The Trusty Shadow Box {Mommy Monday}

I have been turning rooms inside out and rearranging pretty much everything to try to satisfy my nesting needs.  We have painted and flipped rooms and I am beginning to girly up the nursery...nothing too big, Jack is still in there.  But, boy oh boy, as soon as his sheets arrive, he's moving across the hall so I can get all of my rooms finished months before this little gal arrives.  So I figured I would spend the next few Mondays (if I remember to) showing some projects that I have been working on.  

Today, is the good ol' shadow box.  

Everybody has seen them, most of you have them already on your walls.  I personally LOVE them.  I watch for them to go on 50% off at Hobby Lobby and then I cash in.  Unfortunately this also means I have several shadow boxes in the making laying around.  So maybe this post will encourage you to head on over the the big H.L. and pick up one.

Jack's Cowboy Shadowbox

You will need:

   -Memories

   -Backdrop fabric

   -Batting

   -Hot glue gun

   -Straight pins

   -Windex (or any other Glass cleaner)

The first step is to glue your batting onto the back panel of the frame.  The good news is that this does not have to be perfect!  I had leftover batting from when I reupholstered my farm chair, so I would put a scrap here and a scrap there and it works.  It will be covered up.

Next, flip it over and cut off all of the extra batting that is surrounding the panel.

 When you get it trimmed up, this is what the front looks like.

Now for your fabric.  Very similar to an upholstery job, expect leave the staple gun in the drawer.  I glue one side at a time, folding the corners so they look descent.  

If you want to have a fully covered back, you can measure and glue a piece of fabric that covers the whole space.  I personally did not want to use the fabric or take the time to do this since it will be hanging on the wall.

I, obviously, was not at a very good angle when I took this picture, but you see how nice the front, blank canvas is.

 Now for the whole reason you have decided to do this project, your memories.  I am putting Jack's very first Wrangler onesie, a horseshoe from the farm and an extra birth announcement.

If you are doing a piece of clothing, iron it very well.  You don't want to look sloppy.  Then figure out how you want things to lay, such as sleeves, and pin them in place.  It's not like you have 2 inches of batting to pin on, so insert it at an angel and it will hold great.

Then remove that really annoying sticker that they put in the top corner and use your glass cleaner to make it nice and shiny.  Then you have finished artwork and less clutter in your craft space.  

I know that eventually all of these will end up in one place as my children get older.  Most likely it will be our bedroom or if I get that office one day.  An office that suits my photography, sewing, crafting, etc...ahhhh I might just need an addition to the house.

- The Barefoot Mamma

Good Intentions {Mommy Monday}

Hello My Dear Ones,

I have taken a hiatus from blogging, mainly because so much has happened that I do not know where to pick back up.  This post has been on my mind for a few weeks now, and I think it is time that I come clean...

While I was pregnant with Jack, I had decided I was going to be a natural, organic, hippie mother...whatever you want to call it, I wanted to parent my baby in a certain way.  I researched and was excited to get started.  However, when life called, I altered my plan of action.  It started with going from a drug-free, natural birth to being taken into surgery for a C-section.

Some women do total natural parenting and I am really so impressed.  I may try again with this baby, but when you find good deals and coupons on items that may not be so good for the earth, but are for your wallet, it is hard to commit.  All of these items are good.  I am not giving a poor rating to anything, just confessing that I didn't abide by all the things I have talked about doing.

Diapering

Ok, this is one subject I was dead-set on doing.  Cloth diapers are so wonderful in my mind.  I love knowing I am doing a favor to the earth and in the long run saving money.  I chose to go with the gDiaper because it had disposable/biodegradable/flushable inserts for when you are on the go.  I use these mainly when I run out of my disposable diapers.  I have heard from other moms that these are not the ones to use for cloth diapering.  I was luck enough to have someone else share their stash with me, so I didn't have to invest, but I am considering the all-in-ones for this next baby.  It's hard because it's a good $200 on the front end.

I get an amazing deal through Amazon mom on these Huggies little sungglers.  They are delivered to my house twice a month.  I take them off Jack and throw them away, never to be seen again.  As much as I love the idea of cloth diapers, I love the ease of the disposable diaper.

Bottles

I have a full set, well used to be full set, of these Evenflo glass bottles.  I loved them because you could boil and wash in the dishwasher without worrying about warping.  What I found out was that those silicone sleeves they sell are very important because several of mine have shattered on the floor.  And that the plastic BPA free ones can also be washed in the dishwasher...and I might have boiled them once.  One more thing to keep in mind is how heavy they are.  It is harder for your child to hold them by themselves.  

I still use my glass ones (what's left of them) at home, but my favorite is the Playtex Drop-in liners.  These are easy to fill with formula and shake up because there is a little extra room and in training your child to hold their own bottle, you can squeeze the air out so the suction allows them to drink without having to tip a big bottle upwards.

Breastfeeding and Formula

I loved nursing.  I LOVED it!  It is so good for your baby and such a sweet time to connect...just the two of you.  I was a nursing mamma on the go.  I learned to do it inconspicuously while in public.  I was fortunate to have a baby that could nurse and be a part of things.  Not every baby sits still or allows mom to stay covered.  Every ones situation is so unique and special in their own way.  

I had planned to breastfeed Jack until he was a year old.  At that time, babies switch to cows milk for their diet.  Well, when he was 6 months old, we found out we were expecting our little Baby Bean.  There are several different schools of thought on this subject, but we chose to ween and focus my body on this next baby.  So I reluctantly made the switch to formula for Jack.  He did so well.  He was a skinny baby...genetics...but it was good for him to get a little meat on his bones thanks to the formula.

 Baby Wash

Chemicals, Chemicals, Chemicals.  They are everywhere.  I read something that scared me to death about what I was going to using to clean my baby!  I was determined to get something natural to do the trick.  I used this Burt's Bees wash.  It really didn't smell that bad, but it didn't smell baby sweet.  And guess what, I was washed in the regular ol' baby wash that was available and I have survived.  

So, we made the switch to my most favorite fabricated baby smell in the entire world!  Baby Magic!  Johnson and Johnson smells so good, but it was a little floral for my masculine baby boy. :)  I love how he smells when he gets out of the bath tub.

Here are a few things I want to recommend to you...no comparison, just good stuff.

Amber Teething Necklace

This is something I was very skeptical of when it arrived.  It is not something Mommy wears, but instead, something baby wears.  I was scared of choking and swallowing beads.  But I can testify, I only allow Jack to wear it while we are watching him.  Each bead is individually tied off and are small enough, that if they were swallowed, it would not block an airway.  

This has been a wonderful tool in the process of growing teeth.  I didn't want to use Baby Orajel

Baby Food on the Go

If you are a regular reader, you know I make a lot of Jack's baby food.  I also made a lot of mistakes in traveling with his baby food.  I have loved being his own little chef, but to take it with us to restaurants or on vacations has been a terrible experience.  These Plum organic baby pouches are one of my most favorite helpers.  I always have one in the diaper bag.  They are good combinations of organic vegetables and are in a pouch that takes up less space than a jar.  

Baby Legs. {Mommy Monday}

Hello All,

Let me just tell you about one of my mommy finds that I am in love with...baby legs!  Jack had a few pair when he was a newborn.  I thought I would love them because of how easy it was to change diapers without having to pull off little pants or pjs.  Which it was great for that, but the main flaw was his little feet.  When they are that young you are supposed to keep their feet warm at all times, so I would put socks on top of the baby legs, and I'm sorry, but that just looked goofy.  I don't even have a picture of that. ha!

Look at how tiny his legs were!

Since Jack has started crawling I have fallen in love again.  Andrew and I were at a small baby shop in town and we found camo and red/white stripes...not girly one bit!  That was our other problem was that the patterns before were all dainty and feminine, but not these.   Jack's little knees would get red from crawling on rough carpet.  But just by putting on these fancy little inventions You too can save your baby's knees. :)

They also had baby boxers...don't you think they are the cutest things!

Here is the camo.

I have found a few tutorials in the past and have yet to make them, so naturally I can't remember which blog they were on.  But here is a very easy one, if you are feeling a little crafty. (click on the word here)


And if you don't want to pay $10/pair that you will find at boutiques or bust out your sewing machine, here is a link to one shop on etsy.  There are so many people selling these!  I have not purchased from this shop, I just thought they had a good selection and price.  Click on the image and it'll take you there.

So, baby #2 popped out a lot quicker and is much more visible that Jack was.  I also am probably 13 or 14 weeks here.  We still do not know the due date.  But just wanted to update you.

Reupholstering a Chair {Mommy Monday}

Alright Friends!  I'm back after a long blog hiatus.  We are going to take a small break from the baby food segment for a little upholstery empowerment. 

When we went to my grandparent's farm a few months ago, I got to bring back this awesome chair.  It was one of their first pieces of furniture after they got married.  It was originally a wool plaid of greens and yellows...so cool, I know!  And my Grandmother reupholstered it with this geometric 70s fabric.  I had planned to keep it because I LOVED how it looked, but unfortunately, it had been attacked by mildew.  So I took it on as a project.  

Let me start off by saying, I make no claims to be a professional, nor do I think my way is the right way.  I am simply sharing an experience, so you know that if you have a project don't be afraid to take it on.  It may not be the most conventional approach, but make it happen.

1) Whenever you are doing something you don't know how to do, take pictures as you go when disassembling it.  I am going to spare you of those photo because they aren't pretty and there are a million of them.  Here is one so you can see how cool that fabric is!

2)  My materials:  I bought a 2 inch thick foam, 1 yard of fabric, burlap, batting, had my handy tools ready.

3)  Here is a shot of the bare bones of the chair.  When I took it apart the padding was the original horse hair.  That stuff lasts forever and I hadn't seen it in person before.  I was very sad to throw that out, but I was scared the mold had penetrated it.

4)  I then stapled the burlap onto the bottom and back of the chair.  I only thought to do this because it was on there when I took it apart.

Trim up the edges so there isn't any overlap.

5) Next I headed inside to cut out my pattern.  What you will not see here is the fact that I had to do this twice because I didn't take into account the size of the foam.  So I would recommend giving yourself a 2 in perimeter when you are cutting from the original fabric pattern.  This will save heartache and tears.

6)  I then laid the foam on the fabric and traced the outline of the seat and back and cut those out.  Don't expect to get it right the first time.

Note the patch job at the bottom right corner.

7)  Now I flipped the chair over and stapled the batting tightly over the foam so it holds it in place.

8)  Almost done!  Bring out the fabric and do the same thing as you did with the batting.  I chose a 70-ish inspired fabric that had a pattern that needed to be lined up...more work, but looks good.

9)  Ta-Da!  You have a finished chair!  Again, not perfect, but completed and under $40.  I still need to add some nail-head pins to the underside that's hanging down.

I've already put it to good use.  You can see it here in one of my maternity sessions.

Always,

The Barefoot Mamma