Sumiko-chan's baby projects

Car seat pillow

2015-09-01T19:42:00.000-04:00

When ever my little one falls asleep in the car he gets his neck in a weird crooked position. Does that ever happen to you? I guess it's pretty common because I saw this really neat tutorial from Dimplicity.

My friend and I were really excited to try it. So on beautiful Saturday I went to her house and decided to take on this project. Although the project is very simple, it was pretty ambitious to make 2 of those in one afternoon while taking care of 2 toddlers and 1 baby.

Alleluia! After lunch the 2 toddlers and the baby were asleep for their nap! Wow 3 babies all sleeping at the same time, that was one miracle!

So in a hurry we cut up the fabric and started stiching. I have to say, my friend Gabrielle did most of the stiching as my little one kept waking up. But her youngest one was a real sweet heart and was so quiet after he woke up!

Here is the end result! I used a silky fabric and a normal cotton fabric while my friend used a flannel fabric and a soft blanket left over.

We were really happy and our little guys too!

My little super hero DIY costume for baby

2015-07-18T17:38:00.003-04:00

Yesterday at daycare was super hero day! The kids had to dress up as their favourite super hero! I was really excited to make a homemade super hero costume!

First you got to decide which super hero you want to be. We decided to go with Super Man. But I didn't want Anthony to be a generic Super Man, I wanted him to be Super Anthony!!!! So I made a Superman logo with an A inside instead of the S. Here is my logo. You can use it as you wish.

I used iron-on paper and printed the logo on it. Then, I cut the paper and I ironed it on a white onesie following the instructions.

It said not to use a iron board, but I had nothing else to use, so I put a ceramic under the onesie to have a really flat surface.

The result is very nice. The logo is a little bit thick on the fabric and robust

I bought a 100% polyester tank top to make the cape. With all the sales it's almost cheaper to buy a tank top than fabric. But you could use any red fabric you have. Cut a rectangular piece. Try to make it wide like your onesie's collar and long so the cape arrives just above the bum.

After you need to sew the edges and so the cape to the onesie's collar.

Unfortunately I did not have my mom's sewing machine so I used fusing paper which you can use to hem. I was not very familiar with it so the finish was a little sloppy. But I was really happy with the end result.

I bought some royal blue pants and red underwear to finish off the costume!

All that was left to do was to wear it and go to day care and do the Super Hero Parade!

Dino & Lamb

2015-06-27T08:22:00.000-04:00

My best friend just discovered Pinterest. It totally changed her life! Now she is making crafts after crafts!

Here is the cute dinosaur she made, she even adapted the pattern to put and extra leg, because everyone knows dinosaurs have 4 legs! Best thing of all, it's baby-proof. Here is the pattern from Beloved-Ones.

Her first Pinterest project was this cute little lamb! This one is not baby proof, but it's so cute! Here is the pattern from Craft Passion.

Thank you Auntie Cathy!

My little bear's hat

2015-06-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

This year it felt like summer was never coming around! So I knitted a small hat for my little one. And obviously everyone knows that a baby hat must have ears on it!

I don't remember which exact pattern I took, but I think it's this one from Just Down Lemon Lane.

Happy knitting!

Booties!

2015-06-27T07:55:00.002-04:00

I was cleaning out all my sons's clothing items that were too small (they grow so fast!) and I came across these booties! They were a gift from my sons's grand aunt.

They are so cute! They are so well made! To think they don't fit anymore! What a shame. I really liked them, because quite franckly putting socks on a baby is a hard process and they never stay long! I liked the little booties because, they stayed on and they looked more like shoes/boots than socks.

I'm not sure which pattern she used, but here is a similar pattern.

Happy knitting!

DIY Baby in Stroller Card Tutorial for Shower

2015-04-13T11:43:00.002-04:00

My friend is having a baby girl!!! So we organised her shower and it was a lot of fun. I will post in a near future the games and decorations we did. In the mean time, here is a tutorial for the card I made to go with the diaper cake.

It's a really simple card to do, and I think it is so cute!!

To make this card, you will need the following:
- The card itself
- Patterned scrapbook paper for the stroller
- Scrapbook paper and round ornaments for the wheels or just plain buttons
- Beige, brown or yellow paper according to the face colour you want the baby to be
- Scissors
- Glue
- Pen
- Pink Blush

Cut a large circle or oval in the patterned scrapbook paper for the stroller. The exact size is not important. Try to make it proportional to the card. Then, cut a quarter of the circle.

Cut a small circle with the paper for the face. Again make sure it is proportional with the stroller. The face should be a bit smaller than the quarter of the stroller you just cut off.

Cut two small circles for the wheels or use buttons.

Assemble the stroller on the card and glue the pieces on the card.

Glue the embellishments in the centre of the wheels if you decided to use small circles for the wheels.

Take the pen and draw the eyes, the mouth, and the baby's hair. To make rosy cheeks, dab a bit of blush on your fingers and gently press your finger on the baby's cheek.

Voila! You are all done! You can embellish the stroller with lace if you want or other ornaments. And I think your friend will enjoy this handmade card!

My son's 1st birthday party decoration ideas

2015-04-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

My son is already one years old! Where did time go? To celebrate this big milestone I decided to decorate our house with simple things.

First I made these big flower balls and hung them. My colleague told me it was easy to make them. They are, but you have to be careful not to rip them when you open each sheet. Although, even if it's ripped, it won't be apparent. I took the tutorial from Thoughtfully Simple.

Then, I made a "Happy Birthday" garland. They are really easy to make. I used some 6x6 scrapbook paper and cut them in triangles. I used a permanent black marker to write "Bonne Fete" for Happy Birthday in French. I then used some leftover yarn and tape to hang them.

I also reused my Valentine's Day garland and some balloons to decorate.

Obviously balloons are a must for decorating!

Finally I made some yummy banana cupcakes from Lil' Luna which my son loved! At first I thought it was a waste of time to separate the egg whites and the egg yolks. But it made the cupcakes so yummy! These are great because they do not contain milk for those little ones who are allergic to milk. You can even replace the eggs with apple sauce if ever they are allergic to those too. Unfortunately the picture I took was so out of focus that I have to use Lil' Luna's picture.

Credit : Lil' Luna

Leprechaun Hat Perfect for St. Patrick's Day

2015-02-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

Now that Valentine's Day is is over, here is my last project just in time for St. Patrick's Day. It's a leprechaun hat with a red beard!

I used the simple knit hat from Blue Sky Alpacas to guide me with sizes.

So here is my modified pattern for the Leprechaun hat.

MATERIAL

Size 5 (3.75 mm) circular or double pointed needles

Size 5 (3.75 mm) straight needles

Tapestery needle

Stitch marker

Dark green yarn

Yellow yarn

Black yarn

Orange yarn (I used my leftover from the pumpkin hat project)

GAUGE

In stockinette stich 24 stiches = 4"

SIZES

Preemies (newborn, baby, toddler) to fit 11 (12-13, 14-15, 16-17)" head circumference.

ABBREVIATIONS

K : knit

Sts: stitches

K2tog : knit two together

Rep : repeat

HAT PATTERN

Cast on 63 (72, 81, 90) sts with green yarn

Place stich marker and join in round. Be careful not to twist the stiches (like I did).

Work stokinette stiches by knitting every row.

Rows 1 to 16 knit with green yarn.

Switch to black yarn

Row 17: K24 (29, 34, 38) sts, switch to yellow yarn, k15 sts, switch back to green yarn.

Row 18: Repeat Row 17

Row 19:K24 (29, 34, 38) sts, switch to yellow yarn, k4 sts, switch to black yarn, k7 sts, switch to yellow yarn, k4 sts, switch back to black yarn k until end of row

Rows 20 & 21 : Repeat Row 19

Rows 22 & 23 : Repeat Row 17

Switch back to green yarn.

Continue to knit until piece measures 4½ (5, 5½, 6)" from cast on edge.

Dec Row 1: *K7, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [56 (64, 72, 80) sts]

Dec Row 2: Knit

Dec Row 3: Knit

Dec Row 4: *K6, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 49, (56, 63, 70) sts]

Dec Row 5: Knit

Dec Row 6: Knit

Dec Row 7: *K5, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 42, (48, 54, 60) sts]

Dec Row 8: Knit

Dec Row 9: *K4, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 35, (40, 45, 50) sts]

Dec Row 10: Knit

Dec Row 11: *K3, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 28, (32, 36, 40) sts]

Dec Row 12: Knit

Dec Row 13: *K2, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 21, (21, 27, 30) sts]

Dec Row 14: Knit

Dec Row 15: *K1, k2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 14, (16, 18, 20) sts]

Dec Row 16: Knit

Dec Row 17: *K2tog, rep from* 7(8, 9, 10) times [ 7, (8, 9, 10) sts]

Dec Row 8: Knit

Cut yarn leaving 10". Using the tapestry needle, thread the yarn through the remaining stiches and pull. Secure left over yarn.

BEARD PATTERN

Cast on 54 (54, 72, 72) sts with orange yarn.

Row 1 knit

Row 2 purl

Row 3 *(K2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times; rep from * 3( 3, 4, 4) times [54 (54, 72, 72) sts]

Row 4 knit

Row 5 knit

Row 6 purl

Row 7 *(K2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times; rep from * 3( 3, 4, 4) times [54 (54, 72, 72) sts]

Row 8 knit

Bind off

ASSEMBLE HAT

Weave in ends using tapestry needle.

Iron beard to make it flat.

Sew beard in hat. Place the beard just under the black belt in the hat.

Voila! You have a leprechaun hat for your little one!

Homemade Music Instrument

2015-02-18T11:46:00.000-05:00

I made a tube maracas.

I think it's one of the simplest project I posted so far. I don't even know if it's worth posting... But it might give an idea to someone so why not!

You just need the following

- Patterned duck tape ( I think they are the coolest invention ever)

- Rice or dried beans or pebbles

- An empty container with a lid on it

You just put the rice in the container, put the lid on and seal it with the duck tape.

I used Gerber's puffs container to make my maracas. I really like it because it has an hourglass shape which makes it easy for babies to hold and it can be rolled on the ground too.

Voila! To your maracas!!

DIY Subway Art For Valentine's Day

2015-02-09T11:04:00.001-05:00

Here is a simple subway art for Valentine's Day.

Just print on a piece of paper the letters L (Enter)V E in a word document.

You can use any font you want. I used Times New Roman in bold. Be sure you use a font size big enough to cover a full page. Then cut a heart in a piece of cardboard. It can be any colour you want. I used a velvet red paper I found in a scrapbook store. Adding texture creates a nice effect.

Then I cut the paper to have 8"x10" size. I then glued it on a 8 1/2" x 11" red cardboard. Finally I framed it in a nice frame.

I also printed out 2 nice black and white pictures of my baby in 8" x 10", glued them on a 8 1/2" x 11" red cardboard, and framed them like the subway art. I'm going to hang them in my living room the three next to each other with the subway art in the middle.

Voila!

Be My Valentine Red Bow Onesie

2015-02-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is coming up. I was looking to buy a cute little Valentine's Day onesie, but I could not find anything that I liked. I decided to come up with my own!

You will need the following
- Felt
- Onesie
- Scissors
- Needle
- Thread the same color as your felt

First you need to make a bow.
You cut a rectangular piece of felt. The size doesn't really matter, it will depend on the bow size you want. To give you an approximate idea, my bow was 10 cm by 12 cm.

Then you pinch the middle of the bow making sure you fold the felt 3 times in the middle.
Take the thread and pull it through the middle. Wrap the thread around numerous times and pull through the felt again. Make a knot and cut the left over thread.
Now you need to cut a small rectangular piece of felt to cover your middle part. Again this piece can be any size as long as it covers the thread that holds the middle part of the bow. Wrap it around the middle part and sew it at the back of the bow. You are now done with the bow!

All you need to do is to sew it on the onesie.

You now have a cute Be My Valentine onesie and you can take cute Valentine Day pictures!

Voila!

The Raining Cloud

2015-02-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a new sewing project I made.

My son loves to play with ribbons and chew them, so I wanted to make a little toy so he could play with ribbons.

I made this raining cloud from refabulous.
I made the pattern 50% smaller and added a ribbon loop on top to attach it anywhere I want, such as a stroller or a high chair.

I used chenille fabric to make a soft cloud.

To make sure I didn't see the long ribbons, I rolled them up and pin them in the middle. This way it I was sure I didn't see the ribbons on the opposite side (things you learn from your first try)

Because I was too lazy to cut a small trim, when I flipped the cloud over, the trim was thick enough and I didn't have to stuff the cloud.

Voila!

Valentine's Day Paper Garland

2015-01-29T08:43:00.001-05:00

Here is my last project for Valentine's day, a paper garland.

There are super easy and quick to make.

All you need are:

- 6x6 mini prints double-sided patterned paper. ( I used vintage lace from BazzilBasicPaper)

- Red cardboard

- a heart shaped punch, or I used a heart shaped cutout because I didn't have a punch

- scissors

- a pencil

- glue

- mini clothespins

- a ruler or just a straight peace of cardboard

- a leftover piece of yarn or ribbon

- hooks

- Take the pencil and ruler and trace two lines from the upper corners of the square to the centre of the one side to make an isosceles triangle.

- Cut the triangles.

- Use the heart shaped punch or use the heart shaped cutout to cut hearts in the red cardboard.

- Glue the hearts on the triangles. If like me, your garland is going to be hanging from a place where you can see both sides, glue heart son booth sides.

- Place hooks at desired place. I used damage free hooks from 3M. These are great for temporary decorations.

- Take the yarn and do a slipknot and place the loop on the hook. Tighten the slipknot on the hook.

- Pull the yarn and do the same with the other hook. Make sure the yarn is not hanging. The weight of the paper will make it hang.

- Place the paper triangles on the yarn using the clothespins.

- I placed a third hook in the middle because the paper was weighing down the yarn.

Voila now enjoy your garland!

B is for Baby

2015-01-29T07:39:00.001-05:00

I'm super excited about my new book!

My friend Rainbow (yes her name is really Rainbow) gave this book for Christmas. It has full of cute and easy projects inside!

I definitely need to make the mobile!

You can buy it on Amazon here.

Another book my friend Gabrielle lent me is Crafty Mama

What I like about this book is that these are super easy projects with little sewing skills required!

You can also buy it on Amazon

Happy reading!

Hanger Christmas Crown

2014-12-15T20:14:00.001-05:00

My friend Catherine is crazy about Christmas. She starts her Christmas decorations in September. Last year I told her that I never decorate for Christmas and that I never believed in Santa (yes, I know, my father didn't want me to believe in a commercial character invented by Coca Cola) She was horrified and called me the Christmas Grinch!

Now that I have a son, I'm all excited about Christmas and actually decorated this year for the first time in my life! To celebrate my new approach towards Christmas, Catherine made me this beautiful Christmas Crown using an old hanger.

It is actually quite easy to make.

Here is a tutorial on how to make one.

Eddie Ross' tutorial to make a hanger Christmas Crown

Happy holidays everyone!

Happy Halloween!

2014-10-31T19:12:00.001-04:00

This year I decided to go for a sushi costume for my little one.

I got inspired by this website:

http://www.thecheesethief.com/2013/10/easy-diy-sushi-costume.html

I initially intended to make one, but I did not find the time....

Fortunately, my good friend Gabrielle made one for her family and she was kind enough to let me use it. :)

I used some towels to make the wasabi and ginger and I plated everything on a white mattress. I didn't have any coca cola nor coffee, but I had some I would have poured some in a bowl to make the soy sauce.

My sushi is so fresh it's trying to get out of my plate!

Pumpkin Hat

2014-10-17T15:08:00.001-04:00

Here is a new project just in time for Halloween. because Booly's ears are too big, Mr. Owl is our new model.

Here is the link for the pattern

http://knit-zilla.blogspot.ca

Clever way to enhance a shade

2014-09-16T19:24:00.001-04:00

To make sure our son sleeps well during his naps and early in the morning we bought an opaque roller shade. I remember when I was a kid, I had one in my room and it was so pretty with little sheep on it. When we went to the store all they had was boring uniform roller shade. And the choice of colours was really limited. So we decided on a boring white opaque roller shade.

We decorated our son's room with wall decals. These are great! I decided to stick some on the roller shade. And the result is really nice! It's an easy and quick way to enhance the room!

So have fun extending your wall decals to your boring roller shade!

Sleeping Sack from Loop de Lulu

2014-09-15T08:41:00.001-04:00

My son has never been the swaddle kind of baby since his birth. When he sleeps he likes to move his little arms. So we quickly went for sleeping sacks.

Sleeping sacks are great because:

1- They keep the babies warm at night

2- They are safe to use

3- They prevent the babies from getting their legs stuck in between the bars of the crib

4- They are so CUTE!

The lastest one I bought is from Loop De Lulu. Loop De Lulu makes adorable handmade goods for children. She even custom made my sleeping sack. I told her my son loves giraffes and she made one with a cute giraffe appliqué. I would recommand Loop de Lulu to all my friends.

I just got it yesterday. Its great! She was so quick to make it! The fabric is soft and warm and the colors are great. It is really well made! Now all I have to do is wait until my son is tall big enough for the sleeping sack! In the mean time Boolly is going to sleep in it.

If you want more information about Loop De Lulu check out their facebook page and Etsy store.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Loop-De-Lulu/1428930410685173

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/LoopdeLulu

Say cheese!

2014-09-10T17:14:00.001-04:00

When you have a baby all you do is take a gizzillion pictures!

But babies don't always look at your camera or don't smile.

I saw this project which I thought was really clever.

http://www.housewifeeclectic.com/2011/06/camera-lens-pal-making-kids-smile.html

I immediately thought I could knit something like this!

So for the head and the feet I used the Hippo Sock pattern from mybootieknits

http://mybooteeknits.blogspot.ca/2009/12/sock-hippogiraffe-pattern-gauge-6sts-x.html

but you could use any puppet pattern.

I you use the Hippo Sock pattern, you have the bind off the feet after consolidating it.

For the head, I stopped at round 12 and I consolidated and bindded it off.

Here is the pattern for the body.

Note that it will depend on the size of your camera lens. So you will have to adjust depending on your camera lens.

You will need:

3 mm double pointed needles

2.5 mm double pointed needles

yarn

Cast on 60 stitches on 2.5 mm dp needles and join

Rows1-5 sockinette stich p-k

Make sure it fits on your camera lens, if not, adjust the number of stiches to cast on.

Switch to 3 mm needles

Row 6 knit all

Row 7 *k1 - m1* repeat 60 times (120 sts)

Row 8 knit all

Row 9 * k1 - m1* repeat 120 times (240 sts)

Row 10 knit all

Row 11 *k1 k2tog* repeat 120 times (120 sts)

Row 12 knit all

Row 13 *k1 k2tog* repeat 60 times (60 sts)

Row14 knit all

Bind off

Sew the side you have just binded off to the last row of sockinette stitches (row 5)

Sew the head and the feet of the puppet on the body. Make sure to place them so you don't hide the lens. In my case, it hides the flash, but it's okay, I just won't use the flash.

To make sure the body holds on to the lens, I slipped on an elastic. This way, even if you move the camera around, the body will not slip off.

And voila! you have a camera puppet which will make your babies smile in front of the camera!

My teething toy to go with my drooling pads

2014-09-07T19:16:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I went to a "mommy fair" and obviously there were lots of stands, but one stood out from the rest.

It was Bulle Bijouterie pour Mamans. They make really nice handmade non toxic teething necklaces and jewellery. She also sold teething pacifier clips. My son doesn't use his pacifier so I figured I didn't need one. But it got me thinking....

I always put teething rings on my drooling pads for baby carrier I made but they always fall on the ground and I end up not having any toys even if my boy loves chewing on them while we walk. I figured I could just use her teething chain without the clip and tie it around the ribbon and it would never fall! Problem solved! The owner was kind enough to make me a custom teething chain right on the spot with no clip and a loop large enough to tie it on the drooling pads.

And voila!

Booly and my son love it!

If you would like more information about Bulle Bijouterie pour Maman or buy a teething jewellery just go on the following websites:

http://bullebijouterie.com/

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Bullebijouterie

Mobile you are so beautiful!

2014-08-25T09:37:00.001-04:00

My son loves his mobile my friend Gaby made. You can see it on this previous post.

To add diversity in our life, I decided to make other mobiles which I will be able to hang from the pole.

To make a mobile you first need find an object shaped in a circle. For my first project I used a thin flexible cutting mat I bought at the dollar store. I cut 1/4 of the mat along the long edge twice. Then I punched one hole at each corner of the 2 pieces. I punched six holes along the upper and lower part of the long edge.to have a well balanced mobile, I tried to to space them equally.

Using a tie wrap I attached the corners in order to make a circle with the cutting mat. Then I used the foam mats you can also buy at the dollar store and cut some shapes. I also punched a hole on the top part of these shapes.

I used different coloured tie wraps to attach the shapes on the cutting mat. I could have used ribbons, but I thought tie wraps were sturdier. I passed 6 string of different coloured ribbons through the remanding holes and tided them all together at the top. I used a tie wrap to make the loop the hold the mobile on the pole. Finally I used patterned duck tape and taped it on the cutting mat to add more fun!

For the second mobile I made I used pretty origami paper from japan. You could just used normal coloured paper or wrapping paper. Just make sure you have perfectly square pieces of paper. Here are the steps to make the origami cranes. For more info go to here.

My mom actually made my cranes because she said mine were crooked :s

For the circle, this time around I used the inner ring of an embroidery ring, which is much easier to use.

Then I took some ribbon and passed it through a knitting needle. I passed the needle through the crane and tied a knot just under the crane making sure I had a nice loop over the crane.

I tied all the cranes on the ring and I decided to wrap the red ribbon all around the ring. Finally just like the other mobile I tied ribbons at equally spaced distance around the ring and tied them up together on top.

As you can see it's quite easy to make your own mobile. Go ahead and use your imagination to make your own!

Ergo baby baby carrier drooling pad

2014-08-19T21:16:00.001-04:00

My home ed classes finally paid off! This is my first sewing project! It's a really easy project to do. I mean I hadn't sewed since high school except that time I hemmed a underskirt and it was a disaster. Good thing it was under my skirt and no one could see it.

Anyhow, I took the pattern from lubird baby . The pattern is super well detailed and if you don't want to make one, you can also buy one from her Etsy website.

My little one is always sucking on the ergo baby or spits up on it and I have to wash the baby carrier often. With the drooling pad, I only have to wash the pad and tadam! Plus you can choose a cute little design to personalize your baby carrier.

I used an old towel instead of the flannel and the chenille. And I sewed twice over the ribbon to make it sturdier.

I'll have to make a drooling pad to cover the front part because my son always bites the front part. I didn't find a pattern, so I'll have to come up with one and share it :)

The scary banana

2014-08-19T12:45:00.001-04:00

My friend lent me her baby chair. The monkey on it was perfect for my jungle theme! But here one of the little toys was missing!

So I decided to knit a banana so the monkey would having something to eat!

I took the pattern from peachcake knits.

To make the banana much more fun, I bought little cat toys with a jingle bell inside at the dollar store. I got 8 for a dollar.

And tadam! I was ready to put it on the baby chair!

The only thing is that when I put my son in the chair, he got scared of the banana.... :(

Hopefully he won't get scared of my future projects!

Baby projects made by friends

2014-08-16T16:48:00.001-04:00

My friends are very crafty people. Now that we started working, we have more time to spend on our crafting hobbies!

My friend Gaby made this lovely mobile to go with my jungle themed nursery. Gaby is a great knitter and specializes in stuffed animals. She knitted every single animal and covered the plastic pole with fabric. My son loves his mobile. The first time he smiled was when he saw his mobile.

My other friend Cath is a great painter. She decorated these two bibs :)

She also painted this sign I put on my baby's room door.

I am truly blessed to have such amazing and crafty friends!