Mommy I want to make Flubber!

Max and Katy got to choose a PPV movie last night. After watching a few previews they chose Flubber with Robin Williams. They watched it TWICE last night and then begged me to watch it once more this morning. After the third time watching it...Max came running up to me..."mommy MOMMY Puuuuuuuleeeeeease make flubber for me!"..."I will keep it in my bug cage and only let it out to play" "aaaaaaand if it starts bouncing around and breaking stuff I will put it away." "PUUUUUULLLLEEEEASSSE MOMMMY!!!!"

Oh my goodness, this is too funny. (snicker)"Max, buddy...its not real, its just a movie". After he continued to insist that it was in fact real, and we had to make some...I told him that if he could tell me the ingredients I would be happy to try. So I came online simply to post this cute request and decided to google "flubber" for a picture to post. And came across this YouTube video on DIY flubber. Looks like Max will get his flubber after all :)

DIY BabyLegs ~ Video Tutorial

I wanted to put up a video on DIY babylegs for those that are "visual" learners. I hope it helps :)

"Miss Sassy Pants" ~ more DIY recycled baby!

More recycled clothing turned into fun baby items. I made these "Sassy Pants" (not sure why I'm calling them that...thought it was a cute name) from a super soft ribbed knit T-shirt. The applique was made from using old Bundleboo leg holes. It has a long waist so It fits a little saggy at the butt...but I did that purposely because I think its cute. I left some "raw" edges on the applique for a more vintage look after washing a few times.

The drawstring waist was a last minute decision... I like the way it looks and fits both Katy and Lucy with easy adjusting. They are also really cute with a pair of baby legwarmers :)

DIY~Recycled EC pants

A friend brought over some clothes that she no longer wanted...and I was able to make a pair of split crotch pants from a turtle neck...I cut off the arms to use as legs and used the neck of the shirt as a waist band... as you can see its a little big on Lucy...but she'll grow into it soon. I think I'm going to be making a lot more recycled alternative baby items...this is fun!!!

The idea to do this myself came from this blog although they demonstrate doing it from whole fabric...its possible to improvise a little as you can see.

"You want me to come over and do what??????"

LOL... no no no...its not what you think. So I have a fab friend who I am blessed to have living right across the street from me. She is mostly mainstream, but is very open to alternatives and new ideas. Anyway, I get a cryptic phone message from her the other day that she needed help with this "ear coning thing..."...huh... Sure that this was certainly blog material, I brought over my camera to document the event.

So she had heard from a friend that "ear coning" or "ear candling" was a very effective and natural way of getting rid of the swimmers ear problem that she had been suffering from. It involves using ear candles (hollow tubes of beeswax coated fabric about 12" long), fire and oil drops...normally you'd pay up to $75 from a homeopathic doctor to get this treatment done...but of course she thought ...my crazy friend Becky would be happy to do this procedure for me. She was right.... :)

One site states "The benefits include, improved hearing, vision, taste, smell, balance and sharpened mental ability. Ear candling helps to detoxify the sinus, lymph congestion, sore throat, earache, swimmers ear, chronic headaches and even allergies. Every body is different, yet candling is a therapy that adults, children, and even animals can benefit from. All who experience candling agree it is safe, soothing, relaxing, painless, and non-invasive."

STEP 1: trim the ear candle to fit the ear canal.

STEP 2: light the broad end of the ear candle and plug the narrow end of the hollow candle with my finger until a vacuum is created pulling smoke down and out the bottom of the ear candle.

STEP 3: Insert the candle into a plate to protect the person from wax burns.

STEP 4: Insert the candle snugly into their ear and hold there until the candle is about 3/4 of the way done burning.

STEP 5: Apply a couple drops of the ear oil.

We finished both ears in about 30mins... She said that she could hear better and felt a huge difference right away. It was easy to do with the help of someone else, the only thing that would have made it more fun would have been marshmallows and Graham crackers...lol.

When it was all done, we were grossly curious to see what this procedure pulled out of her head.... YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM a good friend LOL :)

More Babylegs :)

DIY BabyLegs

I love love
love babylegs (especially for babywearing and EC purposes)... unfortunately I am simply too cheap to spend $12.00 per pair for something that I was sure I could make myself...plus its always nice to be doing something new. I found a great DIY post and had fun with a pair $2.00 walmart socks...actually I bought quite a few pairs...can't wait to get them all finished. This was fun and SUPER
easy...even for a beginning sewer.


STEP 1: Cut the heel and toe of the sock off.















STEP 2: Measure out 2.5inches and cut the remaining fabric.

STEP 3: Turn the knit inside out so that the wrong side is showing.

STEP 4: zig zag stitch the longest "raw edge" of the knit.

STEP 5: Trim the narrow "raw edges" of the sewn piece to make them even.











STEP 6: Turn the sewn piece right side out half way...now you have your cuff! Stuff the tube portion of the sock (right side showing) into the cuff so that 3 raw edges stick out the bottom.
(I was like HUH??? When I first saw this... it does workout in the end.)





STEP 7: Using a straight stitch sew all three raw edges together.

(tip: stretch the fabric slightly as you sew that will create a nice gather)












TIP: The DIY site recommends that you zig zag stitch the raw edges to create a serged finish if you don't have a serger.














FINAL: Flip cuff down and WHALA...DIY BabyLegs...you can see the right one was my first...I got the hang of it with my second one.

Bundle-Poo??

I have been looking for how to recycle my old bundleboo fabric. This is my favorite diaper, as you can see its becoming a bit faded from washing. The outer material is from the ivory woodfern signature design. What do you think? Its has velcro attachments and a quilted liner.


I don't use a prefold with lucy (she is my EC girl.) so this picture is less bulky that it would be with some sort of an insert. I have been thinking of making them for sale... whats your honest take on whether or not they will go over.

DIY Signature Bundleboo

So, I have heard of plenty of people on line and in the baby wearing forums requesting tips on how to make a Bundleboo. If you need a DVD and a label...let me know I will gladly send you one LOL:) First things first.

YOU WILL NEED: * 1 sewing machine and serger
* 5 yards of woven 100% cotton fabric (linen or linen type non-stretchy fabric is preferable)
*1 yard of coordinating print fabric for the center panel,
*1 package of cream colored "double fold bias tape" (found at your local fabric store)....or you can make your own bias tape.
*1 spool of cream colored "all purpose" sewing machine thread
* fabric scissors and pinning needles.

STEP 1: cut or tear your 5 yard piece of fabric lengthwise down the middle creating two long narrow pieces of fabric measuring approx 22-24 inches wide and 5 yds long. Then take one of the pieces and fold it lengthwise and cut in half. Now you should have two 2.5 yard x 22inch pieces of fabric left over.
STEP 2: take your 1 yard piece of printed fabric (fold it so that the front and back are "correct side" print out. And surge the short sides of the print to the woven fabric.
STEP 3: cut 4" diameter circles (leg holes) 6" apart and 3.5" from the bottom of the fabric. Then cut a slit from the circle to the bottom of the fabric (this will make applying the bias easier) I have been saving my bundleboo circles for something special.... I don't know what yet. I am thinking funky breast pads or something. What would you use your leg circles for?


STEP 4: Give your sewing machine a good pep talk about how you don't feel like using the seam ripper today... and get ready to sew. (works for me sometimes :)
STEP 5: apply your bias using a straight or zigzag stitch. I used a straight stitch in this picture. Then I go back for a second straight stitch to re-enforce the leg hole.
STEP 6: Now, I didn't get a good picture of this so I will try my best to describe as clearly as possible.

Find out what side is the "inside" of your bundleboo by finding the side with the surging showing. So, connect the bias and the vertical slit so that they line up and run it thru the serger.(this is what it would look like connected)

STEP 7: strengthen ALL of your surged seams by using a straight stitch to tack down the surging lip. (is it called a lip? I dunno it sounds good..lol)
STEP 8: If you have a Bundleboo label ... sew it on where you would like to have it. I usually sew it someplace in the center top of the print fabric panel. If you don't want it to clutter up your gorgeous fabric... you can put it on one of the side panel ends.

FINAL STEP: Surge the entire outer length of your Bundleboo finish the fabric and keep it from fraying. You can round the corners or leave them squared off. Its up to you :)
Cut all of the loose strings and voila you have your own DIY Signature Bundleboo. I am hoping the owner of this Bundleboo might send better action pictures. I couldn't do better this time...my kids were asleep and I didn't have pants on...LOL:)

(These instructions are for personal/individual use only and not for resale...thank you!)