DIY Nativity Costume: Angel (and swaddling clothes)

Some of the best projects for me are the ones I can get done in a snap.  This Nativity Angel costume is that kind of {little project}.

I made our Angel Nativity Costume from a white sheet.  You can use an old one you have on hand.  I've also come across lots of sheets at the thrift store that are fun to cut up.  With the leftover sheet I cut strips for "swaddling clothes" to use with a baby doll.

To make 

{This Little Project} 

I just:

1- Laid a white sheet on the floor, 

2- Doubled it over (so there would be a font and a back)

3- Had my son lay down on top of the sheet.

4- Cut the white sheet around him with scissors (plus extra so there is growing room too).

5- Pinned the edges.

6- Sewed around all the edges except the neck and the bottom.

7- Turned it inside out so the seam is inside now.

8- Tried it on.

9- Added a gold belt to give it some shape.

Done!

Baby's Here!

 We have been snuggling sweet {little} baby M for about a week now and loving every minute!

 

Jay, Kay, and Ellie are in love with baby M too and that is such a beautiful thing to watch.

(I get asked if those are their real names.  No, but we do have the alphabetical order thing: J, K, L, M in real life :) 

 I don't blog that often about homeschooling.  So if you didn't know already, yes, we are a homeschool family.  And it's times like this that I love homeschooling extra!

  Not having to bundle up a brand new baby to take everyone to school is such a blessing!  

Having a new {little} one at home and four kids 6 and under is an adventure that we are all enjoying.  Everyone is smitten with baby M and our routines are holding us together with Hubby's help, of course!

And school hasn't totally been neglected.  Here's our {little} nativity that we've been making out of air dry clay this week:

 Kay already drew the face on Mary :)

 

We've been enjoying the Magic School Bus movies recently.  Did you know that all the entire series were  released onto DVD?  We love checking them out at the library.  Jay built this bridge after watching the one about structures.  He's been testing all kinds of cargo on it.

 

Jay read today about worms growing again after being cut in half.  Today happens to be a nice day and he and Ellie headed outside to look for worms and try it out.  This kind of learning can be a little hard on me.  He's such a {little} scientist and has to learn somehow...I guess. 

 

Mostly though, we're doing a lot of baby watching.  It's a full time job :)

I have some Christmas projects to share with you, and hopefully I'll get to that.  In the meantime, be sure to check out the Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas and make a {little} something for someone you love :)

Handmade Holidays Gift Ideas

Below is a list of some of my favorite {little} handmade gift ideas. 

There is just something extra special about a gift that is made with your own hands just for that special someone.  It shares a {little} more of your heart.

Check out the list and make a {little} something for someone you love :)




How to make a Button Bracelet

 I Spy Ornament for Kids

Scripture Power Book Tote

 

 

 Hooded Bath Towel

Baby Tie Onesie 



Monogrammed Ballet Bag



 
Handmade Ornament



The Best Granola 




Baby Gift from Child's Art



Upcycling to Make Doll Clothes

Baby Doll Diapers 

Play Doctor Kit for Kids

 
 
Wonderful Travel Bags

 

Flower Headbands

 

The Change-your-Mind Headband

 

Interchangeable Bows and Headbands

Scrabble Tile Name Plates 

Personalized Wordle 




Birthday Shirt
 

DIY Laundry Soap

 

Reusable Gift Wrap

Sweetheart Hair Clips

 

Grocery Bag Holder/Organizer

Rupunzel/Tangled Hair Bow Keeper

Photo Gifts

Doll Clothes ReFashion

 

Twine-wrapped Hangers and Gift for Mom

Carseat Canopy

Growing Wall

How to Make Doll Diapers: Upcycling {Handmade Holidays}

  With baby M arriving any day I've tried to be ahead on Christmas presents this year.  Handmade gifts are still some of my favorites.  This year I made Ellie and Kay a batch of diapers for their dolls.  This is a gift they will get before Christmas though because Ellie will be all over our {little} newborn otherwise!   Here are a few of the doll diapers: I love how they turned out and had a lot of fun choosing the colors out.    I used these instructions to make them.  Only I didn't use felt.     Felt + velcro is NOT a great combination.  Your velcro will stick to every part of a felt diaper.  BUT, felt has 2 great qualities: it's inexpensive and you don't need to deal with the edges fraying.
I didn't want to use felt so I found  something with those same 2 great qualities:   old T-shirts! That's right: they don't cost anything and T-shirt material doesn't fray! Yay for upcycling!
Another bonus: fun patterns on the diapers :)
I also altered the pattern by cutting 1/2 inch off of each of these 4 sides.  The diapers were just a little too big for our dolls.    Here's how they turned out:  This one is cut from my old polar fleece shirt.

  One other alteration I made: COLORED velcro! When I went to buy some velcro I found all of these colored choices in the "value buy" bins at Joanne's.  It was less than $1 for 2 feet of each color. I love the pink, red, blue, and white--it gives them some added flare :)  

Other than putting the velcro on, I didn't do any sewing for {this little project}.  

  I also cut some {little} wipes out from an old white t-shirt to go with the diapers. 

    It almost makes changing a diaper look fun, huh?       

 

 

Sewing for Baby: Car Seat Canopy and Baby Sling

We're still waiting for our {little} one to arrive and I have been having so much fun sewing for him.  Maybe because it's a {little project} I can do sitting down!

This past week I made a car seat canopy.  This is an upcycling {little project} I've made before, but gave it away last time.

With a winter baby, a car seat canopy is almost a must-have.

I upcycled this time too: the brown rings at the top are from a discarded pair of pants and the buttons are from another {little project} too.  I love upcycling!  And I have a few more {little projects} in the works to share with you for Christmas that use upcycling :)

I followed these instructions to make {this little} car seat canopy.  They worked great, except that the canopy dragged a little on the front corners.  To solve it, I tacked them up just a little on each side.  I think it still looks fine (see photo at top too).

Here's a peek inside.  Ellie has had her dolls in it constantly!

I also made a couple of baby slings this week in the hopes of avoiding carpel tunnel this time from holding baby constantly. 

 mamasmilk.com

I used these instructions and a cotton/lycra blend for the fabric because these photos of a snugly newborn looked so comfy. (I did alter the measurements due to the stretchiness).  

I made a couple of extra slings for the kids to use too.  I know Ellie will especially love using hers with her baby dolls!  She is such a {little} mother!

Both of these {little projects} are easy enough for a beginner.  In fact, using the cotton/lycra fabric meant I didn't even have to hem the baby sling-yay!

Just counting down now for our {little} guy to arrive and try them out :)