What I wish I knew... {Mombo review and giveaway}

This post brought to you by Comfort and Harmony. All opinions are 100% mine.

I think as parents we all reach a point where we could write a book titled "I wish I knew..." We could fill it with all the things we discovered along the path of parenting that we wish we would have known from the start. I think it is why we value the advice from other parents so much. Those who have already gone down that path. For me it was the reason we stumbled through the first time parenting stage, but handled things a little more gracefully with each kid that followed. At the top of the list of things I wish I knew would be products that you can't live without versus products you should skip. When I had Jude I remember buying the wipe warmer, I was sure that changing a babies diaper with a nice warm wipe would be much better than a cold wipe. I was sure in my mind that this would avoid all crying at diaper changes and it would be like a day at the spa. I was so wrong. Fast forward to the 10th diaper change in a day and the wipes are dry from being over heated, and I was just trying to get the diaper changed before I got whizzed on by a baby who could care less if the wipe was warm or cold, he just wanted to be dressed. A nursing pillow though? I passed on that. It seemed bulky and awkward and I didn't see the value. Let's just say after a year of shoving pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals under my arm to support my elbow, a nursing pillow was at the top of my list when I had Abbey. I am not joking when I say it changed my life. So when I was asked if I wanted to try out the Comfort&Harmony Mombo nursing pillow with Penny. I agreed. I still had my old nursing pillow but I was more than willing to try out a new one. 

I love the Mombo Nursing Pillow. It is the best nursing pillow It has a soft pillow on top, which is very comfortable, and it has a flat firm foam pillow on the bottom to help support you during a feeding and help support the baby. I also find that is sat really well on the floor due to the flat bottom. There is also a vibration option to help soothe baby. I know babies must like the vibration thing, we have a couple baby items that vibrate but Penny was not a fan of the vibration. Which is fine since it can easily be removed.  Penny loves belly time even more with the help of the Mombo because her face and body stay up off the floor. 

The Mombo is great for just propping her up so she can see the chaos that is her siblings playing and she has the best seat in the house for it. Even though at nearly 5 months I had to stop nursing Penny I still use the Mombo for all of Penny's feedings (which are about every 2-3 hours throughout the day and night) it helps support both of us even in the bottle feedings and I still feel like we have the bond, which is good because stopping nursing came pretty hard to me.  I also just love the look and feel of the Mombo, it is soft and stylish so it doesn't feel super out of place when it is hanging out in the living room. 

If you have a newborn or are expecting a baby I would check out the Mombo baby nursing pillows for sure. It is one of the things I wish I knew about back when I had Jude and I know I could not live without one now. 

They are available at Toys R Us and Babies R Us. 

You can check out Comfort & Harmony on Facebook and follow along with  Comfort & Harmony on Twitter for more information. 

Also we are giving away a Comfort &Harmony Mombo Nursing Pillow today! 

Entry is simple leave a comment on this post telling us why you want a Mombo. 

**Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway is open until May 24th 2013, please leave your email address so I can contact the winner. One comment/entry per person. Winner will be notified via email at the close of the giveaway to claim the prize the winner must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be selected**

 

 

Super Easy Peasy Baby Headband

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 With a "newborn" (she is almost 5 months old but I still feel like we are in the two week old chaos phase) I need quick and easy projects. Creating something feeds my soul but when I sit down to sew it takes me a week to make a top... yeah. So I LOVE a project that takes less than 5 min and honestly you don't even need a sewing machine you could do a few quick hand stitches and be done. Hence the Super Easy Peasy Baby Headband.  

 A cute turban inspired head band that is beyond quick and easy and super comfortable for a baby to wear. Which is great because my babies always loose their hair in a bit of an odd pattern and their cute little fuzzy heads look better with a headband.

 The cute little twist just adds a little something to the design and they are made from stretchy knit so it's super quick.

 Start with a scrap of knit. You want the stretch to run width wise. I made mine a couple inches (3 maybe?) thick and then the width should wrap around the head 2 times a little snug but not too tight. Then sew the strip so you have a large tube. You just have to sew the ends together you can do this with the machine or by hand.

 Then twist the big loop to make a figure 8.

 Twist the center so it has a full twist and not just one layer laying over the the other.

 Then pick it up and you will have a double loop with a twist in it.

 pop it on the head and you are good to go. A couple notes. This works best with a knit that has about 50% stretch (can double in size and return) It makes it a little more comfortable to wear. Think knit with spandex or rayon in it. Also knit that is the same on both sides or doesn't have a "wrong" side per say will be best so you don't have to finish any edges or worry about the wrong side showing. If you did use a one sided knit you could sew wrong sides together to create a long tube before sewing the ends together and then all the raw edges would be on the inside.

 Since they have stretch they will grow nicely with baby. Now it's time to go make one for every outfit :)

 Also Penny has already figured out the camera/phone deal and all smiles go away the instant she sees one... unless you put it off to the side and trick her, but then all the "smile shots" are out of focus. Hopefully she comes around to the idea of smiling for pictures.

The BIG Tote

 Hey guys! I am a wee bit late in getting this post out to you (with a coupon at the end) We went out of town and we tore our house apart the week before we left so it has been a few weeks of total chaos and we had really spotty wifi on vacation so I felt totally disconnected from everything, which I am not going to lie it was kind of nice to just unplug, but now I am way behind on posts, picking a giveaway winner and emails (sorry if you are waiting to hear from me) Anyway Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts contacted me about working with some new fabric from the HGTV Home Decor fabric line. Seeing how I buy about 80% of my sewing and crafting supplies from Jo-Ann (it's literally around the corner from my house) I of course could not say no to the opportunity. They sent me two of the fabrics from the line to work with and come up with a fun project. The fabric is a sturdy home decor fabric so it was perfect for making a big tote bag since I knew it would be durable and I needed a big "carry all" bag. (everything else I used was purchased by me from Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts)

 I wanted a leather/pleather bottom and I picked up some awesome faux leather in the remanent bin last time I was there which was perfect. I also used a large zipper, and some rope trim from the trim section for handles. I started by cutting large rectangles out the size I wanted my bag to be (and the length of the zipper across the top) I cut the outside layer a little short so I could make the bottom of the bag from the faux leather.

 Then I started by sewing the faux leather to the outside pieces so they were now one large piece the same size as the lining.

 Then sandwich the zipper between the lining and the outer piece. The zipper should face the outside piece not the lining (I had to unpick and re-do that...it happens)

 Then open that up flat and do the same with the other side of the zipper sandwiching it between the lining and the outer.

 Then with the lining right sides together and the outside pieces right side together sew along the outside edge skipping over the center where the zipper is, and leave an opening in the lining so you can turn it all right side out. (ignore the fact that the pictures are jumping all over the place and remember that we are tearing the house apart so I was moving where ever I could work for a moment :)

 Then so that the bag stands up flat, box out the corners by folding the corner and then sewing a straight line across.

 Turn the tote right side out and hand stitch closed the opening in the lining.

 Next I added the handles by cutting out little curved pieces from the faux leather and then sewing the trim down in the piece.

 Lastly to reinforce the zipper end and fasten it down I added a faux leather tab and then stitched it down in place with the zipper ends tucked in.

 Then I had a nice BIG tote that is lined and cute and can hold everything but the kitchen sink.

 The fabric is amazing to work with since it is so durable and will hold up really well to lots of use.

Even though I am so late getting you this coupon code you can save 10% on your HGTV Fabrics and Trims through tomorrow! They have some really pretty designs!

Children's Fashion Workshop Giveaway

I have a great giveaway for you today! Children's Fashion Workshop is great site to help you design any child's pattern you can dream up. It is really cool! Especially if you are new to designing for your self but really want to start somewhere. She has basic block patterns in a wide range of sizes to help get you started and lessons so you can learn how to add ease, collars, pockets, anything you can possibly desire you can learn how to draft.

I worked with the basic bodice, and showed you what I made just a few days ago adding bubble sleeves to a top.

And you know even though I draft patterns a lot, there is always something new to learn and that's what is really fun about using the blocks and lessons.

Today Children's Fashion Workshop is giving away:
One pattern set (which includes 3 sizes of either a bodice or pant)
and
Two lessons of your choice.

Pretty sweet!

To enter check out Children's Fashion Workshop and leave a comment telling me what you are dying to draft/design.

Giveaway will be open until May 1st 2013 Winner will be selected on May 2nd 2013

Good luck!

The Good the Bad and the Ugly (behind the scenes)

 Project run and play is wrapping up (last chance to go vote it ends tonight) I thought it would be fun to show you the "behind the scenes" since there is a lot that goes on that doesn't get seen during the competition. Week one I started back in December (actually the first sneak peek would have been during my "day of 12" pictures as I worked on it that day) It was one of those rare projects that literally came together exactly how I had hoped and besides the last min addition of leggings I was just tickled pink. Then we went to go shoot it, we went to my husbands work and I wanted her to just stand in the hall. It was Saturday the place was empty the lighting was perfect and Abbey? She was afraid to stand in the hall. Her dad walked her to the spot she should stand and it took her quite a while to open up. So I gave her my phone and she had a pretend phone call... then she was dancing and hamming it up for the camera and this was one of my favorite shoots of all time. If only all the sewing for the competition could have been like week one...

 Week two was one of my hardest weeks. I loved the fabric but every time I looked at it I drew a blank. I finally decided that I would give some wide leg "sailor" inspired pants a try. So I made them. (it's ok if you like them) I hated them. They were all kinds of coo coo crazy and should probably be burned. So I decided to make a shirt dress. I mixed stripes in with the chevron and I kind of liked it (the striped leggings were not part of the look, she was just wearing them, I am not that crazy) So I didn't hate the shirt dress but it was nothing special, and not my favorite... so I scratched it again and decided to move on to week 3.

 When I finally came back to the week 2 challenge my mind was refreshed and I was able to make the dress that I loved. Funny thing from the shoot. Abbey was LOVING the shoot. She was the best she has ever been and every picture was my new favorite. We had traveled out to an abandoned dead end road to take the pictures and everything was going great when out of nowhere this car (seen above) comes right towards us. I figured they had to be lost. They park right where we were taking pictures and then get out of the car and walk off into the woods. It was weird, and slightly annoying. So it was a good thing Abbey was being awesome or the shoot would have been ruined.

 Then there was week 3. I made the most pieces for week 3. I started with embroidery. (on the shirt in the bottom left picture) I was worried I wouldn't get done in time or that I wouldn't like it since finding time to embroider with 2 kids and a newborn was a little challenging so I worked up a back up plan. I made the shirt in the top left corner, which had the peter pan collar, and rows of ruffles and pleats. Then I pinned it on her (in the picture it is pinned) I was just not loving it, so I made a back up plan with this awesome sheer fabric and gold trim, sadly I didn't measure well and as you can see it was Horrid. It did not fit at all and looked like trash but I liked the collar, so I saved it and made yet another top using the circle neckline... only it was all kinds of odd fitting... and again not quite right. (you can also see the jeans after the first die bath but before the second. So since my back up plans were bombing, I decided I better finish the embroider and I finished the top... sadly I cut the skirt on the wrong grain and I cut the back to wide and low... It was such a sad disaster. So I called my shwin. We walked through a better plan and....

 The result was just what I could have hoped for. I guess sometimes you have to go through the bad and the ugly to get to the good. The photo shoot on the other hand? I had almost no time to shoot because our sunny bright and warm weather was going away not to return so I literally finished and we hurried outside to take pictures before the rain came... and it started to rain... Abbey was mad. She kept looking up to the sky in concern, freaking out with every drop that would land on her... and getting mad and her brother who was teasing her, then she came up with some err interesting poses...

The final week was the only other week that I knew what I wanted to make from the start and it all came together pretty well. The only issue I had was that I wanted Navy gingham for Jude's shirt, but I couldn't find any, which actually turned out ok since I really like the mint and I was able to use the chevron tie I had planned on using during week 2. I could have actually used Jude's whole outfit during week 2 but I wanted to save it for the formal week. The outtakes during the photo shoot which got moved inside after 2 failed attempts were pretty funny. Taking pictures of two kids proved to be a little more challenging that on the weeks with just one, mainly because they were just goofing off.

So It's over and done and it was a lot of fun, the girls are all so great and the talent is amazing.
Remember you can still hop over to vote through tonight.

Two of us {week 4 formal wear challenge}

The final week of Project Run and Play! The final challenge is Spring formal wear. When we first got the themes back in December I knew exactly what I was going to make for week one and week four. The weeks in the middle? Not so much in fact I made 3-4 looks for each week. However back in December I was already dreaming of Spring and I knew just what I wanted to make. I wanted to design something for both kids and I wanted to play off their personalities.

Head here to vote for you favorite!

For Jude I went very casual for the formal wear. I made him shorts since to me boys in the spring time are running around and falling and this way he can look more formal with the trouser style shorts but not have to worry about grass stains or tears in the knees of his pants.

The shorts which are basically shorts versions of the Number 9 Trousers have faux flap pockets in the back because I wanted the look of the flap but I didn't want the corners curling up or the pockets looking sloppy, and since the back pockets are almost never used anyway I just skipped them. So they are sewn down around the edges and then I added two vintage buttons.

The shirt is a slim fit color blocked collared shirt. It is a lot like the Maxwell Top only I started from scratch to draft the shirt so it had a slimmer fit, and it had pleats in the back and a stand collar so he could wear a tie. I also added color blocked stripes across the chest and color blocked the pockets to follow the chevron lines in the tie. The tie is something I had cut out and planned to make during week two since I was using the chevron fabric, but I never ended up making an outfit for Jude during week two, but the tie was perfect for this week. The navy and white chevron offer a great pop against the mint, white and grey.

Then there is Abbey. She is a spunky little girl who loves to wear twirly dresses, or princess dresses. So I knew I needed to give her a super fun silhouette. The dress started with the most gorgeous loose weave linen in bright coral. As a linen lover the fabric was just heaven. It had a great drape and flow but also held some shape really well.

The dress started with constructing a slip dress of sorts, layers and layers of gathered white tulle were sewn to the fully lined white bodice. This gave the base of a super full and puffy dress. Then I attached the pleated skirt to the bodice. I added hand beading in a water fall effect over the shoulder. I used a mix of 5 different beads to get the effect I wanted and it pulled all the colors from both outfits together.

The bodice is cut with a ballerina style neck line and V in the back. A navy ribbon ties around the waist and really pops with the colors. The skirt also got a thick heavy hem to keep the skirt weighed down a bit since the light fabric and layers of tulle would have made the skirt easily fly away.

This may have been my favorite week, I loved designing for Jude sewing for boys is a lot of fun and Jude is at an age were he once again loves wearing what I make for him, he was also getting jealous of Abbey and all of her fittings and photo shoots so he was thrilled to be a part of it all. Even if half the pictures were with him being a bit of a goon. You can go HERE to vote. 

And just for fun a little recap of the past 4 weeks looks. The whole competition has been so much fun, I loved sewing along with super talented ladies each week. They are all the nicest most amazing ladies. I have made some of my most favorite pieces, and now its time for a vacation :)

Adding bubble sleeves to a top

 Well friends I am finally done sewing for project run and play! The final looks go up tomorrow (and I am super excited about them!) What does this mean? Well dinner for my family, time with my husband at night, and back to sewing quick and easy projects. I can also get around to sharing the projects I had been working on but never blogged since apparently I only  have time for one thing at a time ha! So a while back (like February) I was contacted by Erin from Children's Fashion Workshop. If you have always wanted to make your own designs but struggle with drafting a basic bodice and sleeve to start things off, then you will find your solution here. She has basic bodices and sleeves for infant-10 years, you will also find basic pants. 

 She gave me a basic bodice and sleeve block to play around with and even though the possibilities are endless, I went with a basic tee, my daughters favorite and I added a bubble sleeve like I had on the Modern Artist Dress. Even though it was done a little different for the knit the concept is the same. (let's all ignore the little pucker at the shoulder... I should fix it, but I didn't eh)

 The knit is a super soft and stretchy knit that my husband picked up for me at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco. The knit is heavenly and since I accidentally saw how much he spent on it I have been holding on to it for a year now, but I finally bit the bullet and made a tee shirt, and I love it. I have enough left for one more project so now I just get to decide what to save it for :)

 So starting off, I used the basic bodice and sleeve in the size 4T. The are designed with 10% ease (plenty for a tee) You do have to add your own seam allowance, and then all I did was lengthen the bodice and alter the neckline so it was a little wider. I cut the sleeve nice and short (more on the sleeve later)

 So I cut a front and back bodice, and then since it was a tee I cut some neck ribbing. It should be a strip about 1.5 inches thick and wide enough to fit around the head when stretched.

 For the sleeve. I cut one sleeve at the regular size slightly shorter than I want the sleeve to be. Then I cut a second one that is wider and longer, that is the bubble layer.

 Now to sew the tee sew the front and back at the shoulders.

 Then sew the neck ribbing to form a loop. Fold the loop in half width wise. Then pin in place at the front back and shoulders. You will have to stretch the ribbing as you sew.

 Then top stitch the ribbing in place again stretching as you sew.

 Now for the sleeve. If you are not using a knit you will want to gather the bottom edge, but since I was using a knit I just stretched the regular sleeve to fit as I sewed them together. To do this pin the middle of the two sleeves together then pin the two sides together and stretch as you sew.

 The bubble layer will be all nicely gathered.

 Then gather the top of the bubble layer sleeve. Fold the sleeve so the raw edges meet up.

 Then sew the sleeve into the arm curve. You will sew the bubble edge to the right side of the shirt and sew through both sleeve layers.

 Then with right sides together sew the sides of the shirt. Lastly hem the bottom and done.

 As you can see simple changes to a basic block pattern can create endless design possibilities. Over at Children's Fashion Workshop you will also find lessons so you can learn how to add different design elements.

I know I had fun playing with the basic bodice.