Wooden Spools--Craft Room Storage!

Somewhere along the lines, I received these old wooden spools (some with thread on them still!) and they sat in a ziplock baggy for who knows how long.  I had NO idea what to do with them.  So I did a little research and came up with this idea: use them as bolts for your lace.

Here are my wooden spools.

Here is my stash of lace...

I simply wrapped each yardage of lace around a cooresponding wooden spool (one that fit the size and amount of lace I had).  Then I pinned it in place.

Easy, right?

I have a few spools left and I may NOT stick with this idea.  I have one other thought that I might go with instead, but for now...they at least have a use instead of taking up space in a ziplock bag in my craft room.

Do you have any odd items in your house?  Honestly, it wouldn't bother me in the least to get rid of these spools...but I wanted to think it through before I did that and see if I could come up with a use for them.  My other thought for these is to add a wooden ball to the tops...paint them and add a magnet to the bottoms.  Voila! Magnetic little people for MY little people to play with during our drive to vacation this summer.  What do YOU think?  Would love some thoughts and ideas!

1000 Fan Facebook Giveaway Winners!!!

Thank you so much to everyone for entering my 1000 Fan Facebook Giveaway!!  It was amazing to reach 1000 fans and even more amazing to have all of you awesome ladies enter! 

Please make sure to read this list of winners carefully!  If you won an item, contact the vendor via their facebook page.  If the vendor of the giveaway you won is DESIGNS BY TAMI or CAMILLE'S CLOSET, please email me at myvibrantdesigns@gmail.com to claim your prize.  I will further your email along to the vendor who will contact you with the info they need. 

You MUST contact the vendor within 48 hours to receive your prize.  I will re-draw another winner IF THE VENDOR WISHES FOR ME TO DO SO.  

Violet Hill Boutique--Jennifer Turner
Just Bead It Creations--Sheila Robertson
Kittycats and Airplanes--Courtney Madera
GigisPetals--Karen Hargis Foster
Willowbee Expressions--Coreen Boyce
Chic Headbands--Samantha Santiago
Designs by Tami--Amber Noffke
Designs by Marlo--Jessica Vargas
Camille's Closet--Angie Aguilera Rivas
Literally Inspired--Heather Burgess
Captured by Maggie Designs--Laura Rizo-Gordillo
Posies and Pattycakes--Nichole Hartwick
Joyful Expressions by Ashley--Paloma Reyes
Charming Initials--Rosina Hodges
A Purple Princess Crafts--Anne Milkie
Uptown Girl Bows Couture--Destiny Grace Adkins

A HUGE thank you to all my vendors for making this a great giveaway!!  I had 81 people enter this giveaway and they would NOT have entered unless the products were anything less than stellar!  You guys rock!!  If you did NOT enter one of the vendors giveaways, take the time to check out their facebook page.  I'll bet they have other products you would love!   

Come back tomorrow to find out how to use vintage items to help organize your craft room!

Ruffle Tote Tutorial

Here you have it...my new bag. 

A couple weeks ago my husband and I went to a Christian School Association competition where some of our teens were competing.  I saw a teacher (from the school where our teens go) carrying a bag that was ruffled perfectly, wonderfully shabby chic, and oh so springy!!  I'll bet she wondered why I was staring at her so much! Ha!! 

After some finagling I ended up standing right behind her while waiting to see a competition.  It gave me the opportunity to really scrutinize the bag and it's construction.  It was NOT lined, so therefore the handles were simply attached by an X at the top of the tote.  Since it was not lined, there would have been no inner pockets either. 

This is the same basic look of the bag I saw, but with some major changes to the construction of the bag. 

The fabric I used was a pink/green floral home decor weight fabric.  I purchased the last 2 1/2 yards on the bolt.  Let's see.  It was $11.99 yd at 30% off which made it $7.99 yd.  BUT because of the remnant pricing on end of the bolt pieces, the first 1 1/2yds was  $7.99yd, the last yd was $3.99 yd.  It was roughly about $15 for all of the fabric.  A bit much for me, but sometimes when I'm looking for a specific look...I cave a bit!

One of the things about this bag that I loved was the large flower!!  Hers was made differently but once again, you do what you can with what you've got!!  :)  I had a 3" wide strip of fabric left over. That was it!  I scrounged around my craft room and found some gathered ivory lace, rose color sateen fabric scraps, and ivory felt.  Pair these items up with the 50" strip of fabric left over and this is what you get! 

I cut a 4" circle.  Glue one layer of lace around the outside edge first.  Then the fabric ruffle I created from my left over piece...2 layers of lace after that, then a rose sateen rosette in the center.  That flower is at least 5" across!  I love it!

If you'd like to see a small tute on this flower, let me know. I did take some in the process photos just in case.

Looking down...still love that flower.

Inside the bag you'll see 2 zipper pockets...hUge zipper pockets!  Enough space in those pockets to hold my personal belongings then the tote portion of the bag is great for large notebooks, Bible's, and crafting projects I'm working on.  I LOVE this bag!

I chose to NOT use any type of closure for this bag.  It is so tall that a person would have to dig deep to reach anything, and then all my personal items are behind a zipper anyway. 

Wanna make this yourself?? 

Click here for the full tutorial!

If you're lovin' this bag as much as I am, keep an eye out in my shop.  It will arrive in a few months, after little Miss E has made her arrival :)

Zipper Pocket Tutorial

I mentioned yesterday that I was working on a new bag and I am happy to say that after 1 shopping trip (2 stores) later...I now have new lithium batteries in my camera and a completed Spring Bag!!  The best compliment I ever got on one of my bags came from my 4 year old daughter when she woke from her nap and saw my new bag. 

"Oh Mommy!!  Did you make yourself a new bag??  I like your new bag Mommy!!" 

Melt my heart. 

Guess what else that little booger did tonight??

Told someone what we're naming the baby!!  That person (and she knows who she is!) will be disqualified if she attempts to enter the baby name giveaway!! :)

Here's a sneak peak at the completed bag...

Hmm...what can you see there? 

Well, I love my new bag!!  And I thought since there are 2 zipper pockets inside this bag that you all might like to know HOW to insert zipper pockets into a purse/bag.  It used to scare me to death!!  But they're really not so bad.  Here's what you do...and what you need.

materials: zipper, pocket fabric, lining piece of fabric, thread, tape measure, fabric marker

Take a peak at the photos below:

Lay your pocket fabric onto your lining fabric (or outside piece of fabric if you are choosing to do a zipper pocket on the outside of the bag) with right sides together.  I wanted my pocket to start abotu 5" down from the top, but you determine where you want yours to be.  Keep in mind seam allowances!  Measure down from the top of the pocket fabric piece 1 1/2" and make a mark.  Make another mark at the 2" line.  Move over about 8" to the other side of the pocket piece and mark the same measurements.  You will be drawing a rectangle using these four marks.  I also like to begin my zipper about 1 1/2" from either side of the pocket piece.  That means that the short ends of the rectangle should be 1 1/2" from either side of the pocket piece of fabric.  Pin your two fabric pieces together and then sew over top of the rectangle you just drew.

After you have sewn over top of the rectangle, make a snip down the center of the rectangle.  Cut all the way down the rectangle.  Stop at 1cm away from the end and then cut into each corner.  MAKE SURE YOU DON'T CLIP THE SEAMS!!  Take the pocket fabric and stuff it inside the hole you just cut. 

Smooth out the pocket fabric on the back so that it is laying flat.  Iron around your rectangle and pin in place.  Place the zipper behind the rectangle.  Pin in place.  After you've done a few of these, you won't really need to pin it.  With a small seam allowance (1/16"), sew zipper to the back of the rectangle. 

Once your zipper is in place, flip the whole thing over.  Now it's time to create the actual pocket.  Fold the pocket piece in half witht he pretty side of the fabric inside.  Pin all the way around the 3 open sides.  Beginning at one side, sew up all three open sides.  Don't forget to backstitch at both ends for sturdiness. 

And there is your zipper pocket!!  These can be put on the inside or outside of bags.  I think it really adds to a purse when you have the option of the zipper pocket.  Let me know if you have any questions! 

Full disclosure of how I made my new bag will come tomorrow!!  Be sure to check back :)

Buttercup Bag

Are you familiar with Made by Rae's Blog?  I honestly can't remember the first time I landed on it but I DO remember WHAT brought me to her site. 

And that was the oh so adorable...FREE...Butthercup Bag pattern that she designed herself and has made available to you!  When I first began sewing, I was simply trying to find free patterns and tutorials that I could try.  My goal at that point was to save money in my gift giving for Christmas, so it made no sense to me to pay for the tutorial!  I was always thrilled to find patterns that were stylish, cute (looked like actual purses) and were free.  Does anyone else know what I mean when I say "looked like actual purses?" 

Let me explain: I love handmade...I am NOT a fan of homemade.  What is the difference you say?  There IS a difference!  I have a hard enough time keeping my home picked up and clean as it is.  To bring fru fru items into it that I don't need, don't use...and were slapped together with glue and a pom pom just doesn't appeal to me!!  This sounds harsh but honestly, how much of this stuff am I expected to keep around?  Yes, there are the sentimental things that your kids make for you.  (You should see some of the stuff my dad has kept over the years that my brother made him in SHOP class!...Or I made in ceramics...or my sister in home ec)

Laughable! 

There are some things we keep. 

But for the most part, I am not the type who likes homemade. I am most impressed by an item that I know is handmade but LOOKS preofessionally made.  I also appreciate something that has

 a purpose.

One reason why you don't see a ton of posts of wreaths, and home decor items is because I just don't do those.  No real purpose other than to look at them...and take the time to change them out frequently. 

WOW! I didn't my post was going to go in this direction when I got started!! 

This Buttercup Bag has both in my opinion: it looks professionally made and it has a purpose.  This bag in particular is a custom order BUY YOUR OWN FABRIC item from my shop. 

One of my customers sent me this fabric and I created the handbag for her. 

I don't know about you but pleats=awesome! 

Personally, I think this would make a decent beginner sewing pattern, especially if you're interested in making yourself a purse.  The only part that I would consider to be difficult (maybe) for a beginner is the curved seam along the bottom.  It's really not hard if you take it slow and steady though.  Have you ever tried the Buttercup Bag pattern? 

Be sure and come back for my next post.  I have a purty...yes, I said...purty new bag to show you that I'm working on right now!!  I would be working on it RIGHT NOW but my camera batteries died (always at the most inopportune times!) tonight, so I had to put sewing it on hold. 

First off, you'll get a teaser of the bag itself along with an awesome tutorial on how to make zipper pockets inside of bags.  Then after that, I'll show you the bag in it's entirety along with a complete how to on making the bag. 

Excited?

Yeah, me too!

Keykalou Clutch

If you've never been to my shop then you don't know that I list items as a BYOF (buy your own fabric) custom listings.  I do list already made bags that are ready to ship, but I find the easiest way for YOU, my customer, to get the exact fabric you want is to go this route. 

A few weeks back I received a custom order for this great Keykalou Clutch.  She got to choose her own fabric, sent it to me, then I provide the rest of the materials (batting, interfacing, thread, etc) and create your custom order bag! 

Awesome!

Don't you love the colors she chose?  It's such a cute little wallet!  There are two pockets inside and it closes with a magnetic snap.

Some of you may not realize that the pattern for this clutch is:

1. CRAZY affordable

2.  Purchasable via a link on my sidebar that says KEYKA LOU

3.  Very easy to follow.  These patterns are detailed and simple.  There are photos to help if you are a visual learner (come on, raise your hand! I am!!)

I did recently remove most of my custom order listings from my shop.  I have this odd feeling that little Miss E is going to arrive before my due date: specifically around 36 weeks. Praying NOT, but planning on it.  All of those BYOF listings will pop back up after Miss E has made her appearance, but until then...you'll just have to feast your eyes on what others have purchased up until now. 

Oh yeah, what am I founding my suspicions upon??  Last week at my 31 week OB apt, I was 1cm dilated. 

We shall see! 

Easter Gifts: Necklaces for my girls

I love to get my kids "real" gifts at Easter and not just candy. (Yes, they get some candy but it doesn't take over their basket).  This year I've decided to give them some accessories to carry to church on Easter Sunday.  The first items I purchased them I did not make myself because I have absolutely NO DESIRE to crochet!!  A while back I had some crocheted pieces in my shop that my good friend had made.  She has since opened her own shop called Wee Treasures. 



Aren't those little purses adorable??  The pink one is for my oldest daughter who swears by pink, and the purple one is for the 2 year old who doesn't quite care about colors yet.  I have found that sometimes it's good to have the exact same thing...and at other times, it's good to have something similar but that you can easily tell apart so there's no...THAT'S MINE!! 

So, inside of these little purses, I am going to place these pretty necklaces (that do indeed match) that I made for them. 

I added a tiny silver butterfly bead that dangles on one side.  To get a good length on a 2 and 4 year old, I measured the length against me as if it were a tight choker.  That seemed to work fine.

I purchased these hot pink 6mm beads and strung 5 beads onto an eye pin.  I created a loop on the other side and trimmed off the excess wire.  I used a head pin to create the butterfly charm and attached it to one side of the eye pin.  I then bent the eye pin to give it a slight U shape which I think looks better than just straight.  (At least on these little girl necklaces.)

The bottom one is the actual length. 

Along with these two items, I am going to make each a new hair accessory to wear on Easter as well that will also be in the purse and in the Easter basket. 

Have you entered the baby name contest yet?? There is a nifty photo link at the top of my blog that will take you to the post where you enter.  You have 4-8 weeks to get in your votes! 

And just because I'm nice like that...I'm thinking about letting you all come back and guess another 5 names when we get closer to the end!!  So be sure and read often to find out :)

Clutch, diapers, and a contest!!

So...

I have this gut feeling that sweet baby "E" is going to be about a 36 week baby.  Therefore, as I am trying to catch up on some custom orders, I am also trying to squeeze in some diapers.  Here is what I completed today.

A Duo Pocket Changing Pad Clutch custom ordered by an old friend of the family.

Tutorial for that is HERE.

I made 2 more newborn/small diapers this morning as well.  I <3 the sparkling cutie on the bum!! 

So here's the rundown.  I wanted to see how this clutch handles cloth diapers in comparison to disposable diapers.  I filled the diaper pocket with 2 fabric diapers and put a travel wipes case in the wipes pocket. 

Here is the result...

She's a little stuffed!  And those were nb/small diapers so if you are in the market for one of these clutches, I would add about 2" onto the length when doing the tutorial to afford a bit more space in the diaper pocket.  If you are using disposable diapers, you can fit roughly 2-6 diapers in depending on the size.  Of course, by the time you have a child in a size 4 or 5 diaper, you only need 1 or 2 of them at a time anyways.  So it works out.

These last two photos have only the wipes case inside the clutch so it is not near as stuffed!! 

In my last post regarding my first foray into cloth diapering I mentioned a contest to see if anyone can figure out what we are naming our baby.  There has been some interest and I think it'll be fun!  So, here's what we're gonna do. 

To win the contest, you MUST guess the first name of the baby correctly.  We have definitely settled on a first name (and pretty certain about the middle name).  The only clue you get is the first initial which is...

"E."

You can enter up to 5 names and each must be a different comment under this post.  So make your guesses count!  You can enter any time between now and the day she is born which will be, well...who knows! 

If more than one person guesses the name correctly, I will use random.org to determine the winner.  The winner will receive one of their choice of 3 items:

 1. custom initial cloth diaper

2. custom buttercup bag

3. ruby red Shades of Dawn necklace

At this point I have to mention one thing.

I will have JUST had a baby when I announce the winner of this contest.  So I am stating right now that I will need around 6-8 weeks to complete the prize for the winner, depending on the item chosen. 

Tell your friends!  The more the merrier :) 

My First Foray...into CLOTH DIAPERING!!

I've posted on facebook how my husband and I have been considering cloth diapering this baby...our 4th baby!!  It seems a little late in the game, right?  But even still, I believe it will save us money and that is the overall goal in this new adventure. 

When I was pregnant with our third child, I asked my husband what he thought of it then, and I got a resounding..."no."  I didn't push it because I could not find any local fabric stores that carried ANY of the necesary items needed in order to sew a cloth diaper.  Because let's face it: I am NOT paying $15-$25 per cloth diaper.  No way, no how.  Even if it still saved us money in the end, we could not afford the large cost of investing in all those diapers at the onset. 

A number of things have happened in the past year. 

#1  Hobby Lobby began carrying a complete line of cloth diaper making products!!  PUL fabric, snaps, velcro...so that was a big push for me!!

#2  I lost my job making saving money a bigger necesity than it was with the last babies.

#3  My sewing skills have gotten better as well as my confidence IN my sewing skills :)

So I began to do some research.   I found that with the 40% off coupon at HL, I could make my own diapers for roughly $3 a piece!!  I added everything up that we would need (including a sprayer for beside the toilet) and divided it out...that's the number I got.  I'm sure I have gone over that basic amount I began with but still way better than the $15-$25 per diaper I was looking at by purchasing them!  OUCH.

HL has a great pattern book of diapers.  While I was researching, I also purchased that book and read it cover to cover. 

Here are my first 2 diapers:

My favorite part?  A little bling on the behind!!  We haven't told anyone her name yet but here's a clue...

"E" is the initial of her first name.  I'm thinking about a little contest to see if anyone can figure it out before her birthday...??  What do you think?  What should I give away to the winner?

One open and one closed. 

This is the second one I made and I followed the placement of the velcro and size per the directions and I'm not happy with how it turned out.  One of those things I'm gonna have to tweak to my desired specifications.  Do you see those fly away wings??  They have you set the velcro back so far that the "wings" happened and it also doesn't lend for much versatility.  So, I'm gonna add more velcro to either side.  You will see the seam lines on the front but I'm not caring much right now. :)

Oh yeah, these are both pocket diapers.  See the opening on the right in the photo below?  There are so many different types of diapers and that was the first thing I had to decide.  Which one did I think was gonna work best for us??  I like this version and one other...but I don't know the name of it.  If I make one, obviously you'll see it here.  But for now, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Just wait until you see the rest of the pretty bum bling I got! LOL

48 things you never wanted to know about me!

48 Things you Never wanted to know about me :)

Thanks Amie from Kittycats and Airplanes for the idea!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8am: when the first grader came in to sit beside me and eat his poptarts (which he eats every morning for breakfast...hey, it saves me from having to make him breakfast!)

2. How do you like your steak? Medium Well

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Courageous--wonderful, wonderful movie!!! 

4. What is your favorite TV show? Psych, Monk, NCIS, Bones  I'm sure I could come up with a few more!

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?  Florida...although, the threat of hurricanes...I live in tornado alley...which is worse?? 

6. What did you have for breakfast?  Mini Wheats with honey on top

7. What is your favorite food? Skyline Chilli--look it up and you'll figure out where I grew up :)

8. Foods you dislike? meat loaf, creamed fish (I should make my dad get on here for a guest post and explain THAT one!), sloppy joes

9. Favorite place to eat?  Texas Roadhouse

10. Favorite dressing? Italian or ranch. 

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? I drive a 2000 Dodge Caravan--wish it was a 2010 Honda Odyssey but that's a pipe dream until I'm a truly successful business owner!!

12. What are your favorite clothes? A long tunic/dress and leggings (for sure right now with this 32 week pregnant body!!)

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?  Italy or any tropical beach

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?  Pretty optimistic type

15. Where would you want to retire?  Near my kids :)

16. Favorite time of day?  Nap time, and after 9pm (bedtime for kids) when I get some one on one time with my husband

17. Where were you born?  Tennessee

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? NONE of them!!  Baseball games AT the park are fun but that's about it.

19. What is your favorite fragrance? HATE fruity love floral specifically lilac/honeysuckle.  Also like Candie's for men and Pleasures (my perfume)

20. What is your favorite face cream? What is face cream??

21. Favorite baby/kids products?  GRACO carseats, Target disposable diapers

22. People watcher?  Isn't everyone??

23. Are you a morning or night person?  At the moment, night.

24. Do you have any pets? NO...unless you consider those with 2 legs, 2 arms...walk upright, and call me mommy...pets, then no.

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? 

Due May 12th :)

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher I think.

 

27. What is your favorite memory? Wedding day, 3 very special birthdays :)

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog, but not in my house.

29. Are you married? Yes as of July 26th, 2003

30. Always wear your seat belt? Absolutely.

31. Been in a car accident? Major one at 18 (not my fault), 2 fender benders (not my fault), another  major one a year after we got married (also not my fault).

32. Any pet peeves?  "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"  Get my drift?  When my finger is up it means Please wait! :) But I still love em!

33. Favorite pizza toppings?  Like em all, except anchovies or sardines.  Blech.

34. Favorite flower?  Roses are gorgeous

35. Favorite ice cream?   Vanilla with chocolate syrup and milk on top...yes, I understand that's a milkshake :) Choc. chip cookie dough, cookies n cream, choc. chip.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Skyline Chilli, Arbys

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? Passed the first time.

38. From whom did you get your last email?  My sister about our upcoming family dinner day at her house...and our first big family BEACH vacation coming up in June!!  (Yes, we will indeed have a newborn on our hands...but LOTS of willing arms to hold her!)

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Etsy. I agree with Amie!!  OR Hobby Lobby...I could do some serious damage there!

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?  Can't be spontaneous when I'm 8 weeks away from delivering.  maybe next year!

41. Like your job?  I'm a SAHM. Love it!!

42. Broccoli?  Yeah, it's good...especially steamed.

43. What was your favorite vacation?  Honeymoon in Savannah, GA...last years vacation with my kidlets and hubby...and a mini vaca hubby and I took for our anniversary 2 years ago where we stayed in a small cottage on the OHIO R.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?  Husband

45. What are you listening to right now?   Magpies...I mean chatterboxes...I mean, my kids at the dinner table. ;)

46. What is your favorite color?  Purple, cream, white...not very interesting I'm afraid.

 

47. I omitted this question :) 

48. Coffee drinker? No....YUCK!  Love hot chocolate from Starbucks though!

Baby Dresser Redo

So...I found this cute little dresser at a thrift store a while back...cute meaning...size, not so much color.  But it was in pretty good shape and only $5!  I has sat in our basement for the last 8 months or so until I decided what I was gonna do with it.  Actually, let me amend that.  I decided what I was going to do with it when I found out I was pregnant last September.  It was destined to become the baby's dresser.  It's small, yes, but fits perfectly in our bedroom without overcrowding. 

Here is the before...(sanded and wood puttied.  I'm sorry I didn't get the BEFORE before!)

We had plenty of paint left over from painting our girls room this pale pink/purple color so I decided to save some money and use it.  It's great for a little girl!

Three coats of paint later and we realized that on 3 drawers, there was something in red that kept bleeding through which you couldn't see when it was navy blue.  To cover it I decided to modge podge craft paper over top of the drawer faces.  That was...

semi successful. 

In some places the glue turned yellow and in others, it's a chalky white.  You can probably see if you look closely enough but for now, I'm fine with it.  Not perfect, but it'll work. 

I DO, however, love the new hardware!!  Check out these drawer pulls!

BUTTERFLIES!!  They were a little more costly, so we only did the top two drawers with them, and then found matching white knobs for the bottom three drawers. 

Drawer pulls and knobs came from Hobby Lobby as that's the only place I know of in my small town that carries the style I was looking for. 

I also purchased 3 baskets from Hobby Lobby.  The white shelf you see below was one we already had.  It hangs above the dresser.

Here you can see some of the off color that the glue created. 

Grr.

But I'm still lovin' those drawer pullls!

Cute little shoes and socks waiting to be worn by tiny toes.  Crossing another item off the bucket list.

Thankful...

Tonight...

I am thankful. 

Thankful to have this little bean still cookin' away in my belly.  About a year ago, I shared with you my experience with my firstborn, our son, Joel.  Since then, we (my husband and myself) have done a fairly good job of keeping me out of the hospital during my pregnancies. 

Last night and today were rough. 

Last evening around 6:40, I began having contractions while sitting in church...on one of those unmoving pews.  After 3 c's in a matter of minutes, we decided I should go lay down, down some fluids...rest.  They cut back to 4 minutes apart.  As soon as I got up after the service ended they picked back up again.  After getting home and laying down (and the wonderful husband getting the kiddos fed, dressed, and put in bed) they finally began to peeter off for real.  By the time I went to sleep, they were back to my normal 1-2 an hour.  I really wasn't fretting it.

This morning, they cropped back up again.  Long story short, I was able to run in to see my OB who checked me and administered a fetal fibronectin test.  No results yet from that test (should be tomorrow morning sometime) but in checking me we found I was 1cm dilated.  Honestly, it may be nothing...it may be something.  I still say 31 weeks is a leeeeetle early for dilation. 

So, where are we at right now?

Self diagnosed bedrest.  *smirks* 

If the FFN test were to come back positive, I would head back in to the doc tomorrow for steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs. 

I will simply be backing off on some things that I had been doing up till this point. 

And please let me clarify: I KNOW there are women out there, tons of women, who have experienced things much worse than I have!!  I KNOW that the survival rate of a baby born at my gestational age is pretty great actually.  Could things be worse than they are right now?

You betcha! 

But I desperately want to bring a baby into this world who is full term, nursing like a champ, has some plump little rolls (you should have seen my skinny 36 week baby!!), and beyond all else...is healthy and gets to stay with me.  (fyi, this beautiful little dream DID indeed happen with my 3rd baby/pregnancy!!)

She is currently rolling and punching me to beat the band...keeping me awake...which is why you are getting a blog post at 12am!!  I'm not one for sharing a ton of my personal life on my blog, but I know some of my readers have been wondering how this pregnancy is coming along. 

Here are a few other little tidbits:

I have low iron.

I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

My blood pressure is chronically LOW right now...seems to be causing light headedness, out of breath spells, heart palpitations and so on. 

After I saw my OB today, I had an already scheduled apt with a cardiologist to discuss these symptoms I've been having.  I came home with a heart monitor and a fresh stick in my arm.  (That was my 5th blood draw in the last 2 weeks) 

So...I THINK that's it!!  If you have questions, bits of advice...encouragement, I am all ears!! 

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My shop will be going on vacation as of April 1st and will reopen the 3rd week of June.  If there's something in particular you were wanting to purchase or order, please get with me soon!! 

the Heidi Bag

Hello ladies!! 

I know there's been some hype over at Gigispetals over these bags and they have finally arrived as a feature!!   There was a delay, but now they are all available...in VERY limited quantities!!  I can only make so many of these before the little is born, so if YOU are wanting one...

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to see the patterns available! 

(And for the record, I have finally decided on the fabric for my diaper bag!!  It is one of these four patterns: care to take a guess??)

The first pattern is one you have seen a few times already. 

The Carseat Liner

Sorry for the coloring in this photo.  I didn't have a lot of options for the photography location :/ so this is the best I could do!!

Black on White damask.  VERY popular so if this is your fave? You'd better scoot!!

The Grey/Teal/weird Greenish Yellow Floral pattern: another very popular pattern.  The straps on these bags are all long.  The bag itself would rest about hip level unless you're 6'2" in which case...sorry.

Strangly enough, this was quite the popular pattern!!  I wasn't sold when I bought it, but it IS pretty cute in bag form, right?? 

So, if you're interested in a great deal on the Heidi Bag that sells normally in my shop for $30 plus $10 shipping...

At Gigispetals starting today (for 4 days) you can purchase this custom handmade bag for only

$22!!

Believe me when I say, a deal like this won't come around too often!