Week 13: Angry Birds Pumpkin for Halloween

It's been many years since I've carved a pumpkin so I wanted to make sure that the pumpkin my husband and I carved was awesome. Since we're still on an angry birds kick, we decided on that. It was a last minute decision so I pulled up what I could on Pinterest and found a picture with an angry bird outline photoshopped on a pumpkin. Shouldn't be too hard to freehand, I thought. And it wasn't!!

I had this picture displayed on my phone and sketched with a pencil first. Next came the punching to outline cuts and then came the actual cutting. The hardest part was cutting the lines thick enough that we could see light from a candle inside the pumpkin. That's where my husband's expertise came in. I think it turned out pretty well considering it was freehanded. It definitely made me miss carving pumpkins - I'm looking forward to next Halloween!

Week 11: Crib Dust Ruffle

I saw this tutorial for making a crib dust ruffle on Pinterest and wanted to make an Angry Birds dust ruffle for my baby's crib. First I purchased the smallest sheet set I could find (twin) and was going to cut it up and follow the instructions.

However, I felt like it was an ambitious task I was about to undertake considering how tired I was in the third trimester. So I improvised.

The sheet set was completely useful in its twin set state so before we put the mattress down, we just used the flat sheet as the dust ruffle. Not only was it a heck of a lot easier than sewing a dust ruffle (like the one pictured top left), but now we can reuse the twin sheet. Some may call it cheating or a short-cut... I call it efficient and achievable. :)

Week 10: Hospital Goody Bag for Dad

Once my bag was packed in preparation for going to the hospital, I put together a special bag for my husband based on something I saw on Pinterest. Yes, it's true that once you go into labor you are limited on what you can eat and drink, but I didn't think my husband should be punished and starve because I couldn't eat.

On Pinterest I saw a "Daddy Hospital Survival Kit" filled with some candy, magazines, homemade bread, soda and some magazines. Although the packaging was very nice and included some cute printables, I knew my husband wouldn't really care about how nice it looked. I did package my version like a present (gift bag with tissue paper) so he wouldn't look through it before I went into labor.

I let him open his "Survival Kit" when we arrived at the hospital and were unpacking our hospital bag. My goal was to give him some snacks and something to do during the first night where I anticipated being in labor all night long. Once the baby arrived he would have plenty to do!

Here's what I included in my version of the "Daddy Hospital Survival Kit:"

• Two magazines (fantasy football guide and a guide to phone apps)
• Two Snickers bars (his favorite candy)
• Peanut butter crackers (peanut butter for some energy)
• Mountain Dew (for a lot of energy)
• Angry Birds Cheese Nips (our nursery theme is Angry Birds)

No matter what you put in your "Daddy Hospital Survival Kit," make sure that you pack some snacks for yourself in your regular hospital bag for when you're done delivering your bundle of joy. Daddy will likely be happy with whatever you pack for him, but making it personal will make him feel special as well.

Week Five: Final Project

With my baby shower approaching, I wanted to make some thank you cards that went with the theme of the nursery: Angry Birds. I happened to have a Groupon to Vistaprint, a website with a lot of cheap personalized items including note cards. Since there isn't a lot of baby Angry Birds items out there (as compared to other nursery themes), I decided to make my own thank you cards. With Vistaprint, since items are cheap, make sure you upgrade your envelopes, and get more of whatever item you order, since items tend to shift a lot during shipping.