A Nautical Shower

I just realized that I never posted pictures from my beautiful baby shower to welcome Baby Boy into the family! It was thrown by my aunt, sis-in-law, and cousin-in-law and so many wonderful ladies of the family and church were able to come.

 

It's a good thing the shower was held on the date it was...one more week and I wouldn't have been able to attend! Brayden was born 5 days after the shower! He surprised us a little bit by coming earlier than expected...

 

His nursery has a Nautical Theme, so the girls kept the theme going with the shower too.

 

I loved all of the decorations. It's hard to decorate in a HUGE church hall, but they made it super cute!

 

I think I took 10 of these little favors for Gray to eat. The girl loves her jellybeans...

 

The corkboard had notes next to it, so each guest could write a little something to Brayden for the board. There were such sweet things left on it when it was time to go home.

 

The name board looks great in his nursery.

 

There was so much attention to detail. The "life-savers", fishing nets...

 

And little sea creatures too!

 

It was unseasonable warm the day of the shower (in January!) so I got to pull out a dress I wore when I was pregnant with Gray!

 

Unwrapping tiny baby things is so much fun. I love going to baby showers too just to see the tiny clothes, soft blankets, and sweet little toys.

 

And of course the food was wonderful. When you're 9 months pregnant, seeing your favorite fruits, snacks, and of course, cupcakes will make your day!

 

It was such a special time and so much fun to prepare to welcome our sweet little boy. He turned two months old this week! Yikes!

They grow up way to fast.

Pattern Testing: The Lindsay Reverse Knot Dress

Pattern Testing is complete for

 

The Lindsay Reverse Knot Dress!

 

 

I got great feedback from my testers and will be using their feedback to make the pattern available soon. Here are some of the creations they made:

 

This one is from Monica...

I love love love the lime green!

 

This little ham belongs to Helen! I love the whimsical Pooh Bear fabric.

 

And this one is from Sharmane. She made FOUR of these little babies over a weekend!

 

 

Thanks so much to my testers for spending time sewing for me! The dresses and little girls are adorable.

 

Stay tuned for the completed pattern!

Closets: Reorganized

To keep up with "Project: Reorganize" I decided to work on my closets. I've already tackled my kitchen Here, Here, and Here.

I have one linen closet in my house. ONE. That's horrible people. Not to mention our ONE linen closet is not even a little bit organized. Towels aren't sorted, blankets, beach towels and sheet sets are shoved wherever they will fit. It's bad. It was time to do a little something about it.

 

 Here is the before picture of my dreaded closet..... 

 

The easiest way for me to clean anything is to completely take it apart....

so I did.

Everything in the closet ended up in the floor.

Everything got refolded.

Some old towels and blankets that had seen their better day (stained and gross) got thrown away.

 

And magically.... There was room in my closet!

 

I even ended up with an extra empty shelf. Now the baby towels and washcloths are out of the nursery, and in the linen closet...where they belong.

 

The biggest problem with my old closet was the sheet sets. I had several, but they were folded terribly and shoved onto the tiny shelves.

 

This is how I felt about folding sheet sets:

(from Pinterest...of course)

 

 

 

Source: thedoghousediaries.com via Jenilyn on Pinterest

Isn't this how we all feel??

 

So to neaten things up...I folded my sheet sets, slowly and carefully, into the flattest rectangles I could manage...then shoved the sheets into one of the pillowcases! It's not package-perfect, but everything I need to make a bed is in that little pillowcase, on a shelf, right where I can see it. And no sheets come flying at me when I open the closet door anymore!

 

It only took 30 minutes to transform that little space into a usable one. Now....for the clothes closets. Yikes!

Beach Time

We were lucky enough to take a much needed vacation this past week...an "All-Girls-Plus-Brayden" trip. Poor little guy was a little outnumbered. It was pretty chilly while we were there, but there was still time for playing in the sand!

 

What little baby doesn't love running the sand through their fingers...or putting it in their shoes??

 

Goldilocks loves to jump, anywhere and everywhere. The sand added some new fun to her jumping.

 

We took a little drive to Calabash, North Carolina to eat and check out some of the boats on the water. She loves seeing the boats!

 

Breezy and beautiful...just how little girls should be.

 

Other than being a girl's trip, we also managed to have FOUR generations together!

Granny, Mama, Me, and my two babies.

 

This was Brayden's first trip to the beach. I can't believe how big he's getting.

He looks so huge sitting with his sister.

 

She loves him so much, and loves to hold and take care of him.

Such a good big sister.

 

And they love this lady more than anything!! Everyone needs a Nana like theirs!

 

Because Nana will dance in the waves when Mama won't!!

(I don't love getting in the ocean, especially when it's 50 degrees outside.)

 

We missed Daddy so much on this trip. I told Gray we were facing Daddy when we looked out into the water.

I'm pretty sure we're looking at Africa and not Europe...but who needs a geography lesson while on vacation.

 

I can't wait to go back when we can have him with us, and when Brayden can play in the sand too! Lots more beach trips to come. That's the beauty of living in South Carolina. Only a couple of hours from the mountains and the sea....

Pattern Testers Needed (closed)

*Thanks for your quick response!!
I have all the testers I need for this dress. I'll be e-mailing those who responded soon and will hopefully have the pattern ready for everyone in a couple of weeks!*


Hello Lovely Readers!

 

I need another round of pattern testers to try out the

 

Candice Bow Dress

 

 

It is a simple, pillowcase style dress

so it is perfect for a beginner sewer.

The pattern is available in 6 months-5T.

 

I need a few people to help me test the pattern for fit and clarity of instructions.

You must be able to have the garment sewn within a week of pattern receipt, and supply GOOD pictures of the dress on a model.

 

E-mail me at gritsandgigglesboutique@yahoo.com if you are interested!

Please include that it's for the Candice dress.

 

*If you e-mailed me about the Lindsay dress...I haven't forgotten about you! I'm almost done with the pattern details and will send it out soon*

Cannister Labels

I've been sharing how I've been organizing and "neat-ifying" my house to make life less chaotic.

 

From Freezer Meals to My Menu Board, I've been getting things in order and making them look less messy. Since I was in the kitchen already, I stayed there for anothe project.

 

When Hubby and I got married, I got lots of these great acrylic cannisters, and immediately filled them with kitchen goodies. I also labeled them....

 

like this...

 

Nothing says neat and organized like Sharpie-on-tape labels.

 

So it's worked for 5 years, and it's really not that bad, but I knew it could be prettier. And I wanted to move some of the cannisters out of the cabinet, and onto my countertops, so they had to get pretty.

Silhouette Cameo to the rescue!!

 

I browsed my font collection, and decided on Pacifica. Isn't it cute?

 

I cut the words out of black vinyl and in no time I had cute and NEAT labels for my cannisters.

Now I'm happy to have them on my countertop, and they no longer tumble out of my cabinets when I open them! It's nice to see when it's time for a refill too. There is nothing worse than running out of sugar in this house...we need our Kool-Aid.

Tackling the filing cabinet is next. I'm a little scared to start that one!

Menu Board

I told ya'll a while back that I was trying to get more organized around the house. I started with making some pre-assembled Freezer Meals. We've tried a couple and they turned out great!

 

With our food being more organized, I thought it would be nice to know WHAT we were having to eat every day, so I could plan, or get last minute ingredients if we were out of something.

 

The Menu Board was born.

 

I searched around Pinterest and found some that I liked, but I decided that a trip to Hobby Lobby would probably inspire me more....and it did!

 

Here is the finished Menu Board for our kitchen.

 

To make this sweet little board, I first found a frame that I loved. I lucked up and found this neat cut out frame, mounted to another frame with glass! And it was on sale...score!

 

I browsed the scrapbook paper aisle to find the perfect pattern for my frame. I loved this subtle script. I thought it would be hard to read writing on it, but you can see black marker very easily. I cut the paper to fit in the frame.

 

Then I used my handy dandy Silhouette Cameo to make the "Day" labels. I cut out the circles from black vinyl, and cut the letters of the day out of white and stuck them together. Easy. You could also use pre-made stickers too, they just didn't have any in the colors or fonts I liked at the store.

 

Because the glass is in the frame, use a dry-erase marker to write whatever you want on your board. I didn't put "Menu" on the board, because I also write when it's a school night, or when we're going out somewhere, just to remind me.

 

I think it turned out great, and I love that I can change the scrapbook paper if I want to match the seasons. I'll try that out in a few months...fall colors maybe?

 

 

How have you been organizing your home?

Pattern Testers Needed- closed

(**Edit** Thanks for the HUGE response already! I have all I need for now, but there will be another pattern coming available soon that I will need help with too! Thanks! I'll be e-mailing those who will be testing soon)




Hello lovely readers!

 

With spring coming up FAST, I have been working on a couple of new patterns for the Shop. Every little girl needs a fun and flirty spring dress, and sewing it yourself means you can make it perfect for their personality.

 

Before I can complete these new patterns...I need someone to test them! I need to know that the directions are clear, the steps are concise and easy to follow, and that the pattern fits the sizes that it's intended for.

 

The first new pattern I'm working on is for the

 

 Lindsay Reverse Knot Dress

 

(front)

 

(Back)

 

The dress is constructed like a boutique-style knot dress, except the ties are in the back...in a HUGE bow!

 

It has a fully lined bodice and a sweet ruffle on the bottom for extra girly flare.

 

The back tie makes the dress very adjustable and comfortable to wear.

 

Modest front coverage keeps it sweet too!

 

This pattern is for a confident beginner. It does involve making button holes and long ruffles!

It is sized for 6 months-5T

 

If you are interested in testing, please send me an e-mail to

gritsandgigglesboutique@yahoo.com

 

Include a link to your blog if you have one. I will need pictures of the finished dress ON a model.

 

The pattern will be ready in a few days, so let me know if you're ready to sew!

 

Thanks crafty friends!

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad People

Hello Lovely Readers! I want to thank you all so much for the time you take to read Grits & Giggles and the wonderful comments you leave for me to read. They really do brighten my day!

 

I love sharing with you my love of crafting, sewing, and most of all, being a wife and mommy.

 

Unfortunately, some horrible people have taken advantage of my sharing. Some people who Hubby and I are familiar with have stolen pictures of our children off the internet, and have chosen to use them without our permission in a publication. These people have threatened the safety and security of our family in the past, so this new information has been particularly disturbing.

 

It's annoying enough when someone borrows your tutorial pictures, or finished product pictures without giving proper credit. But to steal the pictures of someone's children, the people we treasure the most, takes a disgusting person.

 

It will be difficult to share day to day happenings with you without including my babies. If pictures of my babies are included in a post...they will be heavily watermarked, probably over their beautiful faces to keep these horrible people from using them again.

 

Thank you all again for reading, and your sweet comments, especially about my babies. So many of you have told me that you love seeing them in pictures, and have shared with me about your own babies. They truly are a blessing.