Project Dump

Everything has been so busy at home. We’ve been getting ready for our first family vacation that doesn’t involve a wedding or a funeral. A lot of this getting ready involved sewing and finishing other projects I had started. I still have one that I need to finish a swim diaper for the youngest. So far my completed projects include my own homemade version of g-cloth, a messenger style diaper bag that is gender neutral enough for even dad to carry. We also finished the puzzle storage with the final coat of paint going on today (minus a few touch ups). By the time our vacation gets here I feel like I will have really deserved it.

The messenger style diaper bag is made from a cotton outer and suede-cloth inner. I attached the strap with d-rings. I tested it and I can fit a spare outfit and 2 diapers in the bag with room for my small wetbag and a couple of small toys.

Here are two of my homemade version of g-cloth. The youngest picked out the Cars themed flannel, he has a bit of an obsession with Lightning McQueen. The absorbant layers are 2 layers flannel, 2 layers of cotton birdseye, a heavy-weight cotton french terry, and a layer of microfiber. I topped it with a dark chocolate brown suede-cloth to keep his lil bum dry. I also made some without a feel dry layer which seem to work great for laying in fitted diapers for overnight.

Last but not least is the puzzle storage box we made. It will hold 27 wooden peg puzzles. Initially I painted the inside of the box orange and the outside with chalkboard paint. It really reminded me of Halloween so I decided that the entire thing will be painted with chalkboard paint. Added bonus of painting it with chalkboard paint is that it takes it from just a puzzle box to something that he can draw on as well.

Don't forget about the OH MY TUTU! A Giveaway

Woodworking is Crafting Right?

In elementary, junior high and high school I had mandatory wood shop classes. I loved them and thrived in that environment. We were given free rein to make anything we wanted the only stipulation is it had to be at least 90% wood products. I still love working with wood, maybe it’s the fact that I come from a long line of loggers. We recently figured that we needed a storage unit for the youngest child’s wooden puzzles. We could find one that had enough slots to hold all his puzzles and buying multiples seemed expensive.

So remembering those classes I broke out the pen and paper and sketched out a design, and figured out the dimensions. It was than off to the lumber store. I’ll be honest it isn’t a store I visit often, I didn’t know what I was looking for but I figured when I found it I would know. I did find “it”; two 2x2 oak plywood and a handful square poplar dowels and some small brads to attach the dowels. Unfortunately I am kind of rusty when it comes to using power tools so I handed the next step off to my significant other, well after I drew out where the cuts should be.

The next step was tedious gluing down the dowels to the board, waiting for it to dry and hammering in the brads to make sure they stayed in place. This project still has several more steps to go. I find it’s not as easy to whip together a project made of wood as it is to whip together one made of fabric. In the time the boards were cut I managed to make a wet bag and several diaper inserts. Tomorrow I have plans to paint it; pumpkin orange on the inside and chalkboard on the outside. For now I leave you with a picture of the puzzle box in process.