"Hoppy Spring" blocks

Here are some blocks I made (with the help of my husband - I snapped my fingernail back when I was cutting the shamrocks when one of the blocks flipped up...so now I'm a bit hesitant to use the miter saw again.  I can still feel the nail bending backwards when I think about using the saw)...some day I'll use it again on my own!

Anyway, the blocks are cut to 2.25" wide and all different heights with "pharmacy" font sized to fit the block.

Another Crocheted Earwarmer

Here's another crocheted ear warmer I made for my mother-in-law's birthday. 

Tutorial for earwarmer
Tutorial for flower

Baby Shower gifts

I already posted the self-binding receiving blanket I made for my sister-in-law.  Here are a couple other things I made her as well:

Tie Onesie - There are 2 patterns I like here and here. . . one is smaller and works better on infant onesies and the other is a bit bigger and works best on 12month + sizes in my experience.  I don't remember which one I used this time since I just have the patterns cut out and use them over and over.

Denim Baby Book - more info here.  I love the piping added around the edges - it gives it a softer look.  And Kari had given me some of my brother's old shirts to re-purpose, so I used them in the applique shapes of the book.  How fun is that - the baby will have a book made from his dad's old clothes!

Spring Flower Garland

I wanted to make a flower garland like I did with my valentine's hearts...but I didn't feel in the mood to cut out lots of felt flowers.  So I used my Cricut and cut out some flowers out of cardstock. 

Then I sewed them in a line with my sewing machine.

I made this while my kids were sleeping, and when my 3 year old got up from his nap, he saw them and said "wow! good job, Mom" and went off to play with his toys.  At least someone notices the things I make without me pointing them out...like I have to with my husband. :)

Army Bunker Tent

This Army Bunker Tent came out awesome, but I had it in the works for almost a year...I just couldn't ever get excited about working on it since I knew it would be an intense project.  I saw the idea on Obsessively Stitching last year and knew it would be something I wanted to make for my son. 

It's made out of a twin sheet set from Wal-Mart (I don't know if they still carry the same one anymore...I bought mine a year ago when this tutorial came out - just in case they stopped carrying it by the time I got around to making it.)  The frame is out of PVC pipes - and my table scratches really easy, so I cut up a scrap of fleece and used that as a "table cloth" under the pipes.  And the best part...the fabric and pipes all fit into the pillowcase when you take it down.

Since everyone's table is different, the tutorial doesn't give dimensions, so that's what took me a year to get in the mood to make it.  I had to measure and fit it to my table, and I had a hard time with that, but now I'm happily done!

I basically copied everything Care did when she made this...the freezer paper stenciling on the pocket of the pillowcase and mini drawstring bag to keep the army men

...and the freezer paper stencil t-shirt. 

It was a bit tricky to make, but well worth it - my kids love playing in it.

Marshmallow Peep Bunny Stuffies

I do a lot of blog hopping and a lot of adding to my "to-do" list.  But every once in a while, I find a project that I want to do right then and there ... because I already have everything to make it with and because it's adorable.

Well, these stuffed bunnies were one of those "got to make it now" projects.  Make sure you check out her link - her pictures are way cuter!  I don't have grass or a cute basket to pose them in.

I really wished I had some pink fleece, cause the pink one in the tutorial was my favorite, but I only had yellow and a couple shades of blue.  The fun part was that my kids could help stuff them and they both had fun helping me.

And here's my little helper trying to eat them.

Self-binding receiving blanket

I had the idea in my head to make a blanket like this when my son was born ... but he just turned 3, so obviously, I never got it figured out.  I wanted the back to wrap around the front to give the binded edge look on the front, but I couldn't figure out how to make the corners mitered and pretty...so I gave up.

...but, I found a tutorial for a self-binding blanket that a friend had used for her daughter's blanket. 

It was a bit tricky to work with since I decided to use a flannel backed satin for the back and binding.  It was slippery and gave me all sorts of problems.  But I think if you used 2 pieces of flannel, it would work out fine.

I made this one for my sister-in-law's baby shower last weekend.  I knew my mom was making a lot of receiving blankets for her, so I wanted to try a non-traditional baby blanket.  I like how it turned out, but the standard receiving blankets are a lot less work in my opinion. :)

Crocheted Shamrock Hair Clip

I saw a tutorial for a crocheted shamrock garland and thought I could alter the idea and turn it into a single shamrock for a hair clip.  I made 3 of them using different hook sizes and they ended up being about 1.25 - 1.75 inches across.  My favorite was with the "G" hook.  It looked cute in my daughter's hair (actually in her headband since she has a lack of hair at the moment).  The other 2 went to my nieces.  My flash wasn't cooperating, but this yarn was an apple green color, not as neon as the pic looks.

I'm quite new to the crochet world, but this shamrock was easy to make.  I've tried the flowers and hearts that are out there in blog land, and this was by far the easiest I've come across yet.  I still can't get my hearts to look like hearts. :)

Shabby Apple Dress Winner

The winner of this fantastic dress from Shabby Apple is . . .

... lucky number 88!

And that entry belongs to Julie N. who said...



Congratulations, Julie, I've sent you an email to get your information.  If I don't hear from you in 48 hours, I will pick another winner.

Giveaway ends tonight!!

Don't forget... the Shabby Apple Dress giveaway ends tonight at 11:59pm (pacific time)

...I was going to insert an image of the dress up for grabs, but blogger's image browse isn't working again (just the annoying cloud picker glitch).  So go to the original post to see the dress - it's awesomely orange!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway--NOW CLOSED

So I'm assuming that most, if not all of my readers have at least heard of Shabby Apple even if they don't own anything from ther yet...

If not, here is your introduction to Shabby Apple!!

You can find some of the most gorgeous, vintage inspired women's dresses at http://www.shabbyapple.com/ that I've seen...and they are all modest.  I am short (4'11" to be exact) and have a hard time with low necklines, but I don't see that problem with any of their dresses I've seen. 

I had a hard time picking my favorites to use in this post.  And what's great is that they even sell maternity dresses (called Mama Apple) and children's dresses (called Shabby Baby - isn't that cute).  Head on over to http://www.shabbyapple.com/ NOW to check out even more dresses.

Here are some of my favorite dresses...

And today, Shabby Apple is giving away the Cider dress to one of my lucky readers!

I love orange, and the neckline is so cute!

Giveaway rules!
**Must have a US shipping address
**Giveaway closes on Monday night (March 14th at 11:59pm)
**winner will be chosen by random.org on Tuesday, March 15th

Shabby Apple is being even MORE generous and offering an exclusive discount to our readers:
naptimecrafts10off Use this to score 10% off your order!

Mandatory entry -
* Must be a follower of my blog (http://www.naptimecrafting.blogspot.com/) - and leave a comment letting me know (with your email address if it's not linked in your profile)

Additional entries
* 1 entry - "Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook - and leave a comment telling me you did! - you'll get in on special promotions and exclusive deals if you do!
* 5 entries - Purchase anything on Shabby Apple and let me know you did!  (in 5 separate comments) You can use this awesome code for a 10% discount on your purchase -- naptimecrafts10off

That's it!  7 chances to enter to win this gorgeous dress from Shappy Apple!