Oh Baby

We’ve always wanted a “big” family…big as in more than one or two kids.  We saw built-in best friends, family game nights, and fun family vacations that started with road trips of a filled vehicle.  Not to say that small families don’t have any of that, because they can, but we just envisioned a full house if you will.  I distinctly hearing one of my favorite priests in college saying, during a homily about married couples and the vocation of marriage that we should “populate the Earth with good people”.  To me, that meant having 23 kids…totally kidding, but it did give me the desire for a large family of 4 or more kids.  I wanted to help fill their Earth with good people.   Of course there are lots of factors going into how many kids made up our big family ideal – things like budget and fertility, both of which are or at one time were pretty sparse.   

We’ve also always wanted our kids to be close in age.  The twins and Sebastian are closer in age than we thought we wanted but it’s turned out pretty awesome.  So, since Sebastian is going to be two in a month, it’s been time to start thinking about the next little bean.  We have actually been discussing him or her for the past several months, thinking that if he or she could come along anytime after Sebastian hit two, that’d be just peachy.  Only we just weren’t sure how that little bean was going to get here.  For one, we weren’t sure if we were going to struggle to have more kids since we struggled with fertility for years before the twins came along.  Sebastian arrived without an infertility beat so maybe that wasn’t a struggle anymore, maybe it was.  We’ve been avoiding the marital deed during ovulation each month (we’re on the Natural Family Planning train…tmi for some of you…sorry!) so we didn’t know what would happen if we tried during that time or what.  But bigger than that, it’s been on our hearts to adopt.  There are lots of reasons why but one thing that has convicted me in that possibility is everything that has been going on with Planned Parenthood.  (If you live under a rock, they’ve been selling the body parts of the babies they’re killing…illegal and plain disgusting.)  I’m not going to step on a soap box about that but it’s made me realize for the 1000th time how much of a tragedy it is that we are allowing the murder of innocent babies in this country.  I ache for the babies and I ache for the mothers that are going through so much junk that killing the child growing inside their womb becomes a condolence and is “making it all better”.  I want to hold those moms and tell them it’s going to be okay.  There are so many families who are aching to adopt and I wish these women knew that; knew there was a better way.  Along with all the aborted babies and sad mothers there are so many children in the U.S. living lives that are filled with trauma, abuse, loneliness, abandonment, and zero security who are in foster care and/or waiting to find a forever home filled with the love they’ve never been shown.  It’s all just overwhelmingly sad to me and to us.  I want to take them all in but of course that’s an unrealistic desire.  But, taking in one or two isn’t.  

So, this past summer, we made the decision that we were definitely going to hop on the adoption track and that we were going to start looking into and starting the process.

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And you’ll never guess what happened…

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This:     
God’s really funny, isn’t He?

We are elated and so excited and laughing right along with Him.  And we’re still in shock too but mostly so, so happy.  Baby Tobin will be here in June of next year and we’ll have four under four for a month which is really scary and really fun all rolled into one little ball of beautiful.

I’ve been meaning to tell you all for over a month now but I had my heart set on a cute little announcement including Anthony and the kids, all with their respective numbers 1, 2, 3, and then new baby 4 but it was looking like we’d get that picture taken the day before the baby was born next summer so it’s just me and #4, taken with a self-timer during nap time.  Haha!

So does this mean adoption is out?  Nope!  Obviously we’ve had to set it aside for awhile but we still very much want to pursue it in the future.  We’re a little sad (but still very happy we’re expecting…don’t get me wrong) but God has shown us plain as day what His will for us is right now and we’re are just going to roll with it. 

Anyway, please keep us and this little bean in your prayers!  You can be sure that I’m offering up some of these wonderful pregnancy symptoms for you! 

Oh and if you’ve been wondering why I’ve been boring on the blog recently, well, now you know.  First trimester slothfulness.  It’s all over me…….

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Gorgeous print in the frame above is from Hatch Prints!

“How can you say there are too many children?  That is like saying there are too many flowers.”
Blessed Mother Teresa

Cyber Monday

I’ve always been a big fan of Cyber Monday but always as a buyer, never as a seller…until this year!  To take part in the coupon madness, here are a few codes you can use over at Bean In Love Studio!

Take $5 off any one pillow cover, $12 off any order of two or more covers, and then add free shipping and it should make it a much happier day!  The $ off is good until the end of today and the free shipping will be good until Christmas Day!  (Codes are only good on covers in stock…custom orders don’t apply.  Sorry!)

Sorry for my absence on the blog for the past couple of weeks!  We got back at 4am this morning, finishing off the 16-hour (more like 18 with kids) drive from my home state of Nebraska.  We had a great Thanksgiving week with family but now we’re back and scrambling to get ready for Jesus to come!  It seems like it’s never ending but the only time that’s really welcomed is during Christmas, right?  

I’ll be back later this week with some fun stuff I’ve been working on!  Happy Monday!

Fur Real

I feel like a new woman!  My head is slowly coming out of the fog that has been the last five days.  A couple of hours after this recent ‘gram, things around here went south…or should I say north.  Sebastian ejected the entire contents of his day out of his mouth on our way home from the playground (oh yes, think carseat…everywhere) and it didn’t stop there.  Oh no.  The next day and a half after that hold the record for the most vomit I’ve ever seen come out of any of my kids mouths…the record because, until now, we have somehow escaped it.  We’d never had to deal with a stomach bug plus a heaping side of vomit before the last few days.  It’s awful to see your kids suffer and not be able to take it all away.  After the vomit came the flood out the other end for all kids and I’ll just stop there because I’m experiencing some feelings of PTSD arise and I’m sure you want to know allll the details.  Right. 

Anyway, I’m just so happy to be here today and I’m overjoyed our kiddos are smiling again.  I wish the screen could exude my excitement a little more.  We had a normal night last night and a normal morning this morning so I’m calling all systems go.  I might even get dressed today knowing that the chances of my clothes wearing bodily fluid are super low.  It’s great and I’m just happy to be alive with all kids in tow!

I even got the kids dressed.

See?

 
But let’s zoom in on the fur, shall we?  That’s why I’m really here today anyway.

Those vests were my miniscule link to reality the past several days.  I made them in two fifteen minute breaks while all sick kids were sleeping (two breaks because poor cries cut me short during the one shot I had to get them all done).  They only cost me about $3 each too!  So, like I do, I’m going to tell you all about how I made them and how you can make them too!

Oh, and did I mention that you can make them without sewing a single stitch?  You can!

The supplies:
-vest pattern (link to free download below)
-a piece of faux fur – I bought mine from Hancock Fabrics and it’s awesome (couldn’t find it on their website for ya – boo!).  Plush and soft and the color is just perfecto.  To make two size 2T-4T vests, I only needed a little over a half yard and since I bought the fur on sale, that meant only $6.  (I actually bought a yard though because, at the time, I wasn’t sure how much I needed but I’m glad I did because with the remainder of the fur I have, I can get at least one fur scarf for mwah and maybe two tiny ones for them!)
-scissors
-staples and a staple gun for the no-sew route (I know it’s weird but read on…)
-hot glue and hot glue gun

I know I said you can make these without sewing; that’s where the staples come in.  But if you know how to sew a simple straight stitch or you’re a beginner hand-sewer, you can use a machine or needle and thread instead of the staples.  Since I know how to sew, I used my machine.

First, you’ll want to grab this free toddler vest pattern from Once Upon a Sewing Machine.  You’ll only need the front and back pages, not the hood.

Print it out and cut it out along the given lines.

On the pattern it says to add 6.5 inches to the bottom of each piece but I only added three because the vests would’ve been way too long with 6.5 more inches on my girls.  To add those inches, I just taped a piece of paper onto the bottom of each piece and cut it so that the sides lined up all the way down and so that it extended that three inches from the bottom of the pattern. I also cut off the small part on the front pattern piece placed there for buttons (that middle strip that’s cut off in the picture above).  I wasn’t going to have any buttons so I didn’t need the extra fabric there.

The next thing I did was make the arm holes a little smaller.  To do this, I pulled out one of the girls jean vests and moved it so that it was laying on top of the pattern armhole with the top of the shoulder and sides of the vest lined up with the top and sides of the pattern.  Then I just traced it onto a sheet of paper I had taped under the pattern armhole and cut it out.
This is before I positioned the jean vest where it needed to be lined up to trace it, but you can see how much smaller the actual vest armhole was.  It’s worth noting though that my girls are fitting comfortably in 2T tops right now so if you’re making this for a child closer to 4T, you might be able to keep the armholes the size they are.  It’d be worth comparing it to a sleeveless shirt or vest you already have to make sure though.

Here’s what the pattern looked like when I was done lengthening and minimizing the armholes:
At this point I thought I was ready to take the fabric to the fur but when I placed the front and back pieces together (they meet at the armhole side), one was longer than the other.  I wish I could’ve said it was my measuring error but as it turns out, the front of the pattern is actually a smidge longer than the back.
It was an easy fix though; I just sliced that extra length off the bottom and to the fur I went.

So, you’ve got your fur.  Lay it fur-side down on a table but make sure that you lay it so that the fur is pointing in a downward direction – the nap of the fur goes down towards the bottom of what will be your vest.  Does that make sense?
I folded the end of the fabric over in the picture above so you could see how my fur was laying.
 
Next, grab both pieces of your pattern and tape them together at the armholes.  Then, along each side except for the far left side, trace around the pattern but trace a half inch out.  (Note:  I used a sharpie because a pencil didn’t show up that well but if you have a washable marker, that would be even better.)
No need for perfection!  Fur hides that really, really well!  :)

Along the left side of the pattern, trace right along the edge of the paper.  This line will just be a guiding line to show you where to line up the pattern for the next side.  (Note:  this line will be the only one that shows on the inside of the finished vest.  I wasn’t too worried since when it’s worn, it’s not seen at all but if you want it eliminated, make sure you do use a washable marker and it’ll come out in the wash.)

Next, flip your pattern over and line it up along that middle line you drew.
Make sure you literally flip the pattern over!  Don’t just slide it over!

Trace a half-inch out again along all sides.  You won’t need to trace along the now-right side again. 

This is what the back of the fur will look like when you’re done.

Now it’s time to cut along every line but that middle line.

Cutting fur is a little tricky.  If you can, use a small, pointed scissors and snip away in small increments from the back of the fur.  If you don’t have a smaller scissors, a regular-sized pair will work too but just remember those small increment cuts.  They’re crucial in not cutting off the fur so it looks like it got chopped at the $5 hair salon.

In cutting in small increments, you’re not really cutting fur as much as you’re just cutting the backing.

Once you have your vest cut out, it’ll be time to attach the shoulders.

I sewed them together but you can staple them if you don’t know how to sew!  I promise it’ll hold up and no one will know but you!  First though, we need to trim away some fur so that the seam isn’t so thick – it wouldn’t fit under my machine foot the way it was.

To do that, just trim off the fur along the top half-inch or so.
 
Then, fold the sides of your vest in, fur-side in, so that the front and back shoulders line up.  If you’re sewing, sew a straight stitch like this but stop a half-inch from each edge.  You’ll glue those unfinished ends down in a minute.
If you’re stapling instead of sewing, just placed a line of three or four staples horizontally along the line I sewed.  Or if you know how to hand sew, you can sew a quick line too!

Once you’re done attaching the shoulders, you can move on to the hot gluing or you can quickly cut a v-neck in the front of the vest like I did.  Starting at the top inside shoulder, I just drew a straight line a little more than half way down the front inside hem.  Then I used the same small-increment snipping to cut that little triangle off each side.
Last step!  Hot glue!  This part was hard to document because hot glue dries so quickly but basically I went around each edge of the vest minus the very bottom hem and glued a half-inch hem.  I worked in three or four-inch sections so that the glue wouldn’t dry faster than I could get it on.  I didn’t do the bottom hem because the fur hangs down far enough to cover the backing completely.

You can see in the picture below that the bottom part of this side is glued.  The white line shows where I placed the glue.  Once the glue was there I just folded the edge of the fur over onto itself, pressed it and held it until the glue was dry, and wala!  An easy hem!
I even folded the arm holes in a half inch and did those.  I feel like hemming all the edges makes everything look a little cleaner because you can’t see any backing peeking out from anywhere.

This is what the vest looks like from the inside, all finished:
 

All that in about a half hour…and that was making two vests.  Uninterrupted, this is an easy breezy project that’ll have your little fashionista right in line with the runway these days.  ;)

 
Taking the after pictures was actually the hardest part for me.  So many acorns.  So little time.
 
 
Here’s the funny thing about this project - I bought this fur last fall thinking I’d make the vests back then and they just got shoved to the end of the project line and now, here they are.  Haha!  But, as it turns out, they would’ve look huge on the girls last year.  The timing will now allow them to be worn this year, next year, and maybe even the next year after that.  Unintentional providence that is also known as procrastination ftw.

Adios.  I have lots more procrastinating to attend to…the dishes for example.  The couch is calling my name.

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Grand Opening of…

Bean In Love Studio!

Surprise!!!  It’s been the brain-child of a good friend and I for months now, a pillow cover shop which we hoped to expand into other home decor areas.  Since the seed was planted though, a lot has changed including my friend moving (cue the tears) but I’ve decided to press on myself and share my passion of sewing with you!

Why?
There are a few reasons.  For one, I have a love of fabric.  Unfortunately, I can’t have all the fabrics in my house lest we’d be pattern-on-pattern-on-pattern repeat offenders.  But, I can have all the fabrics and make stuff out of them for other people, thereby living vicariously through my customers and what they choose to do with them.  The thought makes me giddy.  Also, I just love sewing.  It takes me away from the craziness that sometimes is being a stay-at-home mom – the mindless therapy and peace and quiet that exists just pressing away at that foot pedal while the kids are snoozing is glorious.  And of course, I’m not looking to make bank but adding a few extra dollars to the budget every month while I do something I love sounds like a great plan to me.  :)   

What?
Well, for now, just pillow covers.  I have dreams of cranking out some changing pad covers, sheets, curtains, and lots of other things to pretty up a home but for now, those are just dreams.  I guess you’ll just have to stay tuned. 

How?
I know, the thought that might be crossing your mind is, “How the heck are you going to find time for making pillow covers to sell on top of blogging AND mothering?”  Well, I have no clue.  Kidding…kind of.  Like everything, I’m making time for this.  I’ve dedicated one day a week to sewing for my shop which means that during naptime and bedtime on that day, you’ll probably find me cutting and making conversation with my machine.  I’m determined to not let this get overwhelming or to invade the already precious time I have with family.  Does that mean I won’t be cranking out pillow covers like breeding rabbits?  Yes it does.  My goal is to make five a week; twenty a month.

So, I hope you’ll stop by my little shop!  Right now, here are the covers you’ll find:


I’d love your feedback too!  My goal upon opening the shop was to offer well-made, durable pillow covers in quality home decor fabrics that are affordable.  Like I said above, I’m not looking to become rich off these which I why I tried to price them fairly but also below what other similar covers were.  At this point, I’m not taking custom orders but I am open to suggestions on types and patterns of fabric you’d be interested in seeing!  You can hit me up with those at beaninlovestudio@gmail.com or via my etsy shop.  Also, if you have questions decor questions about which covers would look best in your space or anything else, I’m all ears eyes so shoot those over too!

Thank you for your support!  I’m really excited for this little adventure!

Pumped Out

I’m coming at cha with a quick one today guys!  This soap dispenser:

I saw it a couple of weeks ago on clearance at Walmart for $5 and, though I wanted it bad, I walked away because I’m too cheap for $5. 

But then when I went back to Walmart last week for groceries, there it was again except it had a nice little sticker that had it marked down to $3.50.  So, I pounced.

And then I removed the pump, taped off the bottom tube, and spray painted that puppy with Rust-Oleum’s Metallic Gold (I did prime it first though with some white Rust-Oleum spray primer).


I’ve been on this gray plus tan or gold kick for the past few months so this one just fed that fire perfectly.  Now it’s sitting prettier in the kids’/guest bathroom.  We had an old plastic dispenser in there for the longest time so this one was a welcome change.  Did I mention that the faceted gray bottle is glass?  I’ll take that over plastic almost any day.

I do have one small complaint though.  I don’t know if it’s that water hit it and wasn’t wiped off (I don’t wipe water off soap dispensers because I’m lazy and it’s a waste of time) or if I should’ve let it cure longer than the 24 hours I did before water hit it or what, but there’s been some spotting on the gold.  The pump is plastic which I don’t think matters since it seems to be something with the paint but either way, those spots are there.  I tried to wipe them off and some came off or lightened but not all.
 

But, for around $4, I’m not too concerned.  We’ll just call it a ‘vintage patina’ and embrace imperfection.

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I have been working at a snail’s pace on the girls’ room in the past few weeks!  Reveal coming soon!  On top of that, I have three big things going on right now that you’re gonna wanna stay tuned for!  They’re like B-I-G!  :)