I’m sorry, but Patsy is still in the same position laying on my cutting table as she was on Friday evening. I haven’t touched her dress since then! *sigh* I had too busy of a weekend and there was no time for sewing…
Today I was helping my hubby bleed his truck brakes for a little while…and I had to order some parts for him online. I did some cooking and then the biggest part of my day was spent with Rebecca. Do you remember that “diaper guitar” she made a few years ago for a friends baby shower? (HERE) Well, that friend is having another baby now, but this time it’s a girl! The theme for the baby shower is a mermaid/sea idea. So instead of Rebecca just looking for a regular baby gift that fits that theme…NOOOOO…she had to come up with something big and fancy and time consuming…and guess who she wanted to help her? You guessed it!
She got it in her head that she wanted to make another “diaper” something, but she didn’t know what… after a long time of deliberating… I’m talking weeks, she finally settled on the idea of a “diaper wreath” with all kinds of baby goodies on it…you’ll see what I mean below…
We did have lots of fun making it and when we first got started, she was the one who said, “Are you going to get your camera out and take some pictures for your blog?” Well, of course I am… my ladies will LOVE this… I think!
The first thing Rebecca had to do was roll all the diapers into rolls… held together by clear rubber bands. First we tied 2 together, then we tied 4 together, then we tied 6 together until we had them all secured to each other but it was just a bunch of tied up, rolled up diapers.
If you click on any of the pictures they will enlarge and you can see them better.
Then we had to lay them out and get idea of how big she wanted her wreath to be…
I had a piece of foam core I cut a big circle out of and then trimmed that circle to about 2-1/2″ wide. This was what we fastened the diapers to so they wouldn’t shift.
Now it was time to get creative… Rebecca had quite a few things that she wanted to “showcase” on her wreath, so planning was crucial.
“Does this look anything like a fish, mom?” (it was actually the most adorable fleece kitty hat and mittens… you might see the mittens as some baby fishes.)
“Well, sure it does, but we’ll need to find him some eyes…” …hence my sewing supplies were invaded… ribbons, felt circles, string, yarn, and more…
We tied bows and laced ribbons and stuffed socks and scrunched onesies and attached turtles until we made our way around the whole diaper wreath.
These are her little fishes she made with socks in the middle and a baby washcloth wrapped around it…then she made the eyes from paper..
…until it looked like this…
When she got all done, she realized the box she was going to put it in wasn’t big enough… this thing is about 24″ across. I told her I had a big tall box upstairs we could cut up and MAKE a box… Part 2 of our craft project! (I have LOTS of experience cutting big cardboard boxes and making them into smaller cardboard boxes!)
So I began cutting and taping and folding and scoring until we finally had something that the wreath fit in…
Rebecca would kill me if she knew I put this picture in here, but I just had to… any guesses as to what she’s saying? “MOOOOMMMMMMM… stop taking pictures of ME!”
The box was so big it used up several of her rolls of paper so she was trying to “coordinate” them as best she could…
Oh…did you want to see one last peek?
So that’s why Patsy is still laying on my cutting table… it’s now 20 minutes after 11:00 and I’m heading to bed!
I hope you enjoyed seeing our day!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful present. Thanks for the link to the previous present. I can see that Rebecca is going to be invited to a lot of showers — maybe she should start a shower gift company.
And for all your readers who missed Sunday’s post, check out the lovely dinner that Sara’s family made for Jeanne and George. It’s been a good busy weekend at Jeanne’s house.
HI Marilyn,
I was telling Rebecca the same thing… I hope she’s blessed as much as she has been a blessing when “her turn comes!” But that’s just her momma speaking… :o)
She told me it’s a good thing she only has a few good friends… :o) again!
We already decided she’d have to sell them for $200 to make any money on them… time and items = too much to probably be profitable. Oh well, there’s always jewelry! :o)
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
I forgot to say congratulations on another very successful auction. There may not be many people with both dolls, but they were determined bidders. The winner is going to be a very happy person — and so are the sisters who have these lovely new Easter outfits.
Hii again,
It was a real shocker to see this jump from $125 to $230 in the last 5 seconds! But that’s one of my favorite parts of Ebay…seeing what happens!
Thanks for being happy for me… and yes, I think those 2 little sisters are going to be very happy too!
Blessings again, Jeanne
I have heard of diaper wreaths and I have never seen a lovelier one! What a wonderful gift. I’m sure her friend will be truly touched.
It sounds like you had a great weekend and made special memories of simple times with loved ones. Hope you have a great Monday.
Take care.
HI Charlotte,
I guess my head must have been in the sand…I had never heard of one… I wanted her to make a diaper picture frame and put all the “things” on the board like a collage…. but you’d have thought I suggested something really horrible… “NO mom…” She knew what she wanted and wasn’t going to budge!
Well, so far my Monday has consisted of being the “go-fer” for my hubby….but his trucks going to run better… poor Patsy is still laying down… but I’m hoping soon… I’ll be in there.
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
Loved it Jeanne—and Rebecca! How creative can you both get? Who wouldn’t love to get this darling and useful gift? I, for one, would probably want to even use it for a decoration for the baby’s room! Can’t believe all the little fishes out of onsies and socks! Like Marilyn said, she should start a shower gift company! Loved the picture of her too, since it gives a “personal” touch to the activity!
I’m still tired from yesterday’s activity with the family! Boys are something else! I got up at 11:15 last night, right when you were going to bed, to make an egg casserole, which needed to be put together the night before—and I had forgotten! So I was up doing that. It is really easy to make, just that you have to remember put it together the night before, and have it in the fridge to set before baking.
Congrats on that auction last night, you deserved every penny!!
Hi Linda,
Either Rebecca saw the picture of herself and decided it wasn’t a big deal, or she didn’t know I posted about her wreath yet and hasn’t seen it. I’m not going to tell…….. :o/
I can’t believe you remembered you forgot the egg casserole and got up… It was SO close to when you normally get up…. Sorry, I’m just teasing Linda.
I’m up for a new egg casserole and if it’s a good recipe would you mind sharing it?
Thanks for the congrats on the sister dresses. I was flabbergasted but very pleased.!!!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Sure thing, Jeanne! I’ll send the recipe soon!
The creativity gene is certainly alive and well in your family. The wreath is just darling and such a surprise! Rebecca can’t miss with a mom and aunt who are also so inspired. What a lot of thought and work went into it. Wonderful memories for you and Rebecca, everyone at the shower and now all of us.
Congratulations on the auction. Your decision to put the dresses up together was the right one for sure. You have at least one more bidder who is looking for a sister set. The winner must be a very happy collector.
Thank you Susette,
We will remember this one… as it took most of the day! But we had lots of laughs along the way. She loves crafting almost as much as I do…but just loves to think of things that her “peeps” would like… she’s always been that way… thinking and thinking and thinking about what would be the “perfect” gift for so and so… I love that about her.
I guess you’re right about putting the dresses in one listing…I’ll have to do that every once in a while but not every time…The winner IS a happy collector and now she’s really happy! That makes 2 of us!
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a fun-filled time you had with Rebecca, Jeaneane! The wreath is an inspiration for creativity and what a bonus for us to see it in process and complete. You have given me inspiration to get up and do something creative myself.
I too add my congratulations on another successful auction. Your work is art and it’s such a blessing to follow you in your artistic pursuits. Thank you for the opportunity to do so.
Blessings.
HI Becky,
It’s a good think I did take pictures along the way because it took so long there was no time for anything else for a post. Let me know what creative thing you decided to do!
Thank you for your congrats Becky. You always mention my dresses are like little art pieces and that is such a compliment to me. I’m so grateful that the Lord blessed me with the talent of sewing. I love doing it!
Blessings, Jeanne
How very creative! Love it. And I’m sure the friend will appreciate it too. Some years ago, I can remember wrapping an adorable stuffed elephant for a cousins shower. Put air holes on the box and “Live Animal” on the outside. Quite interesting to see how carefully it was opened. Showers are lots of fun.
Tell George we just had to take in our 1992 GMC truck because it had developed a coolant leak. Fortunately, that was all so the truck is still available when needed. Only has 29,000, miles. Just a baby.
HI Joy,
What a cute idea you had with your elephant! I love that! I bet it was the hit of your shower.
I have been George’s runner today. He’s trying his best to get his truck finished up… today we were working on the brake line. He rented a tool to bend the pipe and broke one of the fittings, so then I had to scramble and find a replacement part for the rental tool…ugh…
We ended up bending it by hand… AND I HELPED! He’s putting the brakline on now and then we’ll have to bleed the brakes again…
I hope yours is all taken care of now… I like that… just a baby!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a neat shower gift and so creative. I agree with everyone when we all say, talent runs in your family. It was certainly a labor of love. I just love baby things. The fish onesies are adorable. The whole wreath is absolutely adorable and I’m sure it will be much appreciated.
It was nice to see a picture of Rebecca. Such a pretty girl.
HI Paula,
Never a dull moment around here… not with Rebecca around. She’s living at home so she can save money for her internship but I may NEVER let her leave… we have too much fun together.
She must not know I put her picture on the post or I bet she’d ask me to take it off.. or maybe she realized it “really” went with the story! :o)
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne