TODDLER TUESDAY--DOUBLE FLANNEL RECEIVING BLANKETS

Good Morning!

I am gearing up to go into labor any day now with my second baby, who is a boy. This time around, I decided to make my own receiving blankets. I used my receiving blankets like crazy with my first baby, and since they are so darn easy to put together, I decided to make my own! Plus, I just love fabric and there happen to be a 50% off flannel sale at Joann Fabrics, so it was an easy argument!

First things first, the receiving blankets that you get in packages are usually just a square yard piece of fabric with a pattern on only one side. My mother-in-law made me a double flannel receiving blanket, which was so much more universal, plus fashionable on both sides. I loved this blanket to swaddle my February baby in warmth, then also used it to keep the baby warm under air conditioning vents in the car during the hot summer months. Seems ironic, but that little baby's skin would get so chilly in the air conditioned car!

So to start out with, you will need two pieces of flannel cut to the same size. I used the width of the fabric (which was usually 42" minus the selvage) by 1 yard. U can pick the same pattern and double up OR pick coordinating patterns and colors like I did.

 Once you have cut the two flannel pieces to the size you want, pin them wrong sides together and stitch a 1/4 from the edge all around the blanket.

These blankets will probably get washed frequently, so you will want to be sure to choose a stitch pattern that will withstand lots of wearing and washing. My sewing machine is a very basic model that only gives me the option of zigzag. I set it to the widest and closest zig zag

(probably not the appropriate lingo but hopefully you can get the idea) that I could. Your machine will put down a lot of thread, but your blankets will definitely have a better chance of staying together!

Tada! I whipped these babies out in an hour with a toddler in tow! Hope you enjoy this simple and fast sewing tutorial!

Heather

MAKEOVER MONDAYS--PART 2 OFFICE/CRAFT ROOM MAKEOVER

Hello!

You may remember Part 1 of the office/craft room makeover that I posted about a week ago, if not you can find it here. Part 2 of the office/craft room makeover is the addition of a new functional piece of furniture to organize all my craft supplies. The before pictures below show one wall with an old entertainment center filled with all sorts of crafting and office supplies with no particular organization.

The window side of the room with the treadmill, which obviously couldn't be used without moving a bunch of things off of it.

This picture is really just to show you where the new piece of furniture is going to end up.

Here is the new piece of furniture I found at the Junk Barn Girls this last summer. This piece is solid built and has lots of character! It had already been refinished in a black pottery barn style that I love! I got it for the grand total of $100--WHAT A STEAL!

The inside is very cool and unique for organizing. Reminds me of an old post office sorting box.

Here it sits in its place.

The bags on top were purchased from Thirty One. My theme in this room is black and white with the green accents. These bags are great for storing fabric and projects. Also makes it easy to throw a project in one to take on the road. The bag on the right has all sorts of great utility pockets for my sewing supplies and easily fits my sewing machine when I need to pack it up off my desk.

When you open the doors, this is what you see. It is still a bit like organized chaos in my mind, but when I finish Part 3 of this entire makeover, we will revisit organizing some of these cubicles.

This is the inside and bottom two drawers. Again, lots of chaos, just wanted to show you that lots got moved into there. This will get organized a bit better also with some great ideas and techniques that I plan to show you in Part 3.

You can see from the pictures below that a lot of the stuff from that entertainment center got moved and organized into that one piece of furniture. It was a major improvement!

Part 3 of the makeover will cover how I plan to re-purpose this old entertainment center and further use it to organized this room. Hopefully you won't even recognize it! Cannot wait to share it with you! Stay tuned for part 3, unfortunately it will be closer to march before I can get this project finished.

Heather

SUNDAY SNEAK-PEEK

Hello everyone!

Here is the SUNDAY SNEAK-PEEK at the week ahead on Sew Mad Crafty~


FEB 6,  MAKEOVER MONDAY--PART 2 OFFICE/CRAFT ROOM MAKEOVER

FEB 7, TODDLER TUESDAY--DOUBLE FLANNEL RECEIVING BLANKETS TUTORIAL

FEB 8, WHATEVER WEDNESDAY--APOTHECARY JARS TUTORIAL

FEB 9,  THOUGHTS ON THURSDAYS--RE-PURPOSING

FEB 10,  FEATURE FRIDAY--THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES AROUND

FEB 11, SEW SATURDAY-- PAYTON'S SOCK MONKEY TUTORIAL

In addition to the Sunday Sneak-peeks, I will be adding on a linking party every Sunday for everyone to share their projects and tutorials. My goal is to get some giveaway's organized to award the most liked or most popular post. So start taking pictures of your projects and stay tuned for a tutorial on how to join the linking parties and win some goodies!


Hope you had a great Superbowl Sunday!

Heather