Reversible Baby Shoes!

I just love little sewing projects for babies. They are so fun! Here's the latest:

I love this pattern:


And turned inside out:


Finally, a project worked! I have tried a few patterns for soft baby shoes, and this is by far my favorite. The pattern is from Bare Maked, and it's so simple. It is definitely for a newborn, but I am going to scale the pattern up and try it in a larger size. I just love that these shoes are reversible and don't require interfacing. So, they are super quick to make--definitely a 1 hour project!

MSCE: Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been trying to create something cool every day, and it hasn't been working too well. All of my creative attempts, except for cooking, have gone terribly wrong. I have a list of projects that I am working on--and it has just seemed that every time I go to finish a project, something happens--the baby refuses to sleep, I run out of hot glue, the fabric is the wrong size, the pattern is confusing, I pick up a book and can't put it down (Fablehaven this time--so good!). But cooking always works for me. In fact, I have tried a new recipe just about every day this month.

This healthy chocolate chip oatmeal cookie is the best recipe yet! So yummy. There is a lot of cinnamon in here, so it almost tastes like a crumb donut. I'm embarrassed to say how many batches of these cookies I've made this month!

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. salt (can use 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. dark chocolate chips
1/3 c. unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together applesauce, butter, and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into first mixture and mix well. Then stir in oats, followed by the chocolate and coconut. Place rounded tsp-full 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet (I always lightly grease mine, but you don't need to). Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on bottom. Enjoy!

MSCE: Baby Visor Beanie

Finally! This little project has taken me several days and several tries. I got this pattern off of Etsy, and it was super tricky. It took me a while to figure it out. Once it was finished, it was seriously way too small to fit baby girl's head (big surprise). In fact, it probably wouldn't have fit a 1 month old's. Grrr. So, I spent a long while merging it with another pattern, finding a different flower pattern, and voila! I started and finished it while watching Ghost Town last night.
And it actually fits my baby's huge head. Hooray!


I don't really like how the visor part turned out, so maybe I will tweak the pattern some more once my fingers get a break from the hook-hold stiffness!
 

MSCE: Easy Chipboard Magnets

Hmm..I am sensing a cake theme to my crafting. I love my "girly sweets charms"! This time, they are in the form of super easy, homemade magnets. I found some scrapbook chipboard embellisments, backed them with adhesive magnets, trimmed them, and sprayed them with gloss finishing spray. Cute, easy, and fun!






 

 

MSCE: Bunny Cake Pops!

 Happy Easter! I am still attempting to make something cool everyday, but I have been a little frustrated by a few of my projects. Here's a successful one! Bunny Cake Pops! The idea and recipe is from Bakerella. My sis and I had a marathon session making these on Friday night. They were so fun!


 
We used strawberry cake mix and strawberry frosting for the cake part. Then, we dipped them in tinted candy melt coating, flavored with lemon zest. Yum! We discovered that they definitely taste better the next day.

Ichiban Website=Ichiban Suki!

 
Or "my new fave"! Hubby and I have been watching Heroes these past few weeks. Hooray for free TV on DVD rentals at our local library! Anyways, there is a character on there named Hiro, whose story line is all in Japanese. Watching the show, we have really started missing Japan. And bonus points for us that we can understand a lot of the conversation without using subtitles!

Some of the things we miss, we have been kicking ourselves for not bringing back to the U.S. I had planned on bringing back bento kits from the dollar store there for my kids. Alas, our suitcases just couldn't hold any more souvenirs.

I am a little crazy about bento boxes. Luckily, I found this awesome website that has super cheap bento boxes (I love this one)!

On top of that, it has some really fun rice molds! Like this one:


So, my dream of sending my kids to school with their own little bento sets can be fulfilled for under $10. Hooray!

For some bento inspiration, here is a picture of a traditional Japanese child's bento:


I loved to hang around for lunchtime in my preschool classes in Japan, because I got to see all of the creative bentos put together lovingly (or competitively?) by all the mamas.

If you're interested, definitely check out Vegan Bento Blog for more amazing bento shots!

Can you tell I'm a little excited?

Make Something Cool...

Every Day in April! That's this month's craft challenge hosted by Dabbled. Check out that link to learn more about it. Basically, the goal is to strive to make something creative every day, which should be fun. I am taking the challenge, because I have lists of projects and bags of materials laying around my house. I'd say that cleaning up by crafting more is definitely inspiring!

I am a late starter to the challenge, but I worked on these all last week...so I'm counting it! I'm addicted to making taggie blankets. They are so fun, soft, and colorful. I've made a few so far--my daugher loves hers!-- and here is the latest:



Yesterday's Craft: Kimono Booties
I have some random sushi-print fabric. When I saw this pattern, I knew how I would use the fabric. This was such a quick, fun project. If baby girl's feet weren't humongous, they would look great on her!