Quick and Easy Crib Sheet

The other day I was fed up with the state of Elijah’s sheets.  He’s only 8 months old but already one of his sheets had shrunk so much that it was almost impossible to get onto his bed.  I realized that it was ridiculous spending 5 minutes every time I changed his bedding so I decided enough was enough.  I thought about buying another sheet but all of the reasonably priced sheets are a plain solid color and the coordinating sheets to Eli’s Pottery Barn Kids sailboat nursery are quite pricey.  It was so easy!  Why in the world did I ever buy sheets to begin with!  To make your own follow the directions that follow:

You can either use 2 yards of fabric or an old sheet like I did.  If you are using an old sheet I would recommend making the newspaper pattern.  It makes it easier to cut out the sheet.  Also, if using a fitted sheet (I did) I would cut off all of the elastic and place it down on the floor flat.  In the picture below I ran out of newspaper for the middle of my pattern but it should measure 43X68 after it is cut out.

I made a pattern by taping our local newspaper together 43X68. You could also just measure it but I found the newspaper pattern made it much easier since I was repurposing an old sheet.

Next I took a piece of cardstock and made an 8X8 square. Then cut out 4 8" squares, one on each corner.

This is what your sheet should now look like with the corners cut off. Eli was helping me make the sheet. 🙂

Next you are going to make the pocket by taking the sides that were just cut out (the 8X8 square spot) and sewing them together with a seam allowance of 1/2". Then you want to serge or finish all of the edges.

You will need to cut 4 10-inch pieces of elastic one for each of the pockets. You really only need elastic around the pockets. Take one of the pieces of elastic that you have cut and fold it in half. Then place it along the seam line. Using a zig zag stitch sew the elastic in place stretching as you go.

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Sew a Simple Diaper Pail Liner in 20 minutes or less

 

Have you ever looked at something and thought there is no way I am paying x amount of dollars for it.  I know I could make it.  Well that’s exactly what I did the other day.  I had been wanting to make a diaper pail liner for out diaper pail for months and finally took a break from working on our house and made one.  

It was pretty easy you will need a sewing machine, thread, elastic, and PUL fabric.  (I used PUL so that the liner would not leak).  First measure your diaper pail by height and around the top. 

take your measurement for around the top of your pail and add 6″.  My measurement was 45″ so 45+6=51.  Then Divide that number (in my case 51) by 2 to tell you how wide to cut your piece of fabric.  At this point mine was 25.5. 

Then take your height measurement and also add 6″.  The height of my pail is relatively small at 14″ so 14+6=20.  Next cut 2 pieces by your measurements mine were 25.5X20. 

Place the fabric right sides together.  Leaving the top open sew the other 3 sides together.  You can use a regular seam, French seam, or serger.  Then sew a piece of elastic to the top edge using a zig zag stitch.  You want your elastic to be less than the measurement around the top of the pail.  I simply placed a piece of elastic around the top of the pail and pulled the elastic to the tightness I desired and then cut the elastic.  Then enjoy your bag! 

If you have the same pail that I have you will want to add a small button hole in order to allow the step opening mechanism to work.  I simply placed the bag onto the pail and marked where I would like the button hole to be. 

Mock Olive Garden Zuppa Soup

If you are anything like my family you love Olive Garden.  (Especially Peach Tea)  In an effort to save money and still enjoy great food we occasionally enjoy homemade Zuppa Toscana or Minestrone Soup.  Zuppa is my favorite and Minestrone is Brandon’s.  Below is our recipe for Zuppa Soup which I think might just be better than Olive Garden’s. 🙂 

 3 Italian Sausages-casings removed, 2 diced onions, 1.5 T minced garlic, 6c. chicken stock, 4 cubed potatoes, 1/4 t. red pepper, 1/2 t. black pepper, 2 packed cups of Kale sliced thin, 1/2 c. cream or milk.

Brown sausage and onions over medium heat.  Stir in garlic for a moment and then add stock and potatoes.  Allow to simmer about 30 minutes and then add peppers/kale-simmer another 5 minutes.  Add cream and heat for a few more minutes until soup is hot.  We like to serve it with Parmesan cheese.

Lazy Summer Days

This morning I headed out for some alone time while Brandon spent some Daddy time with Eli.  I came home to both of them eating lunch-Brandon had even made Eli lunch (frozen bananas in his feeder).  🙂  I was very impressed and grateful that Elijah has such a wonderful Dad and I have such a great husband. 

Today really felt like the last day of summer for me (Amanda) since I will be starting classes at Southern next week.  Monday morning I am breaking out the textbooks and getting ready for class. 🙂  I am really looking forward to it but in a lot of ways it is hard to believe that the summer is already over.  We were so blessed to have such a great summer.  Not only did we purchase our first house, but we were able to spend lots of time with friends (many weddings), family, and getting to know our church family even better!  Elijah has also grown so much!  This summer we started eating solids which has been exciting for everyone.  It is so hard to believe that Elijah is already 8 monts old!  Where has the time gone?  He is such a joy to his family.  Currently his favorite things are: rolling all over the floor in the living room, reading lots of books, and smiling.  We are so thankful for all of the blessings that God has sent our way!