit over the lid's knob, and left a nice long tail to stitch the side up. The trick there is to not get too excited and only sew to where the handle should be, then down one side of the edging until the bottom of the handle, before sewing the bottom together, and Ta-Da! It took 2 sittings worth of knitting or so, and my teapot now has a cute little sweater!

-Betsy

Knit Bit Accident

So I'm going to start off by saying that if you aren't following Justin Moran's The Spidey Project yet... you should ;). And you should tell your friends. They've gotten a TON of press and rehearsals have started. Tickets will be FREE and you can buy them online!! They'v also been nominated for the 2011 INNY Awards!!  (feel free to vote for "Made Up Musical" in section 5, "The Spidey Project" in section 7, the Magnet Theater in section 10, The Pit or The Magnet Theater in section 14 (The PIT is where Spidey will be performed, the Magnet is where it will be rehearsed), The PIT again for section 15, The Magnet for section 16, and Armando Diaz for section 18... if you needed any suggestions ;-P)

And now for our regularly scheduled programming...

I'm going to attempt to be a little better at the blogging this week... we shall see. I was HOPING to put up a post today about my fabulous tea-cozie I knitted... except when I was done... well...

 

Fabulous Tea Cozie?

 

Or hospital-gown accident?

This one looks like it'll deserve a second attempt. Mind you - this is the 3rd tea-cozie I've attempted... and this is the closest I've gotten. I WILL get it one day! hahahaha


-Betsy