DIY: Reusable Nursing Pads

You know, I think this has turned into a Mommy Blog after all. I'm more okay with that than I expected. It makes sense, I guess, our kids are awfully important, and we're all in this together-- Remember, it takes a village!

Here's another DIY for you:

Confession: I've never actually bought disposable nursing pads. I got some cloth ones from Amazon from the get go, and have been really happy with them. But I imagine that disposable ones (like disposable almost everything) are stinkin' expensive / that they add up. Even cloth ones were surprisingly pricey! And, since even washing them I still go thru what feels like 4739 per week, I figured there had to be another option. Of course--recycled receiving blankets!

MATERIALS:
1 flannel receiving blanket (you could also do this with approximately 1 yard of flannel fabric from your local craft store)
Sewing machine/thread
Scissors
Pencil
Something round approximately 4 inches across (I used a coaster)


DIRECTIONS (It's as easy as 1-2-3!)
1) Fold flannel in quarters then trace your round object with a pencil (I could fit 8 on mine).

2) Cut out circles thru all 4 layers. Put a pin in the center to hold them together.

3) Sew around the edges using a medium length zig-zag stitch.

Don't worry too much about being RIGHT on the edge (you can always trim them a bit), but do try not to stretch the fabric too much as you guide it. See in the picture below how the one I stretched tends to buckle more. Fewer buckles means it will lie smoother under your shirt. 

Ta-da!

 

 (Maybe I should rename my blog "How to Sew Everything Out of Recycled Receiving Blankets"! haha!)

Adventure Well; Live Fully.
HAK

DIY: Cloth Wipes

It has been a long time since I touched a sewing machine...easily over a decade. But I found an old one in college and told myself for several years that I would clean it up and start sewing. But when I finally got around to it, I discovered that the bit that makes the fabric move was broken (boooo!). Enter Meg and her spare sewing machine. Huzzah! Meg was also the source of the hand-me-down receiving blankets that led to this project...

I'm cloth diapering our Jem--more on that in another post, but, basically, I love it! We're in a season of increased thrifty-ness and more careful stewardship (ie: I'm no longer working outside the home), so I realized we could save money if I also started using cloth wipes. But, YIKES those are expensive for what they are (fabric bum-wipers. C'mon y'all). Of course the logical leap at this point was to make my own. Yeah!

 

What you need:

1 flannel receiving blanket

(mine was a hand-me-down!)

Ruler

Scissors

Pencil

Sewing Machine

(or the patience of Job to hand-sew these)

     

 

Step 1:

Cut blanket into strips

(approximately 7 inches wide).

 

Step 2:

Cut the strips into rectangles

(approximately 7x4 inches)

I just marked all these measurements with a normal pencil. It'll wash out soon enough.

 

Then you have a nice pile of wipes-to-be:

(my blanket made 36) 

Step 3:

Hem those suckers.

(I promise you can do this with minimal sewing machine skills. The thing I loved about this project was that it was no pressure. It's totally fine that my hems are wobbly and corners wonky. The important things were that, in the course of one nap time, I tried something (re)new, and I am saving $$.)

 

 

Ta-da!

Look at you, you super crafty, super thrifty, super-hero mama, you!

Now pop those in a wipe box and

just add water! 

This is a gratuitous picture of Monte being a bit freaked out by and totally fascinated with the sewing machine. ;-)

It really is amazing how doing something new-ish makes one feel accomplished (as a mom, as a woman, as a person). 

Adventure well; Live fully.
HAK 



 

DIY: Make the Perfect Planner

I am a list maker. 
I love lists--writing them , checking them off, keeping track of things. 
I also love schedules. 
And the big picture. 
And room to scribble. 
My planner must fit in my purse. And since my purse is only about 7 inches square, worn as a hip bag (Think Fiona if you watch Burn Notice), that's a tall order in itself.
I do NOT love address books or sterile looking pages. 

Since this appears to be a rather tall order for a premade planner, I decided to take the plunge this year and figure out how to make my own. 


Step 1: Gather your stuff. 

I bought a small moleskine notebook with gridded pages and gathered my favorite pins for making the inside bright and delightful. 

Step 2: Know what's important to me. My top three things in a planner are 1) monthly pages, 2) Lots of to do list space, 3) a place to write a schedule for each day, all with enough space left to scribble notes around the margins. 

Step 3: Place and create month pages. I put mine on the last 12 pages (6 spreads) of the book. I use these for remembering birthdays, due dates, doctor's appointments, etc, so I want them accessible, but not necessarily at the front.  

 One of the great things about having gridded paper, is that it's super easy to make a nice, even calendar. I used the extra space on the sides to create a little "notes" box, too, for reminders, etc. 

Step 4: Design and make your daily pages. 
(Disclaimer: all of 2014 probably won't fit in a notebook this size because it has 192 pages, and I'm using a 2 page "spread" for each day. This doesn't particularly bother me, but if you want all year in a single place, you could use just 1/2 a spread for each day. That would be particularly feasible if you have a larger notebook. Mine is only 3.5x5.5 inches).  

On the left page I have the date, day of the week, what I'm cooking for dinner, and a to do list (on days when my list is not quite so long, I'd also have general scribble space). On the right side, I map out a schedule for the day around things like appointments, going to the gym, etc. Again, I like the grid because I think it adds a general neatness to the look. 

One other tip:
In case you're worried about how time consuming this could be: I've only made the calendar pages for Jan and Feb so far, and I've only made daily pages thru next week. Not only does this break it down so I can just add as I need pages and months, it also means that I could change up my layout at almost any point during the year if I wanted to try something new. 

There you have it, folks! A personalized planner in your favorite colors, patterns, and layouts for less than your average pre-made planner! Happy 2014!

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK