A few more Sewing Things

So I was gone for two weeks on a mini "vacation". Anyway... because I was gone I dropped the ball on the whole cleaning thing. I should start it up again. Maybe on the first (which is Friday) but I'm also doing a sew-along type thing. So once a week (hopefully!) I'll be blogging about something I've sewn. Plus! I'm going to a sewing-get-together on Monday with some new friends. Oh it should be pretty fun, if Abigail behaves and plays quietly, that is.

Anywho! Here's what a made in the past few days (plus a throw pillow, but it doesn't have the buttons yet, so no picture for you):
First up is the dress. I fell in love with this fabric, but originally wanted the flower border to be at the bottom of the dress. But alas, I was about 1/4 yard short, and of course my Hancocks sold out of it! So I improvised, and made my own pattern. After a few dozen seams being ripped out, and completely changing the bottom half, I have something that I'm at least partially happy with.

I also whipped up a couple hot pads during nap time. I think the batting I used was too thin, but at least they're cute, right? I've had that fabric sitting around a few years... I've always loved it but I never knew what to do with it.

Tada! Hope you enjoy, ladies!

21 Day Cleaning Challenge: Day 3

So I woke up this morning ready to tackle the rest of the house. My wonderful baby girl slept in until almost 9:00 am! She's usually up around 7:00, so that was just a huge blessing for me. And my husband cleaned the kitchen for me (although I did have to do the sweeping and mopping). So all that was left for me was the rest of the laundry, the bathrooms, and the most dreaded room of all: the master. But its all done! Okay, so the master bedroom was kind of half-assed. But hey, Abby was fussing and my husband had to get to work!
Day Three: Bathrooms/Master Bedroom
Okay so the first bathroom is actually the "guest" bathroom. Its also where I give Abby her baths. So things automatically clutter there, because apparently my daughter doesn't like to be left naked. The second bathroom is the "master" bathroom, and things get cluttered there because Matthew and I are messy. Plus, because he's military he shaves before work every day. The problem is that he refuses to rinse out the sink after he's finished! So he leaves gross, nasty facial-hair-shavings everywhere. The third and final picture is our master bedroom. And its pretty much always a disaster. I walk in here and don't even know where to get started. Its overwhelming and embarrassing, and I hate even being in the room. Its not relaxing for me at all, because I'm always trying to figure out how to get away from the "clutter".

Before:

After:
And I realized after uploading this picture, just how much still needs to be cleaned. I guess I could at least make the bed, huh? Off I go again, to continue to unclutter!

21 Day Cleaning Challenge: Day 2

Today has been emotional and overwhelming. Lets just say I'll be glad to have my mommy here tomorrow!
Day Two: Part One: Dining Room and Entryway
I forgot to take a before picture of the dining room, but I just want you to know that it was pretty bad. My child likes to fling food all over the place! And smear it on any surface within reach... that combined with all the clutter (because everyone knows that the kitchen table is a catch-all). It was a disaster.
Oh and the entryway was mostly just cluttered with shoes, hats, gloves, and miscellaneous things we would drop as soon as we got in the door. I didn't sweep or mop it (yet) but I was still proud of myself for at least putting the footwear away!

After:

Part Two (if I can get the energy to do it) is tackling the laundry/hall. Its an eyesore! I mean, I literally have to walk around and over clean clothes. How awful is that? Not to mention the two (count them, TWO) baskets of clean clothes that have been sitting in our bedroom for weeks. Laundry is my dreaded chore. More than cloth diaper laundry, more than dishes, and more than mopping. I hate the laundry. So here I go, now, off to tackle another project today! Hello, new, productive, Amy!

Before:After:

21 Day Cleaning Challenge: Day 1

I found a post about "clutter" and the overwhelming feeling of raising a child, being a wife, AND cleaning the house. A fellow mom came up with an idea to do this 21 Day Cleaning Challenge, and I'm jumping on board. I'll spend about 20 minutes each day cleaning one area of the house that is in need of some TLC. The clutter in my house is overwhelming, and embarrassing. I want to have people over without apologizing. I want to walk in my house and not think "look at all of this stuff I have to do!" I want to be proud of my home, and I want to take good care of it. Lets face it, I'm a stay at home mom, and how the house looks reflects on how well I'm doing my job. So here we go!

Day One: The Living Room
We spend probably 85% of our time in this room. My husband watches TV, plays Black Ops, and goofs off with Abby in this room. Its where most of her "play time" occurs, and where nearly all of our family time takes place. Because of this, there is always a random array of things cluttering up the couches, floors, and any surface.
Before pictures:

After picture:(excuse the vacuum, but it IS proof that I cleaned the floors!)

All Those Baby Dresses!

Oh goodness, have I been busy with my sewing machine! I've started sewing up a storm for my little girl. Here are a few of the dresses:
This one was my first try at a zipper (and has a wonderful paisley print!)


These are a few tie-top dresses that were very simple and quick to whip up! The brown and pink one is actually from an upcycled pillow sham.
There are two more dresses that have been sewn up, but I don't have pictures of them just yet. And here is the set of blocks I made (my first sewing adventure ever):