Blog writer, Part 2

I knew if I added many more photos, that last post would never go. Then I fell asleep! (Sleep- Success!)

Macy practicing giving the boys bottles... Hahaha! Ok, not really. She was feeding her baby-dang I can't remember the baby's name. She's in this great imaginative play phase and I just love it!

I finally got well enough to have the shots I needed to visit with "the boys" aka Liam and Kellan. What sweethearts. Liam was my twin for the day so I fed him bottles and snuggled. These are my nephews who were born at 28 weeks. And at 6 months you wouldn't know it. I consider them miracles from The Lord. Getting back to my visit, Liam snuggled up on my chest and slept for a good while. Gosh they melt my heart. 

So of course, on the morning of my second visit I woke up sick and haven't been well since. Sigh. I hope to see them again before they graduate college! Yes, dramatic I know... I just want to see my nephews! 

My nephews were in the NICU for quite a bit of time. What an amazing place! One thing we learned about were isolette covers that make the baby's incubator (isolette) dark and quiet. I'm not sure why I became obsessed with making and donating as many of these as possible. Shared it on Facebook and my work intranet. 

A lady from church made it a Women I the Church project. Let's tell you, we have many amazing quilters at church. So these babies have some incredible cute handcrafted isolette blankets!  

When we finally gathered our blanket and headed for the children's hospital, we had a total of 18 blankets! The stack was almost as tall as her son! It was great to deliver these directly to one of the NICU nurses that watched after my nephews. 

I love thinking about these babies tucked into their dark and quiet Isolettes with their cover on top. Warms my heart. 

Once I chilled with making isolette covers, I went back to quilting. New pattern I saw for sell and just figured it out. I'll be working on this one for a long time. 

My ADD tendencies kicked in so in the middle of a sewing fest, I worked on this project.

Mom found this empty frame at a yard sale years ago and I just managed to turn it into a photo board for my bedroom. Love having easy access to update photos. And love having family pics in sight :) 

Last photo- taken this week at my parents. Sweet niece was crawling all over me so I made her stop for a pic.

Work is already kicking in, full speed ahead. Sigh. I wish I could have gotten more time off before it picks back up but it didn't work out that way. I knew 2016 was going to be a doozy. 

It's now Saturday and the sun is up! Time for me to get moving and see what I can find to get into! Have a wonderful weekend. :)

DIY Gifts

I'm cross posting this from Pressed Clovers, my "crafty" blog. It's a few DIY gift ideas that I seriously think you could still do before the holidays are here.  Enjoy!

DIY Gift Ideas

Ya'll know I started this blog as a play to show my scrapbooks for my Etsy company, Pressed Clovers.  But then I started doing other crafty things and putting pics up here, so it's turned into a crafty blog. 

When I started thinking of ideas for homemade gifts, I realized I had quite a few tutorials or ideas already posted on this website! Here are a few reminders and links to things I've posted in the past.

1)  The Christmas Scrapbook.  I make my mom one for her birthday on January 4th and print dozens of photos from Christmas for her to put into it immediately.  This way she hasn't forgotten any of the details and can have it ready for the next holiday season.  Don't forget to include the double sided stickers for the photos! (more photos in the link). Basically, each page has a place for a photo and is already decorated. All she needs to do is put in the pictures and write her memories.

2)  Photo Flower Pots.  While I made these for Mother's Day, I think it would be nice for Christmas, too. There are still flowers in the winter!  This isn't difficult at all and is completely personalized.  Print pictures on plain white copy paper and mod podge them to your flower pot. Easy Peasy!

3)  Monogram is all the rage! Many of us have tons of buttons laying about - buttons in jars, buttons in drawers, or in my case, buttons from a yard sale.  Tons of buttons. A quick run to my local craft store for a burlap canvas and some hot glue can turn buttons into beautiful monograms. Loved this gift idea! So quick, can finish it in an hour. 

4)  Teenagers! What about them? I wondered the same thing. Which started another one of my traditions - a scrapbook for my preteen niece.  With her, however, I buy lots of fun teenagerish stickers for to her decorate the book herself. I provided the book and basic layouts, tons of printed photos which all included her, and the double sided tape squares. She really impresses me with her creative ideas! This year, I'm giving her all the supplies pre-cut (mats for the photos and decorative strips of paper and tape, and stickers, of course) and letting her design the actual pages!

5) Toddler Artwork  This is my most favorite DIY project I've done to date.  Having my baby niece participate by "painting" four canvases and then I hand lettered the word LOVE on top. This is currently hanging in my bedroom.  Not keen on something that large? How about a small canvas or cardstock even, let them add a little paint and you add a monogram with a sticker!  Make it your own creation! :)

6) Baby on the Way.  New mothers or mothers-to-be... even grandmothers! love having these premade scrapbooks for the newborns most stellar moments.  The delivery day, the first day home, the first bath, baby sleeping - this provides a place for all those photos and will become a gift to the baby one day.  While baby boy is featured, just think pink for a girl.


I hope some of these ideas may inspire you to try a handmade gift this Christmas or into the New Year. Share your ideas with me, I'd love to hear them!