Mobile, not Alabama

Now that the babe's been around for four months (not to mention the 9 months of incubating), I've decided it's time to decorate his room. The first project? A mobile. I did some searching on pinterest and found a few I liked. My favorite one was found here. I loved the simplicity of it (read: easy to make) and I'm a sucker for polka dots. Let the mobile begin.

Supplies:
-the inside of an embroidery hoop, painted if desired
-fabric
-heat 'n bond-type product
-ribbon
-iron
-ironing board

First Step: Gather fabric. I raided my fabric dresser (yes, I have a dresser completely devoted to fabric) and pulled out a bunch of different blue fabrics.
Second Step: Iron on some Heat 'n Bond-type stuff to the back of the fabric. I used Heat 'n Bond Lite, but some of the circles curl a little now that it's hung up. Next time I'll use a heavier kind.

Third Step: Trace a gazillion circles onto the paper-covered side of the fabric. I found that the top of a mason jar was a perfect size for the big circles and the top of my shaving cream was great for the little ones. Do the math to figure out how many of each you'll need. I'd suggest 8 completed strands, half with 4 big and 5 small, half with 5 big and 4 small. Each completed circle takes two circles so that equals 72 big and 72 little.


Fourth Step: Cut out all of your circle. This is a great time to catch up on some fantastic reality TV. :)

Fifth Step: Arrange all of your circles. I'm a little on the anal side when it comes to things like this - I had to make sure no circles of the same fabric were near each other. This took some work.

sorry I don't have pictures for the next few steps, I was so excited I forgot. :)

Sixth Step: Break out your trusty iron and ironing board. Peel the paper backing off of one set of circles. Cut a piece of ribbon about 4 feet long (or whatever you want). Place the end of the ribbon between the two circles. Iron to glue them together. Repeat this process with the rest of the circles for that strand and then with the rest of the strands.

Seventh Step: Using hot glue or a needle and thread, attach the strands the the embroidery hoop. I made little marks on the hoop of where each strand should go so they'd be evenly spaced. Then use more ribbon to make a hanger.

Eighth Step: Hang your mobile!

And if you're wondering what the babe was doing while I was making bibs, here he is! Just chillin' with some toys in his high chair like the big almost-four-month-old that he is.

Recycled T-Shirt Bibs

Before we moved, I went through all of my clothes and got rid of the stuff that I don't wear anymore. I had a ton of old t-shirts that had holes, or those nasty yellow stains in the pits, or a few spots of paint. The realist in me knew I should get rid of them, but the thrifty crafter in me wanted to save them for some unknown (and, let's be honest, probably to never come to fruition) project. I am happy to announce, I just used three of said t-shirts!

I've recently become addicted to Pinterest. (If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should. Just be warned, you'll likely become addicted.) Anyway, as I was snoopin' around on there the other day, I found this fantastic post for making baby bibs out of old t-shirts and thought I'd give it a whirl. Verdict? Super easy and pretty cute!

Here's how I made them:

1. Take a bib and trace it onto a piece of paper. Then cut it out, leaving about a half-inch margin.

2. Cut the arms and bottoms off of a t-shirt and then position the pattern so it's over the part of the shirt you want on the bib and cut it out. Repeat with flannel, terry cloth, that super soft fleecey stuff, whatever you have on hand. (Note: If I were a smarty pants, I would have put the flannel under the t-shirt, pinned the pattern to both and cut them out at the same time.)

3. Put the right sides together and sew around the edges, leaving an opening to flip the bib right-side-out.

4. Flip the bib right-side-out and iron. (Another note: DO NOT iron on the images on the t-shirt! Learned that one the hard way...)

5. Sew around the edges and sew the hole that you used to flip it right-side-out closed.

6. Sew velcro or snaps onto the ends.

7. Voila! A homemade and eco-friendly drool catcher!