As you probably know, we recently moved to another state. The house came together pretty quickly. Sure we still need some art in a few places, but overall it’s not bad. The kids rooms are still in progress. The oldest only needs a rug, but lately I’ve been in the process of decorating the toddler’s room.

Since she has always slept with us, it is really important for me to make sure this is a room she LOVES. That way, she’ll get more excited about transitioning to her own space. Her favorite colors are orange and turquoise. This has been the basis of the room. I found a cheap toddler bed on Craigslist – last weekend we sanded and painted it turquoise. I still need to add a little art and a rug, some curtains and a quilt.

Once it is done I’m looking forward to sharing it with you. Until then, I’d love for you to share your toddler rooms by emailing or commenting with a link. I can’t wait to see them!

Hubs sanding down the Craigslist toddler bed

Cute new bed after several coats of turquoise

I was so excited when Sara from KittyBabyLove offered to do a guest post here on Hurried Homemaker! If you haven’t already fallen in love with her adorable kitty egg crayons, you will now. Anyway, as I was saying …

Sara was kind enough to do a step-by-step picture and word origami tutorial. School is about to be out and I know that my oldest and I will be spending some time together doing this fun activity. Enjoy!

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Need some fun? Try out this tutorial for an origami waterball garland. Not
only is it simple enough to do with the little ones, but a fun way to pass
some time. All you need is some paper cut into squares, some string
(embroidery floss used in the image), and a needle. Get creative with your
color choices, types of paper you use, and additions you decide to make to
the garland.

1. Start with a square paper. In the example shown I used a 3″x3″ square,
which yielded a ball slightly under 1″. Larger squares will be easier for
little hands to work with.

2. Fold in half, corner to corner.

3. Fold in half again, matching the corners of the triangle together.

4. Unfold.

5. Fold in half, this time straight edge to straight edge.

6. Fold in half again- straight edge to straight edge

7. Unfold. You will use these prefolded lines as a guide for the next step.
Arrange the paper so that a flat edge is facing you. Notice where my thumbs
are in the picture. You will be bringing in these edges toward the bottom
center fold.

8. Notice the triangle it makes on the bottom.

9. Place your finger in the center and notice how the prefolds create a
triangle on the top side. Flatten this shape.

10. Viola!

11. On one side of the triangle, fold the bottom corner up to the top corner

12. Repeat on the other leg of the triangle. Flip over to the backside.

13. Repeat steps 11 & 12 on this side. This will give you a diamond
shape.

14. Make sure the top of your diamond looks like this. Keep this side up
when working on the next step

15. Fold a side corner on one side of your diamond in toward the center

16. Repeat on the other side

17. Flip your diamond over and repeat steps 15 & 16 on the other side

18. Fold the top part of one “leg” downwards as shown

19. Repeat on all sides

20. Tuck the leg you just folded downward into the pocket you made in steps
15 & 16

21. It will look like this

22. Repeat this on all sides

23. Fold the bottom of the entire origami piece back and forth a little. You
don’t want to actually make any creases; the idea is to loosen the paper so
that it will blow into a ball more easily…

24. Do this also on the top part of the entire origami piece

25. Now time to inflate the ball! Grab opposite sides of the ball and try to
gently stretch it open as much as you can…

26. Find this side of the ball. See that hole? Blow into it to get the ball
to inflate the rest of the way..

27. Viola! One puffed up origami waterball. Make as many as you want.

28. When you are ready, grab your needle and thread and get ready to thread
your garland together. A sharp point needle is recommended to pierce through
paper. Thread going in from this side (where you blew into the ball); poking
through the other side first may make your ball crinkle and deflate.

29. You can use the intersection of the fold lines as a guide for center
when poking your needle through the other side.

30. Thread as many together as you like. I used embroidery floss so the
balls dont slide around as much. You can get creative and add other things,
like beads or knots, into your garland strand. The knots, beads, etc will
act as spacers to hold the balls in their place on the garland.

31. And before you know it, viola! You are done!! You are done!

One of my go-to blogs for crafty inspiration is The Object Project. Leigh Ann Tennant is amazing crafty and I was thrilled that she offered a guest post when I tweeted my need for help over the coming weeks. Leigh Ann also has an Etsy shop, Strawberry Truffle, where you can purchase her lovely patterns and books. You should definitely check it out!

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Finding out you’re carrying a child is the perfect time to begin learning how to sew or sharpen the stitching skills you already have! If you start in your first month, by the end of your pregnancy, you’ll have become a semi-seasoned seamstress and will have tons of homemade goodies to welcome your child into the world!

Here’s a sample stitching schedule to keep you on track, starting with easy projects and progressing to more intermediate things to try when you’ve become comfortable behind your machine.

Month 1: Burp Cloths
Simple rectangles- easy peasy. You can finish several of these in one sitting.

Month 2: Bibs
Coordinate fabrics with your burp cloths for fashionable feedings!

Month 3: Receiving Blankets
Make these out of snuggly flannel for cozy swaddling.

Month 4: Washable Breast Pads
Simple little circles. Saves tons of money and waste for the nursing mom!

Month 5: Belly Buddy
Fill a fabric rectangle with rice to warm and lay on baby’s tummy to soothe gassiness or colic.

Month 6: Changing Pad
An easy project to make changes on the go as quick and clean as possible!

Month 7: Laundry Bag
You’ll be surprised at the amount of dirty laundry such a tiny little body can generate! Make the task a little more pleasant with a bag in a pretty print.

Month 8: Baby Quilt
If you’ve never quilted before, take this opportunity to try your hand at this ageless art.

Month 9: Diaper Bag
These can be as simple or custom as you like. There are a lot of great patterns out there for tote bags that will allow you to carry all baby’s necessities in style! Look for one designed by yours truly in an upcoming issue of Sew Hip Magazine!

At your first pre-natal visit you may be shocked to learn that most women carry a child for 40 weeks. That adds up to 10 months- not the traditionally thought of 9. Use these extra weeks to create nursing pillow covers, wash cloths and hooded towels, play mats or even economical cloth diapers!

Fabric designer, author, and mother of 6 (yes 6!) Anna Maria Horner has a second book, Handmade Beginnings, due out May 3. This book will include patterns and instructions for 24 baby projects designed by a mom definitely in the know! It promises to be the perfect starting point for your maternal stitching journey!

Whether you sew up tons of baby goods or just one project, creating something for your child by hand allows you to give him or her more that just a bib or a blanket. It enables you to pass on a legacy of creativity that will be a part of their lives for years to come

Now Available!
sewExpecting: 20 Simple Projects for the New Mom and Beginning Seamstress!

Take a look and Purchase at www.StrawberryTruffle.com

I often find something cute online that I want to make and I bookmark it in my Crafts folder to come back to when the time and feeling is right. This bag from The Object Project is one of those bookmarked items that was just waiting for the right opportunity to be crafted. Easter was that opportunity. This summer I will be sure to make one with the help of my oldest (who is 8 years old), but this one had to be a surprise!

Honestly, this was not difficult to make. I did 2 things differently – (1) I used metal bracelets in fear that plastic ones would last all of an hour at our house; and (2) I machine sewed the whole thing (hand sewing requires 2 hands and patience – neither of which are readily available for me as the baby sat in my lap the whole time). Otherwise, I followed directions well and I think they turned out pretty cute. I did, however, accidently cut the blue fabric the wrong way – oh well. The kids didn’t notice and it still looks pretty cute.

This would be a great beginner project or mommy-daughter project for a school break or weekend. Perfect for quick and adorable results!

Turning one is a special occassion that requires a special gift. A little one in the family will be turning one soon. I decided to make a book of animals for her. It was simple, but time consuming with canvas pages, felt animals, embroidered details, and iron-on words. This was my first attempt at something like this. It has inspired me to make a series of books when I find the time. I want to do Barnyard Animals, Animals that Swim, Jungle Animals, and Things that Fly. I think it will be lots of fun!

Here is the result: